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MEMOIRS g^M

THE LIFE, EXILE, 'i,3^

y, \
CONVERSATIONS,

OF THE

EMPEROR NAPOLEON.

THE COUNT DE LAS CASES.
K —

A NEW EDITION.

WITH PORTRAITS
AND NUMEROUS OTHER EMBELLISHMENTS.

■ 1 I

VOL. I.'

LOI^PON:
PUBLISHED FOR KENRY COLBURN,

BY RICHARD BEN'Tl-EY ; BELL AND BRADrlTTE, EDINBURGH; i. CUMMlJiG, DUBLIN:
AND ALL B(X)K.S£LLt;RS.

IIDCCCXSXVI.

STFREOtYPED A> f> .'■RIMiiU BY B BE.^SLKY.

-^ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

v-T

^^ VOLUME I.

PAGE.

Portrait of the Emperor Napoleon, to face the title.

Napoleon on board the Bellerophon 2(5

Portrait of Charles Bonaparte 66

Portrait of Letizia Bonaparte 69

Residence of the Emperor at Longwood 264

. \ VOLUME n.

Portrait of the Empress Josephine, to face the title.

I Portrait of Marshal Bertrand 33

Map of Saint Helena 39

>

^

Portrait of Prince Talleyrand 64

Eugene Beauharnois claiming his Father's Sword 186

VOLUME m.

Portrait of Sir Hudson Lowe, to face the title.

Ground Plan of Longwood 21

The House in which Napoleon was Born 113

The Burning of Moscow 164

Napoleon's Return from Elba 302

VOLUME IV.

Portrait of Count De Las Cases, to face the title.

Napoleon at Saint Helena 149

\ X Death of Napoleon 386

VC) Statue of Napoleon on the Place Vendome „ 388

\o, Tombof Napoleon 3S9

b
n

PREFACE.

Circumstances tbe most extraordinary have long
kept me near the most extraordinary man that
ever existed. Admiration made me follow him,
without knowing him, and when I did know him,
love alone would have fixed me for ever near his
person. The world is full of his glory, his deeds,
and his monuments ; but no one knows the true
shades of his character, his private qualities, or the
natural disposition of his soul. This great void I
undertake to fill up, and for such a task I pos-
sess advantages unexampled in history.

1 collected and recorded, day by day, all that
I saw of Napoleon, all that I heard him say,
during the period of eighteen months in which I
was constantly about his person. In these con-
versations, w^hich were full of confidence^ and
which seemed to pass, as it were, in another
world, he could not fail to be portrayed by him-
self as if in a mirror, in every point of view, and
under every aspect. Henceforth the world may
freely study him : there can be no error in the
materials.

Count Las Cases.

MEMOIRS

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON,

INTRODUCTION.

It is my intention to record daily all that the Emperor
Napoleon did or said while I was about his person ;
but, before I begin my diary, I hope to be excused
for offering a few preliminary remarks, which may not
be altogether useless.

I never commenced the peiTisal of any historical
work without first wishing to know the character of the
author, his situation in society, and his political and
domestic relations ; in fact, all the important circum-
stances of his life ; conceiving that nothing but a know-
ledge of these matters could furnish a key to his writ-
ings, or a safe ground of confidence in his statements,
I therefore proceed to supply in my turn that which I
always sought for in others; and, in presenting this
diary, to relate a few facts respecting my past life,

I was scarcely twenty- one years of age when the
Revolution broke out, and had just been made a Lieute-
nant de Vaisseau, which corresponded with the rank of a
field officer in the line : my family was at court, and I
had been recently presented there myself. I was not
rich ; but my name and rank in life, together with my
professional prospects, were likely, according to the
notions and views of the times, to enable me to marry
according to my wishes. It was at such a mioment that
our political troubles burst forth.

One of the principal vices in our system of admis-
sion to the service was that of depriving us of the bene-
fits of a solid and finished education. Withdrawn from

b LAS CASES MEMOIRS OP

school at the early age of fourteen, abandoned from
that instant to ourselves, and launched as it were on a
wide waste, how was it possible to attain the slightest
notion of social organization, public rights, or the du-
ties of civil life ?

Thus, prompted by noble prejudice, rather than by a
just sense of duty, above all, led on by a natural fond-
ness for generous resolves, I was amongst the first to
hasten abroad and join our Princes ; to save, as it was
said, the monarch from revolutionary fury, and to defend
our hereditary rights, which we could not, it was assert-
ed, yet abandon without shame. From the mode in
which we had been educated, it required either a very
strong head or a very weak mind to resist the torrent.

The emigration soon became general ; this fatal mea-
sure is but too well known to Europe ; nor can its folly,
as a political blunder and a social crime, find any excuse
in the present day, except in the unenlightened but up-
right character of most of those by whom it was under-
taken.

Defeated on our own frontiers, discharged and dis-
banded by foreigners, rejected and proscribed by the
laws of our country, numbers of us reached England,
whose Ministers lost no time in landing us on the shore
of Quiberon. Being so fortunate as not to disembark,
I had, after my return, time to reflect on the horrible al-
ternative of fighting against our country under foreign
banners ; and, from this moment, my ideas, principles,
and projects were either disconcerted or entirely changed.
Despairing of events, abandoning the world and my
natural sphere, I devoted myself to study ; and, under
a borrowed name, went through a second course of edu-
cation in attempting to assist that of others.

After a lapse of some years, the treaty of Amiens,
and the amnesty offered by the First Consul, re-opened
to us the gates of France. I had no longer any property
there : the laws had disposed of my patrimony ; but can
any thing make us forget our native soil, or destroy the
charm of breathing the air of our own country !

I hurried back, and was grateful for a pardon, ren-
dered more acceptable since I could say with pride that

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 7

I received it without having any motives of self-reproach.
When monarchy was proclaimed soon after, my situation
and sentiments were of a most singular kind. I found
myself a soldier punished for a cause that had triumphed.
Every day brought us back to our former ideas : all that
had been dear to our principles and prejudices was re-
newed 3 and yet delicacy and honour rendered it a kind
of duty in us to keep at a distance.

It was in vain that the new government loudly pro-
claimed the union of all parties ; and equally so that its
chief had declared he would no longer recognise any but
Frenchmen in France ; in vain had old friends and former
companions offered me the advantages of a new career to
be chosen by myself. Unable to subdue the conflicting
feelings which agitated my mind, I obstinately perse-
vered in a system of self-denial ; and, devoting all my
time to literature, I composed under a feigned name, an
historical work that re-established my fortune; after
which I passed five or six of the happiest years of my
life.

Meanwhile, unprecedented events succeeded each
other with extraordinary rapidity : they were of such a
nature, and bore so peculiar a character, that it became
impossible for any person whose heart possessed the
least predilection for whatever was great or noble to
view them w^th indifference. The glory of our country
was raised to a pitch unknown in the history of any
other people : the administration of affairs was un-
exampled, not less by its energy than the consequences
it produced ; a simultaneous impulse, which was sud-
denly given to every species of industry, excited the
emulation of all at the same moment ; the army was
unrivalled, striking terror abroad and creating a just
pride at home.

Every day added to the number of our trophies, while
numerous monuments proclaimed our exploits ; the vic-
tories of Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland ; the treaties of
Presburg and Tilsit had constituted France the first of
nations, and made her the arbitress of Europe. It was
a signal honour to be a Frenchman ; and yet all these
exploits, labours and prodigies, were the work of one

8 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

man. For my own part, whatever might have been my
former prepossessions and prejudices, I was now filled
with admiration ; and, as we m\ know, there is but one
step from admiration to affection. It was precisely at
this period that the Emperor mailed some of the first
families of France round his throne, and caused it to be
circulated, among-st the rest, that he would consider
those who remained aloof as bad Frenchmen. I did not
hesitate for an instant : I have, said I to myself, fulfilled
the obligations of my natural oath, that of my birth and
education, to which I have continued faithful until its
extinction. Our princes too were no longer thought
of : we even doubted their existence. The solemnities
of religion, the alliance of kings, the example of Europe,
and the splendour of France, henceforth taught me that
I had a new sovereign. Had those who preceded us
made so long a resistance to such powerful efforts, be-
fore rallying round the first of the Capets ? I answered
therefore, for myself, that, happy in being thus enabled
to obey a call which removed me with honour from the
delicate situation in which I was placed, I freely, spon-
taneously, and without reserve, transferred the zeal,
loyalty, and attachment which I had constantly cherished
for my old masters, to the new sovereign : the result
of this step was my immediate admission at court.

In this state of things, I felt extremely anxious that
my recent protestations should be ratified by deeds. Tlie
Enghsh had invaded Flushing, and threatened Antwerp ;
I therefore hastened to assist in the defence of the latter
place, as a volunteer ; and, on the subsequent evacuation
of Flushing, my nomination to the office of chamberlain
called me near the person of the Emperor. Being
desirous of adding some more useful occupation to the
duties of this honourable post, I solicited and obtained
a seat in the Council of State. Hence followed several
confidential missions : I was sent to Holland at the
period of its union to the French Empire, in order to
receive whatever related to the naval department ; then
to Illyria, for the purpose of liquidating the public debt ;
and afterwards over half the Empire, to superintend es-
tablishments of public beneficence. During our late

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. y

misfortunes, I received some consoling proofs that the
inhabitants of the countries to which I had thus been
sent were not dissatisfied with my conduct.

Providence had however fixed a Umit to our prosperity.
The catastrophe of Moscow, the disasters of Leipsic, and
the siege of Paris, are well known. I commanded in
that city one of the legions which acquired honour by
its severe losses on the 31st of March. When the capitu-
lation took place I gave up the command, feeling that
other duties were to be performed near the person of my
sovereign, but could not reach Fontainebleau in time : —
the Emperor had abdicated, and was succeeded by the
King.

My situation now became more singular than it had
been twelve years before. The cause for which I had
sacrificed my fortune, for which I remained so long in
exile, and six years in a state of self-denial at home, was
at length triumphant ; nevertheless, the point of honour
and other considerations were about to prevent my
reaping any benefit from the event ! What could be
more capricious than my fate ? Two revolutions had
been effected in opposition to each other : — by the first I
lost my patrimony ; by the second I might have been
deprived of life : neither the one nor the other had been
favourable to my fortune. Vulgar minds will only per-
ceive an unfortunate tergiversation of opinions in this
wayward destiny, while the lovers of intrigue will assert
that I was twice a dupe : only the few will understand
that I have twice honourably fulfilled my duty. Be this
as it may, those early friends, whose esteem was not
lessened by the line of conduct I had pursued, having
now become all powerful, invited me to join them : it
was impossible to obey the generous call ; disgusted and
disheartened, I resolved that my public life should termi-
nate. Ought I to have exposed myself to the false
judgment of those who were watching my proceedings ?
Could every body see what was passing in my mind ?

Having now become a Frenchman even to enthusiasm,
and unable to endure that national degradation of which
I was a daily witness amidst foreign bayonets, I deter-
mined to endeavour to divert my thoughts at a distance

10 LAS cases' memoirs OP

from fhe scene of calamity, and went to pass a few-
months in England. How altered did every thing ap-
pear there ! On reflection, I found that it was myself
who had undergone a great change.

I had scarcely returned, when Napoleon appeared on
our coasts : he was transported to the capital as it were
by magic, and this without battles, excesses, or effusion
of blood. I thought I saw the stain brought on us by
foreign hands effaced, and all our glory restored. Des-
tiny had ordered otherwise !

No sooner did I hear of the Emperor's arrival, than I
spontaneously repaired to attend on his person. I was
present at the moment of abdication; and, when the
question of his removal was agitated, I requested per-
mission to participate in his fate. Such had been till
then the disinterestedness and simplicity, some wall say
folly, of my conduct, that, notwithstanding my daily in-
tercourse as an officer of the household and member of
his council. Napoleon scarcely knew me. "Do you
know whither your offer may lead you ?" said he, in his
astonishment. " I have made no calculation about it, I
replied." He accepted me, and I am at St. Helena.

I have now made myself known ; the reader has my
credentials in his hands : a host of contemporaries are
living — it will be seen whether a single individual
amongst them stands up to invalidate them : I therefore
begin my task.

RETURN OF THE EMPEROR TO THE ELYSEE, AFTER
THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO.

Tuesday, June 20th, 1815. — Heard of the Emperor's
return to the Elysee Palace : placed myself in immediate
attendance there. Found Messrs. Montalambert and
Montholon there, brought by the same sentiment.

Napoleon had just lost a great battle ; so that the
safety of the nation thenceforth depended on the wisdom
and zeal of the Chamber of Representatives. The
Emperor, still covered with dust from the field of Water-
loo, was on the point of hurrying into the midst of them,
there to declare our dangers and resources, and to engage
that his personal interests should never be a barrier to

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 11

the happiness of France ; after which he intended to quit
Paris immediately. It is said that several persons dis-
suaded him from this step, by leading him to apprehend
an approaching ferment amongst the deputies.

It is as yet impossible to comprehend every report that
circulates with regard to this fatal battle : some say there
is manifest treason ; others, a fatality without example.
Thirty thousand men under Grouchy lost their way and
were too late, taking no part in the engagement ; the
army, victorious till the evening, was, it is said, suddenly
seized with a panic towards eight o'clock, and became
broken in an instant. It is another Crecy, another

Azincourt, !* every one trembles and thinks all

is lost !

THE ABDICATION.

21st.- — The best inteijtioned and most influential mem-
bers of the national representation have been tampered
with all last evening and all night, by certain persons,
who, if their word is to be taken, produce authentic docu-
ments and demi-official papers guaranteeing the safety of
France,, on condition of the mere abdication of the Em-
peror, as they pretend.

The above opinion had become so strong this morning
that it seemed irresistible : the president of the assembly,
the first men in the state, and the Emperor's particular

* I had put in the text une veritable Journee des Eperons,\ and
must not omit to state what led to its being expunged.

The Emperor who alone knew I kept a journal at St. Helena, one
day expressed a wish that I should read a few pages to him : on
coming to this expression, inadvertently thrown in, he suddenly-
exclaimed, " What have you done ! Erase, erase, sir, quickly ! Lhie
Journee des Eperons ! what a calumny ! Ah ! unfortunate army !
brave men ! you never fought better !" Then after a pause of a few
moments, he added in a tone expressive of deep feeling : — " We had
some base wretches amongst us ! May heaven forgive them ! But
as to France, will she ever recover from the effects of that ill-
fated day !"

t In allusion to the battle of Guinegatte, fought near Boulogne in 1513,
between the army of Henry VIII. and that of France. The French were
completely routed on this occasion, and the celebrated Bayard taken
piisoner while covering the retreat; this was so precipitate that the day
was ever after styled La Journee des Eferons (or day of spurs), because
as stated by contemporary historians, the French army made more use
of their spurs than lances. — Editor.

12" LAS cases' memoirs of

friends, come to supplicate him to save France by abdi*
eating. Though by no means convinced, yet the Em-
peror answers with magnanimity : — he abdicates !

This circumstance causes the greatest bustle round the
Elysee ; the multitude rushes towards the gate, and
testifies the deepest interest ; numbers penetrate within
the hall, while some even of the popular class scale the
walls ; some in tears, others in a state approaching to
distraction, crowd up to the Emperor, who is walking
tranquilly in the garden, and make offers of every descrip-
tion. Napoleon alone is calm, constantly replying that
they ought in future to employ this zeal and tenderness
for the good of their country.

I presented the deputation of Representatives, in the
course of the day : it came to thank the Emperor for his
devotedness to the national interests.

The documents and state-papers, which have produced
such a powerful sensation, and brought about the grand
event of this day, are said to be official communications
of Messrs. Fouche and Metternich, in which the latter
guarantees Napoleon II. and the regency, in case of the
abdication of the Emperor. These communications
must have been long carried on unknown to Napoleon.
M. Fouche must have a furious partiality for clandestine
operations. It is well known that his first disgrace,
which took place several years ago, arose from his having
opened some negotiations with England of his own ac-
cord, without the Emperor's knowledge : he has in fact
always shewn the greatest obliquity in affairs of moment.
God grant that his present mysterious acts do not prove
fatal to our country !

DEPUTATION OF THE CHAMBER OF PEERS.

CAULAINCOURT. FOUCHE.

22nd. — Went home to pass a few hours at my own
bouse : in the course of this day the deputation of the
Peers was presented : a portion of the Provisional Go-
vernment was named in the evening. Caulaincourt and
Fouche, who were of the number, happened to be with
us in the ante -chamber : we complimented the first on
his nomination, which was, indeed, only congratulating

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 13

ourselves on the public good : his reply was full of
alarm. " We applaud the choice hitherto known," said
we. '' It is certain/' observed Fouche, with an air of
levity, " that I am not suspected." — " If you had been,"
rudely rejoined the deputy Boulay de la Meurthe, who
was also present, " be assured we should not have
named you."

THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT PRESENTED TO
THE EMPEROR.

23 rd — 24th. The acclamations and interest without
continued at the Elysee. I presented the members of
the Provisional Government to the Emperor, who, in
dismissing them, directed the Duke Decres to see them
out. The Emperor's brothers, Joseph, Lucien, and
Jerome, were introduced frequently through the day,
and conversed with him for some time.

As usual, there was a great multitude of people col-
lected round the palace in the evening : their numbers
were constantly increasing. Their acclamations and
the interest shewn for the Emperor created considerable
uneasiness amongst the different factions. The fermen-
tation of the capital now became so great that Napo-
leon determined to depart on the following day.

THE EMPEROR QUITS THE ELYSEE.

25th. — 1 accompanied the Emperor to Malmaison,
and again requested permission to follow his future for-
tunes. My proposal seemed to create astonishment, for
I was still only known to him by my employments ; but
he accepted the offer.

26th. — My wife came to see me ; she had divined my
intentions : it became a somewhat delicate task to avow
them, and still more difficult to convince her of their
propriety. " My dear," said I, " in following the
dutiful dictates of my heart, it is consoling to reflect
that your interests are not thereby prejudiced. If Na-
poleon II. is to govern us, I leave you strong claims on
his protection ; should Heaven order it differently, I shall
have secured you a glorious as)dum, a name honoured
with some esteem. At all events we shall meet again.

14 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

at least in a better world," After tears and even re-
proaches, which could not but be gratifying, she con-
sented to my departure, exacting a promise however,
that I would allow her to join me without loss of time.
From this moment she manifested a courage and strength
of mind that would have animated myself in case of
necessity.

THE MINISTER OF MARINE COMES TO MALMAISON.

27th. — I went to Paris for a short time with the
minister of Marine, who came to Malmaison, on busi-
ness respecting the frigates destined for the Emperor.
He read me the instructions drawn out for the com-
manders, said his Majesty depended on my zeal, and
intended taking me with him ; adding, that he would
take care of my family during my absence.

Napoleon II. is proclaimed by the Legislature.

Sent for my son from his school, having determined
that he should accompany me. We prepared a small
parcel of clothes and linen, then proceeded to Malmaison,
accompanied by my wife, who returned immediately.
The road had now become rather unsafe, owing to the
approach of the enemy.

28th. — Being desirous of making some other arrange-
ments before our departure, the Duchess de Rovigo took
me and my son to Paris in her carriage. I found Messrs.
de Vertillac and de Quitry at my house ; these were the
last friends I embraced : they were terrified. The agi-
tation and uncertainty hourly increased in the capital,
for the enemy was at the gates. On reaching Malmai-
son, we saw the bridge cf Chatou in flames : guards
were posted round the palace, and it became prudent to
remain within the park walls. I went into the Empe-
ror's room, and described how Paris had appeared to
me ; stating the general opinion that Fouche openly
betrayed the National cause ; and that the hopes of all
patriots were that his Majesty would this very night
join the army who loudly called for him. The Emperor
listened to me with an air of deep thought, but made no
reply, and I withdrew soon after.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 15

NAPOLEON QUITS MALMAISON, AND DEPARTS FOR
ROCHEFORT.

29th — SOtli. — A cry of Long live the Emperor ! was
continually heard on the great road to Saint Germain ;
it proceeded from the troops who passed under the
walls of Malmaison.

Towards noon. General Becker came from Paris,
sent hy the Provisional government ; he told us, with
feelings of indignation, that he had received a commis-
sion to guard and watch Napoleon.*

* On my return to Europe, chance threw the following docu-
ments in my way, relative to the above circumstance. 1 transcribe
them here, because I believe they are unknown to the public.
They have been copied from the originals, and require no com-
mentary.

Copy of a letter from the Commission of Government to Mar-
shal Prince d'Eckmuhl, Minister at War.

Paris, June 27th, 1815,

Sir, — Such is the state of affairs that it is indispensable for Na-
poleon to decide on departing, and proceeding to the Isle of Aix.
If he does not determine to do so on your notifying to him the
annexed resolutions, you are to cause him to be watched at Mal-
maison, to prevent his escape. For this purpose, you will place a
requisite portion of gendarmerie and troops of the line at the dis-
posal of General Becker, so as to guard all the avenues leading to
Malmaison in every direction. You will give orders to the chief
inspector of gendarmerie to this effect. These measures must be
kept as secret as possible.

This letter is intended for yourself; but General Becker, who
will be charged with delivering the resolutions to Napoleon, will
receive particular instructions from your Excellency, and inform
Napoleon that they have been drawn up with a view to the interest
of the state, and for the safety of his person ; that their prompt
execution is indispensable ; and, finally, that his future interests
make them absolutely necessary.

(Signed) The Duke of Otranto.

Copy of the resolutions entered into by the Commission of Go-
vernment, extracted from the Minutes of the department of the
Secretary of State.

Paris, June 26th, 1815.
The Commission of Government resolves as follows :
Art. I. The Minister of Marine shall give orders for two frigates
to be prepared at Rochefort, to convey Napoleon Bonaparte to the
United States.

16 LAS cases' memoirs of

A sentiment the most base had dictated this choice :
Fouche knew that General Becker had a private pique

Art. II. Should he require it, a sufficient escort shall attend
liim to the place of embarkation under the orders of Lieutenant-
general Becker, who will be instructed to provide for his safety.

Art. III. The Director-general of Posts will, on his part, give
the necessary orders relative to the relays.

Art. IV. The Minister of Marine will issue the requisite orders
for insuring the immediate return of the frigates, after the disem-
barkation.

Art. v. The frigates are not to quit Rochefort before the arrival
of the safe- conducts.

Art. VI. The Ministers of Marine, War, and Finances, are each
charged with the execution of that part of the present resolutions
which concerns them respectively.

(Signed) The Duke of Otranto.

By order of the Commission of Government, the Assistant
Secretary of State. (Signed) Count Berlier.

Copy of the Duke of Otranto's letter to the Minister at War.

Paris, June 27th, 1815, at noon.
Sir, — I transmit to you a copy of the letter I have just written
to the Minister of Marine, relative to Napoleon. A perusal of it
will conyince you of the necessity of giving orders to General
Becker not to separate himself from the person of Napoleon, whilst
the latter remains in the roads of Aix.

(Signed) The Duke of Otranto.

Copy of the letter to the Minister of Marine alluded to in the
foregoing.

Paris, June 27th, 1815, noon.

Sir, — The Commission reminds you of the instructions it trans-
mitted to you an hour ago. The resolutions must be executed as
prescribed by the Commission yesterday; and according to which,
Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the roads of Aix until the
arrival of his passports.

The welfare of the State, which cannot be indifferent to him,
requires that he should remain there until his fate and that of liis
family bas been definitively regulated. Every means will be
employed to render the result of the negotiation satisfactory to
him. The honour of France is interested in it; but, in the mean
time, all possible precautions must be taken for the personal
security of Napoleon, and that he does not quit tbe place which is
temjDorarily assigned him.

The President of the Commission of Government.

(Signed) The Duke of Otranto.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 17

against the Emperor, and therefore did not doubt of
finding in the former a man disposed to vengeance ;
but he was grossly deceived in his expectations, for
Becker constantly shewed a degree of respect and at-
tachment to the Emperor highly honourable to his own
character. •

Meanwhile time pressed. When on the point of set-
ting out, the Emperor sent a message to the Provisional
Government, by General Becker, offering to place him-
self at the head of the army, merely as a private citizen,
adding, that, after having repulsed Blucher, he would
continue his route. On the refusal of this offer, we left
Malmaison ; the Emperor and a part of his suite taking
the road to Rochefort by Tours ; I and my son, with
Messieurs Montholon, Planat, and Resigny, proceeded
towards Orleans, as did also two or three other carriages.
We reached this place early on the 30th, and got to
Chatellerault at midnight.

Letter from the Minister at War to General Becker.
Paris, June 27th, 1815.

Sir, — I have the honour of transmitting to you the annexed
resolutions which the Commission of Government charges you to
notify to the Emperor Napoleon ; observing to his Majesty that
circumstances are so imperious as to make it indispensable he
should decide on setting out for the Isle of Aix. These reso-
lutions, observes the Commission, have been made as much for
the safety of his person, as for the interest of the state, which must
ever be dear to him.

If his Majesty does not make up his mind, on these resolutions
being notified to him, it is the intention of the Commission of
Government that the necessary steps shall be taken to prevent
the escape of his Majesty and every attempt against his person.

I have to repeat, General, that these resolutions have been
adopted for the interest of the state, and for the personal safety of
the Emperor ; also, that the Commission of Government considers
their prompt execution as indispensable for the future welfare of
his Majesty and his family.

I have the honour to be, Src.

N. B. The above letter remained without any signature ; at the
moment of sending it off, the Prince of Eckmuhl observed to his
secretary, " I will never sign this letter — sign it yourself, that will
be sufficient." The secretary found himself equally incapable of
putting his name to such a communication. Was it sent or not ?
— This is a point which I cannot decide.

VOL. I. C

18 LAS cases' memoirs of

July 1st — 2nd. We passed through Limoges on the
1 st, at four in the afternoon ; dined at Rochefoucault on
the *2nd, and reached Jarnac about seven. We slept
here, owing to the obstinacy of the postmaster, which
forced us to remain till next day.

3rd. — We could not set out before five o'clock. On
account of the misconduct of the postmaster, who, not
content with detaining us all night, had recourse to se-
cret means for keeping us still longer, we were obhged
to proceed at a slow pace to Cognac, where the post-
master and inhabitants received us very differently. It
was easy to perceive that our journey occasioned a great
deal of agitation amongst all parties. On reaching
Saintes, towards eleven o'clock, we nearly fell victims tO'
the fury of some miscreants, collected by an officer of the
royal guard, a native of that place. This person had
prepared an ambuscade for us, and had even laid a plan
for our assassination. We were arrested by the mob,
but a part of the national guard interfered, and conduc-
ted us as prisoners to an adjoining inn. It was said that
we were carrying off the treasures of the State, and
therefore merited death. Some of them, who pretended
to be the most distinguished inhabitants, and above all,
the women, were the most outrageous, and called for
our immediate execution.

We saw these females pass in succession before some
windows that were open near our temporary prison, in
order that their insults should not be lost upon us. It
will scarcely be credited that they went so far as to gnash
their teeth in sign of hatred, and from vexation at seeing
the indifference we displayed; yet they formed the
fashionable circle of Saintes ! Could Real be in the right,
when he told the Emperor, during the hundred days,
that as for Jacobins, he had reason to know^ something of
them ; protesting that the only difference between the
blacks and whites was that the former wore wooden
shoes and the latter silk stockings ?

Prince Joseph, who was passing through Saintes un-
known to us, came to increase the interest of our adven-
ture. He was also arrested, and conducted to the pre-
fecture ; but highly respected.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 19

The windows of the inn faced a large square, which
continued to be filled with an agitated and hostile rabble,
who were extremely violent and abusive. I found an
old acquaintance in the under-prefect, who was thus en-
abled to state who we were. The carriage in which we
travelled was next examined ; while we were ourselves
retained in a species of solitary confinement. I obtained
leave, however, to visit the Prince about four o'clock.

While on my way to the prefecture, and though
guarded by a non-commissioned officer, several indivi-
duals addressed me : some put notes secretly into my
hands ; others whispered something friendly ; while all
united in assuring me we might feel perfectly tranquil,
for the patriots and well-intentioned inhabitants would
protect us.

Towards the evening we were allowed to depart ; and
by this time things had so totally changed that we left
the inn amidst the most lively acclamations : females of
the lower classes, in tears, kissed our hands : many per-
sons offered to accompany us, that we might avoid the
enemies of the Emperor, who, they said, lay in v>^ait to
murder us, at a short distance from the town. This sin-
gular transition arose in some degree from the arrival of
numbers of country people and federates, who gave an
immediate turn to public opinion.

4th. — On approaching Rochefort we met a party of
gendarmerie, who, on the report of our reception at
Saintes, had been dispatched to meet us. We arrived
at this place about two o'clock in the morning : the
Emperor had reached it on the preceding evening.*
Prince Joseph arrived in the afternoon ; when I con-
ducted him to the Emperor.

I profited by the first moment of leisure to inform the
President of the Council of State why I absented myself.
"Rapid and important events," said I " obliged me to
quit Paris without the necessary leave of absence. The

* The following is the Emperor's Itinerary during the jour-
ney : — Left Paris on the 29th June, and slept at Rambouillet ; at
Tours on the 30th ; and at Niort on the 1st July. Left Niort on
the 2nd, and reached Rochefort on the 3rd ; remained there till the
8th; embarked on board the Bellerophon on the 15th.

c 2

20 LAS cases' memoirs op

peculiarity and importance of the case led to this irregu-
larity : being in attendance on the Emperor at the mo-
ment of his departure, it was impossible to see the great
man, who had governed us with so much splendour, and
who had banished himself to facilitate the tranquillity of
France, of whose power nothing now remains but its
glory and name ; — I repeat, that I could not allow him
to depart without yielding to the desire of following his
steps. During the days of his prosperity he condes-
cended to bestow some favours on me ; I now owe him
all that I can offer, whether of sentiment or of action."

5th — 7 th. At Rochefort, the Emperor laid aside his
military dress. He lived at the prefecture; numbers
were constantly grouped round the house ; and acclama-
tions continued to be frequently repeated. The Emperor
appeared two or three times at the balcony. Numerous
proposals were made to him, both by generals w^ho came
in person, and others who sent emissaries.

During our stay here the Emperor has led the same
sort of life as if at the Tuileries : we do not approach his
person more frequently : he scarcely receives any persons
but Bertrand and Savary 5 so that we are reduced to re-
ports and conjectures as to all that concerns him. It is,
how^ever, evident that, in the midst of this state of agi-
tation, he continues calm and resolute, even to indif-
ference, without manifesting the least anxiety.

A lieutenant of our navy, who commands a Danish
merchant- ship, has generously offered to save the Em-
peror. He proposes to take him on board alone ; en-
gages to conceal his person in such a way that it will
escape the severest scrutiny ; and, moreover, will imme-
diately set sail for the United States. He demands but
a small sum by way of indemnifying his owners for any
loss they may sustain through his enterprize. Bertrand
agrees, under certain conditions, which he has drawn out
in my name. I have signed this fictitious bargain in
presence and under the eyes of the maritime prefect.

EMBARKATION OF THE EMPEROR.

8th. — The Emperor proceeded to Fourras in the eve-
ning, followed by the acclamations of the people wherever

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 21

he passed. He slept on board the Saal,* which he reach-
ed about eight o'clock. I did not arrive till a much later
hour, having had to accompany Madame Bertrand in
another boat, and from a different point.

.9th. — I attended the Emperor, who disembarked at
an early hour in the Isle of Aix : he visited all the forti-
fications, and returned on board to breakfast.

10th. — I was dispatched towards the British cruisers,
with the Duke de Rovigo, early in the morning, to know
whether they had received the passes, which had been
promised to us by the Provisional Government, to pro-
ceed to the United States. The answer was, that they
had not ; but that the matter should be instantly referred
to the Commander-in-chief. Having stated the supposi-
tion of the Emperor's setting sail with the frigates under
flags of truce ; it was replied, that they would be attack-
ed. We then spoke of his passage in a neutral ship ;
and were told, in reply, that all neutrals would be strictly
examined, and, perhaps, even carried into an English
port ; but we were recommended to proceed to England ;
and it was asserted that in that country we should have
no ill usage to fear. We returned at two in the after-
noon.

The Bellerophon, having followed, soon after anchored
in Basque Roads, in order to be nearer to us ; so that
the ships of both nations were now in view of, and very
near, each other.

On reaching the Bellerophon, the captain addressed
us in French : I was not eager to inform him that I
knew something of his own language. Some expres-
sions which passed between him and his officers might
have injured the negotiation, had I seemed to understand
them. When, a short time after, it was asked, whether
we understood English, I allowed the Duke of Rovigo
to reply in the negative. Our situation was quite suf-
ficient to remove any scruples I might have otherwise
entertained, and rendered this little deception very par-
donable. I only mention this circumstance, because, as
I remained a fortnight amongst these people, I was

* The name of one of the frigates destined to receive Napoleon
on board- — Ed.

22 LAS cases' memoirs op

compelled to impose a tiresome restraint upon myself,
to avoid disclosing what I had concealed in the first
instance. In fact, though I could read the language
with facility, yet, owing to an absence of thirteen years
and consequent want of practice, it was with consider-
able difficulty I understood English when spoken.

11th. — All the outlets being blockaded by English
ships of w^ar, the Emperor seemed extremely uncertain
as to what plan he should pursue. Neutral vessels,
and chasse-rnarees* manned by young naval officers,
were suggested for his conveyance ; propositions also
continued to be made fi-om the interior.

1 2th. — The Emperor disembarked at the Isle of Aix,
amidst cries of exultation on every side. He quitted^
the frigates in consequence of the Commandant's having
refused to sail ; whether from weakness of character, or
owing to his having received fresh orders from the Pro-
visional Government, is not known. Many were of
opiniion that the attempt might be made with some pro-
bability of success ; but it must be allowed that the
winds still continued unfavourable.

13th. — Prince Joseph visited his brother in the course
of the day. Towards eleven at night the Emperor was
on the point of embarking in one of the chasse marees ;
two sailed, having on board a great part of his luggage
and several of his attendants. M. de Planat was in one
of them.

14th. — I returned to the Bellerophon at four in the
morning, accompanied by General Lallemand, to ascer-
tain whether any answer had been received. The Cap-
tain told us he expected it every moment ; adding, that
if the Emperor would embark immediately for England,
he had instructions to convey him thither. He farther
declared it as his private opinion, and several captains
w^ho were present expressed themselves to the same ef-
fect, that there was not the least doubt of Napoleon's
meeting with all possible respect and good treatment :
that there, neither the king nor his ministers exercised
the same arbitrary authority as those of the Continent :

* Small vessels, not unlike luggers, and usually employed as
coasting-vessels in France. — Ed.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 23

that the English people possessed a generosity of senti-
ment, and liberality of opinion, superior to sovereignty
itself. I replied that I would return and communicate
the Captain's offer to the Emperor, as well as the whole
of his conversation. I added that I thought I had a
sufficient knowledge of the Emperor Napoleon's charac-
ter to induce a belief that he would not feel much hesi-
tation in proceeding to England thus confidentially, so
as to be able to continue his voyage to the United States.
I described all France, south of the Loire, as being in a
blaze, and the hopes of the people as constantly turning
towards Napoleon, as long as he was present ; stated
the propositions hourly made to him from various di-
rections ; his determination not to become either the
cause or pretext of a civil war ; the generosity she^vn by
him in abdicating, merely to render the conclusion of a
peace more easy ; and the firm resolution he had taken
to banish himself, in order to make it more prompt and
complete.

General Lallemand, who, from having been con-
demned to death, was interested on his own account in
the determination that might be made, asked Captain
Maitland, whom he formerly knew in Egypt, and whose
prisoner I think he had been, if persons implicated':;in the
civil dissensions of his country, like himself, and going
thus voluntarily to England, had any reason to fear being
ever delivered up to France ? The Captain replied that
they had not : repelling the doubt as an insult. Pre-
viously to our separating, the conference was summed up,
by my repeating that it was possible, from the state of
affairs, and his own intentions, that the Emperor would
avail himself of Captain Maitland's offer, so as to get
safe-conducts for America. The latter begged it to be
understood thafe he would not guarantee the permission
we demanded being granted ; upon which we departed.
To say the truth, I did not myself think it would be
given ; but the Emperor, wishing to lead a life of tran-
quillity in future, had resolved to be a stranger to politi-
cal concerns ; we therefore considered the probability of
not being allowed to leave England, without much un-
easiness ; but our fears and conjectures went no farther.

24 ' LAS cases' memoirs of

It is very likely that Captain Maitland was of the same
opinion : at all events, I will do him, as well as the
other officers, the justice to believe they were honest
and sincere in the account they gave us of the senti-
ments of the people of England.

We reached the island at eleven o'clock ; meanwhile
the storm approached, and time became precious : it was
necessary to decide one way or another. The Emperor
having assembled us in a sort of council, all the chances
of escape were discussed : that of the Danish vessel
seemed impracticable, and the chasse-marees were no
longer thought of ; the English cruisers were not to be
forced; so that there seemed only two alternatives —
either to renew the war, or to accept the offers of Cap-
tain Maitland : the latter was chosen. On reaching the
Bellerophon, we said, we shall be at once on British
ground ; the English will then find themselves bound
by the ties of hospitality, which are held sacred amongst
the most barbarous nations ; we shall also be under the
civil rights and privileges of the country. The people of
England will not be so insensible to their glory as not
to seize so fortunate a circumstance with avidity : upon
this, Napoleon wrote the following letter to the Prince
Regent.

*' Royal Highness — Exposed to the factions which
divide my country, and to the hostility of the greatest
powers of Europe, I have closed my political career. I
come, like Themistocles, to seek the hospitality of the
British nation. I place myself under the protection of
their laws, which I claim from your Royal Highness, as
the most powerful, the most constant, and the most
generous, of my enemies.

(Signed) " Napoleon."

I set out about four o'clock, with my son and General
Gourgaud, to go on board the Bellerophon, whence I
was not again to return. My mission was to announce
that his Majesty would come on the following morning ;
and, moreover, to deliver the letter above quoted to Cap-
tain Maitland. General Gourgaud was commissioned to

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 25

cany the Emperor's letter to the Prince Regent imme-
diately, and to present it in person. Captain Maitland
read Napoleon's letter, which he greatly admired. Two
other captains were permitted to take copies of it, to be
kept secret till the letter should he made public ; after
which no time was lost in despatching Gourgaud in the
Slaney, a sloop of war, forming part of the squadron.

Soon after the Slaney had parted company with the
Bellerophon, and while I was seated in the captain's cabin
of the latter with my son, Captain Maitland, who had
gone to issue some orders, suddenly entered, and with a
countenance expressive of deep concern, exclaimed,
" Count Las Cases, I am deceived when I treat with you.
The consequence of detaching one of my ships is, as I
have just heard, that Napoleon has escaped. Should this
be the case, it will place me in a dreadful situation with
my Government." These words startled me ; I would
have given the world had they been true. The Emperor
had made no engagement ; I was perfectly sincere ; and
would, therefore, most willingly have become the victim
of an event of which I was quite innocent. I asked
Captain Maitland, with the utmost coolness, at what
hour the Emperor was said to have set out. He had
been so astonished that he had not given himself time
to inquire ; but went out again to ascertain this point ;
and on returning, said, " At twelve o'clock." If that be
the case, I replied, the Slaney's departure can do no
harm, as you have only just sent her away ; but do not
be uneasy, for I left the Emperor in the Isle of Aix at
four o'clock. " Do you assure me of that?" said he.
On my repeating the assertion, he turned to some officers
who were with him, and observed, in English, that the
intelligence must be false, as I was too calm, and seemed
to be sincere ; and that I had, besides, pledged my word
on the subject.

The English cruisers had numerous sources of in-
formation on our coast : I was subsequently enabled to
ascertain that they were minutely informed of all our
proceedings.*

* While on our passage to St Helena, Admiral Cockburn
placed his library at our disposal. One of our party in turning

26 LAS cases' memoirs op

Nothing was now thought of but preparing for the
next day. Captain Maitland having asked whether I
wished his boats to be sent for the Emperor, I repKed,
that the separation was too painful for the French sea-
men, not to let them have the satisfaction of attending
him to the last moment.

EMBARKATION OF NAPOLEON ON BOARD THE
BELLEROPHON.

15th. — At daylight, one of our brigs, the Epervier,
was seen under weigh, and coming towards the Bellero-
phon, having a flag of truce flying. Both wind and tide
being contrary. Captain Maitland sent his barge to meet
her. Seeing the boat return, the Captain was extremely
anxious to discover, with his spy -glass, whether the
Emperor was on board ; he frequently begged that I
would look myself, but I could not as yet reply with
certainty : at length the matter was placed beyond far-
ther doubt, as the Emperor came alongside suiTounded
by aU his attendants. I stood at the gangway to pre-
sent Captain Maitland, to whom he said, " I come on
board your ship, to place myself under the protection of
the laws of England." — The Captain then led him into
his cabin, of which the Emperor was immediately put in
possession. All the officers of the Bellerophon were
presented to him soon after ; this ceremony over, he
came out of the cabin, and visited every part of the ship
during the morning. I related the alarm felt by Cap-
over the leaves of a volume of the Encyclopoedia Britannica, found
a letter from La Rochelle, addressed to the commanding officer
of the English squadron : it contained, word for word, the whole
of our affair relative to the Danish ship ; the moment of her pro-
jected departure, future intentions, &c. We passed this letter
from hand to hand, taking care that it should be replaced where
first discovered. It gave us very little information ; we were
aware of the understanding which existed both in and out of
France, but were desirous of seeing a proof of it so much to the
point. How did this letter happen to get on board the Northum-
berland? Captain Maitland had doubtless, when transferring us
to that ship, also delivered up the documents concerning our cap-
ture. This was the letter which occasioned so much alarm on the
part of the Captain, relative to the supposed escape of the Empe-
ror, soon after my embarkation.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. §7

tain Maitland the preceding evening, relative to his
escape ; the Emperor did not see the matter in the light
in which it had appeared to me — "What had he to
fear ?" he asked, in an emphatic and dignified manner —
" were not you in his power ?"

Towards three o'clock, the Superb, a seventy-four gxin
ship, bearing the flag of Rear - Admiral Hotham, the
Commander on the station, anchored close to the Belle-
rophon. The Admiral came to visit the Emperor, and
remained to dinner. From the questions asked by Na-
poleon relative to his ship, he expressed a wish to know
whether his Majesty would condescend to go on board
the following day ; upon which the Emperor said he
had no objection, and would therefore breakfast with
the Admiral accompanied by all his attendants.

16th. — Attended the Emperor on board the Superb ;
all the honours^, except those of firing cannon, were libe-
rally paid ; we went round the ship, and examined the
most trifling objects ; every thing seemed to be in admi-
rable order. Admiral Hotham evinced, throughout, all
the refinement and grace of a man of rank and educa-
tion. On our return to the Bellerophon, she got under
weigh, and made sail for England : this event took place
twelve days after our departure from Paris. It was
almost a calm.

On our leaving the Bellerophon in the morning to
visit the Superb, the Emperor stopped short in front of
the guard drawn up on the quarter-deck to salute him.
He made them perform several movements, giving the
word of command himself; having desired them to
charge bayonets, and perceiving that this motion was
not performed altogether in the French manner, he ad-
vanced into the midst of the soldiers, put the weapons
aside with his hands, and seized a musquet from one of
the rear rank, with w^hich he went through the exercise
himself, according to our method. A sudden movement
and change of countenance amongst the officers and
others who were present, sufficiently expressed their
astonishment at seeing the Emperor thus carelessly place
himself amidst English bayonets, some of which came in
contact with his person. This circumstance produced a

28 LAS CASES* MEMOIRS OF

most striking effect. On returning from the Superb,
we were indirectly questioned on the subject, and asked
whether the Emperor ever acted in the same way with
his own soldiers ; while the greatest surprise was ex-
pressed at his confidence. Not one amongst the officers
had formed any idea of sovereigns who could thus ex-
plain and execute their own commands ; it was therefore
easy to perceive that they had no just conception of the
personage now before them, notwithstanding his having
been so marked an object of attention and curiosity for
above twenty years.

17th — 18th. Though nearly a calm, we lost sight of
land.

19th. — The wind being very strong, though not fa-
vourable, we proceeded at the rate of nine miles an
hour.

20th — 22d. We continued our course, with winds
that were by no means favourable.

The Emperor had not been long amongst his most inve-
terate enemies, those who had been continually fed with
rumours no less absurd than irritating, before he ac-
quired all the influence over them which belongs to
glory. The captain, officers, and crew, soon adopted the
etiquette of his suite, shewing him exactly the same atten-
tion and respect ; the Captain addressed him either as
Sire or your Majesty ; when he appeared on deck, every
one took off his hat, and remained uncovered while he
was present — this was not the case at first. There was
no entering his cabin, except by passing the attendants :
no persons but those who were invited appeared at his
table. Napoleon was, in fact, an Emperor, on board the
Bellerophon. He often appeared on deck, conversing
either with some of his suite or the officers of the ship.

Of all those who had accompanied the Emperor, I
was perhaps the person of whom he knew the least ; it
has already been seen that, notwithstanding my employ-
ments near his person, I had enjoyed but little immediate
intercourse with Napoleon ; since our leaving Paris he
had scarcely spoken to me, but I was now addressed very
frequently.

The occasion and circumstances were highly favourable

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 29

to me : I was sufficiently acquainted with the Enghsh
language to be able to give various explanations as to
what was passing around us. I had been in the navy,
and could afford the Emperor any information he requi-
red relative to the manoeuvres of the ship, and state of
the weather. I had been ten years in England, and had
formed definite notions of the laws, manners, and cus-
toms of the people ; which enabled me to reply to the
Emperor's questions with facility. My Historical Atlas,
too, had stored my mind with a number of facts, dates,
and coincidences, upon which he always found me pre-
pared to answer.

A part of my time was occupied in drawing up the
following summary of our situation at Rochefort, and
the ideas which had influenced the determination of the
Emperor. Hence I had precise and authentic data to
judge from.

SUMMARY DICTATED BY NAPOLEON HIMSELF.

The English squadron was not strong : there were two
sloops of war off Bordeaux, they blockaded a French
corvette, and gave chace to American vessels which sail-
ed daily in great numbers. At the Isle of Aix we had
two frigates well armed ; the Vulcan corvette, one of the
largest vessels of its class, and a large brig, lay in the
roads : the whole of this force was blockaded by an En-
glish seventy-four of the smallest class, and an indiffe-
rent sloop or two. There is not the least doubt that by
risking the sacrifice of one or two of our ships, vv^e should
have passed, but the senior captain was deficient iii
resolution, and refused to sail ; the second in command
was quite determined, and would have made the attempt:
the former had probably received secret instructions
from Fouche, who already openly betrayed the Emperor,
and wanted to give him up. However that may be, there
was nothing to be done by sea. The Emperor then
landed at the Isle of Aix.

" Had the mission been confided to Admiral Verhuel,"
said Napoleon, " as was promised on our departure
from Paris, it is probable that he would have sailed."
The officers and crews of both frigates were full of

30 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

attachment and enthusiasm. The garrison of Aix was
composed of fifteen hundred seamen, forming a very fine
regiment ; the officers were so indignant at the frigate
not saihng, that they proposed to fit out two chasse-
marees of fifteen tons' each : the midshipmen wished to
navigate them ; but, when on the point of putting this
plan into execution, it was said there would be great
difficulty in gaining the American coast without touch-
ing at some point of Spain or Portugal.

Under these circumstances the Emperor composed a
species of council, from amongst the persons of his suite :
here it was represented that we could no longer calculate
on the frigates or other armed vessels ; that the chasse-
marees held out no probable chance of success, and
could only lead to capture by the English cruisers in the
open sea, or to falling into the hands of the allies : only
two alternatives remained; to proceed towards the
interior, once more to try the fate of arms ; or to seek
an asylum in England. To follow up the first, there
v/ere fifteen hundred seamen, full of zeal and willing to
act : the commandant of the Island was an old officer of
the army of Egypt, entirely devoted to Napoleon : the
Emperor would have proceeded at the head of these to
Rochefort, where the corps would have been increased
by the garrison, which was also extremely well disposed :
the garrison of La Rochelle, composed of four battalions
of federated troops, had offered their services : with
these we might then have joined General Clausel, so
firmly fixed at the head of the army at Bordeaux, or
General Lamarque, who had performed prodigies, with
that of La Vendee; both these officers expected and
wished to see Napoleon': it would have been very easy
to maintain a civil war in the interior. But Paris was
taken, and the Chambers had been dissolved; there
were, besides, from five to six hundred thousand of the
enemy's troops in France : a civil war could therefore
have no other result than leading to the destruction of
all these generous men who were attached to Napoleon.
This loss would have been severe and irreparable : it
would have destroyed the future resources of the nation,
without producing any other advantage than placing the

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 31

Emperor in a position to treat and obtain stipulations
favourable to his interests. But Napoleon had renounced
sovereignty; he only wanted a tranquil asylum; he
abhorred the thought of seeing all his friends perish to
attain so trifling a result ; he was equally averse to be-
come the pretext for the provinces being ravaged ; and
above all, he did not wish to deprive the national party
of its truest supports, which would sooner or later re-
establish the honour and independence of France. Na-
poleon's only wish was to live as a private individual in
future : America was the most proper place, and that of
his choice. But even England, with its positive laws,
might also answer ; and it appeared, from the nature of
my first interview with Captain Maitland, that the latter
was empowered to convey the Emperor and suite to
England to be equitably treated. From this moment
we were under the protection of British laws ; and the
people of England were too fond of glory to lose an
opportunity which thus presented itself, and that ought
to have formed the proudest page of their history. It
was therefore resolved to surrender to the English cnii-
sers, as soon as Captain Maitland should positively de-
clare his orders to receive us. On renewing the negoti-
ation, he clearly stated that he had the authority of his
Government to receive the Emperor, if he would come
on board the Bellerophon, and to convey him, as well as
his suite, to England. Napoleon went on board, not that
he was constrained to it by events, since he could have
remained in France ; but because he wished to live as a
private individual, would no longer meddle with public
affairs, and had determined not to embroil those of
France. He would, most assuredly, not have adopted
this plan had he suspected the unworthy treatment
which v\^as preparing for him, as every body will readily
feel convinced. His letter to the Prince Regent fully
explains his confidence and persuasion on the subject.
Captain Maitland, to whom it was officially communica-
ted before the Emperor embarked on board his ship,
having made no remarks on the above document, had,
by this circumstance alone, recognized and sanctioned
the sentiments it contained.

32 LAS cases' memoirs op

23rd. — Saw Ushant at four in the morning, having
passed it in the night. From the moment of approach-
ing the Channel, ships of the hne and frigates were seen
saihng in various directions. The coast of England was
discovered towards evening.

24th. — We anchored at Torbay about eight in the
morning ; the Emperor 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 which he
required.

Captain Maitland immediately despatched a messenger
to Lord Keith, the Commander-in-chief at Plymouth.
General Gourgaud rejoined us : he had been obliged to
give up the letter for the Prince Regent ; he had not
only been refused permission to land, but prohibited
from all communication. This was a bad omen, and the
first indication of those numberless tribulations which
followed.

No sooner had it transpired that the Emperor was on
board the Bellerophon, than the bay was covered with
vessels and boats full of people. The owner of a beau-
tiful country-seat in sight of the ship sent his Majesty a
present of various kinds of fruits.

25th. — The concourse of boats and crowds of specta-
tors continued without intermission. The Emperor saw
them from the cabin windows and occasionally shewed
himself on deck. On returning from the shore. Captain
Maitland handed me a letter from Lady C, enclosing
another from my wife. My surprise was extreme, and
not less than my satisfaction ; but the former ceased
when I reflected that the length of the passage had given
the French papers time to transmit an account of what
had occurred to a considerable distance, so that what-
ever related to the Emperor and his suite was already
known in England, where we had even been expected
for five or six days before. My wife hastened to address
Lady C. on the subject, and the latter wrote to Captain
Maitland, to whom she enclosed my letters, without
knowing him.

My wife's letter bespoke feelings of tender affliction ;
but that of Lady C, who, from being in London, had

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 33

learned our future destiny, was full of reproaches — " I
was not my own master, thus to dispose of myself ;
it was a crime to abandon- my wife and children,"
&c. Melancholy result of our modern systems of edu-
cation, which tend so little to elevate our minds that we
cannot conceive either the merit or charm of heroic reso-
lutions and sacrifices ! We think that all has been said,
and every plea justified, when the danger of private in-
terests and domestic enjoyments is put forward, — little
imagining that the first duty towards a wife is to place
her in a situation of honour, and that the richest inheri-
tance we can leave our children is the example of some
virtues, and a name to which a little true glory is
attached.

26th. — Orders had arrived in the night for the ship
to repair immediately to Plymouth : having sailed at an
early hour, we reached our new destination at four
o'clock in the afternoon, ten days after our departure
from Rochefort, twenty-seven after quitting Paris, and
thirty-five from the Emperor's abdication. Our horizon
became greatly overcast from this day- Armed boats
were placed round the ship 3 those whom curiosity had
attracted were driven away, even by firing musquetry at
them. Lord Keith, who was in the bay, did not come
on board. Two frigates made the signal for sailing im-
mediately ; we were told that a courier extraordinary had
brought dispatches for a distant quarter. In the morn-
ing, some of our party were distributed amongst other
vessels. Every visage seemed now to look at us with a
sullen interest ; the most sinister reports had reached the
ship ; several destinations were mentioned, each more
frightful than the other.

Imprisonment in the Tower of London was the least
terrific, and some spoke of St. Helena. Meanwhile the
two frigates, which had greatly excited my attention,
got under weigh, though the wind was contrary for leav-
ing the roadstead, stood towards us, and anchored on
each side, nearly touching the Bellerophon. Upon this,
some person whispered to me that these ships were to
receive us in the course of the night, and to sail for St.
Helena.

VOL. I. D

S4 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

Never can I portray the effect of these terrible words !
A cold sweat overspread my whole frame : it was an un-
expected sentence of death ! Unpitying executioners had
seized me : I was torn from all that attached me to life.
I extended my arms sorrowfully towards those who were
dear to me, but in vain ; my fate was inevitable ! This
thought, together with a crowd of others which arose in
equal disorder, excited a real tempest of the mind. It
was like the struggle of a soul that sought to disengage
itself from its earthly habitation ! It turned my hair

grey ! Fortunately the crisis was short, and, as it

happened, the mind came forth triumphant ; so much so,
indeed, that from this moment I seemed above the world.
I felt that I could thenceforth defy injustice, ill treat-
ment, and sufferings. Above all, I vowed that neither
complaints nor solicitations should escape me. But let
not those of my companions, to whom I appeared tran-
quil in those fatal circumstances, accuse me of being de-
ficient in feeling ! Their agony was prolonged in detail —
mine operated all at once.

One of those coincidences, not the least extraordinary
of my life, recurred to my thoughts soon after. Twenty
years before, and during my emigration to England,
without possessing any worldly goods, I had refused to
seek a certain fortune in India, because it was too remote,
and I thought myself too old. Now, when twenty years
older, I was about to quit my family, friends, fortune,
and enjoyments, to become a voluntary exile two thou-
s^and miles off, in the midst of the ocean, for nothing .
But no, I am mistaken ! the sentiment that now impel-
led me was infinitely superior to the riches I then dis-
dained : I accompanied him who had governed the world,
and will occupy the attention of posterity.

The Emperor continued to appear on deck as usual. I
sometimes saw him in his cabin, but without communi-
cating what I had heard : I wished to console him, and
not to be his tormentor. The reports had, however,
reached him : but he had come so freely and confidently
on board the Bellerophon ; he had been so strongly
invited by the English themselves ; he so completely
regarded his letter to the Prince Regent, transmitted

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. oO

before-hand to Captain Maitland, as so many tacit con-
ditions ; he had, in fact, acted with such magnanimity
throughout the proceeding, that he repelled with indig-
nation all the fears which were attempted to be excited
in him, not even permitting those around him to enter-
tain doubts.

. '27th — 28th. It w^ould be difficult to describe our
torments and anxiety at this moment : most of us were
dumb and inanimate. The least circumstance which
transpired from the shore — an opinion, however unim-
portant, expressed on board — an unmeaning paragraph
in a daily paper, became the subjects of our most serious
arguments, and the cause of perpetual oscillations between
our hopes and fears. The most trifling reports were
sought with avidity; whoever appeared was urged to
give a favourable version of deceitful anticipations : so
little do the ardour and activity of our national character
contribute to endow us with that stoical resignation, that
imperturbable composure, which can only be acquired
from settled principles and positive doctrines imbibed
from early infancy.

The public papers, particularly those of the ministerial
side, were let loose against us ; it was the outcry of the
Ministers preparing the blow they were about to strike.
It would not be easy to form an idea of the horrors,
falsehoods, and imprecations accumulated on our heads ;
and there is always a portion communicated to the mul-
titude, however well disposed it may be, so that the
demeanour of those around us became less easy, while
their politeness became embarrassed and their counte-
nances more reserved.

Lord Keith, after announcing himself for some time
before, had only just made his appearance. It was evi-
dent that our company was shunned, our conversation
avoided. The papers contained an account of the mea-
sures which were about to be taken ; but, as nothing
ptlicial had appeared, and there was some contradiction
in the details, we were induced to flatter ourselves as to
the final result : thus remaining in that state of suspense
and uncertainty which is worse than a knowledge of tiie
most painful truths. Nevertheless, our arrival in Eng-

D 2

36

LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

land had produced a singular sensation : the presence of
the Emperor excited a curiosity bordering on delirium.
It was the papers themselves that informed us of the
circumstance, while they condemned it. All England
seemed to hurry towards Plymouth. A person who had
left London, on hearing of my arrival, was obliged to
stop on the road for want of post-horses and accommo-
dation. The Sound was covered with an immense
number of boats ; for some of which, as we heard, above
fifty pounds had been paid.

The Emperor, to whom I read all the newspapers, did
not betray any decrease of composure either by his con-
versation or general habits. It was known that he al-
ways appeared on deck towards five o'clock. A short
time before this hour, all the boats collected alongside
of each other ; there were thousands ; and so closely
connected that the water could no longer be seen between
them ; they looked more like a multitude assembled in a
public square ,than any thing else. When the Emperor
came out, the noise and gestures of so many people pre-
sented a most striking spectacle : it was, at the same
time, very easy to perceive that nothing hostile was
meant, and that if curiosity had brought them, they felt
interested on going away ; we could even see that the
latter sentiment continued to increase ; — at first people
merely looked towards the ship, they ended by saluting;
some remained uncovered, and occasionally went so far
as to cheer.; Even our symbols began to appear amongst
them. Several persons of both sexes came decorated
with red carnations, but this was only turned to oui-
detriment in the eyes of the Ministry and its partisans,
so that it rendered our agony more poignant.

It was under these circumstances that the Emperor,
who, notwithstanding his calm demeanor, could not help
being struck by what he heard, dictated a paper to me,
worthy of serving as a model to jurists, discussing and
defending his real political situation ; we found means
of conveying it on shore, but I have kept no copy.

MINISTERIAL DECISION.

29th — 30th. A report had circulated, during the
two previous days, that an under - secretary of state

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 37

■was coming from London to notify the resolutions of the
Ministers with respect to the Emperor, officially- Ac-
cordingly he appeared ; it was Sir Charles Bunbury : he
came on board, accompanied by Lord Keith, and deli-
vered a dispatch ordering the removal of the Emperor
to St. Helena, and limiting the number of persons who
were to accompany Napoleon to three, excluding, how-
ever, the Duke de Rovigo and General Lallemand, com-
prised in the list of proscribed.

I was not called before the Emperor. The bearers of
his sentence spoke and understood French ; they were
admitted alone. I have since heard that he objected
and protested, with no less energy than logic, against
the violence exercised on his person. "He was the
guest of England," said he, " and not her prisoner ;
he came of his own accord to place himself under the
protection of her laws ; the most sacred rights of hospi-
tality were violated in his person ; he would never sub-
mit voluntarily to the outrage with which they threaten-
ed him ; violence alone should oblige him to do so, &c.'*
The Emperor gave me the ministerial document to
translate for him, of which the following is a copy :

COMMUNICATION MADE BY LORD KEITH, IN THE NAME
OF THE ENGLISH MINISTERS.

'^ As it may, perhaps, be convenient for General
Buonaparte to learn, without farther delay, the inten-
tions of the British Government with regard to him,
your Lordship will communicate the following inform-
ation :

*' It would be inconsistent with our duty towards our
country and the allies of his Majesty, if General Buona-
parte possessed the means of again disturbing the repose
of Europe. It is on this account that it becomes abso-
lutely necessary he should be restrained in his personal
liberty, so far as this is required by the foregoing im-
portant object.

" The island of St. Helena has been chosen as his
future residence ; its climate is healthy, and its local
position will allow of his being treated with more indul-
gence than could be admitted in any other spot, owing

38 LAS cases' memoirs op-

to the indispensable precautions which it would be ne^
cesssary to employ for the security of his person.

'* General Buonaparte is allowed to select amongst
those persons who accompanied him to England (M^tli
the exception of Generals Savary and Lallemand) three
officers, who, together with his surgeon, will have per-
mission to accompany him to St. Helena; these indivi-
duals will not be allowed to quit the island without the
sanction of the British Government.

" Rear-Adm.iral Sir George Cockburn, who is named
Gommander-in-chief at the Cape of Good Hope and
seas adjacent, will convey General Buonaparte and his
suite to St. Helena ; and he will receive detailed instruc-
tions relative to the execution of this service.

" Sir G. Cockburn will, most probably, be ready to
sail in a few days ; for which reason it is desirable that
General Buonaparte should make choice of the persons
who are to accompany him without delay."

Although we expected our transportation to St. He-
lena, we were deeply affected by its announcement : it
threw us all into a state of consternation. The Empe-
ror did not, however, fail to appear on deck as usual,
with the same countenance ; and, as before, calmly sur-
veyed the crowds which seemed so eager to see him.

31st. — Our situation had now become truly frightful ;
our sufferings beyond every power of description ; our
existence was about to cease with regard to Europe,
our country, families, and friends, as well as our enjoy-
ments and habits. It is true, we were not forced to fol-
low the Emperor ; but our choice was that of martyrs ;
the question was a renunciation of faith, or death.
Another circumstance was added, which greatly increased
our torments ; this was the exclusion of Generals Sa-
vary and Lallemand, whom it struck with the utmost
terror -, they saw nothing but a scaffold before them, and
felt persuaded that the Ministers of England, making no
distinction between the political acts of a revolution,
and crimes committed in a moment of tranquillity,
would give them up to their enemies to be sacrificed. Thi$

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.

39

would have been such an outrage on all law, such an
opprobrium for England herself, that one might have
been almost tempted to dare her to it : but it was only
for those VN^ho were included in the same proscription to
talk thus. At all events, we did not hesitate to desire
that each of us might be amongst those whom the Em-
peror would choose ; entertaining but one fear, that of
finding ourselves excluded.

August 1st. — We still continued in the same state. I
received a letter from London, in which it was strongly
urged that I should be extremely w^rong, nay that it
would even be a crime to expatriate myself. The per-
son who thus wrote also addressed Captain Maitland,
begging he would assist by his efforts and counsel to dis-
suade me from such a resolution. But I stopped him
short, by observing that, at my age, people generally
acted on reflection.

I read the papers every day to the Emperor. Whe-
ther "influenced by generosity, or that opinions began to
be divided, there were two amongst the number that
pleaded our cause with great warmth, compensating in
some measure for the gross falsehoods and scurrilous
abuse with which the others were filled. We gave our-
selves up to the hope that the hatred inspired by an
enemy would be succeeded by the interest which splen-
did actions ought naturally to excite ; that England
abounded in noble hearts and elevated minds, which
would indubitably become our ardent advocates.

The number of boats increased daily. Napoleon con-
tinued to appear at his usual hour, and the reception
became more and more flattering.

Numbers of every rank and condition had followed
the Emperor; he was still, with regard to most of us,
as if at the Tuileries ; the Grand Marshal and Duke de
Rovigo alone saw him habitually. Some had not ap-
proached or spoken to him more frequently than if we
had been at Paris. I was called during the day. when-
ever there were any papers or letters to translate, until
the Emperor insensibly contracted the habit of sending
for me every evening towards eight o'clock, to converse
with him a short time.

40 LAS cases' memoirs of

In the conversation of this evening, and after touching
on various other subjects, he asked me whether I would
accompany him to St. Helena. I replied with the great-
est frankness, rendered more easy by my real sentiments,
observing to his Majesty that, in quitting Paris, I had
disregarded every chance ; and that therefore St. Helena
had nothing which could make it an exception. There
were, however, a great many of us round his person^,
while only three were permitted to go out. As some
people considered it a crime in me to leave my family, it
w^as necessary with regard to the latter, and my own
conscience, to know that I could be useful and agreeable
to him — that, in fact, I required to be chosen ; but that
this last observation did not spring from any concealed
motive, for my life was henceforth at his disposal with-
out any restriction.

While thus engaged, Madame Bertrand, without hav-
ing been called, and even without announcing her name,
rushed into the cabin, and in a frantic manner, entreat-
ed the Emperor not to go to St. Helena, nor take her
husband with him. But observing the astonishment,
coolness, and calm answer of Napoleon, she ran out as
precipitately as she had entered. The Emperor, still
surprised, turned to me and said, " Canyon comprehend
all this ? Is she not mad ?" A moment afterwards loud
shrieks were heard, and every body seemed to be run-
ning tow^ards the stern of the ship. Being desired to
ring the bell, and to enquire the cause, I found that
Madame Bertrand, on leaving the cabin, had attempted
to throw herself into the sea, and was prevented with
the greatest difficulty. From this scene it is easy to
judge of our feelings !

REMARKAliLE WORDS OP THE EMPEROR.

2d — 3d. In the morning the Duke de Rovigo told
me I was certainly to depart for St. Helena : while in
conversation with the Emperor, a short time before, his
Majesty had said to him that, if there were only two to
accompany him, I should still be one of the number, as he
thought I could afford him some consolation. I am in-
debted to the candour and kindness of the Duke for the

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 4l

satisfaction of being made acquainted with this flattering
assurance, and am truly grateful, as, but for him, it
would never have been known to me. The Emperor
had not said a word in reply to my answer ; this was his
custom, as I shall have other opportunities of shewing.

I had no particular acquaintance with any of those
who had followed the Emperor, excepting General and
and Madame Bertrand, who had shewn me great atten-
tention during my mission to Illyria, where he was Go-
vernor-General. 1 had until then never spoken to the
Duke de Rovigo, certain prepossessions having induced
me to keep at a distance ; we had, however, scarcely ex-
changed a few words, when my scruples were completely
removed. Savary was sincerely attached to the Emperor ;
I knew he possessed warmth of heart, sincerity, and
uprightness of character, qualities which rendered him
susceptible of real friendship; we should, therefore, 1
dare say, have become very intimate.

I was again sent for by the Emperor; who, 'after
alluding to different subjects, began to speak of St.
Helena, asking me what sort of a place it could be ;
whether it was possible to exist there } and similar ques-
tions. " But," said he, " after all, is it quite certain
that I shall go there ? Is a man dependent on others,
when he wishes that his dependence should cease ?" —
We continued to walk to and fro in the cabin j he seem-
ed calm, though affected, and somewhat absent.

" My friend," continued the Emperor, " I have some-
times an idea of quitting you, and this would not be
very difficult 3 it is only necessary to create a little men-
tal excitement, and I shall soon have escaped. — All will
be over, and you can then quietly rejoin your families.
This is the more easy, since my internal principles do
not oppose any bar to it : — I am one of those who con-
ceive that the pains of the other world were only ima-
gined as a counterpoise to those inadequate allurements
which are offered to us there. God can never have
willed such a contradiction to his infinite goodness, espe-
cially for an act of this kind ; and what is it after all,
but wishing to return to him a little sooner }"

I remonstrated warmly against such notions. Poets

42 LAS cases' memoirs of

and philosophers had said that it was a spectacle worthy
of the Divinity, to see men struggling with fortune : re-
verses and constancy had their glory. Such a great and
noble character as his could not descend to the level of
vulgar minds ; he who had governed us with so much
glory, who had excited the admiration, and influenced
the destinies, of the world, could not end like a desperate
gamester or a disappointed lover. What w^ould then be-
come of all those who looked up to and placed their hopes
in him } Would he thus abandon the field to his ene-
mies .f* The anxiety shewn by the latter to drive him to
it w^as surely sufficient to make him resist : who could
tell the secrets of time, or dare assert what the future
would produce ? What might not happen from the mere
change of a ministry, the death of a Prince, that of a con-
fidant, the slightest passion, or the most trifling dispute ?
" Some of these suggestions have their weight," said
the Em^peror, "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 Caesar and that of Alexander? We shall possess
still more, you will re-peruse yourself. Sire!" "Be it
so !" rejoined Napoleon ; "we will write our Memoirs.
Yes, we must be employed ; for occupation is the scythe
of Time. After all, a man ought to fulfil his destinies ;
this is my grand doctrine:* "let mine also be accom-

* The following is a document which the above circumstance
contributes to render still more precious : it is an order of the day,
issued by the First Consul to his guard, against suicide.
Order of the 22d Floreal, Year X.

" The Grenadier Gobain has committed suicide from love : he
was in other respects an excellent soldier. This is the second inci-
dent of the same nature that has occurred in the corps within a
month.

" The first Consul directs it to be inserted in the order-book of
the Guard: —

" That a soldier ought to know how to vanquish the pangs and
melancholy of the passions; that there is as much thie courage iu
bearing up against mental sufferings with constancy, as in remain ■
ing firm on the wall of a battery.

" To give ourselves up to grief without resistance, or to kill
ourselves to escape afl^liction, is to abandon the field of battle before
the victory is gained."

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 43

plished." Re-assuming from this instant an air of ease
and even gaiety, he passed on to suhjects totally uncon-
nected with our situation.

DEPARTURE FROM PLYMOUTH. CONTINUANCE IN THE

CHANNEL. PROTEST.

4th. — Orders had arrived during the night for us to
sail at an early hour ; we set sail, which circumstance
puzzled us much. The newspapers, official communica-
tions, and private conversations, told us we were to be
conveyed to St. Helena by the Northumberland : we knev/
that this ship was still fitting out at Portsmouth or
Chatham, so that we might still calculate on eight or ten
days' delay. The Bellerophon was too old for the voyage,
she had not provisions enough ; moreover the wind vv-as
contrary ; when therefore we saw the ship returning up
Channel, our uncertainty and conjectures were renewed,
but whatever these might be, every thing was welcome
when compared to the idea of transportation to St.
Helena.

Nevertheless, it occurred to us that, in such a decisive
moment, the Emperor w^as bound to shew a formal op-
position to this violence; as to Napoleon himself, be
attached but little importance to it, nor would he trouble
himself about the matter. However, said we, it will be
a weapon in the hands of our friends, and leave causes
of remembrance as well as grounds of defence with the
public. I ventured, therefore, to read a paper I had
prepared to his Majestv, 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.
The following is a literal copy of this document.

PROTEST.

" I hereby solemnly protest in the face of heaven and
mankind, against the violence that is done me ; and the
\^iolation of my most sacred rights, in forcibly disposing
of my person and liberty. I voluntarily came on board
the Bellerophon — I am not the prisoner, I am the guest
of England. I came at the instigation of the Captain
himself, who said he had orders from the Government

44 LAS cases' memoirs of

to receive and convey me to England, together with my
suite, if agreeable to me. I came forward with confi-
dence to place myself under the protection of the laws of
England. When once on board the Bellerophon, I was
entitled to the hospitality of the British people. If the
Government, in giving the Captain of the Bellerophon
orders to receive me and my followers, only wished to
lay a snare, it has forfeited its honour and disgraced its
flag.

" If this act be consummated it will be in vain for the
English henceforth to talk of their sincerity, their laws,
and liberties. British faith will have been lost in the
hospitality of the Bellerophon.

" I appeal to history : it will say that an enemy who
made war for twenty years against the English people
came spontaneously, in the hour of misfortune, to seek
an asylum under their laws. What more striking proof
could he give of his esteem and confidence ? But how
did England reply to such an act of magnanimity ? It
pretended to hold out a hospitable hand to this enemy ;
and, on giving himself up with confidence, he was im-
molated !

(Signed) "Napoleon."

Bellerophon at Sea,
Friday, Aug. 4th, 1815.

The Duke de Rovigo told me that the Emperor had
demanded permission to send me to the Prince Regent
at London, but that it was obstinately refused.

The sea was rough, and the wind blew with violence.
Most of us were afiected with sea-sickness. But what
cannot the pre-occupation of the mind efi*ect over phy-
sical infirmities ! This was perhaps the only time in my
life that I was not incommoded by such weather. On
leaving Plymouth Sound, we stood to the eastward be-
fore the wind, but were soon after close-hauled, tacking
backwards and forwards, without being able to compre-
hend the cause of this new source of torment.

5th. — The whole of this day was passed in the same
manner. While conversing with the Emperor in the

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 45

evening he gave me two proofs of confidence, but I can-
not now confide them to paper.*

* There is, however, one of these proofs which I am now at
liberty to disclose. While walking in the stern-gallery with the
Emperor, at the usual hour, he drew from under his waistcoat,
still conversing on a totally different subject, a species of girdle,
which he handed to me, saying, " Take care of that for me ;"
without interrupting him, I placed it under my own waistcoat.
The Emperor told me, soon after, that it contained a diamond
necklace, worth two hundred thousand francs, which Queen Hor-
tensia forced him to accept on his leaving Malmaison. After our
arrival at St. Helena I frequently spoke of returning the necklace,
but never received any reply. Having ventured to mention the
subject again when we were at Longwood, Napoleon drily asked,
" Does it annoy you ?" — " No, Sire," was my answer ; — " Keep it
then," said he. From wearing the girdle so long, the necklace
became as it were identified with my person ; and I thought so
little about it that it was not till some days after my being torn
from Longwood, and by the merest accident, it recurred to my
memory ; when I shuddered at the idea of depriving the Emperor
of such a resource. For how would it be possible now to make
restitution ? I was in the most rigorous confinement, surrounded
by gaolers and sentinels, so that all communication was im-
practicable. I vainly endeavoured to contrive a plan ; time
pressed ; only a few days were left, and nothing could be more
distressing than thus to quit the island. In this predicament, I
resolved to run all risks. An Englishman, to whom I had often
spoken, came to the prison on a particular errand — and it was
under the eyes of the Governor himself, or one of his most confi-
dential agents whom he brought, that I ventured to communicate
my wishes.

" I think you are a man of principle," said I, " and I am going
to put it to the test ; — though with nothing injurious or contrary
to your honour — merely a rich deposit to be restored to Napo-
leon. If you accept the charge, my son will put it into your
pocket."

He answered only by slackening his pace ; my son, whom I
had prepared for the scene, followed him, and the necklace was
transferred into this man's possession,^ almost in sight of the
military attendants. Before quitting the island, I had the inex-
pressible satisfaction of knowing that the necklace had reached
the hands of the Emperor. How gratifying to the heart are the
recollection and recital of such a trait on the part of an enemy,
and under such circumstances !

46 LAS cases' memoirs op

•ANCHORED OFF START POINT. PERSONS ALLOWED TO

ACCOMPANY THE EMPEROR.

6th. — We anchored about noon off Start Point, where
there was no shelter whatever, though we had but a very
short distance to go in order to anchor in Torbay : this
circumstance excited great astonishment on our part.
We had, however, heard that orders were given to meet
the Northumberland, the departure of which vessel from
Portsmouth was urged with all possible haste. Accord-
ingly that ship soon appeared with tvvo frigates full of
troops, which were to compose the garrison of St. He-
lena. These three ships anchored close to us; after
which the communications amongst the whole squadron
became very active. The precautions to prevent the ap-
proach of boats were still continued. Meanwhile the
mystery of our precipitate sailing from Plymouth,
and all the manoeuvring that followed, was discovered.
Lord Keith had, we were told, received notice, by tele-
graph, that a public officer had just left London with a
writ of habeas corpus, to claim the person of the Emperor
in the name of the laws or of some competent tribunal.
We could neither ascertain the motives nor details of this
circumstance : the Admiral, it was added, had scarcely
time enough to escape this difficulty ; we heard that he
was suddenly obliged to go on board a brig, and quit
Plymouth Sound. This was the motive which kept us
out of Torbay.

Admirals Keith and Cockburn came on board the Bel-
lerophon ; the flag of the latter was flying on board the
Northumberland : they had a conference with the Em-
peror, to whom they delivered an extract from the in-
structions relative to our transportation to and stay at
St. Helena. These stated that all our effects were to
be examined, for the purpose of taking away the money,
bills, and diamonds, belonging to the Emperor, as well
as ourselves, to be kept for us : we also heard that our
arms would be taken from us at the same time, and that
we were then to be transferred to the Northumberland.
The documents were as foUow :

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 47

ORDER FROM LORD KEITH TO CAPTAIN MAITLAND
OF THE BELLEROPHON.

" All arms of every description are to be taken from
the French, of whatever rank, who are on board his Ma-
jesty's ship under your command. These arms will be
carefullv packed, and are to remain in yom* charge so
long as the persons to whom they belong continue on
board the Bellerophon. They will then be under the
charge of the captain of the ship to which the said indi-
viduals may be transferred."

Start Bay, August 6th, 1815.

INSTRUCTIONS OF MINISTERS TO ADMIRAL COCKBURN.

" When General Buonaparte leaves the Bellerophon
to go on board the Northumberland, it will be the pro-
perest moment for Admiral Cockburn to have the effects
examined which General Buonaparte may have brought
with him. The Admiral will allow the baggage, wines,
(the wines ! an observation truly worthy of the English
Ministers,) and provisions which the General may have
brought with him, to be taken on board the Northum-
berland. Among the baggage his table-service shall be
understood as included, unless it be so considei'able as to
seem rather an article to be converted into ready money
than for real use. His money, his diamonds, and his
saleable effects (consequently bills of exchange also), of
whatever kind they may be, must be delivered up. Tlie
Admiral vaII declare to the General that the British Go-
vernment by no means intends to confiscate his property,
hut merely to take upon itself the administration of his
effects, to hinder him from using them as a means to
promote his escape.

" The examination shall be made in the presence of a
person named by General Buonaparte, the inventory of
the effects to be retained shall be signed by this person as
well as by the Rear-admiral, or by the person whom we
shall appoint to draw up the inventory. Tiie interest or. the
principal (according as his property is more or less con-
siderable) shall be applied to his support, and in this
respect the principal arrangement is to be left to him.
For this pm-pose he can from time to time signify his

48 LAS cases' memoirs of

wishes to the Admiral, till the arrival of the new Go-
vernor of St. Helena, and afterwards to the latter ; and,
if no objection is made to his proposal, the Admiral or
the Governor can give the necessary orders, and the
disbursement will be paid by bills on his Majesty's
Treasury. In case of death, {what foresight !) he can
dispose of his property by a last Will, and may be as-
sured that the contents of his testament shall be faith-
fully executed. As an attempt might be made to make
a part of his property pass for the property of the per-
sons of his suite, it must be signified that the property
of his attendants is subject to the same regulations.

" The Admiral is not to take any person on board for
St. Helena, without the consent of such person, to whom
he is previously to explain the necessity of being sub-
jected to all the regulations which it may be thought
proper to establish for securing the person of the General.
It must be made known to the General that, if he make
any attempt to escape, he will expose himself to close
imprisonmnent ; and that any of his suite who may be dis-
covered in endeavouring to facilitate his escape will in-
cur the same punishment. (Afterwards the Act of Par-
liament made the latter offence death.)

" All letters which shall be addressed to him, or to
any of his suite, are to be delivered in the first place to
the Admiral or the Governor, who is to read them pre-
viously to transmitting them : the same regulation is
to be observed with respect to letters written by the
General, or those of his suite.

" The General is to be informed that the Governor
and the Admiral have received positive orders to forward
to his Majesty's Government any request or representa-
tion he may think proper to make : nothing is left to
their discretion on this point ; but the paper on which
such representations shall be written is to remain open,
in order that they may subjoin such observations as
they may think expedient."

It would not be easy to conceive the intensity and na-
ture of our feelings at this decisive moment, in which
outrage, violence, and injustice, were accumulated on
, our heads.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 49

Constrained to reduce his suite to three persons, the
Emperor selected the Grand Marshal, M. de Montholon
and myself. Gourgaud, in despair at the idea of being
left behind, entered into a negotiation on the subject, and
succeeded. As the instructions only allowed Napoleon to
take three officers, it was agreed that I should be con-
sidered purely in a civil capacity, and to admit a fourth
by the aid of this interpretation.

CONVERSATION WITH LORD KEITH. EXAMINATION OF

THE emperor's EFFECTS. HE QUITS THE BELLE-

ROPHON. SEPARATION. WE SAIL FOR ST. HELENA.

7 th. — The Emperor addressed to Lord Keith a species
of new protest, against the violence done to his person
in forcibly removing him from the Bellerophon. I took
it on board the Tonnant. Admiral Keith, a fine-look-
ing old man, of highly polished manners, received me
with great politeness, but he carefully avoided touching
on the subject of the protest, observing that he would
give an answer in writing.

This did not stop me. I stated the situation of Na-
poleon, who was very unwell, his legs being much
swelled ; and pointed out to his lordship how desirable
it was for the Emperor not to be sent off so suddenly.
He replied that I had been a sailor, and must therefore
see that the anchorage was unsafe, which was certainly
true.

I explained the Emperor's repugnance to have his
effects searched and tossed about, as proposed ; assuring
him that Napoleon would infinitely prefer seeing them
thrown into the sea. The Admiral answered that as
this was a positive order, he must obey it. Finally I
enquired whether it was probable that those appointed
to search would go so far as to deprive the Emperor of
his sword. He said that it would be respected, but
that Napoleon was the only person exempted, as all his
followers would be disarmed. I shewed him that I w^as
already so : my sword having been taken from me be-
fore I left the Bellerophon. A secretary who was writing
near us, observed to Lord Keith, in English, that the
order stated that Napoleon himself was to be disarmed ;

VOL I. E

50 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

upon which the Admiral drily replied, also in English, as
well as I could comprehend, " Mind your own business,
Sir, and leave us to ours."

Still continuing the conversation, I went over all that
had occurred from the commencement. 1 had been the
negotiator, I said, and ought therefore to feel most
acutely ; and had the greater right to be" heard. Lord
Keith listened to me with marked impatience ; we were
standing, and his frequent bows were evidently intended
to make me retire. When I told him that Captain
Maitland said he had been authorised to bring us to
England, without exciting a suspicion in our minds that
we were to be prisoners of war ; that the Captain could
not deny that we came on board voluntarily and in con-
fidence ; that the letter of the Emperor to the Prince of
Wales, which I had previously communicated to Captain
Maitland, must necessarily have created tacit conditions,
since he made no remarks on it : at length the Admi-
ral's ill-humour and even anger broke forth, and he
replied sharply, that if such were the case. Captain
Maitland must have been a fool, for his instructions
contained nothing of the kind ; and he was quite sure of
this, for it was from himself they had emanated. " But,
my Lord," said I, " permit me to observe, in defence of
Captdin Maitland, that your Lordship speaks with a de-
gree of severity for which you may become responsible ;
for not only Captain Maitland, but Admiral Hotham and
all the other officers whom we saw at the time, conducted
and expressed themselves in the same way towards us ;
would it have been thus, if their instructions had been
so clear and positive ?" Saying this, I relieved the Ad-
miral of my presence : he made no attempt to prolong a
subject which, perhaps, his Lordship's conscience ren-
dered somewh ;t painful to him.

Admiral Cockburn, aided by an officer of the customs,
examined the effects of the Emperor : they seized four
thousand Napoleons, and left fifteen hundred to pay the
servants : this was all the Emperor's treasure. They
were assisted, or rather impeded, in the operation by
Marchand, the valet- de-chambre of his Majesty : this
appeared to mortify the Admiral excessively; though

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON". 51

requested to attend, not one amongst us would lend his
presence to, or witness, an act which we regarded as
being at once mean and insulting.

Meanwhile, the moment of quitting the Bellerophon
arrived. The Grand Marshal had been some time closeted
with the Emperor ; during which we remained in the
outer cabin : on the door being opened, the Duke de
Rovigo, bursting into tears, threw himself at the feet of
Napoleon, and kissed his hands. The Emperor, still
calm and collected, embraced the Duke, and continued
his way towards the accomodation -ladder, graciously
ealuting all those who happened to be on the quarter-
deck. The whole of our party whom we left behind
were in a state of the deepest anguish ; nor could I help
observing to Lord Keith, who stood near me at the time,
** You see, my Lord, that the only persons who shed tears
are those who are to remain."

We reached the Northumberland between one and
two o'clock. The Emperor remained on deck conversing
familiarly and cheerfully with those of the English who
approached him. Lord Lowther and a Mr. Littleton
had a long conversation with him on politics and govern-
ment. I heard nothing of what passed ; the Emperor
seemed desirous that we should leave him to himself. I
employed this moment of leisure in writing a last adieu
to my wife and friends : indeed, I felt very unwell and
much fatigued.

At the moment of getting under weigh, a cutter, that
was plying round the ship to keep off the people, ran
down a boat full of spectators close to us. Fatality
seems to have brought them from a great distance to
become the victims of this accident : I understood that
there were two women amongst those who perished.
Tiius were we at length under sail for St. Helena, thir-
teen days after our arrival at Plymouth, and forty from
our quitting Paris.

Those of the attendants whom Napoleon was not al-
lowed to take with him were the last to quit the ship,
bearing with them mingled proofs of satisfaction and
regret. Their departure gave rise to a second scene, not

E 2

52 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OP

less affecting than the first. The Emperor retired to
the cabin allotted to him about seven o'clock.

The English Ministry warmly censured the respect
which had been shewn to the Emperor on borad the
Bellerophon, and issued fresh orders in consequence ; so
that a totally different style of manner and expression
was affected in the Northumberland. The crew seemed
to betray a ridiculous anxiety to be covered before the
Emperor : it had been strictly enjoined to give him no
other title than that of General, and only to treat him
as such. This was the ingenious contrivance, the happy
conception, engendered by the diplomacy of the English
Ministers ; and the title they thought proper to confer
on him whom they had recognised as First Consul,
whom they had so often styled head of the French
Government, with whom they treated as Emperor at
Paris, when Lord Lauderdale was employed to nego-
tiate, and, perhaps, even signed articles at Chatillon.
Hence, in a moment of warmth, the Emperor, in allu-
sion to this regulation, observed: "They may call me
whatever they choose, but they cannot prevent me from
being myself." It was in fact no less whimsical than
ridiculous to see the Ministers of England attach such
importance to giving only the title of General to one
who had governed so large a portion of Europe, and
made seven or eight kin^s, of whom several still retained
this title of his creation ; who had been above ten years
Emperor of the French, and been anointed as well as
consecrated in that quality by the head of the Church ;
one who could boast two or three elections of the French
people to the sovereignty ; who had been acknowledged
as Emperor by the whole of continental Europe; had
treated as such with all the sovereigns ; concluding every
species of alliance both of blood and interest with them :
so that he united in his person every title, civil, political
and religious, existing amongst men : and which, by a
singular though real coincidence, not one of the reigning
Princes of Europe could have shewn accumulated in an
equal degree, on the chief and founder of his dynasty.
Nevertheless his Majesty, who intended, had he landed
in England, to assume the name and title of Colonel

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 53

Duroc or Miiiron, no longer thought of it now that his
legitimate titles were obstinately disputed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMPEROr's CABIN ON BOARD THE
NORTHUMBERLAND.

8th — 9th. The ship was in the greatest confusion,
and seemed to be quite encumbered with men as well as
stores and luggage : we sailed in so great a hurry that
there was scarcely any thing on board in its place, so
tliat the whole crew was now occupied in restoring order,
and preparing for the voyage.

The following particulars will afford some idea of that
part of the ship occupied by the Emperor and his suite.
The space abaft the mizen-mast contained two public
and two private cabins ; the first was a dining-room
about ten feet broad, and extending the whole width of
the ship, lighted by a port-hole at each end, and a sky-
light above. The drawing-room was composed of all
the remaining space, diminished by two symmetrical
cabins on the right and left, each having an entry from
the dining or mess-room, and another from the drawing-
room. The Emperor occupied that on the left, in which
his camp bed- stead had been put up ; that on the right
was appropriated to the Admiral. It was, above all,
peremptorily enjoined that the drawing-room should be
in common, and not given up to the Emperor : to such
a ridiculous extent had the fears and solicitude of the
Ministry been carried !

The form of the dining-table resembled that of the
mess-room. The Emperor sat with his back to the
drawing-room or after-cabin, and looking towards the
head of the ship ; on his left sat Madame Bertrand, and
on his right, the Admiral. On the right of the Admiral
sat Madame de Montholon : these filled one side of the
table. At the end next that lady was Captain Ross,
who commanded the ship; opposite to whom, at the
corresponding end, sat M. de Montholon, by Madame
Bertrand ; next to him, the Admiral's secretary. The
remaining space was the side of the table opposite to
the Emperor, which, beginning from Captain Ross, was

54 LAS CASES* MEMOIRS OP

occupied by the Grand Marshal, the General command-
ing the 53rd regiment, myself, and Baron Gourgaud.

The Admiral invited one or two of the officers every
day, who were intermixed amongst us at table. I gene-
rally sat almost opposite to the Emperor. The band of
the 53d, which had been recently formed, exercised du-
ring dinner at the expense of our ears. We had two
courses, but there was a want of provisions ; our tastes
were, besides, very different from those of our hosts. It
is true, they did their utmost ; but after all, it would not
do to be difficult. I was lodged with my son on the
starboard side, even with the main-mast, in a small cabin
enclosed with canvass, and having a gun in it. We
made as much sail as the wind would permit to get out
of the Channel, and stood along the coast of England,
communicating with all the ports in order to procure
additional supplies of sea-stock, and complete the stores
of the ship. A large quantity of articles was brought to
us from Plymouth, off which port we were joined by
several other vessels, as well as from Falmouth.

LOST SIGHT OF LAND. REFLECTIONS. — ARGUMENT

AGAINST THE ENGLISH MINISTERS.

10. — This day w^e cleared the Channel, and lost sight
of land. We had now entered upon the dreary un-
known course to which fate had doomed us. Again
my agonies were renewed ; again the dear connexions I
had abandoned resumed their influence over my heart.
I indulged in the luxuriance of grief, and found a mise-
rable satisfaction in its excess. "Objects of all my
affections," I exclaimed, " friends of my heart, for whom
alone I live, reflect that I am proving myself worthy of
you. Let that thought support you also ; and, oh !
forget me not."

Meanwhile we advanced in our course, and were soon
to be out of Europe. Thus, in less than six weeks, had
the Emperor abdicated his throne, and placed himself
in the hands of the English, who were now hurrying
him to a barren rock in the midst of a vast ocean !
This is certainly no ordinary instance of the chances of
fortune, and no common trial of the firmness of the

THE EMPEROR, NAPOLEON. 55

mind. Yet will posterity be better able to judge of these
three leading circumstances than we of the present day.
They will have to pronounce on a clear horizon ; where-
as we are enveloped in clouds.

Scarcely had Napoleon descended from his throne,
when those who witnessed the misfortunes of the nation,
which followed, regarded his sacrilEice as a capital error.
When they heard of his being a prisoner at Plymouth,
they censured his magnanimity ; there was not a single
incident, even to his suffering himself to be sent to St.
Helena, which they did not make a subject of reproach.
But such is the tendency of vulgar minds : never judging
except on what they see at the moment ! It is, however,
impossible to judge of one resolution without consi-
dering, not only the evils which unavoidably attend it,
but those which a contrary determination might have
produced.

By abdicating, Napoleon rallied all the friends of
their country round one point — that of its safety ! He
left France demanding, before all nations, nothing but
the sacred rights of national independence; he took
from the Allies every pretext to ravage and dismember
our territory ; he destroyed all idea of his personal am-
bition ; terminating his career as the martvr of a cause
of which he had been the hero. If all the advantages
which might have been derived from his genius and
talents as a citizen were not obtained, it is to be imputed
to the weakness and treachery of the transitory Govern-
ment by which he was succeeded. When he arrived at
Rochefort, and the commander of the frigates refused to
sail, ought he to have abandoned the fruits of his abdica-
tion ? Should he have returned to the interior, and pla-
ced himself at the head of mere bands, when he had
renounced armies ? or, ought he to have desperatelv
encouraged a civil war which would lead to no beneficial
result, but only serve to ruin the remaining pillars, the
future hopes, of the country } In this state of affairs, he
formed a most magnanimous resolution, worthy of his
life, and a complete refutation of the calumnies that for
twenty years had been so ridiculously accumulated on
his head. But what will history say of those Ministers

56 LAS cases' memoirs of

of a liberal nation, the guardians and depositaries of
popular rights — ever ardent in encouraging a Coriolanus,
having only chains for a Camillus ?

As to the reproach of suffering himself to be trans-
ported to St. Helena, it would be a disgrace to answer
such a charge. To contend with an adversary in the
cabin of a ship — kill some one with his own hand — or
attempt to set fire to the powder-magazine, would have
been, at best, the act of a Buccaneer. Dignity in mis-
fortune, submission to necessity, have also their glory :
it is that which becomes great men overwhelmed by
adversity.

When the English Ministers found themselves in
possession of IN^poleon's person, passion had much
more influence over them than justice or policy. They
neglected the triumph of their laws, denied the rights of
hospitality, disregarded their own honour, and compro-
mised that of their country. They determined to exile
their guest in the midst of the ocean, to keep him priso-
ner on a rock, two thousand leagues from Europe, and
far from all| communion with mankind. It seemed that
they wished to trust to the anguish of exile, the fatigues
of a long voyage, privations of every kind, and the cor-
roding influence of a burning chmate, for efi'ecting that
which they feared to perform themselves. In order,
however, to gain over the public voice, to make it ap-
pear that their conduct was indispensably necessary, the
newspapers were instigated to irritate the passions of
the multitude, by reviving former calumnies and false-
hoods ; while the Ministers, on their side, represented
their own determination as an engagement entered into
with their aUies. We presented ourselves at the mo-
ment of popular eflervescence, just as every thing which
could render us odious had been brought forward. The
public journals were full of the most virulent declama-
tions ; maliciously raking up every act and expression of
the previous struggle of twenty years that could wound
the national pride, or rekindle its hatred. Yet, when all
England hurried to the south to see us, during our stay
at Plymouth, the conduct and sentiments of the multi-
tudes who came were enough to convince us that this

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 57

factitious irritation would disappear of itself. Hence we
were led to hope, on our departure, that the British
people would daily grow more impartial in a cause
to which they were no longer parties ; that the cur-
rent of public opinion would eventually turn against
Ministers ; and that we had thus ensured them formid-
able attacks and a terrible responsibility for a future day.

THE emperor's MODE OF LIVING ON BOARD
THE NORTHUMBERLAND.

ilth — 14th. Our course was shaped across the Bay
of Biscay, and double Cape Finisterre. The wind was
fair, though light ; and the heat excessive : nothing
could be more monotonous than the time we now passed.
The Emperor breakfasted in his own cabin at irregular
hours ; we took our breakfast at ten o'clock, in the
French style, while the English continued to breakfast
in their own way at eight.

The Emperor sent for one of us every morning to
know what was going on, the distance run, the state of
the wind, and other particulars connected with our pro-
gress. He read much, dressed towards four o'clock, and
then came into the general cabin; here he played at
chess with one of the party : at five o'clock the Admiral,
having come out of his cabin a few minutes before, an-
nounced that dinner was on the table.

It is well known that Napoleon was scarcely ever
more than fifteen minutes at his dinner ; here the two
courses alone occupied from an hour to an hour and a
half : this was to him a most serious annoyance, though
he never mentioned it ; his features, gestures, and man-
ner, always evinced perfect indifference. Neither the
new system of cookery, the difference nor quality of the
dishes, ever met with his censure or approbation ; he
never expressed any wish or objection on the subject.
He was attended by his two valets, who stood behind
his chair. At first the Admiral was in the habit of offer-
ing to help the Emperor ; but the acknowledgment of
Napoleon was expressed so coldly that this practice was
discontinued. The Admiral continued very attentive,
but thenceforth only pointed out to the servants what

58 LAS cases' memoirs op

was preferable ; they alone attended to these matters, to
which the Emperor seemed totally indifferent, neither
seeing, noticing, nor seeking, any thing. He was gene-
rally silent, remaining in the midst of conversation as if
totally unaquainted with the language, though it was
French. If he spoke, it was to ask some technical or
scientific question, and to address a few words to those
whom the Admiral occasionally asked to dinner. I was
the person to whom the Emperor generally addressed
his questions, in order to translate them.

I need scarcely observe that the English are accus-
tomed to remain a long time at table after the dessert,
drinking and conversing : the Emperor, already tired by
the tedious dinner, could never have endured this cus-
tom, and he rose, therefore from the first day, imme-
diately after coffee had been handed round, and went out
OQ deck followed by the Grand Marshal and myself.
This disconcerted the Admiral, who took occasion to ex-
press his surprise to his oflficers ; but Madame Bertrand,
whose maternal language is English, warmly replied —
" Do not forget, Admiral, that your guest is a man who
has governed a large portion of the world, and that kings
once contended for the honour of being admitted to his
table." " Very true," rejoined the Admiral; and this
officer, who possesses good sense, a becoming pliability
of manners, and sometim^es much elegance, did his ut-
most from that moment to accommodate the Emperor in
his habits. He shortened the time of sitting at table,
ordering coflfee for Napoleon and those who accompanied
him, even before the rest of the company had finished
their dinner. The moment Napoleon had taken his
coffee, he left the cabin ; upon which every body rose till
he had quitted the room, and then continued to take
their wine for another hour.

The Emperor remained walking on deck till dark, at-
tended by the Grand Marshal and myself. This became
a regular practice, and was seldom, omitted. On return-
ing to the after-cabin, he sat down to play vingt-
et-un with us, and generally retired in about half an
hour.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 59

SINGULAR GOOD FORTUNE OP THE EMPEROR.

15th. — We asked permission to be admitted into the
Emperor's presence this morning, and all entered his
cabin at the same time. He was not aware of the cause
of this visit : — it was his birthday, which seemed to have
altogether escaped his recollection. We had been in the
habit of seeing him on that anniversary, on a much
larger stage, and in the midst of his power, but never
were our wishes more sincere, or our hearts more fuU of
attachment, than on the present occasion.

The days now exactly resembled each other : at night
w^e constantly played at vingt-et-iin ; the Admiral and
some of his officers being occasionally of the party. The
Emperor used to retire after losing, according to custom
his ten or twelve Napoleons ; this happened to him
daily, because he w^ould persist in leaving his stake on
the table, until it had produced a considerable number.
To-day he had gained from eighty to a hundred. The
Admiral dealt the cards : the Emperor still wished to
leave his winnings, in order to see how far he could
reach ; but thought he could perceive it would be quite
as agreeable to the Admiral if he stopped w^here he was.
The Emperor had won sixteen times, and might have
won more than sixty thousand Napoleons. While all
present were expatiating on his being thus singularly fa-
voured by fortune, an English officer observed that it was
the anniversary of his birth- day.

CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE. OCCUPATIONS. THE

emperor's ORIGIN AND FAMILY ANECDOTES.

16th — 21st. We doubled Cape Finisterre on the 16th,
passed Cape St. Vincent on the 1 8th, and were off the
Straits of Gibraltar next day. Continuing our course
along the coast of Africa towards Madeira, nothing wor-
thy of remark occurred, there being a perfect uniformity
in our habits and mode of passing the time ; if there
was any difference, it could only arise from the subject
of our conversation.

The Emperor usually remained in his cabin during the
whole morning : so excessive was the heat that he only

60 LAS cases' memoirs of

wore a very slig-lit dress. He could not sleep, and fre-
quently rose in the night. Reading was his chief occu-
pation. I was sent for almost every morning, and trans-
lated from the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," and such
other books as were on board, v^^hatever they contained
relative to St. Helena, or the countries near which we
were sailing. This led to my Historical Atlas being
brought under review. Napoleon had merely glanced
at it on board the Bellerophon, and before that time he
had but a very indistinct notion of the work. I now
had the satisfaction of seeing it in the Emperor's hands
for several days, and of hearing him express the warm-
est approbation of my labours. The quantity and arrang-
ment of the matter seemed more particularly to please
him : he had, in fact, hitherto been but little acquainted
with the book. Passing over all the others, his chief
attention was attracted by the geographical charts ;
more especially the map of the world, which seem.ed prin-
cipally to excite his notice and applause. I did not attempt
to convince him that the geography was the weakest
part of the work, displaying far less labour and research
than other parts ; the general tables could not easily be
surpassed, either as to their method, symmetry, or faci-
lity for use ; while each of the genealogical tables pre-
sented a miniature history of the country they concerned
and of which they were, in all respects, both a complete
analysis and a collection of elementary materials.

The Emperor asked me whether the work had been
used in all our systems of education ; adding, that had it
been better known to him, all the schools and lyceums
should have been furnished with it. He further asked,
why I had published it under the borrowed name of Le
Sage ? I replied that a very imperfect sketch had been
published in England, just after my emigration, at a
time when we could not acknowledge our names as emi-
grants abroad, without danger to our relations in France ;
" and, perhaps," said I, laughing, " I was not then cured
of the prejudices of my youth ; like the nobles of Bre-
tagne, who deposited their swords with the registrar of
the Civil Court, while engaged in trade, that they might
not derogate from their family dignity."

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEOX. 61

As already observed, the Emperor always rose from
table long before the rest of the company : the Graud
Marshal and I always followed him to the quarter-deck,
where I was frequently left alone with him ; as General
Bertrand had often to attend his wife, who suffered ex-
cessively from sea- sickness.

After the preliminary remarks on the weather, the
ship's progress, and the winds, Napoleon used to start a
subject of conversation, or revive that of the preceding
or some other former, day ; 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 lar-
board side. The midshipmen soon observed this habitual
predilection, so that the cannon was thenceforth called
the Emperor s gun.

It was there that Napoleon often conversed for hours
together, and that I learned for the first time a part of
what I am about to relate : in doing which, I wish to
observe that I shall at the same time add whatever I
collected in a variety of subsequent conversations ; thus
presenting at one view, all that I have heard worth noting
on the subject.

The name of Bonaparte may be spelt either Bonaparte
or Buonaparte ; as all Italians know. Napoleon's father
always introduced the u ; and his uncle, the Archdeacon
Lucien (who survived Napoleon's father and was a
parent to Napoleon and his brothers), at the same time,
and under the same roof, wrote it Bonaparte . During
his youth. Napoleon followed the example of his father.
On attaining the command of the Army of Italy he took
good care not to alter the orthography, w^hich agreed
with the spirit of the language ; but at a later period,
and when amongst the French, he wished to adopt their
orthography, and thenceforth wrote his name Bonaparte.
This family for many years made a distinguished figure
in the Boiognese territory : it was very powerful at
Treviso ; and is to be found inscribed in the Golden
book of Bologna, as also amongst the patricians of
Florence. When Napoleon, as General in chief of the
army of Italy, entered Treviso, at the head of his vic-
torious army, the principal inhabitants came to meet

62 LAS cases' memoirs of

him, bringing title deeds and records, which proved that
his family had once been one of the most eminent in
their city.

At the interview of Dresden, before the Russian cam-
paign, the Emperor Francis one day told Napoleon,
then his son-in-law, that his family had governed as
sovereigns at Treviso : a fact of which there could be
no doubt, as Francis had caused all the documents
})roving it to be drawn up and presented to him. Na-
poleon rephed, with a smile, that he did not wish to
know anything about it, and that he preferred being the
Rodolph of Hapsburgh of his own family. Francis at-
tached much more importance to the matter ; he said
that it was of very little consequence to have fallen from
wealth to poverty ; but that it was above all price to
have been of sovereign rank, and that the fact must be
communicated to Maria Louisa, to whom it would af-
ford infinite pleasure.

When, during the campaign of Italy, Napoleon en-
tered Bologna, Marescalchi, Caprara, and Aldini, since
go well known in France, and at that time deputies in
tlie senate of their native city, came of their own accord
to present the golden book, in which the name and arms
of his ancestors were inscribed.

There are several houses at Florence which attest
tiie former existence of the Buonaparte family there ;
many houses are even still seen bearing the escutcheons
of the family.

Cesari, a Corsican or Bolognese, residing in London,
who was shocked at the manner in which the British
Government had received Napoleons's pacific letter on
assuming the Consulate, published a genealogical notice,
wherein he established the Emperor's alliance with the
ancient house of Este, Welf, or Guelf, supposed to be
the parent stem of the present royal family of En-
gland. *

* This paragraph was in such a state in the manuscript as to
excite doubts ; and I was on the point of suppressing it : I must
therefore state my reasons for its insertion. What is my object ?
chiefly to leave materials behind me. When I indicate how tkeie

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 63

The Duke de Feltre, French ambassador in Tuscany,
brought to Paris, from the Gallery de Medici, the por-
trait of a Buonaparte who had married a princess of the
Grand Duke's family. The mother of Pope Nicholas V.
or Paul v., of Sarzana, was also a Buonaparte.

It was a Buonaparte who negotiated the treaty by
which Leghorn was exchanged for Sarzana. It is to
a Buonaparte that we are indebted for one of the old-
est comedies written at the period of the revival of let-
ters intitled The Widow. It may still be seen in the
Royal Library at Paris.*

When Napoleon marched against Rome at the head
of the French army, and received the propositions of the
Pope at Tolentino, one of the negotiators of the enemy
observed that he was the only Frenchman who had
marched against Rome since the Constable de Bourbon ;
]3ut what rendered this circumstance still more singular
was that the history of the first expedition was written
by an ancestor of him who executed the second, that is
to say, Signor Niccolo Buonaparte, who has in reality
left us a work, called The Sacking of Rome by the Con-
stable de Bourbon. ^

were collected, and say that I obtained them from a mere conver-
sation— that I may have disfigured them in thus suddenly seizing
their sense — when I admit their prohable inaccuracy, and place the
reader in the way of rectifying my errors — have I not sufficiently
fulfilled my object and duty ?

* Verified at the Royal Library : the manuscript being really
there, and the play itself printed.

f Also verified at the Royal Library, where the account of the
sacking of Rome is deposited, but by Jacopo Buonaparte, and not
Niccolo. Jacopo w^as a contemporary and an eye-witness of the
event: his manuscript was printed for the first time at Cologne,
in 1756 ; and the volume actually contains a genealogy of the
Buonapartes, which is carried back to a very remote period, and
describes them as one of the most illustrious houses of Tuscany,

The above genealogy presents a fact w^hich is certainly of a
very singular nature : it is that of the first Buonaparte having
been exiled from his country as a Ghibeline. Was it, then, the
destiny of his family, in all times, and at every epoch, that it must
yield to the infiuence of the Guelfs !

The Cologne editor sometimes writes Buonaparte, and at others,
Bonaparte.

64 LAS cases' memoirs of

Hence, perhaps, or from the Pope mentioned above,
the name of Niccolo, which the writers of certain
pamphlets pretended to be that of the Emperor, in-
stead of Napoleon. This work is to be found in most
libraries ; it is preceded by a history of the house of
Buonaparte, printed about forty or fifty years ago, and
edited by Dr. Vaccha, a professor of Pisa.

M. de Cetto, ambassador of Bavaria, has often told me
that the archives of Munich contained a great number
of documents, in Italian, which proved the antiquity and
importance of the Buonaparte family.

During the continuance of his power. Napoleon al-
ways refused to take any pains, or even to enter into con-
versation, on the subject. The first attempt to turn his at-
tention to this matter occurred in the time of his Consulate,
and was so much discouraged that no one ever sought
to renew the discussion. Some person published a ge-
nealogy, in which he contrived to connect the family of
Napoleon with certain northern kings. Napoleon caused
this specimen of flattery to be ridiculed in the public
papers in which the writers concluded by observing
that the nobility of the First Consul only dated from
Montenotte, or from the 18th of Brumaire.

This family suiFered, like many others, from the nu-
merous revolutions which desolated the cities of Italy.
The troubles of Florence placed the Buonapartes amongst
thefuorusciti, or emigrants. One of the family retired
to Sarzana in the first instance, and thence went to
Corsica, from which island his descendants always con-
tinued to send their children to Tuscany, where they were
educated uader the care of the branch that remained at
San Miniato. The second sons of this branch had borne
the name of Napoleon for several generations, which was
derived from an ancestor thus named, celebrated in the
annals of Italy.

When on his way to Florence, after the expedition to

This Signer Niccolo Buona,parte, named in the text as the his-
torian, is only the uncle ; he is, however, mentioned in the gene-
alogy as a very distinguished m.an of letters, and as having founded
the class of jurisprudence in ihe University of Pisa.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 65

Leghorn, Napoleon slept at the house of an old Abbe
Buonaparte, at San Miniato, who treated the whole of
his staff with great magnificence. Having exhausted all
the family recollections, the Abbe told the young General
that he was going to bring forth the most precious do-
cument of all. Napoleon thought he w^as about to shew
him a fine genealogical tree, well calculated to gratify
his vanity (said he, laughing) ; but it was a memorial
regularly drawn up in favour of father Buonaventura
Buonaparte, a Capuchin friar of Bologna, long since
beatified, but who had not yet been canonized owing to
the enormous expense which it required. "The Pope
will not refuse you," said the good Abbe, " if you ask
him ; and should it be necessary to pay the sum now, it
will be a mere trifle for you." Napoleon laughed heartily
at this simplicity, so little in harmony with the manners
of the day : the old man never dreamt that the saints
were no longer in fashion.

On reaching Florence, Napoleon conceived it would
be very satisfactory to his namesake to send him the
ribbon of the order of St. Stephen, of which he was
merely a knight ; but the pious Abbe was much less
anxious about the favours of this world than the religious
justice which he so pertinaciously claimed: and, as it
afterwards appeared, not without reason. The Pope,
when he came to Paris to crown the Emperor, also re-
curred to the claims of Father Buonaventura. " It was
doubtless he," said the Pope, " who, from his seat
amongst the blessed, had led his relative, as it were, by
the hand through the glorious earthly career he had
traversed; and who had preserved Napoleon in the
midst of so many dangers and battles." The Emperor,
however, always turned a deaf ear to these remarks ;
leaving it to the holy father's own discretion to provide
for the glory of Buonaventura. As to the old Abbe of
San Miniato, he left his fortune to Napoleon, who pre-
sented it to one of the public establishments in Tuscany.

It would, however, be very difficult to connect any
genealogical data in this place, from the conversations
of the Emperor, \Nho used often to say he had never
looked at one ^.of his parchments : these having always

VOL. I. F

&6 LAS cases' memoirs of

remained in the hands of his brother Joseph, whom he
styled the " genealogist of the family." And, lest I
may forget it, I will here mention the fact of Napoleon's
having, when on the point of embarking, delivered a
packet to his brother, containing all the original letters
addressed to him by the sovereigns of Europe in their
own hand- writing. I frequently expressed my regret to
the Emperor at his parting with such a precious histo-
rical manuscript.*

Charles Buonaparte, the father of Napoleon, was
extremely tall, handsome, and well-made ; his education
had been well conducted at Rome and Pisa, where he
studied the law : he is said to have possessed great
spirit and energy. It was he who, on its being proposed
to submit to France, in the public assembly of Corsica,
delivered a speech which electrified the whole country :
he was not more than twenty years of age at this period.
"If it only depended on the will to become free," said
he, "all nations would be so; j^et history teaches us
that very few have attained the blessings of liberty, be-
cause few have had energy, courage, and virtue enough
to deserve them."

When the island was conquered, he wished to accom-
pany Paoli in his emigration; but an old uncle, the
Archdeacon Lucien, who exercised the authority of a
parent over him, prevented his departure.

In 1779, Charles Buonaparte was elected deputy to
represent the nobles of Corsica at Paris, whither he
brought young Napoleon with him, then only ten years
old. He passed through Florence on his w^ay, and ob-
tained a letter of introduction from the Grand Duke
Leopold to his sister the Queen of France. It was to
his known rank and the respectability of his name and

* On my return to Europe, I did not fail to inquire for the
invaluable deposit, and hastened to suggest the importance of
making another copy to Prince Joseph, in order to become still
more sure of its existence. What was my grief to hear that this
historical monument had been mislaid, and that no person knew
what had become of it ! Into whose hands can it have fallen ?
May they know how to appreciate such a collection, and preserve
it for history !

i^l/?/^^

''/^ r yo> r/////i/7A/i^ .

ZcmdoTi^. FuiKshe-d. for Henry ColkiLrru, J'iLnjiuxry, 1836.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 67

family in Tuscany, that he was indebted for this mark
of attention.

There were- two French generals in Corsica, at the
above period, so inimical to each other that their quarrels
formed two parties; one was M. de Marbeuf, a mild and
popular character, and the other, M. de Narbonne Pellet,
distinguished for haughtiness and violence. The latter,
from his birth and superior interest, must have been a
dangerous man for his rival : fortunately for M. de
Marbeuf, he was much more beloved in the island.
When the deputation headed by Charles Buonaparte
arrived at Versailles, he was consulted on the dispute,
and the warmth of his testimony obtained a triumph for
Marbeuf. The Archbishop of Lyons, nephew to Mar-
beuf, thought it his duty to wait on the deputy, and
thank him for the service he had rendered. On young
Napoleon's being placed in the military school of Bri-
enne, the Archbishop gave him a special recommen-
dation to the family of Brienne, which lived there during
the greater part of the year : hence the friendly demea-
nour of the Marbeufs and Briennes towards the children
of the Buonaparte family. Calumny has assigned
another cause, but the simple examination of dates is
fully sufficient to prove its absurdity.

Old M. de Marbeuf, who commanded in Corsica,
lived at Ajaccio, where the family of Charles Buonaparte
was one of the principal. Madame Buonaparte being
the most fascinating and beautiful woman in the town,
it w'as very natural for the General to frequent her house
in preference to many other places of resort.

Charles Buonaparte died at the age of thirty-eight, of
an induration in the glands of the stomach. He had
experienced a temporary cure during one of his visits to
Paris, but became the victim of a second attack at
Montpellier, where he was interred in one of the con-
vents of the city.

During the Consulate, the notables of Montpellier,
through the medium of their countryman Chaptal, minis-
ter of the interior, solicited the permission of the First
Consul to erect a monument to the memory of his father.
Napoleon thanked them for their good intentions, but

F 2

68 LAS cases' memoirs of

declined acceding to their solicitation. "Let us not
disturb the repose of the dead," said he; "let their
ashes remain in peace. I have also lost my grandfather
and great-grandfather ; why not erect monuments to
them } This might lead too far. Had my father died
yesterday, it would be proper and natural that my grief
should be accompanied by some signal mark of respect.
Eut his death took place twenty years ago : it is an
event of no public interest, and it is useless to revive
the recollection of it." At a subsequent period Louis
Buonaparte, without the knowledge of Napoleon, had
his father's remains disinterred, and removed to St.
Leu, where he erected a monument to his memory.

Charles Buonaparte had been the very reverse of
devout ; he had even written some anti-religious poems ;
and yet, at the period of his death, said the Emperor,
there were not priests enough for him in Montpellier.
In this respect he was very diiFerent from his brother
Archdeacon Lucien, a very pious and orthodox ecclesias-
tic, who died long after him, at a very advanced age.
On his death-bed, he took great umbrage at Fesch, who,
being by this time a priest, ran to him in his stole and
surplice to assist him in his last moments. Lucien beg-
ged that he would suffer him to die in peace, and he
breathed his last surrounded by the members of his
family, giving them philosophic counsel and patriarchal
benedictions.

The Emperor frequently spoke of his old uncle, who
had been a second father to him, and who was for a
length of time the head of the family. He was Arch-
deacon of Ajaccio, one of the principal dignitaries of the
island. His prudence and economy re-established the
affairs of the family, which had been much deranged by
the extravagance of Charles. The old uncle was much
revered, and enjoyed considerable authority in the dis-
trict : the peasantry voluntarily submitted their disputes
to his decision, and he freely gave them his advice and
his blessing.

Charles Buonaparte married Mademoiselle Letitia
Ramolini, whose mother, after the death of her first hus-
band, married Captain i'esch, an othcer in one of the

'■%

^U^Z'^''^ O^L^Oi^cy^c^

I'uhlbshid. for Henry Colburn.. Dtc. 1635 .

THE E31PER0R NAPOLEON. 69

Swiss reg'iments, which the Genoese usually maintained
in the island, f; Cardinal Fesch was the issue of this
second marriage, and was consequently step-brother to
Madame and uncle to the Emperor.

Madame was one of the most beautiful women of her
day, and she was celebrated throughout Corsica. Paoli,
in the time of his power, having received an embassy
from Algiers or Tunis, wished to give the Barbary envoys
feome notion of the attractions of the island, and for this
purpose he assembled together all the most beautiful wo-
men in Corsica, among whom Madame took the lead.
Subsequently, when she travelled to Brienne to see her
son, her personal charms were remarked even in Paris.

During the war for Corsican liberty, Madame Buona-
parte shared the dangers of her husband, who was an
enthusiast in the cause. In his different expeditions she
frequently followed him on horseback, while she was
pregnant with Napoleon. She was a woman of extraor-
dinary vigour of mind, joined to considerable pride and
loftiness of spirit. She was the mother of thirteen chil-
dren, and she might have had many more, for she was a
widow at the age of thirty. Of these thirteen children,
only five boys and three girls lived, all of whom perfor-
med distinguished parts in the reign of Napoleon.

Joseph, the eldest of the family, was originally in-
tended for the church, on account of the influence pos-
sessed by Marbeuf, archbishop of Lyons, who had the
patronage of numerous livings. He went through the
regular course of study ; but when the moment arrived
for taking orders, he refused to enter the ecclesiastical
profession. He was successively King of Naples and
Spain.

Louis was King of Holland, and Jerome King of
Westphalia. Eliza w^as Grand Duchess of Tuscany;
Caroline, Queen of Naples ; and Pauline, Princess
Borghese. Lucien, who through his marriage and a
mistaken direction of character, doubtless forfeited a
crown, atoned for all his past errors by throwing him-
self into the arms of the Emperor on his return from
Elba, at a moment when Napoleon was far from relying
on the certainty of his prospects. Lucien, the Emperor

70 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

used to say, passed a turbulent career in his youth: at the
age of fifteen he was taken to France by M. Semonville,
who soon made him a zealous revolutionist and an ardent
clubist. On this subject the Emperor said that in the
numerous libels published against him were some ad-
dresses or letters, bearing, among other signatures, that
of Brutus Buonaparte, which were attributed to him.
Napoleon ; he would not affirm, he added, that these
addresses were not written by some individual of the
family, but he could declare that they were not his pro-
duction.

I had the opportunity of rendering mygelf acquainted
with the sentiments of Prince Lucien, on the Emperor's
return from Elba, and am enabled to say that it would
have been difficult for any man to have been more up-
right and steady in his political views, or to have evinced
greater attachment and good- will towards his brother.

MADEIRA, &C. VIOLENT GALE. CHESS.

22nd — 26th. On the 22nd we came within sight of
Madeira, and at night arrived off the port. Only two
of the vessels cast anchor, to take on board supplies
for the squadron. The wind blew very hard, and the
sea was exceedingly rough. The Emperor found him-
self indisposed, and I was also ill. A sudden gale arose ;
the air was excessively hot, and seemed to be impreg-
nated with small particles of sand — we were now assail-
ed by the emanations of the terrible winds from the
deserts of Africa. This weather lasted throughout the
whole of the following day. Our communication with
the shore became extremely difficult. The English Con-
sul came on board, and informed us that for many years
there had not been such a hurricane at Madeira ; the
vintage was entirely destroyed, all the windows in the
town were broken, and it had been found scarcely pos-
sible to breathe in the streets. All this time we continued
tacking about before the town ; which we continued to
do throughout the whole of the following night, and the
24th, when we took on board several oxen, and stores
of other provisions, such as unripe oranges, bad peaches,
and tasteless pears ; the figs and grapes were however

THE EMPEROK NAPOLEON. 71

excellent. In the evening we made way with great ra-
pidity ; the wind still blowing hard. On the 25th and
26th we lay-to during a portion of each day, to distribute
provisions among the vessels composing the squadron ;
during the rest of the time, we sailed on smoothly and
rapidly.

Meanwhile nothing occurred to interrupt the unifor-
mity of the scene. Each day crept slowly on, and ad-
ded to the past interval, which, as a whole, seemed brief
because it was void of interest, and not characterized by
any remarkable incident.

The Emperor had added to the number of his amuse-
ments by a game at piquet, which he regularly played
about three o' clock. This was succeeded by a few
games at chess with the Grand Marshal, M de Mon-
tholon, or some other individual, until dinner-time.
There was no very good chess-player on board the ves-
sel. The Emperor was but an indifferent player ; he
gained with some and lost with others, a circumstance
which one evening led him to say, " How happens it
that I frequently lose with those who are never able to
beat him whom I almost always beat .'' Does not this
seem contradictory ? How is this problem to be solved ?"
said he, winking his eye, to shew that he was not the
dupe of the constant politeness of him who was really
the best player.

We no longer played at vingt-et-un in the evening :
we gave up this game on account of our having played
too high, at which the Emperor appeared displeased, for
he was a great enemy to gaming. On returning from
his afternoon walk on the deck. Napoleon played two or
three games at chess, and retired to rest early.

THE CANARIES. PASSING THE TROPIC. DETAILS OF

THE emperor's CHILDHOOD. NAPOLEON AT BRI-

ENNE. PICIIEGRU. NAPOLEON AT THE MILITARY

SCHOOL IN PARIS. IN THE ARTILLERY. HIS COM-
PANIONS. NAPOLEON AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF

THE REVOLUTION.

27th — 31st. At daybreak on Sunday, 27th, we
found ourselves among the Canaries, which we passed

72 LAS cases' iVEMOlllS OF

in the course of the day, saihng at the rate of ten or
twelve knots an hour, without having perceived the fa-
mous Peak of Teneriffe — a circumstance the more ex-
traordinary, since in clear weather it is visible at the
distance of sixty leagues.

On the 29th we crossed the tropic, and observed
many flying fish round the ship. On the 31st, at eleven
at night, one of the sailors threw himself overboard ; he
was a negro who had got drunk, and was fearful of the
flogging that awaited him. He had several times, in
the course of the evening, attempted to jump overboard,
and at last succeeded. He however soon repented, and
uttered loud cries. He swam very well ; but though a
boat was immediately sent ofi", and every endeavour used
to rescue him, he was lost. The cries of this man in the
sea excited a powerful sensation on board the vessel. In a
moment the crew were hurrying about in every direction ;
the noise was very great, and the agitation universal.

As I was descending from deck to the cabin, a mid-
shipman, a youth between ten and twelve years of age,
of an interesting countenance, thinking I was going to
inform the Emperor of what had occurred, laid hold of
my coat, and in a tone expressive of the tenderest inte-
rest exclaimed, " Ah, Sir, do not alarm him ! Tell him
the noise is nothing at all ; that it is only a man fallen
overboard." Amiable and innocent youth! he ex-^
pressed his sentiments rather than his thoughts !

In genera] the midshipmen, of whom there were
several on board the ship, behaved with marked respect
and attention to the Emperor. They every evening re-
peated a scene that made a deep impression on our feel-
ings. Early in the morning the sailors carried up their
hammocks, and put them in the large nettings at the
sides of the ship ; and about six in the evening they
carried them away at the signal of a whistle. Those
who were tardy in the performance of this duty received
a certain punishment. On the signal being given, a
great bustle ensued ; and it was gratifying to see the
midshipmen at this moment form a circle round the
Emperor, whether he might be standing in the middle of
the deck, or resting on his favourite gun. They

THE EMPEROE NAPOLEOX.

73

watched his motions with an anxious eye, and either by
signs or words directed the sailors to avoid incommod-
ing him. The Emperor frequently observed this conduct,
and remarked that youthful hearts were always inclined
to enthusiasm.

I will now proceed with the details, which I collected
at various times, respecting the early years of the Em-
peror's life.

Napoleon was bom about noon on the 15th of August
(Assumption- day) in the year 1769. His mother, who
was possesed of great bodily as well as mental vigour,
and who had braved the dangers of war during her preg-
nancy, wished to attend mass on account of the solemnity
of the day: she was, however, taken ill at church, and
on her return home was delivered before she could be
conveyed to her chamber. The child, as soon as it v^as
born, was laid on the carpet, which was an old-fashioned
one, representing at full length the heroes of fable, or,
perhaps, of the lUad. This child was Napoleon.

In his boyhood Napoleon was turbulent, adroit, lively
and agile in the extreme. He had gained, he used to
say, the most complete ascendancy over his elder brother
Joseph. The latter was beaten and ill-treated 5 com-
plaints were carried to the mother, and she would begin
to scold before poor Joseph had even time to open his
mouth.

At the age of ten. Napoleon was sent to the military
school at Brienne. His name, which in his Corsican
accent he pronounced as if written Napoillone, from tbe
similarity of the sound, procured for him, among his
youthful companions, the nick-name of la paille au nez
(straw in his nose). At this period a great change took
place in Napoleon's character. In contradiction to all
the apocryphal histories, which contain anecdotes of his
life, he was when at Brienne mild, quiet, and susceptible.
One day the quarter master, who was a man of harsh
disposition, and who never took the trouble of consider-
ing the physical and moral shades of character in each
individual scholar, condemned Napoleon, by way of pu-
nishment, to wear the serge coat, and to take his dinner
on his knees at the door of the refectory. Napoleon,

74 LAS cases' memoirs of

who had a vast share of pride and self-conceit, was so
mortified by this disgrace, that he was seized with a
violent retching, and suffered a severe nervous attack.
The head master of the school happening accidentally to
pass by, relieved him from the punishment, reproving
the quarter -master for his want of discernment; and
Father Patrault, the professor of mathematics, was very
indignant on finding that his first mathematician had
been treated with so little respect.

* "On attaining the age of puberty, Napoleon's temper
became morose and reserved ; his passion for reading
was carried to excess ; and he eagerly devoured the
contents of every book that fell in his way. Pichegru
was at this time his quarter-master and his tutor in the
four rules of arithmetic.

"Pichegru was a native of Franche-Comte, where
his family were farmers. The Minim monks of Cham-
pagne were appointed to superintend the military school
of Brienne. Owing to their poverty, however, so few
individuals were induced to enter their order that they
found themselves inadequate to the task imposed on
them ; and they solicited the assistance of the Minim
monks of Franche-Comte, of whom Father Patrault was
one. An aunt of Pichegru's, a nun of La Charite, fol-
lowed Patrault, for the purpose of superintending the
infirmary, and she was accompanied by her nephew, a
youth who was admitted to the school to receive his
education gratuitously. Pichegru, who was extremely
clever, was, on his attaining a suitable age, made quarter-
master and tutor under Father Patrault, who had taught
him mathematics. He intended to become a monk,
which Avas the sole object of his ambition and of his
aunt's wishes. But Father Petrault dissuaded him from
this intention, assuring him that the profession was not
suited to the age ; and that he ought to look forward to
something better : he prevailed on him to enlist in the
artillery, where the Revolution found him a sub -officer.

* These lines were dictated by the Emperor himself: — how and
when will be hereafter explained.

THE EMPEROR iVAPOLEON. /O

His military career is known : — he was the conqueror of
Holland. Thus Father Patrault had the honour of count-
ing- among his pupils the two greatest generals of mo-
dern France.

" Father Patrault was subsequently secularized by M.
de Brienne, Archbishop of Sens and Cardinal de Lo-
menie, who made him one of his grand vicars, and
intrusted him with the management of his numerous
benefices.

**At the time of the Revolution, Father Patrault,
though his opinions were widely opposite to those of his
patron, nevertheless exerted every endeavour to save
hi n, and with this view applied to Danton, who was a
native of the same part of France to which the Cardinal
and himself belonged. But all was unavailing ; and it
is supposed that Patrault, after the manner of the an-
cients, rendered to the Cardinal the service of procuring
for him a poisoned draught to save him from the
scaffold.

" Madame de Lomenie, the Cardinal's niece, before
her life was sacrificed by the revolutionary tribunal, in-
trusted Father Patrault with the care of her two daugh-
ters, who were yet in their childhood. The moment of
terror having passed away, their aunt Madame de Brienne,
who had escaped the storm and preserved a considerable
portion of her fortune, applied to Father Patrault for the
children ; but he refused to give them up, on the ground
that their mother had directed him to withdraw them
from the world and to devote them to the occupation of
peasants. He had conceived the design of literally exe-
cuting these figurative commands, and was on the point
of uniting them to two of his own nephews. * I was
then/ said Napoleon, ' General of the Army of the
Interior, and I became the mediator for the restoration
of the two children, an object which was not accomplish-
ed without difficulty. Patrault employed every possible
means of resistance. These daughters of Madame de
Lomenie were the two ladies whom you have since known
by the names of Madame de Marnesia, and the beautiful
Madame de Canisy, Duchess de Vicenza.

" Father Patrault, having renewed his acquaintance

76 LAS CASES MEMOIRS OF

with, his old pupil, followed h'm and joined the Army of
Italy, where he proved himself better able to calculaie
projectiles than to meet their effects. At Montenotte,
Millesimo, and Dego, he evinced the most puerile
cowardice. During the action he was occupied, not like
Moses, in praying, but in weeping. The General- in-
chief appointed him administrator of domains at Milan,
from which he derived considerable profits. On Napo-
leon's return from Egypt, he presented himself to him :
he was no longer the little Minim monk of Champagne,
but a corpulent financier, possessed of upwards of a mil-
lion. Two years afterwards he again sought an inter-
view with the First Consul at Malmaison : he now looked
mean, dejected, and shabbily dressed. ' How is this ?'
inquired the Consul. ' You see before you a ruined
man,' replied Patrault ; ' one who is reduced to beggary ;
the victim of severe misfortune.' The First Consul de-
termined to investigate the truth of this statement ; he
discovered that Father Patrault had commenced the trade
of an usurer. The great calculator had lost his fortune
through bankruptcies, in lending at great risk for a high
interest. * I have already paid my debt,' said the First
Consul, at his next interview with him ; •' I can do no
more for you; I cannot make a man's fortune twice.'
He contented himself with granting Patrault a pension
sufficient for his subsistence.

" Napoleon retained but a faint idea of Pichegru ; he
remembered that he was a tall man, rather red in the
face. Pichegru, on the contrary, seems to have pre-
served a striking recollection of young Napoleon. When
Pichegru joined the royalist party, he was asked whether
it would not be possible to gain over the General-in- chief
of the Army of Italy. ' To attempt that would only be
wasting time,' said he : ' from my knowledge of him
when a boy, I am sure he must be a most inflexible cha-
racter : he has formed his resolutions, and lie will not
change them.' "

The Emperor has often been much amused at the tales
and anecdotes that are related of his boyhood, in the nu-
merous little publications to which he had given rise :
he acknowledges the accuracy of scarcely any of them.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 77

There is one, relative to his confirmation at the military
school of Paris, which, however, he admitted to be true.
It is as follows : — the archbishop who confirmed him,
manifesting his astonishment at the name of Napoleon,
said he did not know of any such saint, and that there
was no such name in the calendar ; the boy quickly re-
plied, that that could be no rule, since there were an
immense number of saints, and only 365 days.

Napoleon never observed his festival- day until after
the Concordat : his patron saint was a stranger to the
French Calendar, and even where his name is recorded
the date of his festival is a matter of uncertainty. The
Pope, however, fixed it for the 15th of August, which
was at once the Emperor's birth-day, and the day of the
signing of the Concordat.

* "In 1783, Napoleon was one of the scholars who,
at the usual competition at Brienne, were fixed upon to
be sent to the military school at Paris, to finish their
education. The choice was made annually by an in-
spector, who visited the twelve military schools. This
office was filled by the Chevalier de Keralio, a general
officer, and the author of a work on military tactics. He
was also the tutor of the present [the late] King of
Bavaria, who in his youth bore the title of Duke of
Deux-Ponts. Keralio was an amiable old man and well
qualified to discharge the duty of Inspector of the
military schools. He was fond of the boys, played with
them when they had finished their examinations, and
permitted those who had acquitted themselves most to
his satisfaction to dine with him at the table of the
monks. He was particularly attached to young Napo-
leon, and took a pleasure in stimulating him to exertion.
He singled him out to be sent to Paris, though it would
appear he had not at that time attained the requisite
age. The lad was not very far advanced in any branch
of education except mathematics, and the monks sug-
gested that it would be better to wait till the following
year, to afford time for further improvement. But this
the Chevalier de Keralio would by no means agree to ; ' I

* Dictated by the Emperor.

78 LAS cases' memoirs of

know what I am about,' said he, ' and if I am trans-
gressing the rules, it is not on account of family influ-
ence : — I know nothing of the friends of this youth. I
am actuated only by my own opinion of his merit. 1
perceive in him a spark of genius which cannot be too
early fostered.' The worthy chevalier died suddenly,
before he had time to carry his determination into effect ;
but his successor, M. de Regnaud, who would not per-
haps have evinced half his penetration, nevertheless
fulfilled his intention, and young Napoleon was sent to
Paris."

At this period he began to develop qualities of a
superior order : decision of character, profound reflection,
and vigorous conceptions. It would appear, that from
his earliest childhood his parents rested all their hopes
on him. His father, when on his death- bed at Mont-
pellier, though Joseph was beside him, spoke only of
Napoleon, who was then at the military school. In the
delirium with which he was seized in his last moments,
he incessantly called Napoleon to come to his aid with
his great sword. The grand uncle, Lucien, who on his
death- bed was surrounded by all his relatives, said,
addressing himself to Joseph, " You are the eldest of the
family ; but there is the head of it (pointing to Napo-
leon). Never lose sight of him.^' The Emperor used
to laugh and say, " This was a true disinheritance : it
was the scene of Jacob and Esau."

Having myself been educated at the military school of
Paris, though at an earlier period than that at which
Napoleon attended it, I was enabled, on returning from
my emigration, to converse about the Emperor with the
masters who had been common to us both.

M. de I'Eguille, our teacher of history, used to boast
that the records of the military school contained proofs
of his having foretold the great career which his pupil
was destined to fill ; and that he had frequently, in his
notes, eulogised the depth of his reflection, and the
shrewdness of his judgment. He informed me that the
First Consul used often to invite him to breakfast at
Malmaison, and that he always took pleasure in con-
versing about his old lessons. — " That which made tiie

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 79

deepest impression on me," said he, one day to M. de
I'Eguille, " was the revolt of the Constable de Bourbon,
though you did not present it to us precisely in its proper
light". You made it appear that his great crime was his
having fought against his king ; which certainly was but
a trifling fault, in those days of divided nobility and
sovereignty ; particularly considering the scandalous in-
justice of which he was the victim. His great, his real,
his only crime, and that on which you did not suffici-
ently dwell, was his having joined with foreigners to
attack his native country."

M. Domairon, our professor of belles-lettres, informed
me that he had always been struck with the singularity
of Napoleon's amplifications, which he said were like
granite heated in a volcano.

Onlv one individual formed a mistaken idea of him ;
that was M. Bauer, the dull heavy German master.
Young Napoleon never made much progress in the Ger-
man language, which offended M. Bauer, who ranked
German above all things, and he in consequence formed
a most contemptible opinion of his pupil's abilities. One
day. Napoleon not being in his place, M. Bauer inquired
where he was, and was told that he was attending his
examination in the class of artillery. " What! does he
know any thing?" said M. Bauer ironically. "Why,
Sir, he is the best mathematician in the school," was the
reply. *' Ah ! I have always heard it remarked, and I
have always believed, that none but a fool could learn
mathematics." " It would be curious," said the Em-
peror, " to know whether M. Bauer lived long enough
to see me rise in the w^orld, and to enjoy the confirma-
tion of his own judgment."

Napoleon was scarcely eighteen years of age when the
Abbe Raynal, struck with the extent of his acquirements,
appreciated his merit so highly as to make him one of
the ornaments of his scientific dejeuners. Finally, the
celebrated Paoli, who, after having long inspired Napo-
leon with a sort of veneration, found the latter at the
head of a party against him, the moment he shewed him-
self favourable to the English, was accustomed to say —
" This young man is formed on the ancient model. He
is one of Plutarch's men."

80 LAS cases' memoirs of

In 1785, Napoleon, who was appointed at once a
cadet and an officer of artillery, quitted the miUtary
school to enter the regiment of la Fere with the rank of
second lieutenant ; from which he was promoted to the
rank of first lieutenant in the regiment of Grenoble.

Napoleon, on quitting the mihtary school, went to
join his regiment at Valence. The first winter he spent
there, his comrades at the mess-table were Laribois-
siere, whom, during the empire, he appointed inspector-
general of the artillery ; Sorbier, who succeeded Lari-
boissiere in that post; d'Hedouville, junior, afterwards
minister plenipotentiary at Frankfort ; Mallet, brother
of him vv'ho headed the tumult in Paris in 1813; an
officer named Mabille, whom, on his return from emi-
gration, the Emperor appointed to a situation in the
post-office ; Rolland de Villarceaux, afterwards prefect of
Nismes ; Desmazzis, junior, his companion at the mili-
tary school, and the friend of his early years, who after
Napoleon ascended the throne, became keeper of the
Imperial wardrobe.

There were in the corps officers more or less easy in
their circumstances ; Napoleon ranked among the for-
mer. He received from his family 1200 francs a year,
which was then the amount of an officer's full pay.
There were two individuals in the regiment who could
afford to keep cabriolets, or carriages of some kind, and
they were looked upon as very great men. Sorbier was
one of these two : his companions got him to drive
them about, and they repaid the obligation by jokes and
puns. Sorbier was the son of a physician at Moulins.

At Valence, Napoleon obtained an early introduction
to Madame de Columbier, a lady about fifty years of
age, who was endowed with many rare and estimable
qualities, and who was the most distinguished person in
the town. She entertained a great regard for the yoang
artillery- officer, and through her acquaintance he mingled
in all the best company in Valence and its neighbour-
hood. She introduced him to the Abbe de Saint Rufe,
an elderly man of property, who was frequently visited
by the most distinguished persons in the country. Na-
poleon was indebted for the favour he enjoyed to his

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 81

extensive information, joined to the facility and force
with which he turned it to account. Madame du Co-
lombier often foretold that he would be a distinguished
man. The death of this lady happened about the time
of the breaking out of the Revolution : it was an event
in which she took great interest, and in her last mo-
ments was heard to say that, if no misfortune.befel young
Napoleon, he would infallibly play a distinguished part
in the events of the time. The Emperor never spoke of
Madame du Colombier but with expressions of the tender-
est gratitude ; and he did not hesitate to acknowledge
that the valuable introductions and superior company in
society which she procured for him had great influence
over his destiny.

The gaiety which Napoleon enjoyed at this period of
his life, excited great jealousy on the part of his fellow-
officers. They were displeased at seeing him absent
himself so frequently from among them, though his
doing so could be no reasonable ground of offence to
them. Fortunately the commandant, M. d'Urtubie, had
formed a just estimate of his character : he shewed him
great kindness, and afforded him the means of fulfilling
his military duties, and at the same time of mingling in
the pleasures of society.

Napoleon conceived an attachment for Mademoiselle
du Colombier, who, on her part, was not insensible to
his merits. It was the first love of both 3 and it was
that kind of love which might be expected to arise at
their age and with their education. " We were the
most innocent creatures imaginable," the Emperor used
to say ; " w^e contrived little meetings together : ^I y^^elj.
remember one which took place on a Midsummer morn-
ing, just as daylight began to dawn. It will scarcely
be believed that all our happiness consisted in eating
cherries together."

It has been said that the' mother ivished to bring
about this marriage, and tha\: the father opposed it on
the ground that they would rahi eacii other by their
union ; while each was separately destined to a fortunate
career. But this story is untrue, as is likewise another
anecdote relative to a marriage with Mademoiselle

VOL. I. 15^^^'^

82 NAPOLEON AT THE AUTILLERY

Claiy, afterwards Madame Bernadotte, now Queen of
Sweden.

In 1805, the Emperor, w^hen about to be crow^ned
King- of Italy, on passing through Lyons, again saw
Mademoiselle du Colombier, who had now changed her
name to Madame de Bressieux. She gained access to
him with some difficulty, surrounded as he was by the
etiquette of royalty. Napoleon w^as happy to see her
again ; but he found her much altered for the worse.
He did for her husband wdiat she sohcited, and placed her
in the situation of lady of honour to one of his sisters.

Mademoiselles de Laurencin and Saint- Germain were
at that time the reigning toasts in Valence, where they
divided the general admiration. The latter married
Monsieur de Montalivet, who was also known to the
Emperor at that time, and who was afterwards made
Minister of the Interior. " He was an honest fellow,"
said Napoleon, " and one who, I believe, remained
firmly attached to me."

When about eighteen or twenty years of age, the
Emperor was distinguished as a young man of extensive
information, possessing a reflective turn of mind and
strong reasoning powers. His reading had been very
extensive, and he had profoundly meditated on the fund
of knowledge thus acquired, much of which, he used to
say, he had probably since lost. His sparkling and
ready wit and energetic language distinguished him
wherever he w^ent : he was a favourite with every one,
particularly with the fair sex, to whom he recommended
himself by the elegance and novelty of his ideas, and the
boldness of his arguments. As for the men, they were
often afraid to engage with him in those discussions into
which he was led by a natural confidence in his own
powers.

Many individuals, who knev/him at an early period of
life, predicted his extraordinary career ; and they viewed
the events of his life wi/thout astonishment. At an early
age he gained anonymously a prize at the Academy of
Lyons, on the foUov/ing question, proposed by Raynal :
• — " What are the 'principles and institutions calculated
to advance mankind to the highest possible degree of

SCHOOL AT AUXONNE. S3

happiness ?" The anonymous memorial excited great
attention : it was perfectly in unison with the ideas of
the age. It began by enquiring in what happiness con-
sisted ; and the answer was, in the perfect enjoyment of
life in the manner most conformable with our moral and
physical organization. After he became Emperor, Napo-
leon was one day conversing on this subject with M. de
Talleyrand : the latter, like a skilful courtier, shortly
after presented to him the famous memorial, which he
had procured from the archives of the Academy of
Lyons. The Emperor took it, and, after reading a few
pages, threw into the fire this first production of his
youth. " We can never think of every thing," said
Napoleon : and M. de Talleyrand had not taken the
precaution of having it copied.

The Prince de Conde one day visited the Artillery
school at Auxonne ; and the cadets considered it a high
honour to be examined by that military prince. The
commandant, in spite of the hierarchy, placed young
Napoleon at the head of the polygon, in preference to
others of superior rank. It happened that, on the day
preceding the examination, all the cannons of the polygon
were spiked : but Napoleon was too much on the alert
to be caught by this trick of his comrades, or snare,
perhaps, of the illustrious traveller.

It is generally believed that Napoleon, in his boy-
hood, was taciturn, sullen, and morose ; on the contrary,
he was of a very lively turn. He never appeared more
delighted than when relating to us the various tricks he
was accustomed to play when at the School of Artillery.
In describing the joyous moments of his early youth,
he seems to forget the misfortunes which hold him in
captivity.

There was an old commandant, upwards of eighty
years of age, for whom the cadets entertained a very
high respect, notwithstanding the many jokes they
played upon him. One day, while he was examining
them in their cannon exercise, and watching every dis-
charge with his eye-glass, he asserted they were far
from hitting the mark, and asked those near him if they
had seen the ball strike. Nobodv had observed the

G 2

84 LIVELY TRAITS IN HIS YOUTH,

youths' slipping aside the ball every time they loaded.
The old general was rather sharp ; after five or six dis-
charges, he took it into his head to count the balls. The
trick was discovered. The general thought it a very
good one ; but nevertheless ordered all who had par-
ticipated in it to be put under arrest.

The cadets would occasionally take a pique at some of
their captains, or determine to revenge themselves on
others to whom they owed a grudge. They then re-
solved to banish them from society, and to reduce them
to the necessity of putting themselves under a sort of
arrest. Four or five of the cadets undertook to execute
the design. They fastened on their victim; pursued
him into every company, and he was not suffered to
open his mouth without being methodically and logically
contradicted, though always with a strict regard to po-
liteness : at length the poor fellow found that retire-
ment was his only alternative.

" On another occasion," Napoleon used to relate,
" one of my comrades who lodged above me unluckily
took a fancy to learn to play the horn, and made such a
hideous noise as completely disturbed the studies of those
who were within hearing. We met each other one day
on the stairs j * Are you not tired of practising the
horn ?' said I. ' Not at all,' he replied. ' At any rate,
you tire other people.' ' I am sorry for it.' ' It would
be better if you went to practise elsewhere.' ' 1 am
master of my own apartment.' ' Perhaps you may be
taught to entertain a doubt on that point.' ' I scarcely
think any oiie will be bold enough to attempt to teach me
that.' " A challenge ensued ; but before the antagonists
met, the affair was submitted to the consideration of a
council of the cadets, and it was determined that the one
should practise the horn at a greater distance, and that
the other should be more accommodating.

In the campaign of 1814, the Emperor again met his
horn-player in the neighbourhood of Soissons or Laon :
he was residing on his estate, and gave some important
information respecting the enemy's position. The Em-
peror made him one of his aides-de-camp ; this officer
was Colonel Bussy.

MODIFIED BY REFLECTION. 85

When attached to his artillery-regiment. Napoleon
seized every opportunity of mingling in company, where
he invariably made an agreeable impression. Women at
that time attached a high value to wit in the other sex ;
it was a quality which never failed to win their good
graces. Napoleon, at this period, performed what he
termed his Sentimental Journey from Valence to Mont-
Cenis in Burgundy, and he intended to write an account
of it after the manner of Sterne. Tlie faithful Desmazzis
was of the party : he was constantly with him, and his
narrative of Napoleon's private life, if combined with the
details of his public career, would form a perfect histor)^
of the Emperor, It would then be seen that, however
extraordinary his life might be with respect to its inci-
dents, yet nothing could be more simple or natural than
its course.

Circumstances and reflection have considerably modi-
fied his character. Even his style of expression, now so
concise and laconic, was in his youth diffase and empha-
tic. At the time of the Legislative Assembly, Napoleon
assumed a serious and severe demeanour, and became
less communicative than before. The army of Italy also
marked another epoch in his character. His extreme
youth, when he went to take the command of the army,
rendered it necessary that he should evince great reserve,
and the utmost strictness of morals. " This was indis-
pensably necessary," said he, '' to enable me to command
men so much above me in point of age. I pursued a line
of conduct truly irreproachable and exemplary. I proved
myself a sort of Cato. I must have appeared such in
the eyes of all. I was a philosopher and a sage." In
this character he appeared on the theatre of the world.

Napoleon was in garrison at Valence when the Revo-
lution broke out. At that time it was made a point of
particular importance to induce the artillery-officers to
emigrate ; and the officers, on their part, were very much
divided in opinion. Napoleon, who was thoroughly im-
bued with the notions of the age, possessing a natural
instinct for great actions and a passion for national glory,
espoused the cause of the Revolution ; and his example
influenced the majority of the regiment. He was an ar-

86 TOULON SURRENDERED TO THE ENGLISH.

dent patriot under the Constituent Assembly ; but the
Legislative Assembly marked a new period in his ideas
and opinions.

He was at Paris on the 21st of June, 1792, and wit-
nessed the insurrection of the people of the Faubourgs,
who traversed the garden of the Tuileries, and forced the
palace. There were but 6000 men ; a mere disorderly
mob, whose language and dress proved them to belong
to the very lowest class of society.

Napoleon was also a witness of the events of the 10th
of August, in which the assailants were neither higher
in rank nor more formidable in number.

In 1793, Napoleon was in Corsica, where he had a
command in the National Guards. He opposed Paoli,
as soon as he was led to suspect that the veteran, to
whom he had hitherto been so much attached, entertained
the design of betraying the island to the English. There-
fore it is not true, as it has been generally reported, that
Napoleon, or one of his family, was at one time in En-
gland, proposing to raise a Corsican regiment for the
English service.

The English and Paoli subdued the Corsican patriots,
and burnt Ajaccio. The house of the Buonapartes was
destroyed in the general conflagration, and the family
was obliged to fly to the Continent. They fixed their
abode at Marseilles, whence Napoleon proceeded to Paris.
He arrived just at the moment when the federalists of
Marseilles had surrendered Toulon to the English.

CAPE VERD ISLANDS. NAPOLEON AT THE SIEGE OF

TOULON. RISE OF DUROC AND JUNOT. NAPOLEON

QUARRELS WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
PEOPLE. QUARRELS WITH AUBRT. ANECDOTES RE-
LATIVE TO VENDEMIAIRE. NAPOLEON GENERAL OT

THE ARMY OF ITALY. INTEGRITY OF HIS MILITARY

ADMINISTRATION. HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS. NICK-
NAMED PETIT-CAPORAL. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE

SYSTEM OF THE DIRECTORY AND THAT OF THE GE-
NERAL OP THE ARMY OF ITALY.

September 1st — 6th. On the 1st of September we
found from our latitude that we should see the Cap*? Verd

NAPOLEON COMMENCES LEARNING ENGLISH. 87

Islands in the course of the day. The sky was, however,
overcast, and at night we could see nothing. The Ad**
miral, convinced that there was a mistake in the reckon-
ing of our longitude, was preparing to bear westward to
the right, in order to fall in with the islands, when a
brig, which was ahead of us, intimated by a signal that
she had discovered them on the left. During the night
the wind blew violently from the south-east, and if our
mistake had been the reverse of what it was, and the:
Admiral had really borne to the right, it is not impro-
bable that we should have been thrown out of our
course ; a proof that, notwithstanding the improvements
in science, mistakes are very apt to take place, and that
the chances of navigation are very great. As the wind
continued to blow strong, and the sea was boisterous,
the Admiral preferred continuing his course, rather than
waiting to take in water, of which he believed he had
already a sufficient store. Every thing now promised a
prosperous passage ; we were already very far advanced
on our course. Every circumstance continued favourable ;
the weather was mild, and we might even have thought
our voyage agreeable, had it been undertaken in the
pursuit of our own plans and in conformity with our own
inclinations : but how could we forget our past misfor-
tunes, or close our eyes on the future ?

Occupation alone could enable us to support the lan-
guor and tedium of our days. I had undertaken to
teach my son English ; and the Emperor, to whom I
mentioned the progress he was making, expressed a wish
to learn also. I endeavoured to form a very simple
plan for his instruction, in order to save him trouble.
This did very well for two or three days ; but the ennui
occasioned by the study was at least equal to that which
it was intended to counteract, and the English was laid
aside. The Emperor occasionally reproached me with
having discontinued my lessons : I replied that I had
the medicine ready, if he had the courage to take it. In
other respects, particularly before the English, his man-
ners and habits were always the same : never did a
murmur or a wish escape his lips ; he invariably ap-
peared contented, patient, and good-humoured.

»« HIS PLAN FOR CONDUCTING

The admiral, who, on account of our reputation, I
suppose, had assumed great stiffness, on our departure
from England, gradually laid aside his reserve, and
every day took greater interest in his captive. He re-
presented the danger incurred by coming on deck after
dinner, owing to the damp of the evening ; the Emperor
would then sometimes take his arm and prolong the
conversation, which never failed to gratify him exceed-
ingly. I have been assured that the Admiral carefully
noted down every particular that he could collect. If
this be true, the remarks which the Emperor one day
made, during dinner, on naval affairs — on the French
resources in the south; those which he had already
created, and those which he contemplated ; and on the
ports and harbours of the Mediterranean : to all of which
the Admiral listened with deep attention, and as if fear-
ful of interruption- — will compose a chapter truly valua-
ble to a seaman.

I will now return to the details collected during our
ordinary conversation. The following relate to the
siege of Toulon.

In September 1793, Napoleon Buonaparte, then in
his twenty-fourth year, was yet unknown to the world
which was destined to resound vfith his name. He was
a lieutenant- colonel of artillery, and had been only a few
week^ in Paris ; having left Corsica, where political
events had forced him to yield to the faction of Paoli,
The English had taken possession of Toulon ; an expe-
rienced artillery- officer was wanting to direct the opera-
tions of the siege, and Napoleon was fixed on. There
will history take him up, never more to leave him ; —
there commences his immortality.

I refer to the Memoirs of the Campaign of Italy for
the plan of attack which he adopted, and the manner in
which that plan was carried into effect. It will there be
seen that it was he, and he alone, who took the fortress.
This was a great triumph, no doubt : but to appreciate
it justly, it would be necessary to compare the plan of
the attack with the account of the evacuation ; the one
is the literal prediction, and the other is the fulfilment
Avord for word. From this moment the young com-

THE SIEGE OF TOULON. 89

mander of artillery enjoyed the highest reputation. The
Emperor never looks back to this period without pleasure,
and always mentions it as the happiest portion of his
life. The taking of Toulon was his first successful
achievement, and it naturally excites the fondest recol-
lections. The history of the campaign of Italy will pre-
sent a faithful picture of the three generals -in- chief who
succeeded each other during the siege : the inconceivable
ignorance of Cartaux, the gloomy brutality of Doppet,
and the honest corn-age of Dugommier. Of them I shall
here say nothing.

At the first breaking out of the Revolution, there was
nothing but disorder in the materiel and ignorance in
the personnel of the French army, which was owing both
to the confusion of the times and the rapidity and irre-
gularity with which the promotions had been made. The
following story wiU afford an idea of the state of affairs
and of the manners of the time : —

On his arrival at head- quarters. Napoleon waited on
General Cartaux, a fine figure, covered with gold lace
from head to foot, who asked him what duty he had
been sent upon. The young officer modestly presented
the letter which directed him to superintend, under the
general's command, the operations of the artillery.
" This was quite unnecessary," said the fine-looking
man, twirling his whiskers; " we want no assistance to
retake Toulon: however, you are welcome, " and you
may share the glory of burning the town to-morrow,
without having experienced any of the fatigue." And
he made him stay to sup with him.

A party of thirty sat down to table ; the general
alone was served like a prince, while every one else was
dying of hunger ; a circumstance which, in those days of
equality, strangely shocked the new guest. The next
morning, at break of day, the general took him out in
his cabriolet, to admire, as he said, the preparations for
attack. As soon as he had crossed the height, and come
within sight of the roads, they got out of the carriage,
and entered some vineyards by the road side. The com-
mandant of artillery then perceived some pieces of ord-
nance, and some digging, for which it was literally im-

90 EXPOSES THE INEFFICIENCY OF THE

possible for him in tlie slightest degree to account.
"Dupas," said the general haughtily, turning to his aide-
de-camp, his confidential man, " are those our batteries ?"
— " Yes, general." — " And our park ?" " There, close at
hand." — " And our red-hot balls V* — " In yonder houses,
where two companies have been employed all the mor-
nins: in heatins: them." — '' But how shall we be able to
carry these red-hot balls ?" This consideration seemed
to puzzle them both completely, and they turned to the
officer of artillery, and begged to know whether, through
his scientific knowledge, he could not explain how the
thing was to be managed. Napoleon, who would have
been very much tempted to take the whole for a hoax,
had his interrogators evinced less simplicity, for they
were more than a league and a half from the object of
attack, summoned to his aid all the gravity he was mas-
ter of, and endeavoured to persuade them, before they
troubled themselves about red-hot balls, to try the
range of the shot with cold ones. After a great deal of
trouble, he at length prevailed on them to follow his
advice, but not till he had very luckily made use of the
technical term coup d'6preuve, (proof- shot,) which took
their fancy, and brought them over to his opinion. They
then made the experiment, but the shot did not reach to
a third of the distance required : and the general and
Dupas began to abuse the Marseillais and the Aristocrats
who had, they said, maliciously spoiled the powder. In
the mean time the representative of the people came up
on horseback : this was Gasparin, an intelligent man,
who had served in the army. — Napoleon, perceiving how
things were going on, and boldly deciding on the course
he meant to pursue, immediately assumed great confi-
dence of manner, and urged the representative to intrust
him with the whole direction of the affair. He exposed,
without hesitation, the unparalleled ignorance of all who
were about him, and from that moment took upon him-
self the entire direction of the siege.

Cartaux was a man of such limited intellect that it
was impossible to make him understand that, to facilitate
the taking of Toulon, it would be necessary to make the
attack at the outlet of the road. When the command-

PLANS OF GENERAL CARTAUX. 91

ant of artillery sometimes pointed to this outlet on the
map, and told him there was Toulon, Cartaux suspected
he knew very little of geography; and when, in spite of
his opposition, the authority of the representative decided
on the adoption of this distant point of attack, the ge-
neral was haunted by the idea of treasonable designs, and
be would often remark, with great uneasiness, that Toulon
did not lie in that direction.

Cartaux wanted one day to oblige the commandant
to erect a battery, with the rear of the guns so close
against the front of a house as to leave no room for the
recoil. On another occasion, on his return from the morn-
ing parade, he sent for the commandant to tell him
that he had just discovered a position, from which a bat^
tery of from six to twelve pieces would infallibly carry
Toulon in a few days : it was a little hillock which
would command three or four forts and several points of
the town. He was enraged at the refusal of the com-
mandant of artillery, who observed to him that, although
the battery commanded every point, it was itself com-
manded by every point ; that the twelve guns would
have one hundred and fifty to oppose them ; and that
simple subtraction would suffice to show him his disad-
vantage. The commandant of the engineer department
was called on for his opinion, and, as he concurred with-
out hesitation in that of the commandant of artillery,
Cartaux said that it was impossible to do any thing with
those learned corps, as they all went hand-in-hand. At
length, to put a stop to difficulties which were continu-
ally recurring, the representative decided that Cartaux
should communicate to the commandant of artillery his
general plan of attack, and that the latter should execute
the details, according to the rules of his department.
The following was Cartaux's memorable plan: — "The
general of artillery shall batter Toulon during three days,
at the expiration of which time I will attack it with three
columns, and carry it."

At Paris, however, the engineer committee found this
summary measure much more humorous than wise, and
it was one of the causes which led to Cartaux's recal.
There was indeed no want of plans ; for, the retaking of

92 A DEPUTATION OP SIXTY SOLDIERS

Toulon having been proposed as a subject for compe-
tition in the popular societies, plans poured in from all
quarters. Napoleon says he must have received at least
six hundred during the siege. It was to the repre-
sentative Gasparin that Napoleon was indebted for the
triumph of his plan (that which took Toulon) over the
objections of the Committees of the Convention. He
preserved a grateful recollection of this circumstance :
it was Gasparin, he used to say, who had first opened
his career.*

In all the disputes between Cartaux and the comman-
dant of artillery, which usually took place in the presence
of the general's wife, the latter uniformly took the part
of the officer of artillery, saying, with great naivete to
her husband, " Let the young man alone, he knows more
about it than you do, for he never asks your advice ;
besides, it is you who are to give the account: the glory
will be yours."

This woman was not without some share of good
sense. On her return to Paris, after the recal of her
husband, the jacobins of Marseilles gave a splendid fete
in honour of the disgraced family. In the course of the
evening the conversation happened to fall on the com-
mandant of artillery, who was enthusiastically praised.
" Do not reckon on him," said she ; " that young man
has too much understanding to remain long a sans-
culotte." On which the general exclaimed, v/ith the
voice of a Stentor, " Wife Cartaux, would you make us
all out to be fools then ?" " No, I do not say that, my
dear ; but .... I must tell you, he is not one of your
sort."

One day, at head quarters, a superb carriage arrived
from the Paris road ; it was followed by a second, and a
third ; and at length no fewer than fifteen appeared. It

* The Emperor has, in his will, paid a tribute of gratitude to the
representative Gasparin, for the special protection he received
from bim.

He has honoured with a similar tribute General Duteil, the
head of his School of Artillery, and General Dugommier, for the
attention and kindness he had experienced from them.

ARRIVE FROM PARIS, 93

may be imagined how great was the astonishment and
curiosity occasioned by such a circumstance in those
times of repubhcan simphcity. The grand monarque
himself could not have travelled with greater pomp.
The whole cavalcade had been procured by a requisition
in the capital ; several of the carriages had belonged to
the Court. About sixty soldiers, of fine appearance,
alighted from them, and inquired for the General-in-
chief ; they marched up to him with the important air
of ambassadors : — "Citizen General, " said the orator
of the party, ' ' we come from Paris ; the patriots are in-
dignant at your inactivity and delay. The soil of the
Republic has long been violated ; she is enraged to think
that the insult still remains unavenged : she asks, why
is Toulon not yet retaken .^ Why is the English fleet
not yet destroyed ? In her indignation, she has appeal-
ed to her brave sons; we have obeyed her summons, and
burn with impatience to fulfil her expectation. We are
volunteer gunners from Paris : furnish us with arms, to-
morrow we will march upon the enemy." The General,
disconcerted at this address, turned to the commandant
of artillery, who promised, in a whisper, to rid him of
these heroes next morning. They were well received,
and at day-break the commandant of artillery led them to
the sea-shore, and put some guns at their disposal. As-
tonished to find themselves exposed from head to foot,
they asked whether there was no shelter or epaulement.
They were told that all those things were out of fashion ;
that patriotism had abolished them. Meanwhile, an
English frigate fired a broadside, and put all the brag-
gadocios to flight. There was but one cry throughout
the camp ; some openly fled, and the rest quietly mingled
with the besiegers.

Disorder and anarchy now prevailed. Dupas, the fac-
totum of the General-in-chief, a man of no ability, made
himself busy, and was continually meddling with the ar-
tillery-men in the arrangement of their field-train and
batteries. A plan was formed to get rid of him. They
turned him into ridicule, and urged each other on till
they became very vehement in their jokes. On a sudden
Dupas appeared among them with all his usual confidence,

94 CAUSE OF HIS FEEBLENESS OF BODY.

giving orders and making inquiries about every thing he
saw. He received uncivil answers, and high words arose.
The tumult spread on every side ; cries of Varistocrate
and la lanterne were echoed from every mouth ; and
Dupas clapped both spurs to his horse, and never return-
ed to annoy them.

The commandant of artillery was to be seen every
where. His activity and knowledge gave him a decided
influence over the rest of the army. Whenever the
enemy attempted to make a sortie, or compelled the
besiegers to have recourse to rapid and unexpected
movements, the heads of columns and detachments were
always sure to exclaim, " Run to the commandant of
artillery, and ask him what we are to do ; he under-
stands the localities better than any one." This advice
was uniformly adopted without a murmur. He did not
spare himself ; he had several horses killed under him,
and received from an Englishman a bayonet- wound in
his left thigh, which for a short time, threatened to
require amputation.

Being one day in a battery where one of the gunners
was killed, he seized the rammer, and, with his own
hands, loaded ten or twelve times. A few days after-
wards he was attacked with a violent cutaneous disease.
No one could conceive where he had caught it, until
Muiron, his adjutant, discovered that the dead gunner
had been infected with it. In the ardour of youth and
the activity of service, the commandant of artillery was
satisfied with slight remedies, and the disorder disap-
peared ; but the poison had only entered the deeper into
his system, it long affected his health, and well nigh
cost him his life. From this disorder proceeded the
meagreness, the feebleness of body, and sickly com-
plexion, which characterized the Genera] -in- chief of the
army of Italy and of the army of Egypt.

It was not till a much later period, at the Tuileries,
that Corvisart succeeded, by the application of numerous
blisters on his chest, in restoring him to perfect health ;
and it was then that he acquired the corpulence for which
he has since been remarked.

From being the commandant of artillery in the army

SUCCEEDS IN TAKING TOULON. 95

of Toulon, Napoleon might have become general- in-
chief before the close of the siege. The very day of
the attack on Little Gibraltar, General Dugommier,
-who had delayed it for some days, wished to delay it
still longer; about three or four o'clock in the afternoon,
the Representatives sent for Napoleon : they were dis-
satisfied with Dugommier, particularly on account of his
delay; they wished to deprive him of the command, and.
to transfer it to the chief of the artillery, who declined
accepting it. Napoleon went to the General, whom he
esteemed and loved, informed him of what had occm-red,
and persuaded him to decide on the attack. About
eight or nine in the evening, when all the preparations
w^ere completed, and just as the attack was about to
commence, a change took place in the state of affairs,
and the Representatives countermanded the attack.
Dugommier, how^ever, still influenced by the comm^and-
ant of artillery, persisted: had he failed, he must have
forfeited his head. Such was the course of affairs and
the justice of the times.

The notes which the committees of Paris found in
the office of the artillery department, respecting Na-
poleon, first called their attention to his conduct at the
siege of Toulon. They saw that, in spite of his youth
and the inferiority of his rank, as soon as he appeared
there, he was master. — This was the natural effect of
the ascendancy of knowledge, activity, and energy, over
the ignorance and confusion of the moment. He was,
in fact, the conqueror of Toulon, and yet he is scarcely
named in the official despatches. He was in possession
of the town before the army had scarcely dreamt of it.
After taking Little Gibraltar, which he always looked
upon as the key of the whole enterprise, he said to old
Dugommier, who was worn out with fatigue, — "^Go and
rest yourself — we have taken Toulon — you may sleep
there the day after to-morrow." When Dugommier
found the thing actually accomplished — when he re-
flected that the young commandant of artillery had al-
ways foretold exactly what would happen, he became all
enthusiasm and admiration; he was never tired of prais-
ing him. It is perfectly trae, as some of the puhlica-

96 HIS FIRST SPARK OF AMBITION.

tions of the period relate, that Dugommier informed the
Committees of Paris that he had with him a young man
who m.erited particular notice ; for that, whichever side
he might adopt, he was certainly destined to throw great
.weight into the balance. When Dugommier joined
the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, he wished to take
with him the young commandant of artillery ; but this
he was unable to do. He, however, spoke of him in-
cessantly : and, at a subsequent period, when this same
army was, on the conclusion of peace with Spain, sent
to re-inforce the army of Italy, of which Napoleon soon
after became general- in- chief, he found on his arrival,
that in consequence of all Dugommier had said of him,
the officers had, to use his own expression, scarcely eyes
enough to look at him.

With regard to Napoleon, his success at Toulon did
not much astonish him ; he enjoyed it, he says, with a
lively satisfaction, unmingled with surprise. He was
equally happy the following year at Saorgio, where his
operations were admirable : he accomplished in a few
days what had been attempted in vain for two years.
" Vendemiaire, and even Montenotte," said the Empe-
ror, " never induced me to look upon myself as a man
of a superior class ; it was not till after Lodi that I w^as
struck with the possibility of my becoming a decisive
actor on the scene of political events. It was then that
the first spark of my ambition was kindled.'' He, how-
ever, mentioned that, subsequently to Vendemiaire, dur-
ing his comm-and of the Army of the Interior, he drew
up the plan of a campaign which was to terminate by
a treaty of peace on the summit of the Simmering,
which plan he shortly afterwards carried into execution
at Leoben. It is, perhaps, still to be found in the
official archives. The well-known fury of the times was
still farther increased under the walls of Toulon, by the
assembling of two hundred deputies from the neigh-
bouring popular associations, who had proceeded thither
for the purpose of instigating the most atrocious mea-
sures. To them must be attributed the excesses which
w^ere then committed, and of which the whole army
complained. When Napoleon afterwards rose to dis-

HIS ASSISTANCE TO EMIGRANTS. 97

tinction, attempts were made to throw the odium of
these atrocities on him. " It would be a degradation,"
said the Emperor, ' ' to think of replying to such ca-
lumnies."

As soon as Napoleon took the command of the ar-
tillery at Toulon, he availed himself of the necessity of
circumstances to procure the return of many of his old
companions, who had, at first, left the service on account
of their birth or political principles. He obtained the
appointment of Col. Gassendi to the command of the
arsenal of Marseilles. The obstinacy and severity of
this man are well known : they frequently placed him
in danger : it more than once required all Napoleon's
vigilance and care to save him from the effects of the
irritation which his conduct excited.

The ascendancy which Napoleon had acquired, through
his services, in the port and arsenal of Toulon, afforded
him the means of saving several unfortunate members
of the emigrant family of Chabriant, or Chabrillan, who
had been overtaken by storms at sea, and driven on the
French shore. They were about to be put to death, for
the law was decisive against emigrants who might re-
turn to France. They urged, in their defence, that their
return had been purely the effect of accident, and was
contrary to their own wishes ; the only favour they soli-
cited was to be permitted to depart ; but all was vain :
they would have perished, had not the Commandant of
the Artillery hazarded his own safety, and procured for
them a covered boat, which he sent off from the French
coast under the pretence of business relative to his de-
partment. During the reign of Napoleon, these indi-
viduals took an opportunity of expressing their grati-
tude to him, and informing him that they had carefully
preserved the order which saved their lives.

Napoleon was himself, at various times, exposed to
the fury of revolutionary assassins. — Whenever he esta-
blished a new battery, the numerous patriotic deputa-
tions, who w^ere at the camp, solicited the honour of
having it named after them. Napoleon named one 'the
battery of the Patriots of the South :' this was a suffi-
cient ground for his being denounced and accused of

98 HIS ATTACHMENT TO DUROC,

federalism; and had he been a less useful person, he
would have been put under arrest, or, in other words,
he would have been sacrificed. In short, language is
inadequate to describe the frenzy and horror of the
times. For instance, the Emperor told us that, while
engaged in fortifying the coasts at Marseilles, he was a
witness to the horrible condemnation of the merchant
Hugues, a man of eighty-four years of age, deaf and
nearly blind. In spite of his age and infirmities, his
atrocious executioners pronounced him guilty of con*
spiracy : his real crime was his being worth eighteen
millions. This he was himself aware of, and he offered
to surrender his wealth to the tribunal, provided he
might be allowed to retain five hundred thousand francs,
which, he said, he shauld not live long to enjoy. But
this proposition was rejected, and his head was cut off.
"At this sight," said Napoleon, "I thought the world
was at an end \" an expression he was accustomed to
employ on any extraordinary occasion. Barras and
Freron were the authors of these atrocities. The Em-
peror did Robespierre the justice to say that he had
seen long letters written by him to his brother, Robes-
pierre the younger, who was then a representative with
the army of the South, in which he warmly opposed and
disclaimed these excesses, declaring that they would
disgrace and ruin the Revolution.

Napoleon, when at Toulon, formed friendships with
many individuals, who subsequently became very cele-
brated. He distinguished in the train a young officer,
whose talents he had at first much difficulty in cultivat-
ing, but from whom he afterwards derived the greatest
services : this was Duroc, who, with a very unprepos-
sessing person, was endowed with talent of the m.ost
solid and useful kind : he loved the Emperor for him-
self, was devoted to his interests, and at the same time
knew how to tell him the truth at proper seasons. He
was afterwards created Duke de Frioul and Grand Mar-
shal of the Palace. He placed the Imperial household
on an excellent footing, and preserved the most perfect
order. At his death, the Emperor thought he had sus-
tained an irreparable loss, and many other persons were

AND ELEVATING JUNOT. 99

of the same opinion. The Emperor told me that Duroc
was the only man who had possessed his intimacy and
entire confidence.

During the erection of one of the first batteries
which Napoleon, on his arrival at Toulon, directed
against the English, he asked whether there was a Ser-
jeant, or corporal, present who could write. A man
advanced from the ranks, and wrote by his dictation on
the epaulement. The note was scarcely ended, when a
cannon ball which had been fired in the direction of the
battery, fell near the spot, and the paper was immedi-
ately co^/ered by the loose earth thrown up by the ball.
*' Well," said the writer, " I shall have no need of
sand." This remark, together with the coolness with
which it was made, fixed the attention of Napoleon, and
made the fortune of the serjeant. This man was Junot,
afterwards Duke of Abrantes, colonel - general of the
Hussars, commandant in Portugal, and governor-gene-
ral in lilyria, where he evinced signs of mental aliena-
tion, which increased on his return to France, where he
wounded himself in a horrible way. He died the victim
of the intemperance which destroyed both his health
and his reason.

Napoleon, on being created General of Artillery, and
Commandant of that department in the Army of Italy,
carried thither all the superiority and infiuence which he
had acquired before Toulon j still, however, he experien-
ced reverses, and even dangers. He was put under
arrest for a short time at Nice, by the representative
Laporte, because he refused to crouch to his authority.
Another representative pronounced sentence of outlawry
upon him, because he would not suffer him to employ
all his artillery -horses for the posting service. Finally,
a decree, which was never executed, summoned him to
the bar of the Convention, for having proposed certain
military measures relative to the fortifications at Mar-
seilles.

When attached to the Army of Nice or of Italy, he
became a great favourite with the representative Robes-
pierre the younger, whom he described as possessing
qualities very different from his brother : the latter Na-

H 2

100 HIS KINDNESS TO THE UNFORTUNATE.

poleon never saw. Robespierre the younger, on being-
recalled to Paris by his brother, some time before the 9th
of Thermidor, exerted every endeavour to prevail on
Napoleon to accompany him. "U I had not firmly
resisted," observed the Emperor, "who knows whither
this first step might have led me, and for what a diffe-
rent destiny I might have been reserved ?"

At the Army of Nice, there was another Represen-
tative, an insignificant man. His wife, who was an ex-
tremely pretty and fascinating w^oman, shared and even
usurped his authority ; she was a native of Versailles.
Both husband and wife paid great attention to the Gene-
ral of artillery 5 they became extremely fond of him, and
treated him in the handsomest manner. This was a
great advantage to the young General, for, at that time,
during the absence or the inefficiency of the laws, a
representative of the people was a man of immense
power.

The individual here alluded to was one of those who,
in the Convention, most contributed to bring Napoleon
into notice, at the crisis of Vendemiaire ; this was the
natural consequence of the deep impressions produced by
the character and capacity of the young General.

The Emperor relates that, after he had ascended the
throne, he again saw his old acquaintance the fair repre-
sentative of Nice. She was so much altered as to be
scarcely recognisable ; her husband was dead, and she
was reduced to extreme indigence. The Emperor rea-
dily granted every thing she solicited : " He realized,"
he said, " all her dreams, and even went beyond them."
Although she lived at Versailles, many years had elapsed
before she succeeded in gaining access to him. Letters,
petitions, solicitations of every description had proved
unavaihng: " So difficult it is," said the Emperor, "to
reach the sovereign, even when he does not wish to deny
himself." At length, one day when he was on a hunt-
ing excursion at Versailles, Napoleon happened to
mention this lady to Berthier, who was also a native of
that place, and had known her in her youth ; and he,
who had never yet deigned to mention her, and still less
to regard her petitions, on the following day presented

MADE A GENERAL OP INFANTRY. 101

her to tlie sovereign. '* But why did you not get intro-
duced to me through our mutual acquaintances in the
Army of Nice ?" inquired the Emperor : " many of
them are now great men, and are on a constant footing
of intimacy with me." "Alas! sire," replied she, " our
acquaintance ceased when they became great, and I was
overtaken by misfortune."

The Emperor one day communicated to me some de-
tails respecting this old friendship : — " I was," said he,
*' very young when I first knew this lady; I was proud
of the favourable impression I had made on her, and
seized every opportunity of shewing her all the attention
in my power. I will mention one circumstance, to shew
how authority is sometimes abused, and on what men's
fate may depend : for I am no worse than the rest. I
was walking one day with the Representative's wife,
inspecting our positions in the vicinity of the Col di
Tende, when I suddenly took it into my head to give her
an idea of an engagement, and, for this purpose, ordered
the attack of an advanced post. We were conquerors,
it is true ; but the affair could be attended by no advan-
tage. The attack was a mere whim, and yet it cost the
lives of several men. I have never failed to reproach
myself whenever I look back on this affair."

The events of Thermidor having produced a change
in the Committees of the Convention, Aubry, formerly a
captain of artillery, was appointed to direct the Com-
mittee of War, and he re-modelled the army. He did
not forget himself ; he promoted himself to the rank of
general of artillery, and favoured several of his old com-
rades, to the injury of the inferior officers, whom he dis-
missed. Napoleon, who was at this time scarcely
twenty- five years of age, became a general of infantry,
and he was chosen for the service of La Vendee. This
circumstance induced him to quit the Army of Italy, in
order to protest earnestly against the change, which, on
€very account, was unsatisfactory to him. Finding
Aubry inflexible, and even offended at his just represen-
tations, he gave in his resignation. Only a short time
elapsed before he was again employed in the Topographi-
cal Committee, by which the movements of the army and

102 HIS COOL AND JUDICIOUS CONDUCT

the plans of the campaigns were arranged : he was thus
engaged at the period of the 13th of Vendemiaire.

Napoleon's expostulation with Aubry on the subject of
his new appointment formed a perfect scene : he insisted
vehemently, because he had facts to bear him out ; Aubry
was obstinate and bitter, because he had power in his
hands. He told Napoleon that he was too young, and
that he must let older men go before him ; Napoleon
replied that a soldier soon grew old on the field of
battle, and that he had just come from it. Aubry had
never been in any engagement. They came to very
high words.

I informed the Emperor that, on returning from my
emigration, I occupied for a considerable time, in the
Rue Saint Florentin, the identical apartment in which
this scene took place. I had frequently heard it spoken
of; and though it was described by unfriendly tongues,
each, nevertheless, took great interest in relating the
details, and in trying to guess the part of the room in
which any particular gesture was made, or any remark-
able word spoken.

The history of the famous day of Vendemiaire, which
had so important an influence on the fate of the Revolu-
tion and of Napoleon, will shew that he hesitated for
some time before he undertook the defence of the Con-
vention.

On the night succeeding that day. Napoleon presented
himself to the Committee of Forty, which was established
at the Tuileries. He wanted to procure mortars and
ammunition from Meudon ; but such was the circum-
spection of the President (Cambaceres) that, in spite of
the dangers which had marked the day, he refused to
sign the order ; and merely, by way of accommodating
the matter, requested that the guns and ammunition
might be placed at the disposal of the General.

During his command of Paris, subsequently to the
13th of Vendemiaire, Napoleon had to encounter a great
scarcity, which occasioned several popular commotions.
One day when the usual distribution had not taken place,
crowds of people collected round the bakers' shops. Na-
poleon was parading about the city with a party of his

IN POPULAR COMMOTION. 103

staff to preserve public tranquillity. A crowd of per-
sons, chiefly women, assembled round him, loudly calling
for bread. The crowd augmented, the outcries increased,
and the situation of Napoleon and his officers became
critical. A woman, of monstrous size and corpulence,
was particularly conspicuous by her gestures and excla-
mations. " Those fine epauletted fellows," said she,
pointing to the officers, '^ laugh at our distress : so long
as they can eat and grow fat, they care not if the poor
people die of hunger." Napoleon turned to her, and
said, " Good woman, look at me ; which is fatter, you
or I ?" Napoleon was at that time extremely thin : "I
was a mere slip of parchment," said he. A general
burst of laughter disarmed the fury of the populace, and
the staff-officers continued their round.

The narrative of the thirteenth of Vendemiaire shews
how Napoleon became acquainted with Madame de
Beauharnais, and how he contracted the marriage which
has been so greatly misrepresented in the accounts of
the time. As soon as he got introduced to Madame de
Beauharnais, he spent almost every evening at her house,
which was frequented by the most agreeable company
in Paris. When the majority of the party retired, there
usually remained M, de Montesquiou, the father of the
Grand Chamberlain ; the Duke de Nivernois, so cele-
brated for the graces of his wit ; and a few others. They
used to look round to see that the doors were all shut,
and they would then say, " Let us sit down and chat
about the old court ; let us make a tour to Versailles."

The poverty of the treasury and the scarcity of specie
were so great, during the Republic, that, on the departure
of General Buonaparte for the army of Italy, all his
efforts, joined to those of the Directory, could only suc-
ceed in raising 2000 louis, which he carried with him
in his carriage. With this sum he set out to conquer
Italy, and to march towards the empire of the world.
The following is a curious fact : an order of the day
was published, signed Berthier, directing the General-
in-chief, on his arrival at the head-quarters at Nice, to
distribute to the different generals, to enable them to
enter on the campaign, the sum of four louis in specie.

104 PURITY OF HIS

For a considerable time no such thing as specie had
been seen. This order of the day displays the circum-
stances of the times more truly and faitiifully than whole
volumes written on the subject.

As soon as Napoleon joined the army^ he proved him-
self to be a man born for command. From that moment
he filled the theatre of the world;* he occupied all
Europe ; he was a meteor blazing in the firmament ; he
concentrated all attention, riveted all thoughts, and
formed the subject of all conversations. From that time
every Gazette, every publication, every monument, be-
came the record of his deeds. His name was inscribed
in every page and in every line, and echoed from every
mouth.

On his appearance in the command, a total revolution
was observed in his manners, conduct, and language.
Decres has often told me that he was at Toulon when he
first heard of Napoleon's appointment to the command
of the army of Italy. He had known him well in Paris,
and thought himself on terms of perfect familiarity with
him. " Thus," said he, " when we learned that the new
General was about to pass through the city, I immedi-
ately proposed to all my comrades to introduce them to

* CHRONOLOGICAL RECAPITULATION.

The Emperor was born - - - Aug. 15, 1769

Entered the military school of Brienne - 1779

Transferred to the school of Paris - - 1783
Lieutenant in the 1st Artillery regiment of "I g , j 1785

la Fere - - - - - J P ' '

Captain - - - - - - Feb. 6, 1792

Chief of Battalion . - - . Oct. 19, 1793

General of Brigade . . - . Feb. 6, 1794?

General of Division ... - Oct. 16, 1795

General-in-Chief of the army of the Interior Oct. 26, 1795

General-in-Chief of the army of Italy - Feb. 23, 1796

First Consul Dec. 13, 179&

Consul for life Aug. 2, 1802

Emperor May 18, 1804*

Crowned Dec. 2, 1804.

First abdication at Fontainbleau - - April 11, 1814

Resumed the reins of government - - Mar. 20,1815

Second abdication at I'Elysee - - . - June 21,1815

MILITARY ADMINISTRATION. 105

Jhim, priding myself on my intimacy with him. I
hastened to him, full of eagerness and joy; the door of
the apartment was thrown open, and I was on the point
of rushing towards him with my wonted familiarity, but
his attitude, his look, the tone of his voice, suddenly de-
terred me. There was nothing offensive either in his
appearance or manner ; but the impression he produced
was sufficient to prevent me from ever again attempting
to encroach upon the distance that separated us."

Napoleon's generalship was, moreover, characterized
by the skill, energy, and purity of his military adminis-
tration ; his constant hatred of peculation of any kind,
and his total disregard of his own private interests
" When I returned from the campaign of Italy,'* said he,
*' I had not 300,000 francs in my possession. I might
easily have brought back 10 or 12 millions; that sum
might have been mine. I never made out any accounts,
nor was I ever asked for any. I expected on my return
to receive some great national reward. It was publicly
reported that Chambord was to be given to me, and I
should have been very glad to have had it : but the idea
was set aside by the Directory. I had, however, trans-
mitted to France at least 50,000,000 for the service of
the State. This I imagine, was the first instance in mo-
dem history of an army contributing to maintain the
country to which it belonged, instead of being a burthen
on it."

When Napoleon was in treaty with the Duke de Mode-
na, Salicetti, the Government Commissary with the army,
who had hitherto been on indifferent terms with him,
entered his cabinet. — " The Commander d'Este," said he,
" the Duke's brother, is here with four millions in gold,
contained in four chests. He comes in the name of his
brother to beg of you to accept them, and I advise you
to do so. I am a countryman of yours, and I know
your family affairs. The Directory and the Legislative
Body will never acknowledge your services. This money
belongs to you ; take it without scruple and without
publicity. A proportionate diminution will be made in
the Duke's contribution, and he will be very glad to have
gained a protector." — " I thank you," coolly answered

106

HTS INDIFFERENCE

Napoleon ; " I shall not for that sum place myself in the
power of the Duke de Modena : — I wish to continue
free."

A Coramissary-in-chief of the same army used often to
relate that he had witnessed an offer of seven millions in
gold made in a like manner to Napoleon by the Govern-
ment of Venice, to save it from destruction, which offer
w^as refused. — The Emperor smiled at the transports of
admiration evinced by this financier, to whom the refusal
of his General appeared super-human — an action much
more difficult and noble than the gaining of victories.
The Emperor dwelt with a certain degree of complacency
on these anecdotes of his disinterestedness. He however
observed that he had been in the wrong, and that such
a course of conduct was the most improvident he could
have pursued, whether his intention had been to make
himself the head of a party, and to acquire influence, or
to remain in the station of a private individual ; for,
on his return, he found himself almost destitute : and he
might have continued in a career of absolute poverty,
while his inferior generals and commissaries were amas-
sing large fortunes. " But," added he, " if my com-
missary had seen me accept the bribe, who can tell to
what lengths he might have gone ? My refusal was at
least a check upon him.

" When I was placed at the head of affairs, as Consul,
it was only by setting an example of disinterestedness, and
employing the utmost vigilance, that I could succeed in
changing the conduct of the Administration, and putting
a stop to the dreadful spectacle of Directorial peculations.
It cost me an immense deal of trouble to overcome the
inclinations of the first persons in the State, whose con-
duct, under me, at length became strict and irreproach-
able. I was obHged to keep them constantly in fear.
How often did I not repeat, in my councils, that if my
own brother were found to be in fault, I should not hesi-
tate to dismiss him !''

No man in the world ever had more wealth at his dis-
posal, and appropriated less to himself. — Napoleon, ac-
cording to his own account, possessed as much as four
hundred millions of specie in the cellars of the Tuileries.

TO RICHES. 107

His extraordinary domain amounted to more than seven
hundred miUions. He has said that he distributed up-
wards of five hundred millions in endowments to the
army. And, what is very extraordinary, he who circu-
lated such heaps of wealth, never possessed any private
property of his own ! He had collected, in the Museum,
treasures which it was impossible to estimate, and yet he
never had a picture or a curiosity of his own.

On his return from Italy, and on the eve of his depar-
ture for Egypt, he became possessed of Malmaison, and
there he deposited nearly all his property. He purchased
it in the name of his wife, who was older than himself,
and consequently, in case of his surviving her, he must
have forfeited all claim to it. The fact is, as he himself
has said, that he never had a taste or a desire for
riches.

** If I now possess any thing,"* continued he, "it is

* The deposit at the house of Lafitte.

On the Emperor's second abdication, somebody who loved him
for his own sake, arid who knew his improvident disposition, eagerly
enquired whether any measures had been taken for his future sup-
port. Finding that no provision had been made, and that Napo-
leon remained absolutely destitute, a contribution was made, and
four or five millions were raised for him, of which M. Lafitte
became the depositary.

At the moment of his departure from Malmaison, the solicitude
of Napoleon's real friends was not less serviceable to him. — An in-
dividual, aware of the disorder and confusion of our situation,
wished to ascertain whether the little treasure had been forwarded
to its destination. What was his astonishment on learning that
the carriage in which it had been placed was left in a coach-house
at Malmaison. A new difficulty arose : the key of the coach-house
was not to be found ; and the embarrassment occasioned by this un-
expected circumstance delayed our departure for some moments.
M. Lafitte wished immediately to give the Emperor a receipt for
the sum ; but Napoleon would not accept it — saying, " I know
you, M. Lafitte — I know that you did not approve of my govern-
ment : but I consider you as an honest man."

M. Lafitte seems to have been doomed to be the depositary of
the funds of unfortunate Monarchs. Louis XVIII., on his depar-
ture for Ghent, also placed a considerable sum of money in his
hands. On Napoleon's arrival, on the 20th of March, M. Lafitte
was sent for by the Emperor, and questioned respecting the de-
posit, which he did not deny. On his expressing his apprehension
lest a reproach should be intended to be conveyed in the questions

108 HIS ASCENDENCY OVER HIS TROOPS,

owing to measures which have been adopted since my
departure : but even in that case it depended on a hair's-^
breadth chance whether there should be any thing in the
world I might call my own or not. But every one has
his relative ideas. I have a taste for founding, and not
for possessing. My riches consisted in glory and cele-
brity : the Simplon and the Louvre were, in the eyes of
the people and of foreigners, more my property than pri-
vate domains could have been. I purchased diamonds
for the crown, I repaired and adorned the Imperial pa-
laces ; and I could not help thinking sometimes that the
expenses lavished by Josephine on her green-houses and
her gallery were a real injury to my Jardin des Plantes
and my Musee de Paris."

On taking the command of the army of Italy, Napo-
leon, notwithstanding his extreme youth, immediately
impressed the troops with a spirit of subordination, con-
fidence, and the most absolute devotedness. The army
was subdued by his genius, rather than seduced by his
popularity : he was in general very severe and reserved.
During the whole course of his life he has uniformly
disdained to court the favour of the multitude by un-
worthy means ; perhaps he has even carried this feeling
to an extent which may have been injurious to him. A
singular custom was established in the army of Italy, in
consequence of the youth of the commander, or from
some other cause. — After each battle, the eldest soldiers
used to hold a council, and confer a new rank on their
young General, who, when he made his appearance in
the camp, was received by the veterans, and saluted with
his new title. They made him a Corporal at Lodi,
and a Serjeant at Castiglione ; and hence the surname
of " Petit Caporal" which was for a long time ap-
plied to Napoleon by the soldiers. How subtle is the
chain which unites the most trivial circumstances to the
most important events ! Perhaps this very nick-name
contributed to his miraculous success on his return in

which had been put to him ; — " None," said the Emperor : " that
money belonged personally to the King, and private affairs are
totally distinct from political matters."

BY REASON OF HIS GENIUS. 109

1815. — Wliile lie was haranguing the first battalion he
met, which he found it necessary to parley with, a voice
from the ranks exclaimed, " Vive notre petit Caporal /"
we will never fight against him ! "

The administration of the Directory, and that of the
General-in-chief of the army of Italy, seemed two dis-
tinct Governments. The Directory in France put the
emigrants to death : the army of Italy never inflicted
capital punishment on any one of them. The Directory,
on learning that Wuraiser was besieged in Mantua, went
so far as to write to Napoleon, to remind him that he
was an emigrant ; but Napoleon, on making him pri-
soner, eagerly sought to render an affecting homage of
respect to his old age. The Directory adopted the
most insulting forms in communicating with the Pope :
the General of the army of Italy addressed him by the
words " Most Holy Father," and wrote to him with
respect. The Directory endeavoured to overthrow the
authority of the Pope : Napoleon preserved it. The
Directory banished and proscribed Priests : Napo-
leon commanded his soldiers, wherever they might
fall in with them, to remember that they were French-
men and their brothers. The Directory would have
exterminated every vestige of aristocracy ; Napoleon
wrote to the democracy of Genoa, blaming their vio-
lence ; and did not hesitate to declare that, if the Genoese
attached any value to the preservation of his esteem,
they must learn to respect the statue of Doria, and the
institutions to which they were indebted for their
glory.

THE EMTEROR DETERMINES TO WRITE
HIS MEMOIRS,

7th — 9th. We continued our course, and nothing
occurred to interrupt the uniformity which surrounded
us. Our days were all ahke ; the correctness of my
journal alone informed me of the day of the week or of
the month. Fortunately my time was employed, and
therefore the day usually slipped on with a certain de-
gree of facility. The materials which I collected in the

110 ' PASSING THE TROPICS.

afternoon conversation employed me so as to leave no
idle time until next day.

Meanwhile 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. Having alluded several
times to the subject, 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 : they would be mere anecdotes,
frequently of the most puerile kind, instead of grand
operations and results. I eagerly seized the favourable
opportunity : I entirely concurred in his opinion, and
ventured to suggest the idqa of his dictating to me the
campaigns of Italy. ** It would," I observed, '• be a
benefit to the country — a true monument of national
glory. Our time is unemployed, our hours are tedious;
occupation will help to divert us, and some moments
may not be devoid of pleasure." This idea became the
subject of various conversations.

At length the Emperor came to a determination, and
on Saturday, the 9th of September, he called me into
his cabin, and dictated to me, for the first time, some
details respecting the siege of Toulon.

TRADE-WIND.' — THE LINE.

iOth — 13th. On approaching the Line, we met
with what are called the trade winds, that is to say,
winds blovv^ing constantly from the east. Science ex-
plains this phenom.enon in a way sufficiently satisfactory.
When a vessel sailing from Europe first encounters these
winds, they blow from the north-east ; in proportion as
the ship approaches the Line, the winds become more
easterly. Calms are generally to be apprehended under
the Line. When the Line is crossed, the winds gradu-
ally change to the south, until they blow in the direction
of the south-east. At length, after passing the tropics,
the trade-winds are lost, and variable winds are met
with, as in our European regions. A ship sailing from

CHANGE OF WEATHER. Ill

Europe to St. Helena is always driven in a westerly
direction by these constant easterly winds. It would be
very difficult to gain that island by a direct course ; and,
indeed, this is never attempted. The ship stands away
to the variable winds in the southern latitude, and then
shapes her course towards the Cape of Good Hope, so
as to fall in with the trade-winds from the south-east,
which bring her, with the wind astern, to St. Helena.

Two different courses are taken to gain the variable
winds of the southern latitudes ; the one is to cross the
Line about the 20th or 24th degree of longitude, reck-
oning from the meridian of London : those who prefer
this course affirm that it is less exposed to the equato-
rial calms, and that, though it frequently has the disad-
vantage of carrying the vessel within sight of Brazil,
yet it enables her to make that part of her voyage in a
short time. Admiral Cockburn, who was inclined to
regerd this course as a prejudice and a routine, de-
termined in favour of the second method, which con-
sisted in steering more to the east; and, following par-
ticular examples with which he was acquainted, he
endeavoured to cross the Line about the 2nd or 3rd
degrees of longitude. He doubted not that, standing
towards the variable winds, he should pass sufficiently
near St. Helena to shorten his passage considerably,
even if he should not succeed in reaching the island by
tacking without leaving the trade- winds.

The winds, to our great astonishment, veered to the
west, (a circumstance which the Admiral informed us
was more common than we supposed) and this tended to
favour his opinion. He abandoned the bad sailers of
his squadron, in proportion as they lagged behind : and
he determined on gaining the place of his destination
v;ith all possible speed.

A STORM. EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN LIBELS UPON

THE EMPEROR. GENERAL REFLECTIONS.

14th — 18 th. After a few slight gales and several
calms, we had on the 16th a considerable fall of rain, to
the great joy of the crew. The heat was very moderate ;
it may, indeed, be said that, with the exception of the

112 ENGLISH MISCONCEPTIONS

storm at Madeira, we had uniformly enjoyed mild wea-
ther. But water was very scarce on board the ship ;
and, for the sake of economy, the crew took advantage
of the opportunity of collecting the rain water, of which
each sailor laid by a little store for his own use. The
rain fell heavily just as the Emperor had got upon deck
to take his afternoon walk. But this did not disappoint
him of his usual exercise ; he merely called for his
famous grey great coat, which the English regarded
with deep interest The Grand Marshal and 1 attended
the Emperor in his walk. The rain descended heavily
for upwards of an hour; when the Emperor left the
deck, I had great difficulty in stripping off my wet
clothes 3 almost every thing I wore was soaked through.

Foi- several succeeding days the weather continued
very rainy ; this somewhat impeded my labours, for the
damp penetrated into our wretched little cabin ; and on
the other hand, it was not very agreeable to walk on
deck. This was the first time during our passage that
we had had any thing like a continuance of wet weather ;
and it quite disconcerted us. I filled up the intervals,
between my hours of occupation, in conversing with the
officers of the ship. I was not on intimate terms with
any of them ; but I kept up a daily intercourse of civility
and politeness to them all. They loved to talk with us
on French aiFairs,and their ignorance of all that concern-
ed France and the French people was almost incredible.
We excited mutual astonishment in each other : they
surprised us by their degenerate political principles, and
we astonished them by our new ideas and manners, of
which the}^ had previously formed no conception. They
certainly i new infinitely less of France than of China.

One of the principal officers of the ship, in a familiar
conversation, happened to say — " I suppose you would
be very much alarmed if we were to land you on the
coast of France .'^" — " Why so?" I enquired. — "Because,"
replied he, " the King would perhaps make you pay
dearly for having left your country to follow another
Sovereign ; and also because you wear a cockade which
he has prohibited." — "And is this language becoming
an Englishman ?" observed I. " You must be degene-

RELATIVE TO THE EXILES. 113

rate indeed ! You are, it is true, far removed from the
period of your revolution, to which you so justly apply
the epithet glorious. But we, who are nearer to ours,
by which we have gained so much, may tell you that
every word you say is heresy. In the first place, our
punishment depends not on the King's pleasure ; we are
subject only to the law. Now, there exists no law
against us ; and if any law were to be violated for the
purpose of applying to our case, it would be your duty
to protect us. Your general has pledged himself to do
so by the capitulation of Paris ; and it would be an eter-
nal disgrace to the English Ministry were they to per-
mit the sacrifice of lives which their public faith had
solemnly guaranteed.

" In the next place, we are not following another
sovereign. That the Emperor Napoleon was our
sovereign is an undeniable fact ; but he has abdicated,
and his reign is at an end. You are confounding pri-
vate actions with party measures ; love and devotedness,
with political opinions. Finally, with regard to our
colours, which seem to have dazzled you so much, they
are but a remnant of our old costume. We wear them
to-day, only because we wore them yesterday. One
cannot with indifference lay aside things to which one is
attached; that can only be done from constraint or ne-
cessity. Why did you not deprive us of our colours
when you deprived us of our arms .'' — the one act would
have been as reasonable as the other. We are here
only as private men ; we do not preach sedition. We
cannot deny that these colours are dear to us : we are
attached to them because they have seen us victorious
over all our enemies ; because we have paraded them in
triumph through every capital in Europe ; and because
we wore them while we were the first nation in the
world."

On another occasion, one of the officers, after glan-
cing at the extraordinary vicissitude of recent events,
said — " Who knows whether we may not yet be desti-
ned to repair the misfortunes which w^e have occasioned
to you ? What would be your astonishment if Welling-
ton should one day conduct Napoleon back to Paris r" — ■

VOL. I. I

114 MISREPRESENTATIONS OF

'*! should be astonished indeed/' I replied: "but I
should certainly decline the honour of being one of the
party : at such a price, I would not hesitate to abandon
Napoleon himself I But I may rest easy on that score ;
for I can swear Napoleon will never put me to such a
trial. It is from him I imbibe these sentiments : it was
he who cured me of the contrary doctrine, which I call
the error of my youth."

The English were very fond of asking us questions
concerning the Emperor, whose character and disposi-
tion, as they afterwards avowed, had been represented
to them in the falsest colours. It was not their fault,
they observed, if they formed an erroneous estimate
of his character : they knew him only through the
w^orks published in England, which were all greatly
exaggerated, and much to his prejudice : they had
several of these publications on board the ship. —
One day I happened to cast my eyes on one of a most
malignant character : on another occasion, when I vs^as
about to look at a book which one of the officers was
reading, he suddenly closed it, observing it was so
violent against the Emperor that he could not prevail
on himself to let me see it. Another time, the Admiral
questioned me respecting certain imputations contained
in diiferent works in his library, some of w^hich he said
enjoyed a degree of credit, w^hile all had produced a
great sensation, in England. This circumstance sugges-
ted to me the idea of successively examining all the
works of this kind that were on board the ship, in order
to note down my opinion of them in my journal — con-
ceiving that so favourable an opportunity might never
again occur of obtaining, if I chose, information on
those points which it might be worth while to enquire
into.

Before I commence my review of these works, I must
beg to offer a few general remarks : they wdll suffice to
answer by anticipation many of the numberless accusa-
tions that will fall in my way. Calumny and falsehood
are the arms of the civil or political, the foreign or
domestic enemy. They are the resource of the van-
quished and the feeble, of those who are governed by

THE ENGLISH PRESS. 115

hatred or fear. — They are the food of the drawing-room,
and the garbage of the pubhc place : they rage with the
greater fury in proportion as their object is exalted :
there is nothing which they will not venture to promul-
gate. The more absurd, ridiculous, and incredible ca-
lumnies and falsehoods may be, the more eagerly are
they received and repeated fi'om mouth to m.outh. Tri-
umph and success are but fresh causes of irritation : a
moral storm will invariably gather ; and, bursting in the
moment of adversity, it will precipitate and complete the
fall, and become the immense lever of public opinion.

No man was ever so much assailed and abused as
Napoleon. No individual was ever the subject of so
many pamphlets, libels, atrocious and absurd stories and
false assertions. Nor could it be otherwise. Napoleon,
risen from the common rank of life to supreme distinc-
tion ; advancing at the head of a revolution which he
himself had civilized; plunged by these two circum-
stances into a deadly contest with the rest of Europe —
a contest in which he was subdued only because he
wished to terminate it too speedily — Napoleon uniting
in himself the genius, the force, the destiny of his own
power, the conqueror of his neighbours, and, in some
measure, a universal Monarch — a Marius in the eyes of
the aristocrats of Europe, a Sylla for the demagogues, a
C(Esar for the republicans — could not but raise against
himself a hurricane of passions both at home and abroad.

Despair, policy, and fury, in every country, painted
him as an object of detestation and alarm. Thus, all
that has been said against him can excite no astonish-
ment : it is only surprising that more calumny has not
been uttered, and that it has not produced a much
greater effect. When in the enjoyment of his power,
he never would permit any one to reply to the attacks
that were made upon him. " Tlie pains bestowed on
such answers," said he, " would only have given ad-
ditional weight to the accusations they were intended to
refute. It would have been said that all that was writ-
ten in my defence was ordered and paid for. The ill-
managed praise of those by whom I was surrounded had
already, in some instances, been more prejudicial to me

I 2

116 CONDUCT OF THE BRITISH AND FRENCH

than all the abuse of which I was the object. Facts
were the most convincing answers. A fine monument,
another good law, or a new triumph, were sufficient to
defeat thousands of such falsehoods. Declamation passes
away, but deeds remain !"

This is unquestionably true with regard to posterity.
The great men of former times are handed down to us
free from the ephemeral accusations of their contempo-
raries. But it is not thus during the lifetime of the in-
dividual ; and, in 1814, Napoleon was convinced by cruel
experience that even deeds may vanish before the fury
of declamation. At the moment of his fall, he was ab-
solutely overwhelmed by a torrent of abuse. But it
was reserved for him, whose life had been so fertile in
prodigies, to surmount this adverse stroke of fate, and
almost immediately to arise resplendent from amidst his
own ruins. His miraculous return is certainly unparal-
leled both in its execution and its results. The trans-
ports which it called forth penetrated into neighbouring
countries, where prayers for his success were offered up
either publicly or in secret; and he who, in 1814, was
defeated and pursued as the scourge of human nature y
suddenly re- appeared in 1815 as the hope of his fellow-
creatures.

Calumny and falsehood in this instance lost their prey
by having overshot their mark. The good sense of man-
kind in a great measure rendered justice to Napoleon,
and the abuse that had been heaped upon him would
not be believed now. " Poison lost its effect on Mithri-
dates/' said the Emperor, as he was the other day
glancing over some new libels upon himself, ' ' and, since
1814, calumny cannot injure me."

In the universal clamour which was directed against
him when in the enjoyment of his power, England bore
the most conspicuous part.

In England two great machines were maintained in
full activity ; the one conducted by the emigrants, ,for
whom nothing was too bad ; and the other under the
control of the English ministers, who had established a
system of defamation, and who had regularly organized
its action and effects. They maintained in their pay

GOVERNMENTS CONTRASTED. 11^

pamphleteers and libelists in every corner of Europe ;
their tasks were marked out to them : and their plans of
attack were regularly laid and combined.

The English ministry multiplied the employment of
these potent engines in England more than elsewhere.
The English, who were more free and enlightened than
other nations, stood the more in need of excitement.
From this system the English ministers derived the two-
fold advantage of rousing public opinion against the
common enemy, and withdrawing attention from their
own conduct by directing popular clamour and indigna-
tion to the character and conduct of others : by this
means their own character and conduct were screened
from that investigation and recrimination which they
might not have found very agi'eeable. Thus the assas-
sination of Paul at St. Peter sburgh, and of our envoys
in Persia ; the seizure of Napper-Tandy in the free city
of Hamburgh ; the capture, in time of peace, of two rich
Spanish frigates ; the acquisition of the whole of India ;
the retaining of Malta and the Cape of Good Hope,
against the faith of treaties : the Machiavelian rupture
of the treaty of Amiens ; the unjust seizure of our ships
previously to a new declaration of war : the Danish
fleet seized with such cold and ironical perfidy, &c, &c. ;
all these aggressions were overlooked in the general
agitation which had been artfully stirred up against a
foreign power.

In order to take a just view of the accusations which
have been heaped upon Napoleon, by the numerous
publications written against him, it is necessary to make
allowance for passions and circumstances; to reject with
contempt all that is apocryphal, anonymous, and purely
declamatory ; and to adhere solely to the facts and
proofs which would doubtless have been produced by
those who, after the overthrow of their enemy, became
possessed of the authentic documents, the archives of
the public departments and courts of law, in short, of all
the sources of truth which are usually to be found in
society. But nothing has been published ; nothing has
been brought forward; and, therefore, how much of this
monstrous scaffolding falls to the ground. And to be

118 DEFENCE OF HIS

still more rigidly equitable, if we wish to judge Napoleon
by the example of his peers, or great men in analogous
circumstances -, that is to say, by comparing him with
the founders of dynasties, or those who have ascended
thrones by dint of popular commotions, it may then
confidently be said that he is unequalled, and that he
shines purely from amidst all that is opposed to him.
It would be a loss of time to cite the numberless exam-
ples furnished by ancient and modern history : they are
accessible to every one. It is only necessary to refer to
the two countries which are here under consideration.

Did Napoleon, like Hugues Capet, fight against his
sovereign ? Did he cause him to perish in captivity ?

Did Napoleon act like the princes of the present house
of Brunswick, who, in 1715 and 1745, crowded the
scaffold with victims — victims to whom the present
English ministers, through their inconsequential policy
and the principles they now profess, leave no other title
than that of faithful subjects dying for their lawful
sovereign ?

The course by which Napoleon advanced to supreme
power is perfectly simple and natural ; it is single in
history ; the very circumstances of his elevation render
it, unparalleled. " I did not usurp the crown." said he
one day to the Council of State, " I took it up out of the
mire ; the people placed it on my head : let their acts
be respected !"

And by thus taking up the crown. Napoleon restored
France to her rank in European society, terminated her
horrors, and revived her character. He freed us of all
the evils of our fatal crisis, and reserved to us altthe
advantages arising out of it. "I ascended the throne
unsullied by any of the crimes of my situation," said he,
on one occasion. '* How few founders of dynasties can
say as much \"

Never, during any period of our history, were favours
distributed with so much impartiality ; never was merit
so indiscriminately sought out and rewarded; public
money so usefully employed ; the arts and sciences better
encouraged, or the glory and lustre of the country raised
to so high a pitch. " It is my wish/' said he one day

ASSUMING THE CROWN. 119

to the Council of State, " that the title of Frenchman
should be the best and most desirable on earth ; that a
Frenchman travelhng through any part of Europe may-
think and find himself at home."

If liberty seemed occasionally to suffer encroachments,
if authority seemed sometimes to overstep its limits,
circumstances rendered those measures necessary and
inevitable. Our present misfortunes have, though too
late, made us sensible of this truth; we now render
justice, though also too late, to the courage, judgment,
and foresight which then dictated those steps. It is
certain that in this respect the political fall of Napoleon
has considerably increased his influence. Who can now
doubt that his glory and the lustre of his character have
been infinitely augmented by his misfortunes ?

If the works which have fallen in my way should pre-
sent any circumstances connected with these general
considerations, they will be the object of my particular
attention. I do not intend to enter upon a political
controversy ; I shall not address myself to party men,
whose opinions are founded on their interests and pas-
sions ; I speak only to the cool friend of truth, or to the
unprejudiced writer, who in future times may impartially
seek for materials : to them alone I address myself ; in
their eyes my testimony will be superior to anonymous
evidence, and will rank with that which bears a credible
character.

The first work that I looked into was the Anti-
Gallican, of which I shall speak hereafter.

EMPLOYMENT OF OUR TIME.

1 9th — 22nd. We continued our course with the same
wind, the same sky, and the same temperature. Our
voyage was monotonous, but pleasant ; our days were
long, but employment helped them to glide away. The
Emperor now began regularly to dictate to me his Cam-
paigns of Italy. I had already written several chapters.
For the first few days, the Emperor viewed this occupa-
tion 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.

120 HIS RAPID DICTATION.

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 await the hour with impatience. I
always read to him what he had dictated on the preced-
ing day, and he then made corrections and dictated
farther. In this way the time passed rapidly till four
o'clock arrived, when he summoned his valet--de-chambre.
He then proceeded to the state-cabin, and passed the
time until dinner in playing at piquet or chess.

The Emperor dictates very rapidly, almost as fast as
he speaks in ordinary conversation. I was therefore
obliged to invent a kind of hieroglyphic writing : and I,
in my turn, dictated to my son. I was happy enough
to be able to collect almost literally every sentence that
fell from him. I had now not a moment to spare ; at
dinner time somebody was sure to come and tell me that
all the company were seated at table. Fortunately my
seat was near the door, which always stood open. I
had some time since changed my place at the request of
Captain Ross, the commander of the vessel, who, as he
did not speak French, took the opportunity of occasion-
ally asking me the meaning of words : I therefore took
my seat between him and the Grand Marshal. Captain
Ross was a man of agreeable manners, and was exceed-
ingly kind and attentive to us. I had learnt, according
to the English custom, to invite him to take a glass of
wine, drinking mine to the health of his wife, and he
would then drink to the health of mine. This was our
daily practice.

After dinner, the Emperor never failed to allude to his
morning dictation, as if pleased with the occupation and
amusement it had afforded him. On these occasions, as
well as whenever I happened to meet him in the course
of the day, he would address me in a jocular tone with :
*' Ah ! sage Las Cases ! — Illustrious memorialist ! — the
Sully of St. Helena ;" and other similar expressions.
Then he would frequently add : " My dear Las Cases,
these Memoirs will be as celebrated as any that have
preceded them. You will survive as long as any previous
memoir- writer. It will be impossible to dwell upon the

CROSSING THE LINE. 121

great events of our time, or to write about me, without
referring to you." Then resuming his pleasantry, he
would add : ' ' After all, it will be said, he must have
known Napoleon well ; he was his Councillor of State^
his Chamberlain, his faithful companion. We cannot
help believing him, for he was an honest man and in-
capable of misrepresentation."

ACCIDENTAL PHENOMENON. PASSAGE OF THE LINE,

— CHRISTENING.

23rd — 25th. The West wind still continued, to our
great astonishment ; it was a sort of phenomenon in
these regions, and had hitherto been very much in our
favour. But, with regard to phenomena, chance pro-
duced one of a much more extraordinary kind on the
23rd, when we crossed the Line in 0" latitude 0° longi-
tude, and 0° declination. This is a circumstance which
chance alone may perhaps renew only once in a century,
since it is necessary to arrive precisely at the first meridian
about noon, ;in order to pass the Line at that same
hour, and to arrive there at the same time with the sun.

This was a day of great merriment and disorder
among the crew : it was the ceremony which our sailors
call the Christ eni7ig , and which the English call the
great Shaving day. The sailors dress themselves up
in the most grotesque way ; one is disguised as Neptune^
and all persons on board the ship who have not pre-
viously crossed the Line, are formally presented to him ;
an immense razor is passed over their chins, with a
lather made of pitch j buckets of water are thrown over
them, and the loud bursts of laughter which accompany
their retreat complete their initiation into the grand
mystery. No one is spared ; and the officers are gene-
rally more roughly used than the lowest of the sailors.
The Admiral, who had previously amused himself by
endeavouring to alarm us with the anticipation of this
awful ceremony, now very courteously exempted us from
the inconvenience and ridicule attending it. We were,
with every mark of attention and respect, presented to
the rude god, who paid to each of us a compliment after
his own fashion : and thus our trial ended.

122 SIR ROBERT WILSON's

The Emperor was scrupulously respected during the
whole of this Saturnalian festivity, when respect is
usually shewn to no one. On being informed of the
decorum which had been observed with respect to him,
he ordered a hundred Napoleons to be distributed to the
grotesque Neptune and his crew, which the Admiral op-
posed, perhaps from motives of prudence as well as
politeness.

examination of the anti-gallican. sir robert

Wilson's writings. — plague at jaffa. — anec-
dotes OF THE FRENCH ARMY IN EGYPT. FEELINGS

OF THE ARMY IN THE EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN. BER-

THIER. JESTS OF THE SOLDIERY. DROMEDARIES.

DEATH OF KLEBER. THE YOUNG ARAB. SINGULAR

COINCIDENCES RESPECTING PHILIPEAUX AND NAPO-
LEON. CIRCUMSTANCES ON WHICH THE FATE OF IN-
DIVIDUALS DEPENDS. CAFFARELLI'S ATTACHMENT TO

NAPOLEON. REPUTATION OF THE FRENCH ARMY IN

THE EAST. NAPOLEON QUITTING EGYPT TO ASSUME

THE GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE. THE ENGLISH EXPE-
DITION. KLEBER AND DESAIX.

26th — 30th. The weather still continued favourable.
Having passed the Line, we momentarily expected to fall
in with an east or south-east wind. The continuance of
the west wind was extraordinary, and it was impossible
it could last much longer. The resolution which the
Admiral had adopted of bearing considerably to the
east rendered our situation very favourable, and we
had every reason to hope for a short passage.

One afternoon, the sailors caught an enormous shark.
The Emperor enquired the cause of the great noise
and confusion which he suddenly heard overhead ; being
informed of what had occurred, he expressed a wish to
have a sight of the sea-monster. He accordingly went
up to the poop, and incautiously approached too near
the animal, which by a sudden movement knocked down
four or five of the sailors, and had well nigh broken the
Emperor's legs. He went below with his left stocking
covered with blood : we thought he was severely hurt,
but it proved to be only the blood of the shark.

ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS. 123

My labours advanced with the greatest regularity.
Tlie Anti-Gallican, which was the first work I undertook
to read, was a volume of five hundred pages, comprising
all that had been written in England at the time when
that country was menaced with the French invasion. It
was the object of the English government to nationalize
opposition to that attempt, and to rouse the whole nation
against her dangerous enemy. The book contained a
collection of public speeches, exhortations, patriotic
appeals of zealous citizens, satirical songs, sarcastic
productions, and highly-coloured newspaper articles, all
pouring a torrent of odium and ridicule upon the French
and their First Consul, whose courage, genius, and
power excited the greatest alarm. This was all perfectly
natural and allowable. Productions of this sort are like
a shower of arrows thrown by combatants before they
come to a close action: some hit, and some are carried
away by the wind. Such writings will never afford
satisfactory evidence to a man of judgment, and they
scarcely merit contradiction.

Pamphleteers are little regarded, because their cha-
racter is the antidote of their poison : it is not so with
the historian. The latter, however, degrades himself to
a level with the pamphlet- writer when he departs from
the calm dignity and impartiality required for his office,
to indulge in declamation and to steep his pen in gall.

With these feelings I arose fi'om the perusal of the
different productions of Sir Robert Wilson, which I read
after the Anti-Gallican. This writer did us the greater
injury, because his talents, his courage, and his numerous
and brilliant services, gave him importance in the eyes
of his countr3niien. A circumstance which I am about
to state caused the writings of Sir R. Wilson to be
particularly known and spoken of on board the ship.

Sir Robert had a son among the young midshipmen
on board the Northumberland, and my son, whose simi-
larity of age occasioned him to be much in the society
of these youths, could easily observe the change which
took place in their opinions with respect to us. They
were at first very much prejudiced against us. When
the Emperor came on board, they regarded him as an

124 PALLIATION OP

Ogre ready to devour them. But on a better acquaint-
ance with us, truth soon exercised over them the same
influence which it produced on the rest of the crew. This
was, however, at the expense of young Wilson, who
was scouted by his companions, by way of expiation,
as they said, for the stories which his father had cir-
culated.

At this part of the manuscript a great number of
pages are struck out ; the reason vjas explained, on the
margin, as follows :

" I had collected numerous offensive statements from
the writings of Sir Robert Wilson, to which I had
perhaps replied with too much bitterness : a recent
circumstance has induced me to suppress this portion
of my journal.

" Sir Robert Wilson has lately acted a conspicuous
part in a cause which does honour to the hearts of all
who were concerned in it : I allude to the saving of
Lavalette. Being asked, before a French tribunal, whether
he had not formerly published works respecting our
affairs ? he replied in the affirmative, and added that he
had stated in them what he then believed to be true.
These words are more to the purpose than any thing I
could say ; and I therefore hasten to cancel what I have
already written ; happy in thus having an opportunity
to render justice to Sir Robert Wilson, on whose sin-
cerity and good intentions I had, in my indignation,
cast reflections."*

* After my removal from Longwood, Sir Hudson Lowe, who
had seized my papers, looked over this Journal, with my permis-
sion. He, of course, met with parts which were very displeasing
to him ; and he said to me : " What a pretty legacy you are pre-
paring for my children, Count !" — " That is not my fault," replied
I ; "it depends only on yourself to render it otherwise ; I shall be
happy to have reason to strike out any thing respecting you, as I
did the other day with regard to Sir Robert Wilson." Upon which
he asked me what I had written about Sir Robert, and I pointed
out the place. After reading all that had been Avritten, and my
reasons for cancelling it, he said, with a thoughtful and mortified

SIR ROBERT WILSON. 125

I therefore set aside the works of Sir Robert Wilson,
and the various accusations contained in them ; I also
suppress the numerous refutations I had collected. I
shall merely stop to consider one circumstance which has
been repeated in a hundred different works ; the report
of which has been circulated through Europe, and has
obtained credit even in France. I allude to the poison-
ing of the men infected with the plague at Jaffa.

Certainly nothing can more clearly prove how easily
calumny may effect its object. If the voice of slander be
bold and pow^erful, and can command numerous echoes,
no matter how far probability, reason, common sense,
and truth he violated — the wished-for end is sure to be
attained.

A general, a hero, a great man, hitherto respected
by fortune, as well as by mankind, at that moment rivet-
ing the attention of three quarters of the globe, com-
manding admiration even from his enemies, was sud-
denly accused of a crime declared to be unheard-of and
unparalleled ; of an act pronounced to be inhuman, atro-
cious, and cruel ; and, what is above all extraordinary, he

air: " Yes, I see; but I can't tell what to make of it; for I know
Wilson well, and lie has proved himself a warm friend of the
Bourbons."

We leaped for joy when we heard of the deliverance of Lava-
lette. Some one observed, that his deliverer, Wilson, could not
be the same individual who had written so many offensive things
concerning the Emperor. " And why not?" said Napoleon. You
know but little of men, and the passions that actuate them. What
leads you to suppose that Sir Robert Wilson is not a man of
enthusiasm and violent passions, who wrote what he then believed
to be true ? And while we were enemies we contended with each
other ; but in our present adversity he knows better : he may have
been abused, and deceived, and may be sorry for it ; and he is
perhaps now as sincere in wishing us well as he formerly was in
seeking to injure us."

Either sagacity or chance so happily led the Emperor to this
conclusion that it may be said he was enabled to read character
at a distance. Sir R. Wilson was indeed the man who wrote
against Napoleon. Vexed to see a great people deprived of their
natural rights, he reproached the allies as bitterly as though they
had imposed chains on himself, and no one has manifested
stronger indignation at the treatment of Napoleon, or testified a
more ardent wish to see it end.

12^ EXPLANATION OF

could have no possible object in committing that crime^
The most absurd^ details, the most improbable circum-
stances, the most ridiculous episodes were invented, to
give a colouring to this first falsehood. The story was
circulated through Europe ; malevolence seized it, and
exaggerated its enormity; it was published in every
newspaper ; recorded in every book ; and thenceforward
was looked upon as an established fact : — indignation
was atits height, and clamour universal. It would have
been vain to reason, or to attempt to stem the torrent,
or to shew that no proofs of the fact had been adduced,
and that the story contradicted itself. It would have
been vain to bring forward opposite and incontrovert-
ible evidence — the evidence of those very medical men
who were said to have administered, or to have refused
to administer, the poison. It would have been vain to
expose the unreasonableness of accusing of inhumanity
the man who, but a short time before, had immortalized
the hospitals of Jaffa by an act of the sublimest heroism ;
risking his own safety by solemnly touching the troops
infected with the plague, to deceive and soothe the
imaginations of the sick men. In vain might it have
been urged that the idea of such a crime could not be
affixed on him who, when consulted by the medical
officers as to the expediency of burning or merely wash-
ing the clothes worn by the invalids, and being remin-
ded of the enormous loss attendant on the former mea-
sure, replied ; — " Gentlemen, I came here to fix the
attention and to recal the interests of Europe to the
centre of the ancient world, and not with the view of
amassing wealth." In vain would it have been shewn
that there could be no object, no motive whatever, for
this supposed crime. Had the French General any rea-
son to suspect a design for corrupting his invalids and
converting them into reinforcements against himself?
Did he hope that this barbarous act would completely
rid him of the infection ? He might have effected that
object equally well by leaving his invalids to be over-
taken by the enemy's troops, which would moreover
have been the means of spreading the contagion among
the latter. It would have been vain to shew that au

THE AFFAIR OF JAFFA. 127

unfeeling and selfish, chief might have freed himself from
all embarrassment by merely leaving the unfortunate
men behind him : they would have been massacred, it
is true ; but no one would ever have thought of addi'ess-
ing a reproach to him.

These and all other arguments would have been vain
and useless, so powerful and infallible are the effects of
falsehood and declamation when the passions of man-
kind are interested in their propagation. The imaginary
crime w^as repeated by every mouth, was engraven on
every heart, and to the common mass of mankind it will per-
haps for ever continue a positive and incontrovertible fact.

A circumstance which will not a little surprise those
who have yet to learn how little credit is due to public
report, and which will also serve to shew the errors
that may creep into history, is that Marshal Bertrand,
who was himself with the army in Egypt, (though cer-
tainly in a rank which did not enable him to come into
immediate contact with the General - in - chief) firmly
believed, up to the period of his residence at St. He-
lena, the story of poison having been administered to
sixty invalids. The report was circulated and believed
even in our army ; therefore, what answer could be
given to those who triumphantly asserted " It is a fact,
I assure you, I have it from officers who served in the
French army at the time ?" Nevertheless, the whole
story is false. I have collected the following facts from
the highest source, from the mouth of Napoleon himself.

1 St. That the invalids in question, who were infected
with the plague, amounted, according to the report made
to the General-in- chief, only to seven in number.

2nd. That it was not the General-in- chief, but a pro-
fessional man, who, at the moment of the crisis, pro-
posed the administering of opium.

3rd. That opium was not administered to a single
individual.

4th. That the retreat having been effected slowly, a
rear- guard was left behind in Jaffa for three days.

5th. That, on the departure of the rear-guard, the m-
valids were all dead, except one or two, who must have
fallen into the hands of the English.

128 DETAILS RESPECTING

N.B. Since my return to Paris, having had opportu-
nities of conversing with those whose situation and pro-
fession naturally rendered them the first actors in the
scene — those whose testimony must be considered as offi-
cial and authentic, I have had the curiosity to enquire
into the most minute details, and the following is the
result of my enquiries.

•• The invalids under the care of the Surgeon- in- chief,
that is to say, the wounded, were all, without exception,
removed, with the help of the horses belonging to the
staff, not excepting even those of the Gen eral-in- chief,
who proceeded for a considerable distance on foot, like
the rest of the army. These, therefore, are quite out of
the question.

" With regard to the rest of the invalids, about twenty
in number, who were under the care of the Physician-in-
chief, and who were in an absolutely desperate condition,
totally unfit to be removed, while the enemy was advan-
cing, it is very true that Napoleon asked the Physician -
in- chief whether it would not be an act of humanity to
administer opium to them. It is also true that the Phy-
sician replied, his business was to cure and not to kill ; —
an answer which, as it seems to have reference to an
order rather than to a subject of discussion, has, perhaps,
furnished a basis on which slander and falsehood might
invent and propagate the fabrication which has since
been circulated on this subject.

" Finally, the details which I have been able to col-
lect afford me the following incontestible results : —

" 1st. That no order was given for the administering
of opium to the sick.

" 2nd. That there was not at the period in question,
in the medicine- chest of the army, a single grain of
opium for the use of the sick.

" 3rd. That even had the order been given, and had
there been a supply of opium, temporary and local cir-
cumstances, which it would be tedious to enumerate here,
would have rendered its execution impossible.

" The following circumstances have probably helped
to occasion, and may, perhaps, in some degree excuse,
the mistake of those who have obstinately maintained the

THESE FABRICATIONS. 129

truth of the contrary facts. Some of our wounded men,
who had been put on board ship, fell into the hands of
the EngHsh. We had been short of medicines of all
kinds in the camp, and we had supplied the deficiency by
compositions formed from indigenous trees and plants.
The draughts and other medicines had a horrible taste
and appearance. The prisoners, either for the purpose
of exciting pity, or from having heard of the opium story,
which the nature of the medicines might incline them to
believe, told the English that they had miraculously es-
caped death, having had poison administered to them by
their medical officers." So much for the invalids under
the care of the Surgeon- in -chief.

Now for the others. — "The army unfortunately had,
as Apothecary-in-chief, a wretch who had been allowed
the use of five camels to convey from Cairo the quantity
of medicines necessary for the expedition. This man
was base enough to supply himself on his own account,
instead of medicines, with sugar, coffee, wine, and other
provisions, which he afterwards sold at an enormous
profit. On the discovery of the fraud, the indignation
of the General-in-chief was without bounds, and the
ofibnder was condemned to be shot ; but all the medical
officers, who were so distinguished for their courage,
and whose attentive care had rendered them so dear to
the army, implored his pardon, alleging that the honour
of the whole body would be compromised by his punish-
ment ; and thus the culprit escaped. Some time after,
when the English took possession of Cairo, this man
joined them, and made common cause with them ; but,
having attempted to renew some of his old offences, he
was condemned to be hanged, and again escaped by slan-
dering the General-in-chief Buonaparte, of whom he in-
vented a multitude of horrible stories, and, by representing
himself as the identical person who had, by the General's
orders, administered opium to the soldiers infected with
the plague. His pardon was the condition and the re-
ward of his calumnies. This was doubtless the first source
whence the story was derived, by those who were not in-
duced to propagate it from malevolent motives.

VOL. I. K

130

&IR SYDNEY SMITH.

'' Time has, however, fully exposed this absurd ca-
lumny, as well as many others which have been applied
in the same direction, and that with so great a rapidity,
that on revising- my manuscript, I have been surprised
at the importance I have attached to the refutation of a
charge which no one would now dare to maintain. Still,
1 thought it best to preserve what I had written, as a tes-
timony of the impression of the moment j and if I have
now added some farther details, it is because they hap-
pened to lie within my reach, and I thought it important
to record them as historical facts."

Sir Robert Wilson has, in his work, boasted, with
seeming complacency, of having been the first to make
known and to propagate these odious charges in Europe.
His countryman. Sir Sydney Smith, may perhaps dispute
this honour with him, particularly as he may, in a great
measure at least, jastly lay claim to the merit of their
invention. To him, and to the system of corruption he
encouraged, Europe is indebted for all the false reports
with which she has been inundated, to the great detri-
ment of our brave army of Egypt.

It is well known that Sir Sydney Smith did every thing
in his power to corrupt our army. The false intelligence
from Europe — the slander of the General-in-chief — the
powerful bribes held out to the officers and soldiers, —
were all approved by him : the documents are published,
his proclamations are known. At one tim.e they created
sufficient alarm in tlie French General to induce him to
seek to put a stop to them ; vv^hich he did by forbidding
all communication with the English, and stating in the
Order of the day that their Commodore had gone mad.
This assertion was believed in the French army ; and it
enraged Sir Sydney Smith so much that he sent Napo-
leon a challenge. The General replied that he had bu-
siness of too great importance on his hands to think of
troubling himself about such a trifle : had he received a
challenge from the great Marlborough, then indeed he
might have thought it worth while to consider of it : but
if the English seaman really felt inclined to amuse him-
self at a tilting-match, he would send him one of the bul-

CAMPAIGN OF EGYPT. 131

lies in his army, and neutralize a few yards of the sea-
coast, where the mad Commodore might come ashore,
and enjoy his heart's content of it.

As I am on the subject of Egypt, I will here note
down all the information I collected in my detached con-
versations, and which may possibly not be found in the
Campaign of Egypt, dictated by Napoleon to the Grand
Marshal.

The campaign of Italy exhibits all the most brilliant
and decisive results to which military genius and con-
ception ever gave birth. Diplomatic views, administra-
tive talents, legislative measures, are there uniformly
blended in harmony with the prodigies of war. But the
most striking and the finishing touch in the picture is
the sudden and irresistible ascendancy which the young
General acquired : — the anarchy of equality — the jealousy
of republican principles — every thing vanished before
him : there was not a power, even to the ridiculous so-
vereignty of the Directory, which was not immediately
suspended. The Directory required no accounts from
the General-in-chief of the army of Italy ; it was left to
himself to send them : no plan, no system was pre-
scribed to him ; but accounts of victories and conclusions
of armistices, of the destruction of old states, and
the creation of new ones, were constantly received from
him.

In the expedition of Egypt may be retraced all that is
admired in the campaign of Italy. The reflecting ob-
server will even perceive that, in the Egyptian expe-
dition, the points of resemblance are of a more impor-
tant nature, from the difficulties of every kind which
gave character to the campaign, and required greater
genius and resources on the part of its conductor. In
Egypt, a new order of things appeared : climate, country,
inhabitants, religion, manners, and mode of fighting, all
were different.*

* The most valuable information respecting these two immortal
campaigns will doubtless be furnished by the collection of the or-
ders of the day, and the daily correspondence of the General-in-
chief with the Generals and Commissaries of his army. Several
volumes of them have been published by Pankouke, under the title

K 2

132 CAMPAIGN OF EGYPT.

The Memoirs of the Campaign of Egypt will deter-
mine points which, at the time, formed only the subjects
of conjecture and discussion to a large portion of society.

1st. The expedition of Egypt was undertaken at
the earnest and mutual desire of the Directory and the
General- in- chief.

2nd. The taking of Malta was not the consequence
of a private understanding, but of the wisdom of the
General-in-chief. " It was in Mantua that I took Malta,"
said the Emperor one day ; "it was the generous treat-
ment observed towards Wurmser that| secured to me
the submission of the Grand Master and his Knights."

3rd. The conquest of Egypt was planned with as
much judgment as it was executed with skill. If Saint
Jean d'Acre had surrendered to the French army, a great
revolution would have taken place in the East ; the Ge-
neral-in-chief would have established an empire there,
and the destinies of France would have taken a different
turn.

4th. On its return from the campaign of Syria, the
French army had scarcely sustained any loss; it re-
mained in the most formidable and prosperous condition.

5th. The departure of the General-in-chief for France
was the result of a grand and magnanimous plan. How
ridiculous is the imbecility of those who consider that
departure as an escape or a desertion !

6th. Kleber fell a victim to Mussulman fanaticism.
There is not the slightest foundation for the absurd ca-
lumny which would have attributed this catastrophe to
the policy of his predecessor, or to the intrigues of his
successor.

7 th, and lastly. It is pretty well proved that Egypt
would have remained for ever a French province if any
other but Menou had been appointed for her defence ;
nothing but the gross errors of that general could have
lost us the possession of Egypt.

The Emperor said, that no army in the world was

of " Corresponclance inedite, officielle et confidentielle de Napoleon
Bonaparte, &c." They will altogether furnish the most excellent
end useful lessons to the students of the military art.

I

DISCONTENT OF THE ARMY. 133

less fit for the Egyptian expedition than that which he
led there — the army of Italy. It would be difficult to
describe the disgust, the discontent, the melancholy, the
despair of that army, on its first arrival in Egypt. The
Emperor himself saw two dragoons run out of the ranks
and throw themselves into the Nile. Bertrand had seen
the most distinguished generals, such as Lannes and
Murat, in momentary fits of rage, throw their laced hats
on the sand and trample on them in the presence of
the soldiers. The Emperor explained these feeling sur-
prisingly well. " This army,'' said he, " had fulfilled its
career. All the individuals belonging to it were satiated
with wealth, rank, pleasure, and consideration; they
were not fit for the Deserts and the fatigues of Egypt :
and," continued he, " had that army been placed in
other hands than mine, it is difficult to say what ex-
cesses might not have been committed."

More than one conspiracy was formed to carry away
the flags to Alexandria, and other things of the same
sort. The influence, the character, and the glory of
the General, could alone restrain the troops. One day.
Napoleon, losing his temper in his turn, rushed among
a group of discontented generals, and addressing himself,
to the tallest, '* You have held mutinous language," said
he, with vehemence, " take care that I do not fulfil my
duty ; it is not your being six foot high that should
save you from being shot in a couple of hours*"

With regard, however, to their conduct before the
enemy, the Emperor said that this army never ceased to
be the army of Italy j that it still preserved the same
admirable character. The most diSicult party to ma-
nage was that which the Emperor used to call " the fac-
tion of the sentimentalists," whom it was impossible
to keep under any restraint ; their minds were diseased ;
they spent the night in gazing on the moon for the re-
flected image of the idols they had left in Europe. At
the head of this party was Berthier, the weak and spirit-
less Berthier, who, when the General -in-chief was pre-
paring to sail from Toulon, posted night and day from
Paris to tell him that he was unwell, and could not ac-
company him, though he was the head of the stafl*.

134 PASSION OF BERTHIER.

The General-in- chief took not the smallest notice of
what he said, and Berthier, finding himself no longer at
the feet of the fair one who had despatched him with
the excuse, set sail along with him ! On his arrrival in
Egypt, he became a prey to ennui, and was unable to
subdue his tender recollections ; — he solicited and ob-
tained permission to return to France. He took leave
of Napoleon, and bade him a formal adieu ; but shortly
returned with his eyes full of tears, saying that, after
all, he would not dishonour himself, and that he could
not separate his destiny from that of his General.

Berthier's love was mingled with a kind of worship.
Adjoining the tent, destined for his own use, he always
had another prepared, and furnished with the magnifi-
cence of the most elegant boudoir ; this was consecrated
to the portrait of his mistress, before which he would
sometimes even go so far as to burn incense. This tent
was pitched even in the deserts of Syria, Napoleon
said, with a smile, that his temple had oftener than once
been profaned by a w^orship less pure, through the clan-
destine introduction of foreign divinities.

Berthier never relinquished his passion, which some-
times carried him to the very verge of idiotcy. In his
first account of the battle of Marengo, young Visconti,
his aide-de-camp, who was but a captain at most, was
mentioned five or six times in remembrance of his mo-
ther. "One would have thought," said Napoleon,
"that the youth had gained the battle." Surely the
General-in-chief must have been ready to throw the
paper in the writer's face !

The Emperor calculated that he had given Berthier

forty millions during his life ; but he supposed that from

this weakness of his mind, his want of regularity, and

• his ridiculous passion, he had squandered away a great

part of it.

The discontent of the troops in Egypt happily vented
itself in sarcastic jokes: this is the humour which always
bears a Frenchman through difficulties. They bore a
great resentment against General Caifarelli, whom they
believed to have been one of the promoters of the ex-
pedition. Caffarelli had a wooden leg, having lost one of

NAPOLEON VISITS THE RED SEA. 135

his limbs on the banks of the Rhine ; and whenever the
soldiers saw him hobbling- past, they would say, loud
enough for him to hear, — " That fellow does not care
what happens ; he is certain, at all events, to have one
foot in France."

The men of science who accompanied the expedition
also came in for their share of the jests. Asses were
very numerous in Egypt ; almost all the soldiers pos-
sessed one or two, and they used always to call them
their demi-savans.

The General-in-chief, on his departure from France,
had issued a proclamation, in which he informed the
troops that he was about to take them to a country
where he would make them all rich ; where they should
each have sev€n acres of land at their disposal. The
scldiers, when they found themselves in the midst of the
Desert, surrounded by the boundless ocean of sand, be-
gan to question th^ generosity of their General : they
thought he had observed singular moderation in having
promised only seven acres. " The rogue," said they,
^ ' might with safety give us as much as he pleases ; we
should not abuse his good nature."

While the army was passing through Syria, there
was not a soldier but was heard to repeat these lines
from Zaire : —

Les Franpais sont lasses de cliercher desormais
Des climats que pour eux le destin n'a point faits,
lis n'abandonnent point leur fertile patrie,
Pour languir aux deserts de I'aride Arabie.

On one occasion, the General-in-chief, having a few
moments' leisure to look about the country, took advan-
tage of the ebb-tide, and crossed on foot to the opposite
coast of the Red Sea. Night surprised him on his re-
turn, and he lost his way in the midst of the rising tide.
He was in the greatest danger, and very narrowly
escaped perishing precisely in the same manner as Pha-
raoh. " This," said Napoleon, " would have furnished
all the preachers of Christianity with a splendid text
against me." On reaching the Arabian coast of the
Red Sea, he received a deputation of the Cenobites of
Mount Sinai, who came to implore his protection, and

136 GUEAT PRIVATIONS

to request him to inscribe his name on the ancient
register of their charters. Napoleon inscribed his name
in the same list with those of Ali, Saladin, Ibrahim, and
others ! In allusion to this circumstance, or something-
of a similar kind, the Emperor observed that he had
in the course of one year received letters from Rome
and Mecca; the Pope addressing him as his dearest son,
and the Sherif styling him the Protector of the holy
Kaaba.

This singular coincidence, however, is scarcely sur-
prising, with reference to him who has led armies both
through the burning sands of the Tropic, and over the
frozen Steppes of the North ; who, when he narrowlv
escaped being swallowed up in the waves of the Red
Sea, or might have perished in the flames of Moscow,
was threatening the Indies from those two extreme
points.

The General-in-chief shared the fatigues of the sol-
diers. The privations endured by every individual in the
army were sometimes so great that they were com-
pelled to dispute with each other for the smallest enjoy-
ments, without the least distinction of rank. To such
extremities were they reduced that, in the Desert, the
soldiers would hardly relinquish their places to allow the
General to dip his hands in a muddy stream. On one
occasion, as they were passing by the ruins of Pelusium,
and were almost suffocated with the heat, some one re-
signed to him a fragment of a door, beneath which he
contrived to shade his head for a few minutes : " And
this," said Napoleon, " was no trifling concession." It
was on this very spot, while removing some stones at
his feet, that chance rendered him the possessor of a
superb antique, well known in the learned world.*

* A cameo of Augustus, a mere sketch, but admirably designed.
Napoleon gave it to General Andreossi, who was a great collector
of antiquities ; but M. Denon, who was at that time absent, having
afterwards seen this cameo, was struck with its resemblance to
Napoleon, who then had the stone returned to him and kept it. It
afterwards fell into the possession of Josephine, and M. Denon
does not know what has since become of it. {T/iis information was
furnished to me by M> Denon since my return to France.)

OF THE TROOPS. 137

In proceeding to Asia, the French army had to cross
the Desert which separates that continent from Africa.
Kleber, who commanded the advanced guard, mistook
his road, and lost his way in the Desert. Napoleon,
who was following at the distance of half a day's march,
attended by a slender escort, found himself at night-fall
in the midst of the Turkish camp : he was closely pur-
sued, and escaped only because, it being night, the
Turks suspected that an ambush was intended. The
next source of uneasiness was the doubtful fate of Kle-
ber and his detachment, and the greater part of the
night was passed in the most cruel anxiety. At length
they obtained information, respecting them from some
Arabs of the Desert, and the General-in-chief hastened,
on his dromedary, in quest of his troops. He found
them overwhelmed with despair, and ready to perish
from thirst and fatigue ; some of the young soldiers
had, in a moment of frenzy, even broken their muskets.
The sight of their General seemed to give them new
life, by reviving their hopes. Napoleon informed them
that a supply of provisions and water was coming up
behind him. " But," said he, to the troops, "if relief
had been longer delayed, would that have excused your
murmuring and loss of courage J No, soldiers ; learn
to die with honour."

Napoleon travelled the greater part of the way
through the Desert on a dromedary. The physical har-
dihood of this animal renders it unnecessary to pay the
least attention to his sustenance ; he scarcely eats or
drinks ; but his moral sensibility is extreme, harsh treat-
ment provokes his resentment, and renders him furious.
The Emperor observed that the roughness of his trot
created nausea, like the motion of a ship. The animal will
traA'el twenty leagues a day. The Emperor formed some
dromedary regiments, and the use he made of them in the
army soon proved the destruction of the Arabs. The
rider squats himself on the back of the animal, through
whose nostrils a ring is passed, which serves to guide
him : he is very obedient, and on a certain signal, made
by the voice of the rider, the animal kneels down to
allow him to alight. The dromedary will carry very

138 POPULARITY OF NAPOLEON

heavy burdens, and he is never unloaded during the
whole of the journey. On his arrival at evening sta-
tions, his load is propped up, and the animal lies down
and goes to sleep : at day-break he rises, — his burden
is on his back, and he is ready to continue his jour-
ney. The dromedary is only a beast of burden, and
not at all fit for draught. In Syria, however, they suc-
ceeded in yoking them to field-pieces, thus rendering
them essentially serviceable.

Napoleon became very popular among the Egyptians,
who gave him the name of Sultan Kebir (Father of
Fire). He inspired particular respect : wherever he
appeared the people rose in his presence ; and this de-
ference was paid to him alone. The uniform considera-
tion with which he treated the Sheiks, and the adroit-
ness by which he gained their confidence, rendered him
ti-uly the sovereign of. Egypt, and more than once saved
his life. But for their disclosures, he would have fallen
a victim to fanaticism, like Kleber, who, on the con-
trary, rendered himself odious to the Sheiks, and pe-
rished in consequence of subjecting one of them to the
punishment of the bastinado. Bertrand was one of the
judges who condemned the assassin, and, on his telling
us this fact one day at dinner, the Emperor observed : —
" If the slanderers, who accuse me of having caused the
death of Kleber, were acquainted with the fact you have
mentioned, they would not hesitate to call you the assas-
sin, or the accomplice, and would take it for granted
that your title of Grand Marshal, and your residence at
Saint Helena, are the reward and the punishment of the
crime."

Napoleon willingly conversed with the peoplis of the
country, and always displayed sentiments of justice
which struck them with wonder. On his way back to
Syria, an Arab tribe came to meet him, for the double
purpose of shewing him respect and of selling their ser-
vices as guides. " The chief of the tribe was unwell,
and his place was filled by his son, a youth of the age
and size of your boy here," said the Emperor to me :
" he was mounted on his dromedary, riding close beside
me, and chatting to me with great familiarity. ' Sultan

WITH THE NATIVES. , 139

Kebir,' said he, 'I could give you good advice, now that
you are returning to Cairo/ ' Well, speak, my friend,
and if your advice is good, I will follow it.' — ' I'll tell
you what I would do, if I were in your place. As soon
as I got to Cairo, I would order the richest slave-
merchant into the market, and I would choose twentv-
of the prettiest women for myself ; I would next send for
the richest jewellers, and would make them give me up
a good share of their stock ; I would then do the same
with all the other merchants ; for what is the use of
reigr.ing, or being powerful, if not to acquire riches ?'
— ' But, my friend, suppose it were more noble to pre-
serve them for others ? ' This sentiment seemed to
make him reflect a little, without convincing him. The
young man was evidently very promising, for an Arab :
he was lively and courageous, and led his troop with
dignity and order. He is, perhaps, destined, one day
or other, to carry his advice into execution for his own
benefit in the miarket-place of Cairo."

On another occasion, some Arabs who were on friendly
terms with the army, penetrated into a village on the
frontier, and an unfortunate Fellah (peasant) was killed.
The Sultan Kebir flew into a great passion ; and, vow,-
ing that he would have vengeance, gave orders that the
tribe should be pursued into the Desert to extinction.
This order was given in the presence of the principal
Sheiks, one of whom could not refrain from laughing at
his anger and his determination. " Sultan Kebir," said
he, "you are playing a bad game just now: do not
quarrel with these people ; they can do you ten times
more harm than you can do them. And besides, what
is it all about .'' Because they have killed a miserable
peasant .^ Was he your cousin (a proverbial expression
among them)?" " He was more than my cousin," re-
plied Napoleon; "all those whom I govern are my
children : power is given to me only that I may ensure
their safety." On hearing these words all the Sheiks
bowed their heads, and said, " O ! that is very fine ; —
you have spoken like the Prophet."

The decision of the Grand Mosque of Cairo in favour
of the French armv was a masterpiece of skill on the

140 ST. JEAN D ACRE*

part of the General-in-cliief, who induced the synod of
the chief Sheiks to declare, by a pubUc act, that the
Mussulmans should obey, and pay tribute to, the French
general. It is the first and only example of the sort,
since the establishment of the Koran, which forbids
submission to Infidels. The details of this transaction
are invaluable : they will be found in the Campaigns of
Egypt.

Saint- Jean d'Acre, doubtless, presented a singular
spectacle, when two European armies met with hostile
intentions in a little town of Asia, with the mutual pur-
pose of securing the possession of a portion of Africa ;
but it is still more extraordinary that the persons who
directed the efforts of each party were both of the same
nation, of the same age, of the same rank, of the same
corps, and of the same school.

Philippeaux, to whose talents the English and Turks
owed the preservation of Saint Jean d'Acre, had been
the companion of Napoleon at the military school of
Paris : they had been there examined together, previous
to their being sent to their respective corps. " His
figure resembled yours," said the Emperor to me, after
having dictated his eulogium in the Memoirs, and
mentioned all the mischief he had done him. " Sire,"
I answered, " there were many other points of affinity
between us ; we had been intimate and inseparable
companions at the Military School. When he passed
through London with Sir Sydney Smith, who, by his
assistance, had been enabled to escape from the Temple,
he sought for me in every direction. I called at his
lodgings only half an hour after his departure ; had it
not been for this accident, I should probably have
accompanied him. I was at the time without occupa-
tion; the prospect of adventure might have tempted
me ; and how strangely might the course of my desti-
nies have been turned in a new direction ! "

" I am well aware," said Napoleon, " of the influence
which chance usurps over our political determinations ;
and it is the knowledge of that circumstance which has
always kept me free from prejudice, and rendered me
very indulgent with regard to the party adopted by

DEATH OF CAFFARELLI. l4l

individuals in our political convulsions. To be a good
Frenchman, or to wish to become one, was all that I
looked for in any one." — The Emperor then went on to
compare the confusion of our troubles to battles in the
night-time, where each man attacks his neighbour, and
friends are often confounded with foes ; but w4ien day-
light returns, and order is restored, every one forgives
the injuiy which he has sustained through mistake.
''Even for myself," said he, " how could I undertake to
say that there might not have existed circumstances
sufficiently powerful, notwithstanding my natural sen-
timents, to induce me to emigrate ? The vicinity of the
frontier, for instance, a friendly attachment, or the in-
fluence of a chief. In revolutions, we can only speak
with certainty to what w^e have done : it is silly to affirm
that we could not have acted otherwise." The Emperor
then related a singular example of the influence of chance
over the destinies of men. Serrurier and the younger
Hedouville, while travelling together on foot to emigrate
into Spain, were met by a military patrol. Hedouville,
being the younger and more active of the two, cleared
the frontier, thought himself very lucky, and went to
spend a life of mere vegetation in Spain. Serrurier, on
the contrary, being obliged to return into the interior,
bewailed his unhappy fate, and became a marshal : such
is the uncertainty of human foresight and calculations !

At Saint-Jean d'Acre, the General-in- chief lost Cafi^a-
relli, of whom he w^as extremely fond. Caffarelli enter-
tained a sort of reverential respect for the General-in-
chief. The influence of this sentiment was so great
that, though he was delirious for several days previous to
his death, when Napoleon went to see him, the an-
nouncement of his name seemed to recal him to life : he
became more collected, his spirits revived, and he con-
versed coherently ; but he relapsed into his former state
immediately after Napoleon's departure. This singular
phenomenon was renewed every time the General-in-
chief paid him a visit.

Napoleon received, during the siege of Saint-Jean
d'Acre, an affecting proof of heroic devotedness. While
he was in the trenches, a shell fell at his feet; two

142 ESTRAORDINARY REPUTATION

s^renadiers who observed it immediately rushed towards
him, placed him between them, and raising their arms
above his head, completely covered every part of his
body. Happily the shell respected the whole group ;
nobody was injured.

One of these brave grenadiers afterwards became
General Dumesnil, who lost a leg in the campaign of
Moscow, and commanded the fortress of Vincennes at
the time of the invasion in 1814. The capital had been
for some weeks occupied by the Allies, and Dumesnil
still held out. Nothing was then talked of in Paris but
his obstinate defence, and his humorous reply when sum-
moned by the Russians to surrender ; — " Give me back
my leg, and I will give up my fortress,"

The French soldiers acquired extraordinary reputation
in Egypt, and not without cause ; they had dispersed
and dismayed the celebrated Mamelucks, the most for-
midable militia of the East. After the retreat from
Syria, a Turkish army landed at Aboukir : Murat-Bey,
the most powerful and brave of the Mamelucks, left
Upper Egypt, w4iither he had fled for safety, and reached
the Turkish camp by a circuitous route. On the landing
of the Turks, the French detachments had fallen back in
order to concentrate their forces. The Pacha who com-
manded the Turks was delighted at this movement,
which he mistook for the effect of fear ; and, on perceiv-
ing Murat-Bey, he exultingly exclaimed : — " So ! these
are the terrible French whom you could not face ; see,
the moment I make my appearance, how they fly before
me." The indignant Murat-Bey furiously replied: —
*' Pacha, render thanks to the Prophet that it has pleased
these Frenchmen to retire ; if they should return, you
will disappear before them like dust before the wind."

His words were prophetical: — some days after, the
French poured down upon the Turkish army and put it
to flight. Murat-Bey, who had interviews with several
of our generals, was extremely surprised at their dimi-
nutive stature and pitiful condition. The Oriental na-
tions attach high importance to the bodily stature, and
they were unable to conceive how so much genius could
exist within such small dimensions. The appearance of

AND LOSSES OF THE FRENCH, 143

Kleber alone came up to their ideas ; he was an uncom-
monly fine-looking man, but his manners were rude.
The discrimination of the Egyptians induced them to
think that he was not a Frenchman ; in fact, though a
native of Alsace, he had spent the early part of his life
in the Prussian army, and might very well have passed
for a German. Some one said that Kleber had been a
Janissary in his youth ; the Emperor burst into a fit of
laughter, and said somebody had been imposing on him .
The Grand-Marshal told the Emperor that at the bat-
tle of Aboukir he was for the first time placed in his
army, and near his person. He was then so little ac-
customed to the boldness of his manoeuvres, that he
scarcely understood any of the orders he heard him give.
" Particularly, Sire," added he, " when I heard you call
out to an officer, ' Hercule, my dear fellow, take twenty-
five men and charge that rabble :' I really thought 1
had lost my senses ; your Majesty pointed to a de-
tachment of a thousand Turkish horse."

After all, the losses sustained by the army in Egypt
were far from being so considerable as might have been
expected in a country to which the troops were unaccus-
tomed ; particularly when the insalubrity of the climate,
the remoteness of the resources of tlie country, the ra-
vages of the plague, and the numerous actions which
have immortalized that army, are taken into account.
The French force, at its landing in Egypt, amounted to
30,000 men ; it was augmented by the wrecks of the
battle of Aboukir, and probably also by some partial
arrivals from France ; and yet the total loss sustained by
the army, from the commencement of the campaign to
two months after the departure of the General-in-chief
for Europe, (during the space of seven or eight- and-
twenty months,) amounted only to 8,915, as is proved
by the official report of the Muster-master-general.*

* Killed in battle - - - - 3614

Died of their wounds - _ - _ 854

Died through various accidents - - 290

Died from common disorders - - 2468

Died from the pestilential fever - - 1689

Total 8915
Signed,
Cairo, 10 Frimaire, year IX. Sartelon, Muster-master-general.

144 C^SAR, ALEXANDER, AND NAPOLEON.

The life of a man must indeed be replete with prodi-
gies, when one of his acts, which is without parallel in
history scarcely arrests our attention. When Ceesar
passed the Rubicon, he possessed an army, and was ad-
vancing in his own defence. When Alexander, urged
by the ardour of youth and the fire of genius, landed in
Asia, to make war on the great King, he, Alexander,
was the son of a king, a king himself, and courted the
chances of ambition and glory at the head of the forces
of his kingdom. But that a private individual, whose
name three years before was unknown to the world, who
at that moment had nothing to aid him but the reputa-
tion of a few victories, his name, and the consciousness
of his genius, should have dared to conceive the project of
taking into his own hands the destinies of thirty millions
of men, of protecting them from external defeats and in-
ternal dissensions ; — that, roused by the recital of the
troubles which were described to him, and by the idea
of the disasters which he foresaw, he should have ex-
claimed, " France will be lost through these fine talkers,
these babblers : now is the time to save her !" — that he
should have abandoned his army, and crossed the seas,
at the risk of his liberty and reputation, have reached
the French soil and flown to the capital ; that he should
there have seized the helm, and stopped short a nation
intoxicated with every excess ; that he should have sud-
denly brought her back to the true course of reason and
justice ; — that he should from that moment have pre-
pared for her a career of power and glory till then un-
known ; — and that all this should have been accomplished
without the shedding of a single tear or a drop of blood ;
— such an undertaking may be regarded as one of the
most gigantic and sublime that ever was heard of; it
will fill calm and dispassionate posterity with astonish-
ment and admiration ; though at the time it was branded
by some with the name of a desperate flight, and an
infamous desertion. The army, however, which Napo-
leon left behind him, continued to occupy Egypt for the
space of two years longer. It was the opinion of the
Emperor that it ought never to have been forced to sur-

GENERAL LANUSSE. 145

render; and the Grand Marshal, who accompanied the
army to the last moment, concurred in that opinion.

After the departure of the General-in- chief, Kleber,
who succeeded him. deceived and misled by intrigues,
treated for the evacuation of Egypt ; but when the
enemy's refusal compelled him to seek for new glory,
and to form a more just estimate of his own force, he
totally altered his opinions, and declared himself favour-
able to the occupation of Egypt ; and this had even be-
come the general sentiment of the army. He now
thought only of maintaining himself in the country ; he
dismissed those who had influenced him in forming his
first design, and collected around him only those who
favoured the contrary measure. Had he lived, Egypt
would have been secure ; to his death her loss must be
attributed. The command of the army was afterwards
divided between Menou and Regnier. It then became
a mere field of intrigue : the energy and courage of the
French troops continued unabated ; but they were no
longer employed and directed as they had been by
Kleber. Menou was totally inefficient ; the English
advanced to attack him with twenty thousand men ; his
force was much more considerable, and the general spirit
of the two armies was not to be compared. By an in-
conceivable infatuation, Menou hastily dispersed his
troops, as soon as he learned that the English were about
to appear, the latter advanced in a mass, and were at-
tacked only in detail. " How bhnd is fortune," said the
Emperor ; "by the adoption of contrary measures, the
English would infallibly have been destroyed ; and how
many new chances might not that event have brought
about !"

Their landing was admirable, said the Grand Marshal :
in less than five or six minutes five thousand five hun-
dred men appeared in order of battle : it was a truly
theatrical movement ; and it was thrice repeated. Their
landing was opposed by only twelve hundred men, who
did them considerable damage. Shortly after, this mass,
amounting to between thirteen and fourteen thousand,
was intrepidly attacked by General Lanusse. The Ge-
neral had only three thousand troops ; but fired VN^ith

VOL. I. L

146 REAL SITUATION OF THE

ambition, and not doubting that his force was adequate
to fulfil the object he had in view, he would not wait
for reinforcements ; at first he overthrew every thing in
his way, and, after causing immense slaughter to the
enemy, he was at length defeated. Had his force been
two or three thousand stronger, he would have attained
his object.

The English were greatly astonished when they had
an opportunity of judging for themselves of our real
situation in Egypt; and they considered themselves
extremely fortunate in the turn which affairs had taken.

General Hutchinson, who reaped the glory of the
conquest, said, on his return to Europe, that had the
English known the real state of things, they would cer-
tainly never have attempted to land ; but in England it
was believed that there were not six thousand French
troops in Egypt. This mistake arose out of the inter-
cepted letters, as well as the intelligence that w^as col-
lected in Egypt. " So natural is it to Frenchmen,"
said Napoleon, "to exaggerate, murmur, and misrepre-
sent, whenever they are dissatisfied. These reports,
however, were created merely by ill-humour or diseased
imaginations : it was said that there was a famine in
Egypt ; that the French had all been destroyed, at everv
new battle ; that the plague had swept away the whole
army ; that there was not a man left," &c.

Through the repetition of these reports, Pitt was at
length persuaded of their reality ; and how could it be
otherwise ? The First Consul saw the despatches from
his successor addressed to the Directory ; and also letters
from various persons in the French army. Who can
explain the contradictions they contained ? Who will
henceforth trust to individual authority for the support
of his opinion } Kleber, the General-in-chief, informed
the Directory, that he had only six thousand men, while
in the same packet the accounts of the inspector of re-
views exhibited upwards of twenty thousand. Kleber
declared that he was without money, and the treasury
accounts display vast sums. The General-in-chief al-
leged that the artillery was merely an intrenched park,
destitute of ammunition 3 while the estimates of that

FRENCH ARMY IN EGYPT. 147

department made mention of stores for several cam-
paigns. "Thus, if Kleber, by virtue of the treaty he
commenced, had evacuated Egypt," said the Emperor,
" I should undoubtedly have brought him to trial on his
return to France. All these contradictory documents
had been submitted to the examination and opinion of
the Council of State."

From the letters of Kleber, the General- in-chief, an
idea may be formed of the tone of those written by
persons of inferior rank, and by the common soldiers.
Such, however, were the communications daily intercept-
ed by the English ; which they printed and which guided
them in their operations — a circumstance that must have
cost them dear. The Emperor observed that in all his
campaigns he had seen the same effect produced by in-
tercepted letters, which sometimes had proved of great
advantage to him.

Among the letters which at this period fell into his
hands, he found odious attacks upon himself, which he
felt the more sensibly because several of them were
written by persons whom he had loaded with benefits,
in whom he had reposed full confidence, and whom he
believed to be strongly attached to him. One of these
individuals, whose fortune he had made, and in whom
he trusted with the utmost sincerity, alleged that the
General-in-chief had decamped, after robbing the trea-
sury of two millions. Fortunately, in these same des-
patches the accounts of the Paymaster proved that the
General had not even received the whole amount of the
pay due to him. "On reading this statement," said
the Emperor, " I felt really disgusted at mankind. This
was the first moral disappointment I had ever experi-
enced ; and if it has not been the only one, it has, per-
haps, at least, been the most severe. Many individuals
in the army thought me ruined, and they were already
eagerly seeking to pay their court in the proper quarter
at my expense." The author of the assertion above al-
luded to subsequently endeavoured to restore himself to
favour. . The Emperor signified that he should have no
objection to his being employed in a subordinate situa-
tion 3 but that he would never see him again. To every

l2

148 KLEBER AND BESATX.

application he constantly replied that he did not know
him : this was the only vengeance he took.

The Emperor never ceased to repeat that Egypt ought
to have remained in the possession of the French, which
would infallibly have been the case had the country been
defended by Kleber or Desaix. " These were my two
most distinguished lieutenants," said he ; " both possess-
ed great and rare merits, though their characters and
dispositions were very different."

Kleber's was the talent of nature ; Desaix's was en-
tirely the result of education and assiduity. The genius
of Kleber only burst forth at particular moments, when
roused by the importance of the occasion ; and then it
immediately slumbered again in the bosom of indolence
and pleasure. The talent of Desaix was always in full
activity ; he lived only for noble ambition and true
glory: his character w^as formed on the true ancient
model. The Emperor said that his death was the
greatest loss he could possibly have sustained. Their
conformity of education and principles would always
have preserved a good understanding between them.
Desaix would have been satisfied with secondary rank,
and would have remained ever devoted and faithful.
Had he not been killed at the battle of Marengo, the
First Consul would have given him the command of the
army of Germany, instead of continuing it to Moreau.
A very extraordinary circumstance in the destiny of
these two lieutenants of Napoleon was that on the very
day and at the very hour when Kleber was assassinated
at Cairo, Desaix was killed by a cannon-ball at Marengo.

THE emperor's METHOD OF DICTATING.

October 1st — 3rd. The wind, the sea, and the tem-
perature still continued without variation. The westerly
wind, which had at first been so much in our favour,
now began to be adverse. We had taken an easterly
direction, in the hope of falling in with the trade-winds ;
but we now found ourselves to the leeward of the place
of our destination, through the continuance of the west-
erly winds — a circumstance which surprised every body,
and excited dissatisfaction among the crew.

THE emperor's DICTATION. 149

The Emperor every morning regularly continued his
dictation, in which he daily took a deeper interest ; con-
sequently his hours henceforth seemed less tedious.

The vessel had been sent out of port in such a hurry
that many repairs remained to be completed after we
had put to sea, and the painting of the ship had only re-
cently been finished. The Emperor's sense of smelling
is extremely delicate ; and he found the paint so very
offensive that he was forced to confine himself to his
cabin for two days.

Every evening, when taking his walk on deck, he
loved to revert to the occupation of the morning. At
first, he was assisted by no other document than a
wretched work entitled Guerres des Franc ais en Italie,
written without end or object, and devoid of any con-
nected chronological plan. The Emperor glanced through
it, and his memory supphed all deficiences : this faculty
indeed appeared to me the more extraordinary since it
always seemed to be in readiness when needed, and as
if at command.

When the Emperor commenced his daily dictations,
he always complained that the circumstances to which
he wished to recur were no longer familiar to him. He
seemed to want confidence in himself, saying he should
never get through the task. After considering for a few
moments he would rise and walk about, and then begin to
dictate. From that moment he was quite another man :
every thing flowed smoothly ; he spoke as if by inspi-
ration ; places, dates, phrases — he stopped at nothing.

On the following day I read to him what he had
dictated. After making the first correction he continued
to go on with the same subject, as though he had said
nothing about it the day before. The difference between
the first and the second version was very great : the
latter was more positive and diffuse, and better ar-
ranged ; indeed it sometimes materially differed from
the first.

On the day succeeding the first correction, the same
operation was repeated, and the Emperor commenced
his third dictation for the purpose of setting the two
former ones right. But after that, had he dictated a

150 FALL IN WITH A FRENCH VESSEL.

fourth, a seventh, or a tenth time, as he in some in-
stances did, it would have been a repetition of precisely
the same ideas, the same construction of phrases, and
almost the same words. It was needless to take the
trouble to write, though before his eyes : he paid no
attention to what was doing, and continued to the end
of his subject. It would have been vain to ask him to
repeat any thing that might not have been distinctly
heard : he still went on ; and as he dictated with great
rapidity, I never ventured to interrupt him, lest I should
lose still more, and find myself unable to recover the
thread of the subject.

A SINGULAR ACCIDENT.

4th — 7th. The continuance of the south-west wind
was truly unfortunate. We were now going back instead
of forward and we had completely entered the Gulf of
Guinea. There we perceived a ship, with which we
spoke. She proved to be a French ship, driven out of
her course like ourselves. She had sailed from a port
in Britany, and was bound for the Isle of Bourbon, The
Emperor had been much distressed for want of books ;
and I jokingly said that perhaps I might have a box-full
on board that ship, as I had despatched one to the Isle
of Bourbon, a few months since. I spoke truly. Suck
is the caprice of chance ! Had I been in quest of this
ship, I might have traversed the ocean in vain. This
Avas the identical vessel : I learned her name next day
from the officer who had visited her. This officer
strangely surprised the French captain, by telling him
that the Emperor Napoleon was on board the ship which
he then saw making for St. Helena. The poor fellow
shook his head sorrowfully, and said, "You have robbed us
of our treasure : you have taken away him who knew
how to govern us according to our tastes and manners."

COMPLAINTS OF THE CREW AGAINST THE ADMIRAL.

EXAMINATION OF ANOTHER WORK. REFUTATIONS.

REFLECTIONS.

8th — 11th. The weather continued obstinately set-
tled. We every evening consoled ourselves, for the

COMPLAINTS OF THE CREW. 151

unfavourable state of the day, with the hope of a change
during the night ; but we arose in the morning with the
same disappointment. We had been almost within sight
of the Congo, and we stood off. Every one manifested
discontent and ennui. The crew complained of the
Admiral ; had he taken the usual course, said they, we
should have reached our destination long before; his
caprice, they observed, had led him, in spite of reason,
to try an experiment, of which they knew not what
might be the consequence. Their murmurs were not,
however, so vehement as those raised against Christo-
pher Columbus ; we should not have been ill pleased had
he been reduced to the necessity of finding another
Saint Salvador, in order to evade the crisis. Being for
my own part fully occupied, this circumstance engrossed
but little of my attention ; and after all, one prison was
as good as another. As to the Emperor, he was still
more unconcerned at this delay ; he merely looked upon
it as so many days spent.

Les Memoires de Napoleon Bonaparte, par quelqu'uncjui
ne I'a jamais quitte pendant 15 ans, (The Memoirs of
Napoleon Bonaparte, by one who was constantly 7iea,r
him, during fifteen years,) was the title of a work which
I began to examine after the writings of Sir Robert
Wilson. It is a volume of three hundred pages, by an
anonymous author — a circumstance in itself sufficient to
inspire distrust at the first outset. But the composition
and style of the work soon created more positive doubts
in the mind of the reflecting reader, who is accustomed
to judge of books. Finally, he who has seen and known
but little of the Emperor will not .hesitate to affirm, on
reading the very first pages, that this work is a mere
romance, written at pleasure ; that the author has never
approached the Emperor; and that he is a hundred
leagues distant from his language, habits, and every
thing concerning him. The Emperor never said to a
minister: "Count, do this," — " Count, execute that."
Ambassadors never attended his levee. Napoleon could
not, at fourteen years of age, have made to a lady in
company, the reply attributed to him, relative to the
Viscomte de Turenne ; because from the age of ten to

152 STRICTURES ON MEMOIRS

eighteen he was attending the Military School, where
lie could not possibly have been introduced to the com-
pany of ladies. It was not Perignon, who did not know
him, but Dugommier, who had been his General, who
recommended him in so marked a way to the Directory.
It was a letter for restoring the Democracy, and not the
Bourbons, which an officer addressed to the First
Consul, &c.

The Emperor, who in Europe was universally acknow-
ledged to have preserved the most impenetrable secrecy
with regard to his plans and views, never indulged in
gestures, and still less in soliloquies, which would have
been likely to betray him : nor did his anger ever throw
liim into fits of insanity or epilepsy — an absurd fabrica-
tion which was long circulated in the saloons of Paris,
but which was relinquished when it was found that those
accidents never occurred on important occasions. These
Memoirs have unquestionably been an ordered work, the
speculation of some bookseller who has furnished the
title. Be this as it may, it might have been supposed
that, in adverting to a career so public as that of the
Emperor and of those who surrounded him, the author
might have evinced more accuracy and knowledge of his
subject. He is aware of his insufficiency on this head,
and seeks to defend himself by saying that he was under
the necessity of altering names, and that he did not wish
to render certain portraits too striking; but he also
observes this circumspection with regard to facts, so
that they cannot be recognised. They are for the most
part entirely the creations of his own fancy. Thus, the
paper whose loss cost the General-in-chief so much
anxiety in Egypt ; the recommendation of the young
Englishman, who transported Bonaparte with joy by
opening to him so brilliant a perspective of fortune at
Constantinople ; the melodrama of Malmaison, where
the heroism of Madame Bonaparte (who is described as
an absolute amazon) so promptly secures the safety of
her husband, may perhaps excite the interest of the
reader ; but they are only so many fables ; and the story
relative to Malmaison shews that the author knew no
more of the character and disposition of the Empress

OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE. 153

Josephine than of those of the Emperor. The writer,
however, by extolHng certain traits, praising certain
actions, and refuting certain falsehoods, assumes an air
of impartiality, which, joined to his pretended situation
near the Emperor during fifteen years, produces a
wonderful effect in the eyes of common readers. Most
of the Englishmen on board the vessel looked upon this
work as a kind of oracle. Their opinion was not changed
on finding the Emperor's character so different from
that attributed to him in this romance. They were
inclined to believe that adversity and constraint had
^vrought an alteration in the Emperor, rather than to
suppose that these printed statements w^ere false. To
my observations, they constantly replied : — " But the
author was an impartial man, and one who was about
the Emperor for fifteen years :" — " But," said I, " what
is this man's name ? If he had personally injured you in
his book, how could you bring him to justice ? Any
body here might have written it !" These arguments
were of course unanswerable; but the Enghsh found
great difficulty in overcoming their first impressions :
such are the common mass of readers, and such is the
effect inevitably produced by printed falsehoods !

But I shall no longer continue my examination of a
work which is not deserving of farther notice ; I there-
fore dispense with the remainder. On revising my
manuscript in Europe, I found that public opinion had
made such progress that I should be ashamed to waste
time in refuting allegations and facts which judgment
and common sense have long since rejected, and which
are now repeated only by fools.

In endeavouring to subvert the erroneous notions
which this author thought proper to create respecting
the character of Napoleon, it will perhaps be thought
that I should substitute my own opinions in their stead ;
but this I shall carefully avoid. I shaU content myself
with noting down all that I saw and heard ; I will report
his conversations, and nothing more must be expected.

12th — 13th. By dint of patience, and with the help
of a few trifling variations, we gradually approached the
termination of our voyage ; and, though deprived of the

154 THEY FINALLY REACH

natural monsoon, we had now advanced within a short
distance of our place of destination. As we continued
our course, the weather gradually improved, and at
length the wind became perfectly favourable ; but this
change did not take place until twenty-four hours before
our arrival.

14th. — The Admiral had previously informed us that
he expected to come within sight of St. Helena this day.
We had scarcely risen from table when our ears were
saluted with the cry of Land ! This was just within a
quarter of an hour of the moment that had been fixed on.
Nothing can better prove the advancement of navigation,
than this sort of miracle, by which seamen are enabled
to foretel the hour at which they shall arrive at a parti-
cular point in the vast expanse. The Emperor went on
the forecastle to see the island : he thought he perceived
it, but I could see nothing. We lay-to all night.

ARRIVAL OFF SAINT-HELENA.

15th. — At day light I had a tolerably near view of
the island. At first I thought it rather extensive ; but
it seemed to diminish considerably as we approached.
At length, about seventy days after our departure from
England, and a hundred and ten after our departure
from Paris, we cast anchor about noon. This was the
first link of the chain that was to bind the modern
Prometheus to his rock.

We found at anchor several of the vessels of our
squadron, which had separated from us, or which we
had left behind. They had, however, arrived several
days before us : another proof of the extreme uncertainty
attending nautical calculations.

The Emperor, contrary to custom, dressed early and
went upon deck ; he went forward on the gangway to
view the island. We beheld a kind of village sur-
rounded by numerous barren and naked hills towering
to the clouds. Every platform, every aperture, the brow
of every hill, was planted with cannon. The Emperor
viewed the prospect through his glass. I stood behind
him. My eyes were constantly fixed on his countenance,
in which I could perceive no change ; and yet he saw

THEIR DESTINATION.

IS

before him, perhaps his perpetual prison ! — perhaps h
grave ! . . . . What, then, remained for me to feel or to
express !

The Emperor soon left the deck. He desired me to
come to him, and we proceeded with our usual oc-
cupation.

The admiral, who had gone ashore very early, return-
ed about six o'clock, much fatigued. He had been
walking about various parts of the island, and at length
thought he had found a habitation that would suit us.
The place, however, stood in need of repairs which
might occupy two months. We had now been confined
to our wooden dungeon for nearly three months ; and
the precise instructions of the Ministers were that we
should be detained there until our prison on shore was
ready for our reception. The Admiral, to do him jus-
tice, was incapable of such barbarity ; he informed us,
at the same time betraying a sort of inward satisfaction,
that he would take upon himself the responsibility of
putting us ashore next day.

RESIDENCE AT BRIARS.

FROM THE 16th OF OCTOBER 1815,

THE DAY OF OUR LANDING AT SAINT-HELENA,

TO THE 9tH OF DECEMBER, THE DAY PRECEDING THAT

OF OUR REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD.

An interval of a Month and Twenty-four Days.

LANDING OF THE EMPEROR AT SAINT-HELENA.

Oct. 1 Gth. — After dinner, the Emperor, accompanied
by the Grand Marshal, got into a boat to go ashore. By
a remarkable and irresistible impulse, the officers all
assembled on the quarter-deck, and the greater part of
the crew on the gangways. This was not the effect of
curiosity, which an acquaintance of three months' dura-
tion could not fail to have removed, and which was now
succeeded by the liveliest interest. The Emperor, be-
fore he stepped into the boat, sent for the captain of the
vessel, and took leave of him, desiring him at the same
time to convey his thanks to the officers and crew.
These words appeared to produce a great sensation on
all by whom they were understood, or to whom they
were interpreted. The remainder of the Emperor's
suite landed about eight o'clock. We were accompanied
by several of the officers, and every one on board
seemed to be sincerely affected at our departure.

We found the Emperor in the apartment which had
been assigned to him ; a few minutes after our arrival
he Vent up stairs to his chamber, where we were called
to attend him. His situation here was no better than
it had been on board the vessel; we found ourselves
lodged in a sort of inn or hotel.

The town of St. Helena consists only of one very
short street, or row of houses, built along a very narrow

HIS WRETCHED ABODE. lo7

valley, formed between two mountains, quite perpendi-
cular^ composed of barren rock.

THE EMPEROR FIXES HIS ABODE AT BRIARS

DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACE. MISERABLE SITUATION.

l/th. — At six o'clock in the morning the Emperor,
the Grand Marshal, and the Admiral, rode out on horse-
back to visit Longwood, a house which had been chosen
for the Emperor's residence, and was more than two
leagues from the town. On their return they saw a
small villa situated in the valley about two miles from
the town. The Emperor was extremely reluctant to
return to the place where he had passed the preceding
night, and where he felt himself more comxpletely seclu-
ded from the world than he had been when on board
the vessel. What with the sentinels who guarded his
doors, and the crowds of persons whom curiosity had
attracted beneath his windows, he had been obliged to
confine himself to his chamber. A small pavilion, at-
tached to the villa above-mentioned, pleased him, and
the Admiral was of opinion that he would be more agree-
ably situated there than in the town. In this place,
therefore, the Emperor fixed his residence, and imme-
diately sent for me. He had become so much interested
in his work, on the Campaigns of Italy, that he could
not suspend it : — I immediately proceeded to join him.

The little valley in which the village of St. Helena
[James Town] is situated, extends to a considerable dis-
tance up the island, winding along between two chains
of barren hiUs which enclose it on either side. A good
carriage-road runs through this valley to the distance of
about two miles ; after which it is traced along the brow
of the hill which rises on the left, while nothing but pre-
cipices and gulfs are discoverable on the right. The
rugged aspect of the country here gradually diminishes,
and the road opens on a small level height, on which are
several houses interspersed with trees and different kinds
of vegetation : this is a little oasis amidst the rocky
desert. Here is situated the modest residence of Mr.
Balcombe, a merchant of the island. At the distance of
thirty or forty paces from the dwelling-house, on a

158 HIS WRETCHED ABODE.

pointed eminence, stood a little summer-house or pavi-
lion, to which, in fine weather, the family were accus-
tomed to retire to take tea and amuse themselves : this
was the obscure retreat hired by the Admiral, as the
temporary residence of the Emperor 3 and he took pos-
session of it in the morning. As I was ascending the
winding path leading to the pavilion, I thought I per-
ceived the Emperor, and stopped to look at him. It was
Napoleon himself : his body was slightly bent, and his
hands behind his back; he wore his usual neat and
simple uniform, and his celebrated little hat. He was
standing at the threshold of the door whistling a popular
French tune, when I advanced towards him. " Ah!"
said he, " here you are ! Why have you not brought
your son ?" " Sire," I replied, " the respect, the conside-
ration I owe you prevented me." — " You cannot do
without him," continued he ; " send for him."

In none of his campaigns, perhaps in no situation of
his past life, had the Emperor been so wretchedly lodged,
or subject to so many privations. The summer-house
contained one room, nearly square, on the ground-floor,
having two doors facing each other on two of its sides,
and two windows on each of the other sides. These
windows had neither curtains nor shutters, and there
was scarcely a seat in the room. The Emperor was at
this moment alone ; his two valets- de-chambre were
bustling about to prepare his bed. He wished to walk a
little ; but there was no level ground on any side of the
pavilion, which was surrounded by huge pieces of stone
and rock. He took my arm, and began to converse
in a cheerful strain. Night was advancing; profound
silence, undisturbed solitude, prevailed on every side ; —
what a crowd of sensations and sentiments overwhelmed
me at this moment! — I was in this A^^Qxi, tHe-a-tete,
and enjoying familiar conversation with the man who
had ruled the world ! — with Napoleon 1 What were my
feelings ! But to understand them it would be ne-
cessary to revert to the days of his past glory ; to the
time when one of his decrees sufficed to subvert thrones
and create kings ! It would be necessary to reflect on
what he was to all who surrounded him at the Tuileries ;

HIS WRETCHED ABODE. 159

the timid embarrassment, the profound respect, with
which he was approached by his ministers and officers ;
the anxiety, the dread of ambassadors, princes and even
kings I With me all these sentiments remained in full
force.

When the Emperor was about to retire to rest, we
found that one of the windows (which, as I have already
observed, had neither shutters nor curtains) was close
upon his bed, nearly on a level v/ith his face. We bar-
ricadoed it as well as we could, so as to exclude the air,
of the effects of which the Emperor is very susceptible,
the least draught being sufficient to give him cold or the
tooth-ache. For my part I ascended to the upper story,
immediately above the Emperor's room. In this place,
the dimensions of which were about seven feet square,
there was only a bed, and not a single chair : this served
as a lodging for me and my son, for whom a mattress
was spread out upon the floor. But how could we com-
plain, being so near the Emperor ? we could hear the
sound of his voice, and distinguish his words ! The
valets -de-chambre slept on the ground, across the door-
way, wrapped up in their cloaks. Such is the faithful
description of the first night which Napoleon passed
at Briars.

DESCRIPTION OF BRIARS. THE GARDEN. THE EMPEROR

MEETS THE YOUNG LADIES OF THE HOUSE.

1 8th. — I breakfasted with the Emperor : he had nei-
ther table-cloth nor plates ; and the remains of the pre-
ceding day's dinner were brought to him for breakfast.

The English officer was lodged in the neighbouring
house, as our guard, and two inferior officers marched
up and down with an air of military parade before our
eves, for the purpose of watching our motions. Break-
fast being over, the Emperor proceeded to his dictation,
which occupied him some hours. He afterwards went
to explore our new domain, and to take a view of the
surrounding grounds.

Descending our hillock on the side facing the princi-
pal house, we found a path bordered by a hedge and
running at the foot of precipices. After walking along

1 60 WANT OF ACCOMMODATION.

the path to the distance of two hundred paces, we ar-
rived at a httle garden, the door of which was open.
This garden is long and narrow, and formed on verv
uneven ground ; but a tolerable level walk extends the
whole length of it. At the entrance there is a sort of
arbour at one extremity ; and at the other are two huts
for the negroes whose business it is to look after the
garden. It contains some fruit-trees and a few flowers.
We had no sooner entered the garden, than we were
met by the daughters of the master of the house, girls
about fourteen or fifteen years of age : the one sprightly,
giddy, and caring for nothing ; the other more sedate,
but, at the same time, possessing great naivete of man-
ner ; both speak a little French. They had walked
through the garden, and put all the flowers under con-
tribution, to present them to the Emperor, whom they
overwhelmed with the most whimsical and ridiculous
questions. The Emperor was much amused by this
familiarity, to which he was so little accustomed. " We
have been to a masked ball," said he, when the young
ladies had taken their leave.

THE YOUTH OF FRANCE. THE EMPEROR VISITS

MR. BALCOMBe's house.

19th — 20th. The Emperor invited my son to break-
fast : it may be easily imagined that he was greatly
overjoyed at this honour ! It was, perhaps, the first
time he had ever been so near the Emperor, or had
spoken to him ; and he was not a little flurried on the
occasion.

The table still remained without a cloth ; the break-
fast continued to be brought from the town, and con-
sisted of only two or three wretched dishes. To-day a
chicken was brought : the Emperor wished to carve it
himself, and to help us. He was astonished at finding
that he succeeded so well ; it was long, he said, since
he had done so much : for all his politeness, he added,
had been lost in the business and cares of his General-
ship of Italy.

Cofiee is almost a necessary of life to the Emperor :
but here it proved so bad that, on tasting it he thought

PROPAGATION OF KNOWLEDGE. I6l

himself poisoned. He sent it away, and made me send
away mine also.

The Emperor was at this moment using a snuff-box
set with several ancient medals, which were surrounded
by Greek inscriptions. The Emperor not being certain
of the name of one of the heads, asked me to translate
the inscription ; and on my replying that it was beyond
my powers, he laughed and said, "I see you are no
better scholar than myself." My son then tremblingly
undertook the task, and read Mithridates, Demetrius-
Poliorcetes, and some other names. The extreme youth
of my son, and this circumstance, attracted the Empe-
ror's attention. "Is your son so far advanced.^'' said
he ; and he began to question him at great length re-
specting his Lyceum, his masters, his lessons, &c. Then
turning to me, " What a rising generation I leave be-
hind me !" said he. " This is all my work ! The merits
of the French youth will be a sufficient revenge to me.
On beholding the work, all must render justice to the
workman ! and the perverted judgment or bad faith of
declaimers must fall before my deeds. If I had thought
only of myself, and of securing my own power, as has
been continually asserted, if I had really had any other
object in view than to establish the reign of reason, I
should have endeavoured to hide the light under a bushel;
instead of which, I devoted myself to the propagation of
knowledge, and yet the youth of France have not en-
joyed all the benefits which I intended they should. My
University, according to the plan I had conceived, was
a master-piece in its combinations, and would have been
such in its national results. But an evil-disposed person
spoiled all ; and in so doing he was actuated no doubt
by bad intentions, and with a view to some purpose."

In the evening the Emperor went to visit our
neighbours. Mr. Balcombe, who was suffering under a
fit of the gout, lay stretched on a sofa ; his wife and
the two young ladies, whom he had met in the morn-
ing, were beside him. The masked ball was resumed
again with great spirit. Our guests liberally dealt out
all their store of knowledge. The conversation turned
on novels. One of the young ladies had read Madame

VOL, I, M

162 - FRENCH WORKS.

Cottin's Mathilde, and was delighted to find that the
Emperor was acquainted with the work. An Enghsh-
man, with a great round face, to all appearance a true
vacuum plenum, who had been listening earnestly, in
order to turn his little knowledge of French to the best
account, modestly ventured to ask the Emperor whether
the Princess, the friend of Matilda, whose character he
particularly admired, was still living } The Emperor with
a very solemn air replied, "No, sir j she is dead and
buried :" and he was almost tempted to believe he was
himself hoaxed, until he found that the melancholy
tidings almost drew tears from the great staring eyes of
the Englishman,

The young ladies evinced no less simplicity, though
in them it was more pardonable : however, I was led to
conclude that they had not studied chronology very deeply.
One of them turning over Florian's Estelle, to shew us
that she could read French, happened to light on the
name of Gaston de Foix, and finding him distinguished
by the title of General, she asked the Emperor whether
he had been satisfied with his conduct in the army,
whether he had escaped the dangers of war, and whether
he was still living.

21st. — In the morning the Admiral came to visit the
Emperor. He knocked at the door ; and had I not been
present, the Emperor must have been reduced to the
alternative of opening it himself, or suffering the Admi-
ral to wait on the outside.

All the scattered members of our little colony, like-
wise, came from the town, and we were for a short time
collected together. Each described the wretchedness of
liis situation, and received the sympathy of the Emperor.

HORROR AND MISERY OF OUR SITUATION. THE EM-

PEROr's indignation. NOTE TO THE ENGLISH GO-
VERNMENT.

23rd — 24th. The English Ministers, in violating the
rights of hospitality, to which we had trusted with such
implicit confidence, seem to have Emitted nothing adapted
to make us feel this violation the more bitterly. By
banishing us to the farthest extremity of the world, and

THEIR CONTINUED DISCOMFORT. 163

reducing us to every kind of privation and ill-treatment,
they wish to make us drain the cup of misery to the
very dregs. St. Helena is a true Siberia : the only differ-
ence is its limited extent, and the climate being warm
instead of cold.

The Emperor Napoleon, who but lately possessed
such boundless power, and disposed of so many Crowns,
now occupies a wretched hovel, a few feet square,
perched upon a rock, unprovided with furniture, and
without either shutters or curtains to the windows. This
place must serve him for bed-chamber, dressing-room,
dining-room, study, and sitting-room ; and he is obliged
to go out when it is necessary to have this one apart-
ment cleaned. His meals, consisting of a few wretched
dishes, are brought to him from a distance, as though he
were a criminal in a dungeon. He is absolutely in want
of the necessaries of life : the bread and wine are not
such as we have been accustomed to, and are so bad
that we loathe to touch them ; water, coffee, butter, oil,
and other articles, are either not to be procured, or are
scarcely fit for use : a bath, which is so necessary to the
Emperor's health, is not to be had ; and he is deprived
of the exercise of riding on horseback.

His friends and servants are two miles distant from
him, and are not suffered to approach his person with-
out being accompanied by a soldier. They are deprived
of their arms, and are compelled to pass the night at the
guard-house, if they return beyond a certain hour, or if
any mistake occur in the pass-word, which happens al-
most daily. Thus, on the summit of this frightful rock,
we are equally exposed to the severity of man and the
rigour of nature ! And how easy would it have been to
procure us a more suitable retreat and more courteous
usage. Assuredly, if the Sovereigns of Europe decreed
this exile, private enmity has directed its execution. If
policy alone dictated this measure as indispensable,
would it not have been essential, in order to render the
fact evident to the world, to have surrounded with every
kind of respect and consideration the illustrious victim,
with regard to whom it had been found necessary to
violate law and principle ?

BI 2

164 COMPLAlNtS OF tUE CONDUCE

We were all assembled round the Emperor ; and he
was recapitulating these facts with warmth : *' For what
infamous treatment are we reserved !" he exclaimed.
*' This is the anguish of death! To injustice and vio-
lence, they now add insult and protracted torment. If
I were so hateful to them, why did they not get rid of
me ? A few musquet balls in my heart or my head
would have done the business; and there would at
least have been some energy in the crime ! Were it not
for you, and, above all, for your wives, I would receive
from them nothing but the pay of a private soldier. How
can the monarchs of Europe permit the sacred character
of sovereignty to be violated in my person ? Do they
not see that they are, with their own hands, working
their own destruction at St, Helena ? I entered their
capitals victorious, and had I cherished such sentiments,
what would have become of them ? They styled me their
brother ; and I had become so by the choice of the peo-
ple, the sanction of victory, the character of religion^
and the alliances of their policy and their blood. Do
they imagine that the good sense of nations is blind to
their conduct ? and what do they expect from it ? At all
events, make your complaints, gentlemen ; let indignant
Europe hear them ! Complaints from me would be be-
neath my dignity and character ; I must command, or
be silent."

Next morning an officer, opening the door, intro-
duced himself, without farther ceremony, into the Em-
peror's room, where I was engaged with him. He had
come, however, with good intentions. He was the cap-
tain of one of the small vessels which had formed our
squadron. He was now about to return to Europe, and
came to enquire whether the Emperor had any com-
mands. Napoleon immediately recurred to the subject
of our conversation on the preceding evening, and, be-
coming animated by degrees, gave utterance to senti-
ments of the loftiest and most energetic character, which
he charged him to communicate to the British Govern-
ment. I interpreted what he said in the same spirit and
with great rapidity. The officer seemed astonished at
what he heard, and left us with a promise punctually to

OF THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS. 165

fulfil his commission. But he could not have described
the expression, and particularly the tone, of which I was
a witness. — The Emperor, however, directed me to make
a memorandum of what he had said, w^hich the officer
must have found very feebly expressed compared with
what he had just heard. The note was as follows i

Memorandum. — " The Emperor desires, by the return
of the next vessel, to receive some account of his wife
and son, and to be informed whether the latter is still
living. He takes this opportunity of repeating and con-
veying to the British Government the protestations which
he has already made against the extraordinary measures
adopted towards him.

" 1st. That Government has declared him a prisoner
of war. The Emperor is not a prisoner of war. His
letter to the Prince Regent, which he wrote and com-
municated to Captain Maitland, before he went on board
the Bellerophon, sufficiently proves, to the whole world,
the resolutions and the sentiments of confidence which
induced him freely to place himself under the English
flag.

" The Emperor might, had he pleased, have agreed to
quit France only on stipulated conditions with regard to
himself ; but he disdained to mingle personal considera-
tions with the great interests with which his mind was
constantly occupied. He might have placed himself at
the disposal of the Emperor Alexander, who had been
his friend, or of the Emperor Francis, who was his
father-in-law. But, confiding in the justice of the Eng-
lish nation, he desired no other protection than its laws
afforded; and, renouncing public affairs, he sought no
other country than that which was governed by fixed
laws, independent of private will.

" 2nd- Had the Emperor really been a prisoner of
war, the rights which civilized governments possess over
such a prisoner are limited by the law of nations, and
terminate with the war itself.

'* 3rd. If the English Government considered the
Emperor, though arbitrarily, as a prisoner of war, the
right of that government was then limited by public law,
or else, as there existed no cartel between the two

166 HIS HABITS OF LIVING.

nations during the war, it might have adopted towards
him the principles of savages, who put their prisoners to
■death. This proceeding would have been more humane,
and more conformable to justice, than that of sending
him to this horrible rock ; death inflicted on board the
Bellerophon, in the Plymouth roads, would have been a
blessing compared with the treatment to which he is
now subjected.

" We have travelled over the most desolate countries
of Europe, but none is to be compared to this barren
rock. Deprived of every thing that can render life sup-
portable, it is calculated only to renew perpetually the
anguish of death. The first principles of Christian
morality, and that great duty imposed on man to pur-
sue his fate, whatever it may be, may withhold him from
terminating with his own hand a wretched existence;
the Emperor glories in being superior to such a feeling.
But if the British Ministry should persist in their course
of injustice and violence towards him, he would consi-
der it a happiness if they would put him to death."

The vessel which sailed for Europe, with this docu-
ment, was the Redpole, Captain Desmond.

The reader must pardon the insipid monotony of our
complaints : they will be found to be always the same,
no doubt ; but let it be remembered how much more
pain must have been felt in repeating them than can
possibly be experienced in their perusal.

MODE OF LIVING AT BRIARS. CABINET WHICH THE

EMPEROR HAD WITH HIM AT AUSTERLITZ. THE

emperor's large CABINET. ITS CONTENTS. ARTI-
CLES OF VIRTU, LIBELS AGAINST NAPOLEON, &C.,
LEFT AT THE TUILERIES BY THE KING.

25th — 27th. The Emperor dressed very early; he
took a short walk out of doors ; we breakfasted about
ten o'clock; he walked again, and then we proceeded
to business. I read to him what he had dictated on the
preceding evening, and which my son had copied in the
morning ; he corrected it, and then continued his dicta-
tion. We went out again about five o'clock, and re-
turned at six, the hour appointed for dinner, that is ta

PRESENTS THE AUTHOR WITH A CABINET. 167

say, if the dinner should be brought from the town by
that time. The days were very long, and the evenings
still longer. Unfortunately I did not understand chess T*
at one time I had an idea of studying it by night, but
where could I find a teacher ? I pretended to a little
knowledge of piquet, but the Emperor soon discovered
my ignorance : he gave me credit for my good intentions,
yet he gave up playing. Want of occupation would
sometimes lead him to the neighbouring house, where
the young ladies made him play at whist. But his more
usual practice was to remain at table after dinner, and
to converse sitting in his chair ; for the room was too
small to admit of his walking about.

One evening he ordered a little travelling cabinet to
be brought to him, and, after minutely examining every
part of it, he presented it to me, saying, " I have had it
in my possession a long time, I made use of it on the
morning of the battle of Austerlitz. It must go to young
Emanuel," said he, turning to my son; "when he is
thirty or forty years old, we shall be no more. This
will but enhance the value of the gift ; he will say when
he shews it, the Emperor Napoleon gave this to my
father at St. Helena." I received the precious gift with
a rkind of reverential feeling, and I preserve it as a
valuable relic.

Passing from that to the examining of a large cabinet,
he looked over some portraits of his own family, and
some presents which he had personally received. These
consisted of the portraits of Madame, of the Queen of
Naples, of the daughters of Joseph, of his brothers, of
the King of Rome, &c. ; an Augustus and a Livia, both
exceedingly rare ; a Continence of Scipio and another
antique of immense value given to him by the Pope ;
a Peter the Great, on a box ; another box with a
Charles V. ; another with a Turenne ; and some, which were
in daily use, covered with a collection of medallions of
Csesar, Alexander, Sylla, Mithridates, &c. Next came
some snuff-boxes, ornamented with his own portrait set
in diamonds. He then looked for one without diamonds,
and not finding it, he called his valet- de-chambre to
enquire about it : unfortunately this portrait still remained

168 PAPERS FOUND BY HIM ON HIS

in the town along with the greater part of his effects ;
I felt mortified at receiving this intelligence, I could
not help thinking that I had been a loser by this mis-
chance.

The Emperor then examined several snufi'-boxes which
Louis XVIII. had left on his table at the Tuileries at
the time of his precipitate departure. On one of these
were represented, on a black ground, the portraits of
Louis XVI., of the Queen, and of Madame Elizabeth,
executed in paste in imitation of ivory, and fantastically
arranged. They formed three crescents placed back to
back in the shape of an equilateral triangle, and groups
of cherubs closely interwoven composed the external
border. Another box presented a water-colour sketch
of a hunt, which had no other claim to merit than the
circumstance of its being attributed to the pencil of the
Duchess of Angouleme. A third was surmounted with
a portrait, which appeared to be that of the Countess of
Provence. These three boxes were of simple and even
ordinary execution; and could possess no other value
than that which their history attaches to them.

On the Emperor's arrival in Paris on the evening of
the 20th of March, he found the King's study precisely
in the state in which it had been used ; all his papers
still remained on the tables. By the Emperor's desire,
these tables were pushed into the corners of the apart-
ment, and others brought. He gave orders that nothing
should be touched, intending to examine the papers at
his leisure : and as the Emperor himself quitted France
'without returning to the Tuileries, the King muat have
found his study and his papers nearly as he had left
them.

The Emperor took a hasty glance at some of the
papers. He found among them several letters from the
King to M. d'Avary at Madeira, where the latter died ;
they were written in the King's own hand, and had
doubtless been sent back to him. He found also some
confidential letters of the King's, likewise in his own
hand. But how came they there } How had they been
returned to him.^ That would be difficult to explain.
They consisted of five or six pages, written in very

RETURN TO THE TUILERIES. 169

elegant language, and displaying some sense ; but very
abstract and metaphysical. In one of them, the Prince
said to the lady whom he addressed : — " Judge, Madam,
hoiu much I love you ; I have left off mourning for your
sake." "And here," said the Emperor, *' the idea of
the mourning was followed up by a succession of long
paragraphs, quite in an academic style." The Emperor
could not imagine to whom it had been written, or what
the mourning alluded to ; I could not assist his conjec-
tures on either of these points.

Two or three days after the Emperor had replaced a
certain individual at the head of a celebrated institution,
he found on one of the tables a memoir from that very per-
son, which, from the terms in which it was couched with
reference to himself and the whole of his family, would
certainly have prevented him from signing the re-ap-
pointment.

There were also many other documents of the same
nature : but the most complete records of baseness, de-
ceit, and villany, were found in the apartments of
M. Blacas, grand-master of the wardrobe, and minister
of the household : these were filled with plans, reports,
and petitions of every kind. There were few of these
papers in which the writers did not put themselves for-
ward at the expense of Napoleon, whom they were far
from expecting to return. They formed altogether such
a mass that the Emperor was obliged to appoint a com-
mittee of four persons to examine them ; he now thinks
he was to blame in not having confided that office to a
single individual, and with such injunctions that he might
have felt confident nothing was suffered to escape. He
has since had reason to believe that these papers might
have afibrded some salutary hints respecting the treachery
which surrounded him on his return from Waterloo.

Among the rest there was a long letter from one of
the female attendants of the Princess Pauline. This
voluminous letter was expressed in very coarse lan-
guage with regard to the princess and her sisters ; and
described the Emperor, to whom the writer always alluded
under the title of that man, in the worst possible colours.
This had not been thought sufficient ; part of it had been

170 HIS INDIGNATION AT INGRATITUDE.

erased and interlined by another hand, in order to bring
forward Napoleon in the most scandalous manner ; and
on the margin, in the hand of the interlineator, were
written the words Jit to he 'printed. A few days more,
and this libel would probably have been published.

An upstart woman, who held a distinguished rank in
the state, and who had been overwhelmed with acts of
kindness from the Emperor, wrote in a great hurry to
her friend, another upstart, to acquaint her with the fa-
mous decision of the Senate respecting the forfeiture and
proscription of Napoleon. The letter contained the fol-
lowing : '* My dear friend, my husband has just re-
turned : he is tired to death ; but his efforts have carried
it ; we are delivered from that man, and we shall have
the Bourbons. Thank God, we shall now be real Coun-
tesses !" &c.

Among these papers. Napoleon experienced the mor-
tification to meet with some containing very improper
remarks respecting himself personally ; and those too in
the very hand writing of individuals who only the day
before had assembled round him, and were already in the
enjoyment of his favours.

The first impulse of his indignation was to determine
that they should be printed, and to withdraw his protec-
tion : a second thought restrained him. " We are so
volatile, so inconstant, so easily led away," said he,
" that, after all, I could not be certain that those very
people had not really and spontaneously come back to
my service : in that case, I should have been punishing
them at the very time when they were returning to their
duty. I thought it better to seem to know nothing of
the matter, and I ordered all their letters to be burnt.*'

THE EMPEROR COMMENCES THE CAMPAIGN OF EGYPT

WITH THE GRAND MARSHAL. ANECDOTSS OF BRU-

MAIRE, &C. LETTER OF THE COUNT DE LILLE. THE

BEAUTIFUL DUCHESS DE GUICHE.

28th — 31st. My son and I prosecuted our labours
without intermission. His health, however, began to be
affected ; he felt a pain in his chest. My eyes also grew
weak : these were really the effects of our excessive oc-

EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THEIR CONDITION. 171

cupation. Indeed, we had gone through an amazing
quantity of work : we had already nearly arrived at the
end of the Campaign of Italy. The Emperor, however,
did not yet find that he had sufficient occupation. Em-
ployment 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 Marshal
on this subject.

Those of our party who were lodged in the town were
badly accommodated, and were dissatisfied at being
separated from the Emperor. They were harassed by
the constraint and mortifications to which they were
subjected. I suggested to the Emperor 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 the Island of Elba, &c
The time, I observed, would then pass more quickly ;
this great work, the glory of France, would advance
more rapidly, and the gentlemen who resided in the
town would be less unhappy. The idea pleased the Em-
peror, and from that moment one or two of his suite
came regularly every day to write from his dictation, the
transcript of which they brought to him next morn-
ing. They then stayed to dinner, and thus afforded the
Emperor a little more amusement.

We made such arrangements that the Emperor insen-
sibly found himself more comfortably situated in many
respects. A tent, which had been given to me by the
Colonel of the 53 rd regiment, was spread out so as to
form a prolongation of the room occupied by the Em-
peror. His cook took up his abode at Briars. The
table-linen was taken from the trunks, the plate was set
forth, and our first dinner after these preparations was a
sort of f^te. The evenings, however, always hung
heavily on our hands. The Emperor would sometimes
visit the adjoining house ; at other times he would en-
deavour to leave his chamber to walk ; but more fre-
quently he remained within- doors, and tried to pass the
time in conversation until ten or eleven o'clock. He

172 EVENT OF BRUMAIRE.

dreaded retiring to bed too early ; for when he did so,
he awoke in the night ; and, in order to divert his mind
from sorrowful reflections, he was obliged to rise
and read.

One day at dinner the Emperor cast his eyes on one
of the dishes of his own campaign- service, on which the
Royal arms had been engraved. '* How they have
spoiled this !" he exclaimed in very energetic terms ;
and he could not refrain from observing that the King
had been in a great hurry to take possession of the Im-
perial plate, which he certainly could not claim as having
been taken from him, since it unquestionably belonged
to^him. Napoleon ; for, he added, that when he ascended
the throne he found not a vestige of royal property. At
his abdication he left to the crown five millions in plate,
and between forty and fifty millions in furniture, which
was all purchased with his own money out of his civil
list.

In a conversation one evening, the Emperor related
the circumstances attending the event of Brumaire. I
suppress the particulars, because they were afterwards
dictated to General Gourgaud ; and a detailed account
of this remarkable affair will be found in the Memoirs.

Sieyes, who was one of the Provisional Consuls
along with Napoleon, astonished to hear his colleague,
on the very first conference, discussing questions relative
to finance, administration, the army, law, and politics,
left him, quite disconcerted, and ran to his friends,
saying, *' Gentlemen, you have got a master ! This man
knows every thing, wills every thing, and can do every
thing."

I was in London at that time, and I told the Emperor
that the emigrants there had formed great hopes and
placed much confidence on the events of the 18th of
Brumaire and on his Consulate. Several of us, who
had formerly been acquainted with Madame de Beauhar-
nois, immediately set out for Paris, hoping, through her
means, to exercise some influence, or give some direction
to affairs, which then appeared under a new aspect.

Our general opinion at the time was that the First
Consul had waited for propositions from the French

THE BOURBON PRINCES, 173

Princes. We grounded this opinion on the circumstance
of his having been so long without manifesting his
intentions respecting them ; which, however, he did
some time afterwards in a way the most overwhelming,
by means of a proclamation. We attributed this result
to the stupid conduct of the Bishop of Arras, the coun-
sellor and director of our affairs ; who, according to his
own confession, went to work with his eyes shut, and
boasted of not having read a single newspaper for a
series of years, ever since they had been filled, as he
said, with the successes and the falsehoods of those
wretches. On the first establishment of the Consulate,
some one having attempted to persuade the Bishop to
enter into negotiations with the Consul, through the
mediation of Madame Buonaparte, he rejected the pro-
position with indignation, and in language of so coarse
and disgusting a nature as induced the person to tell
him that his expressions were far from being episcopal,
and that he certainly had never learned them from his
breviary.

About the same period he made use of some gross
invectives against the Due de Choiseuil, — and that too
at the table of the Prince, where he was smartly repri-
manded for them; and all this was only because the
Duke, on being released from imprisonment at Calais,
and escaping death through the protection of the Consul,
concluded his reply to the enquiries made by the Prince
relative to Buonaparte, by protesting that, for his part,
he should never cease to acknowledge his personal
gratitude towards him.

To all this the Emperor replied that he had never
bestowed a thought on the Princes ; that the observations
to which I had alluded proceeded from one of the other
Consuls, and were made without any particular motive ;
that we, who were abroad, seemed to have no idea of the
opinions of those at home ; and that even if he had been
favourably disposed towards the Princes, it would not
have been in his power to carry his intentions into
execution. He had, however, received overtures, about
that period, both from Mittau and London.

The King, he said, wrote him a letter, which was con-

174 THE DUCHESS DE GUICHE.

veyed to him by Lebrun, who had it from the Abbe de
Montesquiou, the secret agent of the Prince at Paris.
This letter, which was written in a very laboured style,
contained the following paragraph : " You delay long to
restore me my throne. It is to be feared that you may
allow favourable moments to escape. You cannot com-
plete the happiness of France without me, nor can I serve
France without you. Hasten, then, and specify yourself
the places which you would wish your fi-iends to possess."

To this letter the First Consul replied : — '* I have
received your Royal Highness's letter; I have always
felt deep interest in your misfortunes and those of your
family. You must not think of appearing in France ;
you could not do so without passing over a hundred
thousand dead bodies. I shall, however, be always
eager to do every thing that may tend to alleviate your
fate, or enable you to forget your misfortunes."

The overtures made by the Count d'Artois pos-
sessed still more elegance and address. He commis-
sioned, as the bearer of them, the Duchess de Guiche,
a lady whose fascinating manners and personal graces
were calculated to assist her in the important negotia-
tion. She easily got access to Madame Buonaparte,
with whom all the individuals of the old Court came
easily in contact. She breakfasted with her at Malmai-
son ; and the conversation turning on London, the emi-
grants, and the French Princes, Madame de Guiche men-
tioned that as she happened a few days before to be at
the house of the Count d'Artois, she had heard some
person ask the Prince what he intended to do for the
First Consul, in the event of his restoring the Bourbons ;
and that the Prince had replied: — "I would imme-
diately make him Constable of the kingdom, and every
thing else he might choose. But even that would not
be enough : we vv^ould raise on the Carrousel a lofty and
magnificent column, surmounted with a statue of Buona-
parte crowning the Bourbons/'

As soon as the First Consul entered, which he did
very shortly after breakfast, Josephine eagerly repeated
to him the circumstance which the Duchess had related.
*• And did you not reply," said her husband, " that the

THE BOURBON PRINCES. 175

corpse of the First Consul would have been made the
pedestal of the Column ?" — The charming Duchess was
still present; the beauties of her countenance, her eyes,
and her words, were directed to the success of her com-
mission. She said she was so delighted she did not
know how she should ever be able sufficiently to ac-
knowledge the favour which Madame Buonaparte had
procured her, of seeing and hearing so distinguished a
man — so great a hero. It was all in vain : the Duchess
de Guiche received orders that very night to quit Paris.
The charms of the emissary were too well calculated to
alarm Josephine, to induce her to say any thing very
urgent in her favour, and next day the Duchess was on
her way to the frontier.

It is, however, absolutely false that Napoleon, on his
part, at a subsequent period, made overtures or propo-
sitions to the Princes touching the cession of their rights,
or their renunciation of the Crown ; though such state-
ments have been made in some pompous declarations,
profusely circulated through Europe. — How was such a
thing possible ?" said the Emperor ; "I, who could only
reign by the very principle which excluded them — that
of the sovereignty of the people — how could I have
sought to possess through them rights which were pro-
scribed in their persons ! That would have been to pro-
scribe myself. The absurdity would have been too pal-
pable, too ridiculous ; it would have ruined me for ever
in public opinion. The fact is that neither directly nor
indirectly, at home or abroad, did I ever do any thing of
the kind : and this will no doubt, in the course of time,
be the opinion of all persons of judgment, who allow
me to have been neither a fool nor a madman.

" The prevalence of this report, however, induced me
to seek to discover what could have given rise to it, and
these are the facts which I collected : — at the period of
the good understanding between France and Prussia,
and while that state was endeavouring to ingratiate her-
self in our favour, she caused inquiry to be made whe-
ther France would take umbrage at her allowing the
French Princes to remain in the Prussian territories, to
which the French Government answered in the negative.

176 VIEWS OF THfi COURl' OF BERLIN.

Emboldened by this reply, Prussia next enquired whetliei'
we should feel any great repugnance to furnish them,
through her medium, with an annual allowance. To
this our government also replied in the negative, pro-
vided that Prussia would be responsible for their re-
maining quiet, and abstaining from all intrigue. The
negotiation of this affair being once set on foot between
the two countries, Heaven knows what the zeal of some
agent, or even the doctrines of the Court of Berlin, which
did not accord with ours, may have proposed. This
furnished, no doubt, the motive and pretext, if indeed
any really existed, for the fine letter of Louis XV III.,
to which all the members of his family so ostentatiously
adhered. The French Princes eagerly seized that oppor-
tunity of reviving the interest and attention of Europe,
which had been by this time totally withdrawn from
them.''

OCCUPATIONS OF THE DAT. COUNCIL OF STATE. DIS-
GRACE OF PORTALIS. DISSOLUTION OF THE LEGISLA-
TIVE BODY, IN 1813. — THE SENATE.

November 1 st — 4th. Our days now passed away in the
same uniformity as those which we spent on board the
vessel. The Emperor summoned me to breakfast with
him about ten or eleven o'clock. That meal being con-
cluded, after half an hour's conversation, I read to him
what he had dictated the evening before, and he renewed
his dictations. The Emperor discontinued his practice
of dressing as soon as he rose, and walking before break-
fast, which had broken up his day too much, and ren-
dered it too long. He nev^r dressed now till about
four o'clock. He then walked out, to give the servants
an opportunity of making his bed, and cleaning his
room. We walked in the garden, which he particularly
liked, on account of its solitude. I had the little arbour
covered with a canvass, and ordered a table and chairs
to be placed in it ; and the Emperor henceforward chose
this spot for dictating to such of the gentlemen as came
from the town for that purpose.

In front of Mr. Balcombe's house there was a walk
bordered by some trees. It was here that the two En-

THE COUNCIL OF STATE. l77

g-lisli soldiers had posted themselves for the purpose or
watching us. They were, however, at length removed,
by desire of Mr. Balcombe, who felt offended at the cir-
cumstance on his own account. Nevertheless, they still
continued for some time to move about, so as to get a
sight of the Emperor ; either attracted by curiosity, or
acting in obedience to their orders. At length they en-
tirely disappeared, and the Emperor gradually took pos-
session of this lower walk. This was quite an acquisition
to his domain ; and he walked here every day before
dinner. The two young ladies, with their mother, joined
him in this walk, and told him the news. He sometimes
returned to the garden after dinner, when the weather
permitted ; he was then enabled to spend the evening
without paying a visit to his neighbours, which he never
did when he could avoid it, nor ever till he was satisfied
that no stranger was there, which I always ascertained
previously, by peeping through the window.

In one of his walks, the Emperor conversed much on
the subject of the Senate, the Legislative Body, and par-
ticularly the Council of State. The latter, he said, had
been of considerable service to him during the whole
course of his administration. I will here note down
some remarks relative to the Council of State, the more
readily, as it was very little understood at the time in
the drawing-rooms of Paris ; and as it does not now
exist on the same footing as formerly, I shall insert,
as I proceed, a few lines on its m^echanism and pre-
rogatives.

" The Council of State," said the Emperor, " was gene-
rally composed of well-informed, skilful, and honest men.
Fermont and Boulay, for example, were certainly of this
class. Notwithstanding the immense law-suits which
they conducted, and the vast emoluments they enjoyed,
I should not be surprised to learn that they are not now
in very flourishing circumstances." The Emperor em-
ployed the councillors of state individually in every case,
and with advantage. As a whole, they were his real
council — his mind in deliberation, as the ministers were
his mind in execution. At the Council of State were
prepared the laws which the Emperor presented to the

VOL. I. N

178 THE COUNCIL OF STATE.

Legislative Body, a circumstance which rendered it alto-
gether one of the elements of the legislative power. In
the Council, the Emperor's decrees and his rules of
public administration were drawn up ; and there the
plans of his ministers were examined, discussed, and
corrected.

The Council of State received appeals and pronounced
finally on all administrative judgments ; and incidentally
on those of all other tribunals, even those of the Court
of Cassation. There were examined complaints against
the ministers, and appeals from the Emperor to the Em-
peror better informed. Thus the Council of State, at
which the Emperor uniformly presided, being frequently
in direct opposition to the ministers, or occupied in re-
forming their acts and errors, naturally became the point
of refuge for persons or interests aggrieved by any au-
thority whatever. All who were ever present at the
meetings of the council must know with what zeal the
cause of the citizens w^as there defended. A committee
of the Council of State received all the petitions of the
Empire, and laid before the Sovereign those which de-
served his attention.

With the exception of lawyers and persons employed
in the administration, it is surprising how far the rest of
society were ignorant of our political legislation. No
one had a correct idea of the Council of State, of the
Legislative Body, or of the Senate. It was received,
for example, as an established fact, that the Legislative
Body, like an assembly of mutes, passively adopted,
without the least opposition, all the laws which were
presented to it ; that which belonged to the nature
and excellence of the institution was attributed to its
complaisance and servility.

The laws which were prepared in the Council of State
were presented by commissioners, chosen from that
council, to a committee of the Legislative Body appoint-
ed to receive them ; they were there amicably discussed,
and were often quietly referred back to the Council of
State to receive some modifications. When the two de-
putations could not come to an understanding, they pro-
ceeded to hold regular conferences, under the presidency

THE COUNCIL OF STATE. 179

of the Arch- chancellor or the Arch- treasurer ; so that,
before these laws reached the Legislative Body, they
had already received the assent of the two opposite
parties. If any difference existed, it was discussed by
the two committees, in the presence of the whole of the
Legislative Body, performing the functions of a jury ;
which, as soon as its members had become sufficiently
acquainted with the facts, pronounced its decision by a
secret scrutiny. Thus every individual had an oppor-
tunity of freely giving his opinion, as it was impossible
to know whether he had put in a black or a white ball.
'* No plan," said the Emperor, "could have been better
calculated to correct our national effervescence and our
inexperience in matters of political liberty."

The Emperor asked me whether I thought discussion
perfectly free in the Council of State, or whether his
presence did not impose a restraint on the deliberations ?
I reminded him of a very long debate, during which he
had remained throughout singular in his opinion, and
had at last been obliged to yield. He immediately re-
collected the circumstance. " Oh, yes," said he, " that
must have been in the case of a woman of Amsterdam,
who had been tried for her life and acquitted three seve-
ral times by the Imperial Courts, but against whom a
fresh trial was demanded in the Court of Cassation."
The Emperor hoped that this happy concurrence of the
law might have exhausted its severity in favour of the
prisoner ; that this lucky fatality of circumstances mig-ht
have turned to her advantage. It was urged in reply
that he possessed the beneficent power of bestowing
pardon ; but that the law v/as inflexible, and must take
its course. The debate was a very long one. M. Muraire
spoke a great deal, and very much to the point ; he per-
suaded every one except the Emperor, who still remain-
ed singular in his opinion, and at length yielded, with
these remarkable words : — " Gentlemen, the decision
goes by the majority here, I remain single, and must
yield ; but I declare, in my conscience, that I yield only
to forms. You have reduced me to silence, but by no
means convinced me."

So little was the nature of the Council of State under-

N 2

180 THE COUNCIL OF STATE,

stood by people in general that it was believed no one
dared utter a word in that assembly in opposition to the
Emperor's opinion. Thus I very much surprised many
persons when I related the fact that, one day, during a
very animated debate, the Emperor, having been inter-
rupted three times in giving his opinion, turned towards
the individual who had rather rudely cut him short, and
said in a sharp tone : " I have not yet done ; 1 beg you
will allow me to continue. I believe every one here has
a right to deliver his opinion." The smartness of this
reply, notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion,
excited a general laugh, in which the Emperor himself
joined.

" Yet," said 1 to him, " the speakers evidently sought
to discover what might be your Majesty's opinion : they
seemed to congratulate themselves when their views
coincided with yours, and to be embarrassed on finding
themselves maintaining opposite sentiments. You were
accused, too, of laying snares for us, in order to discover
our real opinion." However, when the question was
once started, self-love and the warmth of argument con-
tributed, along with the freedom of discussion which the
Emperor encouraged, to induce every one to maintain his
own opinion. " I do not mind being contradicted," said
the Emperor; "I seek to be informed. Speak boldly,"
he would repeat, whenever the speaker expressed himself
equivocally, or the subject was a delicate one ; " tell
me all that you think ; we are alone here ; we are all en
famille.''

I have been informed that, under the Consulate, or at
the commencement of the Empire, the Emperor opposed
an opinion of one of the members, and, through the
warmth and obstinacy of the latter, the affair at length
amounted absolutely to a personal misunderstanding.
Napoleon commanded his temper, and was silent ; but a
few days after, seeing his antagonist at one of the pub-
lic audiences, he said to him, in a half-earnest manner,
" You are extremely obstinate ; and if I were equally

go ! At all events, you are in the wrong to put

power to the trial ! You should not be unmindful of
human weakness !"

THE COUNCIL OF STATE. 181

On another occasion, he said in private to one of the
members who had likewise driven him to the utmost
extreme, " You must take a little more care to consult
my temper. You lately rather exceeded the bounds of
discretion : you obliged me to have recourse to scratch-
ing my forehead. That is a very ominous sign with me :
avoid urging me so far for the future,"

Nothing could equal the interest which the presence
and the w^ords of the Emperor excited in the Council of
State. He presided there regularly twice a week when
he was in town, and then none of us would have been
absent for the whole world.

I told the Emperor that two sittings in particular had
made the deepest impression on me : one entirely of
sentiment, relating to matters of internal police, in which
he had expelled one of the members of the Council ; the
other of constitutional decision, in which he had dis-
solved the Legislative Body.

A religious party was fomenting civil discord in the
State, by secretly circulating bulls and letters from the
Pope. They were shewn to a Councillor of State, ap-
pointed to superintend religious worship ; and who, if he
did not himself circulate them, at least neither prevented
nor denounced their circulation. This was discovered,
and the Emperor suddenly challenged him with the fact
in open Council. " What could have been your motive,
sir ?" said he : " were you influenced by your religious
principles ? If so, why are you here ? I use no control
over the conscience of any man. Did I force you to
become my Councillor of State .'' On the contrary, you
solicited the post as a high favour. You are the young-
est member of the Council, and perhaps the only one
who has not some personal claim to that honour ; you
had nothing to recommend you but the inheritance of
your father's services. You took a personal oath to me ;
how could your religious feelings permit you openly to
violate that oath, as you have just now done ? Speak,
however ; you are here in confidence : your colleagues
shall be your judges. Your crime is a great one, sir.
A conspiracy for the commission of a violent act is stop-
ped as soon as we seize the arm that holds the poniard.

182 THE COUNCIL OF STATE.

But a conspiracy to influence the public mind has no
end ; it is like a train of gunpowder. Perhaps, at this
very moment, whole towns are thrown into commotion
through your fault!" The Councillor, quite confused,
said nothing in reply : the first word had sufficed to
convict him. The members of the council, to the ma-
jority of whom this event was quite unexpected, were
struck with astonishment, and observed profound silence.
— " Why," continued the Emperor, " did you not, ac-
cording to the obligation imposed by your oath, discover
to me the criminal and his plots ? Am I not at all times
accessible to everyone of you ?" " Sire," said the Coun-
cillor, at length venturing to reply, " he was my cousin."
— " Your crime is then the greater, sir," replied the
Emperor sharply; "your kinsman could only have
been placed in office at your solicitation : from that mo-
ment all the responsibility devolved on you. When I
look upon a man as entirely devoted to me, as your si-
tuation ought to render you, all who are connected with
him, and all for \vhom he becomes responsible, from that
time require no watching. These are my maxims."
The accused member still remained silent, and the Em-
peror continued: "The duties which a Councillor of
State owes to me are immense. You, sir, have violated
those duties, and you hold the office no longer. Be-
gone : let me never see you here again !" The disgraced
Councillor, as he was withdrawing, passed very near the
Emperor : the latter looked at him and said, " I am sin-
cerely grieved at this, sir, for the services of your father
are still fresh in my memory." When he was gone, the
Emperor added, " I hope such a scene as this may never
be renewed ; it has done me too much harm. — I am not
distrustful, but I might become so ! I have allowed my-
self to be surroun^Ied by every party ; I have placed
near my person even emigrants and soldiers of the army
of Conde ; and, though it was wished to induce them to
assassinate me, yet, to do them justice, they have con-
tinued faithful. Since I have held the reins of govern-
ment, this is the first individual employed about me, by
whom I have been betrayed." And then, turning to-
wards M. Locre, who took notes of the debates of the

THE LEGISLATIVE BODY. 183

Council of State, he said, " write down betrayed — do
you hear ?"

What an interesting collection were those reports of
M. Locre ! What has become of them ? All that I
have here related would be found in them word for
word.

With respect to the dissolution of the Legislative
Body, the Council of State was convoked either on the
last day, or the last day but one of December, 1813.
We knew that the debate vs^ould be an important one,
without however knowing its object : the crisis was of
the most serious nature, the enemy was entering on the
French territory.

" Gentlemen," said the Emperor, " vou are aware of
the situation of affairs, and the dangers to which the
country is exposed. I thought it right, without being
obliged to do so, to forward a private communication on
the subject to the Deputies of the Legislative Body. I
wished thus to have associated them with their dearest
interests : but they have converted this act of my con-
fidence into a weapon against me ; that is to say, against
the country. Instead of assisting me with all their
efforts, they seek to obstruct mine. Our attitude alone
would be sufficient to check the advance of the enemy,
while their conduct invites him ; instead of shewing him
a front of brass, they unveil to him our wounds. They
stun me with their clamorous demands for peace, while
the only means to obtain it was to recommend war ;
they complain of me, and speak of their grievances ; but
what time, what place, do they select for so doing ?
These are subjects to be discussed in private, and not in
the presence of the enemy. Was I inaccessible to them ?
Did I ever shew myself incapable of arguing reasonably ?
It is time, however, to come to a resolution : the Legis-
lative Body, instead of assisting me in saving France,
wishes to accelerate her ruin. The Legislative Body
has betrayed its duty — I fulfil mine — I dissolve it."

He then ordered the reading of a decree, the purport
of which was that two-fifths of the Legislative Body
had already gone bevond their power ; that on the first
of January another fifth would be in the same situation,

184 THE LEGISLATIVE BODY.

and that consequently the majority of the Legislative
Body would then be composed of members who had no
right to be in it ; that, in consideration of these circum-
stances, it was, from that moment, prorogued and ad-
journed, until fresh elections should be made.

After the reading of this document, the Emperor
continued: "Such is the decree which I issue; and
were I assured that it would bring the people of Paris
in a crowd to the Tuileries to murder me this very day,
I would still issue it ; for such is my duty. When the
people of France placed their destinies in my hands, I
took into consideration the laws by which 1 was to
govern them : had I thought those laws insufficient, I
should not have accepted them. I am not a Louis XVI.
Daily vacillations must not be expected from me. Though
I have become Emperor, I have not ceased to be a
citizen. If anarchy were to resume her sway, I would
abdicate and mingle with the crowd to enjoy my share
of the sovereignty, rather than remain at the head of a
system in which I should only compromise all, without
being able to protect any one. Besides," concluded
he, " my determination is conformable to the law ; and
if every one here will do his duty this day, I shall be
invincible behind the shelter of the law as well as before the
enemy." But, alas! every^one did not perform his duty !

Contrary to the received opinion, the Emperor was
far from being of an arbitrary temper, and he was so
willing to make concessions to his Council of State that
he has frequently been known to submit to discussion,
or even to annul a decision that he had adopted, because
one of the members might afterwards privately advance
new arguments, or hint that the personal opinion of the
Emperor had influenced the majority. Let the chiefs
of the sections be referred to on this head.

The Emperor was accustomed to communicate to
members of the Institute every scientific idea that oc-
curred to him, and also to submit his political ideas to
Councillors of State : he often did this with private, and
even secret, views. It was a sure way, he said, to go
to the heart of a question ; to ascertain the powers of a
man and his political bias ; to take measure of his dis-

i

THE TRIBUNATE. 1S5

cretion, &c. I know that in the year XIL he submitted
to three Councillors of State the consideration of a ^^ery
extraordinary question : namely, the suppression of the
Legislative Body. It was approved by the majority ;
but one opposed it strenuously; he spoke at great length,
and much to the purpose. The Emperor, who had
listened to the discussion with great attention and
gravity, without uttering a single word, or suffering any
indication of his opinion to escape him, closed the sitting
by observing, " A question of so serious a nature de-
serves to be maturely considered ; we will resume the
subject." But it was never again brought forward.

It would have been well had the same precautions
been adopted at the time of the suppression of the Tri-
bunate; for that has always continued to be a great
subject of declamation and reproach. As for the Emperor,
he viewed it merely as the suppression of an expensive
abuse, and an important econom.ical measure.

" It is certain," said he, " that the Tribunate was ab-
solutely useless, while it cost nearly half a million ;
I therefore suppressed it. I was well aware that an
outcry would be raised against the violation of the law 5
but I was strong : I possessed the full confidence of the
people, and I considered myself a reformer. This at least
is certain, that I did all for the best. I should, on the
contrary, have created the Tribunate, had 1 been hypo-
critical or evil-disposed; for who can doubt that it
v/ould have adopted and sanctioned, when necessary,
my views and intentions ? But that was what I never
sought after in the whole course of my administration.
I never purchased any vote or decision by promises,
money, or places ; and if I distributed favours to minis-
ters, councillors of state, and legislators, it was because
there were things to give away, and it was natural and
even just that they should be dealt out among those
whose avocations brought them in contact with me.

"In my time all constituted bodies were pure and
irreproachable : and I can firmly declare that they acted
from conviction. Malevolence and folly may have as-
serted the contrary ; but without ground. If those
bodies were condemned, it was by persons who knew

186 THE SENATE.

them not, or wished not to know them : and the re-
proaches that were levelled at them, must be attributed
to the discontent or opposition of the time ; and above
all, to that spirit of envy, detraction, and ridicule, which
is so peculiarly natural to the French people. The Se-
nate has been much abused ; great outcry has been raised
against its servility and baseness ; but declamation is
not proof. What was the Senate expected to do ? To
refuse conscripts } Y/as it wished that- the committees
of personal liberty and of the liberty of the press should
bring disgrace upon the Government } or that the Se-
nate should do what was done in 1813 by a committee
of the Legislative body ? But where did that measure
lead us ? I doubt whether the French people are now
very grateful for it. The truth is that we were placed
ill forced and unnatural circumstanced : men of under-
^-tanding knew this, and accommodated themselves to
the urgency of the moment. It is not known that, in
almost every important measure, the senators, before
they gave their vote, came to communicate to me pri-
vately, and sometimes very decidedly, their objections,
and even their refusal ; and they went away convinced
either by my arguments or by the necessity and urgency
of affairs. If I never gave publicity to this fact, it was
because I governed conscientiously, and because I des-
pised quackery, and every thing like it.

" The votes of the Senate was always unanimous,
because their conviction was universal. Endeavours
were made at the time to cry up an insignificant mino-
rity, whom the hypocritical praises of malevolence, to-
gether with their own vanity, or some other perversity
of character, excited to harmless opposition. But did
the individuals composing that minority evince, in the
last crisis, either sound heads or sincere hearts .'' 1 once
more repeat that the career of the Senate was irre-
proachable ; the mom-ent of its fall was alone disgraceful
and culpable. Without right, without power, and in
violation of every principle, the Senate sui-rendered
France, and accomplished her ruin. That body was the
sport of high intriguers, whose interest it was to dis-
credit and degrade it, and to ruin one of the great bases

THE SENATE. 187

of the modern system. It may be truly said that they
succeeded completely ; for I know of no body that ought
to be described in history with more ignominy than the
French Senate. However, it is but just to observe
that the stain rests not on the majority, and that among
the delinquents there was a multitude of foreigners, who
will 't least be in future indifferent to our honour and
interests."

On the arrival of the Count d'Artois, the Council of
State exerted every effort to attract his attention, and
secure his favour. A deputation of the Council was twice
presented to him, and permission was solicited to send
one to meet the King at Compeigne. To this solicitation
the Lieutenant- General of the kingdom replied, that the
King would wilhngiy receive the individual members of
the Council ; but that the sending of a deputation was a
thing not to be thought of. It is true that the gros bon-
nets, that is to say the Chiefs of the Section, were ab-
sent. All this agitation had no other object than to
insure the payment of their salary, and, perhaps, the
retention of their places. Thus the Council of State
immediately signed its adherence to the resolutions of
the Senate, avoiding, it is true, every expression that
might be offensive to Napoleon ; " And you signed it,"
said the Emperor. " No, Sire, I declined signing that
adherence, on the ground that it was an egregious piece
of folly to endeavour to remain successively the councillor
and the confidential servant of two antagonists; and that,
besides, if the conqueror were wise, the best pledge that
could be offered to his notice would be fidelity and re-
spect towards the conquered party." — "And you rea-
soned rightly," observed Napoleon.

5th. — Nearly all our party were assembled round the
Emperor in the garden. Those who were lodged in the
town complained much of the inconvenience and con-
tinual vexations to which they were exposed. The Em-
peror, for the last fortnight, had laid down the rule of
making no communication on this head, except in wri-
ting, which he conceived to be the manner most suitable
and best calculated to produce the wished-for result.
He had drawn up a note on this subject, which should

188 LETTER OF THE EMPEROR.

have been delivered some days ago, but which had been
neglected. He alluded several times to this business,
and in a tone of displeasure. All his indirect arguments
and observations applied to the " Grand Marshal. The
latter at length took umbrage : for who is not rendered
irritable by misfortune ? He expressed himself in rather
pointed language. His wife, who was standing near
the garden-gate, despairing of being able to appease the
storm, withdrew. I had now an opportunity of observ-
ing how the impressions produced by this circumstance
succeeded each other with rapidity in the Emperor's
mind. Reason, logic, and it may be added, sentiment,
always prevailed. — " If," said he, *' you did not deliver
the letter because you considered it to be couched in
offensive terms, you performed a duty of friendship ; but
surely this did not require a delay of more than twenty-
four hours. A fortnight has elapsed without your men-
tioning it to me. If the plan was faulty, if the letter
was ill-expressed, why not have told me so ? I should
have assembled you all to discuss the matter with me."

We all stood near the arbour at the extremity of the
path, while the Emperor walked to and fro before us.
At a moment, when he had gone to a little distance from
us, and was out of hearing, the Grand Marshal, address-
ing himself to me, said : — " I fear I have expressed
myself improperly, and I am sorry for it." — " We will
leave you alone with him,'' said I ; " you will soon make
him forget the oiFence." I accordingly beckoned the
other individuals who were present to leave the garden.

In the evening, the Emperor, conversing with me
about the events of the morning, said: — " It was after
we had made it up with the Grand Marshal — It was
before the misunderstanding with the Grand Marshal,"
— and other things of the same sort, which proved that
the affair had left no impression on his heart.

THE GENERALS OF THE ARMY OF ITALY. ANCIENT

ARMIES. GENGISKAN. MODERN INVASIONS. CHA -

RACTER OF CONQUERORS.

6th. — The Emperor was somewhat unwell, and em-
ployed himself in writing in his chamber. He dictated

GREEK HISTORY. 1 S9

to me the portraits of the Generals of the army of Italy —
Massena, Augereau, Serrurier, &c. Massena was en-
dowed with extraordinary courage and firmness, which
seemed to increase in excess of danger. When con-
quered, he was always as ready to fight the battle again
as though he had been the conqueror, Augereau, on
the contrary, seemed to be tired and disheartened by
victory, of which he always had enough. His person,
his manners, and his language, gave him the air of
a bravo. This, however, says the narration, he was
far from being, when he once found himself sated
with honours and riches, which he had bestowed upon
himself on every occasion that offered, and by every
means in his power, Serrurier, who retained the
manners and severity of an old major of infantry, was
an honest and trustworthy man; but an unfortunate
general, &c.

Among the various subjects of the day's conversation,
I note down what the Emperor said respecting the
armies of the Ancients. He asked whether the accounts
of the great armies mentioned in history were to be
credited. He was of opinion that those statements were
false and absurd. He placed no faith in the descriptions
of the innumerable armies of the Carthaginians in Sicily.
"Such a multitude of troops," he observed, "would
have been useless in so inconsiderable an enterprise ; and
if Carthage could have assembled such a force, a still
greater one would have been raised in Hannibal's expedi-
tion, which was of much greater importance, but in
which not more than forty or fifty thousand men were
employed." He did not believe the accounts of the mil-
lions of men composing the forces of Darius and Xerxes,
which might have covered all Greece, and which would
doubtless have been subdivided into a multitude of par-
tial armies. He even doubted the whole of that brilliant
period of Greek history ; and he regarded the famous
Persian war only as a series of those undecided actions,
in which each party claims the victory. Xerxes returned
triumphant, after taking, burning, and destroying Athens ;
and the Greeks exulted in their victory, because they
had not surrendered at Salamis. "With regard to the

190 GBNGISKAN AND TAMERLANE.

pompous accounts of tlie conquests of the Greeks, and
the defeat of their numberless enemies, it must be re-
collected," observed the Emperor, " that the Greeks,
who wrote them, were a vain and hyperbolical people ;
and that no Persian chronicle has ever been produced to
set our judgment right by contrary statements."

But the Emperor attached credit to Roman history, if
not in its details, at least in its results ; because these
were facts as clear as day-light. He also believed the
descriptions of the armies of Gengiskan and Tamerlane,
however numerous they are said to have been ; because
they were followed by gregarious nations, who, on their
part, were joined by other wandering tribes as they ad-
vanced; "audit is not impossible," observed the Em-
peror, " that Europe may one day end tbus. The revo-
lution produced by the Huns, the cause of which is un-
known, because the tract is lost in the desert, may at a
future period be renewed.

The situation of Russia is admirably calculated to as-
sist her in bringing about such a catastrophe. She may
collect at will numberless auxiliaries, and scatter them
over Europe. The wandering tribes of the north will be
the better disposed and the more impatient to engage in
such enterprises, in proportion as their imaginations have
been fired, and their avarice excited, by the successes of
those of their countrymen who lately visited us.

The conversation next turned on conquests and con-
querors ; and the Emperor observed that, to be a suc-
cessful conqueror, it was necessary to be ferocious, and
that, if he had been such, he might have conquered the
world. I presumed to dissent from this opinion, which
was doubtless expressed in a moment of vexation. I
represented that he, Napoleon, was precisely a proof of
the contrary ; that he had not been ferocious, and yet had
conquered the world ; and that, with the manners of mo-
dern times, ferocity would certainly never have raised him
to so high a point. I added that, at the present day,
terror could never subject us to the control of an indi-
vidual man ; and that dominion vs^as to be secured only by
good laws, joined to greatness of character, and that de-
gree of energy, which is proof against every trial, in him

THE FRENCH AND THE ROMANS. i9l

who is charged with the execution of the laws. These,
1 affirmed, were precisely the causes of Napoleon's suc-
cess, and of the submission and obedience of the people
over whom he ruled.

The Convention was ferocious, and inspired terror : it
was submitted to, but could not be endured. Had the
power been vested in an individual, his overthrow would
soon have been accomplished. But the Convention was
a hydra, yet how many attempts were hazarded for its
destruction ! — how many dangers did it escape as if by
miracle ! It was reduced to the necessity of burying
itself amidst its triumphs.

For a conqueror to be ferocious, with success, he must
of necessity command troops who are themselves fero-
cious, and he ma:?t wdeld dominion over unenlightened
people. In this r i pect Russia possesses an immense su-
periority over the rest of Europe. She has the rare ad-
vantage of possessing a civilized government, and barba-
rous subjects. There, information directs and commands,
while ignorance executes and destroys. A Turkish Sul-
tan could not long govern any enlightened European
nation ; the empire of knowledge would be too strong
for his power.

Speaking on another subject, the Emperor observed
that, if the French people had less energy than the Ro-
mans, they at least evinced greater decorum. We should
not have killed ourselves, as the Romans did under the
first Emperors ; but at the same time we should have
alforded no examples of the turpitude and servility that
marked the later periods of the Roman empire. "Even
in our most corrupt days," said he, " our baseness was
not w^ithout certain restrictions : courtiers, whom the
sovereign could have prevailed on to do any thing in
his own palace, would have refused to bend the knee to
him at his levee.

I have already mentioned that we had with us scarcely
anv document relative to French affairs during the Err -
peror's time. The books that had been brought among
his effects were merely a few classics which he carried
about with him in all his campaigns. I received from
Major Hudson, resident in the island, a political com-

] 92 POLITICAL SCHEMES.

pendium from 1793 to 1807, entitled " The Annual
Register," which contains the succession of political
events during each year, together with some of the most
important official documents. In our destitute circum-
stances this was a valuable acquisition.

IDEAS. PLANS. POLITICAL SUGGESTIONS, &C.

7th. — The Emperor breakfasted alone, and was en-
gaged during the day in dictating to the Grand Marshal
and M. de Montholon.

In the evening, as the Emperor and I were walking
together in the lower path, which had now become the
favourite resort, I informed him that a person of conse-
quence, whose ideas and statements might become the
channel of mediation between ourselves and the ruling
world, and influence our future destiny, had, with suffi-
ciently significant forms and preambles, invited us to tell
him conscientiously what we believed to be the Emperor's
notions on certain political subjects : — whether he had
granted his last constitution with the intention of main-
taining it; — whether he had sincerely abandoned his
former plans as to the great empire ; — whether he would
consent to leave England in the enjoyment of her ma-
ritime supremacy, without envying her the tranquil
possession of India ; — whether he would be willing to re-
nounce the Colonies, and to purchase colonial goods from
the English alone, at the regular market price ; — whether
he would not form an alliance with the Americans, in case
of their rupture with England ; — whether he would con-
sent to the existence of a great kingdom in Germany, for
that branch of the English royal family which must im-
mediately forfeit the throne of Great Britain on the ac-
cession of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, or, in default
of Germany, whether he would consent to the establish-
ment of that dominion in Portugal, in case England
should conclude arrangements to that effect with the
Court of Brazil.

These questions did not rest on vague ideas or idle
opinions : the individual supported them on positive
facts. " We want," said he, "a long and lasting peace

UNION OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH INTERESTS. 193

on the Continent — we want the tranquil enjoyment of
our present advantages, to help us out of the critical cir-
cumstances in which we are now involved, and to relieve
us from the enormous debt with which we are burthened.
The present state of France and of Europe," added he,
'^' cannot bring about these results. The victory of
Waterloo has ruined you ; but it was far from saving us j
every sensible man in England, every one who escapes
the momentary influence of passion, either does think, or
will think, as I do.''

The Emperor doubted a part of this statement, and
treated the rest as a reverie ; then, changing his tone, he
said to me, "Well, what is your opinion? Come, sir,
you are now in the Council of State." — '' Sire," I
replied, " people often indulge in reveries on the most
serious subjects ; and our being imprisoned at St. He-
lena does not hinder us from composing romances. Here
then is one. Why not form a political marriage between
the two nations, in which the one would bring the army
as a dowry: and the other the navy ? This will doubtless
appear an absurd idea in the eyes of the vulgar, and will
perhaps be thought too bold by well-informed people,
because it is entirely novel and out of the usual routine.
But it is one of those unforeseen, luminous and useful
creations of plans which characterize your Majesty.
You alone can cause it to be listened to, and carry it
into effect."

Going even beyond the ideas of our English interlo-
cutor, I said, " Would not your Majesty give to-morrow,
if you could, the whole French navy to purchase Belgium
and the bank of the Rhine t Would you not give one
hundred and fifty millions to purchase tens of thousands
of millions ? Besides, such a bargain would procure to
both nations at once the object for which they have been
wrangling and fighting for so many years ; it would re-
duce both countries to the necessity of mutually assisting
each other, instead of maintaining perpetual enmity.
Would it be nothing for France that her merchants in
the English colonies should henceforward be on the foot-
ing of Englishmen ; and thus secure, without striking a
blow, the enjoyment of the trade of the whole world ?

VOL. I. o

194 DECLINES HORSE EXERCISE*

Would it not be every thing for England, on the other
hand, for the sake of insuring to herself the sovereignty
of the ocean, the universality of trade (for obtaining and
preserving which she has incurred so many risks), to
attach France to a system by which the latter would be-
come the regulator and arbitrator of the Continent ?

" Henceforth secure from danger, and strengthened
by all the power of her ally, England might disband her
army, in return for the sacrifice which France would
make of her navy. She might even reduce considerably
the number of her ships. She would thus pay her debt,
relieve her people, and prosper ; and, far from envying
France, she would (the system being once fairly under-
stood, and passion having given place to real interests)
herself labour for the Continental aggrandizement of her
neighbour ; for France would then be merely the ad-
vance-guard, while England would be the resource and
the reserve. Unity of legislation between the two na-
tions, their common interests, results so visibly advanta-
geous, v/ould make amends for all the obstacles and
difficulties which the passions of rulers might oppose to
the fulfilment of this plan."

The Emperor heard me, but made no reply : it is sel-
dom that one can ascertain his private opinions, and he
rarely enters into political conversations. Lest I should
not have expressed myself with sufficient clearness, I re-
quested that he would permit me to unfold ray ideas in
writing. He consented, and said no more. It was now
Tery late, and he retired to iest«

8th. — The Emperor dictated in the garden to Messrs.
Montholon and Gourgaud, and then v/alked on his favou-
rite path. He was fatigued and indisposed. He ob-
served some females about to advance on the path, and
to throw themselves awkwardly in his way, for the sake
of being introduced to him ; this annoyed him, and he
turned away to avoid meeting them.

I suggested that riding on horseback might be benefi-
cial to him ; we had three horses at our disposal. The
Emperor replied that he never could reconcile himself to
the idea of having an English officer constantly at his
side ; that he decidedly renounced riding on such con-

REVIVAL OF KIS SPIRITS.

195

ditions ; adding, that every thing in hfe must be reduced
to calculation, and that, if the vexation arising from the
sight of his jailor were greater than the advantage he
mis-ht derive from ridinsr, it was of course advisable to
renounce the recreation altogether.

The Emperor ate but little dinner. During the dessert
he amused himself in examining the paintings on some
plates of very beautiful Sevres porcelain. They were
masterpieces in their kind, and were worth thirty Napo-
leons each. The paintings represented views or objects
of antiquity in Egypt.

The Emperor closed the day with a walk on his fa-
vourite path. He remarked that he had been very dull
all day. After several broken conversations, he looked
at his watch, and was very glad to find it was half-past
ten.

The weather was delicious, and the Emperor insensibly
recovered his usual spirits. He complained of his con-
stitution, which, though vigorous, occasionally exposed
him to fits of indisposition. He, however, consoled him-
self with the thought that if, in imitation of the ancients,
he should ever feel inclined to escape from the disgusts
and vexations of life, his moral opinions were not of
a nature to prevent him. He said that sometimes he
could not reflect without horror on the many years he
might still have to live, and on the inutility of a pro-
tracted old age ; and that, if he were convinced France
was happy and tranquil, and not needing his aid, he
should have lived long enough.

We ascended to the pavilion, it was past midnight,
and we thought we had gained a signal victory over
time.

9th. — I called on Mr. Balcombe very early, to deliver
to him my letters for Europe, as a vessel was on the
point of sailing. At Mr. Balcombe's house I met the
officer who had been appointed as our guard. Struck
with the dejection which I had observed in the Emperor
the day before, and convinced of the necessity of his
taking exercise, I told the officer that I suspected the
reason which prevented the Emperor from riding on
horseback ; 1 added, that I would speak to him the more

o2

196 OBJECTS TO RIDE WITH THE ENGLISH OFFICER.

candidly and openly, since I had noticed the very delicate
way in which he discharged his duty. I inquired what
were his instructions, and whether it would be necessary
to observe them literally, in case the Emperor merely
took a ride round the house ; adverting to the repug-
nance which he must naturally feel for arrangements that
were calculated every moment to revive the recollection
of the situation in which he was placed. I assured the
officer that no reflections were intended to be cast on him
personally, and that I was convinced, when the Emperor
wished to take long rides, he would prefer having him to
accompany him. The officer replied that his instructions
were to follow the Emperor ; but that, as he made it a
rule not to do any thing that might be offensive to him,
he would take upon himself not to accompany him.

At breakfast I communicated to the Emperor the con-
versation I had had with the Captain. He replied that it was
all well meant on the Captain's part ; but that he should
not avail himself of the indulgence, as it was not con-
formable with his sentiments to enjoy an advantage which
might be the means of compromising an officer.

This determination was very fortunate. When I
went to Mr. Balcombe's in the evening, the Captain took
me aside to inform me that he had been to the town, in
the course of the day, to speak with the Admiral respect-
ing our morning's conversation, and that he had been
enjoined to abide by his instructions, I could not re-
frain from replying, somewhat sharply, that I was certain
the Emperor would immediately send back the three
horses that had been assigned for his use. The officer,
to whom I had also communicated the reply which the
Emperor had given me in the morning relative to him,
observed that it would be very right to send back the
horses, and that he thought nothing better could be done.
This remark appeared to me to be prompted by the
mortification he himself experienced at the part that was
imposed on him.

When we left Mr. Balcombe's, the Emperor walked up
and down the path in the garden. I mentioned to him
what I had heard from the English officer. He seemed
to expect it. I was not deceived in my conjecture; he

CONVERSATIONS BY MOONLIGHT. 19'^

iordered me to send away the horses. This vexed me
exceedingly ; and I said, perhaps rather sharply, that
vv^ith his leave I would go and fulfil his orders imme-
diately. On which he replied, with great gravity and in
a very peculiar tone of voice : — " No, Sir, you are now
out of temper. It rarely happens that any thing is done
well under such circumstances ; it is always best to let
the night pass over after the offence of the day."

We continued our walk till nearly midnight: the
weather was delightful.

10th. — To-day, when our usual task was ended, the
Emperor strolled out in a new direction. He proceeded
towards the town, until he came within sight of the road
and the shipping. As he was returning, he met Mrs.
Balcombe, and a Mrs. Stuart, a very pretty woman about
twenty years of age, who was returning from Bombay to
England. The Emperor conversed with her respecting
the manners and customs of India, and the inconvenien-
cies of a sea- voyage, particularly for females. He also
spoke of Scotland, which was Mrs. Stuart's native
country ; said a great deal about Ossian, and compli-
mented the lady on the climate of India not having
spoiled her clear Scottish complexion.

At this moment some slaves, carrying heavy boxes,
passed by us on the road ; Mrs. Balcombe desired them,
in rather an angry tone, to keep back ; but the Emperor
interfered, saying, "Respect the burden. Madam!" At
these words, Mrs. Stuart, who had been attentively ob-
serving the Emperor's features, said, in a low tone of
voice, to her friend : " Heavens ! what a countenance,
and what a character ! How different from what I had
been led to expect !"

MIDNIGHT CONVERSATIONS BY MOONLIGHT. THE TWO

EMPRESSES. MARIA LUUISa's MARRIAGE. HER

HOUSEHOLD. THE DUCHESS DE MONTEBELLO. MA-
DAME DE MONTESQUIOU. THE INSTITUTE OF MEU-

DON. SENTIMENTS OF THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA, WITH

REGARD TO NAPOLEON. ANECDOTES COLLECTED IN

GERMANY, SINCE MY RETURN TO EUROPE.

11th — 13th. We led a most regular life at Briars.
Every day, after dictating to me, the Emperor walked

198 DRAWS A CONTRAST BETWEEN

out between three and four o'clock. He descended to
the garden, where he walked up and down, and dictated
to one of the gentlemen who came from the town for
that purpose, and who wrote in the little arbour. About
half-past five o'clock, he passed Mr. Balcombe's house,
and went into the lower walk, to which he became every
day more and more attached. At this time the family
were at dinner, and he could enjoy his promenade with-
out interruption. I joined the Emperor here, and he
continued his walk until dinner was announced.

After dinner the Emperor again returned to the gar-
den, where he sometimes had his coffee brought to him.
My son then visited Mr. Balcombe's family, and the
Emperor and I walked up and down. We frequently
remained in the garden until the night was far advanced
and the moon rose to light us. In the mildness and
serenity of the night we forgot the burning heat of the
day. The Emperor never was more talkative, nor
seemed more perfectly to forget his cares, than during
these moonlight walks. In the familiarity of the con-
versations which I thus enjoyed with him, he took plea-
sure in relating anecdotes of his boyhood, in describing
the sentiments and illusions which diffused a charm over
the early years of his youth, and in detailing the circum-
stances of his private life, since he had played so dis-
tinguished a part on the great theatre of the world. I
have elsewhere noted down what I conceived myself at
liberty to repeat. Sometimes he seemed to think he
had spoken too much at length, and had detailed things
too minutely. He would then say to me: "Come, it
is your turn now : let me have a little of your his-
tory; but you are not a tale-teller." Indeed I took
especial care to be silent ; I was too much afraid of
losing a syllable of what so deeply interested me.

In one of our nightly walks, the Emperor told me
that he had, in the course of his life, been attached
to two women of very different characters. The one
was the votary of art and the graces ; the other was all
innocence and simple nature ; and each, he observed,
had a very high degree of merit.

The first, in no moment of her life ever assumed b.

THE TWO EMPRESSES. 199

position or attitude that was not pleasing or captivating ;
it would have been impossible ever to discover in her,
or to experience from her, any thing unpleasant. She
employed every resource of art to heighten natural at-
tractions ; but with such ingenuity as to render every
trace of it imperceptible. The other, on the contrary,
never even suspected that any thing was to be gained
by innocent artifice. The one was always beside the
truth, her first answer was always in the negative ; the
other was altogether frank and open, and was a stran-
ger to subterfuge. The first never asked her husband
for any thing, but she was in debt to every one : the
second freely asked whenever she wanted, which, how-
ever, very seldom happened ; and she never thought of
receiving any thing without immediately paying for it.
Both were amiable and gentle in disposition, and strongly
attached to their husband. But it must already have
been guessed who they are -, and those who have ever
seen them will not fail to recognise the two Empresses.

The Emperor declared that he had uniformly expe-
rienced from both the greatest equality of temper and
most implicit obedience.

The marriage of Maria- Louisa was consummated at
Fontainebleau, immediately after her arrival. The Em-
peror, setting aside all the etiquette that had previously
been arranged, went to meet her, and, in disguise, got
into her carriage. She was agreeably surprised when
she discovered him. She had always been given to un-
derstand that Berthier, who had married her by proxy
at Vienna, in person and age exactly resembled the Em-
peror : she, however, signified that she observed a very
pleasing difference between them.

The Emperor wished to spare her all the details of
domestic etiquette, customary on such occasions : she
had, however, received careful instructions on the sub-
ject at Vienna. The Emperor inquired what directions
she had received from her illustrious relatives with
regard to him personally. To be entirely devoted to
him, and to obey him in all things, was the reply. This
declaration, and not the decisions of certain cardinals
and bishops, as was reported, proved the solution of all

200 THE DUCHESS DE MONTEBELLO.

the Emperor's scruples of conscience. Besides, Henry IV,
acted in the same way on a similar occasion.

Maria-Louisa's marriage, said the Emperor, was pro-
posed and concluded under the same forms and condi-
tions as that of Marie-Antoinette, whose contract was
adopted as a model. After the separation from Jose-
phine, negotiations were entered into with the Emperor
of Russia, for the purpose of soliciting the hand of one
of his sisters : the difficulties rested merely on the
settling of certain points relative to religion. Prince
Eugene, conversing with M. de Schwartzenberg, learned
that the Emperor of Austria would not object to an
union between Napoleon and his daughter -, and this in-
formation was communicated to the Emperor. A council
was convoked to decide whether an alliance with Rus-
sia or Austria would be most advantageous. Eugene
and Talleyrand were for the Austrian alliance, and Cam-
baceres against it. The majority were in favour of an
Archduchess. Eugene was appointed to make the offi-
cial overture, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs was
empowered to sign it that very day if an opportunity
should present itself; which proved to be the case.

Russia took umbrage at this; she thought herself
trifled with, though without just ground. Nothing of
an obligatory nature had yet transpired ; both parties
remained perfectly free. Political interests predominated
over every thing.

The Emperor appointed the Duchess de Montebello to
be lady of honour to Maria -Louisa ; the Count de Beau-
hamais to be her gentleman of honour, and the Prince
Aldobrandini to be her equerry. In the misfortunes of
1814, these individuals, said the Emperor, did not evince
the devotedness which the Empress was entitled to
expect from them. Her equerry deserted her without
taking his leave; her gentleman of honour refused to
follow her ; and her lady of honour, notwithstanding
the attachment which the Empress entertained for her,
thought she had completely fulfilled her duty in attend-
ing her mistress as far as Vienna.

The appointment of the Duchess de Montebello to the
post of lady of honour was one of those happy selections

THE COUNTESS DE BEAUVEA.U. 201

which, at the time it was made, excited universal appro-
bation. The Duchess was a young and beautiful woman,
of irreproachable character, and the widow of a marshal,
called the Orlando of the army, who had recently fallen
on the field of battle. This choice was very agreeable
to the army, and encouraged the national party, who
were alarmed at the marriage and the number and rank
of the chamberlains who were appointed. This retinue
was, by many, looked upon as a step towards the counter-
revolution ; and endeavours were made to represent it as
such. As for the Emperor, he had acted in ignorance of
the character of Maria- Lousia, and had been principally
influenced by the fear that she would be filled with preju-
dices respecting birth, that might be ofifensive at the
Court. When he came to know her better, and found
that she was wholly imbued with the prevailing notions
of the day, he regretted not having made another choice.
He conceived that he should have done better to select
the Countess de Beauveau, a woman of amiable, mild,
and inoffensive manners, who would have been influenced
only by the family advice of her numerous relatives, and
who might thus have introduced a kind of useful custom,
and have occasioned the appointment of well-recom-
mended inferiors. She might also have rallied about
the Court many persons who were at a distance ; and
that without any inconvenience, because these arrange-
ments could only have been brought about by the sanc-
tion of the Emperor, who was not the sort of man to
allow himself to be abused.

The Empress conceived the tenderest affection for the
Duchess de Montebello. This lady had at one time a
chance of being Queen of Spain. Ferdinand VII. when
at Valency, requested the Emperor's permission to marry
Mademoiselle de Tascher, cousin-german of Josephine,
and bearing the same name, after the example of the
Prince of Baden, who married Mademoiselle de Beau-
harnais. The Emperor, who already contemplated a
separation from Josephine, refused his consent to the
match, not wishing by this connexion to add to the dif-
ficulties that already stood in the way of his divorce.
Ferdinand then solicited the hand of the Duchess de

202 EDUCATION OF

Montebello, or of any other French lady whom the Em-
peror might think proper to adopt. The Emperor sub-
sequently gave Mademoiselle de Tascher in marriage to
tlie Duke d'Aremberg, whom he intended to create
Governor of the Netherlands ; with the view of ulti-
mately compensating Brussels for the loss of the old
Court. The Emperor moreover wished to appoint the
Count de Narbonne, who had taken part in the Empress's
marriage. Gentleman of honour, in room of the Count
de Beauharnais ; but the extreme aversion which Maria-
Louisa evinced for this change deterred the Emperor
from carrying it into effect. The Empress's dislike to
the Count de Narbonne was, however, only occasioned by
the intrigues of the individuals composing her household,
who had nothing to fear from M. de Beauharnais, but
who very much dreaded the influence and talent of M.
de Narbonne.

The Emperor informed us that, when he had to make
appointments to difficult posts, he usually asked the per-
sons about him to furnish him with a list of candidates ;
and from these lists, and the information he obtained, he
privately deliberated on his choice. He mentioned seve-
ral individuals who were proposed as lady of honour to
the Empress : they were the Princess de Vaudemont,
Madame de Rochefoucalt, afterwards Madame de Castel-
lanes, and some others. He then asked us to tell him
whom we should have proposed ; which occasioned us to
take a review of a good part of the Court. One of us
mentioned Madame de Montesquiou; upon which the
Emperor replied, " She would have done well, but she had
a post which suited her still better. She was a woman of
singular merit ; her piety was sincere, and her principles
excellent ; she had the highest claims on my esteem
and regard. I wanted half a dozen like her ; I would
have given them all appointments equal to their deserts,
and wished for more. She discharged her duties admi-
rably when with my son at Vienna."

The following anecdote will afford a correct idea of
the manner in which Madame de Montesquiou managed
the King of Rome. The apartments of the young
Prince were on the ground floor, and looked out on the

THE KING OF ROME. 203

court, of the Tuileries. At almost every hour in the
day, numbers of people were looking- in at the window,
in the hope of seeing him. One day when he was in a
violent fit of passion, and rebelling furiously against the
authority of Madame de Montesquiou, she immediately
ordered all the shutters to be closed. The child, sur-
prised at the sudden darkness, asked Maman Quiou, as
he used to call her, what it all meant. " I love you too
well," she replied, ** not to hide your anger from the
crowd in the court-yard. You, perhaps, will one day
be called to govern all those people, and what would
they say if they saw you in such a fit of rage .'' Do you
think they would ever obey you, if they knew you to
be so naughty ?" Upon which, the child begged her
pardon, and promised never again to give way to such
fits of anger.

"This," observed the Emperor, "was language very
difi'erent from that addressed by M. de Villeroi to
Louis XV. ' Behold all those people, my Prince,' said
he, ' they belong to you ; all the men you see yonder are
yours.' "

Madame de Montesquiou was adored by the young
King of Rome. At the time of her removal from Vienna
it was found necessary to employ stratagems to deceive
the child : it was even feared that his health would
suffer from the separation.

The Emperor had conceived many novel ideas relative
to the education of the King of Rome. For this import-
ant object he decided on the Institut de Meudon, of which
he had already laid down the principle, with the view of
farther developing it at his leisure. There he proposed
to assemble the Princes of the Imperial house, particu-
larly the sons of those branches of the family who had
been raised to foreign thrones. This plan, he contended,
would have combined the attentions of private tuition
with the advantages of public education. " These chil-
dren," said the Emperor, " who were destined to occupy
different thrones, and to govern different nations,
would thus have acquired conformity of principles, man-
ners, and ideas. The better to facilitate the amalga-
mation and uniformity of the federative parts of the

204 EDUCATION OF YOUNG PRINCES.

Empire, each Prince was to bring with him from his
own country ten or twelve youths of about his own
age, the sons of the first families in the state. What an
influence would they not have exercised on their return
home! I doubted not," continued the Emperor, "but
that Princes of other dynasties, unconnected with mv
family, would soon have solicited, as a great favour,
permission to place their sons in the Institute of Meu-
don. What advantages would thence have arisen to the
nations composing the European association ! All these
young Princes," said he, " would have been brought
together early enough to be united in the tender and
powerful bonds of youthful friendship : and they would,
at the same time, have been separated early enough to
obviate the fatal effects of rising passions — the ardour
of partiality — the ambition of success — the jealousy of
love."

The Emperor wished that the education of the Princes
should be founded on general information, extended
views, summaries, and results. He wished them to
possess knowledge rather than learning, judgment rather
than attainments ; he preferred the application of details
to the study of theories. Above all, he objected to the
pursuing of any particular study too deeply, for he re-
garded perfection, or too great success in certain things,
whether in the arts or sciences, as a disadvantage to a
prince. A nation, he said, will never gain much by
being governed by a poet, a virtuoso, a naturalist, a
chymist, a turner, a locksmith, &c. &c.

Maria-Louisa confessed to the Emperor that, when her
marriage with him was first proposed, she could not
help feeling a kind of terror, owing to the accounts she
had heard of Napoleon from the individuals of her
family. When she mentioned these reports to her
uncles, the Archdukes, who were very urgent for the
marriage, they replied, — " That was all very true,
while he was our enemy : but the case is altered now."

" To afford an idea of the sympathy and good will
with which the different members of the Austrian family
were taught to regard me," said the Emperor, " it is
sufficient to mention that one of the young Archdukes

THE AUSTRIAN ROYAL FAMILY. 205

frequently burned his dolls, which he called roasting
Napoleon. He afterw^ards declared he would not roast
me any more, for he loved me very much, because I had
given his sister Louisa plenty of money to buy him
play- things. "

Since my return to Europe, I have had an opportunity
of ascertaining the sentiments entertained by the House
of Austria towards Napoleon. In Germany, a person of
distinction informed me that having had a private audi-
ence of the Emperor Francis, during his tour in Italy in
1816, the conversation turned on Napoleon. Francis
spoke of him in the most respectful terms. One might
almost have supposed, said my informant, that he stilj
regarded him as the ruler of France, and that he was
ignorant of his captivity at St. Helena. He never
alluded to him by any other title than the Emperor
Napoleon.

I learned from the same individual that the Archduke
John, when in Italy, visited a rotunda, on the ceiling of
which was painted a celebrated action of which Napoleon
was the hero. As he raised his head to look at the
painting, his hat fell off, and one of his attendants
stooped to pick it up. "Let it be,'' said he ; "it is
thus that the man who is there portrayed should be
contemplated."

Now that I am on this subject, I will note down a
few particulars which I collected in Germany since my
return to Europe ; and to mark the degree of credit to
which they are entitled, I may mention that I obtained
them from individuals holding high diplomatic posts„
Every one knows that these members of diplomatic corps
form among themselves' a sort of family, a kind of free-
masonry, and that their sources of information are of
the most authentic kind.

The Empress Maria-Louisa complained that, when she
quitted France, M. de Talleyrand reserved to himself the
honour of demanding from her the restitution of the
Crown jewels, and ascertaining whether they had been
restored with the most scrupulous exactness.

In 1814, during the disasters of France, many tempt-
ing and brilliant proposals were made to Prince Eugene.

206 PRINCE EUGENE BEAUHARNAlS.

An Austi'ian General offered him the crown of Italy, in
the name of the Allies, on condition of his joining them.
This offer afterwards came from a still higher quarter,
and was several times repeated. During the reign of
the Emperor there had been some idea of raising the
Prince to a throne ; and those of Portugal, Naples, and
Poland, were thought of.

In 1815, men of high influence in European diplomacy
endeavoured to sound his opinions, with the view of
ascertaining whether, in case Napoleon should again be
constrained to abdicate, and the choice should faU on
him, he would accept the Crown. On this occasion, as
on every other, the Prince steadily pursued a line of duty
and honour which will immortalize him. Honour and
fidelity was his constant reply ; and posterity will make
it his device.

On the distribution of States in 1814, the Emperor
Alexander, who frequently visited the Empress Josephine
at Malmaison, signified a wish to procure for her son
the sovereignty of Genoa. She, however, declined this
proposition, at the instigation of one of the ruling diplo-
matists, who falsely flattered her with the hope of some-
thing better.

At the Congress of Vienna, the Emperor Alexander,
who honoured Prince Eugene with particular marks of
favour, insisted that he should be made the Sovereign
of at least three hundred thousand subjects. He testi-
fied the sincerest friendship for him, and they were every
day seen walking about together arm - in - arm. The
landing at Cannes put an end, if not to the sentiment,
at least to the manifestation of it; and changed the
political interests of the Emperor of Russia. — The Aus-
trian government even entertained the idea of seizing
the person of Prince Eugene, and sending him a prisoner
to a fortress in Hungary ; but the King of Bavaria, his
father-in-law, indignantly represented to the Emperor of
Austria that Eugene had gone to Vienna under his pro-
tection and guarantee, and that they should not be vio-
lated. Thus Eugene remained free on his own private
parole and that of the King his father-in-law.

So lately as 1814, gold twenty and forty-franc pieces

THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. 207

■were struck at Milan with the head of Napoleon and the
date of 1814. Either from motives of economy or some
other cause, no new die had yet been engraved.

After the fall of Napoleon, Alexander on several oc-
casions manifested a marked and decided dislike to him.
In 1815 he was the promoter of the second crusade
against Napoleon ; he directed every hostile measure
with the utmost degree of animosity, and seemed to
make it almost a personal affair ; alleging, as the cause
of his aversion, that he had been deceived and trifled
with. If this tardy resentment was not a mere pretence,
there is every reason to believe that it was stirred up by
an old confidant of Napoleon's, who, in private conver-
sations, had artfully wounded the vanity of Alexander,
by statements, true or false, of the private opinion of
Napoleon with regard to his illustrious friend.

In 1814 there appeared reason to believe that Alexan-
der would not be averse to see young Napoleon placed
on the throne of France. After the Emperor's second
abdication, he seemed far less favourably disposed to
the continuance of Napoleon's d3'nasty.

In the second crusade, the Emperor Alexander march-
ed at the head of innumerable forces. He was heard
to declare, at that period, that the war might last for
three years ; but that Napoleon would nevertheless be
subdued in the end.

On the first intelligence of the battle of Fleurus, the
chiefs of all the Russian columns immediately received
orders to halt ; while all the Austrian and Bavarian
corps instantly turned off, with the view of detaching
themselves and forming a separate force. Had the Con-
gress of Vienna been broken up on the 20th of March,
it is almost certain that the crusade would not have been
renewed ; and had Napoleon been victorious at Water-
loo, it is also tolerably certain that the crusade would
have been dissolved.

The news of Napoleon's landing at Cannes was a
thunderbolt to the French plenipotentiary at Vienna.
He indeed drew up the famous declaration of the 13th
of March ; and, virulent as it is, the first draft was still
more so : it was amended by other^ ministers. The

208 FRENCH PLENIPOTENTIARY AT VIENNA.

countenance of this plenipotentiary, as he gradually
learned the advance of Napoleon, was a sort of thermo-
meter, which excited the laughter of all the members of
the Congress.

Austria soon knew the real state of affairs : her cou-
riers informed her admirably well of all that was passing.
The members of the French Legation alone were involv-
ed in doubt : they were still circulating a magnanimous
letter from the King to the other Sovereigns, informing
them that he was resolved to die at the Tuileries, when
it was already known that Louis had left the capital, and
was on his way to the frontier.

A member of the Congress and Lord Wellington, in a
confidential conversation with the members of the French
Legation, with the map in their hands, assigned the 20th
or the 21st for Napoleon's entry into Paris.

As the Emperor Francis received the official publica-
tions from Grenoble and Lyons, he regularly forwarded
them to Schoenbrunn, to Maria Louisa, to whom they
afforded extreme joy. It is very true that, at a some-
what later period, an idea was entertained of seizing
young Napoleon, in order to convey him to France.

The French Plenipotentiary at length quitted Vienna,
and proceeded to Frankfort and Wisbaden, whence he
could more conveniently negotiate either with Ghent or
Paris. Never was a time-serving courier thrown into
greater embarrassment and anxiety. The ardour with
which he had been inspired, on receiving the intelligence
of Napoleon's landing at Cannes, was very much abated
when he heard of the Emperor's arrival at Paris ; and he
entered into an understanding with Fouche that the lat-
ter should be his guarantee with Napoleon, pledging
himself, on the other hand, to be Fouche's guarantee
with the Bourbons. There is good ground for believing
that the offers made by this Plenipotentiary to the new
Sovereign went very great lengths indeed ; but Napo-
leon indignantly rejected them, lest, as he said, he should
degrade his policy too far.

In 1814, before M. de Talleyrand declared himself
for the Bourbons, he was for the Regency ; in which,
however, he himself wished to play the principal part.

mSArPOINTMENT OF AUSTRIA. 209

Events fatal to the Napoleon dynasty prevented this mo-
ment of uncertainty from being turned to good account.
Every thing tends to prove that the result which was at
that period adopted was far from being agreeable to the
intentions of Austria ; that power was duped, betrayed,
or at least carried by assault.

The fatality attending the military movements was
such that the Allies entered Paris without the concur-
rence of the Austrian Cabinet. Alexander's famous de-
claration against Napoleon Buonaparte and his family was
also made without the Austrian Power being consulted ;
and the Count d'Artois only entered France by contriving
to slip in secretly in spite of the orders at the Austrian
head- quarters, where he had been refused passports.

It appears that Austria, on the retreat from Moscow,
exerted sincere efforts in London for negotiating a peace
with Napoleon ; but the influence of the Russian Cabinet
was all-powerful in London, and no proposals for peace
were listened to. The armistice of Dresden then arrived,
and Austria declared for war.

During this interval, the Austrian minister in London
could never obtain a hearing. He however remained for
a considerable time in the English capital, and did not
leave it until the Allies had reached the heart of France,
and Lord Castlereagh hinted at the possibility, for a mo-
ment, that the heroic success of Napoleon might render
negotiations indispensable.

If this minister had not previously been sent to Lon-
don, he would have been destined for Paris ; and there
probably his influence might have brought about a turn
of negotiations different from those which arose during
his absence between the Tuileries and Vienna.

In the height of the crisis he found himself detained
in England as if by force. In his impatience to reach the
grand centre of negotiations, he quitted his post, and
proceeded to Holland, braving a violent tempest. No
sooner had he arrived on the theatre of events than he
feU into the hands of Napoleon at Saint-Dizier ; but the
fate of France was then decided, though the fact was not
yet known at the French head- quarters. Alexander vvas
entering Paris.

TOL. I. . p

210 THEIR EMPLOYMEN-T.

The Austrian minister in London exerted every endea'
vour to procure a passport to enable him to join his
Sovereign bypassing- through Calais andP.risj but in
vain. This circumstancej whether accidental, or preme-
ditated, was another fatality. But for this disappoint-
ment, the Austrian minister would have reached Paris
before the Allies, would have joined Maria-Louisa, would
have defeated the last projects of M. de Talleyrand, and
would have altogether produced new combinations.

Opinion was divided in the Austrian Cabinet. One
party was for the union with France ; the other was for
the alliance with Russia. Intrigue or chance decided in
favour of Russia, and Austria, from that moment, was
merely led on.

14th. — The coffee that was served at our breakfast this
morning was better than usual; it was even good. The
Emperor expressed himself pleased with it. Some mo-
ments after he observed, placing his hand on his sto-
mach, that he felt the benefit of it. It would be difficult
to express what were my feelings on hearing this simple
remark. The Emperor, by thus appreciating so trivial
an enjoyment, contrary to his custom, unconsciously
proved to me the effect of all the privations he had
suffered, but of which he never complained.

When we returned from our evening walk, the Em-
peror read to me a chapter on the Provisional ConsuU,
which he had dictated to M. de Montholon. Having
finished reading, the Emperor took a piece of ribbon, and
began to tie together the loose sheets of paper. It was
late; the silence of night prevailed around us. My re-
flections were on that day of a melancholy cast. I gazed
on the Emperor. I looked on those hands which had
wielded so many sceptres, and which were now tran-
quilly, and perhaps, not without some degree of pleasure,
occupied in the humble task of tying together a few-
sheets of paper. On these sheets, indeed, were traced
events that will never be forgotten ; portraits that will
decide the judgment of posterity. It is the book of life
or death to many whose names are recorded in it. These
were the reflections that passed in my mind. " And the
Emperor," thought I, "reads to me w^hat he writes; he

PRIVATE AMOURS. 211

familiarly converses with me, asks my opinion, and I
freely give it. After all, I am not to be pitied in my
exile at St. Helena."

1 5tli. — Immediately after dinner the Emperor walked
in his favourite path. He had his coffee carried down to
him in the garden, and he drank it as he w^alked about.
The conversation turned on love. I must have made some
very fine and sentimental remarks on this important sub-
ject ; for the Emperor laughed at what he styled my
prattle, and said that he understood none of my romantic
verbiage. Then speaking with an air of levity, he wished
to make me believe that he was better acquainted with
sensations than sentiments. I made free to remark
that he was trying to be thought worse than he was de-
scribed to be in the authentic, but very secret, accounts
that were circulated about the palace. "And what was
said of me ?" resumed he, with an air of gaiety. " Sire,"
I replied, " it is understood that, when in the summit of
your power, you suffered yourself to be bound in the
chains of love ; that you became a hero of romance ;
that, fired by an unexpected resistance, you conceived an
attachment for a lady in private life ; that you wrote her
above a dozen love-letters ; and that her power over you
prevailed so far as to compel you to disguise yourself,
and to visit her secretly and alone, at her own residence,
in the heart of Paris." — "And how came this to be
known ?" said he, smiling ; which of course amounted to
an admission of the fact. " And it was doubtless added,"
continued he, " that that was the most imprudent act of
my whole life ; for, had my mistress proved treacherous,
what might not have been my fate — alone and disguised,
in the circumstances in which I was placed, amidst the
snares with which I was surrounded ? But what more is
said of me ?" — " Sire, it is affirmed that your Majesty's
posterity is not confined to the King of Rome. The se-
cret chronicle states that he has two elder brothers : one
the offspring of a fair foreigner, whom you loved in a
distant country; the other, the fruit of a connection
nearer at hand, in the bosom of your own capital. It
was asserted that both had been conveyed to Malmaison,
before our departure ; the one brought by his mother,

p2

212 RETROSPECT OP EARLY YEAR?.

and the other introduced by his tutor ; and they were
described to be the living portraits of their father."*

The Emperor laughed much at the extent of my in-
formation, as he termed it ; and being now in a merry
vein, he began to take a frank retrospect of his early
years, relating many of the love-affairs and nimaerous
adventures in which he had been engaged. I omit the
first ; amongst the second he mentioned a supper that
took place in the neighbourhood of the Saone at the
commencement of the Revolution, and at which he had
been present in company with the faithful Desmazzis.
He described the whole with the utmost pleasantry. — He
had got himself, he ob&erved, into a wasp's nest, where
his patriotic eloquence had to contend strenuously against
the contrary doctrines of the other guests, and had nearly
brought him into a serious scrape. " You and I," he
continued, " were at that time very far from each
other." — " Not so very far, in point of distance, Sire,"
I replied, " though certainly very remote with respect
to doctrines. At that time I was also in the neighbour-
hood of the Saone, on one of the quays of Lyons, where
crowds of patriots were declaiming against the cannon
which they had just discovered in some boats, and which
they termed a counter-revolution. I very inopportunely
proposed that they should make sure of the cannon, by
administering to them the civic oath. However, I narrowly
escaped being hanged for my folly. You see. Sire, that I
might precisely at that moment have balanced your ac-
count, had any disaster befallen you among your aristo-
crat companions." This was not the only curious coin-
cidence that was mentioned in the course of the evening.
The Emperor, having related to me an interesting cir-
cumstance that took place in 1788, said, " Where were
you at that time .''" — " Sire," replied I, after a few mo-
ments recollection, " I was then at Martinique, supping
every evening with the future Empress Josephine."

A shower of rain came on and we were obliged to
retire from our favourite path, which, the Emperor ob-

* It is said, that a codicil in the Emperor's will, which, however,
must remain secret, completely confirms the above conjectures.

THE FAUXBOURG ST. GERMAIN.

213

served, we might probably at a future period look back
to with pleasure. " Perhaps so," I rephed 3 " but cer-
tainly that will not be until we have forsaken it for ever.
Meanwhile we must content ourselves with naming it the
Path of Philosophy, since it cannot be called the Path of
Lethe."

THE FAUXBOURG SAINT- GERMAIN, &C. THE EMPEROR'S

FREEDOM FROM PREJUDICE AND ILL-WILL. CHARAC-
TERISTIC LANGUAGE.

16th. — ^To-day the Emperor put some questions to me
relative to the Fauxbourg Saint- Germain ; that last bul-
wark of the old aristocracy, that refuge of old-fashioned
prejudices ; the Germayiic League, as he called it. I
told him that, before his last misfortune, his power had
extended into every part of it : it had been invaded, and
its name alone remained ; it had been shaken and van-
quished by glory; and the victories of Austerlitz and
Jena, and the triumph of Tilsit, had achieved its con-
quest. The younger portion of the inhabitants, and all
who had generous hearts, could not be insensible to the
glory of their country. The Emperor's marriage with
Maria-Louisa gave it the last blow. The few malcon-
tents who remained were either those whose ambition
had not been gratified, and who are to be found in all
classes, or some obstinate old men, and silly old women,
bewailing their past influence. All reasonable and sen-
sible persons had yielded to the superior talents of the
Head of the State, and endeavoured to console them-
selves for their losses in the hope of a better prospect
for their children. This became the point towards which
all their ideas were directed. They gave the Emperor
credit for his partiality to old family names ; they agreed
that any one else in his place would have annihilated
them. They prized very highly the confidence with which
the Emperor had collected individuals of ancient family
about his person ; and they valued him no less for the
language he had made use of in making choice of their
children to serve in the army : — " These names belong
to France and to History ; I am the guardian of their
glory, I will not allow them to perish." These and

214 ALLOWANCE FOR THE

other such expressions had gained him numbers of prose-
lytes. The Emperor here expressed his apprehension
that sufficient favour had not been shewn to this party.
"My system of amalgamation," said he, " required it :
I wished and even directed favours to be conferred on
them : but the ministers, who were the great mediators,
never properly fulfilled my real intentions in that re-
spect ; either because they had not sufficient foresight, or
because they feared that they might thus create rivals for
favour, and diminish their own chances. M. Talleyrand,
in particular, always shewed great opposition to such a
measure, and always resisted my favourable intuitions
towards the old nobility." I observed, however, that
the greater part of those whom he had placed near him
had soon shewn themselves attached to his person ; that
they had served him conscientiously, and had, generally
speaking, remained faithful to him at the critical mo-
ment. The Emperor did not deny it, and even went so
far as to say that the twofold event of the King's return
and his own abdication must naturally have had great
influence on certain doctrines ; and that, for his own
part, he could see a great difference between the same
conduct pursued in 1814 and in 1815.

And here I must observe that, since I have become
acquainted with the Emperor's character, I have never
known him to evince, for a single moment, the least
feeling of anger or animosity against those individuals
who had been most to blame in their conduct towards
him. He gives no great credit to those who distinguished
themselves by their good conduct : they had only done
their duty. He is not very indignant against those who
acted basely ; he partly saw through their characters :
they yielded to the impulses of their nature. He speaks
of them coolly, and without animosity ; attributing their
conduct in some measure to existing circumstances,
which he acknowledged were of a very perplexing na-
ture, and placing the rest to the account of human weak-
ness. Vanity was the ruin of Marmont : " Posterity
will justly cast a shade upon his character," said he ; ** yet
his heart will be more valued than the memory of his
career. The conduct of Augereau was the result of his

WEAKNESS OF HUMAN NATURE. 215

want of information, and the baseness of those who sur-
rounded him ; that of Berthier, of his want of spirit,
and his absolute nullity of character."

I remarked that the latter had let slip the best and
easiest opportunity of rendering himself for ever illus-
trious, by frankly making his submission to the King,
and intreating his Majesty's permission to withdraw
from the world, and mourn in solitude the fate of him
who had honoured him with the title of his companion
inarms, and had called him his friend. "Yes," said
the Emperor; "even this step, simple as it was, was
beyond his power." — " His talents, his understanding,"
said I, "had always been a subject of doubt with us.
Your Majesty's choice, your confidence, your great at-
tachment, surprised us exceedingly." — " To say the
truth," repHed the Emperor, " Berthier was not with-
out talent, and I am far from wishing to disavow his
merit, or my partiality for him ; but his talent and merit
were special and technical ; beyond a limited point he
had no mind whatever : and then he was so undecided."
— I observed that "he was, notwithstanding, full of
pretensions and pride in his conduct towards us." — " Do
you think, then, that the title of Favourite goes for no-
thing ?" said the Emperor. I added, that "he was
very harsh and overbearing." " And what," said he,
" my dear Las Cases, is more overbearing than weak-
ness which feels itself protected by strength ? Look at
women, for example."

Berthier accompanied the Emperor in his carriage
during his campaigns. As they drove along, the Em-
peror would examine the order-book and the report of
the positions, whence he formed his resolutions, adopted
his plans, and arranged the necessar}^ movements. Ber-
thier noted down his directions, and at the first station
they came to, or during the first moments allotted to
rest, whether by night or by day, he made out, in his
turn, all the orders and individual details with ad-
mirable regularity, precision, and despatch. This was
a kind of duty at which he shewed himself always
ready and indefatigable. " This was the special merit of
Berthier," said the Emperor: " it was most valuable

216 CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS FALL.

to me ; no other talent could have made up for the
want of it."

I now return to notice some characteristic traits of
the Emperor. He invariably speaks with perfect cool-
ness, without passion, without prejudice, and without
resentment, of the events and the persons connected
with his life. It is evident that he would be capable of
becoming the ally of his most cruel enemy, and of living
with the man who had done him the greatest wrong.
He speaks of his past history as if it had occurred three
centuries ago : in his recitals and his observations he
speaks the language of past ages : he is like a spirit dis-
coursing in the Elysian fields ; his conversations are true
Dialogues of the Dead. He speaks of himself as of a
third person ; noticing the Emperor's actions, pointing
out the faults with which history may reproach him,
and analysing the reasons and the motives which might
be alleged in his justification.

He never can excuse himself, he says, by throwing
blame on others, since he never followed any but his
own decision. He may complain, at the worst, of false
information, but never of bad counsel. He had sur-
rounded himself with the best possible advisers, but he
had always adhered to his own opinion, and he was far
from repenting of having done so. " It is," said he,
*'the indecision and anarchy of agents which produce
anarchy and feebleness in results. In order to form a
just opinion respecting the faults produced by the sole
personal decision of the Emperor, it will be necessary to
throw into the scale the great actions which he would
have been prevented from performing, and the other
faults which he would have been induced to commit, by
those very counsels which he is blamed for not having
followed."

In viewing the complicated circumstances of his fall,
looks upoi things so much in a mass, and from so high
a point, that individuals escape his notice. He never
evinces the least symptom of virulence towards those of
whom it might be supposed he has the greatest reason
to complain. His greatest mark of reprobation, and I
have had frequent occasion to notice it, is to preserve

OFFICERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. 217

silence with respect to them, whenever they are men-
tioned in his presence. But how often has he not been
heard to restrain the violent and less reserved expres-
sions of those about him ? " You are not acquainted
with men," he has said to us ; " they are difficult to
comprehend, if one wishes to be strictly just. Can they
understand or explain even their own characters ? Al-
most all those who abandoned me would, had I con-
tinued to be prosperous, never, perhaps have dreamed of
their own defection. There are vices and virtues which
depend on circumstances. Our last trials were beyond
all human strength I Besides I was forsaken rather than
betrayed ; there was more of weakness than of perfidy
around me. It was the denial of St. Peter : tears and
repentance are probably at hand. And where will you
find, in the page of history, any one possessing a greater
number of friends and partisans } Who was ever more
popular and more beloved ? Who was ever more ardently
and deeply regretted } Here, from this very rock, on
viewing the present disorders in France, who would not
be tempted to say that I still reign there ? The Kings
and princes, my allies, have remained faithful to me
to the last, they were carried away by the people in a
mass : and those who were around me, found them-
selves enveloped and overwhelmed by an irresistible
whirlwind .... No ! human nature might have ap-
peared in a light still more odious, and I might have
had still greater cause of complaint !"

ON THE OFFICERS OF THE EMPEROr's HOUSEHOLD IN
1814. PLAN OF ADDRESS TO THE KING.

17th. — The Emperor asked me some questions to-day
relative to the officers of his household. With the ex-
ception of two or three, at the most, who had drawn
upon themselves the contempt of the very party to which
they had gone over, nothing could be said against them:
the majority had even evinced an ardent devotion to the
Emperor's interests. The Emperor then made enquiries
respecting some of these individuals in particular, calling
them by their names ; and I could not but express my
approbation of them all. " What do you tell me ?"

218 GENEROUS EXCUSES OP THE

said he, interrupting me hastily while I was speaking
of one of them; " and yet I gave him so bad a recep-
tion at the Tuileries on my return ! Ah ! I fear I have
committed some involuntary acts of injustice ! This
comes of being obliged to take for granted the first
story that is told, and of not having a single mo-
ment to spc.re for verification ! I fear too that I
have left many debts of gratitude in arrear ! How un-
fortunate it is to be incapable of doing every thing
one's self!"

I replied — '' Sire, it is true that, if blame be attached
to the officers of your household, it must be shared
equally by all ; a fact, however, which must humble us
strangely in the eyes of foreign nations. As soon as the
King appeared, all hastened to him, not as to the sove-
reign whom your abdication had left us, but as to one
who had never ceased to be our sovereign ; not with the
dignity of men proud of having always fulfilled their
duties, but with the equivocal embarrassment of unskil-
ful courtiers. Each sought only to justify himself : your
Majesty was from that instant disavowed and abjured ;
the title of Emperor was dropped. The Ministers, the
Nobles, the intimate friends of your Majesty, styled you
simply ' Buonaparte,' and blushed not for themselves or
their nation. They excused themselves by saying that
they had been compelled to serve ; that they could not
do otherwise, through dread of the treatment they might
have experienced." The Emperor here recognised a true
picture of our national character. He said we were still
the same people as our ancestors the Gauls : that we
still retained the same levity, the same inconstancy, and,
above all, the same vanity. " When shall we," said he,
" exchange this vanity for a little pride ?"

" The officers of your Majesty's household," said I,
" neglected a noble opportunity of acquiring both honour
and popularity. There were above one hundred and fifty
officers of the household ; a great number of them be-
longed to the first families, and were men of independent
fortune. It was for them to set an example, which, be-
ing followed by others, might have given another im-
pulse to the national attitude, and afforded us a claim on

FAITHLESSNESS OF F0R3IER FRIENDS. 219

public esteem."* — " Yes," said the Emperor, " if all tlie
upper classes had acted in that way, affairs might have

* In tills spirit, and in imitation of the example of other bodies,
a plan of Address to the King was drawn up in the name of the
Officers of the Emperor's Household. It was in substance as
follows : —

" Sire — The undersigned, who formed a part of the household of
the Emperor Napoleon, solicit from your Majesty the favour of
particular attention.

" Heirs to the duties of their fathers, they were, at a former
period, faithful defenders of the throne ; many of them followed
your Majesty through long years of exile, into a foreign land, and
sealed their devotedness by the forfeiture of their patrimony.

" It was precisely these well-known principles, and this acknow-
ledged conduct, which constituted their claim, and called attention
to them, when it was in contemplation to raise up a new throne and
to surround it with adherents.

"The expectations of him who rallied us around him were not,
could not be, disappointed : we fulfilled our new duties with honour
and fidelity. These sentiments, Sire, the surest pledges of evexy
other, would be sufficient to secure our own esteem, if it were
possible for us to remain in indolent retirement. But what good
and loyal Frenchman would desire a state of absolute repose I
And yet, should any of us feel ourselves, through motives of deli-
cacy, reduced to await, in silence, our appointment to new duties,
might not our motive be misconstrued ? On the other hand,
might not the feelings of those also be misunderstood who, yield-
ing to the impulse of their hearts, eagerly hastened to receive the
favours of your Majesty?

" Such, Sire, is the peculiar and delicate situation in which we
are placed : but all our embarrassments will cease, if your Majesty
deign to lend an ear to our Address. Your royal heart will feel
the delicacy of the impulse by which we are guided at this moment,
and will accept our sincere wishes to serve your Majesty and our
country with our accustomed zeal and fidelity."

It was difficult to obtain signatures to so moderate an Address.
Would it be believed, thrt this candid and authentic avowal of our
past functions, and the use of the phrase " Emperor Napoleon,"
in particular, were held as objections to it ? Every one found fault
with it according to his humour. Such were the sentiments of
the day. Only seventeen signatures could be collected. Eighteen
or twenty persons promised to add their names when the list
should amount to twenty-five ; but nobody would assist in com-
pleting that number. Two of those, who had already signed it,
thinking they had put their hand to a document which they did
not well understand, their sole intention having been to solicit the
<;onfirmation of their appointments, even went so far as to erase

220 RESERVATION OF CORSICA.

turned out very differently. The old editors of the
public journals would not then have indulged in their
chimeras of the good old times ; we should not then
have been annoyed with their dissertations on the straight
line and the curve line ; the King would have adhered
honestly to his charter ; I should never have dreamed
of quitting the Island of Elba ; the head of the nation
would have been recorded in history with greater
honour and dignity; and we should all have been
gainers."

THE emperor's IDEA OF RESERVING CORSICA. HIS

OPINION OF ROBESPIERRE. HIS IDEAS RESPECTING

PUBLIC OPINION. EXPIATORY INTENTION OF THE

EMPEROR WITH REGARD TO THE VICTIMS OF THE
REVOLUTION.

18th. — After the accustomed occupation of the day, I
accompanied the Emperor to the garden about four
o'clock. He had just completed his dictation on the
subject of Corsica. Having concluded every thing he
had to say relative to that island, and to Paoli, he ad-
verted to the interest which he himself excited there,
while yet so young, at the time of his separation from
Paoli. He added that latterly he might to a certainty
have united in his favour the wishes, the sentiments,
and the efforts of the whole population of Corsica ; and
that, had he retired to that island on quitting Paris, he
would have been beyond the reach of any foreign power
whatever. He had an idea of doing so when he abdi-
cated in favour of his son. He was on the point of
reserving to himself the possession of Corsica during his
life. No obstacle at sea would have obstructed his
passage thither. But he abandoned that design for the
sake of rendering his abdication the more sincere and
the more advantageous to France, His residence in the
centre of the Mediterranean, in the bosom of Europe, so
near France and Italy, might have furnished a lasting

their signatures. The original copy of this document must be
either at Paris or Versailles, in the hands of one of the persons
■who signed it.

ROBESPIERUE PARTIALLY EXCULPATED. 221

pretext to the Allies. He even preferred America to
England, from the same motive and the same idea. It
is true that, in the sincerity of his own measures, he
neither did, nor could foresee, his unjust and violent
banishment to St. Helena.

The Emperor, next proceeding to take a review of
different points of the Revolution, dwelt particularly on
Robespierre, whom he did not know, but whom he
believed to be destitute of talent, energy, or system. He
considered him, notwithstanding, merely as the scape-
goat of the Revolution, sacrificed as soon as he en-
deavoured to arrest it in its course : — the common fate,
he observed, of all who, before himself (Napoleon) had
ventured to take that step. The Terrorists and their
doctrine survived Robespierre ; and if their excesses
were not continued, it was because they were obliged to
bow to public opinion. They threw all the blame on
Robespierre ; but the latter declared shortly before his
death, that he was a stranger to the recent executions,
and that he had not appeared in the Committees for six
weeks previously. Napoleon confessed that, while he
was with the army of Nice, he had seen some long
letters addressed by Robespierre to his brother, con-
demning the horrors of the Commissioners of the Con-
vention, who, as he expressed it, were ruining the
Revolution by their tyranny and atrocities. " Cam-
baceres, who," observed the Emperor, "must be a good
authority on subjects relating to that period, answered
an enquiry w^hich I one day addressed to him respecting
the condemnation of Robespierre, in these remarkable
words : * Sire, that was a sentence without a trial ;'
adding that Robespierre had more foresight and concep-
tion than was generally imagined ; and that his intention
was, after subduing the unbridled factions which he had
to oppose, to restore a system of order and moderation.
' Some time previously to his fall,' added Cambaceres,
* he delivered a most admirable speech on this subject; it
was not thought proper to insert it in the Moniteur, and
all trace of it is now lost.' "

This is not the first instance I have heard of omissions
and want of accuracy in the Moniteur. In the reports

222' THE YOUNGER ROBESPIERRE.

inserted in that journal relative to the proceedings of
the Assembly, there must be a period remarkable for
incorrectness ; as the minutes of those proceedings were
for a time arbitrarily drawn up by one of the Commit-
tees.

Those who are induced to believe that Robespierre
w-as at once wearied, satiated, and alarmed by the Re-
volution, and had resolved on checking it, affirm that he
would not take any decided step until after he had read
his famous speech. He considered it so fine that he
had no doubt of its effect on the Assembly. If this be
true, his mistake or his vanity cost him dear. Those
who think differently assert that Danton and Camille-
des-Moulins had precisely the same views •, and yet that
Robespierre sacrificed them. To these it is replied that
Robespierre sacrificed them to preserve his popularit\",
because he judged that the decisive moment had not yet
arrived ; or because he did not w^ish to resign to them
the glory of the enterprise.

Be this as it may, it is certain that the nearer we ap-
proach to the instruments and the agents in that catas-
trophe, the greater obscurity and mystery we find ; and
this uncertainty will but increase with time. Thus the
page of history will, on this point as on many others,
become the record, not so much of the events which
really occun^ed, as of the statements which are given of
them.

In the course of our conversation relative to Robes-
pierre, the Emperor said that he had been very well
acquainted with his brother, the younger Robespierre,
the representative to the Army of Italy. He said nothing
against this young man, whom he had led into action
and inspired with great confidence and considerable
enthusiasm for his person ; so much so, that previously
to the 9th of Thermidor, young Robespierre, being re-
called by his brother, who was then secretly laying his
plans, insisted on Napoleon's accompanying him to Paris.
The latter experienced the greatest difficulty in ridding
himself of the importunity, and, at length, only escaped
it by requesting the interference of the General-in- chief
Dumerbion, whose entire confidence he possessed, and

INFLUENCE OP PUBLIC OPINION. 223

who represented that it was absohitely necessary he
should remain where he was. " Had I followed young-
Robespierre," said the Emperor, " how different might
have been my career ! On what trivial circumstances
does human fate depend 1 — Some office would doubtless
ha,ve been assigned to me ; and I might at that moment
have been destined to attempt a sort of Vendemiaire.
But I was then very young; my ideas were not yet
fixed. It is probable, indeed, that I should not have
undertaken any task that might have been allotted to
me ; but supposing the contrary case, and even admit-
ting that I had been successful, what results could I have
hoped for ? In Vendemiaire the revolutionary fever was
totally subdued ; in Thermidor it was still raging in its
utmost fury and at its greatest height."

" Public opinion," said the Emperor, on another
occasion, when conversing on another subject, "is an
invisible and mysterious power which it is impossible to
resist : nothing is more unsteady, more vague, or more
powerful ; and capricious as it may be, it is, neverthe-
less, just and reasonable more frequently than is sup-
posed. On becoming Provisional Consul, the first act
of my administration was the banishment of fifty anar-
chists. Public opinion, w^hich had at first been furiously
hostile to them, suddenly turned in their favour, and I
was forced to retract. But some time afterwards, these
same anarchists, having shewn a disposition to engage
in plots, were again overthrown by that very public
opinion, which had now returned to support me. Thus,
through the errors that were committed at the time of
the restoration, popularity was secured to the regicides,
who but a moment before had been proscribed by the
great mass of the nation.

" It belonged to me only," continued "the Emperor,
" to shed a lustre over the memory of Louis XVI. in
France, and to purify the nation of the crimes with which
it had been sullied by frantic acts and unfortunate fatah-
ties. The Bourbons, being of the royal family, and
coming from abroad, merely avenged their own private
cause, and augmented the national opprobrium. I, on
the contrary, being one of the people, should have raised

224 EXPIATORY ALTARS AT ST. DENIS.

the character of the nation, by banishing from society,
in her name, those whose crimes had disgraced her.
This was my intention, but I proceeded prudently in the
fulfilment of it. The three expiatory altars at St. Denis
were but a prelude to my design. The Temple of Glory,
on the site of the Magdelaine, was to have been devoted
to this object wath still greater solemnity. There, near
the tomb and over the very bones of the political victims
of our revolution, monuments and religious ceremonies
would have consecrated their memory in the name of the
French people. This is a secret that was not known to
above ten individuals : though it had been found neces-
sary to communicate a hint of the design to those who
were intrusted with the arrangement of the edifice. I
should not have executed my scheme in less than ten
years; but what precautions had I not adopted; how
carefully had I smoothed every difficulty, and removed
every obstruction ! All would have applauded my design,
and no one would have suffered from it. So much de-
pends on circumstances and forms," added he, " that in
my reign, Carnot would not have dared to write a me-
morial, boasting of the death of the King, though he did
so under the Bourbons. I should have leagued with
public opinion in punishing him ; while public opinion
sided with him in rendering him unassailable."

CASCADE AT BRIARS.

19th. — My son and I rose very early. Our task had
been finished on the preceding day ; and as the Emperor
could hot want me for some time, we availed ourselves
of the fineness of the morning to explore the neighbour-
hood of our abode.

Passing through the valley of James-Town, on the
right of our little level height at Briars, was a deep ra-
vine, the sides of which were intersected by numerous
perpendicular cliffs. We descended into the ravine, not
without difficulty, and found ourselves at the edge of a
little hmpid streamlet, beside which grew abundance of
cresses. We amused ourselves by gathering them as we
passed along ; and after a few windings we soon reached
the extremity of the valley and the streamlet, which are

FIRST WALKS OUT TOWARDS THE TOWN. 225

closed transversely by a huge pointed mass of rock, from
the summit of which issues a pretty cascade, produced
from the waters of the surrounding- heights. This water-
fall descending into the valley forms the streamlet along
which we had just passed, and which rolls sometimes in
a rapid stream to the sea. The water of the cascade was
at this moment dispersed above our heads in small rain
or light vapour ; but in stormy weather it rushes forth
in a torrent, and furiously dashes through the ravine till
it reaches the sea. To us the scene presented agloomv,
solitary, and melancholy aspect ; though it was altoge-
ther so interesting that we quitted it with regret.

To-day was Sunday, and we all dined with the Em-
peror ; he good humouredly observed that we composed
his state party. After dinner the circle of our amuse-
ments was not very extensive : he asked us whether we
would have a comedy, an opera, or a tragedy. We de-
cided in favour of a comedy, and he himself read a por-
tion of Moliere's Avare, which was continued by other
individuals of the party. The Emperor had a cold, and
was slightly feverish. He withdrew early from his walk
in the garden, and desired me to see him again that
evening, if he should not have gone to bed. My son
and I accompanied the rest of the gentlemen to the
town ; and on our return, the Emperor had retired to
rest.

FIRST AND ONLY EXCURSION DURING OUR ABODE AT
BRIARS. THE ADMIRAl's BALL.

20th. — ^The Emperor, after dictating as usual to one
of the gentlemen, called me about five o'clock. He was
alone ; the rest of the gentlemen and my son having
gone to the town, where the Admiral was that evening
to give a ball. The Emperor and I walked along the
road leading to the town, until we came within sight of
the sea and the shipping. On the left, in the depth of
the valley, was a pretty little house. The Emperor stood
for a considerable time with his glass at his eye, exami-
ning the garden, which appeared to be very well culti-
vated, and in which a group of beautiful children were
at play, attended by their mother. We were informed

VOL. I. Q

226 GRATIFICATION DERIVED FROM

that this house belonged to Major Hudson, a resident in
the island, the same gentleman who had lent me the
Annual Register. The house was situated at the bottom
of the ravine which commences in the vicinity of Briars,
and near the curious cascade which I have already noticed.
The Emperor took a fancy to go down to the house,
though it was now nearly six o'clock. The road was
extremely steep : we found it longer and more difficult
of descent than we had expected; and we reached the
bottom of the ra^'ine quite out of breath. We took a
survey of the little domain, which had evidently been
laid out as the residence of a permanent occupant, and
not as the mere temporary abode of a traveller passing
to a foreign land ; and, after receiving the attentions of
the master of the house, and paying a few compliments
to the mistress, the Emperor took his leave.

But the evening was already far advanced, and we
were very much fatigued ; we therefore accepted the
horses that were offered us, and speedily returned to our
hut and our dinner. This little excursion, and the exer-
cise of riding on horseback, which had been so long re-
linquished, seemed to do the Emperor good.

He desired that I would go to the Admiral's ball, in
spite of my reluctance to leave him. At half-past eight
o'clock he observed that the night was dark, the road
bad, and that it was time I had set out. He insisted on
my leaving him, and he entered his room, where I saw
him undress and retire to bed. He again desired me to
go, and I unwillingly obeyed. I left him alone ; and
thus, for the first time, violated a custom which had
become most dear to me.

I proceeded on foot to the town. The Admiral had
given great ^clat to his ball. It had been talked of for
a considerable time before. He wished it to be under-
stood that the entertainment was given solely on our
account, and we had been formally invited. Was it
most advisable to accept or to decline the invitation ?
Something might be said on both sides. Political mis-
fortunes did not require that we should assume the ap-
pearance of domestic sorrow ; it might be proper, and
even useful, to mingle cheerfully in company with our

THE admiral's BALL. 227

jailors. We might, therefore, adopt either resolution
indifferently. We determined to go. But what sort of
conduct were we to observe ? Should we assume pride,
or employ address ? The first might be attended with
inconvenience ; in our situation every wounded preten-
sion became an insult. In the second there could be no
impropriety : to receive marks of politeness as though
we were accustomed to them, and as though they were
our due, and to overlook any little want of respect, was
certainly the wisest course. I arrived at the ball very
late, and left it very early. I was much pleased with
the entertainment in every respect.

MY CONDUCT WHILE THE EMPEROR WAS AT ELBA.

21st — 22nd. The Emperor, who had often questioned
me on the line of conduct pursued by many of his minis-
ters, members of his Council, and officers of his House-
hold, during his residence at the Island of Elba, at length
called me to account in my turn, saying: — "But you
yourself. Las Cases, what did you do after the arrival of
the King ? What happened to you all that time ? Come,
sir, make a report on that subject : you know this is my
wav ; and it is the only plan by which we can properly
classify what we say, or what we wish to learn. Besides,
it will furnish you with another article for your Journal.
And, don't you see?" added he, jokingly, "your biogra-
phers will only have the trouble of extracting ; the thing
wiU be all ready written to their hands."

" Sire," I replied, " you shall have a literal statement
of every thing ; though I have but little to say. I com-
manded, on the 31st of March, the 10th legion of the
National Guard of Paris, that of the Legislative Body.
We lost, during the day, a considerable number of men.
At night I heard of the capitulation ; I wrote to the
officer next in rank to myself, and transferred to him
the command of my legion, informing him that, though
in my quality of member of the Council of State I had
previously received orders to proceed elsewhere, yet I
had not wished to abandon my legion at the moment of
danger ; but that the event which had just occurred hav-

ft 2

228 THE author's conduct durixg

ing changed the aspect of affairs, I must now proceed
forthwith to fulfil new duties.

" At day-break I set out on the road to Fontainebleau,
and found myself in the midst of the wrecks of Mar-
mont's and Mortier's detachments. I was on foot, but
I doubted not I should be able to purchase a horse. I
soon, however, discovered that soldiers in retreat are
neither just nor civil. At that disastrous moment, my
uniform of a National Guard was insulted, and I was
myself ill-treated.

" After an hour's walk, overpowered by the fatigue of
the journey, joined to the want of rest which I had ex-
perienced for two or three nights previously ; seeing
around me no face that I knew, and having no hope of
procuring a horse, I determined, with a sorrowful heart,
to return to the capital.

Tlie National Guard W'as ordered out to assist in the
triumphant entry of the enemy : there was even a pro-
bability of its being selected as a guard of honour to
the Sovereigns who had conquered us. I determined
to be absent from my home. I had conveyed my wife and
children safely out of Paris a week or two before, and
for a few days had recourse to the hospitality of a friend.
I never went out of doors but in a shabby great coat,
visiting the coffee-houses and public places, and joining
the different groups which were formed in the streets.
My object was to make observations on persons and
things, and above all, to learn the real feeling of the
people. How many extraordinary occurrences did I not
witness in the course of my rambles !

" I saw in front of the residence of the Emperor of
Russia, men distinguished by their rank, and calling
themselves Frenchmen, exerting their utmost endeavours
to induce the rabble to call out' Long live Alexander, our
deliverer !'

" I saw. Sire, your monument on the Place Vendome
resist the efforts of a few wretches, belonging to the
lowest dregs of the people, who had been hired by per-
sons of note.

" Finally, in one of the comers of the Place Vend6me,
before the hotel of the Commandant of the place, I saw

napoleon's stay at ELBA. 229

one of the officers of your household trying, on the first
evening after your departure, to prevail on young con-
scripts to enter another service than yours; but he re-
ceived from them a lesson that might have made him.
blush for his own conduct, had he been capable of feel-
ing shame.

" Doubtless, those to whom I here allude will exclaim
that I mingled with the rabble; and. yet it may with
justice be affirmed that the acts of baseness which then
disgraced France did not originate with the rabble.
These acts were far from obtaining the countenance of
the lower classes of the people ; on the contrary, they
were decidedly censured by the uprightness, generosity,
and nobleness of sentiment, manifested in the public
streets. What reproaches might I not convey, were I
to repeat all that I heard on this subject !

" Your Majesty abdicated. T had refused my signa-
ture to the act of adherence of the Council of State ; but
I thought I might make amends for this by an additional
act of adherence. The Moniteur was every day filled
with articles of this kind ; mine however was not deemed
worthy the honour of insertion.

*' At length the King arrived : he was henceforth our
sovereign. He appointed a day for the reception of
those individuals who had been presented to Louis X\L
I proceeded to the Tuileries to avail myself of this pre-
rogative.— What were my reflections on entering those
apartments which had so lately been filled with your
glory and power ! And yet I presented myself to the
King sincerely and in good faith ; my foresight never
led me even to think of your return.

" Deputations to the King were multiplied beyond
number : a meeting of the officers of the naval estab-
lishment was proposed. To the person who communi-
cated this fact to me I replied that nothing could be
more gratifying to my heart than to join my old com-
rades, none of whom could entertain sentiments purer
than I did ; but that the offices I had filled placed me in
a peculiar and delicate situation, and that motives of
prudence must deter me from appearing where the zeal
of a president might lead him to employ expressions

230 THE AUTHOR GOES TO LONDON.

which I neither could nor would sanction by my opinion
or presence.

" Subsequently, however, in spite of my mortification
and disgust, I determined, at the solicitation of some
friends, to think of something for myself. The Council of
State was re-composed ; several members of the last Coun-
cil assured me, in spite of my recent conjectures on that
point, that nothing was easier than to retain my office ;
that they had succeeded merely by an application to the
Chancellor of France. I had not courage to venture a
moment's encroachment on his Lordship's time : and
therefore contented myself with writing to acquaint him
that I had been Master of Requests to the last Council
of State ; and that, if that circumstance were not sufficient
to exclude me from becoming a member of the new
"assembly, I begged him to recommend me to the King
as a Councillor of State. I observed that I would not
advance as claims to favour my eleven years' emigration
or the loss of my patrimony in the King's cause. At
that period I had only done what I then considered to be
my duty ; which I had at all times, to the best of my
knowledge, fulfilled faithfully and to the last moment.
This phrase, as may well be supposed, deprived me even
of the honour of a reply.

•' Meanwhile the new situation of Paris, the sight of
the foreign troops, the acclamations of every kind, were
more than I could endure ; and I adopted the determina-
tion of going for a short time to London, where I should
meet with old friends, who might afford me all the con-
solation of which I was susceptible. Then, again, I re-
collected that I might find in London the same tumult
and the same exultation that had driven me from Paris ;
this proved to be the fact. London was the scene of
festivity and rejoicing, to celebrate the triumphs of the
English and our humiliation.

"During my stay in London, the marine establish-
ment was re-modelled at Paris, and the Chevalier de Gri-
maldi, one of my old comrades, whom I had not seen or
heard of for a length of time, was appointed a member
of the Committee. He called on my wife, and expressed
his surprise that I had not put in my claims ; observing

HIS RETURN TO PARIS. 231

that I was entitled, by law, to return to the corps, or to
retire on a certain pension. He advised my wife to bring
me to a decision on the subject, and to rely on his friend-
ship ; adding that there was no time to be lost. I
attached higher value to this mark of attention than to
the favonr which it was intended to procure me. How-
ever, I wrote to the Committee, requesting that, as I
was desirous of wearing a uniform to which I had be-
come attached, I might be allowed to enjoy the honorary
title of Capitaine de Vaisseau ; while at the same time
I renounced the pension, to which I did not conceive
myself entitled.

*' I returned to Paris. The diversity of opinions and
the irritation of the public mind were extreme. I had
for a long time lived in the greatest retirement. I now
confined myself entirely to the domestic circle of my
wife and children. Never at any former period of my
life did I prove myself a better husband or a better father ;
and never, perhaps, was I more physically happy.

" As I was one day reading, in the Journal des Debats,
an account of a work of M. Beauchamp, I found men-
tioned the names of several gentlemen who were stated
to have assembled on the Place Louis XV. on the 31st
March, to excite sentiments in favour of royalty ; and
my name was among the number. It was in good
company, no doubt ; but at the same time the statement
was untrue ; and I should have been considerably lower-
ed in the estimation of many if it had been believed. I
wrote to request a correction of the error, which was
calculated to render me the subject of congratulations to
which I was in no way entitled.

"1 observed that it was out of my powder at the time
to act in the way described, whatever might have been
my inclination. As the commander of a legion of the
National Guard, I had contracted obligations from which
no consideration on earth could free me, &c. I sent my
letter to the deputy Chabaud-Latour, one of the proprie-
tors of the Journal des Debats, a man for whom 1 en-
tertained a great esteem. He declined publishing my
letter, purely from good intentions towards me. I then
addressed it to the editor ; but he refused to insert it on
account of difference of opinion.

232 ANTICIPATION OF THE

" Meanwhile, the state of the public mind indicated an
inevitable and speedy catastrophe. Every thing fore-
boded that the Bourbons would share the fate of the
Stuarts. My wife and I used every evening to amuse
ourselves in reading Hume's History of England. We
began at Charles I., and your Majesty arrived before we
had got to James H." (Here the Emperor could not
repress a laugh.)

"Your Majesty's advance and arrival/' continued I,
" w^ere to us a subject of the greatest astonishment and
anxiety. I was far from foreseeing the honourable vo-
luntary exile which it would gain for me in the end ; for
J was then little known to your Majesty ; and circum-
stances arising out of that event alone brought me here.
Had I filled the most trivial post under the King ; had I
even been a frequent attendant at the Tuileries, which
would have been very natural and consistent with pro-
priety, I should not have appeared for a length of time
in your Majesty's presence. Not, indeed, that I should
have had any thing to reproach myself with, or that my
attachment to you would have been the less sincere ; but
because I should not have wished to pass for a piece of
court furniture, or to seem always ready to offer incense
at the shrine of power. I should have awaited an ap-
pointment, instead of pressing forward to solicit one. But
as it was, I felt myself so much at liberty, every thing
about me was in such perfect harmony, that I seemed to
form a part of the great event. 1 therefore eagerly
hastened to meet the first glance of your Majesty ; I felt
as though I had claims on your kindness and favour. On
your return from Waterloo, the same sentiments brought
me immediately and spontaneously near your person,
which I have never since quitted. If I was then attracted
by your public glory, I am now attached by your private
virtues ; and if it be true that the gratification of my feel-
ings then cost me some sacrifice, I now find myself repaid
a hundred-fold, by the happiness I enjoy in being able to
tell you so.

" It would however be difficult to describe the extreme
disgust I felt at every thing during the ten months of
your absence. I felt an utter contempt for mankind and

OVERTHROW OF THE BOURBONS. 233

worldly vanities. Every illusion was destroyed, all inte-
rest had vanished. Every thing appeared to be at an end,
or to be undeserving of the smallest value. During my
emigration, I had received the cross of St. Louis; an
ordinance decreed that it was to be legitimated by a new
brevet. I had not spirit to put in my claim. Another
ordinance directed that the titles bestowed by your Ma-
jesty should be sent in to be confirmed ; but I felt indif-
ferent with regard to compromising those which I had
obtained during the Empire. In fine, I received a letter
from the Marine department, informing me that my cap-
tain's commission had just been forwarded thither, and
there it still remains.

" Your Majesty's absence was to me a widowhood, the
affliction and grief of which I concealed from no one.
But on your return 1 was repaid for all by the testimony
borne by those who surrounded you, and to whom I had
previously been scaicely known. At your Majesty's first
levee, the individual who was ad interim at the head of
the department of foreign affairs, coming from the pre-
sence, took me aside to a window, and told me to go
home and prepare, as I should probably have to set out
on a journey. He had just, he said, proposed me to
your Majesty, adding that he had represented me as a
madman, but mad for love of you. I wished to know
whither I was to be sent ; but that, he said, he neither
would nor could tell me. I never heard any thing more
of the matter.

" M. Regnault de Saint-Jean d'Angeli placed me on
the list of the Imperial Commissioners whom your Ma-
jesty sent to the departments, I assured him that I was
ready to do any thing ; but I observed that I was a
7ioble and an emigrant, and that these two words pro-
nounced by the first comer would be sufl&cient to annihi-
late me, in case of necessity, at anytime or in any place.
He acknowledged the justice of my observation, and
relinquished his intention.

"A Senator next sohcited that your Majesty would
appoint me to the prefecture of Metz, his native town.
He requested me to make this sacrifice for only three
months, in order, as he said, to conciliate the popular

234 INDISPOSITION OF THE EMPEROR.

mind, and set things to rights. At length Decres and
the Duke of Bassano proposed me as a Councillor of
State ; and, the third day after your arrival, your
Majesty signed my appointment."

23rd. — The Emperor was still indisposed : he confined
himself to his room, and would see nobody. He sent
for me at 9 o'clock in the evening. I found him very
low-spirited and melancholy. He scarcely spoke to me,
and I did not dare to say anything to him. If I re-
garded his illness as merely physical, it grieved me sin-
cerely : — if he laboured under mental affliction, how
much more was I grieved that I could not employ all the
resources of consolation with which the heart naturally
overflows for those whom we truly love. The Emperor
dismissed me in about half an hour.

24th. — The Emperor continued indisposed, and still
declined seeing any body. He sent for me to dine with
him at a late hour. Dinner was served on a little table
beside the sofa on which he was lying. He ate heartily.
He said that he stood in need of some sudden revulsion
of the constitution, which he should soon obtain ; so
well did he understand his own temperament. After
dinner he took up the Memoirs of Marshal de Villars,
which amused him. He read aloud many passages,
which revived former recollections, and gave rise to
many anecdotes.

THE emperor's TEMPERAMENT. RIDING. NOTIONS

OF MEDICINE.

25th. — The Emperor still continued unwell : he had
passed a bad night. At his desire I dined with him
beside the sofa, which he was unable to leave. He was,
however, evidently much better. After dinner he wished
to read. He had a heap of books scattered around him
on the sofa. The rapidity of his imagination, the fatigue
of dwelling always on the same subject, or of reading
what he already knew, caused him to take up and throw
down the books one after the other. At length he fixed
on Racine's Iphigenia, and amused himself by pointing
out the beauties, and discussing the few faults, to be
found in that work. He dismissed me at an early hour.

EXTRAORDINARY EQUESTRIAN FEATS. 235

Contrary to the general opinion, in which I myself
once participated, the Emperor is far from possessing a
strong constitution. His limbs are large, but his fibres
are relaxed. With a very expanded chest, he is con-
stantly labouring under the effects of cold. His body
is subject to the influence of the slightest accidents.
The smell of paint is sufficient to make him ill ; certain
dishes, or the slightest degree of damp, immediately take
a severe effect on him. His body is far from being a
body of iron, as is generally supposed : all his strength
is in his mind. His prodigious exertions abroad and his
incessant labours at home are known to every one. No
sovereign ever underwent so much bodily fatigue. The
most remarkable instance of the Emperor's activity and
exertion was his riding post from Valladoiid to Burgos,
(a distance of thirty-five Spanish leagues) in five hours
and a half ; that is to say, upwards of seven leagues an
hour.* The Emperor had set out accompanied by a
numerous escort, in case of danger from the Guerillas ;
but at every yard he left some of his company behind
him, and he arrived at Burgos with but few followers.
His ride from Vienna to the Simmering, a distance of
eighteen or twenty leagues, is also frequently talked of.
The Emperor rode to breakfast at the Simmering, and
returned to Vienna immediately after. Napoleon often
hunted to the distance of thirty- eight leagues, and never
less than fifteen. One day a Russian officer, who had
come as a courier from St. Petersburg in the space of
twelve or thirteen days, arrived at Fontainebleau at the
moment when the Emperor was about to set out on a
hunt. By way of a rest, the officer had the honour to
be invited to join the hunting-party. He of course ac-
cepted the invitation ; but he dropped down in the forest,
overcome by fatigue, and was not found until after con-
siderable search had been made for him.

* This may appear incredible. Indeed I myself feel doubts
now when I read orer the statement. But I know that when the
^subject was spoken of one day at dinner at Longwood, it under-
went much discussion, and I noted down on paper what was then
admitted to be the correct account. Besides, many individuals
who accompanied the Emperor are still living : and the fact may
be ascertained.

236 DIET AND MEDICINE.

I have known the Emperor to be engaged in business
in the Council of State for eight or nine hours succes-
sively, and afterwards rise with his ideas as clear as
when he sat down. I have seen him at St. Helena
peruse books for ten or twelve hours in succession, on
the most abstruse subjects, without appearing in the
least fatigued. He has suffered, unmoved, the greatest
shocks that ever man experienced. On his return from
Moscow or Leipsic, after he had communicated the dis-
astrous event in the Council of State, he said : — " It has
been reported in Paris that this misfortune turned my
hair grey ; but you see it is not so (pointing to his head) ;
and I hope I shall be able to support many other re-
verses." But these prodigious exertions are made only,
as it were, in despite of his physical powers, which
never appear less susceptible than when his mind is in
full activity.

The Emperor eats very irregularly, but generally very
little. He often says that a man may hurt himself by
eating too much, but never by eating too little. He will
remain four- and- twenty hours without eating, only to
get an appetite for the ensuing day. But if he eats
little, he drinks still less. A single glass of Madeira or
Champaign is sufficient to restore his strength, and to
produce cheerfulness of spirits. He sleeps very little and
very irregularly, generally rising at daybreak to read or
write, and afterwards lying down to sleep again.

The Emperor has no faith in medicine, and never takes
any. He had adopted a peculiar mode of treatment for
himself. Whenever he found himself unwell, his plan
was to run into an extreme, the opposite of what hap-
pened to be his habit at the time. This he calls restoring
the equilibrium of nature. If, for instance, he had been
inactive for a length of time, he would suddenly ride
about sixty miles, or hunt for a whole day. If, on the con-
trary, he had been harassed by great fatigues, he would
resign himself to a state of absolute rest for twenty-four
hours. These unexpected shocks infallibly brought about
an internal crisis, and instantly produced the desired
effect : this remedy, he observed, never failed.

The Emperor's lymphatic system is deranged, and his

REVIVAL OF napoleon's HEALTH. 237

blood circulates with difficulty. Nature, he said, had
endowed him with two important advantages : the one
was the power of sleeping whenever he needed repose,
at any hour, and in any place ; another was that he was
incapable of committing any injurious excess either in
eating or drinking. " If," said he, " I go the least
beyond my mark, my stomach instantly revolts." He is
subject to nausea from very slight causes ; a mere tick-
ling cough is sufficient to produce that effect on him.

OUR MODE OF LIVING AT BRIARS. — MY FIRST VISIT TO
LONGWOOD. INFERNAL MACHINE • ITS HISTORY.

26th — 28th. On the 26th the Emperor dressed very
early : he found himself quite recovered. He wished to
walk out, as the weather was very fine ; and, besides,
his room had not been put in order for three days. We
went into the garden, and he chose to breakfast under
the arbour. He was in good spirits, and his conversation
turned upon many different subjects and persons.

The Emperor's health being now perfectly restored, he
resumed his usual occupation, which, indeed, was his
only source of amusement. Reading, dictating, and
w^aiking in the garden, filled up all his time during
the day. He still occasionally, resorted to his fa-
vourite path, though the turn of the season, and
the change of the moon, had nearly put a stop to our
evening walks. The numerous visitors who came to
Mr. Balcombe's house, attracted by the hope of meeting
the Emperor, annoyed him very much, and, indeed,
compelled him to withdraw himself altogether. We
therefore remained shut up in our little dwelling. We
at first understood that we should remain at Briars only
a few days ; but six weeks had passed away, and we had
yet heard nothmg respecting our removal. All this time
the Emperor had been as much confined as he had been
on board of the vessel. He had taken only one excur-
sion, which was when he visited Major Hudson ; and we
afterv/ards learned that this circumstance had occasioned
alarm. It had been whispered about at the Admiral's
ball, and had reached the ears of our high authorities,
who were thrown into great consternation by the event.

238 ATROCIOUS CONSPIRACIES.

The workmen continued tlieir labours at Longwood,
which was to be our new residence. The troops who
had come with us from England were encamped in the
neighbourhood. The Colonel gave a ball, to which we
were invited. The Emperor wished me to go, and that
I should, at the same time, take the opportunity of in-
specting our future abode. I went with. Madame Bertrand,
in a carriage drawn by six oxen. In this Merovingian
equipage we proceeded to Longwood. This was the first
opportunity I had had of seeing any part of the island,
except the neighbourhood of Briars. The whole road
along which we passed presented continued evidences of
a great natural convulsion. We saw nothing but huge
masses of rock, totally destitute of vegetation. If, at
every change of the horizon, we perceived a trace of
verdure or a few clusters of trees, yet on a nearer ap-
proach, all vanished like the creations of a poet's fancy ;
we found only a few marine plants and wild shrubs ; or,
what was still worse, some wretched gum-trees. These
were the only ornaments of Longwood. I returned
on horseback about six o'clock. The Emperor put many
questions to me concerning our new residence. Finding
that I did not speak of it very enthusiastically, he asked
at once whether he should gain or lose by the change ?
I told him what I thought in one sentence. *' Sire," said
I, "we are here in a cage ; there we shall be in a fold."

28th. — The Emperor changed his military uniform,
which he had put on to go on board the Bellerophon,
for a fancy dress coat. In the course of conversation
this day the Emperor adverted to the numerous conspi-
racies which had been formed against him. The infernal
machine was mentioned in its turn. This diabolical in-
vention, which gave rise to so many conjectures, and
caused the death of so many victims, was the work of
the Royalists, who obtained the first idea of it from the
Jacobins.

The Emperor stated that a hundred furious Jacobins,
the real authors of the scenes of September, the 10th of
August, &c., had resolved to get rid of the First Consul,
for which purpose they invented a 15 or 16-pound
howitzer, which, on being thrown into the carriage,

THE INFERNAL MACHINE. 239

would explode by its own concussion, and hurl destruction
on eveiy side. To make sure of their object, they pro-
posed to lay chevaux de frise along a part of the road,
which, by suddenly impeding the horses, would of course
render it impossible for the carriage to move on. The
man who was employed to lay down the chevaux de
frise, entertaining some suspicions of the job which he
had been set upon, as well as of the morality of his
employers, communicated the business to the police. The
conspirators were soon traced, and were apprehended
near the Jardin des Plantes, in the act of trying the
effect of the machine, which made a terrible explosion.
The First Consul, whose policy it was not to divulge
the numerous conspiracies of which he was the object,
did not give publicity to this, but contented himself Avith
imprisoning the criminals. He soon relaxed his orders
for keeping them in close confinement, and they were
allowed a certain degree of liberty. In the same prison
in which these Jacobins were confined, some Royalists
were also imprisoned for an attempt to assassinate the
First Consul, by means of air-guns. These two parties
formed a league together ; and the Royalists transmitted
to their friends out of prison the idea of the infernal
machine, as being preferable to any other plan of de-
struction.

It is very remarkable that, on the evening of the
catastrophe, the Emperor expressed an extreme repug-
nance to go out. Madame Buonaparte and some
intimate friends absolutely forced him to go to an
Oratorio. They roused him from a sofa where he was
fast asleep ; one fetched him his sword, and another his
hat. As he drove along in the carriage, he fell asleep
again, and awoke suddenly, saying that he had dreamed
he was drowning in the Tagliamento. To explain what
he alluded to, it is necessary to mention that some years
previously, when he was General of the army of Italy,
he passed the Tagliamento in his carriage during the
night, contrary to the advice of every one about him. In
the ardour of youth, and heedless of every obstacle, he
crossed the river surrounded by a hundred men armed
with poles and torches. His carriage was, however.

240 THE INFERNAL MACHINE.

soon set afloat ; Napoleon incurred the most imminent
danger, and for some time gave himself up for lost. At
the moment when he now awoke, on his way to the
Oratorio, he was in the midst of a conflagration, the
carriage was lifted up, and the passage of the Tagli-
amento came fresh upon his mind. The illusion, how-
ever, was but momentary ; a dreadful explosion imme-
diately ensued. " We are blown up !" exclaimed the
First Consul to Lannes and Bessieres, who were in the
carriage with him. They were for stopping the carriage,
but the First Consul enjoined them not to do it on any
account. He arrived safe, and appeared at the Opera
as though nothing had happened. He was preserved by
the desperate driving of his coachman. The machine in-
jured only one or two individuals who closed the escort.

The most trivial circumstances often lead to the most
important results. The coachman was intoxicated, and
there is no doubt that this proved the means of saving
the life of the First Consul. The man's intoxication
was so great that it was not until next morning he
could be made to comprehend what had happened. He
had taken the explosion for the firing of a salute.
Immediately after this event, measures were adopted
against the Jacobins, who had been convicted of medi-
tating the crime : and a considerable number were
banished. They, however, were not the real criminals,
whose discovery w^as brought about by another very
singular chance.

Three or four hundred drivers of fiacres subscribed a
louis or twelve francs each to give a dinner to the First
Consul's coachman, who had become the hero of the day
and the boast of his profession. During the feast, one
of the guests drinking to the health of the First Consul's
coachman, observed that he knew who had played him
the trick, alluding to the explosion of the machine. He
was immediately arrested, and it appeared that, on the
very night, or the night preceding the explosion, he had
drawn up his fiacre beside a gate, whence had issued the
little cart that had done all the mischief. The police
proceeded to the place, and it was found to be a coach-
yard, where all kinds of vehicles were lent on hire. The

coNsHRACY Of Georges, fichegru, Sac. 241

keepers of the yard did not deny the fact ; they pointed
out the stall in which the cart stood ; it still presented
traces of gunpowder. The proprietors declared that
they were given to understand the cart had been hired
by some Bretons who were concerned in smuggling.
The man who had sold the horse, together with every
individual who had participated in the affair, were easily
traced out; and it was proved that the plot had been
formed by the Chouan RoyaUsts. Some active and
intelligent men were despatched to their head- quarters
in Morbihan. They took no pains to conceal their share
in the transaction, and only regretted that it had not
succeeded. Some of them were apprehended and brought
to punishment. It is said that the chief conspirator
afterwards turned Trappist, and sought to expiate his
crime by religious austerities.

CONSPIRACY OF GEORGES, PICHEGRU, &C. THE DUKE

d'eNGHIEN. THE SLAVE TOBY. CHARACTERISTIC

REFLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON.

•29th — 30th. I find in this part of my manuscript
some important particulars respecting the conspiracy of
Georges, Pichegru, Moreau, and the trial of the Duke
d'Enghien ; but, as these subjects recur repeatedly in the
course of my Journal, I transfer to another part what
occurred here, in order to bring all my information
on the above points at once under the eye of the reader.

Mr. Balcombe's little garden, in which we so often
walked, was superintended by an old negro. The first
time we saw him, the Emperor, according to his usual
custom, desired me to put some questions to him respect-
ing his history ; and his answers strongly excited our
interest. He was a Malay Indian, and had been forced
from his home by the crew of an English vessel, and
sold at St. Helena, where he had continued ever since
in slavery. His story bore every mark of truth. His
countenance had a frank and benevolent expression ; his
eyes were animated and sparkling. In short his appear-
ance was by no means abject ; but, on the contrary, truly
prepossessing.

The history of the poor fellow's misfortunes filled us

VOL. I, R

242 THE SLAVE TOBY.

with, indignation ; and a few days after, the Emperor
expressed a wish to purchase him and send him back to
his own country. He mentioned the subject to the Ad-
miral. The latter, at first, defended his countrymen,
and declared that old Toby (which was the name of the
unfortunate slave) must be an impostor ; for the thing
was impossible. He, however, enquired into the matter,
and, finding that the story was but too true, he partici-
pated in the indignation which w^e expressed, and
promised to exert his best endeavours for the fulfil-
ment of our design. When we left Briars for Long-
wood, poor Toby, sharing the common fate of all earthly
things, was soon forgotten ; I know not what became
of him.

When we were in the garden, the Emperor generally
stopped near Toby's hut, and made me question him
respecting his country, the days of his youth, his family,
his present situation, &c. : one would have supposed
that he wished to study the feelings of the old slave. By
the Emperor's desire, I invariably closed the conversation
bv giving him a Napoleon.

Toby was very much attached to us; our presence
always seemed to fill him with joy. When we entered
the garden, he immediately suspended his work, and,
resting on his spade, gazed on us with an air of satisfac-
tion. He understood not a word of the conversation
that passed between the Emperor and myself; but he
always seemed to anticipate, with a smile, the first
words I translated to him. He called the Emperor the
Good Gentleman : this was the only name he ever ap-
plied to him, and he knew him by no other.

I have mentioned the above particulars, because our
meetings with Toby were always followed by novel,
spirited, and characteristic reflections on the part of the
Emperor. The versatility of his mind is well known.
Whenever he adverted to the poor slave's misfortunes,
he always took a new view of the subject. I shall con-
tent myself with noting down the following remarks : —

" Poor Toby," said he one day, ** has been torn from
his family, from his native land, and sold to slavery :
could any thing be more miserable to himself, or more

THE CODE OF NAPOLEON. 243

criminal in others ! If this crime be the act of the En-
ghsh captain alone, he is doubtless one of the vilest of
men ; but if it be that of the whole of the crew, it may
have been committed by men, perhaps, not so base as
might be imagined ; for vice is always individual, and
scarcely ever collective. Joseph's brethren could not
bring themselves to slay him ; while Judas, a cool, hy-
pocritical, calculating villain, betrayed his Master. A
philosopher has affirmed that men are born wicked : it
would be both difficult and idle to attempt to discover
whether the assertion be true. This, at least, is certain,
that the great mass of society is not wicked ; for if the
majority were determined to be criminal and to violate
the laws, who would have the power to restrain or pre-
vent them ? This is the trium^ph of civilization ; for this
happy result springs from its bosom, and arises out of
its nature. Sentiments are for the most part traditionary ;
we feel them because they were felt by those who pre-
ceded us: thus we must look to the development of
human reason and of the faculties of mankind for the
only key to social order, the only secret of the legislator.
It is only those who wish to deceive the people and rule
them for their own personal advantage that would desire
, to keep them in ignorance ; for the more they are en -
lightened, the more will they feel convinced of the utility
of laws, and of the necessity of defending them.; and the
more steady, happy, and prosperous w^ill society become.
If, however, knowledge should ever be dangerous in the
multitude, it can only be when the Government, in
opposition to the interests of the people, drives them into
an unnatural situation, or dooms the lower classes to
perish for want. In such a case, knowledge would in-
spire them with spirit to defend themselves, or to become
criminal.

*' My code alone, from its simplicity, has been more
beneficial to France than the whole mass of laws which
preceded it. My schools and my system of mutual in-
struction are preparing generations yet unknown. Thus,
during my reign, crimes were rapidly diminishing ;
while, on the contrary, with our neighbours in England,
they have been increasing to a frightful degree. This

R 2

^44 CillME IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE,

alone is sufficient to enable any one to form a decisive
judgment of the respective governments !*

" Look at the United States, where, without any ap-
parent force or effort, every thing goes on prosperously ;
every one is happy and contented : and this is because
the public wishes and interests are in fact the ruling
power. Place the same government at variance with
the will and interests of its inhabitants, and you would
soon see what disturbance, trouble, and confusion, and
above all, what an increase of crimes, would ensue.

'* When I acquired the supreme direction of affairs, it
was wished that I might become a Washington. Words
cost nothing ; and no doubt those who were so ready to
express the wish did so without any knowledge of times,
places, persons, or things. Had I been in America, I
would willingly have been a Washington, and I should
have had little merit in so being ; for I do not see how I
could reasonably have acted otherwise. But had Wash-

* This fact is corroborated by authentic documents, wiiich
exhibit proofs more positive than might be expected. (See Si-
tuation de V Angleterre, par M. de Montveran.

FRANCE ENGLAND

;2 ' r 18011 16,000,000 3,400

12 1 1811 J 17,000,000 6,400

Inhabitants. Condemned Years. Inhabitants. Condemned

to death. to death.

34,000,000
42,000,000 392

It is obvious from this statement, that in the year 1801, in
Prance, twenty- six outof amilHon of inhabitants were condemned
to death; and that in 1811, ten years after, the number of con-
demned had diminished two-thirds, leaving the proportion of only
nine to a million.

In England, on the contrary, where, in 1801, the number of
criminals condemned to death was 212 out of a million of in-
habitants, the amount increased by more tlian one half; there
being in 1811, 376 out of a million.

It is worthy of observation that the condemnations in England,
compared with those in France, were as 376 to 9, or as 42 to 1.

The report of the state of mendicity in France, compared with
that of the parish poor in England, also presents a prodigious
difference: the French hst, in 1812, exhibiting only 30,000 indi-
viduals out of 43 millions of inhabitants ; while in England, in the
same year, a fourth of the population, or 4,250,000 poor, were
thrown upon the parishes. — {Montveran.)

WASHINGTON AND NAPOLEON. 245

mgton been in France, exposed to discord within, and
invasion from without, I would have defied him to have
been what he was in America ; at least, he would have
been a fool to attempt it, and would only have prolong-
ed the existence of evil. For my own part, I could only
have been a Crowned Washington. It was only in a
congress of kings, in the midst of kings, yielding or sub-
dued, that I could become so. Then and there alone, I
could successfully display Washington's moderation, dis-
interestedness, and wisdom. I could not reasonably at-
tain to this but by means of the tmiversal Dictatorship.
To this I aspired ; can that be thought a crime ? Can it
be believed that to resign this authority would have
been beyond the power of human nature ? Sylla, glutted
with crimes, dared to abdicate, pursued by public exe-
cration ! What motive could have checked me, who

would have been followed only by blessings ? -But it

remained for me to conquer at Moscow ! — How many
will hereafter regret my disasters and my fall ! — But to
require prematurely of me that sacrifice, for which the
time had not arrived, was a vulgar absurdity; and for
me to have proclaimed or promised it, would have been
taken for hypocrisy and quackeiy : that was not my way.
1 repeat, it remained for me to conquer at Mos-
cow ! "

On another occasion, pausing before Toby, he said : —
" What, after all, is this poor human machine? There
is not one whose exterior form is like another, or whose
Internal organisation resembles the rest 1 And it is by
disregarding this truth that we are led to the commission
of so many errors I Had Toby been a Brutus, he would
lave put himself to death : if an ./Esop, he would now,
perhaps, have been the Governor's adviser ; if an ardent
and zealous Christian, he would have borne his chains
in the sight of God, and blessed them. As for poor
Toby, he endures his misfortunes very quietly ; he stoops
to his work, and spends his days in innocent tranquil-
lity." Then, after looking at him for a few moments in
silence, he turned away and said : " Certainly it is a

great step from poor Toby to a King Richard ! And

yet," continued he, as lie walked .alon^, " the crime is

246 IMMINENT DANGERS

not the less atrocious ; for this man, after all, had his
family, his happiness, and his liberty ; and it was a hor-
rible act of cruelty to bring him here to languish in the
fetters of slavery/' Then, suddenly stopping short, he
added : — " But I read in your eyes that you think he is
not the only example of the sort at St. Helena I" And
whether he felt offended at being placed on a parallel
with Toby, whether he thought it necessary to raise my
spirits, or whatever else might be his reason, he went
on with dignity and animation : '* My dear Las Cases,
there is not the least resemblance here : if the outrage is
of a higher class, the victims also possess very different
resources. We have not been exposed to corporeal
sufferings ; or if that had been attempted, we have souls
to disappoint our tyi-ants ! Our situation may even have
its charms ! The eyes of the universe are fixed upon us !
We are martyrs in an immortal cause ! Millions of human
beings are weeping for us : our country sighs, and glory
mourns our fate ! We here struggle against the oppression
of the gods, and the prayers of nations are for us !"
— After a pause of a few seconds, he continued : — " Be-
sides, this is not the source of my real sufferings ! If I
considered only myself, perhaps I should have reason to
rejoice ! Misfortunes are not without their heroism and
their glory ! Adversity was wanting to my career ! Had I
died on the throne, enveloped in the dense atmosphere
of my power, I should to many have remained a problem;
but now misfortune will enable all to judge of me with-
out disguise."

ORIGIN OF THE CORPS OP GUIDES. ANOTHER DANGER

INCURRED BY NAPOLEON. THE GERMAN OFFICER.

December 1st — 3rd. Many incidents fill up this inter-
val : some I reject as unnecessary, some it is proper I
should withhold. I here note down only a few anecdotes
of the General-in-chief of the Army of Italy.

After the passage of the Mincio, Napoleon, having
concerted all his plans, and pursued the enemy in every
direction, entered a castle on the left bank of the river.
He was troubled with the head-ache, and he used a foot-
bath. A large detachment of the enemy, in great con-

INCURRED BY NAPOLEON. 247

fasion, arrived, having ascended the river as far as the
castle. Napoleon had only a few persons with him ;
the sentinel on duty at the gate had just time to close it,
exclaiming, " To arms !" and the General of the Army
of Italy, in the hour of victory, was compelled to escape
through the back gates of the garden, with but one boot
on. Had he been made prisoner, before his reputation
was established, the acts of genius which had marked
the commencement of his career w-ould, perhaps, by the
common run of mankind, have been considered merely as
fortunate and blaraeable enterprises. The danger which
the French General had just escaped (a circumstance
which, through his method of operations, was likely often
to recur) was the origin of the guides appointed to guard
his person. These guides have since been introduced in
other armies.

In the same campaign. Napoleon incurred another im-
minent risk : — Wurmser, who had been compelled to
throw himself into Mantua, and who was debouching
suddenly on an open plain, learned from an old woman,
that, only a few moments before his arrival, the French
General, with but a few followers, had stopped at her
door, and that he had fled within sight of the Austrians.
Wurmser immediately despatched parties of cavalry in
every direction, calculating with certainty on the precious
capture. "But," said the Emperor, "I must do him
this justice, he gave particular orders that I should
not be killed or harmed in any way." Fortunately for
the young General, his happy star and the swiftness of
his horse preserved him.

The new system of military operations practised by
Napoleon disconcerted every one. The campaign was
scarcely opened, when Lombardy was inundated with
troops in every direction, and the French approached
Mantua pell-mell with the enemy. The General-in-chief,
when in the neighbourhood of Pizzighitone, met a great
fat German Captain or Colonel, who had been made
prisoner. Napoleon took a fancy to question him, with-
out being known, and enquired how affairs were going
on. •• Very badly," rephed the officer; "I know not
how it will end ; but no one seems to understand what

248 FAITHFULNESS OF A DOG.

is doing ; we have been sent to fight a young blockhead,
who attacks you on the right and the left, in front and
in rear, so that there is no knowing how to proceed.
Tliis mode of carrying on war is intolerable ; and for
my part, I am very glad to have done with it . . . ."

Napoleon used to relate that, after one of his great
actions in Italy, he passed over the field of battle with
two or three other persons, before the dead bodies had
been interred. " In the deep silence of a beautiful moon-
light night," said the Emperor, " a dog, leaping sud-
denly from beneath the clothes of his dead master,
rushed upon us, and then immediately returned to his
hiding-place, howling piteously. He alternately licked
his master's face, and again flew at us ; thus, at once
soliciting aid and seeking revenge. Whether owing to
my own particular turn of mind at the moment," con-
tinued the Emperor, " the time, the place, or the action
itself, I know not ; but certainly no incident on any field
of battle ever produced so deep an impression on me. I
involuntarily stopped to contemplate the scene. This
raan, thought I, perhaps has friends in the camp or
in his company ; and here he lies forsaken by all except
Ms dog ! What a lesson Nature here presents through
the medium of an animal ! What a strange being is man !
and how mysterious are his impressions ; I had, without
emotion, ordered battles which were to decide the fate
of the army ; I had beheld, with tearless eyes, the exe-
cution of those operations, by which numbers of my
countrymen were sacrificed ; and here my feelings were
roused by the mournful howling of a dog ! Certainly at
that moment I should have been easily moved by a sup-
pliant enemy ; I could very well imagine Achilles yield-
ing up the body of Hector at the sight of Priam's
tears.'*

WAR. PRINCIPLES. APPLICATION. OPINIONS ON

SEVERAL GENERALS.

4th — 5th. My eyes had become so bad that I was
obliged to suspend my occupation : I had nearly lost my
sight in the Campaign in Italy.

For some time past a sensible change had taken place

MILITARY CONVERSATIONS. 249

in the weather. We knew nothing about the order of
the seasons. As the sun passed twice over our heads
in the course of the last year, we said we ought, at least,
to have two summers. Every thing was totally different
from what we had been accustomed to ; and, to complete
our embarrassments, we were obliged, being now in the
southern hemisphere, to make all our calculations in a
manner quite the reverse of that which we had practised
in Europe. It rained frequently, the air was very damp,
and it grew colder than before. The Emperor could no
longer go out in the evening ; he was continually catch-
ing cold and did not sleep well. He was obliged to give
up taking his meals beneath the tent, and he had them
served up in his own chamber. Here he found himself
better ; but he could not stir from his seat.

Our conversation continued after the dinner was re-
moved from table. To-day the Emperor attacked Gene-
ral Gourgaud on the elements and first exercises of
artillery. The General had recently belonged to that de-
partment of the service, and all his professional science
was quite fresh. The discussion was very curious, and
was maintained with great spirit. Napoleon never proved
himself to be the weaker party : one might have been
tempted to believe that he had just passed his examina-
tion at the academy.

The conversation then turned on war and great com-
manders. "The fate of a battle," observed the Empe-
ror, '*is the result of a moment — of a thought: the
hostile forces advance with various combinations, they
attack each other and fight for a certain time ; the criti-
cal moment arrives, a mental flash decides, and the least
reserve accomplishes the object." He spoke of Liitzen,
Bautzen, &c. ; and afterwards, alluding to Waterloo, he
said, that had he followed up the idea of turning the
enemy's right, he should easily have succeeded ; he, how-
ever, preferred piercing the centre, and separating the
two armies. But all was fatal in that engagement ; it
even assumed the appearance of absurdity : nevertheless,
he ought to have gained the victory. Never had any of
his battles presented less doubt to his mind ; nor could
he now account for what had happened. Grouchy, he

250 COMPARISON OF THE DANGERS OF

said, had lost himself ; Nev appeared bewildered, and
his countenance at once expressed the remorse he felt
for the transactions of Fontainebleau and of Lons-
le-Saunier ; d'Erlon was useless ; in short, the generals
were no longer themselves. If, in the evening, he had
been aware of Grouchy's position, and could have thrown
him^self upon it, he might, in the morning, with the help
of that fine reserve, have repaired his ill success, and
perhaps, even have destroyed the allied forces by one of
those miracles, those turns of Fortune, which were fa-
miliar to him, and which v/ould have surprised no one.
But he knew nothing of Grouchy ; and besides, it was
not easy to act with decision amongst the wrecks of
the army. It would be difficult to imagine the condition
of the French army on that disastrous night ; it was a
torrent dislodged from its bed, sweeping away every
thing in its course.

Turning to another subject, he said that the dangers
incurred by the military commanders of antiquity were
not to be compared with those which attend the gene-
rals of modern times. There is, he observed, no posi-
tion in which a general may not now be reached by ar-
tillery ; but anciently a general ran no risk, except when
he himself charged, which Caesar did only twice or thrice.

" We rarely," said he, "find, combined together, all
the qualities necessary to constitute a great general. The
object most desirable is that a man's judgment should be
in equilibrium with his personal courage ; that raises him
at once above the common level." This is what the
Emperor termed being well squared^ both by the base
and perpendicular.

"If," continued he, "courage be a general's predo-
minating quality, he will rashly embark in enterprises
above his conceptions ; and, on the other hand, he wall
not venture to carry his ideas into efiect, if his character
or courage be inferior to his judgment."

He then cited the example of the Viceroy, whose
sole merit consisted in this equilibrium of character,
which, however, sufficed to render him a very distin-
guished man.

Physical and moral courage then became the subject

ANCIENT AND MODERN GENERALS. 251

of discourse. "With respect to physical courage," the
Emperor said, " it was impossible for Murat and Ney
not to be brave, but no men ever possessed less judg-
ment ; the former in particular. As to moral courage,'*
observed he, ** I have very rarely met with the two
o'clock in the morning courage, I mean, unprepared
courage, that which is necessary on an unexpected oc-
casion, and which, in spite of the most unforeseen events,
leaves full freedom of judgment and decision." He did
not hesitate to declare that he was himself eminently
gifted with this two o'clock in the morning courage, and
that, in this respect, he had met with but few persons
who were at all equal to him. He remarked that an in-
correct idea was generally formed of the strength of
mind necessary to engage in one of those great battles
on which depends the fate of an army or nation, or the
possession of a throne. *' Generals," added he, " are
rarely found eager to give battle ; they choose their
positions ; establish themselves ; consider their combina-
tions ; but then commences their indecision : nothing is
so difficult, and at the same time so important, as to
know when to decide."

He next proceeded to notice several generals, and
condescended to reply to some questions that were asked
him. " Kleber," said he, " was endowed with the high-
est talent ; but he was merely the man of the moment :
he pursued glory as the only road to enjoyment ; but he
had no national sentiment, and he could, without any
sacrifice, have devoted himself to foreign service."
Kleber had commenced his youthful career among the
Prussians, to whom he continued much attached. Des-
saix possessed, in a very superior degree, the important
equilibrium above described. Moreau scarcely deserved
to be placed in the first rank of generals ; in him nature
had left her work unfinished ; he possessed more instinct
than genius. In Lannes, courage at first predominated
over judgment ; but the latter was every day gaining
ground, and approaching the equilibrium. He had be-
come a very able commander at the period of his death.
" I found him a dwarf," said ihe Emperor, " but I lost
him a giant." In another general, whom he named.

252 MILITARY ARDOUR AND COURAGE.

judgment was, on the contrary, superior to courage ; it
could not be denied that he was a brave man ; but he,
like many others, did not forget the chance of the can-
non-ball.

Speaking of military ardour and courage, the Em-
peror said, " I know the depth, or what I call the
draught of water, of all my generals. Some,'' added
he, joining action to his words, " will sink to the waist,
some to the chin, others over head ; but the number of
the latter is very small, I assure you." Suchet, he said,
was one whose courage and judgment had been sur-
prisingly improved. Massena was a very superior man,
and, by a strange peculiarity of temperament, he pos-
sessed the desired equilibrium only in the heat of battle ;
it was created in the midst of danger. " The generals,"
finally observed the Emperor, " who seemed destined to
rise to future distinction were Gerard, Clausel, Foy, La-
marque, &c. These were my new marshals."

SITUATION OF THE SPANISH PRINCES AT VALENCE Y. THE

POPE AT PONTAINEBLEAU. REFLECTIONS, &C.

6th. — The Emperor, after dictating to me this morn-
ing, was successively engaged with the other gentle-
men, with whom he prolonged his walk for some time.
When they withdrew, I followed him into the lower
path : he was dull and silent, and his countenance ap-
peared somewhat harsh and ruffled. " Well," said he,
as we were returning to dinner, " we shall have senti-
nels under our windows at Longwood. They wished to
force me to have a foreign officer at my table and in my
drawing-room. I cannot mount my horse without being
accompanied by an officer; in short, we cannot stir a
step under pain of being insulted !,..." I replied that
this was another drop of sorrow added to the bitter cup
which we were doomed to drink to his past glory and
power ; but that his philosophy was sufficient to defy the
malice of his enemies, and to make them blush for their
brutality in the face of the whole world. I ventured to
remark that the Spanish Princes at Valencey, and the
Pope at Fontainebleau, had never experienced such
treatment. '* Certainly not," resumed he; "the Princes

Treatment op celebrat^ed prison'ers. 253

hunted and gave balls at Valencey, without being-
physically aware of their chains ; they experienced re-
spect and courtesy at all hands. Old King Charles IV.
removed from Compiegne to Marseilles, and from Mar-
seilles to Rome, whenever he wished. And yet how
different are those places from this ! The Pope at Fon-
tainebleau, whatever may have been the reports circu-
lated in the world, was treated in the same manner. And
yet how many persons, in spite of all the indulgences
he enjoyed, refused to be appointed to guard him! — a
circumstance which gave me no offence, for I thought it
perfectly natural. Such employments are subject to the
influence of delicacy of feeling ; and our European man-
ners require that power should be limited by honour.'*
He observed that, for his own part, as a private man
and an officer, he should without hesitation have refused
to guard the Pope, whose removal to France, he added,
had never been ordered by him. — I manifested great sur-
prise.— " You are astonished," said he : " you did not
know this ? But it is nevertheless true, as well as many
other similar facts, which you will learn in course of
time. But, with reference to the subject on which we
have just been speaking, it is necessary to distinguish the
conduct of the sovereign, who acts collectively, from that
of the private man, whose sentiments are without con-
straint. Policy permits, nay, frequently demands, from
the one, what would be unpardonable in the other." The
hour of dinner, by introducing various subjects of con-
versation, diverted his melancholy, and cheerfulness
finally prevailed.

Meanwhile the Emperor seriously determined to quit
his present wretched abode, whatever inconvenience his
new residence might present. On going to pass the
remainder of the evening Vv^ith our host, the Emperor
directed me to present him a box bearing his cypher,
and to tell him he was sorry for all the trouble he had
occasioned to him.

ON THE NOUVELLE HELOISE, AND ON LOVE.

7th. — The Emperor summoned me to attend him at an
early hour. He began to read the Nouvelle Heloise,

254 THE NOUVELLE HELOISE.

frequently remarking on the ingenuity and force of the
arguments, the elegance of the style and expressions :
he read for upwards of two hours. This reading made a
powerful impression on me ; it produced a deep melancholy
— a mingled feeling of tenderness and sorrow. I had
always been fond of the work; and it now awakened
happy recollections, and excited deep regret : the Emperor
frequently smiled at me. During breakfast the Nouvelle
Helo'ise w^as the topic of conversation.

" Jean- Jacques has overcharged his subject," said the
Emperor; " he has painted madness : love should be a
soarce of pleasure, not of misery." I alleged that Jean-
Jacques had described nothing which a man might not
feel, and that even the misery to which the Emperor
alluded was, in reality, happiness. — " I see," said he,
" you have a little touch of the romantic : has Love's
misery rendered you happy?" — " I do not complain of
my fate. Sire," replied I ; " were I to begin life again, I
should wish to retrace the course I have already pur-
sued."

The Emperor resumed his reading after breakfast ; but
he paused occasionally : the enchantment seemed to seize
him in his turn. He at length laid down the book, and
we went out to the garden. " Really," said he, as we
walked along, " this work is not without fire; it moves,
it rouses the feelings." We discussed the subject deeply ;
we were very prolix in our remarks, and we at length
agreed that perfect love is like ideal happiness ; that both
are equally airy, fugitive, mysterious, and inexplicable ;
and that, finally, love is the business of the idle man, the
recreation of the warrior, and the ruin of the sovereign.

We were joined by the Grand Marshal and M. Gour-
gaud, who had just come from Long wood. The admiral
had for some days past been urgent for our removal
thither ; and the Emperor was not less anxious to go, the
accommodation at Briars being so very bad. However,
before he removed, it was necessary that the smell of the
paint should be entirely gone, for, owing to his peculiar
organization, he could not possibly endure it. In the
Imperial palaces, care had been taken never to expose
him to it. In his different journeys, the slightest smell

PREPARATIONS FOR REMOVAL. 255

of paint frequently rendered it necessary to change the
apartments that had been prepared for him; and on
board of the Northumberland the paint of the ship had
made him very ill. He had been inform.ed on the pre-
ceding evening that all was ready at Longwood, and that
the disagreeable effect of the paint was entirely gone.
He accordingly determined to remove on the Saturday
following, as he would thus be rid of the annoyance of
the workmen on Sunday ; but the Grand Marshal and
M. Gourgaud now came to say that they had visited the
place, and that it was not habitable. The Emperor ex-
pressed much vexation at the first account he had received,
and the resolution which it had led him to adopt. The
two gentlemen withdrew, and we entered the lower walk.
The Emperor was much out of humom-. M. de Mon-
tholon now arrived, very mal-a-propos, from Longwood,
declaring that all was ready, and that the Emperor might
remove as soon as he wished. These two accounts, so
contradictory and so close upon each other, strongly ex-
cited his displeasure. Fortunately, dinner was announced,
which diverted his attention from the subject. The
cloth was laid in the Emperor's chamber ; for he had so
severe a cold that he could not endure the tent. After
dinner he resumed his reading ; and ended the day, as
he had begun it, with the Nouvelle Heloi'se.

THE ENGLISH LIEUTENANT. A SINGULAR CIRCUM-
STANCE. DEPARTURE FOR LONGWOOD DETERMINED

ON. STATE OF FRANCE. MEMORIAL IN JUSTIFICA-
TION OF NET.

Sth — 9th. Owing to the doubt which had yesterday
arisen respecting the paint, I determined to go myself
to ascertain the real state of the case, and to acquaint
the Emperor with it at breakfast-time. I accordingly
set out very early, walking three parts of the way, be-
cause nobody was up who could get ready a horse for
me. I returned before nine o'clock. The smell of the
paint w^as certainly very slight ; but it was too much
for the Emperor.

On the 9th the Captain of the Minden of 74, was
introduced to the Emperor in the garden. The captain

25 G SINGULAR RECOGNITION.

had arrived from the Cape of Good Hope, and was on
the eve of saiUng for Europe. He had had the honour
of being presented to Napoleon at Paris, under the Con-
sulate, about twelve years before. He requested per-
mission to introduce one of his Lieutenants to the
Emperor, on account of some personal circumstances,
which we thought very singular. The young man was
born at Bologna, precisely at the period when the French
army entered that city. The French General, Napoleon,-
had by some accident been present at the christening of
the child, to whom he gave a tri-coloured cockade,
which has since been carefully preserved in the family.

After the departure of these gentlemen, the Grand
Marshal arrived from Longwood. He thought the
paint by no means offensive ; the Emperor's present
accommodation was very bad, and a portion of his pro-
perty had already been removed ; he therefore resolved
to proceed to Longwood on the following day, of which
I was heartily glad. I had for some days past had an
opportunity of observing that a determination had been
adopted to compel the Emperor to quit his present
abode. I had kept to myself all the communications,
public or private, that had been made to me on the sub-
ject. I made it a rule to spare him every cause of
vexation that I possibly could, and merely contented
myself with acting in the way that I thought most
advisable. Two days before, an officer was sent to
carry away the tent, though we had expressed no wish
to that effect. The officer had also been directed to
remove the outside shutters from the Emperor's win-
dows ; but this I opposed, telling him it could not be
done, as the Emperor had not yet risen, and I sent him
away. On another occasion, with the view of alarming
me, I was told as a great secret that if the Emperor did
not immediately remove, it was intended to station a
hundred soldiers at the gates of the enclosure. '* Very
well," I replied, and took no further notice. What
could be the occasion of all this hurry ? I suspect that
the caprice of our jailors, and the desire of pushing their
authority to the utmost, had more concern in the busi-
ness than any thing else.

REFLECTIONS ON NEWSPAPER ACCOUiSJTS. 2o7

We received newspapers down to the 15th of Septem-
ber ; and they became the subject of conversation. The
Emperor analyzed them. The future appeared enveloped
in clouds. " However," said the Emperor, " three great
events present themselves to the imagination ; — the
division of France, the reign of the Bourbons, or a new
dynasty. Louis XVIIL," observed he, "might easily
have reigned in 1814, by rendering himself a national
monarch. Now he has only the odious and uncertain
chance arising out of excessive severity — a reign of
terror. His d)rnasty may be permanently established,
or that which is to succeed him may still be in the
secret of futurity." Some one present observed, '' that
the Duke of Orleans might be called to the throne ;" but
the Emperor, by a string of very forcible and eloquent
reasoning, proved that, unless the Duke of Orleans came
to wear the crown in his turn by the natural order of
succession, it was the well- understood interest of all the
sovereigns of Europe to prefer him (Napoleon) to the
Duke of Orleans, coming to the throne by a crime.
*' For," said he, "what is the doctrine of Kings against
the events of the present day .'' Is it to prevent a renewal
of the example which I furnished, against what they call
legitimacy ? Now the example which I have set cannot
be renewed above once in the course of many ages ; but
that of the Duke of Orleans, the near relative of the
monarch on the throne, may be renewed daily, hourly,
and in every counti-y. There is no sovereign, who has
not, in his own palace, and about his person, cousins,
nephews, brothers, and other relations, who could easily
follow such an example if it were once given."

We read, in the same papers, an abstract of the me-
morial, in justification of Marshal Ney. — The Emperor
thought it most pitiable. It was not calculated to save
his life, and by no means to maintain his honour. The
arguments in his defence were, to say the least of them,
feeble and destitute of point. After all he had done, he
stiU protested his devotedness to the King, and his aver-
sion of the Emperor, " An absurd plan," said Napoleon,
'* but one which has been generally adopted by those
who have figured in the present memorable times, and

VOL. I. S

258 MAESHAL NEY AND

who seem not to have considered that I am so entirely-
identified with our prodigies, our monuments, our insti-
tutions, and all our national acts, that to separate me
from them is to wrong France. The glory of France is
to acknowledge me ! And, in spite of all the subtlety,
evasion, and falsehood, that may be employed to prove
the contrary, my character will still be fairly estimated
by the French nation. Ney's defence," continued he,
"was plainly traced out. He was led on by a general
impulse which he thought calculated to ensure the wel-
fare of his country ; he had obeyed without premedita-
tion, and without any treasonable design. A change of
fortune had ensued, and he was cited before a tribunal ;
this was all he had to say with respect to the great events
that had taken place. As to the defence of his life, there
was nothing to be said on that point, except, indeed,
that he was protected by a solemn capitulation, which
guaranteed to every individual silence and oblivion with
regard to all political acts and opinions. Had he pur-
sued that line of defence, and were his life, nevertheless,
to be sacrificed, it would be, in the face of the whole
world, a violation of the most sacred laws. He would
leave behind him the recollection of a glorious charac-
ter ; carrying to the grave the sympathy of every gene-
rous mind, and heaping disgrace and reprobation on his
murderers. But this enthusiasm is probably beyond his
moral strength," said the Emperor. " Neyis the bravest
of men, and nothing more."

It is certain that when Ney quitted Paris, he was
wholly devoted to the King ; and that he did not turn
until he saw that all was lost. If he then proved himself
enthusiastic in the opposite course, it w^as because he felt
that he had much to atone for. After his famous order
of the day, he wrote to Napoleon that what he had done
was principally with a view to the welfare of the coun-
try ; and that, as he could not henceforth be agreeable to
the Empsror, he begged that he would grant him per-
mission to retire. The Emperor desired him to come,
and said he would receive him as he did on the day after
the battle of the Moscowa. Ney presented himself to
Napoleon, and said that, after what had occurred at

TURENNE CONTRASTED. 259

Fontainebleau, he must of necessity entertain doubts of
his attachment and fidehty ; and that therefore he soli-
cited no other rank than that of a grenadier in the Impe-
rial guard. The Emperor replied by stretching forth his
hand to him, and calling him the bravest of the brave,
as he was accustomed to do. The Emperor compared
the situation of Ney to that of Turenne. Ney might be
defended : but Turenne was unjustifiable. And yet Tu-
renne was pardoned and loaded with honours, while Ney
was probably doomed to die.

" In 1 649," said he, " Turenne commanded the royal
army, which command had been conferred on him by
Anne of Austria, the Regent of the kingdom. Though
he had taken the oath of fidelity, yet he bribed his troops,
declared himself for the Fronde, and marched on Paris.
But when he was declared guilty of high treason, his re-
pentant army forsook him ; and Turenne took refuge with
the Prince of Hesse, to avoid the pursuit of justice. Ney,
on the contrary, was urged by the unanimous wish and
outcry of his army. Only nine months had elapsed since
he had acknowledged a monarch, who had been preceded
by six hundred thousand foreign bayonets : a monarch
who had not accepted the constitution presented to him
by the Senate, as the formal and necessary condition of
his return, and who, by declaring that he had reigned
nineteen years, proved that he regarded all preceding
governments as usurpations. Ney, whose education had
taught him to respect the national sovereignty, had
fought for five-and-twenty years to support that cause ;
and, from a private soldier, had raised himself to the
rank of marshal. If his conduct on the 20th of March
was not honourable, it is at least explicable, and in some
respects pardonable ; but Turenne was absolutely crimi-
nal, because the Fronde was the ally of Spain, which
was then at war with his Sovereign, and because he had
been prompted by his own interest and that of his family,
in the hope of obtaining a sovereignty at the expense of
France, and consequently to the prejudice of his country."

s 2

ESTABLISHMENT AT LONGWOOD.

REMOVAL TO LONGWOOD.

DESCRIPTION OP THE ROAD. TAKING POSSESSION. — '

THE emperor's FIRST BATH, &C.

10th. — The Emperor ordered me to be called about
nine o'clock, to accompany him into the gardeii. He
was obhged to leave his chamber very early, as all the
furniture was to be removed that morning to Longwood.
On entering the garden, the Emperor sent for Mr,
Balcombe, our host. He then ordered his breakfast,
and invited Mr. Balcombe to breakfast with him. He
was in charming spirits, and his conversation was very
lively.

About two o'clock the Admiral was announced : he
advanced with an air of embarrassment. The manner in
which the Emperor had been treated at Briars, and the
restraints which had been imposed upon the members of
his suite residing in the town, had occasioned a coolness
between them. The Emperor had discontinued receiving
the visits of the Admiral j yet, on the present occasion,
he behaved to him as though they had met but yesterday.

At length we left Briars, and set out for Longwood.
The Emperor rode the horse which had been brought for
him from the Cape. He had not seen him before : he
was a small, sprightly, and tolerably handsome animal.
The Emperor wore his uniform of the chasseurs of the
guard: his graceful figure and handsome countenance
were particularly remarkable. His appearance attracted
general notice, and I was gratified to hear the observa-
tions which it called forth. The Admiral was very
attentive to him. Many persons had collected on the
road to see him pass. Several English officers, together
with ourselves, formed his escort.

The road from Briars to Longwood runs for some dis-
tance in the direction of the town. It then turns off
suddenly to the right, and, after three or four windings,
clears the chain of hills forming one side of the valley.

SURROUNDING SCENERY. 261

The road next opens upon a level height of gentle accli'
vity, and a new horizon and new scenes present them-
selves. We now left behind us the chain of ban*en
mountains and rocks which distinguish the landing-side
of the island, and saw before us a transverse group of
hills, of which Diana's Peak is the highest, and appears
like the key- stone, or the nucleus, of the surrounding
scene. On the left, or eastern, side, where Longwood is
situated, the horizon is bounded by the broken chain of
rocks forming the outline and barrier of the island. There
the soil exhibits an uncultivated desert ; but on the right
the eye rests on an extensive tract of country, which,
though rugged, at least presents traces of vegetation :
it is covered with numerous residences, and upon the
whole is tolerably well cultivated. On this side, it must
be confessed, the picture is romantic and pleasing.

Here a deep valley opens on the left of the road,
which is in very good condition 5 and two miles farther
on, where the road makes an angle, stands Hut's Gate,
a wretched little house, which was selected as the resi-
dence of the Grand Marshal and his family. At a short
distance from this point, the valley on the left, having
gradually increased in depth, forms a circular gulf, which,
from its vast depth and extent, has received the name of
the Devil's Punch-bowl. The road is here contracted
by an eminence on the right, and it runs along the side
of this precipice, until it turns off in the direction of
Longwood, which is close at hand.

At the entrance of Longwood, we found a guard
under arms, who rendered the prescribed honours to the
august captive. The Emperor's horse, which was spiri-
ted and untractable, being unused to this kind of parade,
was startled at the sound of the drum ; he refused to
pass the gate, and it was only by the help of the spur
that his rider succeeded in forcing him to advance. At
this moment, I observed very expressive looks exchanged
among the persons composing the Emperor's escort.
We entered our new residence about four o'clock.

The admiral took great pains to point out to us even
the minutest details at Longwood. He had superin-
tended all the arrangements, and some things were even

262 THE emperor's kindness

the work of his own hands. The Emperor was satisfied
with every thing, and the Admiral seemed highly pleased.
He had evidently anticipated petulance and disdain ; but
the Emperor manifested perfect good-humour.

He retired at six o'clock, and beckoned me to follow
him to his chamber. Here he examined various articles
of furniture, and enquired whether I was similarly pro-
vided. On my replying in the negative, he insisted on
my accepting them ; saying in the most engaging man-
ner, "Take them; I shall want for nothing: I shall be
taken better care of than you." He felt much fatigued,
and he asked whether he did not look so. This was the
consequence of having passed five months in absolute
inactivity. He had walked a good deal in the morning,
besides riding some miles on horseback.

Our new residence was provided with a bathing
machine, which the Admiral had ordered the carpenters
to fit up in the best way they could. The Emperor,
who since he quitted Malmaison, had been obliged to
dispense with the use of the bath, which to him had be-
come one of the necessaries of life, expressed a wish to
bathe immediately, and directed me to remain with him.
The most trivial details of our new establishment came
once more under consideration ; and, as the apartment
which had been assigned to me was very bad, the Em-
peror expressed a wish that, during the day, I should
occupy what he called his topographic cabinet, which
adjoined his own private closet, in order, as he said, that
I might be nearer to him. I was much affected by the
kind manner in which all this was spoken. He even,
went so far as to repeat to me several times that I must
come next morning and take a bath in his machine 9
and when I excused myself on the ground of the respect
and the distance which ought to be kept up between us,
"'My dear Las Cases," said he, "fellow prisoners should
accommodate each other. I do not want the bath all
day, and it is not less necessary to you than to me."
One would have supposed that he wished to indemnify
me for the loss that I was about to sustain, in being no
longer the only individual about his person. This kind-
ness delighted me, it is true; but it also produced a

TO THE AUTHOR. 263

feeling of regret. The kindness of the Emperor was
doubtless the reward of my assiduous attentions at
Briars ; but it also gave me cause to anticipate the close
of that constant intercourse with him, for which I had
been indebted to our profound solitude. The Emperor,
not wishing to dress again, dined in his own room, and
desired me to remain with him. We were alone, and
our conversation turned on a subject of a peculiar nature,
the result of which may be exceedingly important. He
asked my opinion, and told me to communicate it to him
next morning.

DESCRIPTION OP LONGWOOD.

11th — 14th. We now found unfolded to us a new
portion of our existence on the wretched rock of St.
Helena. We were settled in our new abode, and the
limits of our prison were marked out.

Longwood, which was originally merely a farm-house
belonging to the East India Company, and which was
afterwards given as a country residence to the Deputy
Governor, is situated on one of the highest parts of the
Island. The difference of the temperature between this
place and the valley where we landed is marked by a
variation of at least ten degrees of the English thermo-
meter. Longwood stands on a level height, which is
tolerably extensive on the eastern side, and pretty near
the coast. Continual and frequently violent gales, always
blowing in the same quarter, sweep the surface of the
ground. The sun, though it rarely appears, nevertheless
exercises its influence on the atmosphere, which is apt to
produce disorders of the liver, if due precaution be not
observed. Heavy and sudden falls of rain complete the
impossibility of distinguishing any regular season. But
there is no regular course of seasons at Longwood. '> The
whole year presents a continuance of wind, clouds, and
rain ; and the temperature is of that mild and monoto-
nous kind which, perhaps, after all, is rather conducive
to ennui than disease. Notwithstanding the abundant
rains, the grass rapidly disappears, being either nipped
by the wind or withered by the heat. Tlie water, which
is conveyed hither by a conduit, is so unwholesome that

264 DESCRIPTION OP LONGWOOD.

the Deputy Governor, when he lived at Longwood,
never suffered it to be used in his family until it had
been boiled ; and we are obliged to do the same. The
trees, which, at a distance, impart a smiling aspect to
the scene, are merely gum trees — a wretched kind of
shrub, affording no shade. On one side the horizon is
bounded by the vast ocean ; but the rest of the scene
presents only a mass of huge barren rocks, deep gulfs,
and desolate valleys ; and, in the distance, appears the
green and misty chain of mountains, above which towers
Diana's Peak. In short, Longwood can be pleasing
only after the fatigues of a long voyage, when the sight
of any land is a cheering prospect. Arriving at St. He-
lena on a fine day, the traveller may, perhaps, be struck
with the singularity of the objects which suddenly pre-
sent themselves, and exclaim " How beautiful I" but his
visit is momentary ; and what pain does not his hasty
admiration cause to the unhappy captives who are
doomed to pass their lives at St. Helena I

Workmen had been constantly employed for two
months in preparing Longwood for our reception ; the
result of their labours, however, amounted to little. The
entrance to the house was by a room which had just
been built, and which was intended to answer the double
purpose of an ante-chamber and a dining room. This
apartment led to another, which was made the drawing
room ; beyond this was a third room running in a cross
direction and very dark. This was intended to be the
depository of the Emperor's maps and books ; but it was
afterwards converted into the dining room. The Em-
peror's chamber opened into this apartment on the right-
hand side. This chamber was divided into two equal
parts, forming the Emperor's cabinet and sleeping room:
a little external gallery served for a bathing-room. Op-
posite to the Emperor's chamber, at the other extremity
of the building, were the apartments of Madame de
Montholon, her husband, and her son, which have since
been used as the Emperor's library. Detached from this
part of the house was a little square room on the ground
floor contiguous to the kitchen, which was assigned to
me. My son was obliged to enter his room through ^

WANT OF A GARDEN. 265

trap-door and by the help of a ladder ; it was nothing
but a loft, and scarcely afforded room for his bed. Our
windows and beds were without curtains. The few
articles of furniture which were in our apartments had
evidently been obtained from the inhabitants of the
island, who doubtless readily seized the opportunity of
disposing of them to advantage for the sake of supplying
themselves with better.

Tiie Grand Marshal, with his wife and children, had
been left at the distance of two miles behind us, in a
place denominated Hut's-Gate. General Gourgaud slept
under a tent, as did also the Doctor,* and the officer
commanding our guard, till such time as their apart-
ments should be ready, which the crew of the Northum-
berland were rapidly preparing.

We were surrounded by a kind of garden ; but, owing
to the little attention which we had it in our power to
bestow on its cultivation, joined to the want of water
and the nature of the climate, it was a garden only in
name. In front, and separated from us by a tolerably
deep ravine, was encamped the fifty-third regiment,
different parties of which were posted on the neighbour-
ing heights. — Such was our new abode.

On the 12th, Colonel Wilks (formerly Governor for
the East India Company), who had been succeeded by
the Admiral, came to visit the Emperor. I acted as in-»
terpreter on the occasion. On the 13th or 14th the
Minden sailed for Europe, and I availed myself of the
opportunity thus afforded to send letters to London and
Paris.

ARRANGEMENT 0¥ THE EMPEROR's ESTABLISHMENT. •

FEELINGS OF THE CAPTIVES WITH RESPECT TO EACH

OTHER. TRAITS OF THE EMPEROr's CHARACTER.

PORTRAIT OF NAPOLEON BY M. DE PRADT, TRANSLATED
FROM AN ENGLISH NEWSPAPER. ITS REFUTATION.

15th — 16th. The domestic establishment of the Em-
peror, on his departure from Plymouth, consisted of
twelve persons. I feel pleasure in recording their names

* Dr. O'Meara of the Northumberland,

266 ARRANGEMENT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT.

here : it is a testimony due to their attachment.* How^
ever numerous this estabhshment may appear, it may be
truly said that after our departure from England, during
the voyage, and from the time of our landing at St. He-
lena, it had ceased to be serviceable to the Emperor.
Our dispersion, the uncertainty of our establishment,
our wants, and the irregular way in which they were
supplied, necessarily created disorder.

As soon as we were all assembled at Longwood, the
Emperor determined to arrange his establishment, and
to assign to each of us an employment suited to our
respective capacities. Reserving to the Grand Marshal
the general control and superintendence of the whole
household ; he consigned to M. de Montholon all the
domestic details. To M. Gourgaud he intrusted the di-
rection of the stables : and I was appointed to take care
of the property and furniture, and to superintend the
management of our supplies. The latter part of my
duty appeared to interfere too much with the regulation
of domestic details. I conceived that it would be con-
ducive to the general advantage, if these two depart-
ments were under the control of one individual, and I
soon succeeded in accomplishing this object.

Every thing now proceeded tolerably well, and we
were certainly more comfortable than before. But, how-
ever reasonable might be the regulations made by the

* Persons composing the Emperor's household.

SERVANTS OF THE CHAiVlBER,

Marchand, . . . native of Paris, . .1st valet de chambre.
St. Denis, called Aly, native of Versailles, valet de chambre.

Noverraz, . . . Swiss, ditto.

Santini, .... Corsican, .... usher.

SERVANTS IN LIVERY.

Archambault, sen. . native of Fontainebleau, groom.

Archambault, jun. . ditto, ditto.

Gentilini, . . . native of Elba, . . . footman.

SERVANTS FOR THE TABLE.

Cypriani, . . . Corsican, died at St. Helena, maitre d'hoteh

Pierron, . . . native of Paris, .... butler.

Lepage, cook.

Rousseau, . .- . native of Fontainebleau, . steward.

DIVISION OF THE EXILES. 267

Emperor, they, nevertheless, sowed the seeds of discon-
tent, which took root, and occasionally developed them-
selves. One thought himself a loser by the change ;
another sought to attach too high an importance to his
office ; and a third conceived that he had been wronged
in the general division of duties. We were no longer
the members of one family, each exerting his best en-
deavours to secure the advantage of the whole. We
were far from putting into practice that which necessity
seemed to dictate to us ; and a wreck of luxury, or a
remnant of ambition, frequently became an object of
dispute.

Though attachment to the person of the Emperor had
united us around him, yet chance, and not sympathy,
had brought us together. Our connexion was purely
fortuitous, and not the result of any natural affinity.
Thus, at Longwood, we were encircled round a centre,
but without any cohesion with each other. How could
it be otherwise ? We were almost all strangers to one
another, and, unfortunately, our different conditions,
ages, and characters, were calculated to make us con-
tinue so.

These circumstances, though in themselves trifling,
had the vexatious effect of depriving us of our most
agreeable resources. They banished that confidence,
that interchange of sentiment, and that intimate union,
which are calculated to soothe even the most cruel mis-
fortunes. But, on the other hand, these very circum-
stances served to develope many excellent traits in the
Emperor's character. They were apparent in his en-
deavours to produce among us unity and conformity
of sentiment; his constant care to remove every just
cause of jealousy ; the voluntary abstraction by which
he averted his attention from that which he wished
not to observe ; and finally, the paternal expressions
of displeasure, of which we were occasionally the
objects, and which (to the honour of all be it said)
were avoided as cautiously, and received as respect-
fully, as though they had emanated from the throne of
the Tuileries.

Who in the world can now pretend to know the Em-

268 THE emperor's placability.

peror in his character of a private man better than
myself? — Who else was with him during two months of
solitude in the desert of Briars ? — Who else accompanied
him in his long walks by moonlight, and enjoyed so
many hours in his society ? Who, like me, had the op-
portunity of choosing the moment, the place, and the
subject of his conversation ? W^ho, besides myself, heard
him call to mind the charms of his boyhood, or describe
the pleasures of his youth, and the bitterness of his recent
sorrow ? I am convinced that I know his character tho-
roughly, and that I can now explain many circumstances
which, at the time of their occurrence^ seemed to many
difficult to be understood, I can now very well compre-
hend that which struck us so forcibly, and which parti-
cularly characterized him in the days of his power;
namely, that no individual ever permanently incurred the
displeasure of Napoleon : however marked might be his
disgrace, however deep the gulf into which he was
plunged, he might still confidently hope to be restored
to favour. Those who had once enjoyed intimacy,
whatever cause of offence they might give him, never
totally forfeited his regard. The Emperor is eminently
gifted with two excellent qualities ; — a vast fund of jus-
tice, and a disposition naturally prone to attachment.
Amidst all his vexations and fits of anger, a sentiment
of justice still predominates. He is sure to turn an at-
tentive ear to sound arguments, and, if left to himself,
candidly brings them forward whenever they occur to
his mind. He never forgets services performed for him,
nor habits he has contracted. Sooner or later he inva-
riably casts a thought on those who may have incurred his
displeasure ; he reflects on what they have suffered, con-
siders their punishment as sufficient, recals them, when
they are perhaps forgotten by the world ; and they again
enjoy his good graces, to the astonishment of themselves
as well as of others. Of this there have been many in^
stances. The Emperor is sincere in his attachments,
without making a show of what he feels. When once
he becomes used to a person, he cannot easily bear sepa-
ration. He observes and condemns his faults, blames
his own choice, expressing his displeasure in the most

THE ABBE DE PRADT. 2 69

unreserved way ; but still there is nothing to fear :
these are but so many new ties of regard.

It will probably be a matter of sm-prise that I should
sketch the Emperor's character in so simple a style. All
that is usually written about him is so far fetched : it has
been thought necessary to employ antitheses and brilliant
colouring ; to seek for effect, and to rack the imagina-
tion for high-flown phrases. For my own part, I merely
describe what I see, and express what I feel. This re-
flection, by the by, comes apropos.

The Emperor was to-day reading with me, in the
English papers, a portrait of himself, drawn by the
Archbishop of Malines, and worked up with innumera-
ble witticisms, affected antitheses and contrasts. He de-
sired the Grand Marshal to transcribe it word for word,
" The following are the principal points : " The mind of
Napoleon," says the Abbe de Pradt, in his Embassy to
Warsaw, in 1812, " was vast; but after the manner of
the Orientals : and through a contradictory disposition, it
descended as it were, by the effect of its o^vn weight, to
details which might justly be called low. His first idea
was always grand, and his second mean and petty. His
mind was like his purse ; munificence and meanness held
each a string. His genius, which was at once adapted
to the stage of the world, and the mountebank's show,
resembled a royal robe joined to a harlequin's jacket.
He was the man of extremes ; one, who having com-
manded the Alps to bow down, the Simplon to smooth
its ruggedness, and the sea to advance or recede from
its shores, ended by surrendering himself to an English
cruiser. Endowed with wonderful and infinite shrewd-
ness ; glittering with wit ; seizing or creating, in every
question, new and unperceived relations ; abounding in
lively and picturesque images, animated and pointed ex-
pressions, the more forcible from the very incorrectness
of his language, which always bore a sort of foreign
impress ; sophistical, subtle, and changeable, to excess,
he adopted different rules of optics from those by which
other men are guided. Add to this the delirium of suc-
cess, the habit of drinking from the enchanted cup, and
intoxicating himself with the incense of the world : and

270 DISCREPANCY IN THE WRITINGS

you may form an idea of the man who, uniting in his
caprices all that is lofty and mean in the human charac-
ter, majestic in the splendour of sovereignty, and pe-
remptory in command, with all that is ignoble and base,
even in his grandest achievements, joining the trea-
cherous ambush to the subversion of thrones — presents
altogether such a Jupiter-Scapin, as never before figured
on the scene of hfe."

Certainly here is abundance of wit, and of the most
studied kind. I pass over the indecorous and disgrace-
ful fact that a reverend prelate, an Archbishop loaded
with the bounty of his sovereign, to whom, during his
prosperity, he paid the most assiduous court, and
offered the most abject flattery, should, in the adversity
of that sovereign, indulge in language so trivial, gro-
tesque, and insulting, as that above quoted. Without
noticing the harlequin's coat, and Jupiter - Scapin, I
shall merely dwell on the merit of the Abbe de Pradt's
judgment, when he says that " the Emperor's first idea is
always grand, and his second petty ; that he is the man
of extremes : one who having commanded the Alps to
bow down, the Simplon to smooth its ruggedness, and
the sea to advance and recede from its shores, ended by
surrendering himself to an English cruiser." The Abbe
de Pradt must have formed but a faint idea of the sub-
limity, grandeur, and magnanimity of that noble act. To
withdraw himself from a people who were misled by
faithless intriguers, in order to remove every obstacle to
their welfare : to sacrifice his own personal interests, for
the sake of averting the evils of a civil war without
national results : to disdain honourable and secure, but
dependent, asylums: to prefer taking refuge among a
people to whom he had, for the space of twenty years,
been an inveterate foe : to suppose their magnanimity
equal to his own : to honour their laws so far as to
believe that they would protect him from the ostracism
of Europe : — certainly such ideas and sentiments are not
the reverse of sublime, noble, and great.

At this part of my journal were inserted several pages,
full of details very discreditable to the Archbishop of
Malines, which were received from the Emperor's own

OF THE ABBE DE PRADT. 271

mouth, or collected from the different individuals about
him. I however strike them out, in consideration of the
satisfaction which I was informed the Emperor subse-
quently experienced in perusing M. de Pradt's Concordats.
For my own part, 1 am perfectly satisfied with nume-
rous other testimonies of the same nature, and derived
fi'om the same source. An honourable and voluntary
acknowledgment is a thousand times better than all the
retorts that can be heaped upon an offender. There are
persons to whom atonement is not without its due
weight ; I am one of these.

Just as I had wi-itten the above, I happened to read
some lines from the pen of the Abbe de Pradt, which
are certainly very fine with respect to diction 3 but which
are still finer on account of their justice and truth. I
cannot refrain from transcribing them here ; as they
make ample amends for those already quoted. A decla-
ration of the Allied Sovereigns at Laybach, in which
Napoleon was, in terms of reprobation, pronounced to
be the representative of the Revolution, called forth
the following observations from the Archbishop of
Malines : —

"It is too late to insult Napoleon, now that he is
defenceless, after having for so many years crouched at
his feet, while he had the power to punish. . . .Those
who are armed should respect a disarmed enemy, and
the glory of the conqueror depends in a great measure
on the consideration shewn towards the captive, parti-
cularly when he yields to superior force, not to superior
genius. It is too late to call Napoleon a revolutionist,
after having for such a length of time pronounced him
to be the restorer of order in France, and, through
France, in Europe. It is too late for those to aim the
shaft of insult at him w^ho once stretched forth their
hands to him as a friend, pledged their faith to him as
an ally, and sought to prop a tottering throne by min-
gling their blood with his." Farther on he says : " He
the representative of the revolution ! The revolution
broke the bonds of union between France and Rome : he
renewed them. The revolution overthrew the temples
of the Almighty: he restored them. The revolution

272 DEFENCE OP THE EMPEROR.

created two classes of clergy hostile to each other : he
reconciled them. The revolution profaned St. Denis :
he purified it, and offered expiation to the ashes of
Kings. The revolution subverted the throne : he raised
it up, and gave it a new lustre. The revolution banished
from their country the nobility of France : he opened to
them the gates of France and of his palace, though he
knew them to be his irreconcileable enemies, and for the
most part the enemies of the public institutions ; he re-
incorporated them with the society from which they had
been separated. This representative of a revolution,
which is distinguished by the epithet anti-social, brought
from Rome the head of the Catholic Church, to anoint
his brow with the oil that consecrates diadems ! This
representative of a revolutioH, which has been declared
hostile to sovereignty, filled Germany with kings, ad-
vanced the rank of princes, restored superior royalty,
and re-constructed a defaced model. This representative
of a revolution which is condemned as a principle of
anarchy, like another Justinian, drew up, amidst the
din of war and the snares of foreign policy, those codes
which are the least defective portion of human legislature,
and constructed the most vigorous machine of govern-
ment in the whole world. This representative of a revo-
lution, which is vulgarly accused of having subverted
all institutions, restored universities and public schools,
filled his empire with the masterpieces of art, and accom-
plished those amazing and stupendous works which
reflect honour on human genius : and yet, in the face of
the Alps, which bowed down at his command ; of the
ocean, subdued at Cherbourg, at Flushing, at the Helder,
and at Antwerp; of rivers, smoothly flowing beneath
the bridges of Jena, Serres, Bourdeaux, and Turin; of
canals, uniting seas together in a course beyond the
control of Neptune ; finally, in the face of Paris, me-
tamorphosed as it is by Napoleon, — he is pronounced to
be the agent of general destruction ! He who restored
all, is said to be the representative of that which de-
stroyed all ! To what undiscerning men is this language
supposed to be addressed.'' &c."

LABOURING CHINESE. 273

MY SITUATION MATERIALLY IMPROVED. MY

BED-CHAMBER CHANGED, &C.

17th. — The Emperor summoned me at two o'clock,
■when he began to dress. On entering, he observed that
I looked pale : I replied that it might be owing to the
atmosphere of my chamber, which, from its proximity
to the kitchen, was an absolute oven, being frequently
filled with smoke. He then expressed a wish that I
should constantly occupy the topographic cabinet, in
which I might write during the day, and sleep at night,
in a bed which the Admiral had fitted up for the Em-
peror himself, but which he did not make use of as he
preferred his own camp-bed. When he had finished
dressing, and was choosing between two or three snuff-
boxes, which lay before him, he abruptly gave one to his
valet- de-chambre (Marchand) : " Put that by," said he,
"it is always meeting my eye, and it pains me." I
know not what was on this snufi^-box ; but I imagine it
was a portrait of the King of Rome.

The Emperor left his apartment, and I followed him ;
he went over the house, and entered my chamber.
Seeing a dressing- glass, he inquired whether it was the
one that he had given me. Then putting his hand to
the wall, which was heated by the kitchen, he again
observed that I could not possibly remain in that room,
and absolutely insisted on my occupying his bed in the
topographic cabinet : adding, in a tone of captivating
kindness, that it was " the bed of a friend." We walked
out, and proceeded towards a wretched farm which was
within sight. On our way we saw the barracks of the
Chinese. These Chinese are labouring men, who enlist
on board English ships at Macao, and who continue at
St. Helena in the service of the East India Company for
a certain number of years, when they return to their
homes, after collecting a little store of money, as the
people of Auvergne do in France. The Emperor wished
to ask them some questions : but we could not make
ourselves understood by them. We next visited what
is called Longwood Farm, The Emperor was seduced
by the name ; he expected to find one of the delightful

VOL. I. T

274 FIXED HABITS.

farms of Flanders or England ; but this was merely on
a level with our lowest metairies. We afterwards went
down to the Company's garden, which is formed in the
hollow where the two opposite ravines meet. The Em-
peror called the gardener, and the man who attends to
the Company's cattle and superintends the Chinese, of
w^hom he asked many questions. He returned home
very much fatigued, though we had scarcely walked a
mile : this was his first excursion.

Before dinner the Emperor summoned me and my son
to our accustomed task. He said that I had been idle,
and called my attention to my son, who was laughing
behind my back. He asked why he laughed; and I
replied that it was probably because his Majesty was
taking revenge for him. "Ah!" said he, smiling, "I
see I am acting the part of the grandfather here."

HABITS AND HOURS OF THE EMPEROR. HIS STYLE TO

THE TWO EMPRESSES. DETAILS. THE EMPEROr's

MAXIMS ON THE SUBJECT OF THE POLICE. SECRET

POLICE FOR THE EXAMINATION OF LETTERS. CURIOUS

PARTICULARS. THE EMPEROR FAVOURABLE TO A

FIXED AND MODERATE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT.

18th — 19th. By degrees our hours and habits began
to be fixed and regular. About ten o'clock the Emperor
breakfasted in his own chamber, and one of us occasion-
ally attended him. At the table of the household we
breakfasted at nearly the same hour. The Emperor
granted us permission to do the honours of this table as
we pleased, and to invite to it whomsoever w^e might
think fit.

No hours were yet fixed for the Emperor's walks. The
heat was very great during the day, and the damp came
on speedily and profusely towards evening. We were
informed, some time before, that coach and saddle horses
were coming from the Cape ; but they never arrived.
During the day the Emperor was engaged in dictating
to the dififerent persons of his suite ; and he usually
reserved me for the interval preceding dinner, which was
not served until eight or nine o'clock. He required my
attendance about five or six o'clock, together with my

THE GAME OF REVERSIS. 275

son. I could neither write nor read, owing to the state
of my eyes ; but my son was enabled to supply my
place. He wrote to the Emperor's dictation, and I was
present only to help him afterwards to correct his hasty
scrawl; for, by dint of habit, I could repeat, almost
literally and entirely, all that had fallen from the Em-
peror.

The Campaign of Italy being now finished, we began
to revise it, and the Emperor corrected, and dictated
anew. We dined, as I have before observed, between
eight and nine o'clock. The table was laid out in the
room nearest to the entrance of the house. Madame de
Montholon sat on the right of the Emperor ; I on his
left ; and Messrs. de Montholon, Gourgaud, and my son,
sat in the opposite places. The room still smelled of
paint, particularly when the weather was damp ; and
though not very offensive, it was sufficiently annoying
to the Emperor : we, therefore, sat no longer than ten
minutes at table. The dessert was prepared in the ad-
joining apartment, which was the drawing-room, and
we again seated ourselves round the table. Coffee was
then served up, and conversation commenced. We read
a few scenes from Moliere, Racine, and Voltaire, and
always regretted not having a copy of Corneille. We
then played at reversis, which had been the Emperor's
favourite game in his youth. The recollection was
pleasing to him, and he at first thought that he could
amuse himself for a length of time at it ; but he was
soon undeceived. We played at the game and all its
varieties ; which made it so complex that I have seen
from fifteen to eighteen thousand counters in use at
once. The Emperor's aim was always to make the
reversis ; that is to say, to make every trick, which is
no easy matter. However, he frequently succeeded : —
character developes itself every where and in every
thing. We retired about ten or eleven o'clock.

To-day, the 19th, when I paid my respects to the
Emperor, he shewed me a libel upon himself which had
fallen into his hands, and asked me to translate it.
Amidst a mass of other nonsense, some private letters
were mentioned, which were said to have been addressed

^76 THE QUEEN OF PRUSSIA.

by Napoleon to the Empress Josephine, -under the
solemn form of Madame et chere Epouse. Allusion was
next made to a combination of spies and agents, by
Avhose aid the Emperor knew the private affairs of every
family in France, and penetrated the secrets of all the
cabinets in Em-ope. The Emperor wished to proceed
no farther, and made me lay aside the book, saying,' —
"It is too absurd." The fact is that, in his private
correspondence. Napoleon always addressed the Empress
Josephine very nnfashionably by the pronoun " thou"
{tu) ; and "my" good little Louisa" {ma bonne petite
Lovise) was the form by which he addressed Maria
Louisa.

The first time I ever saw the Emperor's running-hand
was at Saint- Cloud, after the battle of Friedland, w^hen
the Empress Josephine amused herself by making us try
to decipher a note which she held in her hand, and which
seemed to be written in hieroglyphics. It was to the
following effect : — " My sons have once more shed a
lustre over my career: the victory of Friedland will be
inscribed in history, beside those of Marengo, Austerlitz,
and Jena. You will cause the cannon to be fired 5 Cam-
baceres will publish the bulletin."

I was again favoured with the sight of a note in the
Emperor's hand- writing, at the time of the treaty of
Tilsit. It contained the following: — "The Queen of
Prussia is really a charming woman. She is fond of co-
quetting with me ; but do not be jealous : I am like a
cerecloth, along which every thing of this sort slides,
without penetrating. It would cost me too dear to play
the gallant."

On this subject, an anecdote was related in the saloon
of Josephine. It w^as said that the Queen of Prussia
one day had a beautiful rose in her hand, which the
Emperor asked her to give to him. The Queen hesitated
for a fev/ moments, and then presented it to him, saying :
" Whv should I so readily grant what you request, while
vou remain deaf to all my entreaties ?" She alluded to
the fortress of Magdeburg, which she had earnestly soli-
cited him to give up. Such was the nature of the inti-
macy, and such the conversations, that were so unblush-

SYSTEM OF ESPIONAGE. 277

ingly misrepresented in English works of a certain de-
gree of merit, where the Emperor was described as an
insolent and brutal tyrant, seeking, with the aid of his
ferocious Mamelukes, to violate the honour of the lovely
Qaeen, before the very face of her unfortunate husband.

As to the grand machinery of spies and police, which
has been so much talked of, what state on the Continent
could boast of having less of such evils than France ; and
yet what country stood more in need of them ? What
circumstances more imperatively called for them .-^ Every
pamphlet published in Europe was directed against
France, with a view of rendering odious in another
country that which it was thought advisable to conceal
at home. Still, however, these measures, so necessary
in principle, though doubtless hateful in their details,
were looked at merely in a general way by the Emperor,
and always with a strict observance of his constant
maxim, that nothing should be done that is not abso-
lutely indispensable. In the Council of State, I have
frequently heard him make enquiries into these subjects ;
investigate them with peculiar solicitude ; correct abuses
and seek to obviate evils, and appoint committees of his
Council to visit the prisons, and make reports to him.
Having been myself employed in a mission of this nature,
I had an opportunity of observing the misconduct and
abuses of subaltern agents ; and, at the same time, of
knowing the ardent wishes of the sovereign to repress
them.

The Emperor found that this branch of the adminis-
tration in a certain degree clashed with established pre-
judices and opinions ; and he therefore wished to elevate
it in the eyes of the people, by placing it under the con-
trol of a man whose character was beyond the reach of
censure. In the year 1810, he summoned the Councillor

of State, Baron , to Fontainebleau. The Baron had

been an emigrant, or what nearly amounted to the same
thing. His family, his early education, his former opi-
nions,— all were calculated to render him an object of
suspicion to one more distrustful than Napoleon. In the
course of conversation, the Emperor said: — "If the
Count de Lille were now to discover himself in Paris,

278 THE POST OFFICE.

and you were intrusted with the superintendence of the
police, would you arrest him?" — " Yes, certainly," an-
swered the Councillor of State, " because he would there-
by have broken his ban, and because his appearance would
be in opposition to every existing law." — " If you were
one of a committee appointed to try him, would you con-
demn him?" — "Yes, doubtless; for the laws which 1
have sworn to obey would require that I should condemn
him." — "Very well!" said the Emperor, "return to
Paris : I make you my prefect of police,"

With regard to the inspection of letters under the go-
vernment of Napoleon, whatever may have been publicly
said on that subject, the Emperor declared that certainly
very few letters were read at the post-offices. Those
which were delivered either open or re- sealed, to private
persons, had, for the most part, not been read : to read
all would have been an endless task. The system of ex-
amining letters was adopted with the view of preventing,
rather than discovering, dangerous correspondence. The
letters that were really read exhibited no trace of having
been opened, so effectual were the precautions employed.
" Ever since the reign of Louis XIV.," said the Emperor,
" there had existed an office of political police for disco-
vering foreign correspondence : and from that period the
same families had managed the business of the office,
though the individuals and their functions were alike
unknown. It was in all respects an official post. The
persons superintending this department were educated at
great expense in the different capitals of Europe. They
had their own peculiar notions of propriety, and always
manifested reluctance to examine the home correspon-
dence : it was, however, also under their control. As
soon as the name of any individual was entered upon the
lists of this important department, his arms and seals
were immediately engraved at the office ; and thus his
letters, after having been read, were closed up and de-
livered without any mark of suspicion. These circum-
stances, joined to the serious evils which they might
create, and the important results which they were capable
of producing, constituted the vast responsibility of the
office of postmaster- general, and required that it should

THE POST OFFICE. 279

be filled by a man of prudence, judgment, and intelli-
gence." The Emperor bestowed great praise on M. de
Lavalette, for the way in which he had discharged his
duties.

The Emperor was by no means favourable to the sys-
tem of inspecting correspondence. With regard to the
diplomatic information thereby obtained, he did not con-
sider it of sufficient value to counterbalance the expenses
incurred ; for the establishment cost 600,000 francs. As
to the examination of the letters of citizens, he regarded
that as a measure calculated to do more harm than good.
*' It is rarely," said he, " that conspiracy is carried on
through such channels ; and with respect to the indivi-
dual opinions obtained from epistolary correspondence,
they may be more dangerous than useful to a sovereign ,
particularly among such a people as the French. Of
whom will not our national volatility and fickleness lead
us to complain ? The man whom I may have ofifended at
my levee will write to-day that I am a tyrant, though
but yesterday he overwhelmed me with praises, and per-
haps to-morrow will be ready to lay down his life to
serve me. The violation of the privacy of correspon-
dence may, therefore, cause a prince to lose his best
friends, by wrongfully inspiring him with distrust and
prejudice towards all ; particularly as enemies capable of
mischief are always sufficiently artful to avoid exposing
themselves to that kind of danger. Some of my minis-
ters were so cautious, in this respect, that I could never
succeed in detecting one of their letters."

I think I have already mentioned that, on the Empe-
ror's return from Elba, there were found in M. De Blacas'
apartments in the Tuileries, numerous petitions and let-
ters, in which Napoleon was spoken of most indeco^
rously. He caused them to be burnt "■ They would
have formed a most odious collection," said the Emperor.
*' For a moment 1 entertained the idea of inserting some
of them in the Moniteur. They would have disgraced
certain individuals ; but they would have afi"orded no new
lesson on the human heart : men are always the same !"

The Emperor was far from knowing all the measures
taken by the police in his name, with respect to writings

^bO LIBERTY OF THE PRESS.

and individuals ; he had neither time nor opportunity to
enquire into them. He now daily learns from us, or
from pamphlets that happen to fall in his way, the arrests
of individuals, or the suppression of works, of which he
had never before heard.

In alluding to the works that had been suppressed by
the police during- his reign, the Emperor observed that,
having plenty of leisure-time during his residence at
Elba, he amused himself with glancing over some of
these works, and that he was frequently unable to
conceive the motives which had induced the police to
suppress them.

He then proceeded to converse on the subject of the
liberty and restriction of the press. This, he said, was
an interminable question, and admitted of no medium.
The grand difficulty, he observed, did not lie in the prin-
ciple itself, but in the treatment of the accused party, or
the circumstances under which it might be necessary to
apply the principle taken in an abstract sense. The
Emperor would have been favourable to unlimited li-
berty. Tn all our conversations at St. Helena, he con-
stantly treated every great question in the same point of
view and with the same arguments. Thus Napoleon
truly was, and must remain in the eyes of posterity, the
type, the standard, and the prince of liberal opinions j
they belonged to his heart, to his principles, and to his
mind. If his actions sometimes seemed to be at vari-
ance with these ideas, it was when he was imperative-
ly swayed by circumstances. This is proved by the
following fact,^ to which I now attach more impor-
tance than I did when it first came to my knowledge.

In one of the evening-parties at the Tuileries, Napo-
leon, conversing aside with three or four individuals of
the Court, who were grouped around him, closed a dis-
cussion on a great political question with the following
remarkable words : — " For my part, I am fundamentally
and naturally favourable to a fixed and moderate govern-
ment." And, observing that the countenance of one of
the interlocutors expressed surprise, " You don't believe
me !" continued he ; " why not ? Is it because my deeds
do not seem to accord with my words ? My dear sir.

HARSHNESS OF TREATMENT. 281

how little you know of men and things ! Is the necessity
of the moment nothing in your eyes ? Were I to slacken
the reins only for a moment, we should have fine disorder ;
neither you nor I would probably sleep another night at
the Tuileries."

THE emperor's FIRST RIDE ON HORSEBACK. SEVE-
RITY OP THE MINISTERIAL INSTRUCTIONS. OUR

VEXATIONS AND COMPLAINTS. THE EMPEROr's RE-
MARKS. RUDE REPLIES.

20th — 23rd. The Emperor mounted his horse after
breakfast. We directed our course towards the farm :
we found the farmer in the Company's garden, and he
attended us over the whole of the grounds, The Em-
peror asked him a number of questions respecting his
farm, as he used to do during his hunting- excursions
in the neighbourhood of Versailles, where he discussed
with the farmers the opinions of the Council of State, in
order to bring forward to the Council in their turn the
objections of the farmers. We advanced through the
grounds of Longwood, in a line parallel with the valley,
until, finding no farther road for the horses, we were
compelled to turn back. We then crossed the little
valley, gained the height where the troops were encam-
ped, advanced to the Alarm Hill, and passing over its
summit, we arrived beyond the camp, near the Alarm
House, on the road leading from Longwood to Madame
Bertrand's residence. The Emperor at first proposed
calling on her ; but, when about half-way thither, he
changed his mind, and we returned to Longwood.

The instructions of the English Ministers, with regard
to the Emperor at St. Helena, were dictated in that
disgraceful spirit of harshness which in Europe had
urged the solemn violation of the law of nations. An
English officer was to be constantly at the Emperor's
table; this cruel measure was of course calculated to
deprive us of the comforts of familiar intercourse. The
order was not carried into effect, only because the Em-
peror, had it been enforced, would have taken his meals
in his own chamber. I have very good reason to believe
tha,t he regretted not having done so on board the Nor*

282

REMONSTRANCES, AND

thumberland. An English officer was to accompany the
Emperor in his rides on horseback : this was a severe
annoyance, which rendered it impossible that his mind
could for a moment be diverted from his unfortunate
situation. This order was not, however, enforced with-
in certain limits, which were prescribed to us, because
the Emperor had declared that he would not ride on
horseback at all on such conditions.

In our melancholy situation, every day brought with
it some new cause of uneasiness ; we were constantly
suffering some new sting, which seemed the more cruel
as we were destined to endure it for a longtime to come.
Lacerated as our feelings undoubtedly were, each fresh
wound was sensibly felt; and the motives that were
assigned for our vexations frequently assumed the ap-
pearance of irony. Thus sentinels were posted beneath
the Emperor's windows, and before our doors ; and
this we were informed was for our safety. We were
impeded in our communications with the inhabitants of
the island ; we were put under a kind of close confine-
ment ; and were told that this was done to free the Em-
peror from all annoyance. The pass-words and orders
were incessantly changed; we lived in the continual
perplexity and apprehension of being exposed to some
unforeseen insult. The Emperor, whose feelings were
keenly alive to all these things, resolved to write to the
Admiral, through the medium of M. de Montholon. He
spoke with warmth, and made some observations worthy
of remark. " Let not the Admiral suppose," said he,
"that I shall treat with him on any of these subjects.
Were he to present himself to me to-morrow, in spite of
my just resentment, he would find my countenance as
serene, and my temper as composed, as usual. This
would not be the effect of dissimulation on my part, but
merely the fruit of experience. I recollect that Lord
Whitworth once filled Europe with the report of a long
conversation that he had had with me, scarcely a word
of which was true. But that was my fault ; and it
taught me to be more cautious in future. The Emperor
has governed too long not to know that he must not
commit himself to the discretion of any one who may

INSULTING REPLIES. 283

have it in his power to say falsely : The Emperor told
me so and so ; while the Emperor may not have the
means of either affirming- or contradicting the statement.

" One witness is as good as another. It is, therefore,
necessary to employ some one who may be enabled to
tell the narrator that, in attributing such and such words
to the Emperor, he lies, and that he is ready to give
him satisfaction for this expression, which the Emperor
himself cannot do."

M. de Montholon's letter was couched in sharp terms ;
the reply was insulting and coarse : " No such thing as
an Emperor vms known at St. Helena ; the justice and
moderation of the English government towards us would
be the admiration of future ages, 8fc." Dr. O'Meara was
instructed to accompany this written reply with verbal
additions of the most offensive nature : to enquire, for
example, whether the Emperor wished that the Admiral
should send him sundry atrocious libels and anonymous
letters which had been received, addressed to him, &c.

I was engaged with the Emperor at the time this an-
swer was communicated to him. I could not conceal
my astonishment and indignation at certain expressions
that were employed. But we could only let philosophy
take place of resentment : it was sufficient to reflect that
all satisfaction was beyond our reach. To address a di-
rect complaint to the Prince Regent would perhaps have
been to furnish a gratification to that prince ; as well as
a recommendation to him who had offended us. Besides,
the Emperor could not address complaints to any indi-
vidual on earth : he could appeal only to the tribunals
of Heaven, nations, and posterity.

On the 23rd the Doris frigate arrived from the Cape,
bringing seven horses that had been purchased there for
the Emperor.

THE emperor's DISDAIN OF POPULARITY; HIS REASONS,

ARGUMENTS, &C. CONVERSATION RESPECTING MY

WIFE. ON GENERAL GOURGAUD's MOTHER AND

SISTER.

24th. — The Emperor had been reading some publicp-
tion in which he was m^ade to speak in too amiable a

284 ON AMIABLENESS.

strain ; and he could not help exclaiming against the
mistake of the writer. " How could they put these
words into my mouth?" said he. " This is too tender,
too sentimental, for me : every one knows that I do
not express myself in that way." '* Sire," I replied,
" it was done with a good intention ; the thing is inno-
cent in itself, and may have produced a good effect.
That reputation for amiableness, which you seem to des-
pise, might have exercised great influence over public
opinion ; it might at least have counteracted the effect
of the colouring in which a certain European system has
falsely exhibited ^vour Majesty to the world. Your
heart, with which I am now acquainted, is certainly as
good as that of Henri IV., which I did not know. Now,
his amiableness of character is still proverbial : he is still
held up as an idol ; yet I suspect Henri IV. was a bit of
a quack. And why should your Majesty have disdained
to be so ? You have too great an aversion to that system.
After all, quackery rules the world ; and it is fortunate
when it happens to be only innocent."

The Emperor laughed at what he termed my prosing.
" What," said he, " is the advantage of popularity and
amiableness of character? Who possessed those quali-
ties in a more eminent degree than the unfortunate
Louis XVI. ? Yet what was' his fate ? His life was sacri-
ficed ! — No ! a sovereign must serve his people with
dignity, and not make it his chief study to please them.
The best mode of winning their love is to secure their
welfare. Nothing is more dangerous than for a sove-
reign to flatter his subjects: if they, do not afterwards
obtain every thing they want they become irritated, and
fancy that promises have been broken ; and if they are
then resisted, their hatred increases in proportion as they
consider themselves deceived. A sovereign's first duty
is doubtless to conform with the wishes of the people;
but what the people say is scarcely ever what they wish :
their desires and their wants cannot be learned from
their own mouths so well as they are to be read in the
heart of their prince.

Each system may, no doubt, be maintained : that
of mildness as well as that of severity. Each has

VALUE OF CHARACTER. 285

its advantages and its disadvantages ; for every thing
is mutually balanced in this world. If you ask me
what was the use of my severe forms and expres-
sions, I shall answer, to spare me the pain of inflict-
ing the punishment 1 threatened. What harm have
I done after all ? What blood have I shed ? Who can
boast that, had he been placed in my situation, he
could have done better } What period of history, ex-
hibiting any thing like the difficulties with which 1 was
surrounded, presents such harmless results ? What am
I reproached with ? My government archives and my
private papers were seized ; yet what has there been
found to publish to the world .'' All sovereigns, situated
as I was, amidst factions, disorders, and conspiracies,
are surrounded by murders and executions ! Yet, during
my reign, what sudden tranquillity pervaded France I —
You are, no doubt, astonished at this chain of reflec-
tion," continued he, smiling, '' you, who frequently dis-
play the mildness and simplicity of a child."

I could not but admit the force of his arguments, and
now, in my turn, maintained that both systems might
have their peculiar advantages. "Every individual,"
said I, " should form a character for himself by means
of education ; but he should be careful, at the same time,
to lay its foundation on the character he has received
from Nature ; otherwise he runs a risk of losing the
advantages of the latter, without obtaining those of the
character which he wishes to acquire ; and his education
may prove an instrument to mislead him. After all, the
course of a man's life is the true result of his character,
and the proper test by which it should be judged. Of
what, then, can I have to complain ? From the lowest
degree of misery, I raised myself, by my own efforts, to
tolerable independence ; and from the streets of London,
I penetrated to the steps of your throne, and to the
benches of your Council-chamber ; all this, too, without
having cause to blush in the presence of any individual
for any thing that I have ever spoken, written, or done.
Have I not then also performed my little wonders in
my own little way ? What could I have done better had
another turn been given to my character ?"

286 ENQUIRIES AFTER OUR FAMILIES.

The conversation was here interrupted by some one
entering, to announce that the Admiral and some ladies,
who had arrived by the Doris, solicited the favour of
being presented to the Emperor ; but he answered drily,
that he would see no one, and that he did not wish to
be disturbed.

Under our present circumstances, the personal po-
liteness of the Admiral was felt only as an additional in-
sult : and with regard to those who accompanied him,
as no one could approach us but with the Admiral's
permission, the Emperor did not choose that the honours
of his person should be thus performed. If it were in-
tended that he should remain in close confinement, he
ought to be told so ; but, if not, he should be allowed
to see whom he pleased without the interference of any
person. Above all, it was not fair that they should
pretend in Europe to surround him with every sort of
attention and respect, while, on the contrary, they were
annoying him with every kind of indecorum and caprice.

The Emperor walked out in the garden at five o'clock.
The Colonel of the 53rd regiment waited on him there,
and begged permission to present to him, next day, the
officers of his regiment. The Emperor granted his re-
quest, and appointed three o'clock as the hour to receive
them. The Colonel took his leave, and we prolonged
our walk. The Emperor stopped awhile to look at a
flower in one of the beds, and asked me whether it was
not a lily. It was indeed a magnificent one.

After dinner, while we were playing our usual game
of reversis, of which, by the by, the Emperor began
to grow weary, he suddenly turned to me and said,
" Where do you suppose Madame Las Cases is at this
moment?" — "Alas, Sire," I replied, " Heavenknows !"
— "She is in Paris," continued he; "to-day is Tues-
day ; it is nine o'clock ; she is now at the Opera." —
" No, Sire, she is too good a wife to go to the theatre
while I am here." — " Spoken like a true husband," said
the Emperor, laughing, " ever confident and credulous !"
Then turning to General Gourgaud, he rallied him in the
pame style with respect to his mother and sister. Gour-
gaud seemed very much downcast, and his eyes were

gourgaud's filial affection. 287

suffused with tears, v\^liich the Emperor perceiving, catt
a side-glance towards him, and said, in the most in-
teresting manner, " How wicked, barbarous and tyran-
nical I must be thus to trifle with feelings so tender!"*

The Emperor then asked me how many children I
had, and when and how I had become acquainted with
Madame Las Cases. I replied that my wife had been
the first acquaintance of my life ; that our marriage was
a tie which we had ourselves formed in early youth, yet
that it had required the occurrence of the greater part
of the events of the Revolution to bring about its
accomplishment.

THE EMPEROR FREQUENTLY WOUNDED IN HIS CAM-
PAIGNS. COSSACKS. JERUSALEM DELIVERED.

25th. — The Emperor, who had not been well the pre-
ceding evening, was still indisposed this morning, and
sent word that it would be impossible for him to receive
the officers of the 53rd, as he had appointed. He sent
for me about the middle of the day, and we again perused
some chapters of the Campaign of Italy. I compared
that which treats of the battle of Arcole to a book of
the Ihad.

Some time before the dinner-hour, he assembled us all
around him in his chamber. A servant entered to an-
nounce that dinner w^as ready ; he sent us away, but,
as I was going out last, he called me back. " Stay here,"
said he, " we will dine together. Let the young people
go ; we old folks will keep one another company." He
then determined to dress, intending, as he said, to go
into the drawing-room after dinner.

While he was dressing, he put his hand on his left

* General Gourgaud entertained the greatest affection for his
mother and sister, and was equally beloved by them. To such a
length did he carry his regard for them that in his letters he' even
described St. Helena as a delightful place, in order to :easeftheir
anxiety on his account. In his letters he talked of nothing but
groves of orange and lemon-trees, and perpetual Spring ; in short,
every thing that a romantic imagination could suggest. The En-
glish Ministers, however, blushed not, subsequently, to turn
against him these innocent misrepresentations, the offspring of his
filial solicitude !

288 THE emperor's frequent dangers.

thigh, where there was a deep scar. He called my
attention to it by laying his finger in it ; and, finding
that I did not understand what it was, he told me that
it was the mark of a bayonet wound by which he had
nearly lost his limb, at the siege of Toulon. Marchand,
who was dressing him, here took the liberty of remark-
ing that the circumstance was well known on board the
Northumberland ; that one of the crew had told him, on
going on board, that it was an Englishman who first
wounded our Emperor.

The Emperor, on this, observed that people had in
general wondered and talked a great deal of the singular
good fortune which had preserved him, as it were, invul-
nerable in so many battles. " They were mistaken,"
added he ; " the only reason was that I always made a
secret of all my dangers. " He then related that he had
had three horses killed under him at the siege of Toulon ;
several others killed and wounded in his campaigns of
Italy ; and three or four at the siege of St. Jean-d'Acre.
He added that he had been wounded several times ;
that, at the battle of Ratisbon, a ball had struck his heel ;
and at the battle of Esling, or Wagram, I cannot say
which, another had torn his boot and stocking, and
grazed the skin of his left leg. In 1814, he lost a horse
and his hat at Arcis-sur-Aube, or in its neighbourhood.
After the battle of Brienne, as he was returning to head-
quarters in the evening, in a melancholy and pensive
mood, he was suddenly attacked by some Cossacks, who
had passed over into the rear of the army. He thrust
one of them off with his hand, and was obliged to draw
his sword in his own defence ; several of the Cossacks
were killed at his side. " But what renders this cir-
cumstance very extraordinary," said he, "is, that it took
place near a tree which at that moment caught my eye, and
which I recognized as the very one under which, when I
was but twelve years old, I used to sit during play-hours
and read Jerusalem Delivered." . . . Doubtless on that
s^DOt Napoleon had been first fired by the love of glory !

The Emperor repeated that he had been very fre-
quently exposed to danger in his diff"erent battles, but
it was carefully kept secret. He had enjoined once

DETENTION OF THE ENGLISH IN FRANCE. 289

for all, the most absolute silence on all circumstances of
that nature. He said that it would be impossible to
calculate the confusion and disorder which might have
resulted from the slightest report or the smallest doubt
relative to his existence. On his life depended the fate
of a great Empire, and the Avhole policy and destinies of
Europe. He added that this habit of keeping circum-
stances of that kind secret had prevented him from
relating them in his campaigns ; and indeed he had
now almost forgotten them. It was only, he said, by
mere accident, and in the course of conversation, that
they could recur to him.

MY CONVERSATION WITH AN ENGLISHMAN.

26th. — The Emperor continued indisposed.

One of the English gentlemen, whose wife had yester-
day been refused admittance, in company with the Admi-
ral, paid me a visit this morning, with the view of making
another and a final attempt to get presented to Napoleon.
This gentleman spoke French very well, having resided
in France during the whole of the war. He was one of
those individuals who were known at the time by the
title of detenus : who, having visited France as travellers,
were arrested there by the First Consul, on the rupture
of the treaty of Amiens, by way of reprisal for the sei-
zure of our merchant- ships by the English Government,
according to its custom, before the declaration of war.
This event gave rise to a long and animated discussion be-
tween the two Governments ; and even prevented, during
the whole of the war, a cartel for the exchange of pri-
soners. The English ministers persisted in refusing to
consider their detained countrymen as prisoners, lest they
should, in so doing, make an implicit renunciation of
what may perhaps be called their right of piracy. How-
ever, their obstinacy cost their countrymen a long cap-
tivity. They were detained in France more than ten
years ; their absence was as long and as irksome, though
not so glorious, as that of the besiegers of Troy.

This English gentleman was a brother-in-law of
Admiral Burton, the Commander on the Indian station,
who lately died. This circumstance might veiy pos-

VOL. I. U

290 COMPLAINTS OP THE EXiLeS.

sibly piocure for him an immediate communication with
Ministers on his arrival in England » He might per-
haps have been appointed by the Admiral to be the bearer
of intelligence respecting us. Instead, therefore, of de-
clining conversation, 1 prolonged it. It lasted more
than two hours, and was all calculated on my part with a
view to what he might repeat to the Admiral, or com-
municate to the Government or private circles in England.
I will not tire my readers by a recital of it. They would
only find the same eternal recapitulation of our re-
proaches and grievances : a repetition of our complaints
and vexations : a continued exposure of the violation of
those laws that are esteemed most sacred ; of the out-
rage on our good faith; of the arrogance, impudence,
and petty insolence of power. I dwelt particularly on
the ill-treatment to which we were here exposed ; and
on the caprices of the individual who was appointed our
keeper. " His glory," said I, " should consist, not in
oppressing, but in relieving us. He should endeavour to
make us forget, by his attentions, all the rigour and in-
justice of his country's policy. Can he court the repro-
bation of mankind, when his good fortune enables him
to connect his name gloriously with that of the man of
the age, the hero of history ? Can he object that he is
bound by his instructions ? But even then, in the spirit
of our European manners, honour enables him to inter-
pret them in a suitable manner."

The Englishman listened to me with great attention.
He seemed occasionally to take particular interest in
what I said ; and expressed his approbation of several of
my remarks. But was he sincere, and will he not ex-
press very different sentiments in London ?

Whenever a ship arrives in England from St. Helena,
the public papers immediately give insertion to various
stories relative to the captives at Longwood, of so false
and absurd a nature, as must necessarily render them
ridiculous to the great mass of the public. When we
expressed our indignation at these idle reports in the
presence of honourable and distinguished Englishmen
here, they replied : "Do not deceive yourselves, these
false accounts proceed not from our countrymen who

FRENCH EMIGRANTS. 291

visit you ; but from our Ministers in London ; for, to
the excess and violence of power, the administration by
which we are now ruled adds all the meanness of the
lowest and vilest intrigues."

ON THE FRENCH EMIGRANTS. KINDNESS SHEWN BY

THE ENGLISH. RESOURCES OP THE EMIGRANTS.

27th. — The Emperor felt himself better, and rode out
on horseback about one o'clock. On his return he re-
ceived the officers of the 53rd, and behaved to them in
the most amiable and condescending- manner.

After this visit, the Emperor, who had desired me to
remain with him, walked in the garden. I there gave
him an account of the conversation T had had the day
before with the Englishman. He then asked me some
questions relative to the French emigrants, London, and
the English. I told him that though the emigrants in a
body did not like the English, yet there were few who
did not become attached to some Englishman or other :
that though the English were not fond of the emigrants,
yet there were few English families who did not shew
themselves friendly to some of the French. This is the
real key to those sentiments and reports, so often con-
tradictory, that are met with on the subject. With
regard to the kindness we received from the English,
particularly the middle class, from whom the character
of a nation is always to be learned, it is beyond all ex-
pression, and has entailed a heavy debt of gratitude upon
us. It would be difficult to enumerate the private bene"
factions, the benevolent institutions, and the charitable
measures, by which our distresses were relieved. The
example of individuals induced the Government to assist
us by regular allowances ; and even when these were
granted, private benevolence did not cease.

The Emperor here asked me whether I had been a
sharer in the grants supplied by the English Government;
I told him that I had felt more pleasure in being indebted
for support solely to my own exertions ; and that the
state of society and encouragement of industry in Eng-
land were such that with this feeling a man was sure to
succeed. On two occasions I had had an opportunity of

u 2

292 THE AUTHOR IN LONDON.

making my fortune : Colbert, Bishop of Rhodez, a native
of Scotland, who was very fond of me, proposed that I
should accompany his brother to Jamaica, where he was
appointed to the liead of the executive power, and where
he was one of the most considerable planters. He would
have intrusted to me the direction of his property, and
would have obtained for me other employment of the same
kind. The Bishop assured me that I should make a for-
tune in three years. I could not, however, prevail on my-
self to go ; I preferred continuing a life of poverty, to
removing to a greater distance from the French shore.

'' On another occasion," continued I, " some friends
wished to persuade me to go to India, where I should
have obtained employment and patronage, and was as-
sured that in a short time I should realize a considerable
fortune. But this I declined. I thought myself too old
to travel so far. This was twenty years ago ; and yet
I am now at St. Helena.

*' However, there were few who suffered greater hard-
ships than I did at the commencement of my emigra-
tion, and who enjoyed greater comforts towards its close.
I have more than once found myself on the point of being
entirely destitute of every thing. Still I was never
discouraged or dejected. I consoled myself with the
treasure of philosophy, and compared my own condition
with that of numbers around me, who were more
wretched than myself: to old men and women, for
example, to those who were destitute of education, or
who, wanting the faculties requisite for acquiring a
foreign language, were thus cut off from all resources.
I was young, full of hope, and capable of exertion. I
taught what I did not well know myself, whatever was
asked of me, and I learned over- night what I might have
to teach on the succeeding day. My Historical Atlas
was a fortunate idea, which opened to me a mine of
gold. At that period, however, I had executed only an
outline of my plan ; but in London every thing is en-
couraged, every thing sells ; and, moreover, Heaven
blessed my exertions. I landed at the mouth of the
Thames, and reached London on foot, with only seven louis
in my pocket, without a friend, without an introduction.

HIS RETURN TO PARIS. 293

in a foreign land; but I left it in a post-chaise, possessed
of 2500 guineas, having gained many dear friends, to
serve whom I would gladly have sacrificed my life."

" But, supposing I had been an emigrant," said the
Emperor, " what would have been my lot ?" He took a
view of various professions, but decided in favour of a
soldier's life. " I should have fulfilled my career after
all,*' said he. — " That is not quite certain," I observed.
*' Sire, you would have been smothered in the crowd.
On arriving at Coblentz in any French corps, you would
have been placed according to your rank on the list,
without any possibility of getting beyond it; for we
were rigid observers of forms," &c.

The Emperor then enquired when and how I had
returned to France. " After the peace of Amiens," said
I, ** availing myself of the benefit of your amnesty ; yet
I joined an English family, and slipped in in a sort of
contraband way, in order to reach Paris earlier than I
otherwise could have done. Immediately on my arrival
there, fearing lest I should compromise that family, I
went in person to make my declaration to the police,
and received a paper which I was to present for inspec-
tion once a week or once a month. I paid no attention
to it ; but nothing happened to me through my neglect.
I had determined on conducting myself with prudence,
and therefore felt satisfied that I had nothing to fear.
At one time, however, I saw that my intention might
have cost me dear : it was during the most violent crisis
of the affair of Georges and Pichegru. I usually passed
my evenings in the society of intimate friends in my own
house; I scarcely ever went out. On this occasion,
however, impelled by fate, or, perhaps, by the strong
interest which I took in passing events, I strolled about
in the Faubourg Saint- Germain till rather a late hour in
the evening. I missed the way to the Pont de Louis XVI.
which I knew so well, and came out upon the Bou-
levard des Invalides, without knowing where I was.
The posts were everywhere increased in number, and
each consisted of a doubled guard. I enquired my way
of one of the sentinels, and I distinctly heard his com-
rade, who was a few yards ofi^, ask him why he had not

294 LAS CASES AT FONTAINEBLEAU.

stopped me ; he answered that I was doing no harm. I
hastened home as fast as I could, terrified at the danger
I had so narrowly escaped. I was in formal contraven-
tion to the police : the circumstances of my emigration,
my name, my habits, and my opinions, all tended to
identify me with the malcontents. Every enquiry that
could have been instituted respecting me would have
been to my prejudice. I could not have referred to any
one ; and what alarmed me still more was that they
would have found five guineas in my pocket. I had, it
is true, been in France two years ; but these guineas
were the last fruits of my industry : I always carried
them about me, and I have them with me still. I used
to take a pleasure in seeing them : they reminded me of
a period of misfortune which had gone by. It is easy
to conceive the conclusions which might have been
drawn from so many concurring circumstances. In vain
would have been my denials and assertions ; no credit
would have been given to me. I should, no doubt, have
suffered considerably ; and yet I was not in the least to
blame : such is the justice of men ! However, I never
took the trouble to arrange my business with the police ;
and yet I never got into any difficulty,

"When I was presented at your Majesty's court, the
emigrants, who were in the same situation as myself,
and had been placed under the superintendence of the
]<olice for ten years, applied for their emancipation, which
tliey procured ; for my part, I determined to let my sur-
veillance die a natural death. Being invited, in your
Majesty's name, to a fete at Fontainebleau, I thought it
would be a good jest to apply to the police for a pass-
port. They agreed that it was, strictly speaking, neces-
sary, but declined giving it, on the ground that it would
tend to make government ridiculous. At a subsequent
period, having become your Majesty's Chamberlain, I
had occasion to go on a private journey; and they then
exempted me from all future formality.

" On your Majesty's return in 1815, being desirous of
serving some emigrants who had returned with the
King, I went in their name to the police. Being a Coun-
cillor of State, all the registers were open to me. After

CURIOUS CHANGES OF CIRCUMSTANCES. 295

having inspected the article relating to my friends, I felt
a curiosity to refer to my own. I found myself desig-
nated as a distinguished courtier of the Comte d'Artois,
in London. I could not help reflecting on the differences
of times, and the changes produced by revolution. How-
ever, my register was altogether incorrect. I certainly
visited the Comte d'Artois ; but not oftener than once a
month. iVs to my being a courtier, if I had been ever
so much inclined to be one, the thing was out of my
power. I had to provide for my daily subsistence, and
I had pride enough to wish to live by my own industry ;
my time was therefore valuable." The Emperor was
very much amused by my story, and I felt much pleasure
in relating it to him.

The Doris frigate sailed this day for Europe.

28th. — M|-. Balcombe's family called, in the hope of
seeing the Emperor, but he was again indisposed. His
health declines ; this place is evidently unfavourable to
him. He sent for me at three o'clock ; he was slightly
feverish, but felt himself better. He spoke a good deal
of the domestic arrangements of the house, which some-
times annoyed him. He then dressed, with the inten-
tion of going out. I persuaded him to resume his flannel
under-waistcoat, which he had laid aside very impru-
dently in this damp and variable climate. We took a
walk in the garden, and the conversation continued to
turn on the same subject as before. The Emperor strolled
about at random, and we came to the gum-trees which
run along the park, conversing on our local situation,
and our relations with the authorities, and speculating on
the political events of Europe. We were overtaken by
a shower of rain, and were forced to take shelter under a
tree. The Grand Marshal and M. de Montholon soon
joined us. The Emperor made me return with him ; and
when we got home, he played a game at piquet in the
drawing-room with Madame de Montholon. As it was
very damp, the Emperor ordered a fire ; but as soon as
it was lighted, we were driven away by the smoke, and
were compelled to take refuge in the Emperor's chamber.
Here the game was resumed ; but it was very soon sus-
pended by the Emperor's conversation, which became

'296 DIFFICULT EXCURSION.

most interesting. He entertained us with anecdotes and
minute details of his domestic life ; and confirmed, cor-
rected, or contradicted those which Madame de Montho-
lon and myself related to him, as having been pubHcly
circulated. Nothing could be more gratifying : the con-
versation was quite confidential, and we sincerely regret-
ted its interruption by the announcement of dinner.

DIFFICULT EXCURSION. RIDE TO THE VALLEY.

THE MARSH. CHARACTERISTIC TRAJTS. ENGLISHMEN

UNDECEIVED. POISON OF MITHRIDATES.

29th. — There is a spot in the grounds about Long-
wood, which commands a distant view of that part of
the sea where the ships are first seen on their arrival :
here, too, is a tree at the foot of which the spectator
may survey it at his ease. I had been in the habit, for
some days, of spending a few idle moments here, amus-
ing myself, in idea, with looking out for the ship that
was to conclude our exile. The celebrated Miinich lin-
gered out twenty years in the heart of Siberia, drinking
every day to his return to St. Petersburg, and was at
length blessed with the accomplishment of his wish. I
shall possess his courage ; but I trust I shall not have
occasion for his patience.

Ships had successively appeared for several days. Three
came in sight very early this morning, two of which I
judged to be ships of war. — On my return home, I was
informed that the Emperor had already risen : I went to
the garden to meet him, and to acquaint him with my
discovery. He ordered breakfast to be brought to him
under a tree, and desired me to keep him company. After
breakfast, he directed me to ride out with him on horse-
back. We rode along by the side of the gum. -trees, be-
yond the confines of Longwood, and then attempted to
descend into a very steep and deeply-furrowed valley,
whose sides were covered with sand and loose stones,
interspersed with brambles. We were obliged to dis-
mount. The Emperor desired General Gourgaud to turn
off to one side with the horses and the two grooms who
accompanied us, and insisted on continuing his jouraey
on foot, amidst the difficulties which surrounded us. I

RIDE TO THE VALLEY. 297

gave him my arm, and, with a great deal of trouble, we
succeeded in clambering over the ridges. The Emperor
lamented the loss of his youthful agility, and accused me
of being more active than himself. He thought that
there was a greater difference in this respect than the
trifling disproportion of our ages would justify. I told
him that the pleasure of serving him made me forget
my age. As we were going along, he observed that any
one who could have seen us at that time would recognize
without difficulty the restlessness and impatience of the
French character. "In fact," said he, " none but French-
men would ever think of doing what we are now about.*'
At length we arrived, breathless, at the bottom of the
valley. What we had at a distance mistaken for a beaten
road, proved to [he nothing but a little streamlet, a foot
and a half wide. We proposed to step across it and wait
for our horses ; but the banks of this little streamlet were
very treacherous. They appeared to consist of dry ground
which at first supported us, but we soon found our-
selves suddenly sinking, as though we had been breaking
through ice. I had already sunk nearly above my knees,
when, by a sudden effort, I disengaged myself, and turn-
ed to assist the Emperor, who had both legs in the mud,
and had got his hands on the ground, endeavouring to
extricate himself. With a great deal ~of trouble, and a
great deal of dirt, we regained the terra frma ; and i
could not help thinking of the marshes of Arcole, which
we had been engaged in describing a few days before,
and in which Napoleon was very near being lost. The
Emperor looked at his clothes and said, " Las Cases, this
is a dirty adventure. If we had been lost in the mud,"
added he, " what would have been said in Europe ? The
canting hypocrites would have proved, beyond a doubt,
that we had been swallowed up for our crimes."

The horses being at length brought to us, we con-
tinued our journey, breaking through hedges, and leap-
ing over ridges ; and with great difficulty rode up the
whole length of the valley, which separates Longwood
from Diana's Peak. We returned by the way of Madame
Bertrand's residence ; it was three o'clock when we
reached home. We then learned that the vessels which

298 ARRIVAL OF NEWSPAPERS.

had been seen in the morning were a brig and a trans-
port from England, and an American ship.

The Emperor sent for me about seven o'clock ; he was
with the Grand Marshal, who was reading to him the
newspapers from the 9th to the 16th of October. He
had not done reading at nine o'clock. The Emperor,
astonished to find it so late, hastily rose and went to the
table, complaining of being kept waiting for his dinner.
They were stupid enough to give a very ridiculous reason
for the delay. This domestic irregularity irritated him
very much ; and then he was angry with himself for
having given vent to his anger ; so the dinner passed off
in dulness and silence.

However, on returning to the drawing-room, to the
dessert, the Emperor began to converse on the news
which the papers had brought us : the conditions of
peace, the fortresses ceded to foreign powers, and the
fermentation of the great cities of Europe. He treated
these subjects in a masterly style. He retired early;
and had evidently not forgotten the moment preceding
dinner.

He soon sent for me, being desirous to continue the
perusal of the papers. As I was preparing to read, he
recollected the state of my eyes, and would not allow
me. I begged to be permitted to continue, telling him
that I read quickly, and should soon have finished them ;
but he took them away from me, saying, " We cannot
command nature. I forbid it ; I will wait till to-morrow."
He then began to walk about a little, and soon gave iit-
terance to the feelings which had oppressed his spirits.
How amiable he appeared in his reproaches and com-
plaints ! How humane and kind he seemed ! How just
and true was every observation that escaped him I These
were a few of the precious moments when Nature, taken
by surprise, exposes the inmost recesses of the human
heart and character. I left him, saying within myself,
as I have so often had occasion to say: "Good God,
how little has the character of the Emperor been known
to the world 1"

They are, however, beginning here to form a more
just opinion of him. Those Englishmen whose violent

CONFESSION OF AN ENGLISHMAN. 299

prejudices against him were in a great degree excusable
from the false accounts they had received, begin now to
entertain a more correct idea of his character. They
allow that they are strangely undeceived every day, and
that the Emperor is a very different being from that
Napoleon whose image had been traced to them through
the medium of falsehood and political interests. All
those who have had opportunities of seeing him and
hearing him converse, have but one opinion on the sub-
ject. The Admiral has more than once, in the midst of
our disputes with him, hastily exclaimed that the Em-
peror was decidedly the most good-natured, just, and
reasonable of the whole set. And he was in the right.

On another occasion, an Englishman, whom we fre-
quently saw, confessed to Napoleon, with the utmost
humility of heart, and as it were by way of expiation,
that he had to reproach his conscience with having once
firmly believed all the abominable falsehoods related of
him. He had given credit to all the accounts of strang-
lings, massacres, and brutal ferocity ; in short, he even
believed in the deformities of his person, and the hideous
features of his countenance. " And how," said he can-
didly, "could I help crediting all this? Our English
publications were filled with these statements ; they were
in every mouth ; not a single voice was raised to contra-
dict them." — "Yes," said Napoleon, smiling, "it is to
your Ministers that I am indebted for these favours:
they inundated Europe with pamphlets and libels against
me. Perhaps they might say, in excuse, that they did
but reply to those which they received from France ; and
it must in justice be confessed that those Frenchmen
who have since been seen to exult over the ruins of their
country felt no hesitation in furnishing them with such
articles in abundant supplies.

" Be this as it may, I was repeatedly urged during
the period of my power, to adopt measures for counter-
acting this underhand work ; but I always declined it.
What advantage should I have gained by such a defence ?
It would have been said that I had paid for it, and that
would only have discredited me still more. Another
victory, another monument,— these, I said, are the best.

SOO NEW OCCUPATION.

the only answers I can make. Falsehood passes away,
and truth remains ! The sensible portion of the present
age, and posterity in particular, will form their judgment
only from facts. And what has been the consequence ?
Already the cloud is breaking; the light is piercing
through, and my character grows clearer every day. It
will soon become the fashion in Europe to do me justice.
Those who have succeeded me possess the archives of
my administration and police, and the records of my
tribunals : they hold in their pay, and at their disposal,
those who must have been the perpetrators and the accom-
plices of my atrocities and crimes ; yet what proofs have
they brought forward } What have they made known ?

"The first moments of fury being passed away, all
honest and sensible men will render justice to my charac-
ter ; none but rogues or fools will be my enemies, I
may rest at ease ; the succession of events, the disputes
of opposing parties, their hostile productions, will daily-
clear the way for the correct and glorious materials of
my history. And what advantage has been reaped from
the immense sums that have been paid for libels against
me ? Every trace of them will soon be obliterated ;
while my institutions and monuments will recommend
me to the remotest posterity.

"It is now, moreover, too late to heap abuse upon
me. The venom of calumny," said he, repeating an idea
which he had before expressed, " has been exhausted
on me ; it can no longer injure me ; it operates only
like poison on Mithridates ."

THE EMPEROR PLOUGHING. THE WIDOw's MITE. IN-
TERVIEW WITH THE ADMIRAL. NEW ARRANGEMENTS.

THE POLISH CAPTAIN PIONTKOWSKY.

30th. — The Emperor desired me to be called before
eight o'clock. While he dressed, I finished reading to
him the newspapers which I had begun to examine the
day before. When dressed, he himself went to the
stables, asked for his horse, and rode out with me alone ;
his attendants not being yet quite ready. We rode on at
random, and soon arrived in a field where some labour-
ers were engaged in ploughing. The Emperor alighted

INTERVIEW WITH THE ADMIRAL. 301

from his horse, seized the plough, and, to the great as-
tonishment of the man who was holding it, he himself
traced a furrow of considerable length. He again
mounted and continued his ride through various parts
of the neighbourhood, and was joined successively by-
General Gourgaud and the grooms.

On his return, the Emperor expressed a wish to break-
fast under a tree in the garden ; and desired us to re-
main with him. During the ride, he had mentioned a
httle present that he intended for us. " It is a trifle, to
be sure," observed he; *' but every thing must be pro-
portioned to circumstances, and to me this is truly the
widovj's mite." He alluded to a monthly stipend which
he had determined to settle on each of us. It was to
be deducted from an inconsiderable sum, which we had
contrived to secrete in spite of the vigilance of the En-
glish ; and this sum was henceforth Napoleon's sole
resource. It may well be imagined how precious this
trifle had become. I seized the first moment, on find-
ing myself alone with him, to express my opinion on
this subject, and to declare my own personal determina-
tion to decline his intended bounty. He laughed at this,
and as I persisted in my resolution, he said, pinching my
ear, " Well, if you don't want it now, keep it for me : I
shall know where to find it when I stand in need of it.'"

After breakfast, the Emperor went in-doors, and de-
sired me to finish reading the newspapers. I had been
some time engaged in reading, when M. de Montholon
requested to be introduced. He had just had a long
conversation with the Admiral, who was very anxious to
see the Emperor. I was directed to suspend my trans-
lations from the newspapers, and the Emperor walked
about for some time, as though hesitating how to pro-
ceed ; at length, taking up his hat, he went into the
drawing-room to receive the Admiral. This circum-
stance aflbrded me the highest satisfaction ; for I knew
that it was calculated to put a period to our state of hos-
tility. I was well assured that two minutes' conversa-
tion with the Emperor would smooth more difficulties
than two days correspondence with any one else. Ac-
cordingly I was soon informed that his convincing argu-

302 ARRIVAL OP CAPTAIN PIONTKOWSKY.

merits and amiable manners had produced the wished-
for effect. I was assured that on his departure the Ad-
miral appeared enchanted : as for the Emperor, he was
very well pleased at what had taken place ; he is far
from disliking the Admiral : he is even somewhat pre-
possessed in his favour. "You may be a very good
seaman," said the Emperor to him, " but you know no-
thing at all about our situation. We ask nothing of
you. We can bear in silence and retirement our pains
and privations ; we can find resources within ourselves ;
but still our esteem is worth obtaining." The Admiral
referred to his instructions. " But," replied the Empe-
ror, " you do not consider the vast distance that inter-
venes between the dictation and the execution of those
instructions ! The very individual who issues them in a
remote part of the world would oppose them if he saw
them carried into execution. Besides," continued he,
" it is certain that on the least difference, the least oppo-
sition, the slightest expression of public opinion, the
Ministers would disavow their instructions, or severely
blame those who had not given them a more favourable
interpretation,"

The Admiral conducted himself wonderfully well ; the
Emperor had every reason to be satisfied with him : all
asperities were softened down, and good understanding
prevailed on every point. It was agreed that the Em-
peror should henceforth freely ride about the Island ;
that the officer who had been instructed to attend him,
should merely watch him from a distance, so that the
Emperor might not be offended with the sight of a guard ;
that visitors should be admitted to the Emperor, not
with the permission of the Admiral, as the inspector of
Longwood, but with that of the Grand Marshal, who
did the honours of the establishment.

To-day our little colony w^as increased by the arrival
of Captain Piontkowsky, a native of Poland. He was
one of those individuals whom we had left behind us at
Plymouth. His attachment to the Emperor, and his
grief at being separated from him, had subdued the se-
verity of the English Ministers, and he had received
permission to proceed to St. Helena.

NEW year's day. 303

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR SKELTON.

31st. — Lieutenant-Governor Skelton and his lady,
who had always shewn us great attentions, came to
present their respects to the Emperor, who, after an
hour's conversation, desired me to translate to the Co-
lonel an invitation to ride out with him on horseback.
The invitation was joyfully accepted, and we set out.
We passed through the valley which separates us from
Diana's Peak, to the great astonishment of the Colonel,
to whom this ride was perfectly new. He found it
fatiguing, and in many parts dangerous. The Emperor
detained Colonel and Mrs. Skelton to dinner, and enter-
tained them in the most agreeable way.

NEW- year's day. FOWLING- PIECES, &C. COLONEL

WILKS'S FAMILY.

January 1st — 3rd, 1816. On new-year's- day we all
assembled about ten o'clock in the morning, to present
the compliments of the season to the Emperor. He
received us in a few moments. We had to offer him
wishes rather than congratdations. The Emperor
wished that we should breakfast and spend the whole
day together. He observed that we were but a handful
in one corner of the world, and that all our consolation
must be our regard for each other. We all accompanied
the Emperor into the garden, where he walked about
until breakfast was ready. At this moment, his fowling-
pieces, which had hitherto been detained by the Admi-.
ral, were sent back to him. This measure, on the part
of the Admiral, was only another proof of the new dis-
position which he had assumed towards us. The guns
could be of no use to the Emperor ; for the nature of the
ground and the total want of game rendered it impos-
sible that he could enjoy even a shadow of diversion in
shooting. There were no birds except a few pigeons
among the gum-trees, and these were soon killed, or
forced to migrate, by the few shots that Gen Gourgaud
and my son amused themselves in firing.

It seemed like a fatality that measures, dictated by
the best and kindest intentions on the part of the Ad-
miral, should still bear an appearance of restriction and

304 CARRIAGES DRAWN BY OXEN.

colouring of caprice, which destroyed their effect. A-
long with the Emperor's fowHng-pieces were two or
three guns belonging to individuals of his suite. These
were delivered to their owners ; but on condition that
they should be sent every evening to the tent of the
officer on duty. It may well be supposed that this pro-
position induced us, without hesitation, to decline the
favour altogether ; and the guns were not surrendered
to us unconditionally, until after a little parleying. And
after all what were the important subjects under dis-
cussion ? A few fowling-pieces ; and the owners of them
were unfortunate men, banished from the rest of the
world, surrounded by sentinels, and guarded by a whole
camp. I mention this circumstance, because, though
trifling in itself, it proves better than many others our
real situation and the mode in vv^hich we were treated.

On the 3rd, I breakfasted with Madame Bertrand,
whom I was to accompany to dine at the Governor's.
From Madame Bertrand's abode to Plantation - House
(the Governor's residence) is an hour and a half's journey
in a carriage drawn by six oxen, for the use of horses
on this road would be dangerous. We crossed or tur-
ned live or six passes, flanked with precipices several
hundred feet high. Pour of the oxen were taken from
the carriage in the rapid descents, and yoked again in as-
cending the hills. We stopped when we had got about
three parts of the way, to pay a visit to a good old lady,
eighty- three years of age, who is very fond of Madame
Bertrand's children. Her house is very pleasantly situa-
ted : she had not been out of it for sixteen years, when,
hearing of the Emperor's arrival, she set out for the town,
declaring that, if it cost her her life, she was resolved
to see him : — she was happy enough to gain her object.

Plantation- House is the best situated, and most agree-
able residence in the whole island. The mansion, the
garden, the out-offices, all call to mind the residence of
a family possessing an income of 25 or 30,000 livres in
one of the French provinces. The grounds are culti-
vated with the greatest attention and taste. A resident
at Plantation- House might imagine himself in Europe,
without ever suspecting the desolation that prevails over

DINNER AT PLANTATION-HOUSE. 305

every other part of the Island. Plantation- Flouse is oc-
cupied by Colonel Wilks, the Governor, whose authoritv
is now superseded by the Admiral. He is a man of
most polished manners ; his wife is an amiable woman,
and his daughter a charming young lady.

The Governor had invited a party of about thirty.
The manners and ceremonies of the company were en-
tirely European. We spent several hours at Plantation-
House ; and this, we may truly say, has been the only
interval of oblivion and abstraction that we have enjoyed
since we quitted France. Colonel Wilks evinced par-
ticular partiality and kindness to me. We mutually ex-
pressed the compliments and sympathy of two authors,
pleased with each other's merits. We exchanged our
works. The Colonel overwhelmed • M. le Sage with
flattering compliments : and those which I returned to
him were of the sincerest kind ; for his work contains
a novel and interesting account of Hindostan, where he
resided for a considerable time in a diplomatic capacity.
A spirit of philosophy, a fund of information, joined to
singular purity of style, concur to render it a production
of first-rate merit. In his political opinions. Colonel
Wilks is cool and impartial; he judges calmly and dis-
passionatelv of passing events, and is imbued with the
sound ideas and liberal opinions of an intelligent and in-
dependent Englishman.

As we were on the point of sitting down to dinner,
we were, to our great surprise, informed that the Empe-
ror, in company with the Admiral, had just passed very
near the gate of Plantation-House ; and one of the guests
(Mr. Doveton, of Sandy- Bay) observed, that Napoleon
had, in the morning, honoured him with a visit, and
spent three quarters of an hour at his house.

LIFE AT LONGWOOD. THE EMPEROR S RIDE ON HORSE-
BACK. OUR NYMPH. NICKNAMES. ON ISLANDS,

AND THE DEFENCE OF THEM. GREAT FORTRESSES;

GIBRALTAR. CULTIVATION AND LAVnTS OF THE ISLAND.

ENTHUSIASM, &:C.

4th — 8th. When I entered the Emperor's apart-
ments to give him an account of our excursion on the

306 NEIGHBOURING HABITATIONS.

preceding day, he took hold of my ear, saying : " Well,
you deserted me yesterday : I got through the evening
very well, notwithstanding. Do not suppose that I
could not do without you." Delightful words ! rendered
most touching by the tone which accompanied them, and
by the knowledge I now possess of him by whom they
were uttered.

The weather has every day been fine, the temperature
dry ; the heat intense, but abating suddenly, as usual,
towards five or six o'clock.

The Emperor, since his arrival at Longw^ood, had left
off his usual dictations : he passed his time in reading
in his cabinet, dressed himself between three and four
o'clock, and afterwards went out on horseback, accom-
panied by two or three of us. The mornings must have
appeared to him longer ; but his health was the better
for it. Our rides were always directed towards the
neighbouring valley, of which I have already spoken ;
we either passed up it, taking the lower part of it first,
and returning by the Grand Marshal's house ; or, on the
contrary, went up that side first, in order to descend it
in returning : we even went beyond it once or twice, and
crossed other similar valleys. We thus explored the
neighbourhood, and visited the few habitations which it
contained ; the whole of which were poor and wretched.
The roads were sometimes impassable ; we were even
occasionally obliged to get oiF our horses. We had to
clear hedges, and to scale stone walls, which we met
with very frequently ; but we never suffered anything
to stop us.

In these our customaiy rides we had for some days
fixed on a regular resting-place in the middle of the
valley. There, surrounded by desert rocks, an unex-
pected flower displayed itself : under a humble roof we
discovered a charming young girl, fifteen or sixteen years
of age. We had surprised her the first day in her usual
costume : it announced any thing but affluence. The
following morning we found that she had bestowed the
greatest pains on her toilet ; but our pretty blossom of
the fields now appeared to us nothing more than a very
ordinary garden-flower. Nevertheless, we henceforth

A CHARMING YOUNG GIRL. 307

stopped at her dwelling a few minutes every day ; she
always approached a few paces to catch the two or three
sentences which the Emperor either addressed, or caused
to be translated, to her, as he passed by, and we con-
tinued our route, discoursing- on her charms. From
that time she formed an addition to the particular nomen-
clature of Longwood : she became our nymph. Among
those who were intimate with him, the Emperor used,
without premeditation, to invent new names for every
person and object that attracted his notice. Thus the
pass through which we were proceeding, at the mo-
ment of which I am now writing, received the name
of the Valley of Silence ; our host at Briars was our
Amphitryon ; his neighbour, the Major, w^ho was six
feet high, was our Hercules ; Sir George Cockburn was
my Lord Admiral, as long as we were in good spirits,
but, when ill-humour prevailed, there was no title for
him but such as the shark, &c.

Our nymph is the identical heroine of the little pas-
toral with which Doctor Warden has been pleased to
embellish his Letters ; although I corrected his error,
when he gave me the manuscript to read before his
departure for Europe, by telling him : " if it is your
intention to form a tale, it is w^ell ; but if you wish
to depict the truth, you must alter this entirely." It
should seem that he thought his tale possessed far more
interest ; and he has preserved it accordingly. But to
return to our nymph : I have been informed that Napo-
leon brought her great good fortune. The celebrity
which she acquired through him attracted the curiosity
of travellers, and her own charms effected the rest ; she
is become the wife of a very rich merchant, or captain,
in the service of the East-India Company.

On returning from our rides, we used to find assembled
the persons whom the Emperor had invited to dine with
him. He had, successively, the Colonel of the 53rd,
several of the officers and their ladies, the Admiral, the
beautiful and amiable Mrs. Hodson, the wife of our Her-
cules, whom the Emperor went one day to visit in the
valley of Briars, and of whose children he had taken
so much notice, &c.

x2

308 STRONG FORTRESSES.

After dinner, the Emperor joined one party at cards,
and the rest of the company formed another.

The day the Admiral dined at Longwood, the Em-
peror, whilst taking his coffee, discoursed for a few
minutes upon the affairs of the Island. The Admh'al said
that the 66th regiment was coming to reinforce the 53rd.
The Emperor laughed at this ; and asked him, if he did
not think himself already strong enough. Then, con-
tinuing his general observations, he said that an addi-
tional seventy-four would be of more use than a regiment ;
that ships of war were the security of an Island ; that
fortifications produced nothing but delay ; that the land-
ing of a superior force was a complete success, although
its effects might be deferred for a time ; provided, how-
ever, the distance did not admit of succour arriving.

The Admiral having asked him which, in his opinion,
was the strongest place in the world, the Emperor an-
swered, it was impossible to point it out, because tiie
strength of a place arises partly from its own means of
defence, and partly from extraneous and indeterminate
circumstances. He, however, mentioned Strasburg,
liille, Metz, Mantua, Antwerp, Malta, and Gibraltar.
The Admiral having told him that he had been suspected
in England, for some time, of entertaining a design to
attack Gibraltar : " We knew better than that," re})lied
the Emperor ; "it was our interest to leave Gibraltar
in your possession. It is of no advantage to you ; it
neither protects nor intercepts any thing ; it is pn\y an
object of national pride, which costs England very dear,
and gives great umbrage to Spain. It would have been
v«ry injudicious in us to destroy such ingenious ar-
rangements."

On the 6th, I was invited, with Madame Bertrand and
my son, to dine at Briars, where our old host had as-
sembled much company. We returned very late, and
not without having been exposed to danger, from the
difficulties of the road and the darkness of the night,
which obliged us to perform part of the journey on foot,
from consideration for Madame Bertrand.

On the 7th, the Emperor received a visit from the
Secretary of the Government and one of the members of

GOVERNMENT OF ST. HELENA. 309

the Council. He asked them a great many questions,
as usual, concerning the cultivation, the prosperity, and
the improvements of which the Island might be capable.
In 1772, a system had been adopted for furnishing meat
at half price to the inhabitants from the magazines of
the Company ; the consequence of which was, great
idleness, and neglect of agriculture. This system was
altered five years ago ; which, added to other circum-
stances, has revived emulation, and carried the prosperity
of the Island to a pitch far beyond what it ever enjoyed
before. It^ is to be feared that our arrival may prove a
mortal blow to this growing prosperity.

St. Helena, which is seven or eight leagues in circum-
ference (about the size of Paris), is subject to the
general laws of England and the local ones of the island :
these local laws are drawn up by a Council, and are
sanctioned in England by the Court of Directors of the
East- India Company. The Council is composed of a
Governor, of two civil members, and a Secretary, who
keeps the registers ; they are all appointed by the Com-
pany, and are subject to be removed at pleasure. The
members of the Council are legislators, administrators,
and magistrates ; they decide without appeal, with the
aid of a jury, upon civil and criminal matters. There is
neither advocate nor attorney in the Island ; the Secre-
tary of the Council authenticates all acts, and is a kind
of unique notary. The population of the Island amounts
at this moment to about five or six thousand souls, in-
cluding the blacks and the garrison.

I was walking one afternoon in the garden with the
Emperor, when a sailor, about twenty-two or tv/enty-
three years of age, with a frank and open countenance,
approached us, with gestures expressive of eagerness and
joy, mingled with apprehension of being perceived from
without. He spoke nothing but English, and told me
in a hurried manner, that he had twice braved the
obstacle of sentinels and all the dangers of severe pro-
hibition, to get a close view of the Emperor. He had
obtained this good fortune, he said, looking stedfastly at
the Emperor, and should die content ; that he offered up
his prayers to Heaven that Napoleon might enjoy good

310 ENGLISH SAILORS.

health, and be one day more happy. I dismissed him ;
and, on quitting- us, he hid himself again behind the trees
and hedges, in order to have a longer view of ns. We
frequently met with such unequivocal proofs of the good-
will of these sailors. Those of the Northumberland,
above all, considered themselves as having formed a
friendship with the Emperor. While we were residing
at Briars, where our seclusion was not so close, they
often hovered around us on a Sunday, saying they came
to take another look at their shipmate. The day on
which we quitted Briars, I was with the Emperor in the
garden, when one of the sailors appeared at the gate,
asking me if he might step in without giving oiFence. I
asked him of what country he was, and what religion he
professed. He answered by making various signs of the
cross, in token of his having understood me, and of fra-
ternity. Then looking stedfastly upon the Emperor,
before whom he stood, and, raising his eyes to Heaven,
he began to hold a conversation with himself, by ges-
tures, which his great jovial face rendered partly gro-
tesque, and partly sentimental. Nevertheless, it would
have been difficult to express, more naturally, admiration,
respect, kind wishes, and sympathy ; whilst big tears
started in his eyes. " Tell that dear man," said he to
me, *' that I wish him no harm, but all possible happi-
ness. So do most of us. Long life and health to him !'*
He had a nosegay of wild flowers in his hand, which
he seemed to wish to offer to us 5 but either his attention
was taken up, or he felt restrained by the Emperor's
presence, or his own feelings, and he stood wavering,
as if contending with himself for some time ; then sud-
denly made us a bow, and disappeared.

The Emperor could not refrain from evincing some
em.otion at these two circumstances ; so strongly did the
countenances, accents, and gestures of these two men
bear the stamp of truth. He then said, " See the ef-
fect of imagination ! How powerful is its influence !
Here are people who do not know me — who have never
seen me ; they have only heard me spoken of ; and what
do they not feel ! what would they not do to serve me !
And the same caprice is to be found in all countries, in

PROPOSED EARLY RIDES. 311

all ages, and in both sexes ! This is fanaticism ! Yes,
imagination rules the world !"

VEXATIOUS TREATMENT OF THE EMPEROR. FRESH

MISUNDERSTANDINGS WITH THE ADMIRAL.

9th. — The grounds round Longwood, within which
we have the liberty of taking the air, admit of only half
an hour's ride on horseback ; which has induced the
Emperor, in order to extend his ride, or to occupy more
time, to descend into the ravines by very bad and
indeed dangerous ways.

The Island not being thirty miles in circumference, it
would have been desirable to have the circuit extended
to within a mile of the sea- coast ; then we might have
had our rides, and even varied them, within a space of
fifteen or eighteen miles. The watching of our move-
ments w^ould neither have been more troublesome nor
less effectual, had sentinels been placed upon the sea-
shore and at the openings of the valleys ; or even had
they traced all the Emperor's steps by signals. We had
been told, it is true, that the Emperor was at liberty to
go over the whole of the Island under the escort of an
English officer ; but the Emperor had decided that he
would never go out, if deprived of the privilege of being
either entirely by himself, or in the society of his friends
only. The Admiral, in his last interview with the Em-
peror, had, with great delicacy, settled that, whenever he
(the Emperor) wished to go beyond the prescribed hmits,
he was to inform the English Captain on duty at Long-
wood of the circumstance ; that the latter should go to
his post to open the passage for the Emperor ; and that
the observation, if any, should thenceforth be continued
in such a manner that the Emperor, during the remain-
der of his excursion, whether he entered any house or
took advantage of any fine situation for proceeding with
his works, might perceive nothing that could for a mo-
ment distract his mind from meditation. According to
this arrangement, the Emperor proposed this morning
to mount his horse at seven o'clock : he had ordered a
slight breakfast to be prepared, and intended to go in
the direction of Sandy Bay, to see a spring of water,

312 FRESH MISUNDERSTANDING

and to pass the morning amongst some fine vegetation
(an advantage which we did not possess at Longwood) ;
and in this spot he proposed to dictate for a few hours.

Our horses were ready ; at the moment when we
were about to mount them, I went to acquaint the Cap-
tain with our intention, who, to my great astonishment,
declared his determination of riding beside us ; saying
that the Em.peror could not take it ill, after all, that an
officer would not act the part of a servant by remaining
behind alone. I replied that the Emperor doubtless
would approve this sentiment; but that he would im-
mediately give up his party of pleasure. " You must,"
said I, " think it very natural, and by no means a ground
of oiFence, that he feels a repugnance to the company
of a person who is guarding him." The officer evinced
much concern, and told me that his situation was ex-
tremely embarrassing. "Not at all so," I observed to
him, " if you only execute your orders. We ask nothing
of you ; you have nothing to justify or explain to us.
It must be as desirable to you as to us to get the limits
extended towards the sea-shore : you would thereby be
freed from a troublesome duty, and one which can do
you no honour. The end proposed would not be the
less effectually accomplished by such an arrangement. I
will venture to say that it would be more so : whenever
we wish to watch a person, we must guard the door of
his room, or the gates of the enclosure which surrounds
him ; the intermediate doors are only sources of unavail-
ing trouble. You lose sight of the Emperor every day
w^hen he descends into the deep hollows within the cir-
cuit, and you ascertain his existence only by his return.
Well, then, make a merit of a concession which the
nature of things demands. Extend the limits to within
a mile of the sea- shore ; you may then also trace the
Emperor constantly by means of your signals from your
heights."

To all this the officer replied only by repeating that
he wanted neither look nor word from the Emperor ;
that he would be with us, as if he were not present. He
seemed, and indeed he was, unable to comprehend that
the mere sight of him could be offensive to the Empe-

WITH THE ADMIRAL. 313

ror. I told him that there was a scale for the degrees
of feeling, and that the same measure did not apply to
all the world. He appeared to think that we were put-
ting our own interpretations on the Emperor's senti-
ments, and that, if the reasons which he gave me were
explained to him (the Emperor), the latter would accede
to them. He was inclined to write to him. I assured
him that, as far as related personally to himself, he would
not be able to say so much to the Emperor as I myself
should : but that I would go and repeat to the Emperor,
word for word, the conversation which had passed be-
tween us. I went, and soon returned, and confirmed to
him what I had before advanced. The Emperor from
that moment gave up his intended excursion.

Wishing, however, on my own account, to avoid every
misunderstanding which might add to discussions, at all
times disagreeable, I asked him whether he had any ob-
jection to impart to me the account he intended to give
the Admiral. He told me he had none ; but that he
should only give a verbal one. Then, resuming our long
conversation, I reduced it in a few words, to two very
positive points : on his part, that he had told me he
wished to join the party of the Emperor : and on mine,
that I had replied that the Emperor from that moment
gave up his party, and would not go beyond the limits
assigned to him. This statement was perfectly agreed
upon by both of us. The Emperor ordered me to be
called into his room. Brooding in profound silence over
the vexation which he had just experienced, he had un-
dressed again, and was in his morning-gown. He de-
tained me to breakfast, and observed that the sky seemed
to threaten rain ; that we should have had a bad day for
our excursion. But this was a poor consolation for the
cruel restraint which had just deprived him of an inno-
cent pleasure.

The fact is that the officer had received fresh orders ;
but the Emperor had only grounded the project of his
little excursion upon the anterior promises of the Admi-
ral, at which the Emperor had felt a pleasure in express-
ing his satisfaction to him. The present alteration, of
which nothing had been said to the Emperor, must ne-

314 SPANISH LITERATURE.

cessarily have been extremely unpleasant to him. Either
the word given him was broken, or an attempt had been
made to impose on him. This aiFront, which he expe-
rienced from the Admiral, is one of those which have
considerably hmt the feelings of the Emperor.

The Emperor took a bath, and did not dine with us.
At nine o'clock he ordered me to be called into his room,
he was reading Don Quixote, which turned our conver-
sation upon Spanish literature, the translation of Le
Sage, &c. He was very melancholy, and said little 3 he
sent me away in about three quarters of an hour,

MARCHANd's room. LINEN, GARMENTS, &C. OF THE

EMPEROR, SPURS OF CHAMPAUBERT, &C.

10th. — About four o'clock the Emperor desired me to
be called into his room : he was dressed, and had his
boots on ; his intention was either to get on horseback,
or to take a walk in the garden ; but a gentle shower of
rain was falling. We walked about in conversation,
waiting for the weather to clear up. He opened the
door of his room leading to the topographical cabinet, in
order that we might extend our walk the whole length of
this cabinet. As w^e approached the bed, he asked me
if I always slept in it. I answered that I had ceased to
do so from the moment that I became acquainted with
his wish of going out early in the morning. " What has
that to do with it ?" said he : " return to it ; I shall go
out when I please, by the^ back-door." The drawing-
room door stood half open, and he entered it ; Montholon
and Gourgaud were there. They were endeavouring to
fix a very pretty lustre, and a small glass over the chim-
ney-piece : the Emperor desired the latter might be set
straight, as it inclined a little on one side. He was much
pleased at this improvement in the drawing-room furni-
ture ; a proof that every thing is relative ! What could
these objects have been in the eyes of a man who, some
years ago, had furniture to the value of forty millions
in his palaces ?

We returned to the topographical cabinet : the rain
continued to fall, he gave up his promenade ; but he re-
gretted that the Grand Marshal had not arrived ; he felt

napoleon's spurs. 315

himself this day inclined for work, which he had discon-
tinued for a fortnight. He endeavoured to kill time,
whilst waiting for Bertrand. " Let us go and see Madame
de Montholon," said he to me. I announced him ; he
sat down, made me do the same ; and we talked about
furniture and housekeeping. He then began to form an
inventory of the articles in the apartment, piece by
piece; and we all agreed that the furniture was not
worth more than thirty Napoleons. Leaving Madame
de Montholon's, he ran from room to room, and stopped
in front of the staircase in the corridor which leads to
the servants' room above ; it is a kind of very steep
ladder. "Let us look at Marchand's apartment," said
he ; ** they say that he keeps it like that of a 'petite mai-
tresse." We climbed up ; Marchand was there ; his little
room is clean ; he has pasted paper upon it, which he
has painted himself. His bed was without curtains :
Marchand does not sleep so far from his master's door ;
at Briars, he and the two other valets- de-chambre con-
stantly slept upon the ground, across the Emperor's
doorway, so close that, whenever I came away late, I
was obliged to step over them. The Emperor ordered
the presses to be opened ; they contained nothing but his
linen and his clothes j the whole was not considerable,
yet he was astonished to find himself still so rich. " How
many pair of spurs have I?" said he, taking up a pair.
*' Four pair," answered Marchand. "Are any of them
more remarkable than the rest.-'" — " No, Sire." — "Well,
I wiUgive a pair of them to Las Cases. Are these old ?"
"Yes, Sire, they are almost worn out; your Majesty
wore them in the campaign of Dresden, and in that of
Paris." — '' Here," said he, giving them to me ; " these
are for you." I could have wished that he would have
permitted me to receive them on my knees. I felt that
I was really receiving something connected with the glo-
rious days of Champaubert, Montmirail, Nangis, Mon-
tereau ! Was there ever a more appropriate memorial of
chivalry, in the times of Amadis ? " Your Majesty is
makino- me a knight," said I ; " but how am I to win these
spurs ? I cannot pretend to achieve any feat of arms ;
and as to love and devotion, Sire, all I have to bestow
has long since been disposed of."

316 A11E.IVAL OP ADMIRAL TAYLOR.

Still the Grand Marshal did not arrive, and the Em-
peror wished to set to work. " You cannot write any
longer then V he said to me. " Your eyesight is quite
gone.''' Ever since we had been here I had given up
work entirely 5 my eyesight failed me, v/hich made me
extremely melancholy. "Yes, sire," I replied, " it is
entirely gone ; and I am grieved that I lost it in the
Campaign of Italy, without enjoying the happiness and
glory of having served in it." — He endeavoured to con-
sole me, by telling me that I should recover my eye-
sight, beyond a doubt, by repose, adding, " Oh why did
they not leave us Planat ! that good young man would
now be of great service to me." And he desired Gene-
ral Gourgaud to come, that he might dictate to him.

ADMIRAL TAYLOR, &C.

11th. — As I w^as walking after breakfast, about half-
past twelve, before the gate, I saw a numerous caval-
cade approaching, preceded by the Colonel of the 53rd :
it was Admiral Taylor, who had arrived the evening
before with his squadron from the Cape, and was to
leave us the next day but one for Europe. Among his
captains was his son, who had lost his arm at the battle
of Trafalgar, where his father commanded the Tonnant.

Admiral Taylor said he was come to pay his respects
to the Emperor ; but he had just received for answer
that he was unwell ; at which the Admiral was much
disappointed. I observed to him that the climate of
Longwoodwas very unfavourable to Napoleon. I chose
an unlucky time for making this observation, as the sky
was beautiful, and the place displayed at this moment all
the illusion which it is capable of producing : the Ad-
miral did not fail to remark that the situation was char-
ming. I replied, in a tone of genuine sorrow : " Yes,
Admiral, to-day, and for you, who only remain a quarter
of an hour in it." At this he seemed quite disconcerted,
began to make excuses, and begged me to pardon him
for having made use of what he called an impertinent
expression. I must render justice to the peculiar urba-
nity of manner which he evinced on this occasion.

A DRUNKEN CORPORAL. 317

THE EMPEROR AIMED AT BY A SOLDIER. OUR EVEN-
ING AMUSEMENTS. — NOVELS. POLITICAL REMARKS,

12th — I4tli. The Emperor had now for several days
left off his excursions on horseback. The result of his
attempt to resume them, on the 12th, v/as neither cal-
culated to revive his partiality for this amusement, nor
to render it once more habitual to him. We had cleared
our vallev as usual, and were re- ascending at the back
part opposite Longwood, when a soldier from one of the
heights, where there had hitherto been no post, called
out several times, and made various signs to us. As we
were in the very centre of our circuit, we paid no atten-
tion to him. He then came running down towards us,
out of breath, charging his piece as he ran. General
Gourgaud remained behind, to see what he wanted,
while we continued our route. I could see the General,
after dodging the fellow many times, collar and secure
him : he made him follow him as far as the neighbour-
ing post by the Grand Marshal's, which the General en-
deavoured to make him enter, but he escaped from him.
He found that he was a drunken corporal, who had not
rightly understood his watchword. He had frequently
levelled his piece at us. This circumstance, which
might have been very easily repeated, made us tremble
for the Emperor's life : the latter looked upon it only as
an affront, and a fresh obstacle to the continuance of his
exercises on horseback.

Napoleon had ceased giving invitations to dinner :
the hours, the distance, the dressing, were inconvenient
to the guests : to us these parties produced only trouble
and constraint, without any pleasure.

The Emperor had by degrees resumed his regular
work. He now dictated daily to the Grand Marshal
upon the expedition to Egypt ; some time before dinner
he ordered me and my son to be called to him, in order
to read the different chapters of the Campaigns of Italy
over again, and separate them into paragraphs. Rever-
sis had gone out of fashion ; the Emperor had given it
up. The tim.e after dinner was henceforth devoted to
the rcadinfr of some work : the En^'^-'^ror himself read

318 FRESH NEWSPAPERS.

aloud ; when he was tired, he handed the book over to
some other person ; but then he never could bear their
reading more than a quarter of an hour. We were now
reading novels, and we began many which we never
finished, Manon V Escaiit we soon rejected as fit only
for the ante-chamber; then followed the Memoirs of
Grammont, which are so full of wit, but so far from
honourable to the morals of the great of that period ;
the Chevalier de Fauhlas, which is only to be endured
at the age of twenty years, &c. Whenever these read-
ings could be protracted to eleven or twelve o'clock, the
Emperor seemed truly rejoiced. He called this making
conquests over time ; and he found such victories not
the most easy to gain.

Politics had also their turn. Every three or four
weeks, or thereabouts, we received a large packet of
journals from Europe ; this, like the cut of a whip, set
us going again for some days, during which we discussed,
analyzed, and re-discussed the news : and afterwards fell
again insensibly into our usual melancholy. The last
journals had reached us by the Greyhound sloop, which
had arrived some days before. They occupied one of the
evenings, and gave rise to one of those moments, where-
in that ardour and inspiration burst forth from the
Emperor, which T have sometimes witnessed in the
Council of State, and which escape him from time to
time even here.

He took large strides as he walked amongst us, be-
coming gradually more animated, and only interrupting
his discourse by a few moments of meditation.

" Poor France," said he, " what will be thy lot !
Above all, what is become of thy glory !

I suppress the rest, which is of very great length : I
must suppress it."

The papers seeming to say that England desired the
dismemberment of France, but that Russia had opposed
it, the Emperor said that he expected this ; that it was
natural that Russia should be dissatisfied at seeing France
divided ; because she would then have to fear that the
diiFerent states of Germany would unite against her ;

GOLDSMITH S ABUSE.

319

whilst, on the other hand, the English aristocracy must
he desirous of reducing France to the extremity of
weakness, and of establishing despotism upon her ruins.
"I know," said he, "that this is not your opinion,"
addressing himself to me ; " you are an Englishman." I
replied that it was very difficult to dispute \Yith him ;
hut that it appeared to me that in this same English
aristocracy, it must be allowed, there might possibly
exist heads sufficiently clear, as well as hearts just
enough, to understand that, after having overthrown
that which threatened their existence, it might prove
advantageous to raise up that which was no longer to
be dreaded ; that circumstances were now singularly
favourable for establishing a new system, which might
for ever unite the two nations in their dearest interests,
and render them necessary to each other, instead of
keeping them in perpetual enmity, &c. The Emperor
concluded the conversation by saying that he must be
very perverse, without doubt ; but that, with every con-
sideration that he could give the subject, he could fore-
see nothing but catastrophes, massacres, and bloodshed.

ON THE SECRET HISTORY OP THE CABINET OF
BONAPARTE, BY GOLDSMITH. DETAILS, &C.

15th. — ^When I was on board the Northumberland, I
had heard the Secret History of the Cabinet of Bona-
parte by Goldsmith, spoken of, and, in my ffi-st leisure
moments here, I felt an inclination to skim it over ; but
I met with great difficulty in obtaining it, as the English
excused themselves from putting it into my hands, for a
considerable time, saying, it w^as such an abominable
libel that they were afraid to let me have it, and were
themselves ashamed of it. I was for a long time under
the necessity of urging them incessantly, repeating that
we were all proof against such civilities ; that he who
was the object of them only used to laugh at such things,
when chance brought them before his eyes ; and more-
over that, if this work was so bad as it was said to be,
it must have failed in its end, and ceased to be hurtful
at all. I asked who this Goldsmith, the author, was. I
was told, he was an Englishman who

320 goldsmith's abuse.

at Paris, and who, upon his return to England, had en-
deavoured to avoid .... and at the same time
to gain more money, by loading with insults and impre-
cations that idol to whom he had so long offered incense.
I at last obtained the work. It must be confessed that
it would be difficult to bring together more horrible and
ridiculous abominations than are presented to us in the
first pages of this book : rapes, poison, incest, assassi-
nation, and all that belongs to them, are heaped by the
author upon his hero, and that from his earliest child-
hood. It is true that the author appears to have given
himself little concern about bestowing on these calumnies
any air of probability ; and that he himself sometimes
demonstrates their impossibility, and sometimes refutes
them by anachronisms, alibis, and contradictions of every
kind ; mistakes in the names, persons, and most authen-
tic facts, &c. Thus, for example, when Napoleon was
only about ten or twelve years of age, and was confined
within the bounds of the Military School, he causes him
to commit outrages which would require at least the age
of manhood, and a certain degree of liberty, &c. The
author makes him undertake what he calls the robberies
of Italy, at the head of eight thousand galley-slaves, who
had escaped from the bagnio at Toulon. Afterwards, he
makes twenty thousand Poles abandon the Austrian ranks
to join the standard of the French General, &c. The same
author makes Napoleon arrive at Paris in Fructidor,
when Fill the world knows that he never quitted his army.
He makes him treat with the Prince of Conde, and ask
the hand of the Princess Royal as the price of his trea-
chery. I omit a number of other things equally absurd
and impudent. It is evident that, with respect to the
loose and ridiculous anecdotes particularly, he only col-
lected all he could hear ; but from what source has he
drawn his information .^ The greater part of the anec-
dotes have certainly had their rise in certain defamatory
and malevolent circles of Paris ; but, as long as they
were on that ground, they still preserved the appearance
of some wit, salt, point, colour, some grace in the
relation ; whilst the stories in this book have evidently
descended from the drawing-rooms into the streets, and

BASE LIBELS. 321

have only been picked up after rolling in the kennel. The
English allowed it to be so coarse that, except to the
most vulgar classes of society, the work was a poison
which carried its own antidote along with it.

It may probably excite astonishment that I did not lay
aside such a production upon reading the first page of
it ; but its coarseness and vulgarity are so gross that it
cannot excite anger : on the other hand, there is no
disgust which may not be got over in order to amuse the
heavy hours at St. Helena. We consider ourselves
fortunate in having any thing to peruse. "Time," said
the Emperor, a few days ago, " is the only thing of
which we have too much here." I therefore continued
the work. And besides, I may perhaps be allowed to
say that it is not without some pleasure that I now read
the absurd tales, the lies, and calumnies, which an author
pretends to derive, as usual, from the best authority,
relating to objects which I am now so perfectly well
acquainted with, and which have become as familiar to
me as the details of my own life ; and it is likewise
gratifying to lay down pages filled with the falsest re-
presentations, and exhibiting a portrait purely fanciful
to study truth by the side of the real personage, in
his own conversation, ever full of novelties and grand
ideas.

The Emperor having desired me to come to him this
morning after breakfast, I found him in his morning-
gown lying on his sofa. The conversation led him to ask
me what I was reading at this moment. I replied that
it was one of the most notorious and scurrilous libels
published against him, and I quoted to him upon the
spot some of its most abominable stories. He laughed
heartily at them, and desired to see the work. I sent
for it, and we went over it together. In passing from
one horrid calumny to another, he exclaimed, " Jesus !"
crossing himself repeatedly — a custom which 1 have
perceived to be familiar with him, in his little friendly
circle, whenever he meets with monstrous, impu-
dent, cynical assertions, which excite his indignation
and surprise without rousing his anger. As we pro-
ceeded, the Emperor analyzed certain facts, and cor-

VOL. I. Y

322 BASE LIBELS.

rected points of which the author might have known
something. Sometimes he shrugged up his shoulders
out of compassion ; at others, he laughed heartily ; hut he
never betrayed the least sign of anger. When he read
the article which speaks of his great debaucheries and
excesses, the violences and the outrages which he is repre-
sented to have committed, he observed that the author,
doubtless, wished to make a hero of him in every respect ;
that he willingly left him to those who had charged him
with impotency 3 that it was for these gentlemen to agi*ee
among themselves ; adding, merrily, "that every man
was not so unlucky as the pleader of Toulouse." They
were in the wrong, however, he continued, to attack him
upon the score of morals ; him, who, as all the world
knew, had so singularly improved them. They could not
be ignorant that he was not at all inclined, by nature,
to debauchery ; and that, moreover, the multiplicity of his
affairs would never have allowed him time to indulge in
it. When he came to the pages where his mother was
described as acting the most disgusting and abject part
at Marseilles, he stopped, and repeated several times
with an accent of indignation, and something approach-
ing to grief, "Ah! Madame! — Poor Madame! — with
her lofty character ! if she were to read this ! — Great
God!"

We thus passed more than two hours, after which he
began to dress. Doctor O'Meara was introduced to
him : it was the usual hour of his being admitted.
" Dottore," said the Emperor to him in Italian, whilst
he was shaving himself, " I have just read one of your
fine London productions against me." The Doctor's
countenance indicated a wish to know what it was. I
shewed him the book at a distance ; it was himself who
had lent it to me : he was disconcerted. " It is a very
just remark," continued the Emperor, "that it is the
truth only which gives offence. I have not been angry
for a moment; but I have frequently laughed at it."
The Doctor endeavoured to reply, and puzzled himself
with high-flown sentences : it was, he said, an infamous,
disgusting libel; every body knew it to be such; no-
body paid any attention to it : nevertheless, persons

LESSONS IN ENGLISH. 323

might be found who would beheve it, from its not having
been rephed to. " But how can that be helped ?" said
the Emperor. " If it should enter any one's head to put
in print that I had grown hairy, and walked on all
fours, there are people who would believe it, and would
say that God had punished me as he did Nebuchad-
nezzar. And what could I do ? There is no remedy in
such cases." The Doctor -went away, hardly able to
believe the gaiety, the indifference, the good-nature of
which he had just been witness : with regard to our-
selves, we were now accustomed to it.

THE EMPEROR RESOLVES TO LEARN ENGLISH, &C.

1 6th. — About three o'clock the Emperor desired me
to come and converse with him whilst he was dressing
himself; we afterwards took a few turns in the garden.
He observed, accidentally, that it was a shame he could
not yet read English. I assured him that, if he had
continued his lessons after the two that I had given
when we were off Madeira, he would now be able to
read every kind of English books. He was thoroughly
persuaded of this, and ordered me to oblige him hence-
forth to take a lesson every day. The conversation
then led me to observe that I had just given my son
his first lesson in mathematics. It is a branch of know-
ledge which the Emperor is very fond of, and in v/hich
he is particularly skilled. He was astonished that I
could teach my son so much without the help of any
work, and without any copy-book ; he said, he did not
know that I was so learned in this way, and threatened
me with examining, when I did not expect it, both the
master and the scholar. At dinner he attacked what he
called the Professor of Mathematics, who was very near
being posed by him : one question did not wait for an-
other, and they were frequently very keen. He never
ceased to regret that the mathematics were not taught
at a very early age in the Lyceums. He said that all
the intentions he had formed respecting the Universities
had been frustrated, complained bitterly of M. de Fon-
tanes, lamenting that, whilst he was obliged to be at a
distance, carrying on the war, they spoiled all he had

y 2

324 LESSONS IN ENGLISH.

done at home, &c. This led the Emperor back to the
first years of his Hfe, to father Patrault, his Professor of
Mathematics, whose history he gave us : I have already
introduced it.

FIRST ENGLISH LESSON, &C.

17th. — The Emperor took his first lesson in the Eng-
lish language to-day. And as it was my intention to put
him at once in a situation to read the papers with readi-
ness, this first lesson consisted of nothing more than
getting acquainted with an English newspaper ; in study-
ing the form and plan of it ; in learning the places that
are always given to the difierent subjects which it con-
tains ; in separating the notices and gossip of the town
from politics ; and, in the latter, in learning to distin-
guish what is authentic from what is mere report or
conjecture.

I have engaged that, if the Emperor could endure
being annoyed every day with such lessons, he would be
able to read the papers in a month without the assistance
of any of us. The Emperor wished afterwards to do
some exercises ; he wrote some sentences which were
dictated to him, and translated them into English, with
the assistance of a little table, which I made for him, of
the auxiliary verbs and articles, and aided by the dic-
tionary for other words which I made him look out
himself. I explained to him the rules of syntax and
grammar, as they came before us : in this manner he
formed various sentences, which amused him more than
the versions which we also attempted. After the lesson,
at two o'clock, we took a walk in the garden.

Several musquet shots were fired : they were so near
us that they appeared to have been fired in the garden
itself. The Emperor observed to me that my son (we
thought it was he) seemed to have good sport : I re-
plied that it was the last time he should enjoy it so
near the Emperor. "Really," said he, "you may as
well go and tell him that he is only to come within can-
non-shot of us." I ran : we had accused him wrong-
fully, for the guns were fired by the people who were
training the Emperor's horses.

INTERVIEW WITH THE GOVERNOR. 325

After dinner, during coffee, the Emperor, talcing me
to the corner of the chimney-piece, put his hand upon
my head to measure my height, and said, " I am a
giant to you." — " Your Majesty is a giant to so many
others," I observed to him, " that I am not at all con-
cerned at it." He spoke immediately of something else ;
for he does not like to dwell on expressions of this kind.

OUR DAILY HABITS. CONVERSATION WITH GOVERNOR

WILKS. ARMIES. CHEMISTRY. POLITICS. RE-
MARKS ON INDIA. DELPHINE, BY MAD. DE STAEL.

NECKER, CALONNE.

18th— 20th. We led a life of great uniformity. The
Emperor did not go out in the mornings. The English
lesson was very regularly taken about two o'clock ; then
followed either a walk in the garden, or some presenta-
tions, which, however, were very rare ; afterwards a
little excursion in the calash, as the horses were at last
arrived. Before dinner we proceeded with the revision
of the Campaigns of Italy or Egypt : after dinner we
read romances.

On the 20th, the Emperor received Governor Wilks,
with whom he had a profound discussion on the army,
the sciences, government, and the Indies. Speaking of
the organization of the English army, he dwelt much on
the principles of promotion in it ; expressing his sur-
prise that, in a country in which equality of rights is
maintained, the soldiers so seldom become officers.

Colonel Wilks admitted that theEnghsh soldiers were
not formed to become officers ; and said that the En-
glish were equally astonished at the great difference they
had remarked in the French army, where almost every
soldier shewed the nascent talents of an officer. " That,"
observed the Emperor, "is one of the great results of
the Conscription ; it has rendered the French army the
best constituted that ever existed. It is an institution,"
he continued, '* eminently national, and already strongly
interwoven with our habits ; it had ceased to be a cause
of grief, except to mothers ; and the time was at hand,
when a girl would not have listened to a young man
who had not acquitted himself of this debt to his coun-

326 DISCUSSIONS ON CHEMISTRY.

try. And it would have been onlv when arrived at this
point," added he, " that the Conscription would have
manifested the full extent of its advantages. When the
service no longer bears the appearance of punishment or
compulsory duty, but is become a point of honour, on
which all are jealous, then only is the nation great, glo-
rious and powerful ; it is then that its existence is proof
against reverses, invasions — even the hand of time !

"Besides,'' continued he, "it may be truly said
that there is nothing that may not be obtained from
Frenchmen by the excitement of danger ; it seems to
animate them ; it is an inheritance which they derive

from their Gallic forefathers Courage, the love

of glory, are, with the French, an instinct, a kind of
sixth sense. How often in the heat of battle has my
attention been fixed on my young conscripts, rushing,
for the first time, into the thickest of the fight : honour
and valour bursting forth at every pore."

After this, the Emperor, knowing that Governor
Wilks was well inform.ed in chemistry, attacked him on
that subject. He spoke of the immense progress in all
our manufactures occasioned by this science. He said,
that both England and France, undoubtedly, possessed
great chemists ; but that chemistry was more generally
diffused in France, and more particularly directed to use-
ful results ; that in England it remained a science, while
in France it was becoming entirely practical. The Go-
vernor admitted that these observations were perfectly
correct, and, with a liberality of sentiment, added that
it was to him, the Emperor, that all these advantages
were ow^ing, and that, wherever science was led by the
hand of power, it would produce great and happy effects
upon the well-being of society. The Emperor observed
that of late France had obtained sugar from the beet-
root, as good and cheap as that extracted from the su-
gar-cane. The Governor was astonished ; he had not
even suspected it. The Emperor assured him that it
was an established fact, opposed, as it was, to the rooted
prejudices of all Europe, France itself not excepted.
He added that it was the same with woad, the substi-
tute for indigo, and with almost all the colonial produce

EMIGRATION, AND INDIA. 327

except the dye-woods. This led him to conclude that
if the invention of the compass had produced a revolu-
tion in commerce, the progress of chemistry bade fair to
produce a counter-revolution.

The conversation then turned on the present nume-
rous emigrations of the artisans of France and England
to America. The Emperor observed that this favoured
country grew rich by our follies. The Governor smiled,
and replied, that those of England would occupy the
first place in the list, from the numerous errors oif ad-
ministration, which had led to the revolt and subsequent
emancipation of the Colonies. The Emperor said that
their emancipation was inevitable ; that when children
had attained the size of their fathers, it was difficult to
retain them long in a state of obedience.

They then spoke of India ; the Governor had resided
there many years, and had filled high situations ; he had
made important researches ; he was able to reply to a
multitude of questions proposed to him by the Emperor,
respecting the laws, the manners, the usages of the Hin-
doos, the administration of the English, the nature and
construction of the existing laws, &c.

Tlie English are governed according to the laws of
England ; the natives by local acts made by the several
Councils in the service of the Company, with whom it
is a fundamental principle to render them as nearly simi-
lar as possible to the laws of the people themselves.

Hyder Aly was a man of genius ,• Tippoo, his son, was
arrogant, ignorant, and rash. The former had upwards
of 100,000 men ; the latter scarcely ever more than
50,000. These people are not deficient in courage, but
they do not possess our physical strength, and have nei-
ther discipline nor any knowledge of tactics. Seventeen
thousand men in the English service, of whom only 4000
vv'ere Europeans, were sufficient to destroy the empire of
Mysore. It was, however, to be presumed that, sooner
or later, the national spirit would rescue these regions
from the dominion of the Europeans. The intermixture
of European blood with that of the natives, was pro-
ducing a mixed race, whose numbers and disposition
certainly prepared the way for a great revolution. Never-

328 MADAME DE STAEL.

theless, in their actual condition, the people were happier
than they had been previously to the dominion of the
English: an impartial administration of justice, and the
mildness of the government were, for the present, the
strongest supports of the power of the parent state. It
was also considered expedient to prohibit the English
and other Europeans from buying lands there, or form-
ing hereditary establishments, &c.

Madame de Stael's Delphine w^as at this time a sub-
ject of conversation at our evening parties. The Em-
peror analyzed it : few things in it escaped his censure.
The irregularity of mind and imagination which pervades
it excited his criticism : there were throughout, said he,
the same faults which had formerly made him keep the
authoress at a distance, notwithstanding the most pointed
advances and the most unremitting flattery on her part.
No sooner had victory immortalized the young General
of the Army of Italy, than Madame de Stael, unac-
quainted with him, from the mere sympathy of glory,
instantly professed for him sentiments of enthusiasm wor-
thy of her own Corinne ; she wrote him long and nume-
rous epistles, full of wit, imagination, and metaphysical
erudition : it was an error, she observed, arising only
from human institutions, that could have united him
with the meek, the tranquil, Madame Bonaparte ; it was
a soul of fire like her's (Madame de Stael's) that nature
had undoubtedly destined to be the companion of a hero
like him.

I refer to the Campaigns in Italy to shew that this
forwardness on the part of Madame de Stael was not
checked by the circumstance of meeting with no return.
With a perseverance never to be disheartened, she suc-
ceeded, at a later period, in forming some degree of
acquaintance, so far even as to be allowed to visit ; and
she used this privilege, said the Emperor, to a disagree-
able extent. It is unquestionably true, as has been
reported, that the General, wishing to make her sensible
of it, one day caused her to be told, by way of excuse,
that he was scarcely dressed; and that she replied
promptly and seriously, that it was unimportant, for that
genius was of no sex.

NECKER AND CALONNE 329

From Madame de Stael we were naturally led to her
father, M. Necker. The Emperor related, that at Ge-
neva, in his way to Marengo, he received a visit from
him, wherein he made known, in an awkward manner
enough, his desire to be admitted again to the Adminis-
tration— a desire, by the by, which M. Calonne, his rival,
subsequently came to Paris to express with a degree of
levity beyond conception. M. Necker afterwards wrote
a dangerous work upon the policy of France, which he
attempted to prove could no longer exist either as a
monarchy or a republic, and in which he called the
First Consul Vhomme necessaire.

The First Consul proscribed the work, which, at that
time, might have been highly prejudicial to him, and
committed the task of refuting it to the Consul Lebrun,
" who in his elegant prose," said the Emperor, executed
prompt and ample justice upon it. The Necker coterie
was irritated, and Madame de Stael, engaging in some
intrigues, received an order to quit France : thenceforth
she became an ardent and strenuous enemy. Neverthe-
less, on the return from the Island of Elba, she wrote or
sent to the Emperor, to express, in her peculiar way, the
enthusiasm which this wonderful event had excited in her ;
that she Was overcome ; that this last act was not that
of a mortal ; that it had at once raised its author to the
skies. Then, returning to herself, she concluded by
hinting that, if the Emperor would condescend to allow
the payment of the two millions, for which an order in
her favour had already been signed by the King, her pen
and her principles should be devoted for ever after to his
interest. — The Emperor desired she might be informed,
in answer, that nothing could flatter him more highly
than her approbation, because he fully appreciated her
talents ; but that he really was not rich enough to pur-
chase it at that price.

MY NEW LODGING DESCRIBED. MORNING VISIT, &C.

21st. — I had at length taken possession of the new
lodging built for me instead of my former oven. Upon
a soil constantly damp had been placed a floor eighteen
feet long by eleven wide ; this was surrounded by a wall

330 THE author's new bed-room.

of a foot and half in thickness, composed of loam, and
which might have been kicked down with the foot : at
the height of seven feet it was covered with a roof of
boards, defended by a coating of paper and tar. Such
were the construction and the outline of my new palace,
divided into two apartments, one of which contained two
beds separated by a chest of drawers, and afforded room
for only a single chair ; the other, at once my saloon and
my library, had a single window strongly fastened up on
account of the violence of the winds and rain : on the
right and left of it were two writing-tables, for me and
my son ; on the opposite side a couch and two chairs.
This was the whole of the furniture and accommoda-
tions : add to this that the aspect of the two windows is
towards a wind constantly blowing from the same quar-
ter, and generally accompanied with rain, often very
heavy, and which, previously to our taking possession,
already forced its way through the cracks, or soaked
through the walls and the roof. I had just passed my
first night in these new quarters ; I was indisposed, and
my change of bed had prevented me from sleeping. I
was informed about seven o'clock, that the Emperor was
going out on horseback ; I replied that, not feeling my-
self well, I should endeavour to take some rest ; but only
a few minutes had elapsed when a person hastily entered
my apartment, opened my curtains with an air of au-
thority, found fault with me for being so idle, and pro-
nounced that my ailments must be shaken off; then,
struck with the smell of the paint, the extreme small-
ness of the room, and the closeness of the two beds, he
decided that we could no longer be suffered to sleep
huddled together in that way ; that it was far too un-
wholesome ; and that I must return to the bed in the
topographical cabinet, which I ought not to abandon
through false dehcacy ; and that, if I occasioned any in-
convenience there, I should be told of it. It will have
been guessed that this person was the Emperor. I
was, of course, soon out of bed, dressed, and well. The
Emperor was, however, already far off: I had to seek
him in the park. After I had overtaken him, our con-
versation turned on the long audience that he had given

THE author's progenitors. 331

to Governor Wilks on the preceding' day. He dwelt,
with much good humour, on the great importance which
my work appeared to have given me in the Governor's
eyes, and the extreme good- will towards me with which
it seemed to have inspired him. " Of course," continued
he, "it is understood that these sentiments are to be
mutual ; the usual regard and fraternity of authors, as
long as they do not criticize each other. And is he
aware of your relationship to the venerable Las Casas ?"
I answered that I knew nothing of the matter ; but Ge-
neral Gourgaud, who was on the other side of the Em-
peror, replied in the affirmative. " And how do you
know it yourself?" said the Emperor to me ; " Are you
not romancing with us ?" " The following. Sire, are my
proofs. Our family had been two hundred years in
France, when Barthelemi de Las Casas flourished in
Spain ; but the Spanish historians all describe him as a
native of the same city from which we ourselves came,
that is to say, Seville. They all mention him as of an
ancient family, of French origin, and state his ancestors
to have passed into Spain precisely at the time when
our family went there." — *' What, then, you are not
Spanish } He was French, as well as you !" — " Yes, Sire."
— "Let us hear all about it; come. Sir Castellan, Sir
Knight-errant, Sir Paladin, — let us see you in your
glory ; unrol your old parchments ; come, enjoy your-
self."— "Sire, one of m.y ancestors followed Henry
Count of Burgundy, who, at the head of a few crusaders,
achieved the conquest of Portugal, about the year 1100.
He was his standard-bearer at the famous battle of
Ourique, which founded the Portugese monarchy. Af-
terwards we returned to France with Queen Blanche,
when she came to be married to the father of St. Louis.
Sire, this is the whole."

THE emperor's READINGS. MADAME DE SEVIGNE.

CHARLES XII. — PAUL AND VIRGINIA. VERTOT. ROL-

LIN. VELLY. — GARNTER.

22nd — 26th. These days were rendered unpleasant
by almost incessant rain. The Emperor was only tv^ice
able to ride out — in the park one morning, and once in

332 PAUL AND VIRGINIA.

the afternoon through our usual valley, which the wea-
ther had rendered almost impassable. Nor was it more
practicable to make use of the calash ; we were therefore
compelled to confine ourselves to a few turns in the gar-
den, and to share in the gloom of the weather. We
worked, however, the more on this account. The Em-
peror regularly took excellent and long lessons in Eng-
lish. It is his custom to pass all the morning in read-
ing ; he reads whole works of very considerable extent
regularly through, without feeling in the least fatigued ;
he always read some part of them to me before he began
his English lessons.

One of them was the Letters of Madame de Sevigne,
the style of which is so easy, and depicts so faithfully
the manners of the time. Reading the death of Turenne,
and the trial of Fouquet, he observed, with respect to
the latter, that Madame de Sevigne seemed to evince
too much warmth, too much earnestness and tenderness,
for mere friendship.

Another was Charles XJI., in reading whose defence
of his house, at Bender, against the Turks, he could not
help laughing, and repeating as they did, " Ironhead !
Ironhead !" He asked me whether the nature of this
monarch's death was a settled point. I told him that I
had it from the mouth of Gustavus III. himself, that he
had been assassinated by his followers. Gustavus had
examined his body in the vault ; the ball was a pistol-
bullet ; it had been fired very near, and behind him, &c.
At the beginning of the Revolution, I was well ac-
quainted with Gustavus III., at the waters of Aix-la-
Chapelle ; and, though I was then very young, I had
more than once the honour of conversing with him : he
even promised me a place in his navy, if our afifairs in
France should turn out unfavourably.

Another day the Emperor was reading Paul and Vir-
ginia ; he gave full effect to the touching passages, which
were always simple and natural ; those which abounded
with the pathos, the abstract and false ideas so much in
fashion when the work was published, were all, in the
Emperor's opinion, cold, bad, spoiled. He said he had
been infatuated with this book in his youth ; but he had

BERNARDIN DE ST. PIERRE, 333

little personal regard for its author ; he could never for-
give him for having imposed on his generosity on his
return from the Army of Italy. " Bernardin de St,
Pierre's sensibility and delicacy," said he, " were little
in harmony with his charming picture of Paul and Vir-
ginia. He was a bad man ; he used his wife, Didot the
printer's daughter, very ill ; he was always ready to ask
charity, without the least shame. On my return from the
Army of Italy, Bernardin came to see me, and almost
immediately began to tell me of his wants. I, who in
my early youth had dreamed of nothing but Paul and
Virginia, and who moreover felt flattered by a confidence
which I imagined was reposed in me alone, and which I
attributed to my great celebrity, hastened to return his
visit, and, unperceived by any one, left on the corner of
his chimney-piece a little rouleau of five-and-twenty
louis. But how was I mortified on seeing every one
laugh at the delicacy of my proceeding, and on learning
that such ceremony was entirely superfluous with M.
Bernardin, who made it his trade to beg of all comers,
and to receive from every body. I always retained some
little resentment towards him, for having thus imposed
upon me. It was otherwise with my family. Joseph
allowed him a large pension, and Louis was constantly
making him presents."

But though the Emperor liked Paul and Virginia, he
laughed, for very pity, at the Studies of Nature, by the
same author. "Bernardin," said he, "though versed in
the belles lettres, was very little of a geometrician ; this
last work was so bad that scientific men disdained to
answer it : Bernardin complained loudly of their not
noticing him. The celebrated mathematician Lagrange,
when speaking on this subject, always said, alluding to
the Institute, ' If Bernardin were one of our class — if he
spoke our language, we would caU him to order ; but he
belongs to the Academy, and his style is out of our line."
Bernardin was complaining as usual, one day, to the
First Consul, of the silence of the learned with respect to
his works. Napoleon asked, " Do you understand the dif-
ferential method, M. Bernardin ?" — "No." — " WeU, go
and learn it, and then you will be able to answer yourself."

334 FRENCH HISTORIANS.

Afterwards, when Emperor, every time he perceived St.
Pierre, he used to say to him, " M. Bernardin, when are
we to have any more Paul and Virginias, or Indian Cot-
tages ? You ought to supply us every six months."

In reading Vertot's Roman Revolutions, of which in
other respects the Emperor thinks highly, he found the de-
clamations much too diffuse. This was his constant com-
plaint against every work he took up ; he had in his youth,
he said, been much to blame in this respect himself. He
may justly be said to have thoroughly reformed afterwards.
He amused himself with striking out the superfluous
phrases in Vertot ; and the result was that, after the era-
sures, the work appeared much more energetic and ani-
mated. " It would certainly be a most valuable and success-
ful labour," said he, " if any man of taste and discernment
would devote his time to reducing the principal works
in our language in this manner. I hardly know any
writer except Montesquieu who would escape those cur-
tailments. He often looked into RoUin, v^hom he thought
diffuse, and too credulous. Crevier, his continuator,
seemed to Napoleon detestable. He complained of our
classical works, and of the time which our young people
are compelled to lose in reading such bad books. They
were composed by rhetoricians and mere professors, he
said; whereas such immortal subjects, the basis of all
our knowledge throughout life, ought to have been
written and edited by statesmen and men of the world."
The Emperor had excellent ideas on this subject ; the
want of time alone prevented him from canning them
into execution.

The Emperor was still more dissatisfied with our
French historians ; he could not bear to read any of
them. Velly is rich in words, and poor in meaning : his
continuators are still vv^orse. Our history," said the
Emperor, " should either be in four or five volumes, or
in a hundred." He had been acquainted with Garnier,
who continued Velly and Villaret ; he lived very near
Malmaison. He was an old man of eighty, and lodged
in a small set of apartments on the ground-floor, close
to the road. Struck with the officious attention which
this good old man always evinced whenever the First

GRATITUDE OF GARNIER. 335

Consul was passing, the latter enquired wlio he was. On
learning that it was Garnier, he comprehended his
motives. "He, no doubt, imagined," said the Emperor
pleasantly, " that a First Consul was his property, as
historian. I dare say, however, he was astonished to
find Consuls, where he had been accustomed to see
Kings." Napoleon told him so, himself, laughing, when
he called him one day, and settled a good pension on
him. " From that time," said the Emperor, " the poor
man, in the warmth of his gratitude, would gladly have
written any thing I pleased, with all his heart."

A DIFFICULTY OVERCOME. THE EMPEROR's PERSONAL

DANGER AT EYLAU, JENA, &C. RUSSIAN, AUSTRIAN,

AND PRUSSIAN TROOPS. YOUNG GUIBERT. COR-

EINEAU. MARSHAL LANNES. BESSIERES. DUROC.

27th. — About five o'clock the Emperor went out in
his calash ; the evening was very fine ; we drove rapidly,
and the distance to be traversed is very short. The
Emperor made the servants slacken their pace, in order
to prolong the ride. As we returned, the Emperor,
casting his eyes on the camp, from which we were
separated only by the ravine, asked w^hy we could not
pass that w^ay, which w^ould double the length of our
ride. He was told that it vv^as impossible ; and we con-
tinued our way homevs'ard. But, on a sudden, as if
roused by this word impossibly, which he had so often
said w^as not French, he ordered the ground to be recon-
noitred. We all got out of the carriage, which pro-
ceeded empty towards the difiicult points ; we saw it
clear every obstacle, and returned home in triumph, as
if we had just doubled our possessions.

During dinner, and afterwards, the conversatipn turn-
ed on various deeds of arms. The Grand Marshal said,
that what had most struck him in the life of the Emperor
happened at Eylau, when, attended only by some officers
of his stafi^, a column of four or five thousand Russians
came almost in contact with him. The Emperor was
on foot ; the Prince of Neufchatel instantly ordered up
the horses : the Emperor gave him a reproachful look ;
then sent orders to a battalion of his guard to advance,

336 AUSTRIANS, RUSSIANS AND PRUSSIANS.

which was a good way behind, and standing still. As
the Russians advanced, he repeated several times,
" What audacity ! what audacity !" At the sight of the
grenadiers of the guard, the Russians stopped short. It
was high time for them to do so, as Bertrand said. The
Emperor had never stirred ; all who surrounded him
had been much alarmed

The Emperor had heard this account without making
any observation ; but, when it was finished, he said that
one of the finest manoeuvres he remembered was that
which he executed at Eckmiihl. Unfortunately, he
did not proceed, or give any particulars. " Success in
war," said he, "depends so much on quicksightedness,
and on seizing the right moment, that the battle of
Austerlitz, which was so completely won, would have
been lost if I had attacked six hours sooner. The Rus-
sians shewed themselves on that occasion such excellent
troops as they have never appeared since ; the Russian
army of Austerlitz would not have lost the battle of
the Moscowa."

" Marengo," said the Emperor, "was the battle in
which the Austrians fought best : their troops behaved
admirably there ; but that was the grave of their valour.
It has never since been seen.

" The Prussians, at Jena, did not make such a resis-
tance as was expected from their reputation. As to the
multitudes of 1814 and 1815, they were mere rabble
compared to the real soldiers of Marengo, Austerlitz,
and Jena."

The night before the battle of Jena, the Emperor said,
he had run the greatest risk. He might then have dis-
appeared without his fate being clearly known. He had
approached the bivouacs of the enemy, in the dark, to
reconnoitre them ; he had only a few officers with him.
The opinion which was then entertained of the Prussian
army kept every one on the alert : it was thought that
the Prussians were particularly given to nocturnal
attacks. As the Emperor returned, he was fired at by
the first sentinel of his camp ; this was a signal for the
whole line ; he had no resource but to throw himself
flat on his face until the mistake was discovered. But

GUIBERT AND CORBINEAU. 337

his principal apprehension was that the Prussian line,
which was very near to him, would act in the same
manner.

At Marengo the Austrian soldiers had not forgotten
the conqueror of Castiglione, Arcole, and Rivoli ; his
name had much influence over them ; but they were far
from thinking that he was present ; they believed that
he was dead : care had been taken to persuade them that
he had perished in Egypt ; that the First Consul, whom
they now heard spoken of, was only his brother. This
report had gained so much credit every where that
Napoleon was under the necessity of appearing in public
at Milan, in order to refute it.

After these anecdotes, the Emperor proceeded to men-
tion a great number of his officers and aides-de-camp,
distributing praise and censure amongst them as he went
on ; he knew them all thoroughly. Two of the circum-
stances which had most affected him on the field of battle
he said, were the deaths of young Guibert and General
Corbineau. At Aboukir, a bullet w^ent quite through
the breast of the former, without killing him instantly :
the Emperor, after saying a few words to him^ was obli-
ged, by the violence of his feelings, to leave him. The
other was carried av/ay, crushed, annihilated by a can-
non-ball, at Eylau, before the Emperor's face, whilst he
was giving him some orders. The Emperor spoke also
of the last moments of Marshal Lannes, the valiant Du.ke
of Montebello, so justly called the Orlando of the arrnv,
who, when visited by the Emperor on his death-bed,
seemed to forget his own situation, and to feel only for
him, whom he loved above every thing. The Emperor
had the highest esteem for him. "He was for a long
time a mere fighting man," said he, " but he afterwards
became an officer of the first talents." Some one then
said he should like to know what line of conduct Lannes
would have pursued in these latter times, if he had lived.
" We have learned," said the Emperor, "not to swear
to any thing. Yet I cannot conceive that it would have
been possible for him to deviate from the path of duty
and honour. Besides, it is hard to imagine that he
could have existed. With all his bravery, he v^ould

VOL. I. Z

338 BESSIERES,

unquestionably have got killed in some of tlie last affairs,
or at least sufficiently wounded to be laid up out of the
centre and influence of events. And if he had remained
disposable, he was a man capable of changing the whole
face of affairs by his own weight and influence."

The Emperor next mentioned Duroc, on whose cha-
racter and life he dwelt some time. "Duroc," conclu-
ded he, " had lively, tender, and concealed passions,
little corresponding with the coldness of his manner. It
was long before I knew this, so exact and regular was
the performance of his duty. It was not until my day
was entirely closed and finished, and I was enjoying re-
pose, that Duroc's work began. Chance, or some acci-
dent, could alone have made me acquainted with his cha-
racter. He was a pure and virtuous man, utterly disin-
terested, and extremely generous."

The Emperor said that, on the opening of the cam-
paign at Dresden, he lost two men who were extremely
valuable to him, and in the most foolish manner in the
world : these were Bessieres and Duroc. In mentioning
the circumstance, the Em.peror now affected a stoicism
which was visibly not natural to him. When he went
to see Duroc, after he had received his mortal wound, he
attempted to hold out some hopes to him ; but Duroc,
who did not deceive himself, only replied by begging
him to order opium to be given to him. The Emperor,
excessively affected, could not venture to remain long
with him, and tore himself from this distressing
spectacle.

One of the company then reminded the Emperor that,
on leaving Duroc, he went and walked up and down by
himseh" before his tent : no one durst accost him. But,
some essential measures being requisite against the fol-
lowing day, some one at length ventured to ask him
where the battery of the guard was to be placed. " Ask
me nothing till to - morrow," was the Emperor's
answer.

At this recollection, the Emperor, with a marked effort,
began abruptly to talk of something else.

Duroc was one of those persons whose value is never
known till they are lost : this was, after his death, the

AND DUROC. 339

common expression of the Court and City, and the
unanimous sentiment every where.

He was a native of Nancy, in the department of La
Meurthe. The origin of his fortune has been related
above. Napoleon found him in the train at the siege of
Toulon, and immediately interested himself for him. His
attachment to him increased every day, and it migiit be
said that they never more separated. I have elsewhere
mentioned that I have heard the Emperor say that,
throughout his career, Duroc was the only person who
had possessed his unreserved confidence, and to whom
he could freely unburden his mind. Duroc was not a
brilliant character ; but he possessed an excellent judg-
ment, and he rendered essential services, which, owing
to their nature as well as to his reserve, were little
heard of.

Duroc loved the Emperor for himself : it was rather
to the individual, personally, that he was attached, than
to the monarch. In being made the confidant of his
prince's feeling, he had acquired the art, and perhaps the
right, of mitigating and directing them. How often
has he whispered to people struck with consternation by
the anger of the Emperor : — " Let him have his way :
he speaks from his feelings, not according to his judg-
ment ; nor as he will act to-morrow." What a servant !
what a friend ! what a treasure ! How many storms he
has soothed ! how many rash orders, given in the mo-
ment of irritation, has he omitted to execute, knowing
that his master would thank him the next day for the
omission ! The Emperor had accommodated himself to
this sort of tacit arrangement ; and on that account gave
way the more readily to those violent bursts of temper,
wdiich relieve by the vent they afford to the passions.

Duroc died in the most deplorable manner, at a very-
critical moment ; his death was another of the fatalities
of Napoleon's career.

The day after the battle of Wurzen, towards evening,
the skirmish of Reichenbach had just ended, the firing
had ceased. Duroc was on the top of an eminence,
apart from the troops, conversing with General Kirchner,
and observing the retreat of the last ranks of the enemy.

340 BESSIERES,

A piece was levelled at this glittering group, and the
fatal ball killed both the generals.*

Duroc had more influence over the Emperor's resolu-
tions than is imagined. His death was probably, in this
respect, a national calamity. There is reason to think
that, if he had survived, the armistice of Dresden, which
ruined us, would not have taken place ; we should have
pushed on to the Oder, and beyond it. The enemy
would then have instantly acceded to peace, and we
should have escaped their machinations, their intrigues,
and, above all, the base and atrocious perfidy of the
Austrian Cabinet, which has ended in our destruction.

At a subsequent period Duroc might still have exerted
an influence over other great events, and probably chan-
ged the face of aiiairs. Finally, even at a later con-
juncture, at the time of Napoleon's fall, he would never
have separated his destiny from that of the Emperor :
he would have been Vv'ith us at St. Helena; and this
aid alone would have sufficed to counterbalance all the
horrible vexations with which Napoleon was studiously
oppressed.

Bessieres, of the department of the Lot, was thrown
by the Revolution into the career of arms. He com-
menced as a private soldier in the constitutional guard
of Louis XVL Afterwards, having attained the rank of
captain of chasseurs, he attracted the attention of the Com-
mander-in-chief of the army of Italy by acts of extraordi-
nary personal bravery ;' and, when the general formed his
corps of guides, he chose Bessieres to take the command
of them. Such was the beginning of Bessieres, and the
origin of his fortunes. From that instant we find him
always at the head of the Consular or Imperial guard, in
charges of the reserve, deciding the battle, or profiting
by the victory. Ris name is gloriously connected with
all our great battles.

Bessieres rose with the man who had distinguished
him, and shared abundantly in the favours which the

* General Kirchrser was a very distinguished officer of engineers ;
ho was brother-in-law to Marshal Laniies, wJio had chosen him on
acjount Oi his cuuraj.,e and capacity.

AND DUROC. 341

Emperor distributed. lie was made a marshal of the
Empire, Duke of Istria, colonel of the cavahy of the
guard, &c.

His qualities developing; themselves as he rose, proved
him always equal to his fortune. Bessieres was always
kind, humane, and generous, of antique loyalty and in-
tegrity, and, whether considered as a citizen or as a sol-
dier, a honest worthy man. He often made use of the
high favour in which he stood to do extraordinary ser-
vices and acts of kindness even to people of very differ-
ent ways of thinking from his. I know some who, if
they have a spark of gratitude in them, will confirm
my assertion, and can bear testimony to his noble ele-
vated sentiments.

Bessieres was adored by the Guards, in the midst of
whom he passed his life. At the battle of Wagram a
ball struck him off his horse, without doing him any
farther injury. A mournful cry arose from the whole
battalion ; upon which Napoleon remarked, the next
time he saw him : " Bessieres, the ball which struck you
drew tears from all my Guard. Return thanks to it ; it
ought to be very dear to you."

He w^as less fortunate at the opening of the campaign
of Saxony. On the very eve of the battle of Liitzen, a
trifling engagement occurred, in vdiich, having advanced
into the very midst of the skirmishers, he was shot dead
on the spot by a musquet-ball in the breast. Thus, after
living like Bayard, he died like Turenne.

I had conversed with him a little before this fatal
event. Chance had brought us together by ourselves in
a private box at the theatre. After talking of public
affairs which deeply interested him, for he idolized his
country, his last words, as he left me, were, that he was
to set out for the army that night, and hoped we should
meet again. " But, at the present crisis," said he, " with
our young soldiers, we leaders must not spare ourselves."
Alas ! he was never to return.

Bessieres was sincerely attached to the Emperor ; he
almost worshipped him ; he, like Duroc, would certainly
never have abandoned his person or his fortunes. And
one vv^ould really think that Fate, which proved so de-

342 MONUMENTS TO THEIR MEMORY.

cidedly hostile to Napoleon in his latter days, had re-
solved to deprive him of the sweetest consolation, by
thus removing two such valuable friends ; and at the
same time to prevent these faithful servants from acquir-
ing the very highest claim to glory, that of gratitude to
the unfortunate.

The Emperor caused the remains of these two men
whom he so much esteemed, and by whom he knew him-
self to be beloved in return, to be carried to the Invalid as
at Paris. He intended extraordinary honours for them,
of which subsequent events deprived them. But History,
whose pages are far more imperishable than marble or
bronze, has consecrated them, and secured them for
ever from oblivion.*

STUDY OF ENGLISH. REFLECTIONS. RIDE.

MIRED HORSE.

3 1st. — Our days passed, as it may be supposed, in an
excessively stupid monotony. Ennui, reflection, and
melancholy, were our formidable enemies ; occupation
our great and only refuge. The Emperor followed his
pursuits with great regularity. English w^as become an
afikir of importance to him. It was now nearly a fort-
night since he took his first lesson, and from that mo-
ment he had devoted some hours every day, beginning
at noon, to that study, sometimes with truly admirable
ardour, sometimes with visible disgust; an alternative
which kept me in the greatest anxiety. I considered

* The following is extracted from the Campaign of Saxony in
1813, by Baron Odeleben, an eye-witness of the circumstance;
under date of the 10th of August, at the time of the resumption of
liostilities, two or three months after the death of Duroc.

" During the march from Reichenbach to Gorlitz, Napoleon
stopped at Makersdorf, and shewed the King of Naples the place
where Duroc fell. He summoned to his presence the proprietor of
the little farm on which the Grand Marshal died, and assigned to
him the sum of 20,000 francs ; 4000 of which were for a monu-
ment in honour of the deceased, and 16,000 for the proprietor of
the house and his wife. The donation was consummated in the
evening, in the presence of the rector and the judge of Makersdorf:
the money was counted out before them, and they were charged to
get the monument erected."

PROGRESS IN ENGLISH. 343

success as of the utmost importance : every day I dreaded
seeing him abandon the ground gained on the day pre-
ceding; and consequently being regarded as having
wearied him with the most tedious labour, without hav-
ing produced the fortunate result that I had promised
myself. On the other hand, I was also daily spurred on
by the consciousness that I was approaching the goal at
which I aimed. The attainment of the English language
was a real and serious conquest to the Emperor. For-
merly, he said, it had cost him a hundred thousand
crowns a year, merely for translations ; and how did he
know whether he had them exact — whether they were
faithful ? Now that we were imprisoned, as it were, in
the midst of this language, surrounded by its produc-
tions, all the great changes and questions which the
Emperor had given rise to, on the continent, had been
taken up by the English on the opposite side ; and in
their works presented so many new faces to him, to which
he had hitherto been a stranger.

It may be added that French books were scarce with
us ; that the Emperor knew them all, and had read them
even to satiety; whilst we could easily procure a multi-
tude of English works altogether new to him. Besides,
to learn the language of a foreigner, always prepossesses
him in our favour ; it is a satisfaction to one's self ; it
facilitates intercourse, and forms in a certain degree the
commencement of a sort of connection between the
parties. However this may be, I began to perceive the
limits of our difficulties ; I anticipated the moment when
the Emperor would have got through all the inevitable
disagreeables incident to beginners. But let any one
form an idea, if possible, of what the scholastic study of
conjugations, declensions, and articles must have been to
him. It could never have been accomplished without
great courage on the scholar's side and some degree of
artifice on the part of the master. He often asked me
whether he did not deserve the ferula, of which he now
comprehended the vast utility in schools ; he declared,
jestingly, that he should have made much greater pro-
gress himself, had he stood in fear of correction. He
complained of not having improved ; but, in reality, the

&

344 PROGRESS IN ENGLISH.

progress he had made would have been extraordinary in
any one.

The more grand, rapid, and comprehensive the mind
is, the less it is capable of dwelling on regular minute
details. The Emperor, who discovered wonderful faci-
lity in apprehending all that regarded the philosophy of
the language, evinced very little capacity for retaining
its material mechanism. He had a quick understanding
and a very bad memory; this vexed him much ; he con-
ceived that he did not get on. Whenever I could sub-
ject the matters in question to any regular law or ana-
logy, they were classed and comprehended in an instant ;
the scholar even preceded the master in his applications
and deductions ; but as to learning by heart, and retain-
ing the gross elements of the language, it was a most
difficult affair. He was constantly confounding one thing
with another ; and it would have been thought too fasti-
dious to require too scrupulous a regularity at first.
Another difficulty was that, with the same letters, the
same vowels, as ours, a totally different pronunciation is
required ; the scholar would allovN^ of none but ours ; and
the master would have multiplied the difficulties and
disagreeables tenfold, had he required any better. Besides,
the scholar, even in his own language, was incorrigibly
addicted to maiming proper names and foreign words ;
he pronounced them quite at his own discretion, and
when once they had passed his lips, they always remain-
ed the same in spite of every thing, because he had thus
got them, once for all, lodged, as it were in his head.
The same thing happened with respect to most of our
English words : and the master found it best to have the
prudence and patience to let it pass ; leaving it to time
to rectify by degrees, if it should ever be possible, all
these defects. From these concurring circumstances
actually sprang a new language. It was understood by
me alone, it is true ; but it procured the Emperor the
pleasure of reading English, and he could, in the strictest
sense, make himself understood by writing in that lan-
guage. This was a great deal ; it was every thing.

In the mean time, the Emperor regularly continued
his Campaigns of Egypt with the Grand Marshal. My

DICTATION TO GOURGAUD, &C. 345

Campaign of Italy had long been finished; we were
always touching and retouching it, with respect to its
typographical form, the arrangement of the chapters, the
division of the paragraphs, &.c.

From time to time he also dictated separate parts to
Messrs. Gourgaud and Montholon. To all this work he
added a very little exercise : a walk now and then, some-
times a ride in the calash, scarcely ever on horseback.
On the 30th, however, he chose to return to our Valley
of Silence, which we had long deserted. We were near
the middle of the vale ; the passage was stopped up with
dead bushes, and a kind of bar to keep out cattle. The
servant (the faithful Aly) dismounted, as usual, to clear
the way for us. We passed on : but, whilst the servant
was engaged in assisting us, his horse had strayed from
him, and, when he attempted to catch him, ran away.
A great quantity of rain had fallen, and the horse sank
into a quagmire, similar to that in which the Emperor,
a few days after our arrival at Longwood, had stuck so
tenaciously as to make it doubtful whether he would not
remain in it. The servant ran after us to say that he
must remain for the purpose of disengaging his horse.
We were in a very difficult narrow road, riding one by
one. It was not until some time after that the Emperor
heard us mention to one another the accident of the ser-
vant. He found great fault because we had not waited
for him, and desired the Grand Marshal and General
Gourgaud to return for him. The Emperor dismounted
to wait for them, and ascended a little elevation, on which
he looked like a figure on a pedestal in the midst of
ruins. He had the bridle of his horse passed round his
arm, and began to whistle an air ; mute nature echoed the
strains, but only to the barren desert. " Yet," thought
I, " a short time ago, how many sceptres he wielded!
how many crov>ms belonged to him I how many kings
were at his feet ! It is true," said I, " that in the eyes
of those who approach him, who daily see and hear him,
he is still greater than ever ! This is the sentiment, the
opinion of all about him. We serve him with no less
ardour ; we love him with greater affection than ever."

But now the Grand Marshal and Gourgaud arrived ;

346 ANXIETY FOR THE GROOM's SAFETY.

they assisted the Emperor to mount again, and we pro-
ceeded. These gentlemen acknowledged that without
their assistance the horse could never have been saved ;
the united efforts of all three had barely sufficed to dis-
engage him. A considerable time afterwards, turning
an elbow of the road, the Emperor observed that the
servant had not followed, and said they ought to have
remained till they had found he was in a condition to
come on. They thought that he had staid behind to
clean his horse a little. In the course of our ride, at
several other turnings, the Emperor repeated the same
observation. We arrived at the Grand Marshal's, went
in, and rested there a few minutes ; as we came out, the
Emperor asked whether the servant had passed on ; no
one had seen him. When we arrived at Longwood, his
first question v^as whether the man had returned. He
had been at home some time, having returned by a diffe-
rent road. I m.ay perhaps have dwelt somewhat too
much on this trifling circumstance ; but I did so because
it appeared to me perfectly characteristic. In this domes-
tic solicitude, the reader will find it difficult to recognise
the insensible, obdurate, wicked, cruel monster — the
tyrant, of whom he has so often and so long been told.

THE EMPEROR SPEAKS IN PRAISE OF ST. HELENA.

SCANTY RESOURCES OP THE ISLAND.

February 1 . — The happiest and wisest philosophy is
that which sometimes enables us to view the least unfa-
vourable side of the most disagreeable things. The
Emperor, who was, doubtless at the moment, under the
influence of this happy feeling, observed, as we were
walking with him in the garden, that, after all, as a
place of exile, perhaps St. Helena was the best that could
be. In high latitudes we should have suffered greatly
from cold, and, in other tropical islands, we should have
dragged out a miserable existence under the scorching
rays of the sun. "This rock," continued he, " is wild
and barren, no doubt ; the climate is monotonous and un-
wholesome ; but the temperature, it must be confessed,
is mild and agreeable."

He afterwards asked me, in the course of conversa-

REMARKS ON ST. HELENA. 347

tion, wliich would have been preferable, England or
America, in case we had been free to follow our own in-
chnations. I replied that, had the Emperor wished to
spend his days in philosophic retirement, far from the
tumult of the world, he should have chosen America ;
but, if he felt any interest, or entertained any after-
thought with regard to public aflairs, he should have
preferred England. And, not willing to be behindhand
in giving an additional touch to the flattering picture
which the Emperor had drawn of our miserable rock, I
even ventured to say that there might, perhaps, be circum-
stances under which St. Helena would not be found the
worst possible asylum. We might here be under shelter,
while the tempest was howling in other parts of the
world ; and we were placed beyond the reach of con-
flicting passions, circumstances every way favourable to
the chance of a happier futurity. These observations
arose out of my wish to represent things on their fairest
side ; I extended the horizon to the utmost stretch of
my imagination.

Meanwhile, in order to afford a correct idea of our
place of exile and the scantiness of its resources, it is
onlv necessary to observe that we were this day informed
it would be requisite to economise various articles of our
daily consumption, and, perhaps, even to make a tempo-
rary sacrifice of some. We were told that the store of
coffee was rapidly diminishing, and that it might soon
be entirely exhausted. For a considerable time we have
denied ourselves the use of white sugar ; there was but
very little and that very bad, which was reserved exclu-
sively for the Emperor's use ; and there is now every
prospect of this little supply being exhausted before
more can be obtained. It is the same with various other
necessaries. Our island is like a ship at sea; our stores
are speedily exhausted, if the voyage be prolonged, or if
we have moje mouths to feed than we have the means
of supplying. Our arrival has produced a scarcity at
St. Helena, particularly as trading ships are not now
suffered to approach the island ; we might be tempted
to believe that they avoid it as a fatal rock, were we not
aware that the English cruiser carefully keeps them at

348 NUMEROUS PRIVATIONS.

bay. But, of all the privations with which we are threat-
ened, that which most surprises us, and which is most
of all vexatious, is the want of writing paper. We are
informed that, during our three months residence here,
we have consumed all the paper in the island ; which
proves either that St. Helena is in general very scantily
supplied vvath that article, or that we have used a most
unreasonable quantity. The inmates of Longwood must
have consumed six or eight times as much as all the
rest of the colony together.

In addition to this, our physical and moral privations
must be taken into account ; it must be recollected that
v/e are not in the full enjoyment of even the few resources
which the island affords, and of which arbitrary feeling
and caprice in part deprive us ^ for Y\ie are not permitted
to regale our eyes with the sight of the grass and foliage,
in places at a certain distance from Longwood. The
Admiral had promised that the Emperor should be free
to ride over the whole of the island, and that he would
make arrangements with respect to his guard, so as to
relieve him from all annoyance. It has already been
seen how, on our second attempt to avail ourselves of it,
the Admiral broke this kind of engagement ; and by his
orders an officer insisted on accompanying the Emperor
in his rides. The Emperor consequently renounced the
idea of taking any excursion whatever, and we now re-
main cut off from all communication with mankind.

With respect to our physical existence, our situation
is most miserable, either through unavoidable circum-
stances or mismanagement. Scarcely any of the pro-
visions are eatable. The wine is execrable ; the oil unfit
for use ; the coffee and sugar almost exhausted, and,
as I have already observed, we have nearly bred a famine
in the island. Of course, we can endure all these
privations, and might contrive to exist under many more.
But, when it is asserted that we are treated in a style of
magnificence, when it is declared that we are very well off,
we are induced to unfold our real situation, and to shew
that we are destitute of every comfort. And, lest our
silence hereafter should lead to the inference that we are
happy, let it be understood that our moral strength may

FAILURE OF THE AUTHOr's EYE-SIGHT. S49

enable us to endure miseries which language would be
inadequate to express,

MY son's indisposition. THE EMPEROR GIVES

ME A HORSE.

2nd. — My son having been, for some time past,
troubled with a pain in his chest, accompanied by violent
palpitation of the heart, I called in three surgeons, and
they ordered him to be bled. — Bleeding is at present the
favourite remedy with the English ; it is their universal
panacea. They employ it in all disorders, and some-
times where there is no disorder at all. They laughed
at the astonishment we evinced at a treatment which
was altogether new to us.

About the middle of the day we took a ride in the
calash. On our return home, the Emperor wished to
see a horse that had just been purchased for him : he
thought him very handsome and well m.ade. He tried
him, declared that he liked him uncommonly, and then,
with the most captivating good-nature, made me a pre-
sent of him. However, I could not ride him : he proved
vicious, and he was transferred to General Gourgaud,
who is a much better horseman than I am.

THE emperor's PROGRESS IN LEARNING ENGLISH.

3rd — 6th. The 3rd was a terrible day ; the rain fell
incessantly, and we found it impossible to stir out. The
weather has continued wet for several days in succession.
I never imagined that we could have contrived to stav
for such a length of time within doors. The damp is
penetrating on every side of our dwelling, and the rain
is making its way through the roof. The bad weather
without doors had an unpleasant effect upon us within.
— I became very dull ; the Emperor was by no means
well, and I was not better. " What is the matter with
you?" said he to me, one morning 5 "you seem quite
altered for these few days past. Is your mind ailing .?
Are you conjuring up dragons, like Madame de Sevigne?"
■ — "Sire," I replied, " my illness is altogether bodily.
The state of my eyes afflicts me exceedingly. As for my
mind, I know how to keep that under the bridle, I can
even use the curb, if needful 3 and your Majesty has

350 APPROPRIATION OF PLAY DEBTS.

given me a pair of spurs which will be my last and
victorious resource."

The Emperor devoted three, four, and even five hours
at a time to the study of English. His progress was
really very remarkable ; he felt this, and was delighted
at it. He frequently says that he is indebted to me for
this conquest, and that he considers it a very important
one. For my part, however, I can claim no other merit
than the method which I adopted with regard to the
other occupations of the Emperor. I first suggested the
idea, and then continually reverted to it : and when it
w^as once fairly set on foot, 1 followed up its execution
with a promptitude and daily regularity which stimulated
the Emperor to proceed. If any of us hg,ppened not to
be ready at the moment he wanted us, if it was found
necessary to postpone any business till the following day,
he was immediately seized with disgust, and his labours
were suspended until some circumstance occurred to
induce him to renew them. " I stand in need of excite-
ment," said he, in one of these transient interruptions,
" nothing but the pleasure of advancement can bear me
through : for, between you and me, it must needs be
confessed that there is nothing very amusing in all this.
Indeed there is very little diversion in the whole routine
of our present existence."

The Emperor still continued to play two or three games
at chess before dinner; in the afternoons we resumed re-
versis, long abandoned. Formerly we had not been re-
gular in paying our debts of honour ; and we hence -
forth argeed to pay the sums that we owed to each other
into a general bank. We began to consider how the
money thus accumulated should be disposed of. The Em-
peror asked our opinions, and one proposed that the
money should be applied to the liberation of the prettiest
female slave in the island. This idea was universally
approved ; we sat down to play with great spirit, and
the first evening produced two Napoleons and a half.

THE EMPEROR LEARNS THE DEATH OF MURAT.

7th — 8th. The Theban frigate arrived from the Cape,
and brought us some newspapers. I translated them to

MURAT, KING OF NAPLES. 351

the Emperor while we walked in the garden. One of
these papers brought intelligence of a great catastrophe.
I read that Murat, having landed in Calabria, with a few
troops, had been seized and shot. At this unexpected
news, the Emperor interrupted me by exclaiming, " The
Calabrians were more humane, more generous, than
those who sent me hither." This was all he said ; and
after a few moments' silence, as he said nothing, 1
continued to read.

Murat, without real judgment, without sohd views,
without a character proportioned to the circumstances in
which he was placed, had perished in an attempt evi-
dently desperate. It is not impossible that the Empe-
ror's return from Elba may have turned his brain, and
inspired him with the hope of renewing the prodigy in
his own person. Such was the miserable end of him
who had been one of the most active causes of our re-
verses ! In 1814, his courage and intrepidity might have
saved us from the abyss in which his treachery involved
us. He neutralized the Viceroy on the Po, and fought
against him ; whereas, by uniting together, they might
have forced the passes of the Tyrol, made a descent into
Germany, and arrived on Bale and the banks of the
Rhine, to destroy the rear of the allies and cut off their
retreat from France.

The Emperor, while he was at Elba, disdained all
communication with the King of Naples ; but, on de-
parting for France, he wrote to inform him that, being
about to resume possession of his throne, he felt plea-
sure in declaring to him that all their past differences
were at an end. He pardoned his late conduct, tendered
him his friendship, sent some one to sign the guarantee
of his States, and recommended him to maintain a good
understanding with the Austrians, and to content him-
self with merely keeping them in check, in case tliey
should attempt to march upon France. Murat, at this
moment, inspired with the sentiments of his early youth,
would receive neither guarantee nor signature. He de-
clared that the Emperor's promise and friendship were
sufficient for him, and that he would prove he had been
more unfortunate than guilty. His devotedness and

352 MURAT, KING OF NAPLES.

ardour, he added, would obtain for him oblivion of the
past.

" Murat," said the Emperor, " was doomed to be our
bane. He ruined us by forsaking us, and he ruined us
by too warmly espousing our cause. He observed no
sort of discretion. He himself attacked the Austrians,
without any reasonable plan and without adequate forces ;
and he was subdued without striking a blow."

The Austrians, when rid of Murat, cited his conduct
either as a reason or as a pretence for attributing ambi-
tious views to Napoleon when he again appeared on the
scene. They constantly referred to Murat, whenever
the Emperor made protestations of his moderation.

Before these unlucky hostilities of the King of Naples,
the Emperor had already set on foot negotiations with
Austria. Other inferior states, which I think it un-
necessary to m.ention by name, had signified to him that
he might rely on their neutrality. Doubtless the fall of
the King of Naples gave another turn to affairs.

Endeavours have been made to represent Napoleon as
a man of furious and implacable temper ; but the truth
is that he was a stranger to revenge, and he never che-
rished any vindictive feehng, whatever wrong he suf-
fered. His anger was usually vented in violent trans-
ports, and was soon at an end. Those who knew him
must be convinced of this fact. Murat had scandalously
betrayed him ; as I have already observed, he had twice
ruined his prospects, and yet Murat came to seek an
asylum at Toulon. " I should have taken him with me to
Waterloo," said Napoleon ; "but such was the patriotic
and m.oral feeling of the French army that it was doubtful
whether the troops would surmount the disgust and hor-
ror which they felt for the man who had betrayed and
lost France. I did not consider myself sufficiently pow-
erful to protect him. Yet he might have enabled us to
gain the victory. How useful would he have been at
certain periods of the battle I For what was required, at
certain moments of the day, to insure our success ? — to
break through three or four English squares ; and Mu-
rat was admirable in such a service as this — he was pre-
cisely the man for it. At the head of a body of cavalry,

IMPULSE ON THE RETURN FROM ELBA. 353

no man was ever more resolute, more courageous, or
more brilliant.

" As to drawing a parallel," said the Emperor, " be-
tween the circumstances of Napoleon and Murat — be-
tween the landing of the former in France and the en-
trance of the latter into the Neapolitan territory ; no
such parallel exists. Murat could have no good argu-
ment to support his cause, except success ; v/hich was
purely chimerical, at the time and in the manner in
which he commenced his enterprise. Napoleon was the
chosen ruler of a people ; he was their legitimate sove-
reign according to modern doctrines. But Murat was
not a Neapolitan ; the Neapolitans had not chosen Mu-
rat ; how, therefore, could it be expected that he should
excite any lively interest in his favour .'^ Thus his pro-
clamation was totally false, and destitute of facts. Fer-
dinand of Naples could view him in no other light than
as an instigator of insurrection; he did so, and he
treated him accordingly.

" How different was it with me !" continued the Em-
peror : " before my arrival, one universal sentiment per-
vaded France, and my proclamation on landing was
imbued with that sentiment : — every one found that it
echoed the feelings of his own heart. France was dis-
contented ; 1 was her resource. The evil and its remedy
were immediately in unison. This is the whole secret of
that electric movement which is unexampled in history.
It had its source solely in the nature of things. There
was no conspiracy, and the impulse was general ; not a
word was spoken, yet a general understanding prevailed
throughout the country. Whole towns threw themselves
at the feet of their deliverer. The first battalion which
my presence gained over to me immediately placed the
whole array in my power. I found myself borne on to
Paris. The existing government and its agency disap-
peared w^ithout effort, like clouds before the sun. And
yet," concluded the Emperor, " had I been subdued, had
I fallen into the hands of my enemies, I was not a mere
insurrectionary chief ; I was a Sovereign acknowledged
by all Europe. I had my title, my standard, my troops ;
and I was advancing to wage war upon my enemy."

VOL. I. 2 A

354

PORLTER. FERDINAND.

9th. — In the papers which I was translating to the
Emperor, I found the history of the Spanish General Por-
lier, one of the most distinguished chiefs of the famous
Guerillas. He had made an attempt to excite the Span-
iards to rise against the tyranny of Ferdinand ; but he
failed, was arrested, and hanged.

The Emperor said, " I am not in the least surprised
that such an attempt should have been made in Spain.
Those very Spaniards, who proved themselves ray most
inveterate enemies when I invaded their country, and
who acquired the highest glory by the resistance they
opposed to me, immediately appealed to me on my re-
tarn from Elba. They had, they said, fought against
me as their tyrant ; but they now came to implore my
aid as their deliverer. They required only a small sum to
emancipate themselves, and to produce in the Peninsula
a revolution similar to mine. Had I conquered at Water-
loo, it was my intention immediately to have assisted the
Spaniards. This circumstance sufficiently explains to me
the attempt that has lately been made. There is little
doubt that it will be renewed. Ferdinand, in his mad-
ness, may grasp his sceptre as firmly as he will ; but one
day or other it will slip through his fingers like an eel."

About four o'clock, I presented to the Emperor the
Captain of the Theban, who was to sail next day for
Europe, and Colonel Macoy, of the Ceylon regiment.
This brave soldier looked like a mutilated monument; he
had not only lost one of his legs, but his face vv^as dis-
figured by a sabre-cut across his forehead, and seve-
ral other scars. He had been wounded on the field of
battle in Calabria, and made prisoner by General Par-
thonaux. The Emperor received him with particular
attention ; it was easy to see that they felt a mutual
sympathy for each other. Colonel Macoy had held the
rank of Major in the Corsican regiment, commanded
by the new Governor, whom we expected. The Colo-
nel remarked to some person, that he thought the Em-
peror was very ill-treated here; but that he had too
high an idea of General Lowe's liberality of mind, not

TURNING THE COURSE OF THE NILE. 355

to believe that, having; accepted the Government of the
Island, he would do every thing in his power to melio-
rate our condition.

The Emperor afterwards rode out on horseback, when
w^e again went up the valley, and did not return until
about seven o'clock. The Emperor then resumed his
walk in the garden ; the temperature was very mild, and
the moon shone dehghtfully. The fine weather had
completely returned.

ON EGYPT. PLAN FOR ALTERING THE COURSE OF

THE NILE.

10th. — The Emperor now begins to make rapid ad-
vancement in English ; and, with the assistance of his
dictionary, might manage tolerably w^ithout m.e. He
was delighted with the decided progress he had made.
His lesson for to-day was the task of reading in the
Encyclopedia Britannica the article on the Nile, of
which he now and then made memorandums to assist
him in his dictations to tlie Grand Marshal. In this
article the Emperor found a fact related which I had
formerly mentioned to him, but which he had hitherto
considered as an absurd story. The great Albuquerque
proposed to the King of Portugal to turn the course of
the Nile previous to its entrance into the valley of Egypt,
so as to make it fall into the Red Sea, which would have
rendered Egypt an impassable desert, and made the Cape
of Good Hope the only channel for the great trade of
India. Bruce thinks the execution of this gigantic idea
not entirely impossible ; the Emperor was forcibly struck
with it.

About five o'clock the Emperor took an airing in
the calash ; the drive was extremely pleasant, and the
circumstance of some trees having been cut down has,
by forming several circuitous roads, made our original
space three times as large as before. On our return,
v/e took advantage of the fineness of the evening to
walk for a long time in the garden : the conversation
was most interesting. It turned on various important
subjects, viz. on the variety of religions ; on the spirit
that had given them birth ; the ridiculous absurdities

2 A 2

3 56 PHILOSOPHIC TRANQUILLITY,

with which they were mingled ; the excesses by which
they had been degraded ; the objections that had been
urged against them, &c. The Emperor treated all these
subjects with bis usual superiority.

UNIFORMITY. ENNUI. THE EMPEROR's SOLITUDE.

CARICATURES.

11th. — The Emperor read this morning the article
entitled Egypt, in the Encyclopedia, and made some
notes from it which cannot fail to be of service to him
for his Campaign of Egypt. This circumstance gave
him a great deal of pleasure ; and he repeated several
times in the course of the day how much he was de-
lighted with the progress he had made. He is now
suuiciently advanced to read without assistance.

About four o'clock I accompanied the Emperor into
the garden : we walked by ourselves for some time,
but were afterwards joined by the rest of the company.
The weather was very mild. The Emperor remarked
the calmness of our solitude. It was Sunday, and no
workmen were to be seen. He added that we could
not, at least, be accused of dissipation, or of the ardent
pursuit of pleasure ; in fact, it is difficult to imagine a
state of greater uniformity, or a more complete absence
of every sort of amusement.

The Emperor endures this mode of life admirably.
He surpasses us all in equality and serenity of temper.
He says, himself, that it would be difficult to be more
philosophic and tranquil than he is. — He retires to bed
at ten o'clock, and does not rise, that is to say, does not
go out, before five or six o'clock, so that he was never
more than four hours out of doors ; like a prisoner who
is led from his cell once a day to breathe the fresh air.
But then how intense is the occupation of each day !
how various are the thoughts which occapy his mind
during his long solitary hours ! With regard to mental
exertion, the Emperor said he felt as capable of bearing
it as he had ever been ; that he did not feel himself
worn out or withered in any respect. He was asto-
nished himself at the slight impression that had been
made on him by all the late events in which he had been

CARICATURES. 357

the principal actor. It was like lead which had passed
over marble. The spring might have been for a mo-
ment compressed, but it had not been broken, and had
risen again with all its elasticity. He did not think
any one in the world knew better than himself how to
yield to necessity ; this, he said, was the real triumph
of reason and strength of mind.

The hour for our ride had now arrived. As the
Emperor was going to meet the calash, he happened
to see little Hortense, Madame Bertrand's daughter,
whom he is very fond of. He called her to him, cares-
sed her two or three times, and took her out in the
carriage along with little Tristan de Montholon. Du-
ring the drive, the Grand Marshal, who had been look-
ing over the papers, gave an account of some bons-mots
and caricatures he had found among them. One pos-
sessed a good deal of point. The picture consisted of
two actions ; one represented Napoleon giving to the
Princess of Hasfield, with directions to commit it to the
flames, the letter whose disappearance saved her hus-
band ; underneath was written. Tyrannical Act of an
Usurper. The companion was quite of another charac-
ter. We described to the Emperor a great number of
the caricatures with which w^e had been inundated after
the restoration. Some of them afforded him great
amusement. One in particular made him smile: it
referred to a change of dynasty.

The Emperor observed that, if caricatures sometimes
avenge misfortune, they form a continual annoyance to
power. " I think I have had my share of them," said
he. He then desired us to describe some of those which
had been made upon him, and very much approved of
one as being in good taste. It was a sketch represent-
ing George III. on the coast of England, throwing an
enormous beet-root, in a great passion, at the head of
Napoleon, who was on the opposite shore, and saying,
•* Go, and be made sugar."

THE emperor's LONG WALK.

12th. — Fine weather had now fairly set in. About
four o'clock the Emperor walked in the garden. The

S5S THEIR CHEERFUL DRIVES.

temperature was delightful, and we all acknowledged
that it was like one of our finest evenings in Europe.
We had enjoyed nothing equal to it since we had been
on the island. The Emperor ordered the calash ; and
by way of a change, instead of driving along by the
gum-trees, to get into the road leading to the Grand
Marshal's house, he wished to take the road which en-
circles the upper hollow of our favourite valley, and to
gain, if possible, the spot on which is situated the
residence of Miss Mason, and which is on the opposite
side, facing Longwood. The Emperor invited Madame
Bertrand to take a drive in the calash, in which Madame
de Montholon and myself were already seated : the rest
of our party followed on horseback, so that we were now
all assembled together. At a few paces from Madame
Bertrand's, at the military post, which is established
near the house, the ground was very steep and uneven ;
the horses refused to advance, and we were obliged to
alight from the calash. The barrier was scarcely wide
enough to allow the carriage to pass ; but the English
soldiers came to our assistance, and in a moment pushed
it through by m.ain force. However, when we had
reached the hollow of the valley, we found walking so
agreeable that the Emperor wished to continue it ; and,
after a short time, he ordered the carriage to be driven
along the road as far as the gate of Miss Mason's house,
while we proceeded with our walk in the valley. The
evening was really most delightful ; the shades of night
were beginning to overspread the sky, but the moon
shone brilliantly. Our walk reminded us of those strolls
which we had been accustomed to enjoy on fine sunim.er
evenings, in the neighbourhood of our country residences
in Europe.

The calash had now returned ; but the Emperor de-
clined getting into it. He directed that it should wait
at Madame Bertrand's door ; but when the Emperor got
there, he chose to walk on to Longwood, where he ar-
rived very much fatigued. He had walked nearly six
miles, which is a great deal for him, who never was ac-
customed to walk at any period of his life.

359

BAD TEMPERATURE OF ST. HELENA. OBSERVATION ON

THE SPIRIT OF THIS JOURNAL.

13th — 16th. I have already observed that there is
no regular course of seasons at St. Helena, but merely
irregular successions of good and bad weather. It
■would be difficult to find four words to express any de-
viation from our accustomed routine, during these four
days. And here I take the opportunity of observing,
once for all, that if, in the course of my journal, the
events of several days are occasionally found combined
in one article, it is because I have cancelled a portion of
the notes relating to each day separately. I have been
induced to do this from various motives. Sometimes
my notes appeared to me too puerile ; sometimes, on the
other hand, thev seemed to be too serious, and calculated
for a more distant period ; or occasionally they consisted
of personalities, and I make it a rule studiously to avoid
every thing of that kind. If, in spite of all my care,
any offensive personal allusions have escaped me, it can
only be when I have been led to them by the essential
object of my journal ; namely, to describe the character
of the Emperor. Even then, I may reflect, for my own
satisfaction, that these personalities relate only to pub-
lic characters, and refer to facts already circulated in
the world.

I am, however, perfectly well aware that the task I
have undertaken may subject me to many inconvenien-
ces ; but I consider it as a sacred duty, and shall en-
deavour to fulfil it to the best of my abilities, happen
what will.

THE emperor's VIEWS OF FRENCH POLITICS.

17th. — At six o'clock in the morning, the Emperor
mounted his horse, and we rode round the park, com-
mencing in the neighbourhood of our valley, and pro-
ceeding as far as the road leading from the camp to the
Grand Marshal's residence. A party of about 150 or
200 sailors, belonging to the Northumberland, who were
daily emploved in removing planks of wood or stones for
the service of Longwood or the camp, ranged themselves

360 POLITICS OF EUROPE,

in a line fronting Marshal Bertrand's house, while the
Emperor passed by. The Emperor spoke to the officers,
and smiled complacently on his old ship-mates ; they
appeared delighted at seeing him.
s I have already mentioned that we occasionally received
parcels of newspapers from Europe, the contents of
"which occupied our attention, and occasioned the Em-
peror to draw some lively and animated pictures. Con-
versing to-day on the subject of the intelligence we had
recently received, the Emperor observed that the condi-
tion of France was by no means improved. " The
Bourbons," he repeated, "have now no other resource
than severity. Four months have already elapsed ; the
Allied forces are about to be withdrawn, and none but
half measures have been taken. The affair has been
badly managed. A government can exist only by its
principle. The principle of the French government evi-
dently is to return to old maxims; and it should do
this openly. In present circumstances, the Chambers,
above all, will be fatal ; they will inspire the King with
false confidence, and will have no weight with the nation.
The King will soon be deprived of all means of com-
munication with them. They will no longer follow the
same religion, nor speak the same language. No in-
dividual W'ill henceforth have a right to undeceive the
people with regard to any absurdities that may be pro-
pagated ; even if it should be wished to make them be-
lieve that all the springs of water are poisoned, and that
trains of gunpowder are laid under ground." The Em-
peror concluded by observing that there would be some
juridical executions, and an extreme desire of re-action,
which would be sufficiently strong to irritate, but not
to subdue.

As to Europe, the Emperor considered it to be as
violently agitated as it had ever been. The powers of
Europe had destroyed France, but she might one day
revive through commotions arising among the people of
different nations, whom the policy of the sovereigns was
calculated to alienate ; the glory of France might also be
restored through a misunderstanding among the Allied
powers themselves, which would probably ensue.

TRANQUIL DOMESTIC PICTURE. 361

As to our own personal affairs, they could only be im-
proved through the medium of England ; and she could
only be induced to favour us by political interests, a
change in her ministers or her sovereign, or the senti-
ment of national glory excited by the torrent of public
opinion. As for political interests, there were circum-
stances which might affect them ; the change of indi-
viduals depends on accidents ; finally, with respect to the
sentiment of national glory, so easy to be understood,
the present ministry had disavov/ed it, but another might
not be insensible to it.

PICTURE or DOMESTIC HAPPINESS DRAWN J3Y
THE EMPEROR. TWO YOUNG LADIES OF THE ISLAND.

ISth. — The Emperor sent for me about ten o'clock;
he had just returned home. Some one had informed me
that he had been out shooting ; but he said that he had
not. He rode out on horseback as early as six o'clock ;
but he gave orders that His Excellency's slumbers should
not be disturbed. We set to work with the English
lesson. Breakfast was served up ; it was most detest-
able; and I could not refrain from making the observa-
tion. He pitied me for making so bad a meal, and
added that it was certainly necessary to have a good ap-
petite to make a repast on such fare. We continued our
lesson until nearly one o'clock, when the excessive heat
obliged us to desist, and take a little repose.

About five the Emperor went to walk in the garden.
He began to draw a sketch of the happiness of a private
man in easy circumstances, peacefully enjoying life in his
native province, in the house and surrounded by the
lands which he had inherited from his forefathers. Cer-
tainly nothing could be more philosophic. We could not
refrain from smihng at the tranquil domestic picture, and
some of us got our ears pinched for our pains. " Felicity
of this kind," continued the Emperor, "is now unknown
in France except by tradition. The Revolution has de-
stroyed it. The old families have been deprived of this
happiness, and the new ones have not yet been long
enough established in the enjoyment of it. The picture
which I have sketched has now no real existence." — He

362 TASTE IN FEMALE CHARACTER.

observed that, to be driven from our native home, from
the fields in which we had roamed in childhood, to pos-
sess no paternal abode, was in reality to be deprived of a
country. Some one here remarked that the man who
had been robbed of the home which he had created for
himself after the storm had blown over ; who was driven
from the house in which he had dwelt with his wife, and
which had been the birth-place of his children ; might
truly say that he had lost a second country. How many
individuals are reduced to that extremity ; and what
vicissitudes the present age has produced !

We seated ourselves in the calash, and took our accus-
tomed airing. During dinner, the conversation turned
on two young ladies, residents of the island : the one
tall, handsome, and very fascinating ; the other not so
pretty, but perfectly well bred, and pleasing in her de-
portment and manners. Opinions were divided respect-
ing them. The Emperor, who was only acquainted with
the one first described, declared himself in her favour.
Some one remarked that, if he were to see the second,
be would not be induced to change his mind. The Em-
peror then wished to know the gentleman's own opinion
respecting the ladies, and he replied, that he was an ad-
mirer of the second. This seemed rather contradictory,
and ' the Emperor requested him to explain himself.
''Why," said he, " if I wished to purchase a slave, I
should certainly fix on the first ; but if I thought I should
derive any happiness from becoming a slave myself, I
should address myself to the second." — " That is to say,"
resumed the Emperor, quickly, " that you have no very
high opinion of my taste ?" — " Not so, Sire, but I sus-
pect your Majesty's views and mine would be difierent."
The Emperor smiled, and said nothing more on the
subject.

] 9th. — The Emperor rode on horseback very early this
morning ; it was scarcely six o'clock when he went out.
I was quite ready ; for I had ordered some one to call
me ; and the Emperor was astonished to see me so active.
We strolled about the park at random, and returned about
nine : the sun was already beginning to be warm.

About four o'clock the Emperor wished to take his

IMPROVEMENTS IN ELBA, 363

English lesson ; but he was not very well. He said that
every thing had gone wrong with him to-day; and that
nothing had done him any good. His walk in the gar-
den did not restore him ; he was not well at dinner-time.
He did not play his usual number of games at chess ; but
retired, indisposed, after the first game.

THE emperor's WORKS IN THE ISLAND OF ELBA.

PREDILECTION OP THE ALGERINES FOR THE EMPEROR.

20th. — The weather had been extremely bad. The
Emperor had been rather unwell the whole of the night,
but felt himself much better in the morning. He did not
leave his room before five o'clock. About six we took
advantage of a gleam of fine weather to drive round the
park in the calash. The horses which have been provided
for us are vicious ; they shy at the first object that comes
in their way, and become restive. They stood still se-
veral times during our drive. The rain, indeed, had ren-
dered the roads very heavy, and at one time it required
all our efforts to obviate the necessity of returning on
foot. The Grand Marshal and General Gourgaud were
in one instance obliged to alight and put their shoulders
to the wheel. At length, after a great deal of trouble
we reached home. The conversation, during our drive,
turned on the Island of Elba. The Emperor spoke of
the roads he had made, and the houses he had built,
which the best painters of Italy begged, as a favour, to
be permitted to adorn with their works.

The Emperor observed that his flag had become the
first in the Mediterranean. It was held sacred, he said,
by the Barbary ships, who usually made presents to the
Elba Captains, telling them that they were paying the
debt of Moscow. The Grand Marshal told us that some
Barbary ships, having anchored off the Island of Elba,
had caused great alarm among the inhabitants, who
questioned the pirates with regard to their intentions,
and ended by asking them plainly whether they came
with any hostile views. — " Against the Great Napoleon !"

said the Algerines : ''Oh! never we do

not wage war against God !"

Whenever the flag of the Island of Elba entered any

364

ELBA AND ST. HELENA.

of the ports of the Mediterranean , Leghorn excepted, it
was received ^vith loud acclamations : all the national
feeling- seemed to return. The crews of some French
s^hips from Britanny and Flanders, which touched at the
Island of Elba, testified the same sentiment.

" Every thing is judged by comparison in this world,"
said the Emperor; "the Island of Elba, which, a year
ago, was thought so disagreeable, is a paradise compared
to St. Helena. As for this island, it may set all future
regret at defiance."

PIONTKOWSKI. CARICATURE.

21st — 22nd. The Emperor continued to rise early and
ride out on horseback, in the park and among the gum-
trees. He rode only at a walking pace, but this light
exercise was of advantage to him, as it enabled him to
enjoy the fresh air. He returned with a better appetite,
and pursued the occupations of the day with greater
spirit. He breakfasted in the garden, under some trees
which had been twined together to afford him a shade.
One morning, as he was sitting down to breakfast, he
perceived at a distance the Pole Piontkowski, and sent
for him to breakfast with him. He always takes pleasure
in conversing with him whenever he meets him.

Piontkowski, with whose origin we are not very well
acquainted, came to the Island of Elba, and obtained
permission to serve as a private in the Guards. On the
Emperor's return from Elba, he had gained the rank of
lieutenant. When we departed from Paris, he received
permission to follow us ; and we left him at Plymouth,
among those who were separated from us by order of
the English ministers. Piontkowski, having more fide-
lity, or more address, than his comrades, obtained leave
to come to St. Helena. The Emperor had never known,
and never spoken to him, till he came here.

Piontkowski was, indeed, equally unknov^n to us all.
The English were surprised that we did not give him a
warmer greeting on his arrival. Some individuals, who
seized all opportunities of saying any thing to our disad-
vantage, wrote to England that we had received Piont-
kowski very ill. This story v/as totally false : but it

RETURN FROM ELBA. 365

furnislied tlie English ministerial prints with a subject
on which to exercise their usual courtesy and wit. It
was asserted that the Emperor had beaten Piontkow^ski ;
and I heard of a caricature in which Napoleon was seiz-
ing the Polish officer in his talons, while I had leaped
upon him to devour him ; and it was only by a stick
being thrust between my teeth, by the keeper of the
beasts, that I was prevented from biting a mouthful out
of his shoulder. Such were the ele,2:ant accounts that
were given of us.

-b^

THE EMPEROR S RETURN FROM ELBA.

24th. — After dinner, while we were taking our coffee,
the Emperor observed that, about this time last year, he
quitted the Island of Elba. The Grand Marshal informed
him that it was .on the 26th of February and on a Sunday.
" Sire," said he, " you directed mass to be performed at
an earlier hour than usual, that you might have the more
time for issuing the necessary orders."

They sailed in the afternoon, and next morning at ten
o'clock they were still within sight, to the great anxiety
of those who were interested in their success.

The Emperor entered into conversation on this subject,
and was, for upwards of an hour, engaged in describing
the details of that event, which is unparalleled in history,
both for the boldness of the enterprise, and the miracle
of its execution. I shall insert in another part of my
journal, the particulars w^hich I collected on this subject.

CAMPAIGNS OF ITALY AND EGYPT. THE EMPEROr's

OPINION OF THE GREAT FRENCH POETS. TRAGEDIES

BY LATE WRITERS. HECTOR. THE ETATS DE BLOIS.

TALMA.

25th — 28th. Our days were for the most part very
much alike ; if they seemed long in detail, they w^ere
rapidly shortened in a retrospective view. Tbey were
without character or interest, and left only imperf-^Lt
recollections behind. In English he w^ent on gradually
improving. The Emperor confessed that he had felt a
moment of disgust ; his furia Francese had, he said, at
one time, given Vvay; but he added that I had re-

'^66 DEPARTURE FROM FONTAINEBLEAU.

animated him by means of a plan which he considered
more certain and infalhble than any other — that of read-
ing and analyzing a single page over and over again
until it was thoroughly learnt. The grammatical rules
were explained by the way. In this manner, there is
not a moment lost to study and memory. The progress
at first appears slow, the learner seems to advance but
little in his studies ; but by the time he has come to the
fiftieth page, he is astonished to find that he knows the
language. We had added a page of Telemachus to the
rest of our lesson, and we found the benefit of it. By
this time, however, the Emperor, though he had only
had twenty or twenty-five complete lessons, could
understand any book ; and would have been able to
make himself understood in writing. He did not com-
prehend all that was said, it is true ; but, as he observed,
nothing could be concealed from him for the future, and
this was a great thing — this was a decided victory.

Tlie Campaign of Egypt was completed with the
assistance of Bertrand, as far as the want of materials
would permit. The Emperor now commenced, with
another of the gentlemen, a new and very important
period; namely — from his departure from Fontaine-
bleau, up to his return to Paris and his second abdication.
He possessed no document relating to these rapid events ;
but it was that very rapidity which induced me to
entreat him to employ his memory in recording j cir-
cumstances which the hurry of events or party spirit
might enfeeble or distort.

The Emperor also employed himself very frequently
with me, in revising the different chapters of the |Cam-
paign of Italy ; this was generally done ^immediately
before dinner. He had directed me to arrange each
chapter in a regular and uniform manner ; to mark out
the proper divisions of the paragraphs, and to note down
and collect the illustrative articles. This he called the
d'^estive business of an editor. "And your interest is
concerned in it," said he to me one day, with an air of
kindness which afi*ected me ; " henceforward it is your
property : the Campaign of Italy shall bear your name,
and the Campaign of Egypt that of Bertrand. I intend

FRENCH TRAGEDIES. 367

that it shall add at once to your fortune and to your
fame. There will be at least a hundred thousand francs
in your pocket, and your name will last as long as the
remembrance of my battles."

With regard to our evenings, the rev er sis had been
relinquished a second time ; we could not continue it
long. After the second or third round, the cards were
abandoned for conversation. We resumed our readings :
our stock of novels was exhausted, and plays occupied
our attention for the future, tragedies in particular. The
Emperor is uncommonly fond of analyzing them, which
he does in a singular mode of reasoning, and with great
taste. He remembers an immense quantity of poetry,
which he learned when he was eighteen years old, at
which time, he says, he knew much more than he does
at present. The Emperor is delighted with Racine, in
whom he finds a profusion of beauties. He greatly
admires Corneille, but thinks very 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.

At one of the couchers at St. Cloud the Emperor
analyzed a piece which had just been brought out ; it
was Hector hy Luce de Lancival: this piece pleased him
very much ; it possessed warmth and energy of charac-
ter. He called it a head-quarter piece ; and said that a
soldier would be better prepared to meet the enemy afte
seeing or reading it. He added that it would be well
if there were a greater number of plays written in the
same spirit. — Then, adverting to those dramatic pro-
ductions called drames in French, and which he termed
waiting -maids' tragedies, he said they would not bear
more than one representation, after which they suffered
a gradual diminution of interest. A good tragedy, on
the contrary, gains upon us every day. The higher walk
of tragedy, continued he, is the school of great men ; it
is the duty of sovereigns to encourage and disseminate a
taste for it. Nor is it necessary, he said, to be a poet,
to be enabled to judge of the merits of a tragedy; it is
sufficient to be acquainted with men and things, to
possess an elevated mind, and to be a statesman. Then,

368 HIGH OPINION OP CORNEILLE.

becoming gradually more animated, he added, with
enthusiasm, — " 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, gentlemen,
had he lived in my time, I would have made him a
prince."

On a similar occasion, he analyzed and condemned the
Eiats de Blois, which had just been presented for the
first time at the theatre of the Court ; and perceiving
among the company present the Arch-Treasurer Lebrun,
who was distinguished for his literary acquirements, he
asked his opinion of it. Lebrun, who was undoubtedly
in the author's interest, contented himself with remark-
ing that the subject was a bad one. " That," replied
the Emperor, " was M. Renouard's first fault ; he chose
it himself, it was not forced upon him. Besides, there
is no subject, however bad, which great talent cannot
turn to some account, and Corneille would still have
been himself even in one like this. As for M. Renouard,
he has totally failed. He has shewn no other talent but
that of versification ; every thing else is bad, very bad ;
his conception, his details, his result, are altogether
defective. He violates the truth of history ; his charac-
ters are false, and their political tendency is dangerous,
and perhaps prejudicial. This is an additional proof of
what, however, is very well known, that there is a wide
difference between the reading and the representation of
a play. I thought at first that this piece might have
been allow^ed to pass ; it was not until this evening that
I perceived its improprieties. Of these, the praises
lavished on the Bourbons are the least ; the declamations
against the Revolutionists are much worse. M. Renou-
ard has made the Chief of the Sixteen the Capuchine
Chabot of the Convention. There is matter in his piece
to inflame every party and every passion : were I to
allow it to be represented in Paris, I should probably
hear of half a hundred people murdering one another in
the pit. Besides, the author has made Henri IV, a true
Philinte, and the Duke de Guise a Figaro, which is by
far too great an outrage on history. The duke of Guise

TALMA. 369

was one of tlie most distinguished men of his time ; and
if he had but ventured, he might, at that time, have
estabUshed the fourth dynasty. Besides, he was related
to the Empress ; he was a Prince of the house of Austria,
with whom we are in friendship, and whose Ambassador
was present this evening at the representation. The
author has, in more than one instance, shewn a strange
disregard of propriety." The Emperor afterwards said
that he felt more than ever fixed in the determination he
had formed not to permit any new tragedy to be played
on the public stage before it had undergone a trial at
the theatre of the Court. He therefore prohibited the
representation of the JEtats de Blois. It is worthy of
remark, that, since the restoration of the King, this
piece was revived with the greatest pomp, and supported
by all the favour which the prohibition of the Emperor
would naturally procure for it. But, notwithstanding all
this, it failed ; so correct was the judgment which Na-
poleon had passed upon it.

Talma, the celebrated tragedian, had frequent inter-
views with the Emperor, who greatly admired his talent,
and rewarded him magnificently. When the First Con-
sul became Emperor, it was reported all over Paris, that
he had Talma to give him lessons in attitude and cos-
tume. The Emperor, who always knew every thing that
was said against him, rallied Talma one day on the subject,
and, finding him look quite disconcerted and confounded,
— "Yoii are wrong," said he, "I certainly could not
have employed myself better, if I had had leisure for it."
On the contrary, it was the Emperor who gave Talma les-
sons in his art. " Racine," said he to him, " has loaded
his character of Orestes with imbecilities, and you only
add to their extravagance. In the Mort de Pompee,
you do not play Caesar like a hero ; in Britannicus, you
do not play Nero like a tyrant." Every one knows
the con-ections which Talma afterwards made in his
performances of these celebrated characters.

VOL,

370

CONTRACTORS, &C. DURING THE REVOLUTION. THE EM-

PEROr's credit on his return from ELBA. HIS

REPUTATION IN THE PUBLIC OFFICES AS A RIGID IN-
VESTIGATOR. MINISTERS OF FINANCE AND THE

TREASURY. CADA STRE.

29th. — At six o'clock, the Emperor, having finished
his daily occupations, walked in the garden. We then
took a drive in the calash : it was quite dark, and rained
very fast when we returned.

After dinner, while coffee was served round, which we
took without rising from our seats at the dining-table,
the conversation turned on what were termed Agents
daring the Revolution, and the great fortunes which they
acquired. The Emperor knew the name, the family, the
profession, and the character, of every one of these
men.

Scarcely had Napoleon attained the Consulship when
he became engaged in a dispute with the celebrated Ma-
dame Recamier, whose father held a situation in the
Post-office department. Napoleon, on first taking the
reins of Government, was obliged to sign in confi-
dence a great number of lists ; but he soon established
the most rigid inspection in every department. He dis-
covered that a correspondence with the Chouans was
going on under the connivance of M. Bernard, the fa-
ther of Madame Recamier. He was immediately dis-
missed, and narrowly escaped being brought to a trial,
by which he would doubtless have been condemned to
death. His daughter flew to the First Consul, and, at
her solicitation. Napoleon exempted M. Bernard from
taking his trial, but was resolute with respect to his dis-
missal. Madame Recamier, who had been accustomed
to ask for every thing, and to obtain every thing, would
be satisfied with nothing less than the re-instatement of
her father. Such were the manners of those times.
The severity of the First Consul excited loud animadver-
sions ; it was a thing quite unusual. Madame Recamier
and her party, which was very numerous, never forgave
him.

The contractors and agents were the class which.

CONTRACTORS* 371

above all, excited the uneasiness of the new Supreme
Magistrate, who called them the scourge and the plague
of the nation. The Emperor observed that all France
would not have satisfied the ambition of those of Paris
alone ; that, when he came to the head of affairs, they
constituted an absolute power ; and that they were most
dangerous to the state, whose springs were obstructed
by their intrigues, joined to those of their numerous
dependents. — In truth, said he, they could never be re-
garded as any thing but sources of corruption and ruin,
like Jews and usurers. They had disgraced the Direc-
tory, and they wished in like manner to control the Con-
sulate. It may be said that at that period they enjoyed
the highest rank and influence in society.

" One of the principal retrograde steps," said the Em-
peror, " which I took, with the view of restoring the
past state and manners of society, was to throw all this
false lustre back into the crowd. I never would raise
any of this class to distinction : of all aristocracies this
appeared to me the worst." The Emperor rendered to
Lebrun the justice of having especially confirmed him in
this principle. " The party always disliked me for this,"
said the Emperor; "but they were still less inclined to
pardon the rigid enquiry which I instituted into their
accounts with the Government."

The Emperor said that in business of this sort he
turned the service of his Council of State to the best
account. He used to appoint a committee of four or
five members of the Council, men of integrity and in-
telligence. They made their report to him, and, if the
case required farther investigation, they wrote at the
bottom of the report : Refei'ved to the Grand Judge to
enforce the laius. The individuals implicated generally
endeavoured to compromise the affair, when it arrived
at this point. They would disgorge, one, two, three,
or four millions, rather than suffer the business to be
legally investigated. The Emperor was well aware, that
all these facts were misrepresented in the different cir-
cles of the capital, that they produced him many ene-
mies, and drew down upon him the reproach of arbitra-
riness and tyranny. But he thus acquitted a great duty

2 B 2

372 EXAMINATIONS OP THE

to the mass of society, who must have been grateful to
him for the measures he adopted towards these blood-
suckers of the public.

"Men are always the same," said the Emperor:
"from the time of Pharamond downwards, contractors
have always acted thus, and people have always acted
in the same way towards them. But atno period of the
monarchy were they ever attacked in so legal a form,
or assailed so energetically and openly as by me. Even
among the contractors themselves, the few individuals
w^ho possessed honesty and integrity found in this ex-
treme severity a new guarantee for their own conduct,
A remarkable instance of this occurred after my return
from Elba. Some houses in London and Amsterdam
secretly negotiated with me a loan of from 80 to
100,000,000, at a profit of seven or eight per cent. The
net sum which was deposited in the Treasury of Paris,
was paid to them by rentes on the great book at fifty,
which were then distributed among the public at fifty-
six or fifty-seven."

This resource, so useful in the crisis in which the
Emperor was placed, and which must at the same time
have been so satisfactory and flattering to himself per-
sonally, proves the real opinion that was entertained of
Napoleon in Europe, and the confidence which he in-
spired. This negotiation, which was unknown at the
time, explains whence the Emperor derived the financial
resources of v^?hich he suddenly found himself possessed
on his return from Elba ; which was a great subject of
conjecture at the time.

The Emperor himself said that he enjoyed singular
reputation am-ong the heads of offices and accountants.
The examination of accounts was a thing which he very
well understood. " The circumstance that first gained
me reputation, in this way, was that, while balancing a
yearly account during the Consulate, I discovered an
error' of 2,000,000 to the disadvantage of the Republic.
M. Dufresne, who was then chief of the treasury, and
who was a perfectly honest man, at first would not be-
lieve that the error existed. However, it was an affair
of figures ; the fact could not be denied. At the trea-

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. 373

sury several montlis were occupied in endeavouring to
discover the error. It was at length found in an ac-
count of the contractor Seguin, who immediately ac-
knowledged it, on being shewn the accounts, and
restored the money, saying it was a mistake."

On another occasion as the Emperor was examining
the accounts of the pay of the garrison of Paris, he ob-
served an article of sixty and some odd thousand francs
set down to a detachment which had never been in the
capital. The minister m.ade a note of the error, merely
from complaisance, but was convinced in his own mind
that the Emperor w^as mistaken. Napoleon however
proved to be right, and the sum was restored.

The Emperor regarded as a matter of the highest im-
portance the separation of the departments of finance
and the treasury, both for the sake of keeping the
business of the two departments distinct, and for en-
abling them to become mutual checks to each other.
The minister of the treasury, under a sovereign like Na-
poleon, was the most important man in the empire ; not
merely as a minister of the treasury, but as comptroller-
general. All the accounts of the empire came under his
examination, and he was thus enabled to detect every
kind of peculation and abuse, and to make them known
to the sovereign; and communications of this nature
were daily made. To special appropriations Napoleon
also attached the greatest importance, as having been
among the happiest springs of his administration.

Speaking of the cadastre^ he said that, according to
the plan which he had drawn up, it might be considered
as the real constitution of the Empire. It was the true
guarantee of property, and the security for the indepen-
dence of each individual ; for, the tax being once fixed
and established by the legislature, each individual might
make his own arrangements, and had nothing to fear
from the authority or arbitrary conduct of assessors,
which is always the point most sensibly felt, and the
surest to enforce submission. During this conversation,
the Emperor gave his opinion of the talents of Messrs.
Gaudin, MoUien, and Louis, as well as most of his other
Ministers and Councillors of State. He concluded by

374 THE CHINA FLEET.

observing" that he had succeeded in creating a system of
administration doubtless the purest and most energetic
in Europe ; and that he himself had the details so much
at his command that he was sure he now could, merely
with the help of the Moniteur, trace the complete history
of the financial transactions of the Empire during his
reign.

March 1st. — To-day two vessels arrived from the
Cape. One, the Wellesley, a seventy-four, had another
ship which had been taken to pieces in her hold. Both
were India built of teak-wood, three-fourths cheaper
than they could have been built in England. This is an
excellent kind of wood ; and ships made of it are said
to last much longer than European-built ships ; though
hitherto it has been complained that they are not such
good sailers. However, it is not improbable that this
teak wood may produce a revolution in the materials
and construction of English ships.

2nd. — The China fleet is arrived. Several vessels
successively entered the road in the course of the day,
and many others are within sight. This is a sort of fes-
tival and harvest for the people of St. Helena. The
money which these transient visitors circulate in the
Island constitutes a chief portion of the revenues of the
inhabitants.

At five o'clock the Emperor proceeded to the garden,
and went on foot as far as an opening between some of
the hills, whence we could discern several vessels in full
sail, making for the Island. The last ship that arrived
from the Cape had brought a phaeton for the Emperor.
He wished to try it this evening, and he got into it, ac-
companied by the Grand Marshal, and rode round the
park. He, however, thinks that this kind of equipage is
both useless and ridiculous, in present circumstances.
After dinner the Emperor felt much fatigued ; he has
been indisposed for some days, and he retired this
evening at an early hour.

THE INVASION OF ENGLAND.

3rd. — The Emperor sent for me at two o'clock ; I
found him shaving. He told me that I beheld in hiia

INVASION OF ENGLAND. 375

a man who was on the point of death, on the brink
of the grave. He added that I must have been aware
that he was ill, because he must have waked me often
during the night. I had, indeed, heard him cough and
sneeze continually : he had a violent cold in his head,
which he had caught in consequence of staying out too
long in the damp air on the preceding evening. He
stated his determination, in future, always to return in
doors at six o'clock. After he had dressed, he sat down
to his English lesson ; but he did not continue at it long,
for his head ached severely. He told me to sit down by
him, and made me talk for more than two hours about
what I had observed in London during my emigration.
Among other things, he inquired, "Were the English very
much afraid of my invasion ? What was the general opin-
ion at the time ?" — "Sire," I replied, " I cannot inform
you : I had then returned to France. But in the saloons
of Paris we laughed heartily at the idea of an invasion of
England ; and the English who were there at the time
did so too. It was said that even Brunet laughed at the
scheme, and that you had caused him to be imprisoned
because he had been insolent enough in one of his parts,
to set some nut- shells afloat in a tub of water, which he
called manoeuvring his little flotilla." "Well!" replied
the Emperor, " You might laugh in Paris, but Pitt did
not laugh in London. He soon comprehended the ex-
tent of the danger, and therefore threw a coalition on
my shoulders at the moment when I was raising m.y
arm to strike. Never was the English oligarchy exposed
to greater danger.

' ' I had taken measures to ensure the possibility of my
landing. I had the best army in the world; I need
only say it v/as the army of Austerlitz. In four days
I should have been in London ; I should have entered
the English capital, not as a conqueror but as a libera-
tor. I should have been another William III. ; but I
would have acted with greater generosity and disinte-
restedness. The discipline of my army was perfect. My
troops would have behaved in London just as they would
in Paris. No sacrifices, not even contributions, would
have been exacted from the English. We should have

376 INVASION OF ENGLAND.

presented ourselves to them, not as conquerors but as
brothers, who came to restore to them their rights and
liberties. I would have assembled the citizens, and di-
rected them to labour in the task of their regeneration ;
because the English had already preceded us in political
legislation ; I would have declared that our only wish
was to be able to rejoice in the happiness and pros-
perity of the English people ; and to these professions
I would have strictly adhered. In the course of a
few months, the two nations, which had been such
determined enemies, would have thenceforward com-
posed only one people, identified in principles, maxims
and interests. I should have departed from England,
in order to effect from south to north, under repub-
lican colours (for I was then First Consul) the regene-
ration of Europe, which, at a later period, I v/as on the
point of effecting from north to south under monarchical
forms. Both systems were equally good, since both
would have been attended with the same result, and
would have been carried into execution with firmness,
moderation, and good faith. How many ills that are
now endured, and how many that are yet to be experi-
enced, would not unhappy Europe have escaped ! Never
was a project so favourable to the interests of civiliza-
tion conceived with more disinterested intentions, or so
near being carried into execution. It is a remarkable
fact that the obstacles which occasioned my failure were
not the work of men, but all proceeded from the ele-
ments. In the south, the sea frustrated my plans ; the
burning of Moscow, the snow and the winter, completed
my ruin in the north. Thus water, air, and fire, all
nature and nature alone, was hostile to the universal
regeneration which nature herself called for ! . . The
problems of Providence are insoluble!"

After a few moment's silence, he reverted to the sub-
ject of the English invasion. " It was supposed," said
he, " that my scheme was merely a vain threat, because
it did not appear that I possessed any reasonable means
of attempting its execution. But I had laid my plans
deeply, and without being observed. I had dispersed
all our French ships ; ^and the English were sailing

INVASION OF ENGLAND, 377

after them to different parts of the world. Our ships
were to return suddenly and at the same time^ and to
assemble in a mass along the French coasts. I should
have had seventy or eighty French or Spanish ships in
the Channel ; and I calculated that I should continue
master of it for two months. Three or four thousand
small vessels were to be ready at a signal. A hundred
thousand men were every day drilled in embarking and
landing, as a part of their exercise. They were full of
ardour, and eager for the enterprise, which was very-
popular with the French, and was supported by the
wishes of a great number of the English. After land-
ing my troops, I calculated upon only one pitched bat-
tle, the result of which could not be doubtful ; and vic-
tory would have brought us to London. The nature of
the country would not admit of a war of monosuvring.
My conduct would have done the rest. The people of
England groaned under the yoke of an oligarchy. On
feeling that their pride had not been humbled, they
would have ranged themselves on our side. We should
have been considered only as Allies come to effect their
deliverance. We should have presented ourselves with
the magical words of liberty and equality," &c.

After adverting to a great number of the minor de-
tails of the plan, which were all admirable, and remark-
ing how very near execution it had been, he abruptly
stopped, and said, '' Let us go out, and take a turn."

We walked for some time ; it had been raining for
three days, but now the weather was perfectly fine. The
Emperor, not forgetting his resolution to be in-doors al-
ways by six o'clock, immediately ordered the calash ; took
a drive, and returned home in good time. My son fol-
lowed on horse- back; it v/as the first tim.e he had en-
joyed such an honour. He acquitted himself very well,
and the Emperor complimented him on the occasion.

The Emperor continued unwell, and retired to rest
very early.

THE CHINESE FLEET.

4th. — To-day the Emperor received some captains of
the China fleet. He conversed a long time with them

378 napoleon's court.

respecting tlieir trade, the facility of tlieir intercourse
with the Chinese, the manners of that people, &c. The
ships which trade to China are from 14 to 1500 tons'
burthen, nearly equal to sixty - fours ; and they draw
from twenty-two to twent3^-three feet of water : they are
laden almost exclusively with tea. One of those just
arrived had nearly 1500 tons on board. The cargoes of
the six ships which came into the road last night are
valued at about sixty millions; and as they will be
subject to a duty of 100 per cent., on their arrival in
England, 120 millions will thus at once be thrown into
circulation in Europe.

Europeans are allowed very little liberty at Canton.
Their residence is chiefly limited to the suburbs. They
are treated with the greatest contempt by the Chinese,
who assume an air of great superiority, and conduct
themselves in a very arbitrary manner. The Chinese
are very intelligent, industrious, and active; but they
are great thieves and extremely treacherous. They
transact all business in the European languages, v/hich
they speak with facility.

The arrival of fleets at St. Helena is a circumstance
equally pleasing to the crews and the inhabitants of the
Island. The latter sell their merchandize and purchase
provisions; the seamen, on their part, are enabled to
set foot on land, and to refresh themselves. This state
of things usually continues for a fortnight or three
weeks ; but, on the present occasion, the Admiral, to the
great disappointment of every body, limited the period
of refreshment to two days only for the first two ships
that had anchored ofi" the town. The others were or-
dered to remain under sail, and to come up to the town
in succession, two by two. It must be supposed
that he has received very strict orders, or is under some
very great apprehension, of which we are not aware.

The Emperor walked for some time in the garden
before he got into his calash. Among the trees in the
neighbourhood, we perceived some officers newly ar-
rived at the Island, who were endeavouring to get a peep
at the Emperor, the sight of whom seemed to be an
object of great importance to them.

379

ETIQUETTE OF THE EMPEROR S COURT. CIRCUM3TANCK

THiLT TOOK PLACE AT TARARE. OFFICERS OF STATE.

CHAMBERLAINS. UNEQUALLED SPLENDOUR OF THE

:OURT OF THE TUILERIES. ADMIRABLE REGULATION

OF THE PALACE. THE EMPEROR's LEYEES. DINING

,N STATE.- — THE COURT AND THE CITY.

5th. — To - day the Emperor conversed a great deal
about this Court and the etiquetteobs8rv3dir.it. The
following is the substance of what fell from him on this
subject.

At the period of the Revolution, the Courts of Spain
and I'^aples still imitated the ceremony and grandeur of
Louis XIV., mingled with the pomp and ezaggeration
of the Castilians and Moors. They Ti'-ere Insipid and
ridiculous. The court of St. Petersburg had assumed
the tone and forms of the drawing-room ; that of Vienna
had become quite citizen - like ; and there no longer
remained any vestige of the wit, the grace, and the good
taste of the Court of Versailles.

When, therefore. Napoleon attained the sovereign,
power, he found a clear road before him, and he had an
opportunity ;of forming a Court according to his own
taste. He was desirous of adopting a rational medium
by accommodating the dignity of the throne to modern
customs, and, particularly, by making the creation of a
Court contribute to improve the manners of the great,
and promote the industry of the mass of the people. It
certainly was no easy matter to re-construct a throne on
the very spot where a reigning monarch had been judi-
cially executed, and where the people had constitution-
ally sworn hatred to kings. It was not easy to restore
dignities, titles, and decorations, among a people who
for the space of fifteen years had waged a war of
proscription against them. Napoleon, however, who
seemed always to possess the power of effecting what he
wished, perhaps because he had the art of wishing for
what was just and proper, after a great struggle, sur-
mounted all these difficulties. When he became Em-
peror, he created a class of nobility, and formed a Court.
Victory seemed all on a sudden to do her utmost to con„

380 NAPOLEON S COURT.

solidate and shed a lustre over this new order of thing-s.
All Europe acknowledged the Emperor; and at one
period it might have been said that all the Courts of
the Continent had flocked to Paris to add to the splen-
dour of the Tuileries, which was the most brilliant and
numerous Court ever seen. There was a continued se-
ries of parties, balls, and entertainments 3 and the Court
was always distinguished for extraordinary magnificence
and grandeur. The person of the sovereign was alone
remarkable for extreme simplicity, which, indeed, was
a characteristic that served to distinguish him amidst the
surrounding splendour. He encouraged all this mag-
nificence, he said, from motives of policy, and not be-
cause it accorded with his own taste. It was calcula-
ted to encourage manufactures and national industry.
The ceremonies and festivities which took place on the
marriage of the Empress and the birth of the King of
Ptome, far surpassed any which had preceded them, and
probably will never again be equalled.

The Emperor endeavoured to establish, in his foreign
relations, every thing that was calculated to place him in
harmony with the other Courts of Europe ; but at home
he constantly tried to adapt old forms to new manners.

He established the levers and couchers of the old
kings of France ; but with him they were merely nomi-
nal, and did not exist in reality, as in former times. In-
stead of being occupied in the most minute and indeli-
cate details of the toilet, these hours under the Emperor
were, in fact, appropriated to receiving in the morning
and dismissing in the evening, such persons of his
household as had to receive orders directly from him,
and who were privileged to pay their court to him at
those times.

The Emperor also established special presentations to
his person and admission to his Court : but instead of
making noble birth the only means of securing these
honours, the title for obtaining them was founded solely
on the combined bases of fortune, influence, and public
services.

Napoleon, moreover, created titles, the qualifications
for which were nearly similar to those of the old feudal

NAPOLEON S COURT. 381

system. Tliese titles, however, possessed no real value,
and were established for an object purely national. Those
which were unaccompanied by any prerogatives or pri-
vileges might be enjoyed by persons of any rank or pro-
fession, and were bestowed as rewards for all kinds of
services. The Emperor observed that abroad they had
the useful effect of appearing to be an approximation tx>
the old manners of Europe, while at the same time they
served as a toy for amusing the vanities of many indi-
viduals at home; " for," said he, " how many superior
men are children oftener than once a day !"

The Emperor revived decorations of honour, and dis-
tributed crosses and ribands. But instead of confining
them to particular and exclusive classes, he extended
them to society in general as rewards for every kind of
talent and public service. By a happy privilege, perhaps
peculiar to Napoleon, it happened that the value of these
honours was enhanced in proportion to the number
distributed. He estimated that he had conferred about
25,000 decorations of the Legion of Honour; and the
desire to obtain the honour, he said, increased until it
became a kind of mania.

After the battle of Vv^agram, he sent the decoration of
the Legion of Honour to the Archduke Charles, and, by
a refinement in compliment, peculiar to Napoleon, he
sent him merely the silver cross, which was worn by the
private soldiers.

The Emperor said that it was only by acting strictly
and voluntarily in conformity with these maxims that
he had become the real national monarch ; and an ad-
herence to the same course would have rendered the
fourth dynasty the truly constitutional one. Of these
facts, said he, the people of the lowest rank frequently
evinced an instinctive knowledge.

The Emperor related the following anecdote : — On
returning from his coronation in Italy, as he approached
the environs of Lyons, he found all the population
assembled on the roads to see him pass, and he took a
fancy to ascend the hill of Tarare alone. He gave orders
that nobody should follow him, and, mingling with the
crowd, he accosted an old woman, and asked what all

S82 OFFICERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD.

the bustle was about. She replied, that the Emperor
was expected. After some little conversation he said to
her: "My good woman, formerly you had the tjTant
Capet ; now you have the tyrant Napoleon ; what have
you gained by the change ?" The force of this argument
disconcerted the old woman for a moment; but she
immediately recollected herself, and replied, " Pardon
me, sir, there is a great difference. We ourselves chose
this one; but we got the other by chance." " The old
woman was right," said the Emperor, " and she exhi-
bited more instinctive good sense than many men
who are possessed of great information and talent."

The Emperor surrounded himself with great Crown
officers. He established a numerous household of
chamberlains, equerries, &c. He selected persons to fill
these offices indiscriminately from am^ong those whom
the Revolution had elevated, and from the ancient
families which it had ruined. The former considered
themselves as standing on ground which they had ac-
quired ; the latter on that which they thought they had
recovered. The Emperor had in view, by this mixture
of persons, the extinction of hatred and the amalgama-
tion of parties. He observed, however, that it was easy
to perceive a variety of manners. The individuals be-
longing to the ancient families performed their duties
with the greatest comtesy and assiduity. A Madame de
Montmorency would have stooped down to tie the Em-
press's shoes; a lady of the new school would have
hesitated to do this, lest she should be taken for a real
waiting- woman ; but Madame de Montmorency had no
such apprehension. These posts of honour were for the
most part without emolument ; they were even attended
with expense. But they brought the individuals who
filled them daily under the eye of the Sovereign — of an
all-powerful Sovereign, the source of honour and emolu-
ments ; and who had declared that he would not have
the lowest officer in his household solicit a favour from
any one but himself.

At the time of his marriage with the Empress Maria-
Louisa, the Emperor made an extensive recruit of
chamberlains from among the highest ranks of the old

OFFICERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 383

aristocracy; this be did with the view of proving to
Europe that there existed but one fparty in France, and
rallying round the Empress those individuals whose
names must have been familiar to her. It is understood
that the Emperor even hesitated whether or not to select
the lady of honour from that class ; but his fear lest the
Empress, with whose cha.racter he was unacquainted,
might be imbued with prejudices respecting birth, that
might too much elate the old party, induced him to
make another choice.

From this moment until the period of our disasters,
the most ancient and illustrious families eagerly solicited
places in the household of the Emperor; and how could
it be otherwise ? The Emperor governed the world : he
had raised France and the French people above the level
of other nations. Power, glory, constituted his retinue.
Happy were they who inhaled the atmosphere of the
Imperial Court. To be immediately connected with the
Emperor's person, furnished, both abroad and at home,
a title to consideration, homage, and respect.

Upon the Restoration, a royalist, who had preserved
himself pure, and in whose sight I had found grace, said
to me, in the most serious tone, (for, what a difference
in ideas does not difference of party produce !) that with
my name, and the openness of conduct I had maintained,
I ought not to despair of still obtaining a situation near
the King, or in the household of some of the Princes or
Princesses. How greatly was he astonished when I
replied : — " My friend, I have rendered that impossible :
I have served the most povN^erful master upon earth : I
cannot in future, without degradation, stand in the same
relation to any other. Know, that when we conveyed
the orders of the Emperor to a distance, into foreign
Courts, wearing his uniform, we considered ourselves,
and were every where treated, as upon an equality with
princes. He has presented to us the spectacle of not
fewer than seven Kings waiting in his saloons, in the
midst of us, and with us. On his marriage, four Queens
bore the robe of the Empress, of whom, moreover, one
of us was the Gentleman Usher, another the Equerry,

384 COMMISSION OP PETITIONS.

Believe then, my friend, that a noble ambition is per-
fectly satisfied with such honours."

Besides, the magnificence and splendour that composed
this unexampled Court, rested on a system and a regu-
larity of administration that has excited the astonish-
ment and admiration of those who have searched amid
its wrecks. The Emperor himself inspected the accounts
several times in the course of the year. All his mansions
were found to be repaired and decorated : they contained
nearly forty millions in household furniture, besides four
millions in plate. If he had enjoyed a few years of peace,
imagination can scarcely fix limits, he said, to what he
would have accomplished.

The Emperor said he had conceived an excellent idea,
which he was much grieved at not having put in execu-
tion : it was to have commissioned some persons to
collect the most important petitions. " They should have
named, every day," said he, " three or four individuals
from the provinces, who would have been admitted to
my levee, and have explained their business to me in
person ; I would have discussed it with them imme-
diately, and administered justice to them without
delay."

I observed to the Emperor that the Commission he
had created at a very early period, under the name of
*' Commission of Petitions," came very near the idea in
question, and was, in fact, productive of much good. I
was President of it on his return from Elba, and in the
first month I had already done justice to more than four
thousand petitions. "It is true," I observed, "that
circumstances originally, and custom afterwards, had
never allowed this establishment to enjoy the most
valuable prerogative with which its organization had
been endowed, that which would undoubtedly have pro-
duced the greatest effect on public opinion ; namely to
present to him officially, at his great audience on Sunday,
the result of the week's labours." But the nature of
things, the constant expeditions of the Emperor, and,
above all, the jealousy of the Ministers, had concurred
to deprive the Commission of this high privilege.

The Emperor said, also, he was soiTy he had not

GRAND COUVERT OF THE KINGS OF FRANCE. 385

established it as part of the etiquette of the Court that
all persons who had been presented, females particularly,
who had any claim to obtain an audience of him, should
have the unquestioned right of entering the ante-
chamber. The Emperor, passing through it several
times in the day, might have taken the opportunity to
satisfy some of their requests ; and might in this manner
have spared the refusal of audiences, or the loss of time
occasioned by them. The Emperor had hesitated for
some time, he said, about re-establishing the grand
convert of the kings of France, that is, the dining in
public, every Sunday, of the whole Imperial family. He
asked our opinion of it. We differed. Some approved of
it, represented this family spectacle as beneficial to public
morals, and fitted to produce the bests effects on public
spirit ; besides, said they, it afforded means for everv
individual to see his Sovereign. Others opposed it,
objecting that this ceremony involved something of
divine right and feudality, of ignorance and servility,
which had no place in our habits or the modern dignity
of them. They might go to see the Sovereign at the
church or the theatre : there they joined at least in the
performxance of his religious duties, or took part in his
pleasures 5 but to go to see him eat was only to bring
ridicule on both parties. The sovereignty having now
become, as the Emperor had so well said, a magistracy,
should only be seen in full activity ; conferring favours,
redressing injuries, transacting business, reviewing
armies, and above all, divested of the infirmities and tlie
wants of human nature, &c. ... Its utility, its benefits,
should form its new charm : the image of the sovereign
should be present continually and unlooked-for, like
Providence. Such was the new school : — such had been
ours.

" Well," said the Emperor, " it may be true that the
circumstances of the time should have limited this ce-
remony to the Imperial heir, and oidy during his youth ;
for he was the child of the whole nation ; he ought to
become thenceforth the object of the sentiments and the
sight of all."

On his return from Elba, the Emperor said he had an
VOL, I. 2 c

386 INFLUENCE OF THE COURT.

idea of dining- every Sunday in the Galerie de Diane''
with four or five hundred guests : this, said he, would
undoubtedly have produced a great effect on the public,
particularly at the time of the Champ de Mai, on the
assembling of the Deputies from the departments at
Paris ; but the rapidity and the importance of business
prevented it. Besides, he^was apprehensive, perhaps,
that there might have been observed in this measure too
great an aiFectation of popularity, and that his enemies
abroad might give it the semblance of fear on his part.

It is the custom, said the Emperor, to talk of the in-
fluence of the tone and manners of the Court upon those
of a nation ; he was far from having brought about any
such result ; but it was the fault of circumstances and
of several unperceived combinations : he had reflected
much on the subject, and he thought that it would have
been accomplished in time.

" The Court," he continued, " taken collectively, does
not exert this influence ; it is only because its elements,
those who compose it, go to communicate, each in his
own sphere of action, that which they have collected
from the common source ; the tone of the Court, then,
is not infused into a whole nation, but through interme-
diate societies. Now, we had no such societies, nor
could we yet have them. Those delightful assemblies,
where one enjoys so fully the advantages of civilization,
suddenly disapjjear at the approach of revolutions, and
are re-established but slowly, when the tempests dissi-
pate. The indispensable bases of society are indolence
and luxury ; but we were all still in a state of agitation,
and great fortunes were not yet firmly established. A
great number of theatres, a multitude of public establish-
ments, moreover, presented pleasures more ready, less
constrained, and more exciting. The women of the day,
taken collectively, were young ; they liked better to be
out, and to shew themselves in public, than to remain at
home and compose a narrower circle. But they would
have grown old, and with a little time and tranquillity,
veery thing would have fallen into its natural course. And
then again," he observed, " it would perhaps be an error
to judge of a modern Court by the remembrance of the

CONTEMPLATED LOCAL MELIORATIONS. 387

^'Id ones. The power certainly resided in the old Courts ;
they said, the Court and the City; — at the present day,
if we desired to speak correctly, we were obliged to sav
the City and the Court. The feudal lords, since they
have lost their power, seek to make themselves amends
in their enjoyments. Sovereigns themselves seemed to
be, for the future, subjected to this law : the throne, with
our liberal ideas, insensibly ceased to be a signory, and
became purely a magistracy ; the Prince having only a
simple practical character to sustain, always sufficiently
dull and tedious in the long run, must seek to withdraw
from it, to come as a mere citizen, and take his share in
the pleasures of society."

Among a great number of new measures projected by
the Emperor for a more tranquil futurity, his favourite
idea had been, peace being obtained and repose secured,
to devote his life to purifying the administration and to
local meliorations ; to be occupied in perpetual tours in
the departments: he would have visited, not hurried
over ; sojourned, not posted through : he would have
used his own horses, would have been surrounded by the
Empress, the King of Rome, his whole Court. At the
same time he wished this great equipage not to be bur-
densome to any, but rather a benefit to all : a suite of
tapestry hangings and all the other appendages, follow-
ing the train, Vy^ould have furnished and decorated his
places of rest. The other persons of the Court, he said,
would have been quartered on the citizens, who would
have looked upon their guests as a benefit rather than a
burden, because they would always have been the sure
means of their acquiring some advantage or some favours,
"It is thus," he continued, " that I should have been
able in every place to prevent frauds, punish misappro-
priations, direct edifices, bridges, roads ; drain marshes,
fertilize lands, &c. — If Heaven had then," he continued,
*' granted me a few years, I would certainly have made
Paris the capital of the world, and all France a real fairy-
land." He often repeated these last words : how many
people have already said this, or will repeat it after
him !

2 c 2

388

SET OF CHESSMEN FROM CHINA. PRESENTATION OF

THE CAPTAINS OF THE CHINA FLEET.

6th. — ^The Emperor mounted his horse at seven o'clock •'
he told me to call my son to accompany us ; this v\ as a
great favour. During our ride the Emperor dismounted
five or six times to observe, with the help of a glass, some
vessels that were in sight : he ascertained one to be a
Dutchman; the three colours are always, with us, an
object of lively emotion. On one of these occasicms,
the most mettlesome horse in the company got loose, and
occasioned a long pursuit ; my son came up with him,
brought him back in triumph, and the Emperor ob-
served that in a tournament this would be a victory.

On our return, the Emperor breakfasted within doors :
he detained us all.

Before and after breakfast, the Emperor conversed with
me in private on serious matters which I cannot trust to
paper.

The heat was become excessive : he retired. It was
half- past four when he sent for me again ; he was finish-
ing dressing. The Doctor brought him a set of chess-
men, v/hich he had been buying on board the vessels
from China ; the Emperor had wished to have one. For
this he had paid thirty Napoleons : it was an object of
great admiration with the worthy Doctor ; and, at the
same time, nothing seemed more ridiculous to the Em-
peror. All the pieces, instead of resembling ours, were
coarse and clumsy images of the figures indicated by the
names : thus, a knight was armed at all points, and the
castle rested on an enormous elephant, &c. The Emperor
could not make use of them, saying, pleasantly, that every
piece w^ould require a crane to move it.

In the mean time many officers and others employed
in the China fleet were sauntering in the garden. Their
curiosity had led them some hours before to our dwel-
ling; we had been literally invaded in our chambers.
One said, the pride of his life would be to have seen Napo-
leon : another, that he durst not appear in his wife's
presence in England, if he could not tell her that he had
been fortunate enough to behold his features ; another.

CAPTAINS OF THE CniNA FLEET. 389

that he would willingly forego all the profits of his voy-
age for a single glance, &c.

The Emperor caused them to be admitted : it w^ould be
difficult to describe their satisfaction and joy : they had
not ventured to expect or to hope for so much. The
Emperor, according to custom, proposed many questions
to them concerning China, its commerce, its inhabitants :
their revenues, their manners ; the missionaries, &c. He
detained them above half an hour, before he dismissed
them. At their departure we described to him the en-
thusiasm we had witnessed in these officers, and repeated
all that had fallen from them relative to him. " I be-
lieve it," said he ; "you do not perceive that they are
our friends. All that you have observed in them be-
longs to the commonaltv of En^-land — the natural ene-
mies, perhaps without giving themselves credit for it, of
their old and insolent Aristocracy."

At dinner the Emperor ate little ; he was unwell :
after coffee, he attempted a game at chess, but he was
too much inclined to sleep, and retired almost imme-
diately.

7th, — The Emperor mounted his horse at a very early
hour ; he told me again to call my son to accompany
him. The evening before, the Emperor seeing him on
horseback, had asked me if I did not make him learn to
groom his horse ; that nothing was more useful ; that he
had given particular orders for it in the military school
at St. Germain. I was vexed that such an idea had
escaped me ; I seized it eagerly, and my son still more
so. He was at this moment on a horse that no one had
touched but himself. The Emperor, whom I informed of
it, seemed pleased, and condescended to make him go
through a sort of little examination. Our ride lasted
nearlv two hours and a half, rambling all the time about
Lingwood.

At our return the Emperor had breakfast in the gar-
den, to which he detained us all.

A short time before dinner, 1 presented myself as usual
in the drawing-room : the Emperor was playing at chess

390 FACETIOUSNESS OF NAPOLEON.

with the Grand Marshal. The valet- de-chambre in wait-
ing at the door of the room brought me a letter, on
which was written Very urgent. Out of respect to the
Emperor, I went aside to read it : it was in English ; it
stated that 1 had composed an excellent work ; that,
nevertheless, it was not v^^ithout faults ; that if I would
correct them in a new edition, no doubt the work would
be more valuable for it ; and then went on to pray that
God would keep me in his gi'acious and holy protection.
Such a letter excited my astonishment, and made me
rather angry ; the colour rushed to my face : I did not,
at first, give myself time to consider the writing. In
reading it over again I recognised the hand, notwith-
standing its being much better written than usual, and 1
could not help laughing a good deal to myself. But the
Emperor, who cast a side-glance at me, asked me from
whom the letter came that was given to me. I replied,
that it was a paper that had caused a very different feeling
in me at first from that which it would leave perma-
nently. I said this with so much simplicity, the mysti-
fication had been so complete, that he laughed till tears
came in his eyes. The letter was from him ; the pupil
had a mind to jest with his master, and try his powers at
his expense. I carefully preserve this letter ; the gaiety,
the style, and the whole circumstance, render it more
valuable to me than any diploma the Emperor could have
put into my hands when he was in power.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE EMPEROR TO MAKE USE OF
HIS ENGLISH. ON MEDICINE. CORVISART. DEFI-
NITION. ON THE PLAGUE. MEDICAL PRACTICE IN

BABYLON.

8th. — The Emperor had had no sleep during the
night ; he had, therefore, amused himself with writing me
another letter in English ; he sent it to me sealed ; I cor-
rected the errors in it, and sent him an answer also in
English, by the return of the courier. He understood
me perfectly : this convinced him of the progress he
had made, and satisfied him that for the future he could,
strictly speaking, correspond in his new tongue.

For nearly a fortnight past. General Gourgaud had

DISCUSSION ON MEDICINE. 3D I

been unwell ; his indisposition had turned to a very ma-
lignant dysentery, which occasioned some alarm. The
Admiral now sent him the Surgeon of the Northumber-
land (Dr. Warden); the Emperor detained this gentle-
man to dinner. During the repast, and for a long time
afterwards, the conversation w^as exclusively on medi-
cine ; sometimes lively, sometimes serious and profound.
The Emperor was in good spirits : he talked with great
volubility ; he overwhelmed the Doctor with questions,
and with ingenious and subtle arguments, that perplex-
ed him much : the latter was much dazzled by t\m
brilliancy ; so that, after dinner, he took me aside to
ask me how it happened that the Emperor was so well
informed on these matters : he did not doubt but they
were his usual topics of conversation. " Not more than
any thing else," I said, with truth ; " but there are few
subjects with which the Emperor is unacquainted, and
he treats them all in a new and engaging manner."

The Emperor has no faith in medicine, or its remedies,
of which he makes no use. "Doctor," said he, "our
body is a machine for the purpose of life : it is organized
to that end — that is its nature. Leave the life there at
its ease, let it take care of itself, it will do better than if
you paralyze it by loading it with medicines. It is like
a well-made watch, destined to go for a certain time ;
the watch-maker has not the power of opening it, he
cannot meddle with it but at random, and with his eyes
bandaged. For one who, by dint of racking it with his
ill-formed instruments, succeeds in doing it any good,
how many blockheads destroy it altogether !"

The Emperor, then, did not admit the utility of med-
icine but in a few cases, in disorders that were known
and distinctly ascertained by time and experience : and
he then compared the art of the physician with that of
the engineer in regular sieges, where the maxims of
Vauban, and the rules of experience, have brought all
the chances within the scope of known laws. In accor-
dance, too, with these principles, the Emperor had con-
ceived the idea of a law which should have allowed to
the mass of medical practitioners in France the use of
simple medicines only, and forbidden them to employ

392 CONVERSATIONS S WITH THE

heroic remedies, that is, such as may cause death, unless
they made three or four thousand francs, at least, by
their profession ; which, said he, afforded grounds for
supposing them to have education, judgment, and a cer-
tain public reputation. " This measure," said he, " was
certainly just and beneficent ; but in my circumstances
it was unseasonable : information was not yet sufficiently
diffused. No doubt the mass of the people would have
seen only an act of tyranny in the law, which, neverthe-
less, would have rescued them from their executioners/'

The Emperor had frequently attacked the celebrated
Corvisart, his physician, upon the subject of medicine.
The latter, waving the honour of the profession and of
his colleagues, confessed that he entertained nearly the
same opinions, and even acted upon them. He was a
great enemy to medicines, and employed them very spa-
ringly : the Empress Maria-Louisa, suffering much du-
ring her pregnancy, and teazing him for relief, he art-
fully gave her some pills composed of crumb of bread,
which she observed did her a great deal of good.

The Emperor said he had brought Corvisart to admit
that medicine was a resource available only for the few ;
that it might be of some benefit to the rich, but that it
was the scourge of the poor. " Now, do you not be-
lieve," said the Emperor, " seeing the uncertainty of the
art itself, and the ignorance of those who practise it, that
its effects, taken in the aggregate, are more fatal than
useful to the people ?" Corvisart assented without hesi-
tation. " But have you never killed any body yourself ?"
continued the Emperor , " that is to say, have not some
patients died evidently in consequence of your prescrip-
tions r" — "Undoubtedly," replied Corvisart; "but I
ought no more to let that weigh upon my conscience
than would your Majesty, if you had caused the destruc-
tion of some troops, not from having made a bad move-
ment, but because their march was impeded by a ditch
or a precipice, which it was impossible for you to be
aware of."

Thence the Emperor went on to some problems and
definitions, which he proposed to the Doctor. " What
is life ?" said he to him; " when and how do we receive

CELEBRATED CORVISART. 393

it ? Is that an^ thing but mystery yet V Then he defi-
ned harmless madness to be a chasm or incoherence of
iud2:ment between just ideas and the application of them :
an insane man eats grapes in a vineyard that is not his
own ; and, in reply to the expostulations of the owner
savs : — " Here are two of us ; the sun sees both of us ;
therefore 1 have a right to eat the grapes.'* The dan-
gerous madman was he in whom this chasm or incohe-
rence of judgment occurred between ideas and actions :
it was he who cut off the head of a sleeping man, and
concealed himself behind a hedge, to enjoy the perplex-
ity of the dead body when it should awake.

The Emperor next asked the Doctor what was the
difference between sleep and death ; and answered the
question himself by saving that sleep was the momen-
tary suspension of the faculties within the power of our
volition ; and death the lasting suspension, not only of
these faculties, but also of those over which our will has
no control.

From that, the conversation turned upon the plague.
The Emperor maintained that it was taken by inspiration
as well as by contact : he said that it was rendered most
dangerous and most extensively propagated, by fear :
its principal seat was in the imagination. In Egypt, all
those in whom that (the imagination) was affected, per-
ished. The most prudent remedy was moral courage.
He had touched with impunity, he said, some infected
persons at Jaffa, and had saved many lives by deceiving
the soldiers, during two months, as to the nature of the
disease : it was not the plague, they were told, but a
fever accompanied vv?ith ulcers. Moreover, he had ob-
served that the best means to preserve the army from it
were to keep them on the march, and give them, plenty
of exercise : fatigue, and the employment of the mind
upon other subjects, were found the surest protection.*

* It is mentioned in the Memoirs of M. Larre, as a phenome-
non, or at least something remarkable, that the pressure of cir-
cumstances during the retreat from Saint-Jean-d' Acre, having
rendered it necessary to reduce the food of the sick to some plain
thin biscuits, and their dressings to some brackish water, these

394 LETTER FROM MADAME LAS CASES.

The Emperor also said to the Doctor — " If Hippo-
crates were on a sudden to enter your hospital, would
he not be much astonished ? would he adopt your max-
ims and your methods ? would he not find fault with you ?
On your part should you understand his language ?
should you at all comprehend each other ?" — He conclu-
ded by pleasantly extolling the practice of medicine in
Babylon, where the patients were exposed at the door,
and the relations, sitting near them, stopped the passen-
gers to enquire if they had ever been afflicted in a simi-
lar way, and what had cured them. One had at least
the certainty, said he, of escaping all those whose reme-
dies had killed them.

9th. — I was breakfasting with the Emperor, after our
English lesson, when I received a letter from my wife
that filled me with joy and gratitude. She said, that
neither fear, fatigue, nor distance, could prevent her
joining me ; that, separated from me, she could experience
no happiness, and that she was only waiting for the pro-
per season. Admirable devotion ! superior to all that
we have manifested here, inasmuch as it is exerted with
a perfect knowledge of all its consequences. I cannot
think that in England they will have the cruelty to re-
fuse her : what does she solicit ? favours, interest ? No ;
she begs to share the lot of an exile on a solitary rock ;
to fulfil a duty, and to testify her affection ! — How far
was I from forming a just estimate of the hearts and
minds of those who detained us ! Madame de Las Cases
found herself constantly repulsed : sometimes under
various pretexts; sometimes even without an answer.
At last, and as if to rid himself of her importunity. Lord
Bathurst caused her to be informed, in the beginning of
1817, that she should be permitted to go to the Cape of
Good Hope (500 leagues beyond St. Helena), whence " if

invalids traversed sixty leagues of Desert without accidents,
and with so much advantage that the greater part found them-
selves well when they arrived in Egypt, He attributes this
species of prodigy to the exercise, direct or indirect, to the dry
heat of the Desert, and above all to the joy of returning to a
country which had become a sort of new home to the soldiers.

THE TRIAL OF NEY. 395

the Governor of St. Helena (Sir Hudson Lowe) sees no
objection, siie shall be allowed to join her husband."

I leave, without comment, this specimen of ill-timed
pleasantry to the consideration of any one who has the
feeling's of a man. This letter came by the Owen Glen-
dower frigate, which arrived from the Cape, and brought
us at the same time the European papers to December 4.

TRIAL OF NEY. THE EMPEROR's CARRIAGE TAKEN AT

WATERLOO. THE INTERVIEW AT DRESDEN. ON THE

CAPRICE OF WOMEN.

10th — 12th. The weather had now changed to those
miserable pelting- rains which scarcely permitted us to
walk in the garden ; fortunately we had newspapers to
occupy our time. At length I had the satisfaction of
seeing the Emperor read them without assistance.

These papers contained many details relating to the
trial of Marshal Ney, which was at that time in progress.
With reference to this, the Emperor said that the hori-
zon was gloomy ; that the unfortunate Marshal was cer-
tainly in great danger ; but that we must not however
despair. " The King undoubtedly believes himself quite
sure of the Peers," said he; " they are certainly violent
enough, firmly resolved, highly incensedj but for all
that, suppose the slightest incident, some new rumour,
or I know not what : then you would see, in spite of all
the efforts of the King, and of what they believe to be
the interest of their cause, the Chamber of Peers would,
all on a sudden, take it into their heads not to find him
guilty ; and thus Ney may be saved."

This led the Emperor to dilate upon our volatile, fickle,
and changeable disposition. " All the French," said he,
"are turbulent, and disposed to rail; but they are not
addicted to seditious combinations, still less to actual
conspiracy. Their levity is so natural to them, their
changes so sudden, that it may be said to be a national
dishonour. They are mere weathercocks, the sport of
the winds, it is true ; but this vice is with them free from
the calculations of interest, and that is their best excuse.
But we must only be understood to speak here of the
mass, of that which constitutes public opinion ; for in-

396 THE emperor's carriage

dividaal examples to the contrary have swarmed in our
latter times, that exhibit certain classes in the most
disgusting state of meanness."

It was this knowledge of the national character, the
Emperor continued, that had always prevented his hav-
ing recourse to the High Court. It was instituted bv
our Constitution ; the Council of State had even decreed
its organization ; but the Emperor felt all the danger of
the bustle and agitation that such spectacles always pro-
duce. " Such a proceeding," he said, " was in reality an
appeal to the public, and was always highly injurious
to authority, when the accused gained the cause. A
Ministry in England might sustain, without incon-
venience, the effects of a decision against it under
such circumstances ; but a sovereign like me, and si-
tuated as I was, could not have suffered it without
the utmost danger to public affairs : for this reason,
I preferred having recourse to the ordinary tribunals.
Malevolence often started objections to this ; never-
theless, among all those whom it was pleased to call
victims, which of them, I ask you, has retained his
popularity in our late struggles ? They have taken
care to justify me : all of them are faded in the national
estimation."

The Emperor had reserved one article in the papers,
that he might have my assistance in reading it ; it referred
to the carriage he lost at Waterloo : the great number of
technical expressions rendered it too difficult for him.
The editor gave a very circumstantial account of this car-
riage, with a minutely detailed inventory of all its con-
tents ; to this he sometimes added the most fiivolous re-
flections. In mentioning a small liquor-case, he observed
that the Emperor never forgot himself, but took care to
want nothing ; in noticing certain elegant appendages to
his dressing-case, he added that it might be seen he made
his toilet comme il faut (the expression was in French).
These last words produced a sensation in the Emperor,
v/hich certainly would not have been excited by a more
important subject. " How !" said he to me, with a mix-
ture of disgust and pain ; " these people of England, then,
take me for some wild animal ; have they really been

TAKEN AT WATERLOO. 397

led so far as this ? or their , who is a kind

of Ox Apis, as I am assured, does he not pay that at-
tention to his toilet that is considered proper by every
person of any education among us ?"

It is certain that I should have been a good deal puz-
zled to explain to him the writer's meaning. Besides, it
is known that the Emperor, of all people in the world,
set the least value on his personal convenience, and
fetudied it the least; but, on the other hand, and he ac-
knowledged it with pleasure, there never was one for
whom the devotion and attention of servants had been
so diligent in that particular. As he ate at very irregu-
lar hours, they contrived, in the course of his journeys
and campaigns, to have his dinner, similar to what he
was accustomed to at the Tuileries, always ready with-
in a few paces of him. He had but to speak, and he was
instantly served ; he himself said it was magic. During
tifteen years he constantly drank a particular sort of Bur-
gundy (Chambertin) , which he liked and beheved to be
wholesome for him : he found this wine provided for him
throughout Germany, in the remotest part of Spain,
everywhere, even at Moscow) and it may truly be
said that art, luxury, the refinement of elegance and good
taste, contended around him, as if without his know-
ledge, to afford him gratification. The English jour-
nalists, therefore, described a multitude of objects that
were undoubtedly in the carriage ; but of which the
Emperor had not the slightest notion : not that he was
at all surprised at it, he observed.

The bad weather which continued to confine us within
doors, had no influence on the disposition of the Em-
peror, who at this particular time seemed more unre-
served and talked more than usual. He spoke at length,
and with the most minute details, of the famous inter-
view at Dresden. The following are extracts from his
conversation : —

This was the epoch when the power of Napoleon was
at its height : he there appeared as the king of kings ;
he was actually obliged to observe that some attention
ought to be paid to the Emperor of Austria, his father-
in-law. Neither this Sovereign nor the King of Prussia

398 INTERVIEW AT DRESDEN.

had any household establishment attending them ; Alex-
ander had none either at Tilsit or Erfurt. There, as
at Dresden, they lived at Napoleon's table. — " These
Courts," said the Emperor, "were paltry and vulgar."
It was he who regulated the etiquette, and took the lead
in them ; he made Francis take precedence of him, to
his unbounded satisfaction. The luxury and magnifi-
cence of Napoleon must have made him appear to them
like an Asiatic prince: there, as well as at Tilsit, he
loaded all who came near him with diamonds. We in-
formed him that at Dresden he had not a single French
soldier about him : and that his Court was sometimes
not without apprehensions for the safety of his person.
He could scarcely believe us ; — but we assured him that
it was a fact ; that the Saxon body-guard was the only
one he had. "Jt is all one," he said ; " 1 was then in so
good a family, with such worthy people, that I ran no
risk ; I was beloved by all ; and, at this very time, I
am sure the good King of Saxony repeats every day a
Pater and an Ave for me." He added, " I ruined the
fortunes of that poor Princess Augusta, and I acted very
wrong in so doing. Returning from Tilsit, I received,
at Marienwerder, a chamberlain of the King of Saxony,
who delivered me a letter from his master ; he wrote
thus : ' I have just received a letter from the Emperor
of Austria, who desires my daughter in marriage; I
send this to you, that you may inform me what answer
I ought to return.' — ' I shall be at Dresden in a few
days,' " was the reply of the Emperor ; and, on his ar-
rival, he set his face against the match, and prevented
it. " I was very wrong," repeated he; "1 was fearful
the Emperor Francis would withdraw the King of Sax-
ony from me : on the contrary, the Princess Augusta
would have brought over the Emperor Francis to my
side, and I should not now have been here."

At Dresden, Napoleon was much occupied in business,
and Maria-Louisa, anxious to avail herself of the small-
est intervals of leisure to be with her husband, scarcely
ever went out, lest she should miss them. The Empe-
ror Francis, who did nothing, and tired himself all day
with going about the town, could not at all comprehend

CHPRICE OF WOMEN. 399

this family seclusion ; he fancied that it was to affect
reserve and importance. The Empress of Austria en-
deavoured to prevail on Maria-Louisa to go out ; she
represented to her that her constant assiduity was ridi-
culous. She would willingly have given herself the airs
of a step-mother with Maria- Louisa, who was not dis-
posed to suffer it, their ages being nearly the same. She
came frequently in the morning to her toilet, ransacking
among the luxurious and magnificent objects displayed
there : she seldom went out empty-handed.

"The reign of Maria-Louisa was very short," said
the Emperor ; " but it must have been full of enjoyment
for her ; she had the world at her feet." One of us
took the liberty to ask if the Empress of Austria was not
the sworn enemy of Maria-Louisa. "Nothing more,"
said the Emperor, " than a little regular court-hatred ;
a thorough detestation in the heart, but glossed over by
daily letters of four pages, full of coaxing and tender-
ness."

The Empress of Austria was particularly attentive to
Napoleon, and took great pains to make much of him
while he was present ; but no sooner was his back
turned, than she endeavoured to detach Maria- Louisa
from him by the most mischievous and malicious insinu-
ations ; she was vexed that she could not succeed in
obtaining some influence over her. " She has, however,
address and ability," said the Emperor, " and that
sufficient to embarrass her husband, who had acquired a
conviction that she entertained a poor opinion of him.
Her countenance was agreeable, engaging, and had
something very peculiar in it ; she was a pretty Httle
nun.

"As to the Emperor Francis, his good-nature is well
known, and makes him constantly the dupe of the
designing. His son will be like him.

"The King of Prussia, as a private character, is an
honourable, good, and worthy man ; but, in his political
capacity, he is naturally disposed to yield to necessitv :
you are his master so long as you have power on your
side, and your arm is uplifted to strike.

" As for the Emperor of Russia, he is a man infinitely

400 LIBERATION OF GREECE.

superior to these : he possesses wit, grace, information ;
he is fascinating, but he is not to be trusted : he is-
devoid of candour, a true Greek of the Lower Empire.
At the same time he is not without ideology, real or
assumed : — after all, it may only be a smattering derived
from his education and his preceptor. Would you be-
lieve," said the Emperor, " what I had to discuss with
him ? He maintained that inheritance is an abuse in
monarchy, and I had to spend more than an hour, and
employ all my eloquence and logic, in proving to him
that this right constitutes the peace and happiness of the
people. It may be, too, that he was mystifying ; for he

is cunning, false, and expert ;

he will push his fortunes. If I die here, he will be my
real heir in Europe. I alone was able to stop him with
his deluge of Tartars. The crisis is great, and will have
lasting effects upon the Continent of Europe, especially
upon Constantinople : he was solicitous with me for the
possession of it. I have had much coaxing on this sub-
ject; but I constantly turned a deaf ear to it. It was
necessary that that empire, shattered as it appeared,
should constantly remain a point of separation between
us ; it was the marsh that prevented my right from be-
ing turned. As to Greece, it is another matter !" ;Aw\,
after talking awhile upon that country, he renewed the
subject: "Greece awaits a liberator! There will be a
brilliant crown of glory ! He will inscribe his name for
ever with those of Homer, Plato, and Epaminondas !-— I
perhaps was not far from it, when, during my campaign
in Italy, arrived on the shores of the Adriatic, I wrote
to the Directory, that I had before my eyes the kingdom
of Alexander! — Still later I entered into engagements
with Ali Pacha ; and when Corfu was taken from us,
they must have found there ammunition and a complete
equipment for an army of forty or fifty thousand men. V
had caused maps to be made of Macedonia, Servia,
Albania, &c. Greece, the Peloponnesus at least, must
be the lot of that European power which shall possess
Egypt. It should be ours."

END OF VOL. I.

iHDOTBB; STElIEOrTI't.T A ^« 1) IRINTKD BT D EKNSLKY.

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