Count de Las Cases
Memorial de Sainte Hélène
London, 1823
MY RESIDENCE WITH THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.
Volume 2, Part 3
page 1 - 62
1816, April 1 - 18
Description of the Emperor’s apartment.—Minute details of his toilette and dress.—Absurd reports respecting him.—Conspiracies of Georges and Cerachi.—Attempt of the Fanatic of Schœbrunn.
APRIL 1st—2d. All that is in any way connected with the Emperor Napoleon must be worthy of observation, and will be held valuable by thousands. With this conviction, I shall proceed minutely to describe his apartment, its furniture, the details of his toilette, &c. And, in course of time, may not his son one day take pleasure in reproducing these details, picturing to himself the appearance of distant objects, and seizing fleeting shadows, which to him will perhaps supply the place of reality ?
The Emperor’s own apartments consist of two chambers A and B,* each 45 feet long and 42 broad, and about 7 feet high. A very indifferent carpet covers the floor, and pieces of nankin, instead of paper, line the walls of both rooms.
The bed-chamber A contains the little campbed a, in which the Emperor sleeps, and the couch b, on which he reclines the greater part of the day. This couch is covered with books, which seem to dispute with the Emperor the right of possession to it. Beside this couch stands a small table c, on which the Emperor breakfasts and dines, when he takes his meals in his own chamber, and which, in the evening, bears a candlestick with three branches, surmounted by a large ornament. Between the two windows, and opposite the door, stands a chest of drawers d, containing the Emperor’s linen, and on the top of which stands his large dressing-case.
Over the fire-place e, hangs a very small glass, together with several pictures. On the right is portrait of the King of Rome sitting on a sheep, by Aimée Thiebault,—and on the left hangs, as a pendant to it, another portrait of the young Prince sitting on a cushion and putting on a slipper. This picture is also the production of Thiebault. Lower down is a small marble bust of the King of Rome. Two candlesticks, two scent-bottles and two cups of silver gilt, taken from the Emperor’s cabinet, complete the arrangement and decoration of the chimney-piece. Lastly, at the foot of the couch, and directly in the view of the Emperor when he reposes on it, which he does the greater part of the day, hangs Isabey’s portrait of Maria Louisa, holding her son in her arms. This wretched little closet has thus become a family sanctuary. I must not omit to mention Frederick the Great’s large silver watch, which is a sort of morning bell. It was taken at Potsdam, and it hangs on the left of the chimney-piece, beyond the portraits. The Emperor’s own watch, which hangs on the right of the chimney, is the same that he used in the Campaigns of Italy ; it is enclosed in a gold case, marked with his cipher B. These are the contents of the first chamber.
In the second room B, which serves as a sort of study, along the walls next the windows are several rough shelves supported on brackets, on which are scattered a great number of books, and the manuscripts that have been written from the Emperor’s dictation. Between the two windows is a bookcase g, in the form of a book-case ; and on the opposite side stands another camp-bedstead h, similar to the one already mentioned. On this bed the Emperor sometimes reposes in the day-time ; and he occasionally lies down on it, when he rises from the other bed during his frequent sleepless nights, or when fatigued with dictating, or walking about alone in his chamber. Lastly, in the middle of the room stands the writing-table i, with marks indicating the places usually occupied by the Emperor and each of us during his dictations.
The Emperor dresses in his bed-room. When he takes off his clothes, which he does without assistance, he throws them all upon the ground, if one of his valets happen not to be at hand to take them from him. How many times have I stooped to pickup the cordon of the legion of honour, when I have seen it thrown carelessly on the ground !
Shaving, which is almost the last business of the Emperor’s toilette, is not commenced until he gets on his stockings, shoes, &c. He shaves himself : first taking off his shirt, and retaining only his flannel waistcoat, which he had laid aside during the excessive heat we experienced in crossing the line, but which he was obliged to resume at Longwood, in consequence of a severe attack of the cholic ; from this, however, the use of his flannel waistcoat speedily relieved him.
The Emperor shaves in the recess of the window nearest the fire-place. His first valet de chambre hands him the soap and razor ; and the second holds before him the looking-glass of his dressing-case, so that the Emperor may present to the light the side that he is shaving. It is the business of the second valet de chambre to tell him whether or not he shaves clean. Having shaved one side, he turns completely round to shave the other, and the valets change sides.
The Emperor then washes his face, and very frequently his head, in a large silver basin f, which is fixed in a corner of the room, and which was brought from the Elysée. The Emperor is very lusty ; his skin is white, with but few hairs ; and he has a certain em-bon-point which does not belong to the male sex, and to which he some times jokingly alludes. He rubs his chest and arms with a tolerably hard brush. He afterwards gives the brush to his valet de chambre, who rubs his back and shoulders, and when in good humour he often says, “ Come, brush hard—as hard as if you were scrubbing an ass.”
He used almost to drown himself in Eau de Cologne, at least, so long as he had any at his disposal : but his store of this article was speedily exhausted, and as none could be procured on the island, he was reduced to the necessity of using lavender water ; the want of Eau de Cologne he felt as a severe privation.
After he has had his back rubbed, or after he has finished shaving each side of his beard, he sometimes good-humouredly looks his valet in the face for a few seconds, and then gives him a smart box on the ear, accompanied by some jocular expressions. This has been construed by libelists and pamphleteers into the habit of cruelly beating those who were about him. We all in our turns, occasionally received a pinch or a box on the ear ; but from the expressions which always accompanied the action, we thought ourselves very happy in receiving such favours during the period of his power.
This calls to my recollection, and explains to me certain observations which I once heard from the Duke Decrès, one of the Emperor’s ministers. The Duke, when in the height of his glory and power, wished to obtain a certain favour from the Emperor. He was conversing with me on the subject, and after adverting to all his chances of success, he said : “ I shall have it after all, the first time I get roughly treated.” And remarking that my countenance expressed surprise, he added with a significant smile : “ But, my dear fellow, after all ‘tis not so terrible a thing as you imagine ; many would be happy to receive such usage, I assure you.” . . .
The Emperor does not leave his chamber until he is completely dressed. He wears shoes in the morning, and does not put on his boots until he rides out on horseback. When he first came to Longwood, he laid aside his green uniform of the Guard, and wore a hunting coat, the lacing of which had been taken off. This coat soon began to look shabby, and his attendants were at a loss what to substitute for it. This, however, was not the only inconvenience of the kind to which he was exposed. For instance, we were much distressed to see him reduced to the necessity of wearing one pair of silk stockings for several days in succession ; but he laughed whenever we expressed our regret on this subject, or remarked that it was easy to count the number of days the stockings had been worn, by the marks which the shoes had imprinted on them. In other respects he retained his usual dress ; namely, waistcoat and small clothes of white kerseymere, and a black cravat. When he was going out, any one of the gentlemen who happened to be in the room presented to him his hat ; that little hat which has in some measure become identified with his person. Several of the Emperor’s hats have been carried off since we have been on the island ; for every individual who approaches him is anxious to obtain some token of remembrance of him. How often have we been tormented even by persons of distinguished rank, to procure for them even a button of his coat, or any other trifle belonging to him.
I was almost always present at the Emperor’s toilette : sometimes I remained after having finished my writing, and sometimes the Emperor desired me to come and chat with him. One day I was looking stedfastly at him as he put on his flannel waistcoat. My countenance I suppose expressed something particular, for he said in his good-humoured way of addressing me : “ Well, what does your Excellency smile at ? What are you thinking of at this moment ?”—“ Sire, in a pamphlet which I lately read, I found it stated that your Majesty was shielded by a coat of mail for the security of your person. A report of the same kind was circulated among certain classes in Paris ; and in support of the assertion, allusion was made to your Majesty’s sudden em-bon-point, which was said to be quite unnatural. I was just now thinking that I could bear positive evidence to the contrary, and that at St. Helena, at least, all precautions for personal safety have been laid aside.”—“ This is one of the thousand absurdities that have been published respecting me,” said he. “ But the story you have just mentioned is the more ridiculous, since every individual about me well knows how careless I am in regard to self-preservation. Accustomed from the age of eighteen to lie exposed to the cannon-ball, and knowing the inutility of precautions, I abandoned myself to my fate. When I came to the head of affairs, I might still have fancied myself surrounded by the danger of the field of battle ; and I might have regarded the conspiracies that were formed against me as so many bomb-shells. But I followed my old course ; I trusted to my lucky star ; and left all precautions to the police. I was perhaps the only sovereign in Europe who dispensed with a body guard. Every one could freely approach me without having, as it were, to pass through military barracks ; the sentinels at the outer gates being passed, all had free access to every part of my palace. Maria Louisa was much astonished to see me so poorly guarded ; and she often remarked that her father was surrounded by bayonets. For my part, I had no better defence at the Tuileries than I have here ; I don’t even know where to find my sword ; do you see it ?” said he, looking about for it. . . . . “ I have, to be sure,” he continued, “ incurred great dangers. Upwards of thirty plots were formed against me : these have been proved by authentic testimony, without mentioning many that never came to light. Some sovereigns invent conspiracies against themselves ; for my part, I made it a rule carefully to conceal them whenever I could. The crisis most serious to me was during the interval from the battle of Marengo, to the attempt of Georges, and the affair of the Duke d’Enghien.”
Napoleon related that about a week before the arrest of Georges, a petition had been delivered into his own hands on the parade, by one of the most determined of the conspirators. Others insinuated themselves among the household at St. Cloud or Malmaison ; finally Georges himself seems to have been so near his person, as to be in the same apartment with him.
Independently of good fortune, the Emperor attributes his safety, in a great measure, to certain circumstances which were peculiar to himself. That which had doubtless, he said, contributed to preserve him, was his having lived after his own fancy ; without any regular habits or fixed plan. His vast occupations kept him much at home, and almost constantly confined him to his closet. He never dined abroad, seldom visited the theatres, and never appeared but at those times and places at which he was not expected.
As we were descending to the garden after the Emperor had finished dressing, he observed to me that the two designs on his life which had placed him in the most imminent danger, were those of Cerachi the sculptor, and the fanatic of Schœnbrunn. Cerachi, and some other desperate wretches, had laid a plan for assassinating the First Consul. They agreed to carry their design into execution at the moment of his withdrawing from his box at the theatre. Napoleon, who got intimation of the plot, nevertheless proceeded to the theatre, and fearlessly passed by the conspirators, who had shown themselves most eager to occupy their respective stations. They were not arrested until about the middle or near the close of the performance.
Cerachi, said the Emperor, had formerly adored the First Consul ; but he vowed to sacrifice him, when, as he pretended, he proved himself a tyrant. This artist had been loaded with favours by General Bonaparte, whose bust he had executed ; and when he entered into the plot against his benefactor, he endeavoured by every possible means to procure another sitting, under pretence of making an essential improvement on the bust. Fortunately, at that time, the Consul had not a single moment’s leisure, and thinking that want was the real cause of the urgent solicitations of the sculptor, he sent him six thousand francs. But how was he mistaken ! Cerachi’s real motive was to stab him at the sitting.
The conspiracy was disclosed by a captain of the line, who was himself an accomplice. “ This,” said Napoleon, “ was a proof of the strange modifications of which the human mind is susceptible, and shows to what lengths the combinations of folly and stupidity may be carried ! This officer regarded me with horror as First Consul, though he had adored me as a General. He wished to see me driven from my post, but he rejected the idea of any attempt upon my life. He wished that I should be secured, but would not have me injured in any way ; and he proposed that I should be sent back to the army to face the enemy and defend the glory of France. The rest of the conspirators laughed at these notions ; but when he found that they were distributing poniards and going far beyond his intentions, he then came and disclosed the whole to the Consul.”
As we were discoursing on this subject, some one present mentioned having witnessed at the Theatre Feydeau, a circumstance which threw a part of the audience into the greatest consternation. The Emperor entered the Empress Josephine’s box, and had scarcely taken his seat, when a young man hastily jumped upon the bench immediately below the box, and placed his hand on the Emperor’s breast. The spectators on the opposite side were filled with alarm. Fortunately, however, the young man was merely presenting a petition, which the Emperor received and read with the utmost coolness.
The Emperor described the Fanatic of Schœbrunn, as the son of a protestant minister of Erfurt, who, about the time of the battle of Wagram, had laid a plan for the assassination of Napoleon, with all due parade. He had passed the sentinels at some distance from the Emperor, and had twice or thrice been driven back, when General Rapp, in the act of pushing him aside with his hand, felt something concealed under his coat. This proved to be a knife about a foot and a half long, pointed, and sharp at both edges. “ I shuddered to look at it,” said the Emperor ; “ it was merely rolled up in a piece of newspaper.”
Napoleon ordered the assassin to be brought into his closet. He called Corvisart, and directed him to feel the criminal’s pulse while he spoke to him. The assassin stood unmoved, confessing his intended crime, and frequently making quotations from the Bible, “ What was your purpose here ?” enquired the Emperor. “ To kill you.” “ What have I done to offend you ? By whose authority do you constitute yourself my Judge ?”—“ I wish to put an end to the war.” “ And why not address yourself to the Emperor Francis ?” “To him !” said the assassin, “and wherefore ? he is a mere cipher. And besides, if he were dead, another would succeed him ; but when you are gone the French will immediately retire from Germany.” The Emperor vainly endeavoured to move him. “ Do you repent ?” said he. “ No.” “ Would you again attempt the perpetration of your intended crime ?” “Yes.” “ What, if I were to pardon you ?” Here, said the Emperor, nature for an instant resumed her sway ; the man’s countenance and voice underwent a momentary change. “Even though you do,” said he, “God will not forgive me.” But he immediately resumed his ferocious expression. He was kept in solitary confinement and without food for four and twenty hours. The Doctor examined him once more. He was again questioned, but all was unavailing ; he still remained the same man, or to speak more properly, the same ferocious brute. He was at length abandoned to his fate.
Measures that might have been adopted after Waterloo.
3d.—In the morning the Emperor dictated in the shady part of the garden. The day was delightfully clear and serene. He had been reading the account of Alexander’s expedition in Rollin’s History ; and had several maps spread out before him. He complained that the narrative was destitute of taste, and without any proper plan. He observed, that it afforded no just idea of the grand views of Alexander ; and he expressed a wish himself to write an account of the expedition.
About five o’clock I joined him in the garden, where he was walking attended by all the gentlemen. As soon as he perceived me, he said “ Come, we must have your opinion on a point which we have been discussing for the last hour. On my return from Waterloo, do you think I could have dismissed the Legislative Body, and have saved France without it ?”—“ No,” I replied, “it would not have been dissolved voluntarily. You would have found it necessary to employ force ; which would have excited protestations, and would have been regarded as scandalous. The dissatisfaction excited in the Legislative Body, would have spread through the whole nation. Meanwhile the enemy would have arrived ; and your Majesty must have surrendered, accused by all Europe, accused by foreigners, and even by Frenchmen ; perhaps loaded with universal malediction, regarded merely as an adventurer carrying every thing by violence. But as it was, your Majesty issued pure and unsullied from the conflict, and your memory will be everlastingly cherished in the hearts of those who respect the cause of the people. Your Majesty has by your moderation ensured to yourself the brightest character in history, while by a different line of conduct you might have incurred the risk of reprobation. You have lost your power, it is true ; but you have attained the summit of your glory.”
“ Well, this is partly my own opinion,” said the Emperor. “
He then adverted to the plan and details of the Campaign, dwelling with pleasure on its glorious commencement, and with regret on the terrible disaster that marked its close.
“ Still,” continued he, “ .**
“ It would perhaps be unjust,” added the Emperor, “
“ Yes,” continued the Emperor, “
We asked the Emperor whether with the concurrence of the Legislative Body, he thought he could have saved France ? He replied without hesitation, that he would confidently have undertaken to do so, and that he would have answered for his success.
“ In less than a fortnight,” continued he, “
“ Paris,” said he, “
“ But, Sire,” we exclaimed, “ why did you not attempt what would infallibly have succeeded ?—Why are we here ?”
“ Now,” resumed the Emperor, “ ”—The Emperor returned to his chamber desiring me to follow him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4th. At 5 o’clock I went to meet the Emperor in the garden. He had taken too warm a bath, and in consequence found himself ill. We rode out in the calash, the weather was delightful : for several days it had been very warm and dry. Before dinner the Emperor dictated to the Grand Marshal. Madame Bertrand dined at the Admiral’s. The Emperor withdrew to his chamber immediately after dinner.
Characteristic Traits.
5th—8th. During these four days, the Emperor invariably rode out on horseback about six or seven in the morning, accompanied only by me and my son.
I am enabled to affirm, that I never saw Napoleon swayed either by passion or prejudice, that is to say, I never knew him to pronounce a judgment on men and things that was not dictated by reason. Even when he displays what perhaps may be called anger, it is merely the effect of transitory sensation, and never influences his actions ; but I can truly say, that during the eighteen years in which I have had the opportunity of observing his character, I never knew him to act in contradiction to reason.
Another fact which has come to my knowledge, and which I note down here because it recurs to my memory at this moment, is that, either from nature, calculation, or the habit of preserving dignity, he for the most part represses and conceals the painful sensations which he experiences, and still more, perhaps, the kind emotions of his heart. I have frequently observed him repressing feelings of sensibility, as if he thought they compromised his character. Of this I shall hereafter adduce proofs. Meanwhile the following characteristic trait so perfectly corresponds with the object of this journal, namely, that of showing the man as he really is, and siezing nature in the fact, that I cannot refrain from mentioning it.
For some days past, Napoleon seemed to have something deeply at heart. A domestic circumstance that had occurred, had vexed and ruffled him exceedingly. During the last three days, in our rides about the park, he several times alluded to this circumstance with considerable warmth, desiring me to keep close by his side, and ordering my son to ride on before. On one of these occasions the following observation escaped him :—“ I know I am fallen. But to feel this among you !” . . . These words, the gesture, the tone that accompanied them, pierced my very heart. I was ready to throw myself at his feet, and embrace his knees. “ I know,” continued he, “ that man is frequently unreasonable and susceptible. Thus, when I am mistrustful of myself, I ask : should I have been treated so at the Tuileries ? This is my sure test.”
He then spoke of himself, of us, of our reciprocal relations, of our situation in the island, and the influence which our individual circumstances might enable us to exercise, &c. His reflections on these subjects were numerous, powerful, and just. In the emotion with which this conversation inspired me, I exclaimed : “ Sire, permit me to take this affair upon myself. It certainly never could have been viewed in this light. If the matter were explained, I am sure it would excite deep sorrow and repentance ! I only ask permission to say a single word.” The Emperor replied with dignity :—“ No, Sir ; I forbid it. I have opened my heart to you. Nature has had her course. I shall forget it ; and you must seem never to have known it.”
On our return we breakfasted all together in the garden, and the Emperor was more than usually cheerful. In the evening he dined in his own apartment.
Politics.—The state of Europe.—Irresistible ascendancy of liberal opinions.
9th—10th. On the 9th a ship arrived from England, bringing papers to the 21st of January. The Emperor continued his morning rides on horseback, and passed the rest of the day in examining the newspapers in his own chamber. The contents of these late papers were no less interesting than those which we had already examined. The agitation in France continued to increase ; the King of Prussia had issued proclamations respecting secret societies ; a misunderstanding had arisen between Austria and Bavaria ; in England the persecution of the French Protestants, and the violence of the party which was gaining the ascendancy, agitated the public mind, and gave arms to the opposition. Europe never presented a more violent fermentation.
On hearing of the deluge of evils and sanguinary events which overwhelmed all the French departments, the Emperor rose from his couch, and stamping his foot violently on the ground, he exclaimed : “ How unfortunate was I in not proceeding to America ! From the other hemisphere I might have protected France against re-action ! The dread of my re-appearance would have been a check on their violence and folly. My name would have sufficed to bridle their excess, and to fill them with terror !”
Then continuing the same subject, he said with degree of warmth, bordering on inspiration : “ The counter-revolution, even had it been suffered to proceed, must inevitably have been lost in the grand revolution. The atmosphere of modern ideas is sufficient to stifle the old feudalists ; for henceforth nothing can destroy or efface the grand principles of our revolution. Those great and excellent truths can never cease to exist, so completely are they blended with our fame, our monuments, and our prodigies. We have washed away their first stains in the flood of glory, and they will henceforth be immortal ! Created in the French tribune, cemented with the blood of battles, adorned with the laurels of victory, saluted with the acclamations of the people, sanctioned by the treaties and alliances of Sovereigns, and having become familiar to the ears as well as in the mouths of Kings, these principles can never again retrograde !
“ Liberal ideas flourish in Great Britain, they enlighten America, and they are nationalized in France ; and this may be called the tripod whence issues the light of the world ! Liberal opinions will rule the universe. They will become the faith, the religion, the morality of all nations ; and in spite of all that may be advanced to the contrary, this memorable era will be inseparably connected with my name ; for, after all, it cannot be denied that I kindled the torch and consecrated the principle, and now persecution renders me the Messiah. Friends and enemies, all must acknowledge me to be the first soldier, the grand representative of the age. Thus I shall for ever remain the leading star.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Emperor’s opinion of several celebrated men,—Pozzo di Borgo—Metternich—Bassano—Clarke—Cambacérès—Lebrun—Fouché, &c.
11th—12th. The Emperor took advantage of every fine morning to ride on horseback. He breakfasted in the garden ; and the conversation was afterwards maintained with great freedom and interest on the events of his own private life, on public affairs, on the individuals who surrounded his person, and those who have played a conspicuous part in the other Courts of Europe.
The English lessons were no longer thought of ; they were continued only in our rides or walks during the day time. What the Emperor thus lost in grammatical accuracy, he gained in facility of expression.
About five o’clock on the 11th, we took our usual airing in the calash. In the evening we resumed our ministerial anecdotes and conversations on celebrated persons. Napoleon gave us the history of M. Pozzo di Borgo, his countryman, who had been a Member of the Legislative Body. It was he, it is said, who advised the Emperor Alexander to march upon Paris, even though Napoleon should have attacked his rear. “ And thus,” said the Emperor, “ he decided the fate of France, of European civilization, and the destinies of the whole world. He had acquired great influence in the Russian Cabinet. On the 20th of March,” continued the Emperor, . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
He also gave us the history of M. Capo d’Istria. He then spoke of M. de Metternich. “ It was he,” said Napoleon, “ who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Emperor next spoke of his own Ministers ; of Bassano, whom he believed to have been sincerely attached to him ; Clarke, to whose character Time, he said, would do ample justice ; C . . . . . . . . whom late events had shown to have been worth but little. The Emperor had successively appointed him Ambassador to Vienna, Minister of the interior, and Minister for foreign affairs. Talleyrand, observed the Emperor, described his character in a word, when he said of him, with his usual point and ill-natured spirit, that he was a man who could make himself fit for any place on the eve of his appointment to it.
The conversation next turned on M. Cambacérès, whom Napoleon called the man of abuses ; observing that he had a decided inclination for the old regime. Lebrun, on the contrary, had a predilection to the opposite extreme. He, said the Emperor, was the man of idealisms. These two men, he observed, were the counterpoises between which the First Consul had placed himself, who, in his turn, was humourously called the consolidated third.
MM. de Talleyrand and Fouché were next spoken of. After saying a great deal respecting both, the Emperor proceeded to make some energetic remarks on the morality of individuals connected with the ministry in France, and generally of all functionaries or men in office ; on their want of political faith, or national feeling, which led them indifferently to adopt one line of conduct to day, and another to-morrow. “ This levity, this inconsistency,” said he, “ has descended to us from antiquity. We still remain Gauls, and our character will never be complete until we learn to substitute principles for turbulence, pride for vanity, and above all, the love of institutions for the love of places.”
The Emperor concluded, that at the close of our late events, the Monarchs of Europe must necessarily have retained a retrospective feeling of scorn and contempt for the great people who had thus sported with Sovereignty. “ But,” said he, “ .”
The following are some fresh particulars respecting M. de Talleyrand and M. Fouché, whose names have so frequently been mentioned. I endeavour as much as possible to avoid repetitions.3
“ M. de Talleyrand” said the Emperor, “ waited two days and nights at Vienna, for full powers to treat for peace in my name ; but I should have been ashamed to have thus prostituted my policy ; and yet, perhaps, my conduct in this instance has purchased my exile to St. Helena ; for I cannot but allow that Talleyrand is a man of singular talent, and capable at all times of throwing great weight into the scale.
“ Talleyrand” continued he, “ was always in a state treason ; but it was in participation with fortune. His circumspection was extreme ; he treated his friends as if they might in future become his enemies ; and he behaved to his enemies as if they might some time or other become his friends. M. de Talleyrand had always been, in my opinion, hostile to the Faubourg St. Germain. In the affair of the divorce, he was for the Empress Josephine. It was he who urged the war with Spain, though in public he had the art to appear averse to it.” Thus it was from a kind of spite that Napoleon made choice of Valencey as the residence of Ferdinand. “ In short,” said the Emperor, “ Talleyrand was the principal instrument and the active cause of the death of the Duke d’Enghien.”
Napoleon observed, that a celebrated actress (Mademoiselle Raucourt) had described him with great truth. “If you ask him a question, said she, he is an iron chest, whence you cannot extract a syllable ; but if you ask him nothing, you will soon be unable to stop his mouth—he will become a regular gossip.”
This was a foible, which, at the outset, destroyed the confidence of the Emperor, and made him waver in his opinion of Talleyrand “ I had entrusted him,” said Napoleon, “ with a very important affair, and a few hours after Josephine related it to me word for word. I instantly sent for the Minister to inform him that I had just learned from the Empress a circumstance which I had told in confidence to himself alone. The story had already passed through four or five intermediate channels.”
“ Talleyrand’s countenance,” added the Emperor, “ is so immoveable, that nothing can ever be read in it. Lannes and Murat used jokingly to say of him that, if while he was speaking to you some one should come behind him and give him a kick, his countenance would betray no indication of the affront.”
M. de Talleyrand is mild and even endearing in his domestic habits. His servants, and the individuals in his employment, are attached and devoted to him. Among his intimate friends he willingly and good-humouredly speaks of his ecclesiastic profession. He one day expressed his dislike of a tune which was played in his hearing. He said he had a great horror of it ; it recalled to his recollection the time when he was obliged to practise church-music, and to sing at the desk. On another occasion, one of his intimate friends was telling a story during supper, while M. de Talleyrand was engaged in thought, and seemed inattentive to the conversation. In the course of the story, the speaker happened to say in a lively manner of some one whom he had named, “ That fellow is a comical rogue ; he is a married priest.” Talleyrand roused by these words, seized a spoon, plunged it hastily into the dish before him, and with a threatening aspect called out to him, “Mr. Such-a-one, will you have some spinage ?” The person who was telling the story was confounded, and all the party burst into a fit of laughter, M. de Talleyrand as well as the rest.
The Emperor, at the time of the Concordate, wished to have made M. de Talleyrand a Cardinal, and to have placed him at the head of ecclesiastical affairs. He told him that his proper destiny was to return to the bosom of the Church, to refresh his memory, and to stop the mouths of the declaimers. Talleyrand however, would never agree to this ; his aversion to the ecclesiastical profession was insurmountable.
Napoleon was very near appointing him Ambassador to Warsaw, a dignity which he subsequently conferred on the Abbé de Pradt ; but his shabby stock-jobbing tricks, as the Emperor called them, occasioned this intention to be abandoned. The Emperor was induced by the same reasons, and at the instance of several sovereigns of Germany, to deprive him of the portfolio of Foreign Affairs.
The Emperor remarked that Fouché was the Talleyrand of the clubs, and that Talleyrand was the Fouché of the drawing-rooms. “ Intrigue,” he said, “ was to Fouché a necessary of life. He intrigued at all times, in all places, in all ways, and with all persons. Nothing ever came to light, but he was found to have had a hand in it. He made it his sole business to look out for something that he might be meddling with. His mania was to wish to be concerned in every thing . . . . ! Always in every body’s shoes.” This the Emperor would often repeat.
At the time of the conspiracy of Georges, when Moreau was arrested, Fouché was no longer at the head of the Police, and he endeavoured to make himself very much regretted. “ What stupidity !” said he, “ they have arrested Moreau when he returned to Paris from his country residence, a circumstance which at least appeared like the confidence of innocence. On the contrary, he should have been seized when he went to Gros-Bois, for then he evidently fled.”
The remark which he made, or which is attributed to him in the affair of the Duke d’Enghien, is well known ; “ It is more than a crime, it is a fault,” said he. Such traits as these paint the character of a man better than whole volumes.
The Emperor knew Fouché well, and never became his dupe. He has been much blamed for leaving employed him in 1815, when indeed Fouché basely betrayed him. Napoleon was not ignorant of his disposition ; but he also knew that the danger depended more on the circumstances than on the individual. “ If I had been victorious,” said he, “ Fouché would have been faithful. He took great care, it is true, to hold himself in readiness for whatever might happen. I ought to have conquered ! ”
The Emperor, however, was acquainted with his underhand dealings, and he did not spare him. After Napoleon’s return in 1815, one of the first bankers of Paris presented himself at the Elysée, to inform him that a few days previously a person just arrived from Vienna, had waited upon him with letters of credit, and had made enquiries respecting the means by which he could meet with Fouché. Whether from reflection or presentiment, the banker conceived some doubts respecting this individual, and accordingly came to communicate them in person to the Emperor, who was astonished that Fouché had concealed the matter from his knowledge. In the course of a few hours Réal found the person in question, and immediately brought him to the Elysée, where he was shut up in a small room by himself. The Emperor ordered him to be brought into the garden. “ Do you know me ?” said he to the man. This commencement, and the feelings which the Emperor’s presence inspired, greatly startled the stranger. “ I am acquainted with all your proceedings,” continued Napoleon, in a tone of severity ; “ if you this moment confess all you know, I may pardon you ; if not, you will be taken from this garden to be shot.”—“ I will tell all,” said the man. “ I am sent hither by M. de Metternich to the Duke of Otranto, to propose that he will despatch a messenger to Bâle, who will there meet the messenger sent by M. de Metternich from Vienna. These,” continued he, delivering some papers, “ are the marks of recognition which they are to possess.”—“ Have you executed your mission to Fouché ? ” enquired the Emperor.—“ Yes.”—“ Has he despatched his messenger ? ”—“ I do not know.” The man was put under confinement, and within an hour a confidential person (M. F. . . . .) was on the road to Bâle. He introduced himself to the Austrian messenger, and even held four conferences with him.
Meanwhile Fouché, who was uneasy at the non-appearance of his Vienna messenger, one day waited on the Emperor, and attempted with an air of gaiety and cheerfulness to conceal his extreme embarrassment. “ There were several looking-glasses,” said the Emperor, “ in the apartment, and I was much amused in studying him by stealth ; the expression of his countenance was hideous ; he did not know how to enter upon the subject which interested him so deeply.”—“ Sire,” said he at length, “ a circumstance occurred to me four or five days ago, which I fear I was wrong in not communicating to your Majesty. . . . . But I have so much business on my hands . . . . . I am surrounded with so many reports, so many intrigues. . . . A man came to me from Vienna with most ridiculous propositions. . . . and he is now no where to be found !”—“ M. Fouché,” said the Emperor, “ you may injure yourself, if you take me for a fool. I have secured the man you speak of, and I have known the whole intrigue for several days. Have you sent to Bâle? ”—“ No, Sire.”—“ That is fortunate for you. If it be otherwise, and I obtain proofs of it, it may cost you your life.”
Subsequent events have proved that this would have been but justice. It appears, however, that Fouché had not sent, and here the business ended.
Papers from Europe.—Political Reflections.
13th.—The Emperor breakfasted in the garden, and sent for us all to attend him. He resumed the reading of the papers which we had glanced at in the morning, and then proceeded to expatiate on political affairs. The following observations are those which most forcibly struck me.
“ On the 13th Vendemiaire, the inhabitants of Paris were completely disgusted with the Government,” said the Emperor ; “ but the whole of the army, the great majority of the population of the departments, the lower class of citizens, and the peasantry, remained attached to it. Thus the Revolution triumphed over this grand attack of the counter-revolution, though it was only four or five years since the new principles had been promulgated. The most frightful and calamitous scenes had been witnessed ; and a happier future was anticipated.”
“ But now how altered is the case ! . . . . . . If the soldier in his barracks seek to wile away the tedious hours in talking of battles, he cannot speak of Fontenoy or Prague which he did not witness ; he must speak of the victories of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Jena ; of him who gained them ; in short, of me, whose fame fills every mouth, and lives in every heart.
“ Such a situation is unexampled in history. On whichever side it is viewed, nothing but misfortunes present themselves. What will be the result of this ? . . . . . Two classes of people, inhabitants of the same soil, will become mortal, irreconcilable enemies, will be incessantly disputing, and will, perhaps, finally exterminate each other.
“ The same fury will soon spread through Europe. The whole Continent will be composed of two hostile parties ; it will be no longer divided by nations and territories, but by party colours and opinions. Who can foresee the crisis, the duration, the details of so many troubles ! The event cannot be doubtful. The present enlightened age will not retrograde in knowledge ! . . . . . How unfortunate was my fall ! . . . . . I had imprisoned the winds ; but bayonets have released them. I could have proceeded tranquilly in the universal regeneration, which can henceforth be effected only amidst storms ! My object was to amalgamate ; others, perhaps, will extirpate !”
The Governor’s Arrival.
14th.—The rainy weather had returned ; for two days it had been miserably wet. Some vessels appeared in sight ; and we learnt by signals that they brought the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe.
The Emperor was silent and melancholy during dinner. He was not well, and he retired very early.
The Emperor’s progress in learning English.
15th.—About 12 o’clock this morning I received four letters from Europe, which rendered me as happy as I could possibly be in this place.
I saw the Emperor at five o’clock in the garden. He had taken advantage of an interval of fine weather ; the rain had been pouring the whole of the day. I communicated to him the contents of my letters. All our party had received communications from Europe. They were delivered to us open, and they contained no news ; but they proved that our friends still remembered us, and in our situation such an assurance was peculiarly gratifying.
During dinner, the Emperor described to us the contents of some French papers which he had by him, and which, he said, gave an account of the shipwreck of La Perouse, his different adventures, his death, and his journal, &c. The narrative consisted of the most curious, striking, and romantic details, and interested us exceedingly. The Emperor observed how highly our curiosity was excited, and then burst into a fit of laughter. This story was nothing but an impromptu of his own, which he said he had invented merely to show us the progress he had made in English.
The Governor’s first visit.—Declaration required from us.
16th.—The new Governor arrived at Longwood about ten o’clock, notwithstanding the rain which still continued. He was accompanied by the Admiral, who was to introduce him, and who had, no doubt, told him that this was the most suitable hour for his visit. The Emperor did not receive him ; he was indisposed, and even had he been well, he would not have seen him. The Governor, by this abrupt visit, neglected the usual forms of decorum. It was easy to perceive that this was a trick of the Admiral. The Governor, who probably had no intention to render himself at all disagreeable, appeared very much disconcerted. We laughed in our sleeves. As for the Admiral, he was quite triumphant.
The Governor, after long hesitation and very evident marks of ill-humour, took his leave rather abruptly. We doubted not that this visit had been planned by the Admiral, with the view of prepossessing us against each other at the very outset. But whether the Governor himself had any concern in it, or entertained any suspicion of its design, is a question which time will decide.
About half-past five the Emperor sent for me to attend him in the garden. He was alone. He told me that a circumstance had arisen which regarded us all individually. It had been determined to require a declaration from each of us, stating whether we preferred uniting our fate to that of the Emperor, to being removed from St. Helena and set at liberty.
We could not guess the motive of this determination. Was it adopted by the English Ministry for the sake of procuring regular documents ? But at the time of our departure from Plymouth, this preliminary condition was perfectly understood. Was it hoped by this means to separate the Emperor more completely from the world ? But could it ever be supposed that we would forsake him ?
He asked what would be my determination on this point. I replied, that it could not be for a moment doubtful ; that if I ever felt a pang, it must have been at the moment of my first determination ; that from that instant my fate had been irrevocably fixed. I had at first obeyed only the dictates of glory and honour ; but in every succeeding day I had indulged my natural affection and feelings. The Emperor’s voice assumed a milder tone ; and this was the mode in which he expressed his thanks. I knew his heart, and the full extent of his gratitude !
I added, that there was but little merit in my resolution. No change could take place in our situations. The day after having signed the document we should be the same as we had been the day before. Our fate depended not on human combinations, but on the course of events. It would be very unwise to add to our troubles by calculations beyond the reach of human foresight. It is our duty tranquilly to resign ourselves to the mysterious decrees of Fate ; and in the depth of our misfortune, to comfort ourselves with the reflection that our minds are free from self reproach. This is a consolation which it is beyond the power of man to enfeeble or to destroy.
Characteristic conversation.—The Emperor’s return from Elba foreseen at the time of his departure from Fontainbleau.—The Governor’s introduction.—Mortification experienced by the Admiral.—Our causes of complaint against him.—Description of Sir Hudson Lowe.
17th.—The Emperor sent for me at nine o’clock. He read to me an article in the Portsmouth Courier, which gave a very long and faithful description of his residence at Briars.
He sent for me again in the middle of the day to converse with him. One part of the conversation affords so valuable a development of Napoleon’s character, that I cannot refrain from noting down some passages of it.
There occasionally arose among us transient misunderstandings and disputes, which vexed and annoyed the Emperor. He adverted to this topic. He analysed our situation with his usual train of reasoning. He calculated the miseries and horrors of our exile, and pointed out the best mode of alleviating them. He said we ought to make mutual sacrifices, and overlook many grievances ; that man can only enjoy life by controling the character given to him by nature, or by creating to himself a new one by education, and learning to modify it according to the obstacles which he may encounter.
“ You should endeavour to form but one family,” said he. “ You have followed me only with the view of assuaging my sorrow. Ought not this feeling to subdue every other consideration ? If sympathy alone is not sufficiently powerful, let reason be your guide. You should learn to calculate your sorrows, your sacrifices, and your enjoyments, in order to arrive at a result, just as we make additions or subtractions in every kind of calculation. All the circumstances of our lives should be submitted to this rule. . . . . We must learn to conquer ill temper. It is natural enough that little misunderstandings should arise among you ; but they should be followed by explanation, and not succeeded by ill-humour ; the former will produce a result, the latter will only render the affair more complicated. Reason, and logical inference, should in this world be our constant guides.” He then proceeded to show how he had sometimes acted up to these principles, and sometimes departed from them. He added, that we ought to learn to forgive, and to avoid that hostility and acrimony, which must be offensive to our neighbours and prejudicial to our own happiness ; that we ought to make allowance for human frailties, and humour rather than oppose them.
“ What would have become of me,” said he, “ had I not followed these maxims ? It has often been said that I have been too good-natured, and not sufficiently cautious ; but it would have been much worse for me, had my disposition been the reverse of what it is. I have been twice betrayed it is true ; and I may be betrayed a third time. But still it was my knowledge of human character, and the spirit of reasonable indulgence which I had adopted, that enabled me to govern France ; and which still perhaps render me the fittest person to rule that nation, under existing circumstances. On my departure from Fontainbleau, did I not say to all who requested me to point out the line of conduct they should pursue, . . . . Go, and serve the King ! . . . I wished to grant them lawful authority for doing what many would not have hesitated to do of their own accord. I would not allow the fidelity of some to be the cause of their ruin ; and finally, above all, I did not wish to have any one to censure on my return.”
I here ventured, contrary to my constant custom, to call the Emperor, in some measure, to account. “ How, Sire,” I exclaimed, “ had your Majesty any idea of returning when you left Fontainbleau ?”—“ Yes, certainly, and by the simplest reasoning. If the Bourbons, said I, intend to commence a fifth dynasty, I have nothing more to do here ; I have acted my part. But if they should obstinately attempt to recontinue the third, I shall soon appear again. It maybe said, that the Bourbons then had my fame and conduct at their own disposal. It was in their power still to represent me to the eyes of the common mass of mankind, as an upstart, a tyrant, a firebrand, and a scourge. How much good sense and calm reflection would have been necessary to appreciate my real character, and render me justice ! . . . But the men by whom the Bourbons were surrounded, and the erroneous line of conduct they pursued, rendered my presence desirable ; they restored my popularity and decreed my return. I should otherwise have ended my days on the Island of Elba, and this would doubtless have proved most to the interest of all parties. I returned to discharge a great debt, and not for the sake of resuming possession of a throne. Perhaps few will comprehend the motive by which I was actuated ; no matter for that. I took upon myself a heavy charge, but it was a duty I owed to the French people. Their complaints reached me ; and how could I turn a deaf ear to them ?
“ Upon the whole, my situation at the Island of Elba was sufficiently enviable and agreeable. I should soon have created to myself a new kind of sovereignty. All that was most distinguished in Europe, was about to pass in review before me. I should have presented a spectacle unknown in history : that of a monarch descended from his throne, beholding the civilized world defile before him.
“ It may indeed be affirmed, that the Allies would have removed me from my Island ; and I admit that this circumstance hastened my return. But had France been wisely governed, had the French people been content, my influence would have ended ; I should henceforth have belonged only to history, and the cabinet of Vienna would have entertained no idea of deposing me. It was the agitation created and maintained in France, that first gave rise to the thought of my removal.”
Here the Grand Marshal entered the Emperor’s apartment. He came to announce the arrival of the Governor, who was escorted by the Admiral, and followed by the whole of his staff.
After some further conversation, Bertrand was left alone with the Emperor, and I proceeded to the antichamber ;4 here all the suite was assembled. We endeavoured to exchange a few words with each other ; but we were rather bent on observing than conversing.
In about half an hour, the Emperor entered the drawing-room. The valet de chambre on duty, who was stationed at the door within the apartment, then summoned the Governor, and he was introduced. The Admiral was following close behind him. The valet, who had heard only the Governor’s name mentioned, suddenly closed the door without admitting the Admiral, who was shut out in spite of his remonstrance ; and he withdrew quite disconcerted into the recess of one of the windows. The valet de chambre who was the cause of this affront, was Noverraz, a Swiss, a good and faithful servant, of whom the Emperor frequently said, that his whole understanding was absorbed in his attachment to his master.
We were astonished at this unexpected occurrence ; and we at first concluded that Noverraz had acted in obedience to the Emperor’s wishes. Though we had ample reason to complain of the Admiral, yet we did all in our power to relieve him from his embarrassment ; his awkward situation distressed us. Meanwhile, the Governor’s staff was summoned and introduced ; and this circumstance served only to increase the Admiral’s confusion. In about a quarter of an hour the Emperor took leave of his visitors. The Governor came out of the drawing-room, and the Admiral eagerly advanced to meet him. They said a few words to each other with some degree of warmth, then took leave of us and departed.
We joined the Emperor in the garden, and our conversation turned on the Admiral’s discomfiture. The Emperor knew nothing of the matter. The whole circumstance was solely the effect of chance. The Emperor declared himself delighted with the joke. He burst into a fit of laughter, rubbed his hands, and exhibited the joy of a child, of a schoolboy who had successfully played off a trick on his master. “ Ah ! my good Noverraz,” said he, “ you have done a clever thing for once in your life. He had heard me say that I would not see the Admiral again, and he thought he was bound to shut the door in his face. But this honest Swiss may perhaps carry the joke too far : if I were unfortunately to say we must get rid of the Governor, he would be for assassinating him before my eyes. After all,” said the Emperor, “ assuming a more serious tone, it was entirely the Governor’s fault. He should have requested that the Admiral might be admitted, particularly as he had informed me that he could be presented only by him. Why, again, did he not request the Admiral’s admission when he presented his officers to me ? He is solely to blame. But,” continued he, “ the Admiral has lost nothing by the mistake. I should without hesitation have apostrophized him in the presence of his countrymen. I should have told him, that by the sentiment attached to the honourable uniform which we had both worn for forty years, I accused him of having, in the eyes of the world, degraded his nation and his Sovereign by wantonly and stupidly failing in respect to one of the oldest soldiers in Europe. I should have reproached him with landing me at St. Helena just as he would have landed a convict at Botany-Bay. I should have assured him, that a man of true honour would show me more respect on my rock, than if I were still on my throne and surrounded by my armies.” The force and spirit of these remarks put a period to our gaiety, and closed the conversation.
As I have thus alluded to the Admiral, and as he is now about to quit us, I will once for all sum up the insults with which we have to reproach him, with as much impartiality as our situation and the state of our feelings will admit of.
We cannot pardon the affected familiarity with which he treated us, though our conduct afforded but little encouragement to it. Still less can we forgive him for having endeavoured to extend this familiarity to the Emperor. We can never forget the haughty and self-complacent air with which he addressed Napoleon by the title of General. The Emperor, it is true, has immortalized that title ; but the tone and the intention with which it was applied were sufficiently insulting.
On our arrival at St. Helena, he lodged the Emperor in a little room, a few feet square, where he kept him for two months, though other residences could have been procured, and there was one which the Admiral had himself fixed upon. He indirectly prohibited the Emperor from riding on horseback, even in the grounds surrounding the Briars ; and the individuals of the Emperor’s suite were loaded with embarrassments and humiliations, when they came to pay their daily visits to him in his little cell.
On our removal to Longwood, he stationed sentinels under the very windows of the Emperor ; and then by an evasion, which savoured of the bitterest irony, he alleged that this step had been taken only with a view to the General’s own advantage and protection. He suffered no one to come near us without a note from him, and having thus placed us in close confinement, he declared that these arrangements had been made only to secure the Emperor against importunity, and that he (the Admiral) was merely acting the part of Grand Marshal. He gave a ball, and sent a written invitation to General Bonaparte, in the same manner as he did to every individual in the suite. He replied with the most unbecoming jeers to the notes of the Grand Marshal, who used the title of Emperor, saying that he knew no Emperor at the Island of St. Helena, nor any such Sovereign in Europe, or elsewhere, who was not in his own dominions. He refused to forward a letter from the Emperor to the Prince Regent, unless it were delivered to him open, or he were permitted to read it. He even stifled the sentiments and expressions of respect, which other individuals manifested to Napoleon. We were assured that he had put persons in inferior situations under arrest, merely for having used the title of Emperor, or other similar expressions ; which, however, were frequently employed in the 53d regiment, doubtless, as the Emperor observed, through an irresistible sentiment with which these brave men were inspired.
The Admiral, from his own personal caprice, had limited the extent of our rides and walks. On this subject he had even broken his word to the Emperor. At a moment when he appeared somewhat inclined to make concessions, he had assured Napoleon that he was free to ride in all parts of the Island, without being annoyed even by the sight of the English officer appointed to guard him. But a few days after this, just as Napoleon was on the point of mounting his horse to ride out to breakfast in a shady spot at some distance from our residence, he found himself under the necessity of renouncing this little enjoyment. The officer declared that he must henceforth form one of the party, and ride close to him. From that moment the Emperor refused seeing the Admiral. The latter had moreover neglected the most ordinary forms of decorum, always fixing upon unsuitable hours for his own visits, and directing strangers who arrived at the Island to select the same unseasonable periods for visiting the Emperor. This was no doubt done with the view of preventing people from gaining access to Napoleon, who constantly refused to be seen on these occasions. It has already been stated, that the Admiral acted thus when the Governor made his first visit to Longwood ; and the satisfaction he evinced at the Governor’s ill reception, but too plainly betrayed his design.
However, if we were required to pronounce an impartial opinion on him, making allowance for the irritability of our own feelings, and the delicacy of his situation, we should not hesitate to declare, that our grievances rested in forms rather than facts. We should say with the Emperor, who had after all a natural predilection for him, that Admiral Cockburn is far from being an ill-disposed man, that he is even susceptible of generous and delicate sentiment ; but that he is capricious, irascible, vain, and overbearing : that he is a man who is accustomed to authority, and who exercises it ungraciously ; frequently substituting energy for dignity. To express in a few words the nature of our relations with respect to him, we should say, that as a jailor, he was mild, humane and generous, and that we have reason to be grateful to him ; but that as a host, he was generally unpolite, often something worse, and that in this character we have cause to be displeased with him.
About two or three o’clock, the Emperor took his usual airing. During our walk in the garden and our ride in the calash, he said a good deal about the events of the morning ; and the conversation on this subject was resumed after dinner. Some one jokingly observed, that the two first days of the Governor’s arrival had been like days of battle, and were calculated to make us appear very untractable, though we were naturally most patient and accommodating. At these last words, the Emperor smiled and pinched the ear of the individual who made the remark.
The conversation then turned on Sir Hudson Lowe. He was described as being a man about 45 years of age ; of the usual height ; and of slender make, with red hair, a ruddy complexion and freckled. His eyes were said to have an oblique kind of expression ; glancing askance, seldom fixed full in a person’s face ; surmounted by fair, bushy, and very prominent eyebrows. “ He is hideous,” said the Emperor, “ he has a most villainous countenance. But we must not decide too hastily ; the man’s disposition may perhaps make amends for the unfavourable impression which his face produces ; this is not impossible.”
Convention of the Sovereigns respecting Napoleon.—Remarkable observations.
18th. The weather had been horrible for some days past, but it cleared up a little to-day. The Emperor went out early to take his walk in the garden ; about 4 o’clock he got into the calash and took rather a longer airing than usual. Before dinner the Emperor desired me to translate to him the Convention of the Allied Sovereigns relative to his captivity. It was as follows :—
Convention between Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Signed at Paris, August 20th, 1815.
“ Napoleon Bonaparte being in the power of the Allied Sovereigns, their Majesties the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of Prussia, have agreed, by virtue of the stipulations of the treaty of the 25th of March, 1815, on the measures best calculated to preclude the possibility of his making any attempt to disturb the peace of Europe.
“ Art. I.—Napoleon Bonaparte is considered by the Powers who signed the treaty of the 20th of March last, as their prisoner.
“ Art. II.—His safeguard is specially intrusted to the British Government.
“ The choice of the place and the measures which may best ensure the object of the present stipulation, are reserved to his Britannic Majesty.
“ Art. III.—The Imperial courts of Austria and Russia, and the Royal court of Prussia shall appoint Commissioners to reside in the place which his Britannic Majesty’s Government shall assign as the residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, and who, without being responsible for his security, shall assure themselves of his presence.
“ Art. IV.—His most Christian Majesty is invited in the name of the four Courts above mentioned, also to send a French commissioner to the place of Napoleon Bonaparte’s detention.
“ Art. V.—His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, pledges himself to fulfil the engagements assigned to him by the present convention.
“ Art. VI.—The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratification shall be exchanged in the space of a fortnight, or sooner if possible. In virtue of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention, and have affixed their seals thereto.
“ Given at Paris on the 20th of August, in the year of our Lord 1815.”
When I had finished translating this document, the Emperor asked me what I thought of it.
“ Sire,” I replied, “ in the situation in which we are placed, I would rather depend on the interests of a single one, than on the complicated decision of four. England has evidently dictated this treaty. You see how carefully she stipulates that she alone will answer for and dispose of the prisoner. She has been labouring to provide herself with the lever of Archimedes, and therefore it is not probable that she will entertain any idea of breaking it.”
The Emperor, without explaining his ideas on this subject, adverted to the different chances which might bring about his liberation from St. Helena, and he made the following remarkable observations : “ If the Sovereigns of Europe act wisely, and should succeed in completely restoring order, we shall not be worth the money and the trouble which it must cost to keep us here, and they will get rid of us. But our captivity may still be prolonged for some years, perhaps three, four, or five. Otherwise, setting aside the fortuitous events which are beyond the reach of human foresight, I calculate only on two uncertain chances of our liberation : first, that the Sovereigns may stand in need of me to assist in putting down rebellion among their subjects ; and secondly, the people of Europe may require my aid in the contest that may arise between them and their monarchs. I am the natural arbiter and mediator in the immense conflict between the present and the past. I have always aspired to be the supreme judge in this cause. My administration at home and my diplomacy abroad, all tended to this great end. The issue might have been brought about more easily and promptly ; but fate ordained otherwise. Finally, there is a last chance, which perhaps is the most probable of all ; I may be wanted to check the power of the Russians ; for in less than ten years, all Europe may perhaps be overrun with Cossacks, or subject to republican government. Such however are the statesmen who brought about my overthrow . . . . . . . . . . . .” Then reverting to the decision of the Sovereigns respecting him, he observed it was difficult to account for the style of the document, and the malignant spirit that pervaded it.
“ The Emperor Francis,” said he, “ is a pious sovereign, and I am his son-in-law.—As for Alexander, we once loved each other. With regard to the King of Prussia, I doubtless did him much harm, but I might have done him much more ; and after all, might he not have found real glory and self-satisfaction in distinguishing himself by generosity ? As to England, it is to the animosity of her Ministers that I am indebted for all. But it remained for the Prince Regent to observe and interfere, or to be branded as a fool, and a protector of vulgar malignity.—One thing however is certain, namely : that the Allied Sovereigns have compromised, degraded, and lost themselves, by their treatment of me.”
* See the plan of Longwood.
** Time, which explains all things, has developed the little springs which brought about one of our greatest catastrophes. I received the following particulars from one who acted a part in the events of the day :—
On hearing that Napoleon had arrived at the Elysée from Waterloo, Fouché flew to the dissatisfied and suspicious Members of the Chamber, exclaiming, “To arms ! He has returned desperate, and is about to dissolve the Chambers and seize the dictatorship. We cannot endure the restoration of tyranny.” He then hastened to the best friends of Napoleon. “Are you aware,” said he, “what a terrible fermentation has risen up against the Emperor among certain deputies ? We can only save Napoleon by facing them boldly, by showing them the full power of our party, and how easily the Chambers may be dissolved.”
The friends of Napoleon, easily duped in this sudden crisis, failed not to follow, perhaps even to overstep the suggestions of Fouché, who now returned to the distrustful party and said, “ You see his best friends are agreed on this point : the danger is urgent ; and in a few hours there will be no remedy. The Chamber will be no more, and we shall be very culpable in letting slip the only opportunity of opposing him.” Thus the permanency of the Chambers, the forced abdication of the Emperor, and the downfall of a great empire, were brought about by petty intrigue, by anti-chamber report and gossip. Ah, Fouché ! how well the Emperor knew you, when he said, that your ugly foot was sure to be thrust into every body’s shoes.
3 I must here once more apologize for the want of regularity and order, which my statements may present. I at first attempted to collect into one mass several scattered details, which were similar in their nature and subject. They would thus have presented greater connexion, force, and interest. But even this operation, simple and easy as it was, required more attention than my weak state of health would permit me to devote to it.
The same circumstance must also form an excuse for the extreme negligence of my language, and for the inaccuracies of all sorts which may be met with. But these are the points on which I feel the least anxiety, hoping that the importance of the subject, will make amends for the faultiness of the style.
The only point on which I could fully satisfy myself was that of curtailment ; and I may fairly assert, that there is not a person who may think he has cause to complain, but is, on the contrary, in some degree indebted to me.
Having once adopted the system of abridgment, I was on the point of striking out all my own observations, reflections, and sentiments, with regard to Napoleon, and confining myself entirely to a simple statement of facts. I was fearful lest I might be accused of partial exaggeration, and I was well aware that an imputation of this kind, so easy to be made, would suffice in the eyes of many, to stigmatize my work and counteract my object. But, on the other hand, when I considered that a greater degree of circumspection and reserve would not be the means of convincing my readers, or of persuading them to adopt my opinions, I thought it would be useless to suppress the real sentiments of my heart, or to refrain from expressing my sincere and positive conviction. All that I have stated, I truly believed, and if I have been mistaken in that belief, I certainly have not been mistaken in the expression of it. Lastly, my determination was fixed by the consideration, that as so many have been influenced by passion in writing in a sense directly opposite, and have laboured hard to show the dark side of the picture, I may at least be allowed the gratification of showing it in a better point of view. I feel persuaded that all sensible and unprejudiced men, of every age and country, if actuated by the love of truth, will know how to divest these opposite accounts of their high colouring, and to come to a knowledge of plain facts. Imbued with this conviction, I leave my manuscript encumbered with all the sentiments which arose in my mind as I noted down the facts recorded in this Journal.
4 See the plan of Longwood.