Count de Las Cases
Mémorial de Sainte Hélène
London, 1823
My Residence with the Emperor Napoleon.
Volume 2, Part 3
page 62 - 121
1816, April 19 - 30
The Declaration required from us by the Governor.
19th.—This morning the Grand Marshal and Madame Bertrand came into the garden, in consequence of the Emperor having expressed an intention of breakfasting there ; but as he had passed a very restless night, and had had no sleep, he breakfasted in his chamber.
The Governor gave us official notice that we must each send him a declaration, expressing our voluntary determination to remain at Longwood, and to submit to all the restrictions which Napoleon’s captivity might require. Mine was as follows :—
Declaration.—“ I, the undersigned, repeat the declaration which I made when in Plymouth-roads ; namely, that I wish to devote myself to the fate of the Emperor Napoleon, to accompany him, to follow him, and to alleviate as far as lies in my power the unjust treatment he experiences, through the most unheard-of violation of the law of nations, of which I am the more particularly sensible, as it was I who conveyed to him the offer and assurance of Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, purporting that he had orders to receive the Emperor and his Suite, under the protection of the British flag, if agreeable to him, and to convey him to England.
“ The Emperor Napoleon’s letter to the Prince Regent, which is known to all England, and which I had previously communicated to Captain Maitland, without his having made the slightest observation on it, explains to the world much better than any thing I can say, how frankly the Emperor met this offer of hospitality, and, consequently, how much he has been the dupe of his sincerity and confidence.
“ Notwithstanding the experience I have had of the horrors of a residence on the Island of St. Helena, which is so prejudicial to the Emperor’s health, and to that of every European, and though, during the six months which we have passed on the island, I have been subjected to every species of privations, which I myself daily multiply, in order to avoid, as much as possible, the violation of that respect which my rank and habits demand, yet constant to my first sentiments, and resolved that for the future no fear of misfortune, or hope of advantage, shall separate me from the Emperor Napoleon, I repeat my desire to remain with him, and to submit to whatever restrictions may be arbitrarily imposed on him.”
Farewell visit of the late Governor.—Interesting conversation.—Remark of an old English soldier.
20th.—Colonel Wilks being on the eve of his departure for Europe, called with his daughter to take leave of the Emperor. The young lady was presented by Madame Bertrand. I have already mentioned that Colonel Wilks had formerly been Governor of the Colony, for the East India Company ; he was succeeded by the Admiral in the King’s name, when, in consequence of our removal to St. Helena, the island was transferred from the possession of the Company to that of the Government.
The Emperor was in a remarkably cheerful Humour. He conversed for some time with the ladies, and then took Col. Wilks aside to the recess of one of the windows, whither I followed to serve as interpreter.
Col. Wills, as I have probably mentioned before, was for a long time the diplomatic agent of the Company in the Indian Peninsula ; he has written a history of those regions. He is a man of extensive information, and possesses great knowledge of chemistry. Thus he was at once a soldier, an author, a diplomatist, and a chemist. The Emperor put questions to him relative to all these subjects, and treated them himself with great fluency and spirit. The conversation was lively and varied ; and it was maintained for upwards of two hours. The following are the principal particulars which I noted down. I shall probably in some measure repeat what I have said before, for the Emperor and Colonel Wilks had some months ago a long conversation on precisely the same topics ; but that is of no importance ; these subjects are so interesting, that I would rather incur the risk of repeating, than of losing any thing connected with them.
The Emperor began by speaking of the English army, its organization, and particularly its system of promotion. He compared it with the French army, and repeated what I have formerly stated with regard to the excellent composition of our military force, the advantage of the Conscription, and the bravery of our troops. Then, turning to the subject of politics, he said, “You lost America by affranchisement ; you will lose India by invasion. The first loss was perfectly natural ; as children advance in years, they break their parental bonds. But, for the Hindoos, they are not advancing at all. They still remain children. The catastrophe, therefore can only proceed from without. You are not aware of all the dangers with which you were threatened by my arms or my negotiations. As for my Continental system, you perhaps laughed at it ?” “ Sire,” replied the Colonel, “ we affected to do so, but all men of judgment felt the full force of it.”—“ Well,” continued the Emperor, “
“ .”—“ In France,” said the Colonel immediately.
“ It is of little importance,” continued the Emperor ; “ but I maintain that in the mass of the French people there is ten, and perhaps a hundred times more chemical knowledge than in England ; because the manufacturing classes now employ that science in their daily labour. This was one of the characteristics of my school. Had I been allowed sufficient time, there would soon have been no such thing as trades in France ; they would all have been converted into arts.”
The Emperor concluded with these remarkable observations : “ ”
Never was Napoleon in a more talkative humour. He laughed more than once at the endeavours I made to interpret his observations amidst the volubility with which he uttered them. As for the Colonel, he took his leave, amazed and confounded by what he had heard.
When he was gone, the Emperor continued to converse for a long time in the drawing-room. He afterwards went into the garden in spite of the bad weather, and sent for us all to join him. He was desirous of reading the declarations which we had made ; they became the subject of conversation.
Four ships arrived here to-day from Europe. They had on board the 66th regiment, and had left England before the Phaëton, which brought the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe.
After dinner, the Emperor good-humouredly related the remark made by an old soldier of the 53d, who, having seen him yesterday for the first time, went back to his comrades and said,—“ What lies they told me about Napoleon’s age ; he is not old at all ; the rogue has at least sixty campaigns in his body yet.” We thought this expression savoured very much of the Frenchman, and we laid claim to it as having proceeded from one of our grenadiers. We then related to him a number of bons-mots made by our soldiers during his absence and on his return, with which he was much entertained. But what particularly excited his risibility was the answer made by a grenadier at Lyons. A grand review was held there, just after the Emperor had landed on his return from Elba. The Commanding Officer remarked to his soldiers, that they were well clothed and well fed, that their pay might be seen upon their persons ;—“ Yes, certainly,” replied the grenadier to whom he addressed himself.—“ Well !” continued the Officer, with a confident air, “ it was not so under Bonaparte. Your pay was in arrears, he was in your debt ?”—“ And what did that signify,” said the grenadier smartly, “ if we chose to give him credit ?”
The Emperor’s message to the Prince Regent.—Characteristic remarks.—Portfolio lost at Waterloo.—On Ambassadors.—M. de Narbonne.—Napoleon on the point of being taken prisoner in Germany after the battle of Moscow.—Cost of the Emperor’s toilette.—Expense of a family establishment in the different capitals of Europe.—The furnishing of Napoleon’s house in the Rue de la Victoire.—The fitting up of the Imperial Palaces.—The Emperor’s method of examining his accounts.
21st.—The Emperor sent for me to attend him in the garden, about four o’clock, to act as interpreter. Captain Hamilton, the Commander of the frigate Havannah, was to sail next day for Europe, and with his officers had come to take leave of the Emperor. Captain Hamilton spoke French. When I joined the party in the garden, the Emperor was expressing himself with warmth.
“ They wish to know what I desire ?” said he ; “ ”
Captain Hamilton having ventured to observe that Napoleon was not the prisoner of England alone, but of all the Allied Powers, the Emperor warmly resumed ; “ .” He accompanied these last words with a motion of his hand, and dismissed the Captain.
We walked about for a few minutes, and on the return of the Grand Marshal, who had accompanied Captain Hamilton a short distance, we thought it would be proper to leave him alone with the Emperor ; but I had scarcely entered my room when he sent for me. He was alone in his own apartment ; he asked me whether I had not had enough of retirement during the day. I told him that a feeling of respect and discretion had alone induced me to leave him. To this he answered, that there was no occasion for it, as nothing had passed that he wished to make a secret of. “ Besides,” added he, “ a certain degree of freedom and ease is not without its charm.” These words, which fell carelessly from Napoleon’s mouth, may better serve to show his character than hundreds of pages.
We then perused an English publication, containing the official documents found in the Portfolio, which was taken from Napoleon at Waterloo. The Emperor was astonished himself at the number of orders which he had issued almost at the same moment, and the countless details which he had directed in every quarter of the empire. “ This publication,” said he, “ can do me no harm, after all. It will at least satisfy every one that its contents are not the production of a sluggard. They will compare me with the legitimate Sovereigns, and I shall not suffer by the comparison.”
After dinner, the Emperor conversed on several unconnected subjects. In speaking of his Ambassadors, he said he considered M. de Narbonne as the only one who had fully deserved that title, and had really fulfilled the duties of his office. “And that,” said he, “ by the peculiar advantages, not only of his talent, but of his old-fashioned morals, his manners, and his name. When an Ambassador has merely to prescribe, any one may fill the post ; one person is just as good as another ; perhaps an aide-de-camp is the best man that can be chosen. But when it is necessary to negotiate, the affair is widely different. In that case it is indispensable to present to the old aristocracy of the Courts of Europe, only the elements of that aristocracy, which, in fact, constitutes a sort of free-masonry. If an Otto or an Andreossi were to enter the saloons of Vienna, there would be a stop to the interchange of opinion ; habitual manners would cease. They would be regarded as intruders and profaners, and the mysteries of diplomacy would be suspended. But how different would it be with a Narbonne, possessing the advantages of affinity, sympathy, and identity ! A lady of the old nobility would perhaps resign her person to a plebeian, though she would not discover to him the secrets of the aristocracy.”
The Emperor was much attached to M. de Narbonne, and regretted him deeply. He had made him his aide-de-camp, he observed, only because Maria Louisa, through the intrigues of the persons composing her suite, had refused to have him appointed her gentleman of honour ; a post for which he was perfectly adapted. “ Until the period of his embassy,” continued the Emperor, “ we had been duped by Austria. In less than a fortnight M. de Narbonne penetrated all the secrets of the Vienna cabinet, and M. de Metternich was deeply mortified at the appointment. However, by a singular fatality, perhaps, even the success of M. de Narbonne thwarted my views. I found his talent was no less fatal than useful. Austria, thinking her designs were guessed, threw aside the mask, and took precipitate steps. Had less penetration been evinced on our part, she would have acted with greater reserve and deliberation. She would have prolonged her natural indecision, and in the interim other chances might have risen up.”
Some one present having alluded to the embassies of Dresden and Berlin, and being apparently inclined to attach blame to our diplomatic agents in those courts, at the period of the return from Moscow, the Emperor replied, that at that period the fault was not to be attributed to persons, but to things ; that with a single glance any one might have foreseen what would happen ; and that, for his part, he had not been deceived for a moment. He added, that if he had not in person conducted the army back to Wilna, and into Germany, it was through the fear of not being able himself to reach France. He wished, he said, to obviate this imminent danger by the boldness of his movements in crossing Germany rapidly and alone. He was, however, on the point of being taken in Silesia : “ But luckily,” said he, “ the Prussians were deliberating at the moment when they ought to have been acting. Their conduct in this respect was like that which the Saxons observed towards Charles XII. who said, when he quitted Dresden on a similar occasion :—“ You will see that they will hold a consultation to-morrow upon the expediency of having detained me to-day.”
Before dinner the Emperor called me into his closet to go over some English exercises with him. He told me he had just been calculating the expenses of his toilette, and that it cost him about four napoleons per month. We laughed at the immensity of the budget. He talked of ordering some clothes, shoes, boots, &c. from the tradesmen in Europe who had his measures. I thought this would be attended with serious inconvenience, and, after some consideration, we were convinced that this would never be permitted.
“ It is, however,” observed the Emperor, “ extremely vexatious to be thus deprived of money ; and I wish to come to some settlement on this point. As soon as the bill, which is to determine our situation here, shall be notified to me, I intend to make arrangements for receiving an annual loan of seven or eight millions of napoleons from Eugène. He cannot refuse me. He has received from me perhaps upwards of forty millions ; and it would be an insult to his sentiments to doubt his readiness to serve me. Besides we have long accounts to settle together. I am sure, if I had appointed a committee of my Counsellors of State to draw up a report on this subject, they would have presented me with a balance of at least ten or twelve millions on Eugène.”
At dinner the Emperor asked us some questions respecting the sum necessary to enable a bachelor to live in a European capital, or for the support of a plain family establishment, or the maintenance of a family in a style of elegance. He is fond of these questions and calculations ; he treats them with great shrewdness, and enters into the most curious details.
We each presented our budgets, and we agreed that a residence in Paris would cost 15,000, 40,000, and 100,000 francs. The Emperor dwelt much on the prices of various articles, and even on the prices of the same articles, as they are charged to different persons, and under different circumstances.
“ When I was about to leave the army of Italy,” said he, “ to return to Paris, Madame Bonaparte wrote to inform me that she had furnished, in the best possible style, a small house that we had in the Rue de la Victoire. The house was not worth more than 40,000 francs. What was my surprise and vexation to find that the drawing-room furniture, which, after all, appeared to me nothing out of the way, was charged at the enormous rate of between 120 and 130,000 francs. In vain did I remonstrate ; I was obliged to pay the amount. The upholsterer showed me the directions he had received, and which required that every article should be the very best in its kind. Every thing had been made after new designs, and the designs themselves had been invented expressly for the fitting up of my house. Any judge of the case must have condemned me.”
The Emperor then adverted to the extravagant charges made for furnishing the imperial Palaces, and the vast economy which he had introduced on this point. He told us the price of the throne, the imperial ornaments, &c. Nothing could be more curious than to hear him detail these charges, together with his own plans of economy. How much I regret not having noted them down at the time ! The following particulars will serve to show some of the methods which he adopted, for ascertaining the correctness of the accounts that were presented to him :—
On one occasion, when he returned to the Tuileries, which had been magnificently fitted up during his absence, the individuals who attended him eagerly drew his attention to all the new furniture and decorations. After expressing his satisfaction at every thing he saw, he walked up to a window overhung with a rich curtain, and asking for a pair of scissars, he cut off a superb gold acorn which was suspended from the drapery, and coolly putting it into his pocket he continued his inspection to the great astonishment of all present, who were unable to guess his motive. Some days afterwards, at his levee, he drew the acorn from his pocket and gave it to the individual who superintended the furnishing of the palace. “ Here,” said he, “ Heaven forbid that I should think you rob me ; but some one has doubtless robbed you. You have paid for this at the rate of one-third above its value. They have dealt with you as though you had been the steward of a great nobleman. You would have made a better bargain if you had not been known.” The fact was, that Napoleon having walked out one morning in disguise, (as he was often in the habit of doing) visited some of the shops in the Rue Saint Denis, where he priced ornaments similar to that which he had cut from the curtain, and enquired the value of various articles of furniture like those provided for the palace, and thus, as he said, he arrived at the result in its simplest form. Every one knew his habits in this respect. These, he said were his grand plans for ensuring domestic economy, which, notwithstanding his extreme magnificence, was carried to the utmost degree of precision and regularity.
In spite of his numerous occupations he himself revised all his accounts ; but he had his own method of doing this, and they were always made out to him in their details. He would cast his eye on the first article, sugar for example, and finding some millions of pounds set down, he would take a pen, and say to the person who drew up the accounts : “ How many individuals are there in my household ?”—“ Sire, so many :” (and it was necessary to give the answer immediately.)—“ And how many pounds of sugar do you suppose they consume per day on an average?”—“ Sire, so many.”—He immediately made his calculation, and having satisfied himself, he would give back the paper, saying, “ Sir, I have doubled your estimate of the daily consumption, and yet you are enormously beyond the mark. Your account is faulty. Make it out again, and let me have greater correctness.” This reproof would be sufficient to establish the strictest regularity. Thus he sometimes said of his private as of his public administration, “ I have introduced such order, and employed so many checks, that I cannot be much imposed on. If I am wronged at all, I leave the guilty person to settle the matter with his own conscience. He will not sink under the weight of his crime, for it cannot be very heavy.”
The Governor’s visit to my apartment.—Critique on Voltaire’s Mahomet.—Remarks on the Mahomet of history.—Gretry.
22d—25th. The weather has been very bad for several days past. The Emperor discontinued his morning walks, and applied himself with greater regularity to his different occupations. He dictated every morning on the events of 1814.
Sir Hudson Lowe came to visit our establishment. He entered my apartment and remained there for a quarter of an hour. He expressed his regret for the inconveniences to which we were exposed ; and observed that we were lodged in bivouacs, rather than in apartments. He was right ; the pitched paper which had been used for the rooms was already beginning to yield to the effect of the hot climate : when the sun shone I was stifled ; and when it rained I was inundated. Sir Hudson Lowe said he would give directions for having these evils remedied as far as possible, and politely added, that he had brought with him about 1500 or 2000 French volumes, which, as soon as they should be arranged, he would feel great pleasure in placing at our service.
Racine and Voltaire occupied us for these two or three evenings. Phedre and Athalie, which were read to us by the Emperor, afforded us delightful entertainment ; for his observations and commentaries gave twofold interest to what he read.
Mahomet was the subject of deep criticism. “ Voltaire,” said the Emperor, “ in the character and conduct of his hero, has departed both from nature and history. He has degraded Mahomet, by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He has represented a great man who changed the face of the world, acting like a scoundrel, worthy of the gallows. He has no less absurdly travestied the character of Omar, which he has drawn like that of a cut-throat in a melo-drama.
“ Voltaire committed a fundamental error in attributing to intrigue that which was solely the result of opinion. Those who have wrought great changes in the world, never succeeded by gaining over chiefs ; but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue, and produces only secondary results ; the second is the resort of genius, and transforms the face of the universe !”
The Emperor, adverting to the truth of history, expressed his disbelief of all that was attributed to Mahomet. “ He must doubtless have been like all chiefs of sects,” said he. “ The Koran, having been written thirty years after his death, may have recorded many falsehoods. The empire of the Prophet, his doctrine and his mission, being established and fulfilled, people might and must have spoken accordingly. Still it remains to be explained how the mighty event which we are certain did take place, namely, the conquest of the world, could have been effected in the short space of fifty or sixty years. By whom was it brought about ? By the hordes of the desert, who, as we are informed, were few in number, ignorant, unwarlike, undisciplined, and destitute of system. And yet they opposed the civilized world, abounding in resources. Fanaticism could not have accomplished this miracle, for fanaticism must have had time to establish her dominion, and the career of Mahomet lasted only thirteen years.”—The Emperor conceived that, independently of the fortuitous events by which miracles are sometimes produced, there must have been in this case some hidden circumstance which has never been transmitted to our knowledge. He was of opinion, that Europe had doubtless sunk beneath the results of some first cause, of which we are ignorant ;—that the different races of people, who suddenly issued from the deserts, had perhaps been engaged in long civil wars, in which men of heroic character and great talent might have risen up, and irresistible impulses have been created.
In all that relates to oriental affairs, Napoleon departed materially from the common opinions which are derived from the books usually regarded as authorities. He said that on this subject he entertained ideas peculiar to himself, though perhaps they were not very well defined ; and that his Egypt expedition had brought about this result in his mind.
“ But to return to Voltaire,” said he, “ it is astonishing how ill his dramas are adapted for reading.—When criticism and good taste are not cheated by pomp of diction and scenic illusion, he immediately loses a thousand per cent. It will scarcely be believed,” continued he “ that at the time of the Revolution, Voltaire had superseded Corneille and Racine. The beauties of these two great dramatists lay dormant, until the First Consul again ushered them into notice.”
The Emperor spoke truly. It is very certain that when he brought us back to civilization, he at the same time restored us to good taste. He revived our national dramatic and lyric chefs d’œuvre,—even those pieces which had been proscribed for political reasons. Thus Richard Cœur-de-Lion was again brought upon the stage, though a tender interest had, as it were, consecrated it to the Bourbons.
“ Poor Gretry,” said the Emperor, “ had long urged me to permit the performance of the opera. It was rather a dangerous experiment, and a violent uproar was predicted. The representation however went off without any unpleasant circumstances, and I ordered it to be repeated for a week and a fortnight in succession, until the public were completely tired of it. The charm being broken, Richard continued to be played like any ordinary piece, until the time when the Bourbons in their turn prohibited it, because it excited an interest in my favour.”
This strange vicissitude has, it is said, since been renewed with regard to the drama of Prince Edward the Pretender. The Emperor prohibited the piece on account of the Bourbons, and the Bourbons have recently proscribed it on account of the Emperor.
My visit to Plantation House.—Sir Hudson Lowe’s insinuations.—His first ill-natured trick.—Napoleon’s proclamations.—His policy in Egypt.—His confession of an illegal act.
26th.—I went to pay my first visit to Plantation-house. I thought Lady Lowe a pretty and amiable woman, though there was something of the actress about her. Sir Hudson Lowe married a short time before his departure from Europe, for the express purpose, it is said, of having his wife to assist him in doing the honours of the colony. I understand this lady was the widow of an officer of the regiment which Sir Hudson Lowe formerly commanded, and the sister of a colonel killed at Waterloo.
The Governor showed me the most marked politeness and attention. He remarked that we were old acquaintances, though I was not aware of the fact. He said he had been much gratified by the perusal of M. Lesage’s Atlas, though he had never dreamed that he should one day be introduced to the author. He had first seen the work in Sicily, where he got it smuggled from Naples ; and he was inexhaustible in his praises of it. He had frequently read the account of the battle of Jena, with General Blucher, at the head quarters where he was English commissioner, during the campaign of 1814. He said, he had always admired the liberal expressions and the spirit of moderation and impartiality which were observed towards England ; but that at the period when he first examined the work, he had been forcibly struck by some equivocal passages, which seemed to breathe hostility or reproach to the individual who then governed us. He added, that he had accounted for these passages at the time, by my character and doctrines as an emigrant ; but that now he thought it a singular contradiction, to find me here in the suite of that individual.
Now we had just been informed that Sir Hudson Lowe was, when in Italy, a kind of Head Police Officer, and an active agent of the . . . and ........... systems. I could not help suspecting, that a certain insinuation was intended to be conveyed in these remarks. If this were really the fact (and the Emperor entertained no doubt of it,) then at least the business was cleverly managed on his part ; and had I felt less self-respect than I did, I could have given a smart retort, and the matter might have been carried to some length. I, however, merely replied that he had totally misunderstood the application of the equivocal passages in question, and that they could not have any reference to Napoleon, since I was now attached to his person.
On my return home, I found two French works which Sir H. Lowe had sent to me in the morning, accompanied by a note, in which he expressed a hope that their perusal would be gratifying to the Emperor. Will it be credited ? One of these works was the Abbé de Pradt’s Embassy to Warsaw. This I may note down as Sir Hudson Lowe’s first ill-natured trick. The work was a novelty, it is true ; but it was a libel solely directed against Napoleon.
As to the other book, when I first saw it, I thought I had found a treasure. I imagined it would indemnify us for the want of the Moniteurs, and furnish us with the materials we stood so much in need of. Its title described it to be a collection of all the proclamations and official documents of Napoleon, as General, First Consul, and Emperor. But it was published by the libelist Goldsmith, and was very incomplete, the finest bulletins being suppressed, the addresses to the Legislative Body mutilated, &c. But even in this imperfect state, the collection still remains the noblest monument that any man ever left behind him.
After dinner the Emperor amused himself by reading, in Goldsmith’s publication, some of his own proclamations to the army of Italy. They even produced a powerful impression on himself ; they interested and excited him. “ And yet,” said he, “ they had the impudence to say I could not write !”
He then turned to his proclamations to the army of Egypt, and joked much about that one in which he represented himself as inspired and sent by God. “ This was quackery,” said he ; “ but it was quackery of the highest order. Besides, the proclamation was composed only for the purpose of being translated into high-flown Arabic verse by one of the cleverest of the Sheiks. My French troops,” continued he, “ merely laughed at it ; and such was their disposition in this respect, that in order to induce them to listen to the bare mention of religion, I was myself obliged to speak very lightly on the subject, to place Jews beside Christians, and Rabbis beside Bishops, &c.”
The assertion made by Goldsmith of Napoleon’s having assumed the Mussulman dress, is totally false. If ever he entered a mosque, he said, it was always as a conqueror, and not as a worshipper. On this subject I refer the reader to the Campaigns of Egypt. He was of too serious a turn, and had too much self-respect to act in an equivocal way on this point.
“ After all,” continued he, gaily, “ it would not have been so very extraordinary, even though circumstances had induced me to embrace Islamism ; and, as a good Queen of France once said, ‘ You will tell me as much !’ . . . . . But I must have had good reasons for my conversion. I must have been secure of advancing as far as the Euphrates, at least. Change of religion for private interest is inexcusable ; but it may be pardoned in consideration of immense political results. Henry IV. said, ‘ Paris is well worth a mass.’ Will it then be said that the dominion of the East, and perhaps the subjugation of all Asia, were not worth a turban and a pair of trowsers ? And, in truth, the whole matter was reduced to this ; for the grand Sheiks had studied how to render it easy to us. They had smoothed down the greatest obstacles ; allowed us the use of wine, and dispensed with all corporeal formalities. We should therefore have lost only our small clothes and hats. I say we ; for the army, in the disposition in which it then was, would have entertained but few scruples on the subject, and would have made it a mere matter of jest and laughter. But what would have been the consequence ! I should have turned my back on Europe, and the old civilization of the continent would have been bound up. And who would then have troubled themselves about the course of Fate in France, or the regeneration of the age ! . . . Who would have attempted it ! Who could have succeeded !”
Continuing his examination of Goldsmith’s book, the Emperor by chance cast his eyes on the Act of the Consuls, by which General Latour Foissac was cashiered for the surrender of Mantua. “ This ” said the Emperor, “ was, without doubt, an illegal and tyrannical act, but it was a necessary evil ; it was the fault of the laws. The general was a hundred and a thousand times guilty, and yet it was doubtful whether we ought to have condemned him. His acquittal would have produced the most fatal effect. We therefore struck the blow with the combined arms of honour and opinion. But I say again, it was a tyrannical act, one of those severe strokes which are sometimes indispensably necessary in a great nation, and under important circumstances.”
The first insult, and the first instance of cruelty, on the part of the Governor.—Characteristic traits.
27th.—About two o’clock the Governor came to Longwood, and asked the Emperor’s leave to summon all the domestics before him. This was the first insult received from the Governor.
He probably wished to ascertain whether their declarations had been spontaneously made. M. de Montholon, who had the superintendence of the servants, informed Sir Hudson Lowe in the Emperor’s name, that his Majesty had not imagined there could have been any pretence for interference between him and his valet de chambre. That if his permission were asked, he decidedly refused it. That if the Governor’s instructions required the adoption of this measure, the power was in his own hands, and he might use it ; this would only be adding another outrage to those which the English Ministers had already accumulated upon him.
At this moment I joined M. de Montholon and the Governor. I could easily perceive that the two interlocutors were by no means pleased with each other. After a few moments of silence and evident dissatisfaction, the Governor turned to me and remarked, that pains seemed to be taken to create difficulties and embarrassments in all that regarded the Emperor. I observed that Napoleon’s household having been appointed for him, and not being one of his choice, it was perfectly natural that he should object to any interference with his servants. That if the Governor had any doubts to clear up relative to the domestics, two courses were open to him. He might resort to indirect and underhand means, which at least would not wound our feelings ; or he might employ force and severity, which he was authorized to do if he pleased, and therefore he need entertain no scruples on the subject. But I added, that the method he was pursuing was quite hostile to our habits. I assured him that the Emperor was desirous of being as accommodating as possible, in the new situation in which he was placed : that he wished to retire within himself, asking for nothing, but to be left unannoyed to feel and consume his sorrow : that fortune had indeed robbed him of his power, but that nothing could deprive him of his self-respect and, finally, that the consciousness and the delicacy of his dignity were the only things that remained to him of which he was perfectly master.
Meanwhile the servants were assembled, and M. de Montholon and I withdrew, that we might not sanction such a measure by our presence. The Governor spoke to the domestics, and afterwards joined us, saying :—“ I am now satisfied. I can inform the English Government that they all signed it freely and voluntarily.”
But his ill-humour was not yet fully spent ; for he began most inopportunely to extol the beautiful situation of Longwood, observing that, after all, we were not so very badly off. And when we remarked, that we felt most severely the want of shade in this burning climate, and that there was scarcely a single tree on the Island, “ Oh ! we will plant some,” said he. Could any thing have been more cutting ! . . . . This may be recorded as the first trait of brutality on the part of the Governor. After this he took his leave.
About five o’clock the Emperor got into the carriage to take an airing. As we were going out, he said, “ Gentlemen, but for one man I should have been master of the world ! And who do you think this one man was ?” We were all eagerness to know. . . . “ The Abbé de Pradt,” continued the Emperor, “ the Almoner of the God of War.” On hearing this we could not repress our laughter. “ I am serious,” continued he, “ the Abbé thus expresses himself in his Embassy to Warsaw ; you may read it yourselves. The work is altogether a wicked attack on me, an absolute libel overwhelming me with insults and calumnies. Whether I happened to be in a particularly good humour at the time, or whether it was because only truth offends, I know not ; but, at all events, I laughed heartily when I read the work, and it afforded me abundant entertainment.”
Misunderstandings occasionally occurred between two individuals of the Emperor’s suite. This circumstance would not have been mentioned here, but that it serves to introduce some characteristic traits of the mind and heart of him to whom we are devoted. The newspapers of the time, and the return of one of the parties to Europe, in consequence of these misunderstandings, however, have already given publicity to the affair.
When I entered the drawing-room, to wait until the announcement of dinner, I found the Emperor speaking with the utmost warmth on this subject, which vexed him exceedingly. His language was energetic and moving.
“ You followed me,” said he, “ with the view of cheering my captivity ! Be united then otherwise you but annoy me. If you wish to render me happy, be united : otherwise you are but a torment to me ! You talk of fighting even before my very eyes. I am no longer then the object of your attention. You forget that the observation of foreigners is fixed on you. . . . . I wish you all to be animated by my spirit. . . . . I wish that every individual around me should be happy, and share the few enjoyments that yet remain to us. Even down to little Emmanuel there, I would wish you all to have your due share . . . .”
The announcement of dinner put an end to the reprimand. The Emperor was silent during the repast ; but at the dessert he ordered Voltaire to be brought to him, and began to read some of his dramas. But he soon laid aside the books. We daily became more and more tired of Voltaire. The Emperor retired very early, and soon after desired me to attend him in his bed-chamber, where I remained with him until a late hour.
28th.—The Emperor again recurred to the Abbé de Pradt, and his work, which he reduced to merely the first and last pages. “ In the first,” said he, “ he states himself to be the only man who arrested Napoleon’s career ; in the last, he shows that the Emperor ; in his way back from Moscow, dismissed him from the embassy, which is true ; and this fact his self-love would fain misrepresent or revenge. This is the whole work. . . . . . . . . . . .
“ But the Abbé,” continued the Emperor, “ did not fulfil at Warsaw any of the objects which had been intended ; on the contrary, he did a great deal of mischief. Reports against him poured in upon me from every quarter. Even the young men, the clerks attached to the embassy, were surprised at his conduct, and went so far as to accuse him of maintaining an understanding with the enemy ; which, however, I by no means believed. But he certainly had a long conversation with me, which he misrepresents, as might be expected ; and it was at the very moment when he was delivering a long prosing speech, which appeared to me a mere string of absurdity and impertinence, that I scrawled on the corner of the chimney-piece the order to withdraw him from his embassy, and to send him as soon as possible to France ; * a circumstance which was the cause of a good deal of merriment at the time, and which the Abbé seems very desirous of concealing.”
I cannot refrain from transcribing from the Embassy to Warsaw, M. de Pradt’s account of the Emperor Napoleon’s court at Dresden. His remarks on this subject are striking, and afford a faithful picture both of men and things at that period.
“ You,” he says, “ who wish to form a just idea of the omnipotence exercised in Europe by the Emperor Napoleon . . . . . . ., who wish to fathom the depths of terror into which almost every European sovereign has fallen, . . . . transport yourselves in imagination to Dresden, and there contemplate that superb Prince, at the period of his highest glory, so nearly bordering on his fall !
“ The Emperor occupied the grand apartments of the Chateau, whither he had transferred a considerable portion of his household. Here he gave grand dinner parties ; and, with the exception of the first Sunday, when the King of Saxony had a gala, Napoleon’s parties were always attended by the Sovereigns and different members of their families, according to the invitations issued by the Grand Marshal of the Palace. Some private individuals were admitted on these occasions. I Enjoyed that honour on the day of my appointment to the embassy of Warsaw.
“ The Emperor’s levees were held here, as at the Tuileries, at nine o’clock. Then with what timid submission did a crowd of Princes, mingling with the courtiers, and often scarcely perceived among them, anxiously await the moment for presenting themselves before the new arbitrator of their destinies.”
These passages, and some others of equal truth and beauty of diction, are lost amidst a heap of details full of misrepresentation and malice. “ They are distorted facts and mutilated conversations,” said the Emperor : and adverting to the accounts of the Empress of Austria, which were filled with adulation, and of the Emperor Alexander, whose amiable virtues and brilliant qualifications are extolled by the author, to the detriment of Napoleon, “ Surely,” exclaimed the Emperor, “ this is not a French bishop, but an eastern magi—a worshipper of the rising sun.” I shall both now and henceforward suppress, from a feeling of justice, several other articles and many details. The following observations may however be noted down, in opposition to the Abbé de Pradt’s endeavours to prove that the French were the unjust aggressors in the contest with Russia.
The Emperor, speaking of the Russian war, said :
“ No events are trifling with regard to nations and sovereigns ; for their destinies are controlled by the most inconsiderable circumstances. For some time a misunderstanding had risen up between France and Russia. France reproached Russia with the violation of the continental system, and Russia required an indemnification for the Duke of Oldenburg, and raised other pretensions. Russian troops were approaching the Duchy of Warsaw, and a French army was forming in the north of Germany. Yet we were far from being determined on war, when, all on a sudden, a new Russian army commenced its march towards the Duchy ; and, as an ultimatum, an insolent note was presented at Paris by the Russian Ambassador, who, in the event of its non-acceptance, threatened to quit Paris in eight days. I considered this as a declaration of war. It was long since I had been accustomed to this sort of tone. I was not in the habit of allowing myself to be anticipated. I could have marched to Russia at the head of the rest of Europe ; the enterprise was popular ; the cause was one which interested Europe. It was the last effort that remained to France. Her fate, and that of the new European system, depended on the struggle. Russia was the last resource of England. The peace of the whole world rested with Russia. The event could not be doubtful. I commenced my march ; but when I reached the frontier, I, to whom Russia had declared war by withdrawing her Ambassador, still considered it my duty to send mine (Lauriston) to the Emperor Alexander at Wilna ; he was rejected, and the war commenced !
“ Yet, who would credit it ? Alexander and myself were in the situation of two bullies, who, without wishing to fight, were endeavouring to terrify each other. I would most willingly have maintained peace ; I was surrounded and overwhelmed with unfavourable circumstances, and all that I have since learned, convinces me that Alexander was still less eager for war than myself.
“ M. de Romanzoff, who had maintained communications at Paris, and who some time after, when the Russians experienced reverses, was very severely treated by Alexander, for the course he had induced him to pursue, had assured the Russian Emperor, that the moment was come when Napoleon, in his embarrassments, would readily make some sacrifices to avoid war ; that the favourable opportunity should not be allowed to escape ; that it was only necessary to assume a bold attitude, and a tone of firmness ; that indemnity would be obtained for the Duke of Oldenburg ; that Dantzick would be gained, and that Russia would thus acquire immense weight in Europe.
“ Such was, the cause of the movement of the Russian troops, and of the insolent note of Prince Kurakin, who, doubtless, was not in the secret, and who had been foolish enough to execute his instructions in too literal a way. The same mistaken notions, and the same system also, occasioned the refusal to receive Lauriston at Wilna. This was an instance of the errors and misfortunes which attended my new diplomacy. It stood insulated, without affinity or contact, in the midst of the objects which it had to direct. Had my Minister for Foreign Affairs been a member of the old aristocracy, and a man of superior ability, there is no doubt but he must have observed the cloud that was gathering, and might have prevented our going to war. Talleyrand, perhaps, might have done this ; but it was above the powers of the new school. I could not make the discovery myself ; my dignity precluded personal explanations. I could form my judgment only from documents, and in vain did I turn them over and over, for I was sure at last to arrive at a point where they could make no reply to my enquiries.
“ Scarcely had I opened the Campaign, when the mask fell, and the real sentiments of the enemy were developed. In the course of two or three days Alexander, alarmed at our first successes, despatched a messenger to me, to say, that if I would evacuate the invaded territory, and fall back as far as the Niemen, he would enter upon negotiations. But I in my turn took this for a stratagem. I was elated with success ; I had taken the Russian army in the very fact, in the critical moment ; I had cut off Bagration, and I might have hoped to destroy him. I thought, however, that the enemy merely wanted to gain time for the purpose of rallying his forces. Had I been convinced of Alexander’s sincerity, I should doubtless have acceded to his proposition of falling back to the Niemen. In that case, he would not have passed the Dwina ; Wilna would have been neutralized ; and there Alexander and myself, accompanied by a few battalions of our guards, would have negotiated in person. How many arrangements should I not have proposed ! . . . Alexander would have had only to take his choice, and we should have separated good friends.
Yet, in spite of the events that succeeded, and which left my enemy triumphant, is it quite certain that the measures I have just hinted at would have been less advantageous than those which have since been pursued ? Alexander marched to Paris, it is true, but he came accompanied by the forces of all Europe. He has gained Poland : but what will be the result of the shock given to the whole European system ; of the agitation into which every nation has been thrown ; of the increase of European influence over the rest of Russia through the accumulation of new acquisitions ; the expeditions in which the Russian troops are engaged in remote quarters ; and the influence of the incongruous mass of men and knowledge which have taken refuge in Russia from foreign parts ?
“ Will the Russian Sovereigns be content to consolidate what they have acquired ? If, on the contrary, they should be influenced by ambition, what extravagant enterprises may they not attempt ! And yet they have lost Moscow, her wealth and resources, and those of many other cities ! These are wounds which will bleed for half a century. But at Wilna we might have entered into arrangements for the advantage of all, subjects as well as sovereigns ! ”
On another occasion, the Emperor said,
“ I might have shared with Russia the possession of the Turkish empire. We had oftener than once contemplated the idea, but Constantinople was always the obstacle that opposed its execution. The Turkish capital was the grand stumbling-block between us. Russia wanted it, and I could not resign it. Constantinople is an empire of itself. It is the real keystone of power ; for he who possesses it may rule the world.
“ What then ? ” said the Emperor, resuming the former question, “ what has Alexander gained, which he might not have secured to better advantage at Wilna ? “—Some one present replied, Sire, he has conquered, and he remains triumphant.”—“ That may be the vulgar opinion,” exclaimed the Emperor, but no Sovereign should entertain such an idea. A Monarch, if he himself governs, or his counsellors, if they govern for him, must, in vast enterprises of this nature, attach less importance to the victory than to its results. And even though the case be limited to vulgar considerations, still I maintain that the wished-for object has not been attained. Even here the palm must be awarded to the vanquished party. Who will pretend that my victories in Germany were equalled by the successes of the Allies in France ? Will any thinking man, will any historian pronounce such an opinion ?
“ The Allies advanced with all Europe in their train, against a force which might be almost counted as nothing. They had 600,000 men in the line, and nearly an equal number in reserve. If they had been beaten, they had nothing to fear, they could have fallen back. I, on the contrary, in Germany, 500 leagues from home, had hardly a force equal to my enemy’s. I was surrounded by sovereigns and people repressed only by fear, and who, on the first disaster, were ready to rise against me. But I triumphed amidst dangers constantly increasing ; I was incessantly compelled to exercise an equal degree of address and energy. In all these enterprises I found it necessary to maintain a strange character ; to evince singular acuteness of perception, and great confidence in my own plans ; though they were perhaps disapproved by every one around me.
“ What deeds on the part of the Allies can be compared with these ? If I had not conquered at Austerlitz, I should have had all Prussia on me. If I had not proved victorious at Jena, Austria and Spain would have assailed me in my rear. If I had not triumphed at Wagram, which, by the bye, was a less decisive victory, I had to fear that Russia would abandon me, that Prussia would rise against me ; and meanwhile the English were already before Antwerp.
“ Yet what was my conduct after the victory ? At Austerlitz I gave Alexander his liberty, though I might have made him my prisoner**. After Jena I left the House of Prussia in possession of a throne which I had conquered : after Wagram, I neglected to parcel out the Austrian monarchy.
“ If all this be attributed merely to magnanimity, cold and calculating politicians will doubtless blame me. But, without rejecting that sentiment to which I am not a stranger, I had higher aims in view. I wished to bring about the amalgamation of the great European interests, in the same manner as I had effected the union of parties in France. My ambition was one day to become the arbiter in the great cause of nations and kings ; it was therefore necessary that I should secure to myself claims on their gratitude, and seek to render myself popular among them. This I could not do without losing something in the estimation of others. I was aware of this. But I was powerful and fearless. I concerned myself but little about transient popular murmurs, being very sure that the result would infallibly bring the people over to my side.
“ I committed a great fault after the battle of Wagram, in not reducing the power of Austria still more. Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia. Will it be credited ? A Prince of the House of Austria several times hinted to me the idea of transferring one of the two last-mentioned crowns to him, or even raising him to the throne occupied by his own family, on pretence that it was only thus that Austria could be induced to act sincerely with me. He even proposed to give me, by way of hostage, . . . . . . . . ., and, moreover, every possible guarantee.”
The Emperor said he had even turned this idea over in his own mind. He had hesitated about it for some time previous to his marriage with Maria Louisa ; but after that event, continued he, it became impracticable. He observed, that on the subject of marriage his notions were too citizen-like :—“ Austria,” said he, “ had become a portion of my own family ; and yet my marriage ruined me. If I had not thought myself safe, and protected by this alliance, I should have delayed the resurrection of Poland : I should have waited until Spain was subdued and tranquil. I set foot on an abyss, concealed by a bed of flowers ! ”
The Emperor indisposed.—His first day of complete seclusion.—The Persian, and Turkish Ambassadors.—Anecdotes.
29th.—About five o’clock the Grand Marshal visited me in my chamber. He had not been able to see the Emperor, who through indisposition had been confined to his own apartment all day, and refused to see any one. Towards evening I went out to take a stroll in those paths in which the Emperor usually walked about this time. I felt dull, being alone. We had dined without the Emperor.
About nine o’clock, just as I was regretting that the day had passed over without my seeing him, he sent for me. I expressed my concern for his indisposition. He replied, that he was perfectly well, but that he had taken a fancy to remain alone ; that he had been reading all day, and that the time had passed away swiftly and agreeably.
He however appeared low-spirited and languid. He took my Atlas, which happened to be lying beside him, and opening it at the map of the world, he cast his eye on Persia. “ I had laid out some excellent plans, with regard to that country,” said he. “ What a happy resting point would it have been for my lever, whether I wished to disturb Russia, or to make an incursion on India. I had set on foot relations with Persia, and I hoped to bring them to a point of intimacy, as well as those with Turkey. It might have been supposed, that the animals would have understood their own interests sufficiently well, to have acceded to my propositions ; but both Persians and Turks evaded me at the decisive moment. English gold proved more powerful than my plans. Some treacherous ministers, for a few guineas, sacrificed the prosperity of their country ; which is usually the case under seraglio monarchs or imbecile kings.”
The Emperor then abandoning politics, began to relate some anecdotes of the seraglio, and adverted to the Persians of Montesquieu, and his letters, which he said were distinguished for wit, delicate observations, and above all, for the bitter satire of the time. He afterwards spoke of the Turkish and Persian Ambassadors who were in Paris during his reign. He asked me what impression they produced in the French capital ; whether they made visits, and received company, &c.
I replied, that during their stay in Paris, they engrossed public attention, and formed a kind of raree-show at Court. The Persian in particular attracted curiosity. On his arrival he willingly received visitors, and as he made presents of perfumes, and even shawls, he was a great favourite with the ladies. But the great number of those who paid their court to him, soon forced him to set bounds to his liberality, and thenceforward, the rage being over, he was no longer thought of. I added, that at Court when the Emperor was not present, we sometimes ventured, very inconsiderately to be sure, to play off tricks at the expense of the oriental Ambassadors. At a concert given one day by the Empress Josephine, Asker-Kan with his long, painted beard was one of the company. He seemed to be heartily tired of the music, and fell asleep standing with his back against a wall, his feet thrust forward and resting against an armchair which stood in the corner by the fire-place. Someone, by way of joke, drew the chair away softly, so that his Excellency had well nigh fallen down his whole length on the floor, and being thus roused from his slumber, he roared out lustily. Asker-Kan could more readily enter into a joke than the Turkish Ambassador ; but on this occasion he was thrown much out of humour, and as we could only understand each other by gestures, the scene was most ludicrous. In the evening the Empress enquired the cause of the noise that had been heard during the concert ; and when the circumstance was explained to her, she laughed and scolded us a good deal. “ It was very ill done, certainly,” observed the Emperor ; “ but what business had he at the concert ? ”—“ Sire,” I replied, “ both he and the Turkish Ambassador, went there with the view of paying their court to you. They hoped that your Majesty would be apprized of the circumstance, though you were at that time five hundred leagues off.” I added, that on other occasions they had both proved themselves accomplished courtiers, and that their wish to ingratiate themselves with the Emperor carried them to the most extravagant lengths. “ We have often seen them,” said I, “ at the close of the grand diplomatic audiences on Sunday, follow your Majesty to mass, and occupy the pews in the chapel along with Cardinals of the Holy Catholic Church.”—“ What a monstrous spectacle !” exclaimed the Emperor. “ What a subversion of their principles and habits !—What extraordinary things I brought about ; and yet all this was neither ordered nor observed.”
The conversation continuing on the two Orientals, I mentioned that I had been informed the Arch-chancellor Cambacérès once gave them both a grand dinner. Though natives of the same quarter of the globe, and members of the same religion, yet they nevertheless evinced shades of character totally different. The Turk, who was a disciple of Omar, was the Janneist, and the Persian, who was a sectary of Aly, was the Jesuist. It was said that at Cambacérès’ dinner, they scrupulously watched each other with regard to the wine, just as two Catholic Bishops seated at the same table might be expected to keep a vigilant look out, lest either should be tempted to eat meat on a Friday.
The Turk was gloomy and ignorant, and was looked upon as little better than a brute ; but the Persian possessed literary information, was very talkative, and had the reputation of being a clever man. It was observed that he made no use of a knife and fork, either in eating or helping himself to any dish at table ; and he probably would not have hesitated to help his neighbours in the same unceremonious way. One of our customs particularly attracted his notice ; this was our practice of eating bread with every dish. He said he could not understand why we were obliged always to eat the same thing with every thing.
I believe I have already remarked that nothing amuses the Emperor so much as accounts of the fashionable world in Paris, anecdotes of our saloons, &c.
The Emigrants and the Faubourg St. Germain were subjects on which he was always fond of conversing with me when we were alone, and he accounted for this, by saying to me once, “ I was well acquainted with every thing that had relation to myself, but I never knew any thing of those affairs.” He observed, that he had a natural desire to learn every thing that was passing near him, and to hear the chit-chat of little towns, &c. “ I heard a great deal on these subjects,” added he, “ during the period of my power ; but whenever any thing favourable was said, I put myself on my guard—I was fearful of insinuations ; and if, on the contrary any thing unfavourable was reported to me, I mistrusted the accusation, and had enough to do to guard against a feeling of contempt. Here, my dear Las Cases, none of these disadvantages exist ; you and I already belong to the other world ; we are conversing in the Elysian fields : you are without interested views, and I am without suspicion.” I therefore eagerly seized every opportunity that offered itself, to entertain the Emperor in this way. He perceived this, and gave me credit for my intentions ; for, at the conclusion of one of my stories, he pinched my ear, and said in a tone of voice which delighted me : “ I read a story in your Atlas of a Northern Monarch who was immured in a prison, and one of his soldiers solicited and obtained permission to be imprisoned with him, in order that he might cheer his spirits, either by in during him to converse, or by relating amusing stories to him. My dear Las Cases, you are that soldier.” . . . . . . .
On the present occasion I described to the Emperor, the hoax which had been played upon M. de Marbois, and which he had not heard of before. It was as follows : One day, as the story goes, Asker-Kan, who was indisposed, and tired of his Persian treatment, gave orders to send for M. Bourdois, one of the first physicians in Paris. The messenger made a mistake, and went to M. de Marbois, Ex-minister of the Treasury, and at that time President of the Court of Accounts.—“ His Excellency the Persian Ambassador,” said he, “ is very ill, and wishes to see you.” M. de Marbois could not conceive what business the Persian Ambassador could possibly have with him ; but Asker-Kan was the envoy of a great Prince, and there is nothing which vanity will not contrive to reconcile. He proceeded with great pomp to the Ambassador’s residence ; and it must be allowed that there was nothing in his dress, physiognomy, or deportment, at all likely to undeceive the Persian, who, as soon as he saw him, thrust out his tongue, and stretching forth his arm, motioned him to feel his pulse. These extraordinary gestures astonished M. de Marbois, but he thought they might be some oriental fashion. He took the hand which was offered, and pressed it cordially, when four attendants entered with solemnity, and presented to the Ex-minister a vessel of a very unequivocal nature, for his better information on the state of the patient. At this spectacle, the grave M. de Marbois flew into a violent passion, and asked what was the meaning of this extraordinary behaviour. The mistake was explained ; it was M. Bourdois who had been wanted, and the similarity in the sound of the two names had alone occasioned the error. Poor M. de Marbois was the laughingstock of Paris, and for a long time he could not show his face any where without exciting merriment.
“ The drawing-rooms of Paris are indeed tremendous with their jokes !” said the Emperor, “ for it cannot be denied that they are for the most part pointed and witty. They always assail the enemy at the breach, and a total defeat is the usual consequence.”—“ It is true,” said I “ nothing was spared. Even religion was not held sacred, and your Majesty may well suppose that neither you nor the Empress escaped.”—“ I dare say not,” replied the Emperor, “ but no matter ; what was said of us ?”—“ It was reported, Sire, that one day your Majesty, being much dissatisfied at the perusal of a despatch from Vienna, said to the Empress in a moment of ill-humour, your father is a blockhead, (votre père est une ganache). Maria Louisa, who was unacquainted with many French phrases, turned to the person nearest her, and observing that the Emperor had called her Father a ganache, asked what the term meant. The courtier, embarrassed at this unexpected interrogatory, stammered out that the word signified a wise man, a man of judgment, and a good counsellor. Some time after, the Empress, with her newly learnt term fresh in her memory, was present at the Council of State, and the discussion becoming somewhat warm, in order to put a stop to it, she called on M. Cambacérès, who was yawning by her side . . . . —‘ You must set us right on this important point,’ said she, ‘ you shall be our oracle ; for I consider you as the greatest ganache in the Empire.’” At these words the Emperor held his sides with laughter. “ What a pity,” said he, “ that this anecdote is not true ! Only imagine the scene. The offended dignity of Cambacérès, the merriment of the whole council, and the embarrassment of poor Maria Louisa, alarmed at the success of her unconscious joke.”
The conversation continued for a longtime in this way, and I spent about two hours with the Emperor ; I had exerted myself to talk as much as I possibly could to divert him, and I had succeeded. The Emperor felt his spirits revived, he even enjoyed a hearty laugh. When he dismissed me, he felt much better, and I was happy at the change.
Second day of seclusion.—The Emperor receives the Governor in his chamber.—Characteristic conversation.
30th.—To-day I and my son were engaged to dine at Mr. Balcombe’s, at the Briars. About half past three I went to receive the Emperor’s commands ; he was the same as yesterday, and did not intend to go out. Just before I had reached Hut’s Gate, the residence of Madame Bertrand, I met the Governor on his way to Longwood. He asked me how the Emperor was. I told him I felt uneasy about him, and that he had not seen any of us yesterday. I added, that though he had told me this morning he was well, yet from his countenance I should have expected a different account.
About half past nine we set out from the Briars on our return to Longwood ; it was very dark. A heavy fall of rain had come on, which was as sharp and cutting as hail. We had a most disagreeable, troublesome, and dangerous ride, being every moment on the point of being precipitated into some abyss or other, for we were obliged to gallop on at random without seeing where we were going. We arrived at Longwood drenched to the skin.
The Emperor had given orders that I should attend him on my return. He was well, but he had stayed at home as he had done yesterday. He said he had been waiting for me, and had many things to tell me.
On learning that the Governor had arrived, he admitted him into his chamber, though he was not dressed, and was unable to rise from his couch. He said he had discussed with him, in perfect composure, all the points which naturally presented themselves to his mind. He spoke of protesting against the treaty of the second of August, in which the Allied Sovereigns declared him an exile, and a prisoner. He asked what right these Sovereigns had to dispose of him, without his consent, him who was their equal, and had sometimes been their master. He said, if he had thought proper to withdraw to Russia, Alexander, who styled himself his friend, and who, never had any but political disputes with him, would, if he had not upheld him as a king, at least have treated him as one. This the Governor could not deny. He said, had he thought proper to take refuge in Austria, the Emperor Francis could not, without disgracing himself, have denied him, not only his empire, but even his house and his family, of which he, Napoleon, was a member. This the Governor also admitted.
“ Lastly,” said the Emperor, “ ”
The Governor stated, that his instructions required that the Emperor should be restricted to certain limits in his rides, and that an officer should always accompany him. “ If they had been thus observed,” replied the Emperor, “ I should never have left my chamber. If your instructions will not admit of greater latitude, you can henceforth do nothing for us. However, I neither ask nor wish for any thing. Convey these sentiments to the English Government.”
“This,” said the Governor, “ is the consequence of transmitting instructions from so great a distance, and with regard to a person of whom those who draw up the instructions know so little.” He then endeavoured to shift the question by intimating, that on the arrival of the wooden house or palace, which was on its way to St. Helena, better plans might perhaps be adopted ; that the vessel which was expected was bringing furniture and stores of provisions, which it was supposed would be agreeable to the Emperor ; that the English Government was exerting every effort to alleviate his situation, &c.
The Emperor replied, that all their efforts amounted to little ; that he had requested to be furnished with the Morning Chronicle and the Statesman, that he might read what related to himself under the least disagreeable forms ; but his request had never been complied with. He had asked for books, which were his only consolation ; but nine months had passed away, and he had not received any. He had desired to obtain intelligence of his wife and son ; but this had been withheld from him.
“ As to the provisions, the furniture, and the house, that are intended for me,” continued he, “ you and I, Sir, are soldiers ; we know how to value these things. You have been in my native city, perhaps in the very house occupied by my family.3 Though it was not the worst on the island—though I have no reason to be ashamed of my family circumstances, yet you know what they were. But though I have occupied a throne, and have disposed of crowns ; I have not forgotten my first condition ; my couch and my camp-bed, you see, are still sufficient for me.”
The Governor observed that the wooden palace and its accompaniments were at least not to be disregarded. “ Probably not,” replied the Emperor, “ for your own satisfaction, in the eyes of Europe ; but to me they are matters of perfect indifference. It is not a house, not furniture, that should have been sent to me ; but an executioner, and a coffin. The former are a mockery, the latter would be a favour. I say again, the instructions of your ministers tend to this result, and I invoke it. The Admiral, who is not an ill-disposed man, appears to me now to have softened these instructions, I do not complain of his acts ; his forms alone offended me.” Here the Governor asked whether he had unconsciously committed any faults. “ No, Sir, we complain of nothing since your arrival. Yet one act has offended us, and that is your inspection of our domestics. It was insulting to M. de Montholon, by appearing to throw a suspicion on his integrity ; and it was petty, disagreeable, and insulting towards me, and perhaps degrading to the English General himself, who thus came to interfere between me and my valet de chambre.”
The Governor was seated in an arm chair on one side of the Emperor, who had remained stretched on his couch. It was dark, the evening was drawing in, and it was not easy to distinguish objects. “ Therefore,” observed the Emperor, “ it was in vain that I endeavoured to watch the play of his features, and to observe the impression which my words made on him.”
In course of the conversation the Emperor, who in the morning had been reading the Campaign of 1814, by Alphonse de Beauchamp, in which all the English bulletins bore the signature Lowe, asked the Governor if he was the individual who had signed them. Sir Hudson Lowe, with marked embarrassment, replied in the affirmative, and added, that the bulletins represented his views and opinions. The Governor, who had several times proposed that the Emperor should be attended by his physician, who he said was a very skilful man, on taking his leave again proposed to send his Doctor to Longwood. But the Emperor saw his motives, and constantly resisted his offer.
Having related all these particulars to me, the Emperor remained silent for some minutes. Then resuming, apparently after some reflection, he said : “ How mean and disagreeable is the expression of the Governor’s countenance : I never saw any thing like it in my life ! . . . I should be unable to drink my coffee if this man were beside me . . . . My dear Las Cases, they have sent me worse than a jailor ! . . .”
I shall insert here three additional chapters on the Campaigns of Italy.
The first describes a campaign of twenty-six days, full of grand events, crowned by the Battle of Castiglione, which title it bears.
The second and third chapters, entitled Arcola and Rivoli, detail a series of new prodigies.
* See the letters from the Cape.
** Since my return to Europe, I have been assured that there exist two notes, written in pencil by the Emperor Alexander, urgently soliciting that he might be allowed to pass. If this be true ; what a singular vicissitude of fortune presents itself ! The magnanimous Conqueror was doomed to perish in captivity, remote from Europe, and separated from his family ; and this too, in the name of the conquered party, to whose prayers he had so generously listened.
3 The Publishers having been favoured by a distinguished Literary Friend, with a drawing of the house alluded to, in which Napoleon was born, and which was taken by a gentleman who went to Corsica for the express purpose, they intend giving an engraving of it in course of these publications.