CHAPTER XIII

--[This chapter; by the editor of the 1836 edition, is based upon

the 'Memorial', and O'Meara's and Antommarchi's works.]--

1815-1821.

Voyage to St. Helena--Personal traits of the Emperor--Arrival at

James Town--Napoleon's temporary residence at The Briars--Removal to

Longwood--The daily routine there-The Campaign of Italy--The arrival

of Sir Hudson Lowe--Unpleasant relations between the Emperor and the

new Governor--Visitors at St. Helena--Captain Basil Hall's interview

with Napoleon--Anecdotes of the Emperor--Departure of Las Cases and

O'Meara--Arrivals from Europe--Physical habits of the Emperor--Dr.

Antommarchi--The Emperor's toilet--Creation of a new bishopric--

The Emperor's energy with the spade--His increasing illness--

Last days of Napoleon--His Death--Lying in state--Military funeral--

Marchand's account of the Emperor's last moments--Napoleon's last

bequests--The Watch of Rivoli.

The closing scenes in the life of the great Emperor only now remain

to be briefly touched upon. In a previous chapter we have narrated the

surrender of Napoleon, his voyage to England, and his transference from

the Bellerophon to the Northumberland. The latter vessel was in great

confusion from the short notice at which she had sailed, and for the two

first days the crew was employed in restoring order. The space abaft the

mizenmast contained a dining-room about ten feet broad, and extending

the whole width of the ship, a saloon, and two cabins. The Emperor

occupied the cabin on the left; in which his camp-bedstead had been

put up; that on the right was appropriated to the Admiral. It was

peremptorily enjoined that the saloon should be in common. The form of

the dining-table resembled that of the dining-room. Napoleon sat with

his back to the saloon; on his left sat Madame Bertrand, and on his

right the Admiral, who, with Madame de Montholon, filled up one side

of the table. Next that lady, but at the end of the table, was Captain

Ross, who commanded the ship, and at the opposite end M. de Montholon;

Madame Bertrand, and the Admiral's secretary. The side of the table

facing the Emperor was occupied by the Grand-Marshal, the Colonel of the

field Regiment, Las Cases, and Gourgaud. The Admiral invited one or

two of the officers to dinner every day, and the band of the 53d,

newly-formed, played during dinner-time.

On the 10th of August the Northumberland cleared the Channel, and lost

sight of land. The course of the ship was shaped to cross the Bay of

Biscay and double Cape Finisterre. The wind was fair, though light, and

the heat excessive. Napoleon breakfasted in his own cabin at irregular

hours. He sent for one of his attendants every morning to know the

distance run, the state of the wind, and other particulars connected

with their progress. He read a great deal, dressed towards four o'clock,

and then came into the public saloon; here he played at chess with one

of the party; at five o'clock the Admiral announced that dinner was on

the table. It is well known that Napoleon was scarcely ever more than

fifteen minutes at dinner; here the two courses alone took up nearly

an hour and a half. This was a serious annoyance to him, though his

features and manner always evinced perfect equanimity. Neither the

new system of cookery nor the quality of the dishes ever met with his

censure. He was waited on by two valets, who stood behind his chair.

At first the Admiral was in the habit of offering several dishes to the

Emperor, but the acknowledgment of the latter was expressed so coldly

that the practice was given up. The Admiral thenceforth only pointed out

to the servants what was preferable. Napoleon was generally silent, as

if unacquainted with the language, though it was French. If he spoke,

it was to ask some technical or scientific question, or to address a few

words to those whom the Admiral occasionally asked to dinner.

The Emperor rose immediately after coffee had been handed round,

and went on deck, followed by the Grand-Marshal and Las Cases. This

disconcerted Admiral Cockburn, who expressed his surprise to his

officers; but Madame Bertrand, whose maternal language was English,

replied with spirit, "Do not forget, sir, that your guest is a man who

has governed a large portion of the world, and that kings once contended

for the honour of being admitted to his table."--"Very true," rejoined

the Admiral; and from that time he did his utmost to comply with

Napoleon's habits. He shortened the time of sitting at table, ordering

coffee for Napoleon and those who accompanied him even before the rest

of the company had finished their dinner. The Emperor remained walking

on deck till dark. On returning to the after-cabin he sat down to play

vingt et un with some of his suite, and generally retired in about

half an hour. On the morning of the 15th of August all his suite asked

permission to be admitted to his presence. He was not aware of the cause

of this visit; it was his birthday, which seemed to have altogether

escaped his recollection.

On the following day they doubled Cape Finisterre, and up to the 21st,

passing off the Straits of Gibraltar, continued their course along the

coast of Africa towards Madeira. Napoleon commonly remained in his

cabin the whole morning, and from the extreme heat he wore a very

slight dress. He could not sleep well, and frequently rose in the night.

Reading was his chief occupation. He often sent for Count Las Cases to

translate whatever related to St. Helena or the countries by which

they were sailing. Napoleon used to start a subject of conversation; or

revive that of some preceding day, and when he had taken eight or nine

turns the whole length of the deck he would seat himself on the second

gun from the gangway on the larboard side. The midshipmen soon observed

this habitual predilection, so that the cannon was thenceforth called

the Emperor's gun. It was here that Napoleon often conversed for hours

together.

On the 22d of August they came within sight of Madeira, and at

night arrived off the port. They stopped for a day or two to take in

provisions. Napoleon was indisposed. A sudden gale arose and the air was

filled with small particles of sand and the suffocating exhalations from

the deserts of Africa. On the evening of the 24th they got under weigh

again, and progressed smoothly and rapidly. The Emperor added to his

amusements a game at piquet. He was but an indifferent chess-player, and

there was no very good one on board. He asked, jestingly, "How it was

that he frequently beat those who beat better players than himself?"

Vingt et un was given up, as they played too high at it; and Napoleon

had a great aversion to gaming. One night a negro threw himself

overboard to avoid a flogging, which occasioned a great noise and

bustle. A young midshipman meeting Las Cases descending into the cabin,

and thinking he was going to inform Napoleon, caught hold of his coat

and in a tone of great concern exclaimed, "Ah sir, do not alarm the

Emperor! Tell him the noise is owing to an accident!" In general the

midshipmen behaved with marked respect and attention to Bonaparte, and

often by signs or words directed the sailors to avoid incommoding him:

He sometimes noticed this conduct, and remarked that youthful hearts

were always prone to generous instincts.

On the 1st of September they found themselves in the latitude of the

Cape de Verd Islands. Everything now promised a prosperous passage,

but the time hung heavily. Las Cases had undertaken to teach his son

English, and the Emperor also expressed a wish to learn. He, however,

soon grew tired and laid it aside, nor was it resumed until long

afterwards. His manners and habits were always the same; he invariably

appeared contented, patient, and good-humoured. The Admiral gradually

laid aside his reserve, and took an interest in his great captive. He

pointed out the danger incurred by coming on deck after dinner, owing to

the damp of the evening: the Emperor, would then sometimes take his arm

and prolong the conversation, talking sometimes on naval affairs, on

the French resources in the south, and on the improvements he had

contemplated in the ports and harbours of the Mediterranean, to all

which the Admiral listened with deep attention.

Meanwhile Napoleon observed that Las Cases was busily employed, and

obtained a sight of his journal, with which he was not displeased. He,

however, noticed that some of the military details and anecdotes gave

but a meagre idea of the subject of war: This first led to the proposal

of his writing his own Memoirs. At length the Emperor came to a

determination, and on Saturday, the 9th of September he called his

secretary into his cabin and dictated to him some particulars of

the siege of Toulon. On approaching the line they fell in with the

trade-winds, that blow here constantly from the east. On the 16th there

was a considerable fall of rain, to the great joy of the sailors,

who were in want of water. The rain began to fall heavily just as the

Emperor had got upon deck to take his afternoon walk. But this did not

disappoint him of his usual exercise; he merely called for his famous

gray greatcoat, which the crew regarded with much interest.

On the 23d of September they passed the line. This was a day of great

merriment and disorder among the crew: it was the ceremony which the

English sailors call the "christening." No one is spared; and the

officers are generally more roughly handled than any one else. The

Admiral, who had previously amused himself by giving an alarming

description of this ceremony, now very courteously exempted his

guests from the inconvenience and ridicule attending it. Napoleon was

scrupulously respected through the whole of this Saturnalian festivity.

On being informed of the decorum which had been observed with regard

to him he ordered a hundred Napoleons to be presented to the grotesque

Neptune and his crew; which the Admiral opposed, perhaps from motives of

prudence as well as politeness.

Owing to the haste with which they had left England the painting of

the ship had been only lately finished, and this circumstance confined

Napoleon, whose sense of smell was very acute, to his room for two days.

They were now, in the beginning of October, driven into the Gulf of

Guinea, where they met a French vessel bound for the Isle of Bourbon.

They spoke with the captain, who expressed his surprise and regret when

he learnt that Napoleon was on board. The wind was unfavourable, and the

ship made little progress. The sailors grumbled at the Admiral, who had

gone out of the usual course. At length they approached the termination

of their voyage. On the 14th of October the Admiral had informed them

that he expected to come within sight of St. Helena that day. They had

scarcely risen from table when their ears were saluted with the cry of

"land!" This was within a quarter of an hour of the time that had been

fixed on. The Emperor went on the forecastle to see the island; but it

was still hardly distinguishable. At daybreak next morning they had a

tolerably clear view of it.

At length, about seventy days after his departure from England, and a

hundred and ten after quitting Paris, Napoleon reached St. Helena. In

the harbour were several vessels of the squadron which had separated

from them, and which they thought they had left behind. Napoleon,

contrary to custom, dressed early and went upon deck: he went forward to

the gangway to view the island. He beheld a kind of village surrounded

by numerous barren hills towering to the clouds. Every platform, every

aperture, the brow of every hill was planted with cannon. The Emperor

viewed the prospect through his glass. His countenance underwent no

change. He soon left the deck; and sending for Las Cases, proceeded to

his day's work. The Admiral, who had gone ashore very early, returned

about six much fatigued. He had been walking over various parts of the

island, and at length thought he had found a habitation that would suit

his captives. The place stood in need of repairs, which might occupy

two months. His orders were not to let the French quit the vessel till a

house should be prepared to receive them. He, however, undertook, on his

own responsibility, to set them on shore the next day.

On the 16th, after dinner, Napoleon, accompanied by the Admiral and the

Grand-Marshal, Bertrand, got into a boat to go ashore. As he passed, the

officers assembled on the quarter-deck, and the greater part of the crew

on the gangways. The Emperor, before he stepped into the boat, sent for

the captain of the vessel, and took leave of him, desiring him at the

same time to convey his thanks to the officers and crew. These words

appeared to produce the liveliest sensation in all by whom they were

understood, or to whom they were interpreted. The remainder of his suite

landed about eight. They found the Emperor in the apartments which

had been assigned to him, a few minutes after he went upstairs to his

chamber. He was lodged in a sort of inn in James Town, which consists

only, of one short street, or row of houses built in a narrow valley

between two rocky hills.

The next day the Emperor, the Grand-Marshal, and the Admiral, riding out

to visit Longwood, which had been chosen for the Emperor's residence,

on their return saw a small villa, with a pavilion attached to it, about

two miles from the town, the residence of Mr. Balcombe; a merchant of

the island. This spot pleased Napoleon, and the Admiral was of opinion

that it would be better for him to remain here than to return to the

town, where the sentinels at his door, with the crowds collected round

it, in a manner confined him to his chamber. The pavilion was a sort of

summer-house on a pyramidal eminence, about thirty or forty paces from

the house, where the family were accustomed to resort in fine weather:

this was hired for the temporary abode of the Emperor, and he took

possession of it immediately. There was a carriage-road from the town,

and the valley was in this part less rugged in its aspect. Las Cases was

soon sent for. As he ascended the winding path leading to the pavilion

he saw Napoleon standing at the threshold of the door. His body was

slightly bent, and his hands behind his back: he wore his usual plain

and simple uniform and the well-known hat. The Emperor was alone. He

took a fancy to walk a little; but there was no level ground on any side

of the pavilion, which was surrounded by huge pieces of rock. Taking

the arm of his companion, however, he began to converse in a cheerful

strain. When Napoleon was about to retire to rest the servants found

that one of the windows was open close to the bed: they barricaded it

as well as they could, so as to exclude the air, to the effects of which

the Emperor was very susceptible. Las Cases ascended to an upper

room. The valets de chambres lay stretched in their cloaks across the

threshold of the door. Such was the first night Napoleon passed at the

Briars.

An English officer was lodged with them in the house as their guard,

and two non-commissioned officers were stationed near the house to watch

their movements. Napoleon the next day proceeded with his dictation,

which occupied him for several hours, and then took a walk in the

garden, where he was met by the two Misses Balcombe, lively girls about

fourteen years of age, who presented him with flowers, and overwhelmed

him with whimsical questions. Napoleon was amused by their familiarity,

to which he had been little accustomed. "We have been to a masked ball,"

said he, when the young ladies had taken their leave.

The next day a chicken was brought for breakfast, which the Emperor

undertook to carve himself, and was surprised at his succeeding so well,

it being a long time since he had done so much. The coffee he considered

so bad that on tasting it he thought himself poisoned, and sent it away.

The mornings were passed in business; in the evening Napoleon sometimes

strolled to the neighbouring villa, where the young ladies made him

play at whist. The Campaign of Italy was nearly finished, and Las Cases

proposed that the other followers of Napoleon who were lodged in the

town should come up every morning to assist in transcribing The Campaign

of Egypt, the History of the Consulate, etc. This suggestion pleased

the ex-Emperor, so that from that time one or two of his suite came

regularly every day to write to his dictation, and stayed to dinner. A

tent, sent by the Colonel of the 53d Regiment, was spread out so as to

form a prolongation of the pavillion. Their cook took up his abode at

the Briars. The table linen was taken from the trunks, the plate was set

forth, and the first dinner after these new arrangements was a sort of

fete.

One day at dinner Napoleon, casting his eye on one of the dishes of his

own campaign-service, on which the-arms of the King had been engraved,

"How they have spoiled that!" he exclaimed; and he could not refrain

from observing that the King was in great haste to take possession of

the Imperial plate, which certainly did not belong to him. Amongst the

baggage was also a cabinet in which were a number of medallions, given

him by the Pope and other potentates, some letters of Louis XVIII. which

he had left behind him on his writing-table in the suddenness of his

flight from the Tuileries on the 20th of March, and a number of other

letters found in the portfolio of M. De Blacas intended to calumniate

Napoleon.

The Emperor never dressed until about four o'clock, he then walked in

the garden, which was particularly agreeable to him on account of its

solitude--the English soldiers having been removed at Mr. Balcombe's

request. A little arbour was covered with canvas; and a chair and table

placed in it, and here Napoleon dictated a great part of his Memoirs. In

the evening, when he did not go out, he generally contrived to prolong

the conversation till eleven or twelve o'clock.

Thus time passed with little variety or interruption. The weather in the

winter became delightful. One day, his usual task being done; Napoleon

strolled out towards the town, until he came within sight of the road

and shipping. On his return he met Mrs. Balcombe and a Mrs. Stuart, who

was on her way back from Bombay to England. The Emperor conversed with

her on the manners and customs of India, and on the inconveniences of a

long voyage at sea, particularly to ladies. He alluded to Scotland,

Mrs. Stuart's native country, expatiated on the genius of Ossian, and

congratulated his fair interlocutor on the preservation of her clear

northern complexion. While the parties were thus engaged some heavily

burdened slaves passed near to them. Mrs. Balcombe motioned them to

make a detour; but Napoleon interposed, exclaiming, "Respect the burden,

madam!" As he said this the Scotch lady, who had been very eagerly

scanning the features of Napoleon, whispered to her friend, "Heavens!

what a character, and what an expression of countenance! How different

to the idea I had formed of him!"

Napoleon shortly after repeated the same walk, and went into the

house of Major Hudson. This visit occasioned considerable alarm to the

constituted authorities.

The Governor gave a ball, to which the French were invited; and Las

Cases about the same time rode over to Longwood to see what advance had

been made in the preparations for their reception. His report on his

return was not very favourable. They had now been six weeks at the

Briars, during which Napoleon had been nearly as much confined as if on

board the vessel. His health began to be impaired by it. Las Cases gave

it as his opinion that the Emperor did not possess that constitution of

iron which was usually ascribed to him; and that it was the strength of

his mind, not of his body, that carried him through the labours of the

field and of the cabinet. In speaking on this subject Napoleon himself

observed that nature had endowed him with two peculiarities: one was

the power of sleeping at any hour or in any place; the other, his being

incapable of committing any excess either in eating or drinking: "If,"

said he, "I go the least beyond my mark my stomach instantly revolts."

He was subject to nausea from very slight causes, and to colds from any

change of air.

The prisoners removed to Longwood on the 10th of December 1815. Napoleon

invited Mr. Balcombe to breakfast with him that morning, and conversed

with him in a very cheerful manner. About two Admiral Cockburn was

announced; he entered with an air of embarrassment. In consequence of

the restraints imposed upon him at the Briars, and the manner in which

those of his suite residing in the town had been treated, Bonaparte had

discontinued receiving the visits of the Admiral; yet on the present

occasion he behaved towards him as though nothing had happened. At

length they left the Briars and set out for Longwood. Napoleon rode the

horse, a small, sprightly, and tolerably handsome animal, which had been

brought for him from the Cape. He wore his uniform of the Chasseurs

of the Guard, and his graceful manner and handsome countenance were

particularly remarked. The Admiral was very attentive to him. At the

entrance of Longwood they found a guard under arms who rendered the

prescribed honours to their illustrious captive. His horse, unaccustomed

to parades, and frightened by the roll of the drum, refused to pass the

gate till spurred on by Napoleon, while a significant look passed among

the escort. The Admiral took great pains to point out the minutest

details at Longwood. He had himself superintended all the arrangements,

among which was a bath-room. Bonaparte was satisfied with everything,

and the Admiral seemed highly pleased. He had anticipated petulance and

disdain, but Napoleon manifested perfect good-humour.

The entrance to the house was through a room which had been just built

to answer the double purpose of an ante-chamber and a dining-room. This

apartment led to the drawing-room; beyond this was a third room

running in a cross direction and very dark. This was intended to be

the depository of the Emperor's maps and books, but it was afterwards

converted into the dining-room. The Emperor's chamber opened into this

apartment on the right hand side, and was divided into two equal parts,

forming a cabinet and sleeping-room; a little external gallery served

for a bathing-room: Opposite the Emperor's chamber, at the other

extremity of the building, were the apartments of Madame Montholon, her

husband, and her son, afterward used as the Emperors library. Detached

from this part of the house was a little square room on the ground

floor, contiguous to the kitchen, which was assigned to Las Cases. The

windows and beds had no curtains. The furniture was mean and scanty.

Bertrand and his family resided at a distance of two miles, at a place

called Rut's Gate. General Gourgaud slept under a tent, as well as Mr.

O'Meara, and the officer commanding the guard. The house was surrounded

by a garden. In front, and separated by a tolerably deep ravine, was

encamped the 53d Regiment, different parties of which were stationed on

the neighbouring heights.

The domestic establishment of the Emperor consisted of eleven persons.

To the Grand-Marshal was confided the general superintendence; to M.

de Montholon the domestic details; Las Cases was to take care of the

furniture and property, and General Gourgaud to have the management

of the stables. These arrangements, however, produced discontent among

Napoleon's attendants. Las Cases admits that they were no longer the

members of one family, each using his best efforts to promote the

advantage of all. They were far from practising that which necessity

dictated. He says also, "The Admiral has more than once, in the midst of

our disputes with him, hastily exclaimed that the Emperor was decidedly

the most good-natured, just, and reasonable of the whole set."

On his first arrival he went to visit the barracks occupied by some

Chinese living on the island, and a place called Longwood Farm. He

complained to Las Cases that they had been idle of late; but by degrees

their hours and the employment of them became fixed and regular.

The Campaign of Italy being now finished, Napoleon corrected it, and

dictated on other subjects. This was their morning's work. They dined

between eight and nine, Madame Montholon being seated on Napoleon's

right; Las Cases on his left, and Gourgaud, Montholon, and Las Cases'

son sitting opposite. The smell of the paint not being yet gone off,

they remained not more than ten minutes at table, and the dessert was

prepared in the adjoining apartment, where coffee was served up and

conversation commenced. Scenes were read from Molière, Racine, and

Voltaire; and regret was always expressed at their not having a copy of

Corneille. They then played at 'reversis', which had been Bonaparte's

favourite game in his youth. The recollection was agreeable to him, and

he thought he could amuse himself at it for any length of time, but was

soon undeceived. His aim was always to make the 'reversis', that is, to

win every trick. Character is displayed in the smallest incidents.

Napoleon read a libel on himself, and contrasted the compliments

which had passed between him and the Queen of Prussia with the

brutal-behaviour ascribed to him in the English newspapers. On the

other hand, two common sailors had at different times, while he was at

Longwood and at the Briars, in spite of orders and at all risks, made

their way through the sentinels to gain a sight of Napoleon. On seeing

the interest they took in him he exclaimed, "This is fanaticism! Yes,

imagination rules the world!"

The instructions of the English Ministers with regard to the treatment

of Napoleon at St. Helena had been prepared with the view completely to

secure his person. An English officer was to be constantly at his table.

This order, however, was not carried into effect. An officer was also

to accompany Napoleon in all his rides; this order was dispensed with

within certain prescribed limits, because Napoleon had refused to ride

at all on such conditions. Almost everyday brought with it some new

cause of uneasiness and complaint. Sentinels were posted beneath

Napoleon's windows and before his doors. This order was, however,

doubtless given to prevent his being annoyed by impertinent curiosity.

The French were certainly precluded from all free communication with

the inhabitants of the island; but this precaution was of unquestionable

necessity for the security of the Emperor's person. Las Cases complains

that the passwords were perpetually changed, so that they lived

in constant perplexity and apprehension of being subjected to some

unforeseen insult. "Napoleon," he continues, "addressed a complaint to

the Admiral, which obtained for him no redress. In the midst of these

complaints the Admiral wished to introduce some ladies (who had

arrived in the Doric) to Napoleon; but he declined, not approving this

alternation of affronts and civilities." He, however, consented, at the

request of their Colonel, to receive the officers of the 53d Regiment.

After this officer took his leave, Napoleon prolonged his walk in the

garden. He stopped awhile to look at a flower in one of the beds, and

asked his companion if it was not a lily. It was indeed a magnificent

one. The thought that he had in his mind was obvious. He then spoke of

the number of times he had been wounded; and said it had been thought he

had never met with these accidents from his having kept them secret as

much as possible.'

It was near the end of December. One day, after a walk and a tumble in

the mud, Bonaparte returned and found a packet of English newspapers,

which the Grand-Marshal translated to him. This occupied him till late,

and he forgot his dinner in discussing their contents. After dinner had

been served Las Cases wished to continue the translation, but Napoleon

would not suffer him to proceed, from consideration for the weak

state of his eyes. "We must wait till to-morrow," said he. A few days

afterwards the Admiral came in person to visit him, and the interview

was an agreeable one. After some animated discussion it was arranged

that Napoleon should henceforth ride freely about the island; that the

officer should follow him only at a distance; and that visitors should

be admitted to him, not with the permission of the Admiral as the

Inspector of Longwood, but with that of the Grand-Marshal, who was to do

the honours of the establishment. These concessions were, however, soon

recalled. On the 30th of this month Piontkowsky, a Pole; who had been

left behind, but whose entreaties prevailed upon the English Government,

joined Bonaparte. On New-Year's Day all their little party was collected

together, and Napoleon, entering into the feelings of the occasion,

begged that they might breakfast and pass it together. Every day

furnished some new trait of this kind.

On the 14th of April 1816 Sir Hudson Lowe, the new Governor, arrived

at St. Helena. This epoch is important, as making the beginning of a

continued series of accusations, and counter-accusations, by which the

last five years of Napoleon's life were constantly occupied, to the

great annoyance of himself and all connected with him, and possibly to

the shortening of his own existence.

It would be tedious to detail the progress of this petty war, but, as a

subject which has formed so great a portion of the life of Napoleon,

it must not be omitted. To avoid anything which may appear like a bias

against Napoleon, the details, unless when otherwise mentioned, will be

derived from Las Cases, his devoted admirer.

On the first visit of the new Governor; which was the 16th of April,

Napoleon refused to admit him, because he himself was ill, and also

because the Governor had not asked beforehand for an audience. On the

second visit the Governor, was admitted to an audience, and Napoleon

seems to have taken a prejudice at first sight, as he remarked to his

suite that the Governor was "hideous, and had a most ugly countenance,"

though he allowed he ought not to judge too hastily. The spirit of the

party was shown by a remark made, that the first two days had been days

of battle.

The Governor saw Napoleon again on the 30th April, and the interview was

stormy. Napoleon argued with the Governor on the conduct of the Allies

towards him, said they had no right to dispose of him, who was their

equal and sometimes their master. He then declaimed on the eternal

disgrace the English had inflicted on themselves by sending him to St.

Helena; they wished to kill him by a lingering death: their conduct was

worse than that of the Calabrians in shooting Murat. He talked of the

cowardliness of suicide, complained of the small extent and horrid

climate of St. Helena, and said it would be an act of kindness to

deprive him of life at once. Sir H. Lowe said that a house of wood,

fitted up with every possible accommodation, was then on its way from

England for his use. Napoleon refused it at once, and exclaimed that

it was not a house but an executioner and a coffin that he wanted;

the house was a mockery, death would be a favour. A few minutes after

Napoleon took up some reports of the campaigns of 1814, which lay on the

table, and asked Sir H. Lowe if he had written them. Las Cases, after

saying that the Governor replied in the affirmative, finishes his

account of the interview, but according to O'Meara, Napoleon said they

were full of folly and falsehood. The Governor, with a much milder reply

than most men would have given, retired, and Napoleon harangued upon

the sinister expression of his countenance, abused him in the coarsest

manner, and made his servant throw a cup of coffee out of the window

because it had stood a moment on a table near the Governor.

It was required that all persons who visited at Longwood or at Hut's

Gate should make a report to the Governor, or to Sir Thomas Reade, of

the conversations they had held with the French. Several additional

sentinels were posted around Longwood House and grounds.

During some extremely wet and foggy weather Napoleon did not go out for

several days. Messengers and letters continually succeeded one another

from Plantation House. The Governor appeared anxious to see Napoleon,

and was evidently distrustful, although the residents at Longwood were

assured of his actual presence by the sound of his voice. He had some

communications with Count Bertrand on the necessity that one of his

officers should see Napoleon daily. He also went to Longwood frequently

himself, and finally, after some difficulty, succeeded in obtaining an

interview with Napoleon in his bedchamber, which lasted about a quarter

of an hour. Some days before he sent for Mr. O'Meara, asked a variety of

questions concerning the captive, walked round the house several times

and before the windows, measuring and laying down the plan of a new

ditch, which he said he would have dug in order to prevent the cattle

from trespassing.

On the morning of the 5th of May Napoleon sent for his surgeon O'Meara

to come to him. He was introduced into Napoleon's bed-chamber, a

description of which is thus given: "It was about fourteen feet by

twelve, and ten or eleven feet in height. The walls were lined with

brown nankeen, bordered and edged with common green bordering paper, and

destitute of skirting. Two small windows without pulleys, one of which

was thrown up and fastened by a piece of notched wood, looked towards

the camp of the 53d Regiment. There were window-curtains of white

long-cloth, a small fire-place, a shabby grate and fire-irons to match,

with a paltry mantelpiece of wood, painted white, upon which stood a

small marble bust of his son. Above the mantelpiece hung the portrait

of Maria Louisa, and four or five of young Napoleon, one of which was

embroidered by the hands of his mother. A little more to the right

hung also the portrait of the Empress Josephine; and to the left was

suspended the alarm chamber-watch of Frederick the Great, obtained by

Napoleon at Potsdam; while on the right the Consular watch, engraved

with the cipher B, hung, by a chain of the plaited hair of Maria Louisa,

from a pin stuck in the nankeen lining. In the right-hand corner was

placed the little plain iron camp-bedstead, with green silk curtains,

on which its master had reposed on the fields of Marengo and Austerlitz.

Between the windows there was a chest of drawers, and a bookcase

with green blinds stood on the left of the door leading to the next

apartment. Four or five cane-bottomed chairs painted green were standing

here and there about the room. Before the back door there was a

screen covered with nankeen, and between that and the fireplace an

old-fashioned sofa covered with white long-cloth, on which Napoleon

reclined, dressed in his white morning-gown, white loose trousers and

stockings all in one, a chequered red handkerchief upon his head, and

his shirt-collar open without a cravat. His air was melancholy and

troubled. Before him stood a little round table, with some books, at the

foot of which lay in confusion upon the carpet a heap of those which he

had already perused, and at the opposite side of the sofa was suspended

Isabey's portrait of the Empress Maria Louisa, holding her son in her

arms. In front of the fireplace stood Las Cases with his arms folded

over his breast and some papers in one of his hands. Of all the former

magnificence of the once mighty Emperor of France nothing remained but

a superb wash-hand-stand containing a silver basin and water-jug of the

same metal, in the lefthand corner." The object of Napoleon in sending

for O'Meara on this occasion was to question him whether in their future

intercourse he was to consider him in the light of a spy and a tool

of the Governor or as his physician? The doctor gave a decided and

satisfactory answer on this point.

"During the short interview that this Governor had with me in my

bedchamber, one of the first things he proposed was to send you away,"

said Napoleon to O'Meara, "and that I should take his own surgeon in

your place. This he repeated, and so earnest was he to gain his object

that, though I gave him a flat refusal, when he was going out he turned

about and again proposed it."

On the 11th a proclamation was issued by the Governor, "forbidding any

persons on the island from sending letters to or receiving them from

General Bonaparte or his suite, on pain of being immediately arrested

and dealt with accordingly." Nothing escaped the vigilance of Sir Hudson

Lowe. "The Governor," said Napoleon, "has just sent an invitation to

Bertrand for General Bonaparte to come to Plantation House to meet Lady

Moira. I told Bertrand to return no answer to it. If he really wanted me

to see her he would have put Plantation House within the limits, but

to send such an invitation, knowing I must go in charge of a guard if I

wished to avail myself of it, was an insult."

Soon after came the Declaration of the Allies and the Acts of Parliament

authorising the detention of Napoleon Bonaparte as a prisoner of war and

disturber of the peace of Europe. Against the Bill, when brought into

the House of Lords, there were two protests, those of Lord Holland and

of the Duke of Sussex. These official documents did not tend to soothe

the temper or raise the spirits of the French to endure their captivity.

In addition to the misery of his own captivity, Napoleon had to contend

with the unmanageable humours of his own followers. As often happens

with men in such circumstances, they sometimes disagreed among

themselves, and part of their petulance and ill-temper fell upon their

Chief. He took these little incidents deeply to heart. On one occasion

he said in bitterness, "I know that I am fallen; but to feel this among

you! I am aware that man is frequently unreasonable and susceptible of

offence. Thus, when I am mistrustful of myself I ask, should I have been

treated so at the Tuileries? This is my test."

A great deal of pains has been taken by Napoleon's adherents and others

to blacken the character of Sir Hudson Lowe, and to make it appear that

his sole object was to harass Napoleon and to make his life miserable.

Now, although it may be questioned whether Sir Hudson Lowe was the

proper person to be placed in the delicate situation of guard over the

fallen Emperor, there is no doubt that quarrels and complaints began

long before that officer reached the island; and the character of

those complaints will show that at best the prisoners were persons very

difficult to satisfy. Their detention at the Briars was one of the first

causes of complaint. It was stated that the Emperor was very ill there,

that he was confined "in a cage" with no attendance, that his suite was

kept from him, and that he was deprived of exercise. A few pages farther

in the journal of Las Cases we find the Emperor in good health, and as

soon as it was announced that Longwood was ready to receive him, then it

was urged that the gaolers wished to compel him to go against his will,

that they desired to push their authority to the utmost, that the smell

of the paint at Longwood was very disagreeable, etc. Napoleon himself

was quite ready to go, and seemed much vexed when Count Bertrand and

General Gourgaud arrived from Longwood with the intelligence that the

place was as yet uninhabitable. His displeasure, however, was much

more seriously excited by the appearance of Count Montholon with the

information that all was ready at Longwood within a few minutes after

receiving the contrary accounts from Bertrand and Gourgaud. He probably

perceived that he was trifled with by his attendants, who endeavoured

to make him believe that which suited their own convenience. We may also

remark that the systematic opposition which was carried to such a great

length against Sir Hudson Lowe had begun during the stay of Admiral

Cockburn. His visits were refused; he was accused of caprice, arrogance,

and impertinence, and he was nicknamed "the Shark" by Napoleon himself;

his own calmness alone probably prevented more violent ebullitions.

The wooden house arrived at last, and the Governor waited on Napoleon

to consult with him how and where it should be erected. Las Cases,

who heard the dispute in an adjoining room, says that it was long and

clamorous.

He gives the details in Napoleon's own words, and we have here the

advantage of comparing his statement with the account transmitted by

Sir Hudson Lowe to the British Government, dated 17th May 1816. The two

accounts vary but little. Napoleon admits that he was thrown quite out

of temper, that he received the Governor with his stormy countenance,

looked furiously at him, and made no reply to his information of the

arrival of the house but by a significant look. He told him that

he wanted nothing, nor would receive anything at his hands; that he

supposed he was to be put to death by poison or the sword; the poison

would be difficult to administer, but he had the means of doing it with

the sword. The sanctuary of his abode should not be violated, and the

troops should not enter his house but by trampling on his corpse. He

then alluded to an invitation sent to him by Sir Hudson Lows to meet

Lady Loudon at his house, and said there could not be an act of

more refined cruelty than inviting him to his table by the title of

"General," to make him an object of ridicule or amusement to his guests.

What right had he to call him "General" Bonaparte? He would not

be deprived of his dignity by him, nor by any one in the world. He

certainly should have condescended to visit Lady Loudon had she been

within his limits, as he did not stand upon strict etiquette with a

woman, but he should have deemed that he was conferring an honour upon

her. He would not consider himself a prisoner of war, but was placed in

his present position by the most horrible breach of trust. After a few

more words he dismissed the Governor without once more alluding to the

house which was the object of the visit. The fate of this unfortunate

house may be mentioned here. It was erected after a great many disputes,

but was unfortunately surrounded by a sunk fence and ornamental railing.

This was immediately connected in Napoleon's mind with the idea of a

fortification; it was impossible to remove the impression that the

ditch and palisade were intended to secure his person. As soon as the

objection was made known, Sir Hudson Lowe ordered the ground to be

levelled and the rails taken away. But before this was quite completed

Napoleon's health was too much destroyed to permit his removal, and the

house was never occupied.

Napoleon seems to have felt that he had been too violent in his conduct.

He admitted, when at table with his suite a few days after, that he had

behaved very ill, and that in any other situation he should blush for

what he had done. "I could have wished, for his sake," he said, "to see

him evince a little anger, or pull the door violently after him when

he went away." These few words let us into a good deal of Napoleon's

character: he liked to intimidate, but his vehement language was

received with a calmness and resolute forbearance to which he was quite

unaccustomed, and he consequently grew more angry as his anger was less

regarded.

The specimens here given of the disputes with Sir Hudson Lowe may

probably suffice: a great many more are furnished by Las Cases, O'Meara,

and other partisans of Napoleon, and even they always make him the

aggressor. Napoleon himself in his cooler moments seemed to admit this;

after the most violent quarrel with the Governor, that of the 18th of

August 1816, which utterly put an end to anything like decent civility

between the parties; he allowed that he had used the Governor very ill,

that he repeatedly and purposely offended him, and that Sir Hudson Lowe

had not in a single instance shown a want of respect, except perhaps

that he retired too abruptly.

Great complaints were made of the scanty way in which the table of the

exiles was supplied; and it was again and again alleged by them that

they had scarcely anything to eat. The wine, too, was said to be

execrable, so bad that in fact it could not be drunk; and, of such

stuff as it was, only one bottle a day was allowed to each person--an

allowance which Las Cases calls ridiculously small. Thus pressed, but

partly for effect, Napoleon resolved to dispose of his plate in monthly

proportions; and as he knew that some East India captains had offered

as much as a hundred guineas for a single plate, in order to preserve a

memorial of him, he determined that what was sold should be broken up,

the arms erased, and no trace left which could show that they had ever

been his. The only portions left uninjured were the little eagles with

which some of the dish-covers were mounted. These last fragments were

objects of veneration for the attendants of Napoleon, they were looked

upon as relics, with a feeling at once melancholy and religious. When

the moment came for breaking up the plate Las Cases bears testimony to

the painful emotions and real grief produced among the servants. They

could not, without the utmost reluctance, bring themselves to apply the

hammer to those objects of their veneration.

The island of St. Helena was regularly visited by East India ships on

the return voyage, which touched there to take in water, and to leave

gunpowder for the use of the garrison. On such occasions there were

always persons anxious to pay a visit to the renowned captive. The

regulation of those visits was calculated to protect Napoleon from being

annoyed by the idle curiosity of strangers, to which he professed a

great aversion. Such persons as wished to wait upon him were, in the

first place, obliged to apply to the Governor, by whom their names were

forwarded to Count Bertrand. This gentleman, as Grand-Marshal of the

household, communicated the wishes of those persons to Napoleon, and in

case of a favourable reply fixed the hour for an interview.

Those visitors whom Napoleon admitted were chiefly persons of rank

and distinction, travellers from distant countries, or men who had

distinguished themselves in the scientific world, and who could

communicate interesting information in exchange for the gratification

they received. Some of those persons who were admitted to interviews

with him have published narratives of their conversation, and all agree

in extolling the extreme grace, propriety, and appearance of benevolence

manifested by Bonaparte while holding these levees. His questions were

always put with great tact, and on some subject with which the person

interrogated was well acquainted, so as to induce him to bring forth any

new or curious information of which he might be possessed.

Captain Basil Hall, in August 1817, when in command of the Lyra, had

an interview with the Emperor, of whom he says: "Bonaparte struck me as

differing considerably from the pictures and busts' I had seen of him.

His face and figure looked much broader and more square--larger, indeed,

in every way than any representation I had met with. His corpulency,

at this time universally reported to be excessive, was by no means

remarkable. His flesh looked, on the contrary, firm and muscular. There

was not the least trace of colour in his cheeks; in fact his skin

was more like marble than ordinary flesh. Not the smallest trace of a

wrinkle was discernible on his brow, nor an approach to a furrow on

any part of his countenance. His health and spirits, judging from

appearances, were excellent, though at this period it was generally

believed in England that he was fast sinking under a complication

of diseases, and that his spirits were entirely gone. His manner of

speaking was rather slow than otherwise, and perfectly distinct; he

waited with great patience and kindness for my answers to his questions,

and a reference to Count Bertrand was necessary only once during the

whole conversation. The brilliant and sometimes dazzling expression

of his eye could not be overlooked. It was not, however, a permanent

lustre, for it was only remarkable when he was excited by some point of

particular interest. It is impossible to imagine an expression of more

entire mildness, I may almost call it of benignity and kindness, than

that which played over his features during the whole interview. If,

therefore he were at this time out of health and in low spirits, his

power of self-command must have been even more extraordinary than is

generally supposed, for his whole deportment, his conversation, and the

expression of his countenance indicated a frame in perfect health and a

mind at ease."

The manner assumed by Napoleon in the occasional interviews he had

with such visitors was so very opposite to that which he constantly

maintained towards the authorities in whose custody he was placed, that

we can scarcely doubt he was acting a part in one of those situations.

It was suggested by Mr. Ellis that he either wished, by means of his

continual complaints, to keep alive his interest in England, where

he flattered himself there was a party favourable to him, or that his

troubled mind found an occupation in the annoyance which he caused to

the Governor. Every attempt at conciliation on the part of Sir Hudson

Lowe furnished fresh causes for irritation. He sent fowling-pieces to

Longwood, and the thanks returned were a reply from Napoleon that it was

an insult to send fowling-pieces where there was no game. An invitation

to a ball was resented vehemently, and descanted upon by the French

party as a great offence. Sir Hudson Lowe at one time sent a variety of

clothes and other articles received from England which he imagined

might be useful at Longwood. Great offence was taken at this; they were

treated, they said, like paupers; the articles, ought to have been left

at the Governor's house, and a list sent respectfully to the household,

stating that such things were at their command if they wanted them.

An opinion has already been expressed that much of this annoyance was

due to the offended pride of Napoleon's attendants, who were at first

certainly far more captious than himself. He admitted as much himself

on one occasion in a conversation with O'Meara. He said, "Las Cases

certainly was greatly irritated against Sir Hudson, and contributed

materially towards forming the impressions existing in my mind." He

attributed this to the sensitive mind of Las Cases, which he said was

peculiarly alive to the ill-treatment Napoleon and himself had been

subjected to. Sir Hudson Lowe also felt this, and remarked, like

Sir George Cockburn, on more than one occasion, that he always found

Napoleon himself more reasonable than the persons about him.

A fertile source of annoyance was the resolution of Napoleon not upon

any terms to acknowledge himself a prisoner, and his refusal to submit

to such regulations as would render his captivity less burdensome. More

than once the attendance of an officer was offered to be discontinued if

he would allow himself to be seen once every day, and promise to take no

means of escaping. "If he were to give me the whole of the island," said

Napoleon, "on condition that I would pledge my word not to attempt

an escape, I would not accept it; because it would be equivalent to

acknowledging myself a prisoner, although at the same time I would not

make the attempt. I am here by force, and not by right. If I had been

taken at Waterloo perhaps I might have had no hesitation in accepting

it, although even in that case it would be contrary to the law of

nations, as now there is no war. If they were to offer me permission

to reside in England on similar conditions I would refuse it." The very

idea of exhibiting himself to an officer every day, though but for a

moment, was repelled with indignation. He even kept loaded pistols to

shoot any person who should attempt an intrusion on his privacy. It is

stated in a note in O'Meara's journal that "the Emperor was so firmly

impressed with the idea that an attempt would be made forcibly to

intrude on his privacy, that from a short time after the departure of

Sir George Cockburn he always kept four or five pairs of loaded pistols

and some swords in his apartment, with which he was determined to

despatch the first who entered against his will." It seems this practice

was continued to his death.

Napoleon continued to pass the mornings in dictating his Memoirs and the

evenings in reading or conversation. He grew fonder of Racine, but his

favourite was Corneille. He repeated that, had he lived in his time, he

would have made him a prince. He had a distaste to Voltaire, and

found considerable fault with his dramas, perhaps justly, as conveying

opinions rather than sentiments. He criticised his Mahomet, and said he

had made him merely an impostor and a tyrant, without representing him

as a great man. This was owing to Voltaire's religious and political

antipathies; for those who are free from common prejudices acquire

others of their own in their stead, to which they are equally bigoted,

and which they bring forward on all occasions. When the evening passed

off in conversation without having recourse to books he considered it a

point gained.

Some one having asked the Emperor which was the greatest battle that he

had fought, he replied it was difficult to answer that question without

inquiring what was implied by the greatest battle. "Mine," continued

he, "cannot be judged of separately: they formed a portion of extensive

plans. They must therefore be estimated by their consequences. The

battle of Marengo, which was so long undecided, procured for us the

command of all Italy. Ulm annihilated a whole army; Jena laid the whole

Prussian monarchy at our feet; Friedland opened the Russian empire to

us; and Eckmuhl decided the fate of a war. The battle of the Moskwa

was that in which the greatest talent was displayed, and by which we

obtained the fewest advantages. Waterloo, where everything failed,

would, had victory crowned our efforts, have saved France and given

peace to Europe."

Madame Montholon having inquired what troops he considered the best,

"Those which are victorious, madam," replied the Emperor. "But," added

he, "soldiers are capricious and inconstant, like you ladies. The best

troops were the Carthaginians under Hannibal, the Romans under the

Scipios, the Macedonians under Alexander, and the Prussians under

Frederick." He thought, however, that the French soldiers were of all

others those which could most easily be rendered the best, and preserved

so. "With my complete guard of 40,000 or 50,000 men I would have

undertaken to march through Europe. It is perhaps possible to produce

troops as good as those that composed my army of Italy and Austerlitz,

but certainly none can ever surpass them."

The anniversary of the battle of Waterloo produced a visible

impression on the Emperor. "Incomprehensible day!" said he, dejectedly;

"concurrence of unheard-of fatalities! Grouchy, Ney, D'Erlon--was there

treachery or was it merely misfortune? Alas! poor France!" Here he

covered his eyes with his hands. "And yet," said he, "all that human

skill could do was accomplished! All was not lost until the moment when

all had succeeded." A short time afterwards, resuming the subject, he

exclaimed, "In that extraordinary campaign, thrice, in less than a week,

I saw the certain triumph of France slip through my fingers. Had it not

been for a traitor I should have annihilated the enemy at the outset of

the campaign. I should have destroyed him at Ligny if my left wing had

only done its duty. I should have destroyed him again at Waterloo if my

right had seconded me. Singular defeat, by which, notwithstanding the

most fatal catastrophe, the glory of the conquered has not suffered."

We shall here give Napoleon's own opinion of the battle of Waterloo.

"The plan of the battle," said he, "will not in the eyes of the

historian reflect any credit on Lord Wellington as a general. In the

first place, he ought not to have given battle with the armies divided.

They ought to have been united and encamped before the 15th. In the

next, the choice of ground was bad; because if he had been beaten he

could not have retreated, as there was only one road leading through the

forest in his rear. He also committed a fault which might have proved

the destruction of all his army, without its ever having commenced

the campaign, or being drawn out in battle; he allowed himself to be

surprised. On the 15th I was at Charleroi, and had beaten the Prussians

without his knowing anything about it. I had gained forty-eight hours

of manoeuvres upon him, which was a great object; and if some of my

generals had shown that vigour and genius which they had displayed on

other occasions, I should have taken his army in cantonments without

ever fighting a battle. But they were discouraged, and fancied that they

saw an army of 100,000 men everywhere opposed to them. I had not time

enough myself to attend to the minutiae of the army. I counted upon

surprising and cutting Wellington up in detail. I knew of Bulow's

arrival at eleven o'clock, but I did not regard it. I had still eighty

chances out of a hundred in my favour. Notwithstanding the great

superiority of force against me I was convinced that I should obtain the

victory, I had about 70,000 men, of whom 15,000 were cavalry. I had also

260 pieces of cannon; but my troops were so good that I esteemed

them sufficient to beat 120,000. Of all those troops, however, I only

reckoned the English as being able to cope with my own. The others I

thought little of. I believe that of English there were from 35,000 to

40,000. These I esteemed to be as brave and as good as my own troops;

the English army was well known latterly on the Continent, and besides,

your nation possesses courage and energy. As to the Prussians, Belgians,

and others, half the number of my troops, were sufficient to beat them.

I only left 34,000 men to take care of the Prussians. The chief causes

of the loss of that battle were, first of all, Grouchy's great tardiness

and neglect in executing his orders; next, the 'grenadiers a cheval' and

the cavalry under General Guyot, which I had in reserve, and which were

never to leave me, engaged without orders and without my knowledge; so

that after the last charge, when the troops were beaten and the English

cavalry advanced, I had not a single corps of cavalry in reserve to

resist them, instead of one which I esteemed to be equal to double their

own number. In consequence of this the English attacked, succeeded, and

all was lost. There was no means of rallying. The youngest general

would not have committed the fault of leaving an army entirely without

reserve, which, however, occurred here, whether in consequence of

treason or not I cannot say. These were the two principal causes of the

loss of the battle of Waterloo."

"If Lord Wellington had intrenched himself," continued Napoleon, "I

would not have attacked him. As a general, his plan did not show talent.

He certainly displayed great courage and obstinacy; but a little must

be taken away even from that when you consider that he had no means of

retreat, and that had he made the attempt not a man of his army would

have escaped. First, to the firmness and bravery of his troops, for

the English fought with the greatest courage and obstinacy, he is

principally indebted for the victory, and not to his own conduct as a

general; and next, to the arrival of Blücher, to whom the victory is

more to be attributed than to Wellington, and more credit is due as

a general; because he, although beaten the day before, assembled

his troops, and brought them into action in the evening. I believe,

however," continued Napoleon, "that Wellington is a man of great

firmness. The glory of such a victory is a great thing; but in the eye

of the historian his military reputation will gain nothing by it."

"I always had a high opinion of your seamen," said Napoleon one day to

O'Meara, in a conversation arising out of the expedition to Algiers.

"When I was returning from Holland along with the Empress Maria Louisa

we stopped to rest at Givet. During the night a violent storm of wind

and rain came on, which swelled the Meuse so much that the bridge

of boats over it was carried away. I was very anxious to depart, and

ordered all the boatmen in the place to be assembled that I might be

enabled to cross the river. They said that the waters were so high that

it would be impossible to pass before two or three days. I questioned

some of them, and soon discovered that they were fresh-water seamen. I

then recollected that there were English prisoners in the barracks, and

ordered that some of the oldest and best seamen among them should be

brought before me to the banks of the river. The waters were very high,

and the current rapid and dangerous. I asked them if they could join a

number of boats together so that I might pass over. They answered

that it was possible, but hazardous. I desired them to set about it

instantly. In the course of a few hours they succeeded in effecting what

the others had pronounced to be impossible, and I crossed before the

evening was over. I ordered those who had worked at it to receive a sum

of money each, a suit of clothes, and their liberty. Marchand was with

me at the time."

In December 1816 Las Cases was compelled to leave St. Helena. He had

written a letter to Lucien Bonaparte, and entrusted it to a mulatto

servant to be forwarded to Europe. He was detected; and as he was thus

endeavouring to carry on (contrary to the regulations of the island) a

clandestine correspondence with Europe, Las Cases and his son were sent

off, first to the Cape and then to England, where they were only allowed

to land to be sent to Dover and shipped off to Ostend.

Not long after their arrival at St. Helena, Madame Bertrand gave birth

to a son, and when Napoleon went to visit her she said, "I have the

honour of presenting to your Majesty the first French subject who has

entered Longwood without the permission of Lord Bathurst."

It has been generally supposed that Napoleon was a believer in the

doctrine of predestination. The following conversation with Las Cases

clearly decides that point. "Pray," said he, "am I not thought to be

given to a belief in predestination?"--"Yes, Sire; at least by many

people."--"Well, well! let them say what they please, one may sometimes

be tempted to set a part, and it may occasionally be useful. But what

are men? How much easier is it to occupy their attention and to strike

their imaginations by absurdities than by rational ideas! But can a

man of sound sense listen for one moment to such a doctrine? Either

predestination admits the existence of free-will, or it rejects it.

If it admits it, what kind of predetermined result can that be which a

simple resolution, a step, a word, may alter or modify ad infinitum? If

predestination, on the contrary, rejects the existence of free-will it

is quite another question; in that case a child need only be thrown into

its cradle as soon as it is born, there is no necessity for bestowing

the least care upon it, for if it be irrevocably decreed that it is to

live, it will grow though no food should be given to it. You see that

such a doctrine cannot be maintained; predestination is but a word

without meaning. The Turks themselves, the professors of predestination,

are not convinced of the doctrine, for in that case medicine would not

exist in Turkey, and a man residing in a third floor would not take the

trouble of going down stairs, but would immediately throw himself out of

the window. You see to what a string of absurdities that will lead?"

The following traits are characteristic of the man. In the common

intercourse of life, and his familiar conversation, Napoleon mutilated

the names most familiar to him, even French names; yet this would not

have occurred on any public occasion. He has been heard many times

during his walks to repeat the celebrated speech of Augustus in

Corneille's tragedy, and he has never missed saying, "Take a seat,

Sylla," instead of Cinna. He would frequently create names according to

his fancy, and when he had once adopted them they remained fixed in his

mind, although they were pronounced properly a hundred times a day in

his hearing; but he would have been struck if others had used them as he

had altered them. It was the same thing with respect to orthography;

in general he did not attend to it, yet if the copies which were made

contained any faults of spelling he would have complained of it. One day

Napoleon said to Las Cases, "Your orthography is not correct, is it?"

This question gave occasion to a sarcastic smile from a person who stood

near, who thought it was meant to convey a reproach. The Emperor, who

saw this, continued, "At least I suppose it is not, for a man occupied

with important public business, a minister, for instance, cannot and

need not attend to orthography. His ideas must flow faster than his hand

can trace them, he has only time to dwell upon essentials; he must put

words in letters, and phrases in words, and let the scribes make it out

afterwards." Napoleon indeed left a great deal for the copyists to

do; he was their torment; his handwriting actually resembled

hieroglyphics--he often could not decipher it himself. Las Cases' son

was one day reading to him a chapter of The Campaign of Italy; on a

sudden he stopped short, unable to make out the writing. "The little

blockhead," said Napoleon, "cannot read his own handwriting."--"It is

not mine, Sire."--"And whose, then?"--"Your Majesty's."--"How so,

you little rogue; do you mean to insult me?" The Emperor took the

manuscript, tried a long while to read it, and at last threw it down,

saying, "He is right; I cannot tell myself what is written." He has

often sent the copyists to Las Cases to read what he had himself been

unable to decipher.

We are now approaching the last melancholy epoch of Napoleon's life,

when he first felt the ravages of that malady which finally put a period

to his existence. Occasional manifestations of its presence had been

exhibited for some years, but his usual health always returned after

every attack, and its fatal nature was not suspected, although Napoleon

himself had several times said that he should die of a scirrhus in the

pylorus, the disease which killed his father, and which the physicians

of Montpelier declared would be hereditary in his family. About the

middle of the year 1818 it was observed that his health grew gradually

worse, and it was thought proper by O'Meara to report to the Governor

the state in which he was. Even on these occasions Napoleon seized the

opportunity for renewing his claim to the title of Emperor. He insisted

that the physician should not send any bulletin whatever unless he

named him in it by his Imperial designation. O'Meara explained that

the instructions of his Government and the orders of Sir Hudson Lowe

prohibited him from using the term; but it was in vain. After some

difficulty it was agreed upon that the word "patient" should be used

instead of the title of General, which caused so much offence, and this

substitution got rid of the difficulty.

O'Meara afterwards proposed to call in the assistance of Dr. Baxter, the

principal medical officer of the island, but this offer Napoleon refused

at once, alleging that, although "it was true he looked like an honest

man, he was too much attached to that hangman" (Lows), he also persisted

in rejecting the aid of medicine, and determined to take no exercise

out-of-doors as long as he should be subjected to the challenge of

sentinels. To a representation that his determination might convert

a curable to a fatal malady, he replied, "I shall at least have the

consolation that my death will be an eternal dishonour to the English

nation who sent me to this climate to die under the hands of . . ."

An important incident in Napoleon's monotonous life was the removal

of O'Meara, who had attended him as his physician from the time of his

arrival on the island. The removal of this gentleman, was occasioned

by the suspicion of similar conduct to that which brought about the

dismissal of Las Cases twenty months previously, namely, the carrying

on secret correspondence with persons out of the island. Napoleon

complained bitterly of the loss of his medical attendant, though he had

most assuredly very seldom attended to his advice, and repelled as an

insult the proffered assistance of Dr. Baxter, insinuating that the

Governor wished to have his life in his power. Some time after Dr.

Stokes, a naval surgeon, was called in, but withdrawn and eventually

tried by court-martial for furnishing information to the French at

Longwood. After this Napoleon expressed his determination to admit no

more visits from any English physician whatever, and Cardinal Fesch was

requested by the British Ministry to select some physician of reputation

in Italy who should be sent to St. Helena to attend on Napoleon. The

choice fell on Dr. Antommarchi, a young surgeon, who was accordingly

sent to St. Helena in company with two Catholic priests, the Abbes

Buonavita and Vignale, and two domestics, in compliance with the wish of

Napoleon to that effect. The party reached the island on 10th September

1819.

On his first visit the Emperor overwhelmed Antommarchi with questions

concerning his mother and family, the Princess Julie (wife of Joseph),

and Las Cases, whom Antommarchi had seen in passing through Frankfort,

expatiated with satisfaction on the retreat which he had at one time

meditated in Corsica, entered into some discussions with the doctor on

his profession, and then directed his attention to the details of his

disorder. While he examined the symptoms the Emperor continued his

remarks. They were sometimes serious, sometimes lively; kindness,

indignation, gaiety, were expressed by turns in his words and in his

countenance. "Well, doctor!" he exclaimed, "what is your opinion? Am I

to trouble much longer the digestion of Kings?"--"You will survive them,

Sire."--"Aye, I believe you; they will not be able to subject to the

ban of Europe the fame of our victories, it will traverse ages, it will

proclaim the conquerors and the conquered, those who were generous

and those who were not so; posterity will judge, I do not dread its

decision."--"This after-life belongs to you of right. Your name will

never be repeated with admiration without recalling those inglorious

warriors so basely leagued against a single man. But you are not near

your end, you have yet a long career to run."--"No, Doctor! I

cannot hold out long under this frightful climate."--"Your excellent

constitution is proof against its pernicious effects."--"It once did not

yield to the strength of mind with which nature has endowed me, but the

transition from a life of action to a complete seclusion has ruined all.

I have grown fat, my energy is gone, the bow is unstrung." Antommarchi

did not try to combat an opinion but too well-founded, but diverted the

conversation to another subject. "I resign myself," said Napoleon, "to

your direction. Let medicine give the order, I submit to its decisions.

I entrust my health to your care. I owe you the detail of the habits I

have acquired, of the affections to which I am subject.

"The hours at which I obey the injunctions of nature are in general

extremely irregular. I sleep, I eat according to circumstances or

the situation in which I am placed; my sleep is ordinarily sound and

tranquil. If pain or any accident interrupt it I jump out of bed, call

for a light, walk, set to work, and fix my attention on some subject;

sometimes I remain in the dark, change my apartment, lie down in another

bed, or stretch myself on the sofa. I rise at two, three, or four in

the morning; I call for some one to keep me company, amuse myself with

recollections or business, and wait for the return of day. I go out as

soon as dawn appears, take a stroll, and when the sun shows itself I

reenter and go to bed again, where I remain a longer or shorter time,

according as the day promises to turn out. If it is bad, and I feel

irritation and uneasiness, I have recourse to the method I have just

mentioned. I change my posture, pass from my bed to the sofa, from the

sofa to the bed, seek and find a degree of freshness. I do not describe

to you my morning costume; it has nothing to do with the sufferings I

endure, and besides, I do not wish to deprive you of the pleasure of

your surprise when you see it. These ingenious contrivances carry me on

to nine or ten o'clock, sometimes later. I then order the breakfast

to be brought, which I take from time to time in my bath, but most

frequently in the garden. Either Bertrand or Montholon keep me company,

often both of them. Physicians have the right of regulating the table;

it is proper that I should give you an account of mine. Well, then, a

basin of soup, two plates of meat, one of vegetables, a salad when I

can take it, compose the whole service; half a bottle of claret; which I

dilute with a good deal of water, serves me for drink; I drink a

little of it pure towards the end of the repast. Sometimes, when I feel

fatigued, I substitute champagne for claret, it is a certain means of

giving a fillip to the stomach."

The doctor having expressed his surprise at Napoleon's temperance, he

replied, "In my marches with the army of Italy I never failed to put

into the bow of my saddle a bottle of wine, some bread, and a cold fowl.

This provision sufficed for the wants of the day,--I may even say that

I often shared it with others. I thus gained time. I eat fast, masticate

little, my meals do not consume my hours. This is not what you will

approve the most, but in my present situation what signifies it? I

am attacked with a liver complaint, a malady which is general in this

horrible climate."

Antommarchi, having gained his confidence, now became companion as well

as physician to the Emperor, and sometimes read with him. He eagerly

turned over the newspapers when they arrived, and commented freely on

their contents. "It is amusing," he would say, "to see the sage measures

resorted to by the Allies to make people forget my tyranny!" On one

occasion he felt more languid than ordinary, and lighting on the

'Andromache' of Racine; he took up the book, began to read, but soon

let it drop from his hands. He had come to the famous passage where the

mother describes her being allowed to see her son once a day.

He was moved, covered his face with his hands, and, saying that he

was too much affected, desired to be left alone. He grew calmer, fell

asleep, and when he awoke, desired Antommarchi to be called again. He

was getting ready to shave, and the doctor was curious to witness the

operation. He was in his shirt, his head uncovered, with two valets at

his side, one holding the glass and a towel, the other the rest of the

apparatus. The Emperor spread the soap over one side of his face, put

down the brush, wiped his hands and mouth, took a razor dipped in hot

water and shaved the right side with singular dexterity. "Is it done,

Noverraz?"--"Yes, Sire."--"Well, then, face about. Come, villain, quick,

stand still." The light fell on the left side, which, after applying

the lather, he shaved in the same manner and with the same dexterity.

He drew his hand over his chin. "Raise the glass. Am I quite right?"--

"Quite so."--"Not a hair has escaped me: what say you?"--"No, Sire,"

replied the valet de chambre. "No! I think I perceive one. Lift up the

glass, place it in a better light. How, rascal! Flattery? You deceive me

at St. Helena? On this rock? You, too, are an accomplice." With this he

gave them both a box on the ear, laughed, and joked in the most pleasant

manner possible.

An almost incredible instance of the determination of the exiles to make

as many enemies as they possibly could was exhibited to Antommarchi on

his arrival at Longwood. He states that before he was permitted to enter

on his functions as surgeon he was required to take an oath that

he would not communicate with the English, and that he would more

especially avoid giving them the least information respecting the

progress of Napoleon's disorder. He was not allowed to see his

illustrious patient until the oath was taken. After exacting such an

oath from his physician the attendants of Bonaparte had little right to

complain, as they did, that the real state of his disorder was purposely

concealed from the world by the English Government. It is more than

probable that the constant attempts observed to throw mystery and

secrecy around them must have tended to create the suspicion of escape,

and to increase the consequent rigour of the regulations maintained by

the Governor.

Soon after the arrival of the priests Napoleon determined, we may

suppose partly in jest, to elevate one of them to the dignity of bishop,

and he chose for a diocese the Jumna. "The last box brought from Europe

had been broken open," says Antommarchi; "it contained the vases and

church ornaments. "Stop," said Napoleon, "this is the property of St.

Peter; have a care who touches it; send for the abbes--but talking of

the abbes, do you know that the Cardinal [Fesch] is a poor creature? He

sends me missionaries and propagandists, as if I were a penitent, and

as if a whole string of their Eminences had not always attended at my

chapel. I will do what he ought to have done; I possess the right of

investiture, and I shall use it." Abbe Buonavita was just entering the

room, "I give you the episcopal mitre."--"Sire!"--"I restore it to you;

you shall wear it in spite of the heretics; they will not again take

it from you."-- "But, Sire!"--"I cannot add to it so rich a benefice as

that of Valencia, which Suchet had given you, but at any rate your

see shall be secure from the chances of battles. I appoint you Bishop

of--let me see--of the Jumna. The vast countries through which that

river flows were on the point of entering into alliance with me--all

was in readiness, all were going to march. We were about to give the

finishing blow to England." The speech concluded with an order to Count

Montholon to procure the necessary dress for the abbe in order to strike

with awe all the heretics. The upshot of the whole was, that the scarlet

and violet coloured clothes necessary to furnish the new bishop with

the only valuable portion of his temporalities, his dress, could not be

procured in the island, and the abbe remained an abbe in spite of the

investiture, and the whole farce was forgotten.

We occasionally see the Exile in better moods, when he listened to the

voice of reason, and thought less of the annoyances inseparable from

the state to which his ambition, or as he himself always averred, his

destiny, had reduced him. He had for a long time debarred himself from

all exercise, having, as he expressed it, determined not to expose

himself to the insult of being accompanied on his ride by a British

officer; or the possibility of being challenged by a sentinel. One

day when he complained of his inactive life his medical attendant

recommended the exercise of digging the ground; the idea was instantly

seized upon by Napoleon with his characteristic ardour. Noverraz, his

chasseur, who had been formerly accustomed to rural occupations, was

honoured with the title of head gardener, and under his directions

Napoleon proceeded to work with great vigour. He sent for Antommarchi

to witness his newly acquired dexterity in the use of the spade. "Well,

Doctor," said he to him, "are you satisfied with your patient--is he

obedient enough? This is better than your pills, Dottoraccio; you shall

not physic me any more." At first he soon got fatigued, and complained

much of the weakness of his body and delicacy of his hands; but "never

mind," said he, "I have always accustomed my body to bend to my will,

and I shall bring it to do so now, and inure it to the exercise." He

soon grew fond of his new employment, and pressed all the inhabitants of

Longwood into the service. Even the ladies had great difficulty to avoid

being set to work. He laughed at them, urged them, entreated them, and

used all his arts of persuasion, particularly with Madame Bertrand. He

assured her that the exercise of gardening was much better than all the

doctor's prescriptions--that it was in fact one of his prescriptions.

But in this instance his eloquence failed in its effect, and he was

obliged, though with much reluctance, to desist from his attempts to

make lady gardeners.

But in recompense he had willing labourers on the part of the gentlemen.

Antommarchi says, "The Emperor urged us, excited us, and everything

around us soon assumed a different aspect. Here was an excavation, there

a basin or a road. We made alleys, grottoes, cascades; the appearance

of the ground had now some life and diversity. We planted willows, oaks,

peach-trees, to give a little shade round the house. Having completed

the ornamental part of our labours we turned to the useful. We divided

the ground, we manured it, and sowed it with abundance of beans, peas,

and every vegetable that grows in the island." In the course of their

labours they found that a tank would be of great use to hold water,

which might be brought by pipes from a spring at a distance of 3000

feet.

For this laborious attempt it was absolutely necessary to procure

additional forces, and a party of Chinese, of whom there are many on

the island, was engaged to help them. These people were much amused at

Napoleon's working-dress, which was a jacket and large trousers, with

an enormous straw hat to shield him from the sun, and sandals. He pitied

those poor fellows who suffered from the heat of the sun, and made each

of them a present of a large hat like his own. After much exertion the

basin was finished, the pipes laid, and the water began to flow into it.

Napoleon stocked his pond with gold-fish, which he placed in it with

his own hands. He would remain by the pond for hours together, at a time

when he was so weak that he could hardly support himself. He would amuse

himself by following the motion of the fishes, throwing bread to

them, studying their ways, taking an interest in their loves and

their quarrels, and endeavouring with anxiety to find out points of

resemblance between their motives and those of mankind. He often sent

for his attendants to communicate his remarks to them, and directed

their observations to any peculiarities he had observed. His favourites

at last sickened, they struggled, floated on the water, and died

one after another. He was deeply affected by this, and remarked to

Antommarchi, "You see very well that there is a fatality attached to me.

Everything I love, everything that belongs to me, is immediately struck:

heaven and mankind unite to persecute me." From this time he visited

them daily in spite of sickness or bad weather, nor did his anxiety

diminish until it was discovered that a coppery cement, with which the

bottom of the basin was plastered, had poisoned the water. The fish

which were not yet dead were then taken out and put into a tub.

Napoleon appears to have taken peculiar interest in observing the

instincts of animals, and comparing their practices and propensities

with those of men. A rainy day, during which the digging of the tank

could not be proceeded with, gave occasion for some observations on

the actions of a number of ants, which had made a way into his bedroom,

climbed upon a table on which some sugar usually stood, and taken

possession of the sugar-basin. He would not allow the industrious little

insects to be disturbed in their plans; but he now and then moved the

sugar, followed their manoeuvres, and admired the activity and industry

they displayed until they found it again; this they had been sometimes

even two or three days in effecting, though they always succeeded

at last. He then surrounded the basin with water, but the ants still

reached it; he finally employed vinegar, and the insects were unable to

get through the new obstacle.

But the slight activity of mind that now remained to him was soon to be

exchanged for the languor and gloom of sickness, with but few intervals

between positive suffering and the most distressing lowness of spirits.

Towards the end of the year 1820 he walked with difficulty, and required

assistance even to reach a chair in his garden. He became nearly

incapable of the slightest action; his legs swelled; the pains in his

side and back were increased; he was troubled with nausea, profuse

sweats, loss of appetite, and was subject to frequent faintings. "Here

I am, Doctor," said he one day, "at my last cast. No more energy and

strength left: I bend under the load . . . I am going. I feel that my

hour is come."

Some days after, as he lay on his couch, he feelingly expressed to

Antommarchi the vast change which had taken place within him. He

recalled for a few moments the vivid recollection of past times, and

compared his former energy with the weakness which he was then sinking

under.

The news of the death of his sister Elisa also affected him deeply.

After a struggle with his feelings, which had nearly overpowered him,

he rose, supported himself on Antommarchi's arm; and regarding him

steadfastly, said, "Well, Doctor! you see Elisa has just shown me the

way. Death, which seemed to have forgotten my family, has begun to

strike it; my turn cannot be far off. What think you?"--"Your Majesty

is in no danger: you are still reserved for some glorious enterprise."--

"Ah, Doctor! I have neither strength nor activity nor energy; I am no

longer Napoleon. You strive in vain to give me hopes, to recall life

ready to expire. Your care can do nothing in spite of fate: it is

immovable: there is no appeal from its decisions. The next person of

our family who will follow Elisa to the tomb is that great Napoleon who

hardly exists, who bends under the yoke, and who still, nevertheless

keeps Europe in alarm. Behold, my good friend, how I look on my

situation! As for me, all is over: I repeat it to you, my days will soon

close on this miserable rock."--"We returned," says Antommarchi, "into

his chamber. Napoleon lay down' in bed. 'Close my windows,' he said;

leave me to myself; I will send for you by-and-by. What a delightful

thing rest is! I would not exchange it for all the thrones in the world!

What an alteration! How I am fallen! I, whose activity was boundless,

whose mind never slumbered, am now plunged into a lethargic stupor,

so that it requires an effort even to raise my eyelids. I sometimes

dictated to four or five secretaries, who wrote as fast as words could

be uttered, but then I was NAPOLEON--now I am no longer anything. My

strength--my faculties forsake me. I do not live--I merely exist.'"

From this period the existence of Napoleon was evidently drawing to a

close, his days were counted. Whole hours, and even days, were either

passed in gloomy silence or spent in pain, accompanied by distressing

coughs, and all the melancholy signs of the approach of death. He made

a last effort to ride a few miles round Longwood on the 22d of January

1821, but it exhausted his strength, and from that time his only

exercise was in the calash. Even that slight motion soon became too

fatiguing.

He now kept his room, and no longer stirred out. His disorder and his

weakness increased upon him. He still was able to eat something, but

very little, and with a worse appetite than ever. "Ah! doctor," he

exclaimed, "how I suffer! Why did the cannon-balls spare me only to

die in this deplorable manner? I that was so active, so alert, can now

scarcely raise my eyelids!"

His last airing was on the 17th of March. The disease increased,

and Antommarchi, who was much alarmed, obtained with some difficulty

permission to see an English physician. He held a consultation, on the

26th of March, with Dr. Arnott of the 20th Regiment; but Napoleon still

refused to take medicine, and often repeated his favourite saying:

"Everything that must happen is written down, our hour is marked, and

it is not in our power to take from time a portion which nature refuses

us." He continued to grow worse, and at last consented to see Dr.

Arnott, whose first visit was on the 1st of April. He was introduced

into the chamber of the patient, which was darkened, and into which

Napoleon did not suffer any light to be brought, examined his pulse and

the other symptoms, and was requested to repeat his visit the next

day. Napoleon was now within a month of his death, and although he

occasionally spoke with the eloquence and vehemence he had so often

exhibited, his mind was evidently giving way. The reported appearance of

a comet was taken as a token of his death. He was excited, and exclaimed

with emotion, "A comet! that was the precursor of the death of Caesar."

On the 3d of April the symptoms of the disorder had become so alarming

that Antommarchi informed Bertrand and Montholon he thought Napoleon's

danger imminent, and that Napoleon ought to take steps to put his

affairs in order. He was now attacked by fever and by violent thirst,

which often interrupted his sleep in the night. On the 14th Napoleon

found himself in better spirits, and talked with Dr. Arnott on the

merits of Marlborough, whose Campaigns he desired him to present to

the 20th Regiment, learning that they did not, possess a copy in their

library.

On the 15th of April Napoleon's doors were closed to all but Montholon

and Marchand, and it appeared that he had been making his Will. On the

19th he was better, was free from pain, sat up, and ate a little. He was

in good spirits, and wished them to read to him. As General Montholon

with the others expressed his satisfaction at this improvement he smiled

gently, and said, "You deceive yourselves, my friends: I am, it is true,

somewhat better, but I feel no less that my end draws near. When I am

dead you will have the agreeable consolation of returning to Europe.

One will meet his relations, another his friends; and as for me, I shall

behold my brave companions-in-arms in the Elysian Fields. Yes," he went

on, raising his voice, "Kléber, Desaix, Bessières, Duroc, Ney, Murat,

Massena, Berthier, all will come to greet me: they will talk to me of

what we have done together. I will recount to them the latest events

of my life. On seeing me they will become once more intoxicated with

enthusiasm and glory. We will discourse of our wars with the Scipios,

Hannibal, Caesar, and Frederick--there will be a satisfaction in that:

unless," he added, laughing bitterly, "they should be alarmed below to

see so many warriors assembled together!"

He addressed Dr. Arnott, who came in while he was speaking, on the

treatment he had received from England said that she had violated every

sacred right in making him prisoner, that he should have been much

better treated in Russia, Austria, or even Prussia; that he was sent

to the horrible rock of St. Helena on purpose to die; that he had been

purposely placed on the most uninhabitable spot of that inhospitable

island, and kept six years a close prisoner, and that Sir Hudson Lowe

was his executioner. He concluded with these words: "You will end like

the proud republic of Venice; and I, dying upon this dreary rock,

away from those I hold dear, and deprived of everything, bequeath the

opprobrium and horror of my death to the reigning family of England."

On the 21st Napoleon gave directions to the priest who was in attendance

as to the manner in which he would be placed to lie in state after his

death; and finding his religious attendant had never officiated in

such a solemnity he gave the most minute instructions for the mode of

conducting it. He afterwards declared that he would die, as he was born

a Catholic, and desired that mass should be said by his body, and the

customary ceremonies should be performed every day until his burial. The

expression of his face was earnest and convulsive; he saw Antommarchi

watching the contractions which he underwent, when his eye caught some

indication that displeased him. "You are above these weaknesses; but

what would you have? I am neither philosopher nor physician. I believe

in God; I am of the religion of my fathers; every one cannot be an

atheist who pleases." Then turning to the priest--"I was born in the

Catholic religion. I wish to fulfil the duties which it imposes, and to

receive the succour which it administers. You will say mass every day in

the adjoining chapel, and you will expose the Holy Sacrament for forty

hours. After I am dead you will place your altar at my head in the

funeral chamber; you will continue to celebrate mass, and perform all

the customary ceremonies; you will not cease till I am laid in

the ground." The Abbe (Vignale) withdrew; Napoleon reproved his

fellow-countryman for his supposed incredulity. "Can you carry it

to this point? Can you disbelieve in God? Everything proclaims His

existence; and, besides, the greatest minds have thought so."--"But,

Sire, I have never called it in question. I was attending to the

progress of the fever: your Majesty fancied you saw in my features an

expression which they had not."-- "You are a physician, Doctor," he

replied laughingly; "these folks," he added, half to himself, "are

conversant only with matter; they will believe in nothing beyond."

In the afternoon of the 25th he was better; but being left alone, a

sudden fancy possessed him to eat. He called for fruits, wine, tried a

biscuit, then swallowed some champagne, seized a bunch of grapes, and

burst into a fit of laughter as soon as he saw Antommarchi return. The

physician ordered away the dessert, and found fault with the maitre

d'hotel; but the mischief was done, the fever returned and became

violent. The Emperor was now on his death-bed, but he testified concern

for every one. He asked Antommarchi if 500 guineas would satisfy the

English physician, and if he himself would like to serve Maria Louisa in

quality of a physician? "She is my wife, the first Princess in Europe,

and after me you should serve no one else." Antommarchi expressed his

acknowledgments. The fever continued unabated, with violent thirst and

cold in the feet. On the 27th he determined to remove from the small

chamber into the salon. They were preparing to carry him. "No," he

said, "not until I am dead; for the present it will be sufficient if you

support me."

Between the 27th and 28th the Emperor passed a very bad night; the fever

increased, coldness spread over his limbs, his strength was quite gone.

He spoke a few words of encouragement to Antommarchi; then in a tone

of perfect calmness and composure he delivered to him the following

instructions: "After my death, which cannot be far off, I wish you to

open my body: I wish also, nay, I require, that you will not suffer any

English physician to touch me. If, however, you find it indispensable to

have some one to assist you, Dr. Arnott is the only one I am willing

you should employ. I am desirous, further, that you should take out

my heart, that you put it in spirits of wine, and that you carry it to

Parma to my dear Maria Louisa: you will tell her how tenderly I have

loved her, that I have never ceased to love her; and you will report to

her all that you have witnessed, all that relates to my situation and my

death. I recommend you, above all, carefully to examine my stomach, to

make an exact detailed report of it, which you will convey to my son.

The vomitings which succeed each other without intermission lead me

to suppose that the stomach is the one of my organs which is the most

deranged, and I am inclined to believe that it is affected with the

disease which conducted my father to the grave,--I mean a cancer in

the lower stomach. What think you?" His physician hesitating, he

continued--"I have not doubted this since I found the sickness become

frequent and obstinate. It is nevertheless well worthy of remark that

I have always had a stomach of iron, that I have felt no inconvenience

from this organ till latterly, and that whereas my father was fond of

high-seasoned dishes and spirituous liquors, I have never been able to

make use of them. Be it as it may, I entreat, I charge you to neglect

nothing in such an examination, in order that when you see my son you

may communicate the result of your observations to him, and point out

the most suitable remedies. When I am no more you will repair to Rome;

you will find out my mother and my family. You will give them an account

of all you have observed relative to my situation, my disorder, and my

death on this remote and miserable rock; you will tell them that the

great Napoleon expired in the most deplorable state, wanting everything,

abandoned to himself and his glory." It was ten in the forenoon; after

this the fever abated, and he fell into a sort of doze.

The Emperor passed a very bad night, and could not sleep. He grew

light-headed and talked incoherently; still the fever had abated in its

violence. Towards morning the hiccough began to torment him, the fever

increased, and he became quite delirious. He spoke of his complaint, and

called upon Baxter (the Governor's physician) to appear, to come and see

the truth of his reports. Then all at once fancying O'Meara present,

he imagined a dialogue between them, throwing a weight of odium on the

English policy. The fever having subsided, his hearing became distinct;

he grew calm, and entered into some further conversation on what was to

be done after his death. He felt thirsty, and drank a large quantity

of cold water. "If fate should determine that I shall recover, I would

raise a monument on the spot where this water gushes out: I would crown

the fountain in memory of the comfort which it has afforded me. If I

die, and they should not proscribe my remains as they have proscribed my

person, I should desire to be buried with my ancestors in the cathedral

of Ajaccio, in Corsica. But if I am not allowed to repose where I

was born, why, then, let them bury me at the spot where this fine and

refreshing water flows." This request was afterwards complied with.

He remained nearly in the same state for some days. On the 1st of May he

was delirious nearly all day, and suffered dreadful vomitings. He took

two small biscuits and a few drops of red wine. On the 2d he was rather

quieter, and the alarming symptoms diminished a little. At 2 P.M.,

however, he had a paroxysm of fever, and became again delirious.

He talked to himself of France, of his dear son, of some of his old

companions-in-arms. At times he was evidently in imagination on the

field of battle. "Stengel!" he cried; "Desaix! Massena! Ah! victory is

declaring itself! run--rush forward--press the charge!--they are ours!"

"I was listening," says Dr. Antommarchi, "and following the progress

of that painful agony in the deepest distress, when Napoleon, suddenly

collecting his strength, jumped on the floor, and would absolutely go

down into the garden to take a walk. I ran to receive him in my arms,

but his legs bent under the weight of his body; he fell backwards, and I

had the mortification of being unable to prevent his falling. We raised

him up and entreated him to get into bed again; but he did not recognise

anybody, and began to storm and fall into a violent passion. He was

unconscious, and anxiously desired to walk in the garden. In the course

of the day, however, he became more collected, and again spoke of his

disease, and the precise anatomical examination he wished to be made of

his body after death. He had a fancy that this might be useful to his

son." "The physicians of Montpelier," he said to Antommarchi, "announced

that the scirrhosis in the pylorus would be hereditary in my family;

their report is, I believe, in the hands of my brother Louis; ask for it

and compare it with your own observations on my case, in order that my

son may be saved from this cruel disease. You will see him, Doctor, and

you will point out to him what is best to do, and will save him from

the cruel sufferings I now experience. This is the last service I ask of

you." Later in the day he said, "Doctor, I am very ill--I feel that I am

going to die."

The last time Napoleon spoke, except to utter a few short unconnected

words, was on the 3d of May. It was in the afternoon, and he had

requested his attendants, in case of his losing consciousness, not to

allow any English physician to approach him except Dr. Arnott. "I am

going to die," said he, "and you to return to Europe; I must give you

some advice as to the line of conduct you are to pursue. You have shared

my exile, you will be faithful to my memory, and will not do anything

that may injure it. I have sanctioned all proper principles, and

infused them into my laws and acts; I have not omitted a single one.

Unfortunately, however, the circumstances in which I was placed were

arduous, and I was obliged to act with severity, and to postpone the

execution of my plans. Our reverses occurred; I could not unbend the

bow; and France has been deprived of the liberal institutions I intended

to give her. She judges me with indulgence; she feels grateful for my

intentions; she cherishes my name and my victories. Imitate her example,

be faithful to the opinions we have defended, and to the glory we have

acquired: any other course can only lead to shame and confusion."

From this moment it does not appear that Napoleon showed any signs of

understanding what was going forward around him. His weakness increased

every moment, and a harassing hiccough continued until death took

place. The day before that event a fearful tempest threatened to destroy

everything about Longwood. The plantations were torn up by the roots,

and it was particularly remarked that a willow, under which Napoleon

usually sat to enjoy the fresh air, had fallen. "It seemed," says

Antommarchi, "as if none of the things the Emperor valued were to

survive him." On the day of his death Madame Bertrand, who had not left

his bedside, sent for her children to take a last farewell of Napoleon.

The scene which ensued was affecting: the children ran to the bed,

kissed the hands of Napoleon, and covered them with tears. One of the

children fainted, and all had to be carried from the spot. "We all,"

says Antommarchi, "mixed our lamentations with theirs: we all felt the

same anguish, the same cruel foreboding of the approach of the fatal

instant, which every minute accelerated." The favourite valet, Noverraz,

who had been for some time very ill, when he heard of the state in which

Napoleon was, caused himself to be carried downstairs, and entered the

apartment in tears. He was with great difficulty prevailed upon to leave

the room: he was in a delirious state, and he fancied his master was

threatened with danger, and was calling upon him for assistance: he said

he would not leave him but would fight and die for him. But Napoleon was

now insensible to the tears of his servants; he had scarcely spoken for

two days; early in the morning he articulated a few broken sentences,

among which the only words distinguishable were, "tete d'armee," the

last that ever left his lips, and which indicated the tenor of his

fancies. The day passed in convulsive movements and low moanings, with

occasionally a loud shriek, and the dismal scene closed just before six

in the evening. A slight froth covered his lips, and he was no more.

After he had been dead about six hours Antommarchi had the body

carefully washed and laid out on another bed. The executors then

proceeded to examine two codicils which were directed to be opened

immediately after the Emperor's decease. The one related to the

gratuities which he intended out of his private purse for the different

individuals of his household, and to the alms which he wished to be

distributed among the poor of St. Helena; the other contained his last

wish that "his ashes should repose on the banks of the Seine, in the

midst of the French people whom he had loved so well." The executors

notified this request to the Governor, who stated that his orders were

that the body was to, remain on the island. On the next day, after

taking a plaster cast of the face of Napoleon, Antommarchi proceeded to

open the body in the presence of Sir Thomas Reade, some staff officers,

and eight medical men.

The Emperor had intended his hair (which was of a chestnut colour) for

presents to the different members of his family, and it was cut off and

kept for this purpose.

He had grown considerably thinner in person during the last few months.

After his death his face and body were pale, but without alteration or

anything of a cadaverous appearance. His physiognomy was fine, the eyes

fast closed, and you would have said that the Emperor was not dead, but

in a profound sleep. His mouth retained its expression of sweetness,

though one side was contracted into a bitter smile. Several scars were

seen on his body. On opening it it was found that the liver was not

affected, but that there was that cancer of the stomach which he had

himself suspected, and of which his father and two of his sisters died.

This painful examination having been completed, Antommarchi took out

the heart and placed it in a silver vase filled with spirits of wine;

he then directed the valet de chambre to dress the body as he had been

accustomed in the Emperor's lifetime, with the grand cordon of the

Legion of Honour across the breast, in the green uniform of a colonel of

the Chasseurs of the Guard, decorated with the orders of the Legion of

Honour and of the Iron Crown, long boots with little spurs, finally, his

three cornered hat. Thus habited, Napoleon was removed in the afternoon

of the 6th out of the hall, into which the crowd rushed immediately.

The linen which had been employed in the dissection of the body, though

stained with blood, was eagerly seized, torn in pieces, and distributed

among the bystanders.

Napoleon lay in state in his little bedroom which had been converted

into a funeral chamber. It was hung with black cloth brought from the

town. This circumstance first apprised the inhabitants of his death. The

corpse, which had not been embalmed, and which was of an extraordinary

whiteness, was placed on one of the campbeds, surrounded with little

white curtains, which served for a sarcophagus. The blue cloak which

Napoleon had worn at the battle of Marengo covered it. The feet and

the hands were free; the sword on the left side, and a crucifix on the

breast. At some distance was the silver vase containing the heart and

stomach, which were not allowed to be removed. At the back of the head

was an altar, where the priest in his stole and surplice recited the

customary prayers. All the individuals of Napoleon's suite, officers

and domestics, dressed in mourning, remained standing on the left. Dr.

Arnott had been charged to see that no attempt was made to convey away

the body.

For some-hours the crowd had besieged the doors; they were admitted,

and beheld the inanimate remains of Napoleon in respectful silence. The

officers of the 20th and 66th Regiments were admitted first, then the

others. The following day (the 7th) the throng was greater. Antommarchi

was not allowed to take the heart of Napoleon to Europe with him; he

deposited that and the stomach in two vases, filled with alcohol and

hermetically sealed, in the corners of the coffin in which the corpse

was laid. This was a shell of zinc lined with white satin, in which was

a mattress furnished with a pillow. There not being room for the hat to

remain on his head, it was placed at his feet, with some eagles, pieces

of French money coined during his reign, a plate engraved with his arms,

etc. The coffin was closed, carefully soldered up, and then fixed in

another case of mahogany, which was enclosed in a third made of lead,

which last was fastened in a fourth of mahogany, which was sealed up and

fastened with screws. The coffin was exhibited in the same place as the

body had been, and was also covered with the cloak that Napoleon had

worn at the battle of Marengo. The funeral was ordered for the morrow,

8th May, and the troops were to attend in the morning by break of day.

This took place accordingly: the Governor arrived first, the

Rear-Admiral soon after, and shortly all the authorities, civil and

military, were assembled at Longwood. The day was fine, the people

crowded the roads, music resounded from the heights; never had spectacle

so sad and solemn been witnessed in these remote regions. At half-past

twelve the grenadiers took hold of the coffin, lifted it with

difficulty, and succeeded in removing it into the great walk in the

garden, where the hearse awaited them. It was placed in the carriage,

covered with a pall of violet-coloured velvet, and with the cloak which

the hero wore at Marengo. The Emperor's household were in mourning. The

cavalcade was arranged by order of the Governor in the following manner:

The Abbe Vignale in his sacerdotal robes, with young Henry Bertrand at

his side, bearing an aspersorium; Doctors Arnott and Antommarchi, the

persons entrusted with the superintendence of the hearse, drawn by four

horses, led by grooms, and escorted by twelve grenadiers without arms,

on each side; these last were to carry the coffin on their shoulders as

soon as the ruggedness of the road prevented the hearse from advancing;

young Napoleon Bertrand, and Marchand, both on foot, and by the side of

the hearse; Counts Bertrand and Montholon on horseback close behind the

hearse; a part of the household of the Emperor; Countess Bertrand with

her daughter Hortense, in a calash drawn by two horses led by hand by

her domestics, who walked by the side of the precipice; the Emperor's

horse led by his piqueur Archambaud; the officers of marine on horseback

and on foot; the officers of the staff on horse-back; the members of

the council of the island in like manner; General Coffin and the Marquis

Montchenu on horseback; the Rear-Admiral and the Governor on horseback;

the inhabitants of the island.

The train set out in this order from Longwood, passed by the barracks,

and was met by the garrison, about 2500 in number, drawn up on the left

of the road as far as Hut's Gate. Military bands placed at different

distances added still more, by the mournful airs which they played, to

the striking solemnity of the occasion. When the train had passed the

troops followed and accompanied it to the burying-place. The dragoons

marched first. Then came the 20th Regiment of infantry, the marines,

the 66th, the volunteers of St. Helena, and lastly, the company of Royal

Artillery, with fifteen pieces of cannon. Lady Lowe and her daughter

were at the roadside at Hut's Gate, in an open carriage drawn by two

horses. They were attended by some domestics in mourning, and followed

the procession at a distance. The fifteen pieces of artillery were

ranged along the road, and the gunners were at their posts ready to

fire. Having advanced about a quarter of a mile beyond Hut's Gate the

hearse stopped, the troops halted and drew up in line of battle by the

roadside. The grenadiers then raised the coffin on their shoulders and

bore it thus to the place of interment, by the new route which had been

made on purpose on the declivity of the mountain. All the attendants

alighted, the ladies descended from their carriages, and the procession

followed the corpse without observing any regular order.

Counts Bertrand and Montholon, Marchand and young Napoleon Bertrand,

carried the four corners of the pall. The coffin was laid down at the

side of the tomb, which was hung with black. Near were seen the cords

and pulleys which were to lower it into the earth. The coffin was then

uncovered, the Abbe Vignale repeated the usual prayers, and the body was

let down into the grave with the feet to the east. The artillery then

fired three salutes in succession of fifteen discharges each. The

Admiral's vessel had fired during the procession twenty-five minute guns

from time to time. A huge stone, which was to have been employed in

the building of the new house of the Emperor, was now used to close his

grave, and was lowered till it rested on a strong stone wall so as not

to touch the coffin. While the grave was closed the crowd seized upon

the willows, which the former presence of Napoleon had already rendered

objects of veneration. Every one was ambitious to possess a branch or

some leaves of these trees which were henceforth to shadow the tomb of

this great man, and to preserve them as a precious relic of so memorable

a scene. The Governor and Admiral endeavoured to prevent this outrage,

but in vain. The Governor, however, surrounded the spot afterwards with

a barricade, where he placed a guard to keep off all intruders. The

tomb of the Emperor was about a league from Longwood. It was of a

quadrangular shape, wider at top than at bottom; the depth about twelve

feet. The coffin was placed on two strong pieces of wood, and was

detached in its whole circumference.

The companions of Napoleon returned to France, and the island gradually

resumed its former quiet state, while the willows weeping over the grave

guarded the ashes of the man for whom Europe had been all too small.

ETEXT EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS:

A sect cannot be destroyed by cannon-balls Ability in making it be

supposed that he really possessed talent Absurdity of interfering with

trifles Admired him more for what he had the fortitude not to do Always

proposing what he knew could not be honourably acceded to An old man's

blessing never yet harmed any one Animated by an unlucky zeal Buried for

the purpose of being dug up Calumny such powerful charms Cause of war

between the United States and England Conquest can only be regarded as

the genius of destruction Demand everything, that you may obtain nothing

Die young, and I shall have some consolatory reflection Every time we

go to war with them we teach them how to beat us Every one cannot be

an atheist who pleases Go to England. The English like wrangling

politicians God in his mercy has chosen Napoleon to be his

representative on earth Grew more angry as his anger was less regarded

Had neither learned nor forgotten anything I have made sovereigns,

but have not wished to be one myself I do not live--I merely exist

Ideologues Immortality is the recollection one leaves Kings feel they

are born general: whatever else they cannot do Kiss the feet of Popes

provided their hands are tied Let women mind their knitting Malice

delights to blacken the characters of prominent men Manufacturers

of phrases More glorious to merit a sceptre than to possess one Most

celebrated people lose on a close view Necessary to let men and things

take their course Nothing is changed in France: there is only

one Frenchman more Put some gold lace on the coats of my virtuous

republicans Religion is useful to the Government Rights of misfortune

are always sacred Something so seductive in popular enthusiasm Strike

their imaginations by absurdities than by rational ideas Submit to

events, that he might appear to command them Tendency to sell the skin

of the bear before killing him That consolation which is always left

to the discontented The boudoir was often stronger than the cabinet The

wish and the reality were to him one and the same thing Those who are

free from common prejudices acquire others To leave behind him no traces

of his existence Treaties of peace no less disastrous than the wars

Treaty, according to custom, was called perpetual Trifles honoured with

too much attention Were made friends of lest they should become enemies

When a man has so much money he cannot have got it honestly Would enact

the more in proportion as we yield Yield to illusion when the truth was

not satisfactory