MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE, EXILE, AND CONVERSATIONS, OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. (continued 3)

THE GOVERNOR’S VISIT TO MY APARTMENT.—CRITIQUE ON VOLTAIRE’S MAHOMET.—REMARKS ON THE MAHOMET OF HISTORY.—GRETRY.

22nd—25th. The weather has been very bad for several days past. The Emperor discontinued his morning walks, and applied himself with greater regularity to his different occupations. He dictated every morning on the events of 1814.

Sir Hudson Lowe came to visit our establishment. He entered my apartment and remained there for a quarter of an hour. He expressed his regret for the inconveniences to which we were exposed; and observed that we were lodged in bivouacs rather than in apartments. He was right; the pitched paper which had been used for the rooms was already beginning to yield to the effect of the hot climate; when the sun shone I was stifled; and when it rained I was inundated. Sir Hudson Lowe said that he would give directions for having these evils remedied as far as possible, and politely added that he had brought with him about 1500 or 2000 French volumes, which, as soon as they were arranged, he should feel great pleasure in placing at our service.

94Racine and Voltaire occupied us for these two or three evenings. Phedre and Athalie, which were read to us by the Emperor, afforded us delightful entertainment; for his observations and commentaries gave twofold interest to what he read.

Mahomet was the subject of deep criticism. “Voltaire,” said the Emperor, "in the character and conduct of his hero, has departed both from nature and history. He has degraded Mahomet, by making him descend to the lowest intrigues. He has represented a great man, who changed the face of the world, acting like a scoundrel, worthy of the gallows. He has no less absurdly travestied the character of Omar, which he has drawn like that of a cut-throat in a melo-drama.

“Voltaire committed a fundamental error in attributing to intrigue that which was solely the result of opinion. Those who have wrought great changes in the world never succeeded by gaining over chiefs, but always by exciting the multitude. The first is the resource of intrigue, and produces only secondary results: the second is the resort of genius, and transforms the face of the universe!”

The Emperor, adverting to the truth of history, expressed his disbelief of all that was attributed to Mahomet. “He must doubtless have been like all chiefs of sects,” said he. “The Koran, having been written thirty years after his death, may have recorded many falsehoods. The Empire of the Prophet, his doctrine and his mission, being established and fulfilled, people might and must have spoken accordingly. Still it remains to be explained how the mighty event which we are certain did take place, namely, the conquest of the world, could have been effected in the short space of fifty or sixty years. By whom was it brought about? By the hordes of the desert, who, as we are informed, were few in number, ignorant, unwarlike, undisciplined, and destitute of system. And yet they opposed the civilized world, abounding in resources. Fanaticism could not have accomplished this miracle, for fanaticism must have had time to establish her dominion, and the career of Mahomet lasted only thirteen years.”—The Emperor 95conceived that, independently of the fortuitous events by which prodigies are sometimes brought about, there must have been in this case some hidden circumstance which has not reached our knowledge. He was of opinion, that Europe had doubtless sunk beneath the results of some primary cause, of which we are ignorant;—that the different races of people, who suddenly issued from the deserts, had perhaps been engaged in long civil wars, in which men of heroic character and great talent might have risen up, and irresistible impulses have been created.

In all that relates to oriental affairs, Napoleon departed materially from the common opinions which are derived from the books usually regarded as authorities. He said that on this subject he entertained ideas peculiar to himself, though perhaps they were not very well defined; and that his expedition to Egypt had brought about this result in his mind.

“But to return to Voltaire,” said he, “it is astonishing how ill his dramas are adapted for reading.—When criticism and good taste are not cheated by pomp of diction and scenic illusion, he immediately loses a thousand per cent. It will scarcely be believed,” continued he, “that, at the time of the Revolution, Voltaire had superseded Corneille and Racine. The beauties of these two great dramatists lay dormant, until the First Consul again brought them into notice.”

The Emperor spoke truly. It is very certain that when he brought us back to civilization, he at the same time restored us to good taste. He revived our national dramatic and lyric master-pieces—even those which had been proscribed for political reasons. Thus Richard Cœur-de-Lion was again brought upon the stage, though a tender interest had as it were consecrated it to the Bourbons.

“Poor Gretry,” said the Emperor, “had long urged me to permit the performance of the opera. It was rather a dangerous experiment, and a violent uproar was predicted. The representation however went off without any unpleasant circumstances, and I ordered it to be repeated for a week or a fortnight in succession, until the 96public were completely tired of it. The charm being broken, Richard continued to be played like any ordinary piece, until the time when the Bourbons in their turn prohibited it, because it excited an interest in my favour.”

This strange vicissitude has, it is said, since been renewed with regard to the drama of Prince Edward the Pretender. The Emperor prohibited the piece on account of the Bourbons, and the Bourbons have recently proscribed it on account of the Emperor.

MY VISIT TO PLANTATION HOUSE.—SIR HUDSON LOWE’S INSINUATIONS.—HIS FIRST ILL-NATURED TRICK.—NAPOLEON’S PROCLAMATIONS.—HIS POLICY IN EGYPT.—HIS CONFESSION OF AN ILLEGAL ACT.

26th.—I went to pay my first visit to Plantation-House. I thought Lady Lowe a pretty and amiable woman, though there was something of the actress about her. Sir Hudson Lowe married a short time before his departure from Europe, for the express purpose, it is said, of having his wife to assist him in doing the honours of the colony. I understand that this lady was the widow of an officer of the regiment which Sir Hudson Lowe formerly commanded, and the sister of a colonel killed at Waterloo.

The Governor showed me the most marked politeness and attention. He remarked that we were old acquaintances, though I was not aware of the fact. He said he had been much gratified by the perusal of M. Lesage’s Atlas, though he had never dreamed that he should one day be introduced to the author. He had first seen the work in Sicily, where he got it smuggled from Naples; and he was inexhaustible in his praises of it. He had frequently read the account of the battle of Jena, with General Blucher, at the head-quarters where he was English commissioner, during the campaign of 1814. He said that he had always admired the liberal expressions and the spirit of moderation and impartiality which were observed towards England; but that at the period when he first examined the work, he had been forcibly struck by some equivocal passages which seemed to breathe hostility to, or censure of, him 97who then governed us. He added that he had accounted for these passages at the time, by my character and doctrines as an emigrant; but that now he thought it a singular contradiction, to find me here in the suite of that person.

Now we had just been informed that Sir Hudson Lowe was, when in Italy, a kind of Head Police Officer, and an active agent of the system of espionage. I could not help suspecting that a certain insinuation was intended to be conveyed in these remarks. If this were really the fact (and the Emperor entertained no doubt of it), then, at least, the business was cleverly managed on his part; and had I felt less self-respect than I did I could have given a smart retort, and the matter might have been carried to some length. I, however, merely replied that he had totally misunderstood the application of the equivocal passages in question, and that they could not have any reference to Napoleon, since I was now attached to his person.

On my return home, I found two French works which Sir H. Lowe had sent to me in the morning, accompanied by a note, in which he expressed a hope that their perusal would gratify the Emperor. Will it be credited? One of these works was the Abbé de Pradt’s Embassy to Warsaw. This I may note down as Sir Hudson Lowe’s first ill-natured trick. The work was a novelty, it is true; but it was a libel solely directed against Napoleon.

As to the other book, when I first saw it, I thought I had found a treasure. I imagined it would indemnify us for the want of the Moniteur, and furnish us with the materials which we stood so much in need of. Its title described it to be a collection of all the proclamations and official documents of Napoleon, as General, First Consul, and Emperor. But it was published by Goldsmith the libeller, and was very incomplete, the most striking bulletins being suppressed, the addresses to the Legislative Body mutilated, &c. But, even in this imperfect state, the collection still remains the noblest monument that any man ever left behind him.

98After dinner the Emperor amused himself by reading, in Goldsmith’s publications, some of his own proclamations to the army of Italy. They produced a powerful impression on himself; they interested and excited him. “And yet,” said he, “they had the impudence to say that I could not write!”

He then turned to his proclamation to the army of Egypt, and joked much about that in which he represented himself as inspired and sent by God. “This was quackery,” said he; “but it was quackery of the highest order. Besides, the proclamation was composed only for the purpose of being translated into high-flown Arabic verse by one of the cleverest of the Sheiks. My French troops,” continued he, “merely laughed at it; and such was their disposition in this respect that, in order to induce them to listen to the bare mention of religion, I was myself obliged to speak very lightly on the subject, to place Jews beside Christians, and Rabbis beside Bishops, &c.”

The assertion made by Goldsmith of Napoleon’s having assumed the Mussulman dress, is totally false. If ever he entered a mosque, he said, it was always as a conqueror, and not as a worshipper. He was of too serious a turn, and had too much self-respect, to act in an equivocal way on this point.

“After all,” continued he, gaily, “it would not have been so very extraordinary, even though circumstances had induced me to embrace Islamism; and, as a good Queen of France once said, ‘You will talk to me so much about it!’... But I must have had good reasons for my conversion. I must have had possession of all as far as the Euphrates, at least. Change of religion for private interest is inexcusable; but it may be pardoned in consideration of immense political results. Henry IV. said, ‘Paris is well worth a mass.’ Will it then be said that the dominion of the East, and perhaps the subjugation of all Asia, were not worth a turban and a pair of trousers? And, in truth, the whole matter was reduced to this; for the grand Sheiks had studied how to render it easy to us. They had smoothed down the greatest obstacles; allowed us the use of wine, and dispensed 99with all corporeal formalities. We should therefore have lost only our small-clothes and hats. I say we; for the army, in the disposition in which it then was, would have entertained but few scruples on the subject, and would have made it a mere matter of jest and laughter. But what would have been the consequence? I should have turned my back on Europe, and the old civilization of the continent would have been bound up. And who would then have troubled themselves about the course of Fate in France, or the regeneration of the age!... Who would have attempted it! Who could have succeeded!”

Continuing his examination of Goldsmith’s book, the Emperor by chance cast his eyes on the Act of the Consuls, by which General Latour Foissac was cashiered for the surrender of Mantua. “This,” said the Emperor, “was, without doubt, an illegal and tyrannical act, but it was a necessary evil; it was the fault of the laws. The general was a hundred and a thousand times guilty, and yet it was doubtful whether we ought to have condemned him. His acquittal would have produced the most fatal effect. We therefore struck the blow with the combined arms of honour and opinion. But I say again, it was a tyrannical act, one of those severe strokes which are sometimes indispensably necessary in a great nation, and under important circumstances.”

THE FIRST INSULT, AND THE FIRST INSTANCE OF CRUELTY, ON THE PART OF THE GOVERNOR.—CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS.

27th.—About two o’clock, the Governor came to Longwood, and asked the Emperor’s leave to summon all the domestics before him. This was the first insult received from the Governor.

He probably wished to ascertain whether their declarations had been spontaneously made. M. de Montholon, who had the superintendence of the servants, informed Sir Hudson Lowe, in the Emperor’s name, that his Majesty had not imagined there could have been any pretence for interference between him and his valet de chambre; that, if his permission were asked, he decidedly 100refused it; that, if the Governor’s instructions required the adoption of this measure, the power was in his own hands, and he might use it: this would only be adding another outrage to those which the English Ministers had already accumulated upon him.

At this moment I joined M. de Montholon and the Governor. I could easily perceive that the two interlocutors were by no means pleased with each other. After a few moments’ silence and evident dissatisfaction, the Governor turned to me, and remarked that pains seemed to be taken to create difficulties and embarrassments in all that regarded the Emperor. I observed that Napoleon’s household having been appointed for him, and not being one of his choice, it was perfectly natural that he should object to any interference with his servants; that, if the Governor had any doubts to clear up relative to the domestics, two courses were open to him. He might resort to indirect and underhand means, which at least would not wound our feelings; or he might employ force and authority; that he possessed these, and there was nothing to restrain him from resorting to them. But I added that the method he was pursuing was quite hostile to our habits. I assured him that the Emperor was desirous of being as accommodating as possible, in the new situation in which he was placed: that he wished to retire within himself, asking for nothing but to be left unannoyed: that fortune had indeed robbed him of his power, but that nothing could deprive him of his self-respect: and, finally, that the consciousness and the delicacy of his dignity were the only things that remained to him of which he could call himself the master.

Meanwhile the servants were assembled, and M. de Montholon and I withdrew, that we might not sanction such a measure by our presence. The Governor spoke to the domestics, and afterwards joined us, saying:—"I am now satisfied. I can inform the English Government that they all signed it freely and voluntarily."

But his ill-humour was not yet fully spent; for he began most inopportunely to extol the beautiful situation of Longwood, observing that, after all, we were not so 101very badly off. And when we remarked that we felt most severely the want of shade in this burning climate, and that there was scarcely a single tree on the Island. “Oh! we will plant some!” said he. Could any thing have been more cutting?... This may be recorded as the first trait of brutality on the part of the Governor. After this he took his leave.

About five o’clock the Emperor got into the carriage to take an airing. As we were going out, he said, “Gentlemen, but for one man I should have been master of the world! And who do you think this one man was?” We were all eagerness to know.... “The AbbéAbbé de Pradt,” continued the Emperor, “the Almoner of the God of War.” On hearing this we could not repress our laughter. “I am serious,” continued he, “the Abbé thus expresses himself in his Embassy to Warsaw; you may read it yourselves. The work is altogether a wicked attack on me, an absolute libel, overwhelming me with insults and calumnies. Whether I happened to be in a particularly good-humour at the time, or whether it was because only truth offends, I know not; but, at all events, I laughed heartily when I read the work, and it afforded me abundant entertainment.”

Misunderstandings occasionally occurred between two individuals of the Emperor’s suite. This circumstance would not have been mentioned here, but that it serves to introduce some characteristic traits of the mind and heart of him to whom we are devoted. The newspapers of the time, and the return of one of the parties to Europe, in consequence of these misunderstandings, however, have already given publicity to the affair.

When I entered the drawing-room, to wait until the announcement of dinner, I found the Emperor speaking with the utmost warmth on this subject, which vexed him exceedingly. His language was energetic and moving.

“You followed me,” said he, “with the view of cheering my captivity! Be brothers, then! otherwise you but annoy me. If you wish to render me happy, be brothers, or you are but a torment to me! You talk of fighting, and that before my face. I am no longer then the object 102of your attention. You forget that the observation of foreigners is fixed on you.... I wish you all to be animated by my spirit.... I wish that every one around me should be happy, and share the few enjoyments that yet remain to us. Even down to little Emmanuel there, I would wish you all to have your due share....”

The announcement of dinner put an end to the reprimand. The Emperor was silent during the repast; at the dessert he ordered Voltaire to be brought to him, and began to read some of his dramas; but he soon laid aside the books. We daily became more and more tired of Voltaire.

The Emperor retired very early, and soon after desired me to attend him in his bed-chamber, where I remained with him until a late hour.

THE ABBÉ DE PRADT, AND HIS EMBASSY TO WARSAW. THE RUSSIAN WAR.—ITS ORIGIN.

28th.—The Emperor again recurred to the Abbé de Pradt and his work, which he reduced to merely the first and last pages. “In the first,” said he, "he states himself to be the only man who arrested Napoleon’s career; in the last, he shows that the Emperor, in his way back from Moscow, dismissed him from the embassy, which is true; and this fact his self-love would fain misrepresent or revenge. This is the whole work....

“But the Abbé,” continued the Emperor, “did not fulfil at Warsaw any of the objects which had been intended; on the contrary, he did a great deal of mischief. Reports against him poured in upon me from every quarter. Even the young men, the clerks attached to the embassy, were surprised at his conduct, and went so far as to accuse him of maintaining an understanding with the enemy; which, however, I by no means believed. But he certainly had a long conversation with me, which he misrepresents, as might be expected; and it was at the very moment when he was delivering a long prosing speech, which appeared to me a mere string of absurdity and impertinence, that I scrawled on the corner of the 103chimney-piece the order to withdraw him from his embassy, and to send him as soon as possible to France; a circumstance which was the cause of a good deal of merriment at the time, and which the Abbé seems very desirous of concealing.”

I cannot refrain from transcribing from the Embassy to Warsaw, M. de Pradt’s account of the Emperor Napoleon’s court at Dresden. His remarks on this subject are striking, and afford a faithful picture both of men and things at that period.

“You,” he says, "who wish to form a just idea of the omnipotence exercised in Europe by the Emperor Napoleon, who wish to fathom the depths of terror into which almost every European sovereign has fallen, transport yourselves in imagination to Dresden, and there contemplate that superb Prince, at the period of his highest glory, so nearly bordering on his fall!

"The Emperor occupied the state apartments of the palace whither he had transferred a considerable portion of his household. Here he gave grand dinner parties; and, with the exception of the first Sunday, when the King of Saxony had a gala, Napoleon’s parties were always attended by the Sovereigns and different members of their families, according to the invitations issued by the Grand Marshal of the Palace. Some private individuals were admitted on these occasions. I enjoyed that honour on the day of my appointment to the embassy of Warsaw.

"The Emperor’s levees were held here, as at the Tuileries, at nine o’clock. Then with what timid submission did a crowd of Princes, mingling with the courtiers, and often scarcely perceived among them, anxiously await the moment for presenting themselves before the new arbiter of their destinies!"

These passages, and some others of equal truth and beauty of diction, are lost amidst a heap of details full of misrepresentation and malice. “They are distorted facts and mutilated conversations,” said the Emperor: and, adverting to the accounts of the Empress of Austria, which were filled with adulation, and of the Emperor Alexander, whose amiable virtues and brilliant qualities 104are extolled by the author, to the detriment of Napoleon. “Surely,” exclaimed the Emperor, “this is not a French bishop, but one of the eastern magi—a worshipper of the rising sun.” I shall both now and henceforward suppress, from a feeling of justice, several other articles and many details. The following observations may however be noted down, in opposition to the Abbé de Pradt’s endeavours to prove that the French were the unjust aggressors in the contest with Russia.

The Emperor, speaking of the Russian war, said: "No events are trifling with regard to nations and sovereigns; for it is such that govern their destinies. For some time a misunderstanding had sprung up between France and Russia. France reproached Russia with the violation of the continental system, and Russia required an indemnification for the Duke of Oldenburg, and raised other pretensions. Russian troops were approaching the duchy of Warsaw, and a French army was forming in the north of Germany. Yet we were far from being determined on war, when, all on a sudden, a new Russian army commenced its march towards the Duchy; and, as an ultimatum, an insolent note was presented at Paris by the Russian Ambassador, who, in the event of its nonacceptance, threatened to quit Paris in eight days. I considered this as a declaration of war. It was long since I had been accustomed to this sort of tone. I was not in the habit of allowing myself to be anticipated. I could march to Russia at the head of the rest of Europe; the enterprise was popular; the cause was one which interested Europe. It was the last effort that remained to France. Her fate, and that of the new European system, depended on the struggle. Russia was the last resource of England. The peace of the whole world rested with Russia. The event could not be doubtful. I commenced my march; but when I reached the frontier I, to whom Russia had declared war by withdrawing her Ambassador, still considered it my duty to send mine (Lauriston) to the Emperor Alexander at Wilna: he was rejected, and the war commenced!

"Yet, who would credit it? Alexander and myself were in the situation of two bullies, who, without wishing 105to fight, were endeavouring to terrify each other. I would most willingly have maintained peace; I was surrounded and overwhelmed with unfavourable circumstances, and all that I have since learned convinces me that Alexander was still less eager for war than myself.

"M. de Romanzoff, who had maintained communications at Paris, and who some time afterwards, when the Russians experienced reverses, was very severely treated by Alexander for the course he had induced him to pursue, had assured the Russian Emperor, that the moment was come when Napoleon, in his embarrassments, would readily make some sacrifices to avoid war; that the favourable opportunity should not be allowed to escape; that it was only necessary to assume a bold attitude, and a tone of firmness; that indemnity would be obtained for the Duke of Oldenburg; that Dantzick might be gained, and that Russia would thus acquire immense weight in Europe.

"Such was the cause of the movement of the Russian troops, and of the insolent note of Prince Kourakin, who, doubtless, was not in the secret, and who had been foolish enough to execute his instructions in too literal a way. The same mistaken notions, and the same system also, occasioned the refusal to receive Lauriston at Wilna. This was an instance of the errors and misfortunes which attended my new diplomacy. It stood insulated, without affinity or contact, in the midst of the objects which it had to direct. Had my Minister for Foreign affairs been a member of the old aristocracy, and a man of superior ability, no doubt he would have observed the cloud that was gathering, and might have prevented our going to war.

“Talleyrand,“Talleyrand, perhaps, might have done this: but it was above the powers of the new school. I could not make the discovery myself; my dignity precluded personal explanations. I could form my judgment only from documents, and in vain did I turn them over and over, for I was sure at last to arrive at a point where they could make no reply to my enquiries.

"Scarcely had I opened the campaign, when the mask fell, and the real sentiments of the enemy were 106developed. In the course of two or three days Alexander, alarmed at our first successes, despatched a messenger to me, to say that if I would evacuate the invaded territory, and fall back as far as the Niemen, he would enter upon negotiations. But I in my turn took this for a stratagem. I was elated with success; I had taken the Russian army in the very fact, in the critical moment; I had cut off Bagration, and I had reason to hope that I should destroy him. I thought, however, that the enemy merely wanted to gain time for the purpose of rallying his forces. Had I been convinced of Alexander’s sincerity, I should doubtless have acceded to his proposition of falling back to the Niemen. In that case, he would not have passed the Dwina; Wilna would have been neutralized: and there Alexander and myself, accompanied by a few battalions of our guards, would have negotiated in person. How many arrangementsarrangements should I not have proposed!... Alexander would have had only to take his choice, and we should have separated good friends.

"Yet, in spite of the events which succeeded, and which left my enemy triumphant, is it quite certain that the measures I have just hinted at would have been less advantageous than those which have since been pursued? Alexander marched to Paris, it is true, but he came accompanied by the forces of all Europe. He has gained Poland: but what will be the result of the shock given to the whole European system; of the agitation into which every nation has been thrown; of the increase of European influence over the rest of Russia through the accumulation of new acquisitions: the expeditions in which the Russian troops are engaged in remote quarters; and the influence of the incongruous mass of men and knowledge which have taken refuge in Russia from foreign parts?

“Will the Russian sovereigns be content to consolidate what they have acquired? If, on the contrary, they should be influenced by ambition, what extravagant enterprises may they not attempt! And yet they have lost Moscow, her wealth and resources, and those of many other cities! These are wounds which will bleed 107for half a century. But at Wilna we might have entered into arrangements for the advantage of all, subjects as well as sovereigns!”

On another occasion, the Emperor said, "I might have shared with Russia the possession of the Turkish empire. We had oftener than once contemplated the idea, but Constantinople was always the obstacle that opposed its execution. The Turkish capital was the grand stumbling-block between us. Russia wanted it, and I could not resign it. Constantinople is worth an empire of itself. It is the real keystone of power; for he who possesses it may rule the world.

“What then?” said the Emperor, resuming the former question, “what has Alexander gained, which he might not have secured to better advantage at Wilna?”—Some one present replied, “Sire, he has conquered, and he remains triumphant.”—"That may be the vulgar opinion," exclaimed the Emperor, "but no Sovereign should entertain such an idea. A monarch, if he himself governs, or his councillors, if they govern for him, must, in vast enterprises of this nature, attach less importance to the victory than to its results. And even though the case be limited to vulgar considerations, still I maintain that the wished-for object has not been attained. Even here the palm must be awarded to the vanquished party. Who will pretend that my victories in Germany were equalled by the successes of the Allies in France? Will any thinking man, will any historian pronounce such an opinion?

"The Allies advanced with all Europe in their train, against a force which might be almost counted as nothing. They had 600,000 men in the line, and nearly an equal number in reserve. If they had been beaten, they had nothing to fear, they could have fallen back. I, on the contrary, in Germany, 500 leagues from home, had hardly a force equal to my enemy’s. I was surrounded by sovereigns and people repressed only by fear, and who, on the first disaster, were ready to rise against me. But I triumphed amidst dangers constantly increasing; I was incessantly compelled to exercise an equal degree of address and energy. In all these enterprises 108I found it necessary to display a strange character, strange views and a strange confidence in my own plans, which were disapproved perhaps by every one around me.

"What deeds on the part of the Allies can be compared with these? If I had not conquered at Austerlitz, I should have had all Prussia on me. If I had not proved victorious at Jena, Austria and Spain would have assailed me in my rear. If I had not triumphed at Wagram, which by the by, was a less decisive victory, I had to fear that Russia would abandon me, that Prussia would rise against me; and meanwhile the English were already before Antwerp.

"Yet what was my conduct after the victory? At Austerlitz, I gave Alexander his liberty, though I might have made him my prisoner.^[9] After Jena I left the House of Prussia in possession of a throne which I had conquered: after Wagram, I neglected to parcel out the Austrian monarchy.

“If“If all this be attributed merely to magnanimity, cold and calculating politicians will doubtless blame me. But, without rejecting that sentiment, to which I am not a stranger, I had higher aims in view. I wished to bring about the amalgamation of the great European interests, in the same manner as I had effected the union of parties in France. My ambition was one day to become the arbiter in the great cause of nations and kings; it was therefore necessary that I should secure to myself claims on their gratitude, and seek to render myself popular among them. This I could not do without losing something in the estimation of the people. I was aware of this. But I was powerful and fearless. I concerned myself but little about transient popular murmurs, being 109very sure that the result would infallibly bring the people over to my side.

“I committed a great fault after the battle of Wagram, in not reducing the power of Austria still more. She remained too strong for our safety, and to her we must attribute our ruin. The day after the battle, I should have made known, by proclamation, that I would treat with Austria only on condition of the preliminary separation of the three crowns of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia. Will it be credited? A Prince of the House of Austria several times hinted to me the idea of transferring one of the two last-mentioned crowns to himself, or even raising him to the throne occupied by his own family, on pretence that it was only thus that Austria could be induced to act sincerely with me. He even proposed to give me, by way of hostage, ——— and moreover, every possible guarantee.”

The Emperor said, that he had even turned this idea over in his own mind. He had hesitated about it for some time previously to his marriage with Maria Louisa; but after that event, continued he, it became impracticable. He observed that on the subject of marriage his notions were too citizen-like:—"Austria," said he, “had become a portion of my own family; and yet my marriage ruined me. If I had not thought myself safe and protected by this alliance, I should have delayed for three years the resurrection of Poland; I should have waited until Spain was subdued and tranquil. I stepped upon an abyss, covered by flowers.”

THE EMPEROR INDISPOSED.—HIS FIRST DAY OF COMPLETE SECLUSION.—THE PERSIAN AND TURKISH AMBASSADORS.—ANECDOTES.

29th.—About five o’clock the Grand Marshal visited me in my chamber. He had not been permitted to see the Emperor, who through indisposition had been confined to his own apartment all day, and refused to see any one. Towards evening I went out to take a stroll in those paths in which the Emperor usually walked about this time. I felt dull, being alone. We had dined without the Emperor.

110About nine o’clock, just as I was regretting that the day had passed over without my seeing him, he sent for me. I expressed my concern for his indisposition. He replied that he was perfectly well, but that he had taken a fancy to remain alone; that he had been reading all day, and that the time had passed away swiftly and agreeably.

He however appeared low-spirited and languid. He took my Atlas, which happened to be lying beside him, and, opening it at the map of the world, he cast his eye on Persia. “I had some excellent plans, with regard to that country,” said he. “What a capital point of support would it have been for my lever, whether I wished to disturb Russia, or to invade India. I had set on foot relations with Persia, and I hoped to bring them to the point of intimacy, as well as those with Turkey. It might have been supposed that the animals would have understood their own interests sufficiently well to have acceded to my propositions; but both Persians and Turks evaded me at the decisive moment. English gold proved more powerful than my plans. Some treacherous ministers, for a few guineas, sacrificed the prosperity of their country: which is usually the case under seraglio monarchs or imbecile kings.”

The Emperor then, abandoning politics, began to relate some anecdotes of the seraglio, and adverted to the Persians of Montesquiou, and his letters, which he said were distinguished for wit, delicate observations, and above all, for bitter satire on the time. He afterwards spoke of the Turkish and Persian Ambassadors who were in Paris during his reign. He asked me what impression they produced in the French capital; whether they paid visits, and received company, &c.

I replied that, during their stay in Paris, they engrossed public attention, and formed a kind of raree-show at Court. The Persian in particular attracted curiosity. On his arrival, he willingly received visitors, and as he made presents of perfumes and even shawls, he was a great favourite with the ladies. But the great number of those who paid their court to him soon forced him to set bounds to his liberality, and, thenceforward, 111the rage being over, he was no longer thought of. I added, that at Court, when the Emperor was not present, we sometimes ventured, very inconsiderately to be sure, to play off tricks at the expense of the oriental Ambassadors. At a concert given one day by the Empress Josephine, Asker-Kan, with his long painted beard, was one of the company. He seemed to be heartily tired of the music, and fell asleep standing with his back against a wall, his feet thrust forward and resting against an arm chair which stood in the corner by the fire-place. Some one, by way of joke, drew the chair away softly, so that his Excellency had well nigh fallen down at full length on the floor, and being thus roused from his slumber, he roared out lustily. Asker-Kan could more readily enter into a joke than the Turkish Ambassador; but, on this occasion he was in a great passion, and as we could only understand each other by gestures, the scene was most ludicrous. In the evening, the Empress enquired the cause of the noise which she had heard during the concert; and when the circumstance was explained to her, she laughed a good deal and scolded us still more. “It was very wrong, certainly,” observed the Emperor; “but what business had he at the concert?”—"Sire," I replied, “both he and the Turkish Ambassador went thither with the view of paying court to you. They hoped that your Majesty would be apprized of the circumstance, though you were at that time five hundred leagues off.” I added that on other occasions they had both proved themselves accomplished courtiers, and that their wish to ingratiate themselves with the Emperor carried them to the most extravagant lengths. “We have often seen them,” said I, “at the close of the grand diplomatic audiences on Sunday, follow your Majesty to mass, and occupy the pews in the chapel along with Cardinals of the Holy Catholic Church.”—"What a monstrous spectacle!" exclaimed the Emperor. “What a subversion of their principles and habits!—What extraordinary things I brought about; and yet all this was neither ordered nor perceived.”

The conversation continuing on the two orientals, I mentioned that I had been informed the Arch-chancellor 112Cambacérès once gave them a grand dinner. Though both from the same quarter, and members of the same religion, yet they nevertheless evinced shades of character totally different. The Turk, who was a disciple of Omar, was the Jansenist, and the Persian, who was a sectary of Ali, was the Jesuit. It was said that, at Cambacérès’ dinner, they scrupulously watched each other with regard to the wine, just as two Catholic Bishops seated at the same table might be expected to keep a vigilant look out, lest either should be tempted to eat meat on a Friday.

The Turk was gloomy and ignorant, and was looked upon as little better than a brute; but the Persian possessed literary information, was very talkative, and had the reputation of being a clever man. It was observed that he made no use of a knife and fork, either in eating or helping himself to any dish at table; and he probably would not have hesitated to help his neighbours in the same unceremonious way. One of our customs particularly attracted his notice; this was our practice of eating bread with every dish. He said he could not conceive why we were obliged always to eat the same article with every thing.

I believe I have already remarked that nothing amuses the Emperor so much as accounts of the fashionable world in Paris, anecdotes of our drawing-rooms, &c.

The Emigrants and the Faubourg St. Germain were subjects on which he was always fond of conversing with me when we were alone, and he accounted for this by saying to me once, “I was well acquainted with every thing that had relation to myself, but I never knew any thing of those affairs.” He observed, that he had nevertheless a natural desire to learn every thing that was passing near him, and to hear the chit-chat of little towns, &c. “I heard a great deal on these subjects,” added he, “during the period of my power; but whenever any thing favourable was said, I put myself on my guard—I was fearful of insinuations; and if, on the contrary, any thing unfavourable was reported to me, I mistrusted the accusation, and had enough to do to guard against a feeling of contempt. Here, my dear Las 113Cases, none of these disadvantages exist; you and I already belong to the other world; we are conversing in the Elysian fields: you are without interested views, and I am without suspicion.” I therefore eagerly seized every opportunity that offered itself to entertain the Emperor in this way. He perceived this, and gave me credit for my intentions; for, at the conclusion of one of my stories, he pinched my ear, and said, in a tone of voice which delighted me: “I read a story in your Atlas of a Northern Monarch who was immured in a prison, and one of his soldiers solicited and obtained permission to be imprisoned with him, in order that he might cheer his spirits, either by inducing him to converse, or by relating amusing stories to him. My dear Las Cases, you are that soldier.”...

On the present occasion I described to the Emperor the hoax which had been played upon M. de Marbois, and which he had not heard of before. It was as follows: one day, as the story goes, Asker-Kan, who was indisposed, and tired of his Persian treatment, gave orders to send for M. Bourdois, one of the first physicians in Paris. The messenger made a mistake, and went to M. de Marbois, Ex-minister of the Treasury, and at that time President of the Court of Accounts.—"His Excellency the Persian Ambassador," said he, “is very ill, and wishes to see you.” M. de Marbois could not conceive what business the Persian Ambassador could possibly have with him: but Asker-Kan was the envoy of a great Prince, and there is nothing which vanity will not contrive to reconcile. He proceeded with great pomp to the Ambassador’s residence; and it must be allowed that there was nothing in his dress, physiognomy, or deportment, at all likely to undeceive the Persian, who, as soon as he saw him, thrust out his tongue, and stretching forth his arm, motioned him to feel his pulse. These extraordinary gestures astonished M. de Marbois, but he thought they might be some oriental fashion. He took the hand which was offered, and pressed it cordially, when four attendants entered with solemnity, and presented to the Ex-minister a vessel of a very unequivocal nature, for his better information on the state of the patient. At this 114spectacle, the grave M. de Marbois flew into a violent passion, and asked what was the meaning of this extraordinary behaviour. The mistake was explained; it was M. Bourdois who had been wanted, and the similarity in the sound of the two names had alone occasioned the error. Poor M. de Marbois was the laughing-stock of Paris, and for a long time he could not show his face any where without exciting merriment.

“The drawing-rooms of Paris are indeed tremendous with their jokes!” said the Emperor, “for it cannot be denied that they are for the most part pointed and witty. They always assail the enemy at the breach, and a total defeat is the usual consequence.”—"It is true," said I, “nothing was spared. Even religion was not held sacred, and your Majesty may well suppose that neither you nor the Empress escaped.”—"I dare say not," replied the Emperor, “but no matter; what was said of us?”—“It was reported. Sire, that one day your Majesty, being much dissatisfied at the perusal of a despatch from Vienna, said to the Empress, in a moment of ill-humour, Your father is a blockhead (votre père est une ganache). Maria Louisa, who was unacquainted with many French phrases, turned to the person nearest her, and, observing that the Emperor had called her Father a ganache, asked what the term meant. The courtier, embarrassed at this unexpected interrogatory, stammered out that the word signified a clever man, a man of judgment, and extraordinary talent. Some time afterwards, the Empress, with her newly learnt term fresh in her memory, was present at the Council of State, and the discussion, becoming somewhat warm, in order to put a stop to it, she called on M. Cambacérès, who was yawning by her side....—‘You must set us right on this important point,’ said she, ‘you shall be our oracle; for I consider you as the greatest ganache in the Empire.’” At these words the Emperor held his sides with laughter. “What a pity,” said he, “that this anecdote is not true! Only imagine the scene. The offended dignity of Cambacérès, the merriment of the whole council, and the embarrassment of poor Maria Louisa, alarmed at the success of her unconscious joke.”

115The conversation continued for a long time in this way, and I spent about two hours with the Emperor; I had exerted myself to talk as much as I possibly could to divert him, and I had succeeded. The Emperor felt his spirits revived, he even enjoyed a hearty laugh. When he dismissed me, he felt much better, and I was happy at the change.

SECOND DAY OF SECLUSION.—THE EMPEROR RECEIVES THE GOVERNOR IN HIS CHAMBER.—CHARACTERISTIC CONVERSATION.

30th.—To-day I and my son were engaged to dine at Mr. Balcombe’s at the Briars. About half past three, I went to receive the Emperor’s commands: he was the same as yesterday, and did not intend to go out.

Just before I had reached Hut’s Gate, the residence of Madame Bertrand, I met the Governor on his way to Longwood. He asked me how the Emperor was. I told him that I felt uneasy about him, and that he had not seen any of us yesterday. I added that though he had told me this morning he was well, yet from his countenance I should have expected a different account.

About half past nine, we set out from the Briars on our return to Longwood; it was very dark. A heavy rain had come on, which was as sharp and cutting as hail. We had a most disagreeable, troublesome, and dangerous ride, being every moment on the point of being precipitated into some abyss or other, for we were obliged to gallop on at random without seeing where we were going. We arrived at Longwood drenched to the skin.

The Emperor had given orders that I should attend him on my return. He was well, but he had stayed at home as he had done yesterday. He said he had been waiting for me, and had many things to tell me.

On learning that the Governor had arrived, he admitted him into his chamber, though he was not dressed, and was unable to rise from his couch. He said he had discussed with him, in perfect composure, all the points which naturally presented themselves to his mind. He spoke of protesting against the treaty of the second of 116August, in which the Allied Sovereigns declared him an exile and a prisoner. He asked what right these Sovereigns had to dispose of him, without his consent, him who was their equal, and had sometimes been their master. He said, if he had thought proper to withdraw to Russia, Alexander, who styled himself his friend, and who never had any but political disputes with him, would if he had not upheld him as a king, at least have treated him as one. This the Governor could not deny. He said, had he thought proper to take refuge in Austria, the Emperor Francis could not, without disgracing himself, have denied him admission not only to his empire, but even to his house and his family, of which he, Napoleon, was a member. This the Governor also admitted.

“Lastly,” said the Emperor, “if, relying on my own individual interests, I had persisted in defending them in France by force of arms, there is no doubt that the Allies would have formally granted me immense advantages, perhaps even territory.” The Governor, who hesitated for some time on this point, at length agreed that there was no doubt the Emperor might with ease have obtained a Sovereignty. “I did not wish it,” continued the Emperor: “I determined on abandoning public affairs; indignant at beholding the leading men in France betraying their country, or at least committing the grossest errors with regard to her interests; indignant at finding that the mass of the representatives preferred disgrace to death, and stooped to traffic with that sacred independence, which, like honour, should be a rocky and inaccessible island. In this state of things what did I determine on? What resolution did I adopt? I sought an asylum in a country which was supposed to be governed by laws: among a people, of whom for twenty years I had been the bitterest enemy! But what did you do?... Your conduct will be recorded in history to your eternal disgrace. Yet there is an avenging Providence; sooner or later you will receive your punishment! It will not be long before your posterity, your laws, will expiate your crime!... Your ministers have sufficiently proved, by their instructions, that they wish to get rid of me! Why did not the Kings who 117proscribed me openly decree my death? One act would have been as legal as the other! A speedy termination to my sufferings would have shown more energy than the lingering death to which they have doomed me. The Calabrians have been more humane, more generous than the Allied Sovereigns or your Ministers. I will not die by my own hands. That would be an act of cowardice. To overcome misfortune is a proof of a noble and courageous mind! We mortals are bound to fulfil our destinies. But if it be intended to keep me here, I feel that you would be doing me a kindness in depriving me of life; for here I daily suffer the agonies of death! The limits of St. Helena are too narrow for me, who was every day accustomed to ride, ten, fifteen, or twenty leagues on horseback. The climate is not like ours: neither the sun nor the seasons are like what we have been accustomed to. Every thing here is hostile to happiness and comfort. The situation is disagreeable and unwholesome, and is destitute of water. This part of the island is totally barren and has been deserted by the inhabitants.”

The Governor stated that his instructions required that the Emperor should be restricted to certain limits in his rides, and that an officer should always accompany him. “If they had been thus enforced,” replied the Emperor, “I should never have left my chamber. If your instructions will not admit of greater latitude, you can henceforth do nothing for us. However, I neither ask nor wish for any thing. Convey these sentiments to the English Government.”

“This,” said the Governor, “is the consequence of transmitting instructions from so great a distance, and with regard to a person of whom those who draw up the instructions know so little.” He then endeavoured to shift the question by intimating that, on the arrival of the wooden house or palace, which was on its way to St. Helena, better plans might perhaps be adopted: that a vessel was expected, bringing furniture and stores of provisions, which it was supposed would be agreeable to the Emperor; that the English Government was exerting every effort to alleviate his situation, &c.

118The Emperor replied that all their efforts amounted to little; that he had requested to be furnished with the Morning Chronicle and the Statesman, that he might read what related to himself under the least disagreeable forms: but his request had never been complied with. He had asked for books, which were his only consolation; but nine months had passed away, and he had not received any. He had desired to obtain intelligence of his wife and son; but this had been withheld from him.

“As to the provisions, the furniture, and the house, that are intended for me,” continued he, “you and I, Sir, are soldiers; we know how to value these things. You have been in my native city, perhaps in the very house occupied by my family. Though it was not the worst on the island—though I have no reason to be ashamed of my family circumstances, yet you know what they were. But though I have occupied a throne, and have disposed of crowns, I have not forgotten my first condition; my couch and my camp-bed, you see, are still sufficient for me.”

The Governor observed that the wooden palace and all its accompaniments were at least an attention. “For your own satisfaction, in the eyes of Europe,” replied the Emperor, “but to me they are matters of perfect indifference. It is not a house, nor furniture, that should have been sent to me: but an executioner and a coffin. The former are a mockery, the latter would be a favour. I say, again, the instructions of your ministers tend to this result, and I invoke it. The Admiral, who is not an ill-disposed man, appears to me now to have softened these instructions; I do not complain of his acts: his forms alone offended me.” Here the Governor asked whether he had unconsciously committed any faults. “No, Sir, we complain of nothing since your arrival. Yet one act has offended us, and that is your inspection of our domestics. It was insulting to M. de Montholon, by appearing to throw suspicion on his integrity; and it was petty, disagreeable, and insulting towards me, and perhaps degrading to the English General himself, who thus came to interfere between me and my valet de chambre.”

The Governor was seated in an arm-chair on one side 119of the Emperor, who had remained stretched on his couch. It was dark, the evening was drawing in, and it was not easy to distinguish objects. “Therefore,” observed the Emperor, “it was in vain that I endeavoured to watch the play of his features, and to observe the impression which my words made on him.”

In the course of the conversation the Emperor, who in the morning had been reading the Campaign of 1814, by Alphonse de Beauchamp, in which all the English bulletins bore the signature Lowe, asked the Governor if he was the individual who had signed them. Sir Hudson Lowe, with marked embarrassment, replied in the affirmative, and added that the bulletins represented his views and opinions. The Governor, who had several times proposed that the Emperor should be attended by his physician, who he said was a very skilful man, on taking his leave again proposed to send his Doctor to Longwood. But the Emperor saw his motives, and constantly resisted his offer.

Having related all these particulars to me, the Emperor remained silent for some minutes. Then resuming, apparently after some reflection, he said: "How mean and disagreeable is the expression of the Governor’s countenance! I never saw any thing like it in my life!... I should be unable to drink my coffee if this man were left for a moment alone beside me.... My dear Las Cases, they have sent me worse than a jailor!..."

THIRD DAY OF THE EMPEROR’S SECLUSION.—SUMMARY OF HIS HISTORY.

May 1st.—The Emperor kept his room to-day as he had done yesterday. I felt ill from my ride from the Briars; I had a slight fever, accompanied by great lassitude. The Emperor sent for me about seven o’clock in the evening. I went to his chamber and found him reading Rollin, whom he accused, as usual, of being too indulgent an historian. He did not appear to have been indisposed, and even said he was very well; but this only rendered me the more uneasy at his seclusion and his calmness of manner. He put off dinner to a later hour than 120usual, and detained me with him. He called for a glass of Constantia some time before dinner; this he generally does when he feels the want of excitement.

After dinner, he looked over a few of the addresses, proclamations, or acts, in Goldsmith’s imperfect collection. The perusal of some of these documents seemed to interest him; then, laying down the book, he began to walk about, and said, "After all, let them abridge, suppress, and mutilate as much as they please, they will find it very difficult to throw me entirely into the shade. The historian of France cannot pass over the Empire, and if he has any honesty, he will not fail to render me my share of justice. His task will be easy; for the facts speak for themselves: they shine like the sun.

“I closed the gulf of anarchy and cleared the chaos. I purified the Revolution, dignified Nations and established Kings. I excited every kind of emulation, rewarded every kind of merit, and extended the limits of glory! This is at least something! And on what point can I be assailed on which an historian could not defend me? Can it be for my intentions? But even here I can find absolution. Can it be for my despotism? It may be demonstrated that the Dictatorship was absolutely necessary. Will it be said that I restrained liberty? It can be proved that licentiousness, anarchy, and the greatest irregularities, still haunted the threshold of freedom. Shall I be accused of having been too fond of war? It can be shown that I always received the first attack. Will it be said that I aimed at universal monarchy? It can be proved thatthat this was merely the result of fortuitous circumstances, and that our enemies themselves led me step by step to this determination. Lastly, shall I be blamed for my ambition? This passion I must doubtless be allowed to have possessed, and that in no small degree; but, at the same time, my ambition was of the highest and noblest kind that ever, perhaps, existed—that of establishing and of consecrating the empire of reason, and the full exercise and complete enjoyment of all the human faculties! And here the historian will probably feel compelled to regret that such ambition should not have been fulfilled and gratified!” ... Then after a few moments of silent 121reflection: “This,” said the Emperor, “is my whole history in a few words.”

FOURTH DAY OF ABSOLUTE SECLUSION.—THE MONITEUR FAVOURABLE TO THE EMPEROR.

2nd.—The Emperor still kept his room as on the preceding days. He sent for me about nine o’clock in the evening, after I had dined. He had seen no one during the day; I remained with him till eleven o’clock; he was in good spirits, and appeared to be well. I assured him that the days which we passed without seeing him seemed very tedious; and that we feared his health would suffer from close confinement and the want of fresh air. For my own part, this seclusion caused me great uneasiness and affliction. He went to bed half an hour before he dismissed me: he said his legs refused to support him. He felt fatigued with walking, though he had only taken a few turns with me in his chamber.

He spoke a great deal of the Legion of Honour, of Goldsmith’s Collection, and of the Moniteur. Respecting the latter, he said that it was certainly a very remarkable circumstance, and one of which few besides himself could boast, that he had made his way through the Revolution at so early an age, and with so much notoriety, without having to dread the Moniteur. “There is not a sentence in it,” said he, “which I could wish to obliterate. On the contrary, the Moniteur will infallibly serve me as a justification, whenever I may have occasion for it.”

FIFTH DAY’S SECLUSION.

3rd.—The Emperor still continued within doors, and saw no one; this was his fifth day of retirement. The different individuals of his establishment knew not how he occupied himself in his chamber. He sent for me, as it were, by stealth, and I went to him about six o’clock in the evening.

I again expressed to him the anxiety and pain we felt at seeing him thus secluded. He told me that he bore the confinement very well, but that he found the days long and the nights still longer. He had been unoccupied during the whole day: he said he had felt himself 122out of humour; and, indeed, he still continued silent and dull. He took the bath, and I attended him. He concluded the evening by conversing on subjects of great importance.

SIXTH DAY OF SECLUSION.

4th.—The Emperor still remained within doors. He had, however, expressed his intention to ride on horseback about four o’clock; but the rain prevented him from stirring out. He received the Grand Marshal in his chamber.

He sent for me about eight o’clock to dine with him. He said that the Governor had called on the Grand Marshal, and had remained with him above an hour. His conversation had been frequently disagreeable and sometimes even offensive. He had spoken on a variety of topics in a tone of ill-humour and disrespect, and in a very vague and indeterminate manner: reproaching us, particularly, as it appeared, with being very loud and unreasonable in our complaints. He maintained that we were very well provided for and ought to be content; that we seemed to be strangely mistaken with regard to what was due to our persons and our situations. He added, at least so he was understood, that he was desirous of being assured every day, by ocular testimony, of the existence and presence of the Emperor.

There is no doubt that this point was the real cause of his ill-humour and agitation. Several days had passed without his having been able to receive any report from his officer or spies, as the Emperor had not gone out, and no one had been admitted to his presence.

But what measures would he adopt? This consideration occupied us all in our turns. The Emperor would never submit, even at the peril of his life, to a regular visit, which might be capriciously renewed at any hour of the day or night. Would the Governor employ force and violence to dispute with the Emperor a last asylum of a few square feet and a few hours’ repose? His instructions must have been drawn up in anticipation of the case that had now occurred. No outrage, no want of respect, no barbarity, could surprise me.

123As to the Governor’s remark that we entertained mistaken ideas with regard to ourselves and our situation, we are very conscious that, instead of being at the Tuileries, we are at St. Helena, and that, instead of being masters, we are captives: how then can we be mistaken?

ON CHINA AND RUSSIA.—RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE TWO GREAT REVOLUTIONS IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

5th.—About ten o’clock in the morning, the Emperor went to ride for the first time. While he was mounting his horse, he was informed that the Resident of the East India Company in China had come to Longwood, and solicited the honour of being presented to him. He sent for him, and put some questions to him with great condescension. We then rode out to call on Madame Bertrand. The Emperor remained there above an hour; he was weak and altered in his appearance: his conversation was languid. We returned to Longwood. The Emperor wished to breakfast out of doors.

He sent for our host at Briars, the worthy Mr. Balcombe, and the Resident from China, who was still at Longwood. The whole time of breakfast was occupied in questions relating to China, its population, laws, customs, and trade.

The Resident stated that a circumstance occurred a few years back between the Russians and the Chinese, which might have been attended with important results, had not Russia been entirely absorbed by the affairs of Europe.

The Russian traveller, Krusenstern, in his voyage round the world, anchored at Canton with his two vessels. He was received provisionally, and was permitted, until the orders of the Court should arrive, to dispose of the furs with which his ships were laden, and to take on board a cargo of tea in their stead. The orders from the Chinese court were delayed for more than a month, and M. de Krusenstern had set sail two days before they arrived. They directed that the two vessels should quit the port immediately: that all trade with the Russians in that quarter was prohibited; that enough had been conceded to their Emperor by land in the North of the Empire; 124that it was monstrous in him to attempt to extend his intercourse in the South by sea; and that strong displeasure would he manifested towards those who had suggested to them that course. The order further decreed that, in the event of the ships having sailed before the arrival of the answer from Pekin, the English Factory should be charged to communicate it, through Europe, to the Emperor of Russia.

Napoleon felt very much fatigued with his short ride; he had not left his chamber for seven days before; this was the first time that he had re-appeared among us. We remarked an evident change in his countenance.

He sent for me about five o’clock; the Grand Marshal was with him. The Emperor was undressed; he had tried in vain to enjoy a little rest; he thought he was feverish; the sensation proceeded from extreme lassitude. The Emperor had a fire lighted, but would not have candles in his room. We passed the time in desultory conversation in the dark, till eight o’clock, when the Emperor sent us to dinner.

In the course of the day, the conversation had turned on the similarity of the two great revolutions of England and France. “There are many points, both of resemblance and difference, between these two great events,” said the Emperor; “they afford inexhaustible subjects for reflection.” He then made some very curious and remarkable observations. I shall here note down his remarks on this occasion, as well as at other intervals during the day.

"Both in France and England the storm gathered during the two feeble and indolent reigns of James I. and Louis XV., and burst over the heads of the unfortunate Charles I. and Louis XVI.

"Both these Sovereigns fell victims: both perished on the scaffold, and their families were proscribed and banished.

"Both monarchies became republics, and, during that period, both nations plunged into every excess which can degrade the human heart and understanding. They were disgraced by scenes of madness, blood, and outrage. Every tie of humanity was broken, and every principle overturned.

125"Both in England and France, at this period, two men vigorously stemmed the torrent, and reigned with splendour. After these, the two hereditary families were restored; but both pursued an erroneous course. They committed faults; a fresh storm suddenly burst forth in both countries, and expelled the two restored dynasties, without their being able to offer the least resistance to the adversaries who overthrew them.

"In this singular parallel, Napoleon appears to have been in France at once the Cromwell and the Wm. III. of England. But as every comparison with Cromwell is in some degree odious, I must add that, if these two celebrated men coincided in one single circumstance of their lives, it was scarcely possible for two beings to differ more in every other point.

"Cromwell appeared on the theatre of the world at the age of maturity. He attained supreme rank only by dint of address, duplicity, and hypocrisy.

"Napoleon distinguished himself at the very dawn of manhood, and his first steps were attended by the purest glory.

"Cromwell attained supreme power, opposed and hated by all parties, and by affixing an everlasting stain on the English revolution.

"Napoleon, on the contrary, ascended the throne by obliterating the stains of the French revolution, and through the concurrence of all parties, who in turn sought to gain him as their chief.

"All the glory of Cromwell was bought by English blood; his triumphs were all so many causes of national mourning; but Napoleon’s victories were gained over the foreign foe, and they filled the French nation with transport.

"Finally, the death of Cromwell was a source of joy to all England: the event was regarded as a public deliverance. The same cannot exactly be said of Napoleon’s fall.

"In England the revolution was the rising of the whole nation against the King. The King had violated the laws, and usurped absolute power; and the nation wished to resume her rights.

126"In France, the revolution was the rising of one portion of the nation against another; that of the third estate against the nobility; it was the re-action of the Gauls against the Franks. The King was attacked not so much in his character of monarch as in his quality of chief of the feudal system. He was not reproached with having violated the laws; but the nation wished to emancipate and re-constitute itself.

"In England, if Charles I. had yielded voluntarily, if he had possessed the moderate and undecided character of Louis XVI. he would have survived.

"In France, on the contrary, if Louis XVI. had openly resisted, if he had had the courage, activity, and ardour of Charles I. he would have triumphed.

"During the whole conflict, Charles I., isolated in his kingdom, was surrounded only by partisans and friends, and was never connected with any constitutional branch of his subjects.

"Louis XVI. was supported by a regular army, by foreign aid, and two constitutional portions of the nation—the nobility and the clergy. Besides, there remained to Louis XVI. a second decisive resolution, which Charles I. had it not in his power to adopt, namely, that of ceasing to be a feudal Chief, in order to become a national Chief. Unfortunately he could not decide on either the one or the other.

"Charles I. therefore perished because he resisted, and Louis XVI. because he did not resist. The one had a perfect conviction of the privileges of his prerogative; but it is doubtful whether the other had any such conviction, any more than he felt the necessity of exercising its privileges.

"In England, the death of Charles I. was the result of the artful and atrocious ambition of a single man.

"In France, it was the work of the blind multitude, of a disorderly popular assembly.

"In England, the representatives of the people evinced a slight shade of decorum, by abstaining from being the judges and actors in the murder which they decreed; they appointed a tribunal to try the King.

"In France, the representatives of the people presumed 127to be at once accusers, judges, and executioners.

"In England, the affair was managed by an invisible hand: it assumed an appearance of reflection and calmness. In France, it was managed by the multitude, whose fury was without bounds.

"In England, the death of the King gave birth to the Republic. In France, on the contrary, the birth of the Republic caused the death of the King.

"In England the political explosion was produced by the efforts of the most ardent religious fanaticism. In France, it was brought about amidst the acclamations of cynical impiety; each according to different ages and manners.

"The English Revolution was ushered in by the excesses of the gloomy school of Calvin. The loose doctrines of the modern school conjured up the storm in France.

"In England, the Revolution was mingled with civil war. In France, it was attended by foreign war; and to the efforts and opposition of foreigners the French may justly attribute their excesses. The English can advance no such excuse for theirs.

"In England, the army proved itself capable of every act of outrage and fury; it was the scourge of the citizens.

"In France, on the contrary, we owed every benefit to the army. Its triumphs abroad either diminished, or caused us to forget, our horrors at home. The army secured independence and glory to France.

"In England, the Restoration was the work of the English people, who hailed the event with the most lively enthusiasm. The nation escaped slavery, and seemed to have recovered freedom. It was not precisely thus in France.

"In England, a son-in-law hurled his father-in-law from the throne. He was supported by all Europe; and the memory of the act is revered and imperishable.

“In France, on the contrary, the chosen sovereign of the people, who had reigned for the space of fifteen years, with the assent of his subjects and foreigners, re-appeared 128on the theatre of the world, to seize a sceptre which he regarded as his own. Europe rose in a mass, and outlawed him. Eleven hundred thousand men marched against him; he yielded; he was thrown into captivity, and now efforts are making to tarnish the lustre of his memory!”

EXPLANATION WITH DR. O’MEARA.—THE CONSULATE.—OPINION OF THE EMIGRANTS RESPECTING THE CONSUL.—THE EMPEROR’S INTENTIONS WITH REGARD TO EMIGRANT PROPERTY.—CONCURRENCE OF FORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE EMPEROR’S CAREER.—OPINION OF THE ITALIANS RESPECTING NAPOLEON.—HIS CORONATION BY THE POPE.—EFFECT OF THE CONFERENCES AT TILSIT.—THE SPANISH BOURBONS.—ARRIVAL OF THE FAMOUS WOODEN PALACE.

6th.—The Emperor sent for me at nine o’clock. He was vexed at the conduct of the new Governor, and particularly at the intention that seemed to be entertained of violating his last humble sanctuary. He preferred death to this last outrage; and he was resolved to run every risk in opposing it. A catastrophe seemed inevitable. The Emperor indeed concluded that there was a determination to bring it about, and that only some plausible pretence was sought for. He was resolved not to evade it. “I am prepared for every thing,” said he, in a certain moment of confidence. “They will kill me here, it is certain....”

The Emperor sent for Dr. O’Meara, in order that he might learn his personal opinion. He desired me to express to him, in English, that he had hitherto no cause of complaint against him: on the contrary, that he considered him to be an honest man, and as a proof of this, he would rely implicitly on the answers he might receive to the questions which he was about to put to him. It was necessary, he said, to come to an understanding. Was he to consider him as his own physician personally, or merely as a prison doctor, appointed by the English Government? Was he his confessor or his inspector? Had he made reports respecting him, or was it his intention so to do, if called upon? In the one case, the 129Emperor said he would readily continue to receive his attendance, and was grateful for the services he had already received; in the other case, he thanked him and begged him to discontinue his visits.

The doctor replied with great firmness, and in a tone of feeling. He said that his appointment was entirely professional, and had no connection with politics; he conceived himself to be the Emperor’s personal medical attendant, and was a stranger to every other consideration; that he had made no report respecting the Emperor, and that none had yet been demanded of him; that he could not imagine any circumstance which should induce him to make a report, except in case of serious illness, when it might be necessary to call in the aid of other professional men.

About three o’clock, the Emperor went into the garden with the intention of mounting his horse. He had been dictating for a considerable time to General Gourgaud, and had nearly got through the events of 1815. He was very well satisfied with the result of his labour.

I recommended to him next to commence the history of the Consulate; that brilliant period in which a nation in a state of dissolution was in a few moments magically re-composed, with respect to its laws, religion, morality, true principles, and honest prejudices; and all this amidst the universal applause and admiration of astonished Europe.

I was in England at this time. I told the Emperor that the mass of the emigrants were forcibly struck by these acts. The recal of the priests and of the emigrants was received as a blessing; and the great majority profited by it.

The Emperor asked me whether we had not been shocked at the word amnesty?—"No," I replied, “we knew all the difficulties which the First Consul had experienced in this respect. We knew that all the advantages of the measure were due to him, that he alone was our protector, and that every evil originated with those with whom he had been obliged to contend in our favour. Subsequently,” added I, “on our return to France, we found indeed that the Consul might have treated us better 130with respect to our property, and this without much difficulty, merely by assuming a silent and passive attitude. This we conceived would have sufficed in every case to have produced amicable arrangements between the old proprietors and the purchasers.”

“Doubtless, I might have done so,” said the Emperor, “but could I have trusted sufficiently to the emigrants?—Answer me this question.”

“Sire,” I replied, “now that I have more knowledge of public affairs, and take a more comprehensive view of things, I can readily conceive that policy required you to act as you did. Recent circumstances have proved how wise was the course which you pursued. It would have been bad policy to have dissatisfied the nation. The question of national property is one of the first bulwarks of public spirit and of the national party.”

“You are right,” observed the Emperor; "but I might nevertheless have granted all that was wished. For a moment I cherished the idea of doing so, and I committed a fault in not fulfilling this idea. I intended to form a mass, or a syndicate, of all the unsold property of the emigrants, and, on their return, to distribute it in a proportional ratio among them. But when I came to grant property to individuals, I soon found that I was creating too many wealthy men, and that they repaid my favours with insolence. Those who, by dint of petitioning and cringing, had perhaps obtained an annual income of 50 or 100,000 crowns, no longer lifted their hats to me; and far from evincing the least gratitude, they had the impertinence to pretend that they had paid secretly for the favours they enjoyed. This was the conduct of the whole Faubourg Saint-Germain. I restored the fortunes of these people, and they still remained no less hostile and anti-national. Then, in spite of the act of amnesty, I prohibited the restitution of the unsold forests, whenever they should exceed a certain value. This was doubtless an act of injustice, according to the letter of the law; but policy imperatively called for it: the fault was in the drawing up of the law, and the improvidence which dictated it. This re-action on my part, destroyed all the good effect of the recal of the 131emigrants, and robbed me of the attachment of all the great families. I might have guarded against this evil, or I might have neutralized its effects by my syndicate. For one great family alienated, I might have secured the attachment of a hundred provincial nobles, and thus I should in reality have strictly conformed with justice, which required that the emigrants, who had all run the same risk, embarked their fortunes in common on board the same ship, suffered the same wreck, and incurred the same punishment, should all receive the same indemnification. Here I committed an error,”error,” said the Emperor, “which“which the more unpardonable as I entertained an idea of the plan which I have just mentioned. But I stood alone, and was surrounded by opposition and difficulty. All parties were hostile to the emigrants: and meanwhile I was pressed by important affairs, time was running on, and I was compelled to direct my attention to other matters.

“Even so late as my return from Elba,” continued the Emperor, “I was on the point of executing a project of the same sort. If I had had time, I should have turned my attention to the poor emigrants from the provinces who were neglected by the Court. It is rather a singular circumstance that this idea was suggested to me by an old ex-minister of Louis XVI., whose services had been but ill requited by the Princes, and who pointed out to me various plans by which evils of the same kind might have been advantageously remedied.”

“Sire,” observed I, “the reasonable portion of the emigrants well knew that the few generous and liberal ideas that were cherished with respect to them originated only with you; they were aware that all who surrounded you wished for their destruction. They knew that the very idea of nobility was hateful to them; and they gave you credit for not being of that opinion. Would you believe it, their self-love occasionally found a certain degree of consolation in the reflection that you were one of their own class?”

The Emperor then asked me what was the opinion of the emigrants respecting his birth, the incidents of his life, &c. I replied that we beheld him for the first time 132at the head of the army of Italy; and that we were totally ignorant of all his previous history. We never could call him de Buonaparte. At this the Emperor laughed. The turn of our conversation then led him to observe that he had frequently reflected on the singular concurrence of secondary circumstances which had brought about his wonderful career.

1st, “If,” said he, “my father, who died before he attained the age of forty, had survived some time longer, he would have been appointed deputy from the Corsican nobility to the Constituent Assembly. He was much attached to the nobility and the aristocracy; on the other hand, he was a warm partisan of generous and liberal ideas. He would, therefore, either have been entirely on the right side, or at least in the minority of the nobility. At any rate, whatever might have been my own personal opinions, I should have followed my father’s footsteps, and thus my career would have been entirely deranged and lost.

2ndly, “If I had been older at the time of the revolution, I should perhaps myself have been appointed deputy. Being of an enthusiastic disposition, I should infallibly have adopted some opinion, and ardently followed it up. But at all events I should have shut myself out from the military service, and thus again my career would have been changed.

3rdly, “Had my family been better known, more wealthy, or more distinguished, my rank of nobility, even though I had followed the course of the revolution, would have made a cipher of me and proscribed me. I could never have obtained confidence; I could never have commanded an army; or, if I had attained such a command, I could not have ventured to do all that I did. Had my family circumstances been different from what they actually were, I could not, with all my success, have followed the bent of my liberal ideas with regard to the priests and nobles, and I should never have arrived at the head of the Government.

4thly, “The number of my sisters and brothers is also a circumstance which proved of great use to me, by multiplying my connections and means of influence.

1335thly, “My marriage with Madame de Beauharnois brought me in contact with a party, whose aid was necessary in my system of amalgamations, which was one of the chief principles of my government, and that by which it was especially characterized. But for my wife, I should not have obtained any natural connection with this party.

6thly, “Even my foreign origin, though in France an endeavour was made to raise an outcry against it, was not unattended by advantage. The Italians regarded me as their countryman, and this circumstance greatly facilitated my success in Italy. This success being once obtained, inquiries were set on foot respecting our family history, which had long been buried in obscurity. My family was acknowledged by the Italians to have acted a distinguished part in the events of their country. It was viewed by them as an Italian family. Thus when the question of my sister Pauline’s marriage with the Prince Borghese was agitated, there was but one voice in Rome and Tuscany among the members of that family and their adherents: ‘Well,’ said they, ‘the union is among ourselves; they are our own connections.’ Subsequently, when it was proposed that the Emperor should be crowned by the Pope at Paris, great obstacles were, as circumstances have since proved, thrown in the way of that important event. The Austrian party in the conclave violently opposed the measure; but the Italian party decided in its favour, by adding to political considerations a little consideration of national self-love. ‘We‘We are placing,’ said they, ‘anplacing,’ said they, ‘an Italian family on the throne, to govern these barbarians: we shall thus be revenged on the Gauls.’”Gauls.’”

These remarks naturally led the Emperor to speak of the Pope, who he said was rather favourably disposed towards him. The Pope did not accuse Napoleon of having ordered his removal to France. He was very indignant at reading in certain publications that the Emperor treated him with disrespect. He had received at Fontainebleau every mark of consideration that he could wish. When he learned the Emperor’s return from Elba to France, he said to Lucien, in a tone expressive of his confidence and impartiality, ’E sbarcato e arrivato (he 134has landed, he has arrived.) He afterwards said: “You are going to Paris; make my peace with him. I am in Rome; no cause of difference shall arise between us.”

“It is certain,” said the Emperor, “that Rome will afford a natural and favourable asylum for my family: there they may find themselves at home. Finally,” added he, smiling, “even my name, Napoleon, which in Italy is uncommon, poetic, and sonorous, contributed its share in the great circumstances of my life.”

I mentioned to the Emperor, what I had already remarked, namely, that the great mass of the emigrants were far from being unjust to him. The sensible part of the old aristocracy disliked him, it is true, but only because he proved an obstacle to their views. They knew how to appreciate his achievements and his talents, which they admired in spite of their inclination. Even the fanatics acknowledged that he had but one fault: “Why is he not legitimate?” they were frequently heard to say. Austerlitz staggered us, though it did not subdue us; but Tilsit prostrated every thing. “Your Majesty,” said I, “might yourself have judged of this, and have enjoyed on your return the unanimity of homage, acclamation, and good wishes.”

“That is to say,” observed the Emperor, smiling, “if, at that time, I could or would have indulged in repose and pleasure; if I had resigned myself to indolence, if every thing had resumed its old course, you would have adored me? But if such had been my taste and inclination, and certainly nothing was more opposite to my natural disposition, circumstances would not have permitted me to act as I pleased.”

The Emperor then adverted to the numerous difficulties by which he had been incessantly surrounded and controlled; and, alluding to the Spanish war, he said, “That unlucky war ruined me; it divided my forces, obliged me to multiply my efforts, and caused my principles to be assailed: and yet it was impossible to leave the Peninsula a prey to the machinations of the English, the intrigues, the hopes, and the pretensions of the Bourbons. Besides, the Spanish Bourbons were not calculated to inspire much fear. Nationally they were 135foreign to us, and we to them. At the castle of Marrach, and at the Bayonne, I observed that Charles IV. the Queen knew no difference between Madame de Montmorency and the new ladies: the names of the latter were indeed rendered more familiar to them by the newspapers and public documents. The Empress Josephine, who had the most delicate tact on matters of this sort, never ceased alluding to the circumstance. The Spanish Royal Family implored me to adopt a daughter, and to create her a Princess of the Asturias. They pointed out Mademoiselle de Tascher, afterwards Duchess of Aremberg; but I had personal reasons for objecting to this choice. For a moment I decided on Mademoiselle de la Rochefoucault, afterwards Princess Aldobrandini; but I wanted some one sincerely devoted to my interests, a true Frenchwoman, possessing talent and information, and I could not fix on one endowed with all the qualities I wished for.”

Then returning to the war in Spain, the Emperor resumed:—"This combination ruined me. All the circumstances of my disasters are connected with that fatal knot: it destroyed my moral power in Europe, rendered my embarrassments more complicated, and opened a school for the English soldiers. It was I who trained the English army in the Peninsula.

"Events have proved that I committed a great fault in the choice of my means; for the fault lies in the means much more than in the principles. It cannot be doubted that, in the crisis in which France then was, in the struggle of new ideas, in the great cause of the age against the rest of Europe, we could not leave Spain behind, at the disposal of our enemies: it was absolutely necessary to enchain her, voluntarily, or by force, in our system. The destiny of France required this: and the code of the welfare of nations is not always that of individuals. Besides, to political necessity was here superadded for me the force of right. Spain, when she saw me in danger, Spain, when she knew that my hands were full at Jena, had almost declared war against me. The insult ought not to pass unpunished: I could declare war in my turn, and assuredly the success could not be 136doubtful. It was this very facility that misled me. The nation despised its government: it called loudly for a regeneration. From the height to which Fortune had raised me, I considered myself called, I considered it worthy of me to accomplish in peace so great an event. I was solicitous to spare blood, that not a drop should stain the Castilian emancipation. I therefore delivered the Spaniards from their abominable institutions; I gave them a liberal constitution; I deemed it necessary, perhaps too lightly, to change their dynasty. I placed oneone of my brothers at their head; but he was the only foreigner among them. I respected the integrity of their territory, their independence, their manners, the remnant of their laws. The new monarch gained the capital, having no other ministers, no other councillors, no other courtiers, but those of the late Court. My troops were about to withdraw: I had done the greatest benefit that ever was conferred on a nation—so I said to myself, and so I still say. The Spaniards themselves, as I have been assured, thought so in their hearts, and never complained of any thing but the forms. I expected their blessings, but I was disappointed: disdaining interest, they thought only of the insult: they were indignant at the idea of an affront, enraged at the sight of force, and all flew to arms. The Spaniards, collectively, behaved like men of honour. I have nothing to say on that head: but, if they triumphed, they have been cruelly punished for it. Perhaps they are to be pitied.... They deserved better."

The Emperor dined with us to-day; it was long since we had enjoyed his company. After dinner he read to us Florian’s novel of Claudine, and some extracts from Paul and Virginia, a work which he says he is very fond of, on account of early recollections.

The Adamant transport has arrived. This vessel a short time ago missed the island. She formed part of a convoy, the remainder of which arrived nearly a month back. These ships brought the famous wooden palace, accounts of which have filled all the newspapers in England, and probably in Europe; and also the furniture, about which the papers have also made a great parade. 137The wooden palace proved to be nothing more than a number of rough planks, which no one knows how to put together at St. Helena, and which it would require several years to fit up. The splendour of the other articles was of course well suited to our situation. Ostentation, pomp, and luxury, were for Europe; truth and wretchedness for St. Helena.

THE ILIAD.—HOMER.

7th.—The Governor came to Longwood about four o’clock, and went over the establishment without asking to see any one. His ill-humour was visibly increased, his manners had become fierce and brutal.

About five o’clock the Emperor sent for me; the Grand Marshal had been with him for some time. When he went away, the Emperor began to talk with me upon literature; and we reviewed almost every epic poem, ancient and modern. When conversing on the Iliad, he took up an edition of Homer, and read aloud several cantos. The Emperor greatly admired the Iliad. “It was,” he said, "like the Books of Moses, the token and the pledge of the age in which it was produced. Homer, in his epic poem, has proved himself a poet, an orator, an historian, a legislator, a geographer, and a theologist. He may be justly called the encyclopedist of the period in which he flourished.”flourished.”

The Emperor considered Homer inimitable. Father Hardouin had ventured to question the authenticity of of the Iliad, and to attribute that sacred monument of antiquity to a monk of the tenth century. This the Emperor said was perfect absurdity. He added that he had never been so struck with the beauties of the Iliad as at that very moment; and that the sensations with which it then inspired him fully convinced him of the justice of the universal approbation bestowed on it. One thing which particularly struck him, he observed, was the combination of rudeness of manners with refinement of ideas. Heroes were described killing animals for their food, cooking their meat with their own hands, and yet delivering speeches distinguished for singular eloquence and denoting a high degree of civilization.