MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE, EXILE, AND CONVERSATIONS, OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. (continued 4)

138The Emperor desired me to stay and dine with him. “Yet,” said he, “you would probably fare better at the table of the household; you will be starved with me.” “Sire,” I replied, “I know that you are ill provided; but I prefer privation shared with you to luxury enjoyed elsewhere.”

During the day, the Emperor was ill with the head-ache, of which some individuals of his suite also complained. I regretted that he was unable to go out, for the weather was very fine. After dinner, the Emperor summoned the whole of his suite into his own chamber, and we remained with him until ten o’clock.

8th.—About five o’clock the Emperor took an airing in the calash. On his return he was visited by several English gentlemen, of whom, according to custom, he asked a multitude of questions. These gentlemen had arrived by the Cornwall: they were proceeding to China, and were expected to touch at St. Helena in the following January on their passage back to Europe.

After dinner one of the suite remarked to the Emperor that his feelings had been painfully excited in the morning when writing out a fair copy of his dictation respecting the battle of Waterloo, to find that the result had depended, as it were, on a hair. The Emperor made no reply, but, turning to Emmanuel, said, in a tone expressing deep emotion: “My son (which was his usual mode of addressing him) go and get Iphigenia in Aulis, it will be a more pleasing subject.” He then read to us that beautiful drama, which he admires exceedingly.

CHARACTERISTIC REMARKS MADE BY THE EMPEROR.

9th.—I went to dine at Briars with my son and General Gourgaud; and we staid to a little ball. I met the Admiral there, and I never found him in a more agreeable humour. This was the first time I had seen him since the adventure of Noverraz; I was aware how much the circumstance had hurt him. He was on the point of departing for Europe, and I knew the Emperor’s sentiments. I was twenty times almost tempted freely to enter upon the subject, and thus to be the means of 139reconciling him with Napoleon. Truth, justice, and our own interest, demanded this; but I was deterred by considerations that were doubtless trivial. How often have I blamed myself since!... But I had not received this delicate mission, and I could not venture to take it upon myself. The admiral might have given publicity to the affair, and perhaps have represented it in a way that would have highly displeased the Emperor, and possibly have exposed him to fresh vexations. On this subject I will note down the following remarks which were made by the Emperor, and which characterize him too well to be omitted.

He was one day describing to me evils attendant on weakness and credulity in a sovereign; the intrigues which they engender in the interior of the palace; and the fickleness which they create. He demonstrated very clearly that a sovereign distinguished for these qualities must inevitably become the dupe of courtiers and the victim of calumny. “Of this I will give you a proof,” said he. “You yourself, who have sacrificed every thing to follow me; you, who have evinced such noble and affecting devotedness, how do you think your conduct is viewed? How do you imagine your character is estimated? You are regarded merely as one of the old nobility, an emigrant, an agent of the Bourbons, maintaining correspondence with the English. It is said that you concurred in betraying me to them, and that you followed me hither only to be a spy upon me and to sell me to my enemies. The aversion and animosity which you evince towards the Governor are affirmed to be only false appearances agreed upon between you for the purpose of disguising your treachery.” When I smiled at the lively turn of his fancy, and the volubility with which he expressed himself: “You may laugh,” resumed he “but I assure you that I am not inventing, I am merely echoing the reports that have reached my ears. And can you imagine,” continued he, “that a silly, feeble, and credulous being would not be influenced by such stories and contrivances? My dear Las Cases, if I had not been superior to the majority of legitimates, I might already have been deprived of your 140services here, and your upright heart would perhaps have been doomed to suffer the cruel stings of ingratitude.” He concluded by saying: “how wretched is the lot of man! He is the same every where: on the summit of a rock or within the walls of a palace! Man is always man!...”

REMARKS ON HOCHE AND VARIOUS OTHER GENERALS.

10th.—The weather was very bad, and the Emperor, finding it impossible to go out, walked up and down in the dining-room. He afterwards ordered a fire to be kindled in the drawing-room, and sat down to play at chess with the Grand Marshal. After dinner he read to us the history of Joseph from the Bible, and the Andromache of Racine.

The Bengal fleet arrived yesterday evening. The Countess of Loudon and Moira, the wife of the Governor-General of India, was among the passengers.

To-day, in the course of conversation, the name of Hoche having been mentioned, some one observed that at a very early age he had inspired great hope. “And what is still better,” said the Emperor, “you may add that he fulfilled that hope.” Hoche and Napoleon had seen each other, and had conversed twice or thrice together. Hoche esteemed him even to admiration. Napoleon did not hesitate to say that he possessed over Hoche the advantages of extensive information and the principles of a good education. There was, he said, in other respects a great difference between them. “Hoche,” said he, “endeavoured to raise a party for himself, and gained only servile adherents. For my part, I had created for myself an immense number of partisans, without in any way seeking popularity. Hoche possessed a hostile provoking kind of ambition; he was the sort of man who could conceive the idea of coming from Strasburg, with 25,000 men, to seize the reins of government by force. But my policy was always of a patient kind, led on by the spirit of the age, and the circumstances of the moment.”

The Emperor added that Hoche would ultimately either have yielded to him, or must have subdued him, 141and, as he was fond of money and pleasure, he doubted not that he would have yielded to him. Moreau, observed he, in similar circumstances, knew not how to decide. Thus Napoleon attached but little importance to him, and regarded him as totally wanting in ability; without however extending this opinion to his military talent. “But he was a weak man,” said the Emperor, "guided by those who surrounded him, and slavishly subject to the control of his wife: he was a general of the old monarchy.

“Hoche,” continued the Emperor, "died suddenly and under singular circumstances; and as there existed a party who seemed to think that all crimes belonged to me of right, endeavours were made to circulate a report that I had poisoned him. There was a time when no mischief could happen that was not imputed to me; thus, when in Paris, I caused Kleber to be assassinated in Egypt; I blew out Desaix’s brains at Marengo: I strangled and cut the throats of persons who were confined in prisons; I seized the Pope by the hair of his head: and a hundred similar absurdities were affirmed. However, as I paid not the least attention to all this, the fashion passed away, and I do not see that my successors have been very eager to revive it; and yet, if any of the crimes imputed to me had had any real existence, the documents, the perpetrators, the accomplices, &c. might have been brought forward.

“However, such is the influence of report that these stories, however absurd, were credited by the vulgar, and are perhaps still believed by a numerous class of persons. Happily the statements of the historian who reasons are divested of this pernicious effect.”

Then, returning to the former topic of conversation, he said, "What a number of great Generals arose suddenly during the revolution: Pichegru, Kleber, Massena, Marceau, Desaix, Hoche, &c., and almost all were originally private soldiers. But here the efforts of nature seem to have been exhausted; for she has produced nothing since, or at least nothing so great. At that period every thing was submitted to competition among thirty millions of men, and nature necessarily asserted her rights: 142whereas, subsequently, we were again confined within the narrower limits of order and the forms of society. I was even accused of having surrounded myself, in military and civil posts, with men of inferior ability, the better to display my own superiority. But now, when the competition will not certainly be renewed, it remains for those who are in power to make a better selection. We shall see what they will do.

"Another circumstance, not less remarkable, was the extreme youth of some of these Generals, who seemed to have started ready made from the hands of nature. Their characters were perfectly suited to the circumstances in which they were placed, with the exception of Hoche, whose morals were by no means pure. The others had no object in view save glory and patriotism, which formed their whole circle. They were men after the antique model.

"Desaix was surnamed by the Arabs the Just Sultan; at the funeral of Marceau, the Austrians observed an armistice, on account of the respect they entertained for him: and young Duphot was the emblem of perfect virtue.

"But the same commendations cannot be bestowed on those who were farther advanced in life: for they belonged in some measure to the era that had just passed away. Massena, Augereau, Brune, and many others, were merely intrepid plunderers. Massena was, moreover, distinguished for the most sordid avarice. It was asserted that I played him a trick which might have proved a hanging matter; that, being one day indignant at his last depredations, I drew on his banker for 2 or 3,000,000. Great embarrassment ensued: for my name was not without its weight. The banker wrote to intimate that he could not pay the sum without the authority of Massena. On the other hand, he was urged to pay it without hesitation, as Massena, if he were wronged, could appeal to the courts of law for justice. Massena however resorted to no legal measures, and suffered the money to be paid.

"O ——, Murat, and Ney, were common-place Generals, having no recommendation but personal courage.

143"Moncey was an honest man: Macdonald was distinguished for firm integrity; I was deceived with respect to the character of B——.

"S—— also had his faults as well as his merits. The whole of his campaign in the south of France was admirably conducted. It will scarcely be credited that this man, whose deportment and manners denoted a lofty character, was the slave of his wife. When I learned at Dresden our defeat at Vittoria, and the loss of all Spain through the mismanagement of poor Joseph, whose plans and measures were not suited to the present age, and seemed rather to belong to a Soubise than to me, I looked about for some one capable of repairing these disasters, and I cast my eyes on S—— who was near me. He said that he was ready to undertake what I wished; but entreated that I would speak to his wife, by whom, he said, he expected to be reproached. I desired him to send her to me. She assumed an air of hostility, and decidedly told me that her husband should certainly not return to Spain; that he had already performed important services, and was now entitled to a little repose. ‘Madam,’ said I to her: ‘I did not send for you with the view of enduring your scolding. I am not your husband, and if I were I should not be the more inclined to bear with you.’ These few words confounded her; she became as pliant as a glove, turned quite obsequious, and was only eager to obtain a few conditions. To these, however, I by no means acceded, and merely contented myself with congratulating her on her willingness to listen to reason. In critical circumstances, Madam, said I, it is a wife’s duty to endeavour to smooth difficulties; go home to your husband, and do not torment him by your opposition."

RIDICULOUS INVITATION SENT BY SIR HUDSON LOWE.

11th.—At four o’clock I attended the Emperor. The Grand Marshal entered the room, and gave him a note. The Emperor, after glancing it over, returned it, shrugging up his shoulders and saying: “This is too absurd! There is no answer; give it to Las Cases.”

Will it be credited? This was a note from the Governor 144to the Grand Marshal, inviting General Bonaparte to dine at Plantation House to meet Lady Loudon, the wife of Lord Moria. I blushed at the indecorum. Could any thing be more ridiculous. Sir Hudson Lowe doubtless thought the thing perfectly natural; and yet he had resided for a long time at the head-quarters of armies on the Continent; and taken part in the diplomatic transactions of the time!!...

Mr. Skelton, the Deputy-Governor of the island, who was about to depart for Europe, came accompanied by his wife, to take leave of the Emperor. They staid to dine at Longwood.

This worthy family, whom, contrary to our inclination, we had removed from Longwood, whose prospects we had overthrown by the suppression of the post of Deputy-Governor on our arrival—this excellent family, to whom we had been the occasion of real personal injury, is, however, the only one in the island from whom we have experienced invariable respect and politeness. We therefore bade them adieu with sincere wishes for their welfare. We shall always remember them with sentiments of the deepest interest.

NAPOLEON AT THE INSTITUTE.—AT THE COUNCIL OF STATE.—THE CIVIL CODE.—MESSAGE TO LORD ST. VINCENT.—ON THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA.—THE MARINE DEPARTMENT.—DECRÉS.

12th.—The Emperor, while walking in the garden and discoursing on various subjects, spoke of the Institute, the manner in which it was composed, the spirit of its members, &c. When he took his place in the Institute, on his return from the army of Italy, he said that he might consider himself as the tenth member in his class, which consisted of about fifty.

Lagrange, Laplace, and Monge, were at the head of this class. It was rather a remarkable circumstance, and one which attracted considerable notice at the time, to see the young General of the army of Italy take his place in the Institute, and publicly discuss profound metaphysical subjects with his colleagues. He was then called the Geometrician of battles, and Mechanician of victory, &c.

145On becoming First Consul, Napoleon caused no less sensation in the Council of State. He constantly presided at the sittings for drawing up the civil code. “Tronchet,” he said, “was the soul of this code, and he, Napoleon, was its demonstrator.” Tronchet was gifted with a singularly profound and correct understanding; but he could not descend to developments. He spoke badly, and could not defend what he proposed. “The whole council,” said the Emperor, “at first opposed his suggestions;” but Napoleon, with his shrewdness and facility of seizing and creating luminous and new relations, arose, and without any other knowledge of the subject than the correct basis furnished by Tronchet, developed his ideas, set aside objections, and brought every one over to his opinions.

The Minutes of the Council of State have transmitted to us the extempore speeches of the First Consul on most of the articles of the civil code. At every line, we are struck with the correctness of his observations, the depth of his views, and in particular the liberality of his sentiments.

Thus, in spite of the opposition that was set up to it, we are indebted to him for that article of the Code which enacts that every individual born in France is a Frenchman. “I should like to know,” said he, "what inconvenience can possibly arise from acknowledging every man born in France to be a Frenchman? The extension of the French civil laws can only be attended by advantageous consequences; thus instead of ordaining that individuals born in France of a foreign father shall obtain civil privileges only when they declare themselves willing to enjoy them, it may be decreed that they will be deprived of those privileges only when they formally renounce them.

"If individuals born in France of a foreign father were not to be considered as enjoying the full privileges of Frenchmen, we cannot subject to the conscription and other public duties the sons of those foreigners who have married in France through the events of the war.

“I am of opinion that the question should be considered only with reference to the interests of France. 146Though individuals born in France possess no property, they are at least animated by French spirit, and they follow French customs. They cherish that attachment which every one naturally feels for the country that gave him birth; finally, they help to maintain the public burthens.”

The First Consul distinguished himself no less by his support of the article which preserves the privileges of Frenchmen to children born of Frenchmen settled in foreign countries, and this law he extended in spite of powerful opposition. “The French people,” said he, "who are a numerous and industrious people, are scattered over every part of the world; and in course of time they will be scattered about in still greater numbers. But the French visit foreign countries only to make their fortunes. The acts by which they seem momentarily to attach themselves to foreign governments have for their object only to obtain the protection necessary for their various speculations. If they should intend to return to France, after realizing a fortune, would it be proper to exclude them?

“If it should happen that a country in the possession of France were to be invaded by the enemy, and afterwards ceded to him by a treaty, would it be just to say to those of the inhabitants who might come to settle on the territory of the republic, that they had forfeited their rights as Frenchmen, for not having quitted their former country at the moment it was ceded; and because they had sworn temporary allegiance to a new Sovereign, in order to gain time to dispose of their property and transfer their wealth to France?”

In another debate on the decease of soldiers, some difficulties having arisen relative to those who might die in a foreign country, the First Consul exclaimed with vivacity;—"The soldier is never abroad when he is under the national banner. The spot where the standard of France is unfurled becomes French ground!"

On the subject of divorce, the First Consul was for the adoption of the principle, and spoke at great length on the ground of incompatibility, which it was attempted to repel.

147“It is pretended,” said he, "that divorce is contrary to the interests of women and children, and to the spirit of families; but nothing is more at variance with the interests of married persons, when their humours are incompatible, than to reduce them to the alternative of either living together, or of separating with publicity. Nothing is more opposite to domestic happiness than a divided family. Separation had formerly, with regard to the wife, the husband, and the children, nearly the same effect as divorce, and yet it was not so frequent as divorce now is. It was only attended with this additional inconvenience, that a woman of bad character might continue to dishonour her husband’s name because she was permitted to retain it."

When opposing the drawing up of an article to specify the causes for which divorce would be admissible, he said; "But is it not a great misfortune to be compelled to expose these causes, and reveal even the most minute and private family details?

“Besides, will these causes, even in the event of their real existence, be always sufficient to obtain divorce? That of adultery, for instance, can only be successfully maintained by proofs, which it is always very difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to produce. Yet the husband, who should not be able to bring forward these proofs, would be compelled to live with a woman whom he abhors and despises, and who introduces illegitimate children into his family. His only resource would be separation from bed and board; but this would not shield his name from dishonour.”

Resuming the support of the principle of divorce, and opposing certain restrictions, he continued; "Marriage is not always, as is supposed, the result of affection. A young female consents to marry for the sake of conforming to the fashion, and obtaining independence and an establishment of her own. She accepts a husband of a disproportionate age, and whose tastes and habits do not accord with hers. The law then should provide for her a resource against the moment when, the illusion having ceased, she finds that she is united in ill-assorted bonds, and that her expectations have been disappointed.

148"Marriage takes its form from the manners, customs, and religion, of every people. Thus its forms are not everywhere alike. In some countries, wives and concubines live under the same roof; and slaves are treated like children: the organization of families is therefore not deduced from the law of nature. The marriages of the Romans were not like those of the French.

"The precautions established by law for preventing persons from contracting unthinkingly at the age of fifteen or eighteen an engagement which extends to the whole of their lives, are certainly wise. But are they sufficient?

"That after ten years passed in wedlock, divorce should not be admitted but for very weighty reasons, is also a proper regulation. Since, however, marriages contracted in early youth are rarely the choice of the parties themselves, but are brought about by their families for interested views, it is proper that, if the parties themselves perceive that they are not formed for one another, they should be enabled to dissolve a union on which they had no opportunity of reflecting. The facility thus afforded them, however, should not tend to favour either levity or passion. It should be surrounded by every precaution and every form calculated to prevent its abuse. The parties, for example, might be heard by a secret family council, held under the presidency of the magistrate. In addition to this, it might, if thought necessary, be determined that a woman should only once be allowed to procure divorce, and that she should not be suffered to re-marry in less than five years, lest the idea of a second marriage should induce her to dissolve the first; that, after married persons have lived together for ten years, the dissolution should be rendered very difficult, &c.

“To grant divorce only on account of adultery publicly proved, is to proscribe it completely; for, on the one hand, few cases of adultery can be proved, and, on the other, there are few men shameless enough to expose the infamy of their wives. Besides, it would be scandalous, and contrary to the honour of the nation, to reveal the scenes that pass in some families; it might be concluded, 149though erroneously, that they afford a picture of our French manners.”

The first lawyers of the council were of opinion that civil death should carry along with it the dissolution of the civil contract of marriage. The question was warmly discussed. The First Consul, with great animation, opposed it in these terms; "A woman is then to be forbidden, though fully convinced of her husband’s innocence, to follow in exile the man to whom she is most tenderly united; or, if she should yield to her conviction, and to her duty, she is to be regarded only as a concubine! Why deprive an unfortunate married couple of the right of living together under the honourable title of lawful husband and wife?

"If the law permits a woman to follow her husband, without allowing her the title of wife, it permits adultery.

"Society is sufficiently avenged by the sentence of condemnation, when the criminal is deprived of his property and torn from his friends and his connections. Is there any need to extend the punishment to the wife, and violently to dissolve a union which identifies her existence with that of her husband? Would she not say:—‘You‘You had better have taken his life, I should then have been permitted at least to cherish his memory; but you ordain that he shall live, and you will not allow me to console him in his misery.’misery.’ Alas! how many men have been led into guilt only through their attachment to their wives! Those therefore who have caused their misfortunes should at least be permitted to share them. If a woman fulfils this duty, you esteem her virtue, and yet you are allowing her no greater indulgence than would be extended to the infamous wretch who prostitutes herself!" Volumes might be filled with quotations of this sort.

In 1815, after the restoration, as I was conversing with M. Bertrand de Molleville, formerly Minister of the Marine under Louis XVI., a man of great abilities, and who has distinguished himself in more ways than one, he said:—"Your Bonaparte, your Napoleon, was a very extraordinary man, it must be confessed. How 150little did we know him on the other side of the water! We could not but yield to the conviction of his victories and his invasions, it is true; but Genseric, Attila, and Alaric, were as victorious as he. Thus he produced on me an impression of terror rather than of admiration. But, since I have been here, I have taken the trouble to look over the debates on the civil code, and I have ever since been filled with profound veneration for him. But where in the world did he collect all his knowledge?... I discover something new every day. Ah! Sir, what a man you had at the head of your government. Really, he was nothing less than a prodigy!..."

About five o’clock the Emperor received Captain Bowen, of the Salsette frigate, which is to sail to-morrow. He behaved very condescendingly to him. In the course of conversation the name of Lord St. Vincent, who the Captain said was his patron, happened to be mentioned, on which the Emperor remarked: “You will see him on your return to England, and I commission you to present my compliments to him, as to a good sailor, a brave and worthy veteran.”

About 7 o’clock the Emperor took a bath. He sent for me, and we conversed for a long time, first on the events of the day, then on literary subjects, and lastly on geography. He expressed his astonishment that we possessed no certain knowledge of the interior of Africa. I told him that I had entertained the idea, some years ago, of presenting to his Minister of Marine a plan of a journey into the interior of Africa; not a secret and adventurous excursion, but a regular military expedition, in every respect worthy of the age and of the Emperor. The Minister laughed in my face when I first conversed with him on the subject, and looked upon the idea as an absurdity.

My plan was to have entered Africa at once on the north, south, east, and west, and to have formed a junction in the centre; or, if starting only from the east and west, I proposed that the two divisions of the expedition should meet in the centre, separate again and proceed, one to the north, the other to the south. I thought it probable that, after obtaining from the Court of Portugal 151all the information that could be procured, it would be found that there already existed a communication from east to west, or that at all events very little was wanting to effect it. The state of public feeling at the time, our enthusiasm, our enterprizes, our prodigies, would have rendered it easy to procure 5 or 600 good soldiers, with the requisite number of surgeons, physicians, botanists, chymists, astronomers, and naturalists, all willing to embark in the enterprize, and we should undoubtedly have accomplished something worthy of the age.

The necessary supply of beasts of burthen, small leathern boats for crossing rivers, skins for conveying water through the deserts, and light manageable field-pieces, would have rendered the execution of the enterprize easy and complete.

“No doubt,” said the Emperor, “your idea would have pleased me. I should have taken it up, submitted it to the consideration of a committee, and brought it to a result.”

He said that he very much regretted his not having had time, during his stay in Egypt, to accomplish something of this sort. He had troops suited in every respect to brave the dangers of the desert. He had received presents from the Queen of Darfour, and had sent her some in return. Had he remained longer, he intended to have carried to a great extent our geographical investigations in the northern district of Africa, and that too by the simplest means, merely by placing in each caravan some intelligent officers, for whom he would have procured hostages.

The conversation then turned on the marine department. The Emperor entered very deeply into the subject. He could not say that he was satisfied with Decrès; and he even thought that the confidence he reposed in him was not altogether irreproachable. The difficulty of finding persons better qualified maintained him in his post; for, after all, the Emperor said, Decrès was the best he could find. Ganteaume was merely a sailor, and destitute of every other talent. Cafarelli, he said, had forfeited his good opinion, because he had been 152informed that his wife intrigued in political affairs, which he regarded as an unpardonable offence. Missiessi was not a man to be depended on; for his family had been one of those who surrendered Toulon. The Emperor had, for a moment, cast his eye on Emériau; but, on consideration, he did not think that he possessed adequate capabilities. He had asked himself whether T...... might not have filled the post; but he decided that he was not qualified for it. He was a good man of business, it is true; but he had plunged very deeply into the affairs of the revolution; and what had confirmed the Emperor in his disapproval of him was that he had subsequently seen some of his private letters, by which it was evident that he still adhered to his old jacobinical sentiments.

“I had,” observed the Emperor, “rendered the duties of all my ministerial posts so easy that almost any one was capable of discharging them, if he possessed only fidelity, zeal, and activity. I must however except the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which it was frequently necessary to exercise a ready talent for persuasion. In fact,” continued he, “in the marine department but little was required, and Decrès was perhaps, after all, the best man I could have found. He possessed authority; and he discharged the business of his office scrupulously and honestly. He was endowed with a good share of understanding, but this was evinced only in his conversation and private conduct. He never conceived any plan of his own, and was incapable of executing the ideas of others on a grand scale; he could walk, but he could never be made to run. He ought to have passed one-half of his time in the sea-ports, or on board the exercising squadrons. He would have lost none of my favour by so doing. But, as a courtier, he was afraid to quit his portfolio. This shews how little he knew me. He would not have been the less protected by removing from my Court: his absence would have been a powerful circumstance in his favour.”

The Emperor said he very much regretted Latouche-Tréville, whom he regarded as a man of real talent. He was of opinion that that Admiral would have given 153a different impulse to affairs. The attack on India and the invasion of England would by him have been at least attempted, and perhaps accomplished.

The Emperor blamed himself for having employed the pinnaces at Bologne. He said it would have been better had he employed real ships at Cherbourg. He was of opinion that had Villeneuve manifested more vigour at Cape Finistèrre, the attack might have been rendered practicable. “I had made arrangements for the arrival of Villeneuve, with considerable art and calculation, and in defiance of the opinions and the routine of the naval officers by whom I was surrounded. Every thing happened as I had foreseen; when the inactivity of Villeneuve ruined all. But,” added the Emperor, "Heaven knows what instructions he might have received from Decrès,^[10] or what letters might have been privately written to him which never came to my knowledge; for, though I was very powerful and fond of searching into every thing, yet I am convinced that I was far from knowing all that was passing around me.

"The Grand Marshal said, the other day, that it used to be remarked in the saloon of the household that I was never accessible to any one after I had given audience to the Minister of the Marine. The reason was, because he never had any but bad news to communicate to me. For my part I gave up every thing after the disaster of Trafalgar; I could not be every where, and I had enough to occupy my attention with the armies of the continent.

"I had long meditated a decisive expedition to India; but my plans had been constantly frustrated. I intended to have fitted out a force of 16,000 troops, on board ships of the line; each 74 to have taken 500 troops on 154board, which would of course have required thirty-two ships. I proposed that they should take in a supply of water for four months; which supply might have been renewed at the Isle of France, or in any habitable spot of the desert of Africa, Brazil, or the Indian Ocean. In case of need, they might have taken in water wherever they chose to anchor. On reaching the place of their destination, the troops were to be put ashore, and the ships were immediately to depart, making up the number of their crews by the sacrifice of seven or eight of the vessels which might be condemned as unserviceable; so that an English squadron arriving from Europe immediately afterwards would have found no trace of ours.

“As for the army, when abandoned to itself and placed under the command of a clever and confidential chief, it would have renewed the prodigies that were familiar to us, and Europe would have beheld the conquest of India as she had already seen the conquest of Egypt.”

I knew Decrès well; we had both commenced our career together in the marine. I think he entertained for me all the friendship of which he was susceptible, and I, on my part, was tenderly attached to him. It was an unfortunate passion, as I used to say when I was rallied on the subject, which was frequently the case, for Decrès was very much disliked, and I have often thought that, from some motive or other, he took pleasure in his own unpopularity. At St. Helena, as elsewhere, I found myself almost his only defender. I saw a great deal of him while the Emperor was at the island of Elba, and he was occasionally favourable to Napoleon. We conversed candidly on the subject, and I have every reason to believe that he observed full and entire confidence with respect to me.

“No sooner had your Majesty returned to the Tuileries,” said I to the Emperor, "than Decrès and I ran to embrace each other, exclaiming, ‘He has returned! we have him again!’ His eyes were suffused with tears; I must bear this testimony to his feelings. ‘Well,’ said he to me, in the presence of his wife, ‘I am now convinced that I have often done you wrong, and I owe 155you reparation; but your old habits and connections so naturally brought you in contact with those who are now about to quit us that I doubted not but you would sooner or later be perfectly reconciled with them, though you were perhaps often offended at the expression of my real sentiments.’”—“And did you believe this, you simpleton?" exclaimed the Emperor, bursting into a fit of laughter. “This was an excellent piece of courtier-like art; a touch for La Bruyère. It was really a good idea on the part of Decrès; for if, during my absence, any thing offensive to me had chanced to escape him, he would, you see, by this means, have atoned for it once for all.”—"Well, Sire," continued I, "what I have just told you is perhaps only amusing; but what I will now communicate is of a more important nature:—During the crisis of 1814, before the taking of Paris, Decrès was sounded in a very artful way as to his inclination to conspire against your Majesty, and he honestly repelled the suggestion. Decrès was easily and often roused to discontent; and he possessed a certain air of authority in his language and manners which rendered him a useful acquisition to any party he might espouse. He happened, at the unhappy period I have just mentioned, to visit a person of celebrity; the hero of the machinations of the day. The latter advanced to Decrès, and, drawing him aside to the fire-place, took up a book, saying, I have just now been reading something that struck me forcibly,—you shall hear it. Montesquiou, in such and such a chapter and page, says,—When the Prince rises above the laws, when tyranny becomes insupportable, the oppressed have no alternative but....—‘Enough,’ exclaimed Decrès, putting his hand over the mouth of the reader; ‘I will hear no more; close the book.’ And the other coolly laid down the volume, as though nothing particular had occurred, and began to talk on a totally different subject."

On another occasion, a certain Marshal, after his fatal defection, alarmed at the unfavourable impression which his conduct was calculated to produce on the public mind, and vainly seeking the approbation and support of those who surrounded him, endeavoured to interest 156Decrès in his favour. “I have always borne in mind,” said he to Decrès, “one of our conversations in which you so energetically painted the evils and perplexities that weighed upon the country. The force of your arguments greatly influenced me in the step which I took with the view of alleviating our misfortunes.”—"Yes, my dear fellow," replied Decrès; “but did it not also occur to you that you overshot your mark?”

“In order that these anecdotes may be appreciated as they deserve,” said I to the Emperor, “I must inform your Majesty that they were related to me by Decrès himself during your absence, and when he certainly entertained no idea of your return.”

The Emperor kept up the conversation for nearly two hours in the bath. He did not dine till nine o’clock, and he desired me to stay with him. We discoursed about the military school at Paris. I left the school only a year before Napoleon entered it, and therefore the same officers, tutors, and comrades were common to us both. He took particular pleasure in reverting with me to this period of our youth: in reviving the recollection of our occupations, our boyish tricks, our games, &c.

In this cheerful humour, he called for a glass of Champagne, which was rather an unusual thing; for such is his habitual abstinence that a single glass of wine is sufficient to flush his face, and to render him very talkative. It is well known that he seldom sits longer than a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, at table; but to-day we sat upwards of two hours. He was very much surprised when Marchand informed him that it was eleven o’clock. “How rapidly the time has slipped away,” said he, with an expression of satisfaction. “Why can I not always pass my hours thus agreeably! My dear Las Cases,” said he, as he dismissed me, “you leave me happy.”

DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF MY SON.—REMARKABLE OBSERVATIONS.—THE DICTIONARY OF WEATHERCOCKS.—BERTHOLET.

13th. Dr. Warden and two other medical gentlemen came to hold a consultation on my son, whose indisposition alarmed me.

157The Emperor, at my request, consented to receive Dr. Warden, our old acquaintance of the Northumberland. He conversed for upwards of two hours, familiarly taking a review of those acts of his government which had drawn upon him the greatest share of enmity, falsehood, and calumny. As the Doctor afterwards observed to me, nothing could be more correct, clear, simple, curious, and satisfactory, than these details.

The Emperor concluded with the following remarkable observations: “I concern myself but little about the libels that have been written against me. My acts and the events of my reign refute them more completely than the most skilful arguments that could be employed. I seated myself on a vacant throne. I arrived at supreme power unsullied by the crimes that have usually disgraced the chiefs of dynasties. Let history be consulted, let me be compared with others! If I have to fear the reproaches of posterity and history, it is not for having been too severe but perhaps for having been too indulgent!”

After dinner, the Emperor looked at the Dictionnaire des Girouettes (Dictionary of Weathercocks) which is humourously conceived, though not so well executed. It is an alphabetic collection of the living characters who have figured on the stage of public events since the Revolution, and whose language, opinions, and conduct have followed the changes of the wind. Weathercocks are affixed to their names, with an abstract of the speeches or a description of the acts which have procured for them the distinction. On opening the work, the Emperor inquired whether any of us were mentioned in it. “No Sire,” some one present jokingly replied, “none save your Majesty.” The name of Napoleon was indeed recorded in the work, because, as it was affirmed, he had first sanctioned the republic and then assumed the prerogative of royalty.

The Emperor read to us several articles from the Dictionary. The contrast exhibited at different times in the language and conduct of certain individuals was truly curious; and the transition was in some instances performed with so much coolness and effrontery that the 158Emperor several times suspended his reading and burst into a hearty fit of laughter. However, after going through a few pages, he closed the book, with an expression of disgust and regret, observing that, after all, the publication was a disgrace to society, a code of turpitude, and a record of our dishonour. One article seemed to affect him deeply, namely, that concerning Bertholet, whom he had so loaded with favour, and on whom, he said, he had every reason to rely.

The following charming trait in the Emperor’s character may be mentioned here, though it is pretty generally known. Bertholet had sustained losses which involved him in difficulties, when, the circumstance having come to the Emperor’s knowledge, he sent him 100,000 crowns, adding, that he had reason to complain of him, since he seemed to have forgotten that he, Napoleon, was always ready to serve his friends. Bertholet, however, behaved very ungratefully to the Emperor, at the period of his disasters. His conduct deeply affected Napoleon at the time, and he was often heard to exclaim: “What Bertholet, on whom I thought I could rely with such confidence!...”

On the Emperor’s return from Elba, Bertholet seemed again inclined to manifest his former sentiments of attachment to his benefactor. He ventured to show himself at the Tuileries, and desired Monge to inform the Emperor that, if he did not obtain a sight of him, he would put a period to his existence the moment he left the palace. The Emperor could not refuse his request, and saluted him with a smile as he passed by.

During his reign, the Emperor had conferred repeated favours on several great manufacturers, among others on Oberkamp, Richard Lenoir, &c. He wished to look for their names in the Dictionary, but every voice was raised to bear witness to their good conduct.

RECEPTION OF THE PASSENGERS IN THE BENGAL FLEET.

14th.—About four o’clock a great number of visitors came to Longwood, They were passengers who had arrived by the East India Fleet, and the Emperor had 159signified his willingness to receive them. The party consisted of Mr. Strange, the brother-in-law of Lord Melville, First Lord of the English Admiralty; a Mr. Arbuthnot; and Sir William Burroughs, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Calcutta; two of Lord Moira’s Aides-de-camp; and some others, together with several ladies. We were all conversing together in the ante-chamber, when the Emperor left his own room to proceed to the garden. This circumstance excited the curiosity of our visitors, who eagerly flew to the windows to see him pass by:—the scene reminded us of Plymouth. The Grand Marshal conducted our visitors to the presence of the Emperor, who received them with the most perfect grace, and with that captivating smile which has exercised such irresistible power. Curiosity and lively emotion were painted in the countenances of all.

The Emperor conversed with each individual, and, according to custom, instantly seized any circumstance that happened to be connected with their names, as he heard them announced. He discoursed with the Supreme Judge on legislation and the administration of justice; with the Company’s officers on trade and the internal Government of India. He questioned the military gentlemen as to how many years they had served and how many wounds they had received; he paid many flattering compliments to the ladies, and remarked, that the climate of Bengal had not spoiled the delicacy of their complexions, &c. Then, addressing himself to one of Lord Moira’s aides-de-camp, he observed that the Grand Marshal had informed him that Lady Loudon was on the Island, and that, had she been within his limits, he should have had great pleasure in paying his respects to her; but that, as she happened to reside beyond the boundaries which had been prescribed to him, he had no more opportunity of seeing her than if she were still in Bengal.

During these conversations, in which I acted as interpreter, Mr. Strange, with whom I had previously been talking, drew me aside by the flap of my coat, and in a tone of surprise and satisfaction said:—"What grace and dignity of manner the Emperor displays!—he 160shows that he has been accustomed to the etiquette of holding a levee!"

We conducted the company to the drawing-room, and curiosity led them to take a peep at the Emperor’s apartments. Sir William Burroughs, who, from the post he holds, may be supposed to have some connection with the English ministry, on entering the drawing-room asked me whether it was our dining-room. I informed him that it was the drawing-room, or that we might more properly say, it was the only room in the house; at this he was much astonished. I then pointed out to him through the window, the two little chambers which are all the Emperor has for his own use. His countenance expressed regret, and he seemed, in his own mind to be drawing comparisons between the present and the past. Remarking the wretchedness of the furniture and the narrow limits of our abode, he said, with an air of concern—"You will be better provided for soon."—"How," said I, “is there any intention of removing us from the Island?”—"No, but some elegant furniture and a commodious house are to be sent to you."—"We do not," I replied, “complain of the furniture, or the house; but of the rock to which we have been banished, and the latitude in which it is situated. This latitude cannot be changed and we can never be well here.”

I repeated to him literally what the Emperor had, a few days previously said to the Governor on the same subject. Sir William was amazed, and, pressing my hand, he said with a degree of warmth:—"My dear Sir, he is too great and too gifted a man; we have too much cause to dread and fear him."—"But," said I, in my turn, “why not have driven the car of glory together, instead of mutually destroying each other by dragging it different ways? What might not then have been its course?” He looked at me, and again pressing my hand, he said with a pensive air:—"Yes, that would doubtless have been better; but...."

All were particularly struck with the Emperor’s freedom of manner, and his tranquil expression of countenance. I know not what they had expected to see. One remarked that he could scarcely form a conception of the 161strength of mind necessary to enable Napoleon to endure such wonderful reverses. “That is,” replied I, "because nobody yet well knows the Emperor’s character. He told us the other day that he had been like a block of marble during all the great events of his life; that they had slipped over him without producing any impression either on his moral or physical faculties."

After dinner, the Emperor asked us, as he often does, what we should like to read. Some one proposed that we should resume the Dictionary of Weathercocks; but this the Emperor objected to, on the ground that it served but to render his evenings the more unpleasant. “Rather let us amuse ourselves with fiction,” said he; and, asking for Jerusalem Delivered, he read aloud several cantos of that poem, occasionally translating passages into French. He then read the chief part both of Phedre and Athalie, always expressing his great admiration of the writings of Racine.

EQUALITY OF PUNISHMENTS.—THE EMPEROR REQUIRES ME TO GIVE HIM A DETAILED HISTORY OF MY ATLAS.

15th.—The Emperor, during his walk, conversed on various subjects, and at length happened to light on that of crimes and punishments. He observed that the greatest jurists, even those who had been influenced by the spirit of the age, were divided as to the principle of the equalization of capital punishments. At the establishment of the Code, he should have been averse to equalization, had not circumstances obliged him to adopt a contrary course. He asked my opinion: “I am,” said I, "decidedly favourable to the inequality of punishments. Our notions demand a gradation in punishments, analogous to that which we conceive in crimes. The harmony of our sensations seems to require this. I can never bring myself to rank on a level with each other the wretch who has murdered his father and him who has merely committed a slight robbery accompanied by violence. Should these two criminals be visited by the same punishment?

“In this question the criminal himself is least of all to 162be considered. The punishment is his business; and humanity discovers many hidden modes of relieving his physical suffering. His ideas previously to the commission of the crime, the feelings which his punishment creates in the minds of the spectators, and the effect it produces on society in general:—these are the points which must claim the attention of the legislator in deciding the question of the equalization of punishments. It is erroneous to suppose that death alone is sufficient, and that the kind of death has no influence on the mind of the criminal in the premeditation of his crime; for if there be inequality of punishment, there is no culprit who would not make his choice if he were permitted so to do. Let any member of society consult his own feelings: he would shudder at the very idea of certain punishments, while perhaps he would be totally indifferent to certain modes of death. The inequality of punishments and the solemnity of executions belong therefore to the justice and policy of civilization. Yet I conceive that it would now be impossible to subdue public opinion on this point.”^[11]

The Emperor entirely concurred in these ideas. Having mentioned the crime of regicide, he observed that it might truly be said to be the greatest of all crimes, owing to the consequences which it produced. “The man,” said he, “who should have murdered me in France would have subverted all Europe; and how many times have I not been exposed to assassination!”

Lady Loudon, wife of Lord Moira, the Governor-General of India, has been for several days at St. Helena, where she attracts general attention. She is a lady of high rank, corresponding nearly with a French Duchess under the old regime. The English officers treat her with the utmost respect. To-day the Admiral invited 163her to a little entertainment on board the Northumberland. He sent a messenger on horseback to request me to lend him my Atlas for the evening, in order that he might shew it to Lady Loudon, whose husband was described in it as the first representative of the Plantagenets, and consequently as the legitimate heir to the throne of England.

The Admiral and I were on a footing of perfect indifference; indeed we had been nearly strangers to each other since the moment he put me ashore. The request was not so much a mark of politeness to me, as a compliment to the work itself. The Atlas had been the subject of conversation, the lady had expressed a wish to see it, and the Admiral felt a desire to shew it to her. However, I was unable to satisfy this desire. The book was in the Emperor’s chamber, and such was the answer I returned.

The Emperor smiled at the honour which the Admiral had intended for me; and I could not help pitying the amusement that had been prepared for the lady. This circumstance led the Emperor himself to speak of the Atlas, and to repeat some observations which had fallen from him before. He remarked that he heard my work spoken of at all times and in all places; that he found it sought after by foreigners as well as Frenchmen. He had heard it mentioned on board the Bellerophon and the Northumberland, at the Island of St. Helena, and, in short, every where, persons of information and rank either knew the work, or expressed a wish to become acquainted with it. “This,” said he, in a lively strain, “is what I call enjoying a real triumph, a great reputation in the literary world. I wish you would give me the history of this Atlas. Tell me when and how you conceived the idea of it, the manner in which it was executed, and its results: why you first of all published it under a fictitious name, and why you did not afterwards affix your real name to it: in short, give me a true and particular account; you understand, Mr. Councillor of State?”

I replied that it would be a long story; though to me the recital would not be devoid of pleasure; for, I added, 164that my Atlas was the history of a great portion of my life, and that, above all, I was indebted to it for the happiness of being now near the person of the Emperor.

The following is the narrative, such as it appeared when corrected after my first hasty notes. Its length, doubtless, requires indulgence; but this I trust the reader will be inclined to grant, on consideration that the details which I here enter into revive the recollection of my happiest years, of the period of my youth, my health and strength, in a word, of the dear but brief interval of the plenitude of life. I once more entreat the reader to pardon the prolixity in which I have indulged; but this statement so forcibly revives my recollections of past happiness that even now, on reading it over, I cannot find it in my heart to cancel any part of it.

"This Work was partly the fruit of chance; but above all, of necessity, which, as the common proverb says, is the mother of industry.... At the time of the first reverses of the French emigrants, I was cast by the political hurricane in the streets of London, without friends, without money, and without resources; but possessing the requisite courage and willingness for exertion. To a man animated by such a spirit, London, at that time, afforded certain sources of emolument.

"After having unsuccessfully made several applications, I determined to rely on myself alone, and, like Figaro, I decided on turning author. For a moment, I had thoughts of becoming a romance writer: this idea was suggested to me by the proposals of a bookseller; but he required too much and was inclined to pay too little. I then turned my thoughts to writing history, which, at all events, was calculated to procure for me a certain moral advantage, by storing my mind with positive knowledge. It was then I conceived the first idea of my Atlas, which I may truly regard as an inspiration from Heaven, for to it I owed my life. The work was at first a simple sketch, a mere nomenclature, very different from the form in which it now appears. However, it sufficed immediately to relieve me from embarrassment, and to secure to me what might be called a little fortune, in comparison with the miseries endured by the 165other emigrants. Then, Sire, came the Peace of Amiens, and the benefits conferred on us by your amnesty. I was enabled to make a journey to France, merely as a traveller, having no other object in view than to breathe my native air and to see the French capital. There I found myself at liberty to express my sentiments without restraint; investigation was easy; my ideas and my judgment were enlarged; I was master of my time, and I undertook to arrange my Atlas in the form in which it now appears. I proposed publishing regularly four sheets per quarter. I was now vastly improved both in my mind and circumstances. Interest, attention, good offers, money and connexions, poured in upon me; and I may confidently affirm that this was the happiest period of my life.

"In England, I had published my Work under a feigned name, in order to avoid compromising the honour of my own. I happened to fix upon Le Sage, just as I might have decided on Leblanc, Legris, or Lenoir. But I could not have made a more unlucky choice, or, at least, I could not have assumed a more general appellation. Sometime afterwards, a letter intended for me passed through all the different colonies of French emigrants in London, and was delivered by turns to twenty-two priests, who all bore the name of Le Sage. At length one, who had apparently discovered that the name did not belong to me, sent me the letter in a violent rage, observing that, when people thought proper to change their names, they should at least avoid taking those that belonged to other persons.

"In France I still preserved the name of Le Sage, which had now become identified with my Atlas. To have published it under a new name might have led to the supposition that it was a new work. Besides, I did not wish to expose my own name to the chance of failure, to the attacks of the Journals, or to the bickerings of criticism. Even though I had been assured of the complete success of the work, I should not probably have felt the more inclined to affix my real name to it, owing to a remnant of my old prejudices, of which I could not easily divest myself.

166"Certainly this literary fame flattered me not a little; but I had sprung from a warlike race, and I conceived that I was in duty bound to pursue fame of another kind. However, circumstances rendered this impossible, and I think it proper to mention that at least I was not unconscious of the duty. I never had cause to repent of my double appellation. Independently of my real motive for assuming it, it diffused around me an air of adventure and romance which was by no means disagreeable, and which was moreover in unison with my temper and character. It occasioned many mistakes and humourous scenes which afforded me considerable amusement. In England, for example, I have often, when in company, been questioned in the most innocent way imaginable respecting the merits of M. Le Sage’s work; and at a boarding-school I was once addressed in very discourteous language, because I obstinately persisted in condemning my own Atlas.

"So long as I continued myself to manage the publication of the work, my method was to treat in person with all who offered to set their names down as subscribers. I had now no favours to solicit; I rather found it necessary in some instances to guard against receiving those that were offered. In France particularly I was overwhelmed with acts of kindness and flattering compliments. Some paid me these attentions because they knew me, others precisely because they did not know me; and all because I conducted myself alike to each. For my part, I enjoyed the curious spectacle that now presented itself to me. As every one who wished to become a subscriber was obliged to give in his own name, I took a review of many characters, whom I well knew, and observed them in silence. I was thus enabled to meditate at my ease on the curious diversity of opinion, judgment, and taste. The point which one condemned was precisely that which another most admired, which a third declared to be indispensable, and which a fourth pronounced to be inadmissible. Each according to custom failed not to set forth his own opinion as the prevailing one: it was the sentiment of all Paris and of every body.

167"I had now an opportunity of being convinced of the great advantage that a man derives from superintending his own business himself, and of the important influence of politeness and good manners in all the affairs of life. I acceded to every thing that was proposed, I received every hint that was suggested, and I was repaid a hundred-fold for my complaisance. It frequently happened that a person who had called on me, without any intention of purchasing the work, was not only induced to carry it away with him, but brought me ten, twenty, or even a hundred, additional subscribers.

"One described my Atlas as a classic work to the Minister of the Interior; another recommended it to the Minister for Foreign Affairs; a third promised to procure for me the decoration of the Legion of Honour, and a fourth wrote a flattering critique on the work, and got it inserted in the public journals. Some carried their interest and attachment for me even to a degree of enthusiasm. Of this the following are instances. One of my provincial subscribers, who was unacquainted with me, wrote to request, as a particular favour, that I would get my portrait engraved to embellish the work, offering, in case I acceded to the proposition, to defray half the expenses of the engraving. Another, who was the owner of the Chateau de Montmorency, paid me a visit every week under pretence of enquiring whether I had got a new sheet of my Atlas ready for publication, but in reality, as he himself assured me, to pass his happiest hours in my society. He added that, if ever I should take a fancy to sell my conversation as I did the sheets of my work, it was in my power, if I chose, to ruin him. I afterwards learned that this was a man of a very eccentric turn; one of La Bruyere’s characters; quite after the manner of Jean-Jacques. For a considerable time he seemed to rack his invention to make me offers of service in the most delicate way imaginable: he even went so far as to throw out paternal suggestions to me. ‘M. Le Sage,M. Le Sage,’ said he, oftener than once ‘you ought to marry. You possess qualities that are calculated to insure the happiness of a wife, and still more that of a father-in-law.’ I must not omit to mention that the 168old gentleman had but one daughter, and she was a rich heiress. However, the warmth of our intimacy gradually abated, till at length I entirely lost the acquaintance. It was not until a considerable time afterwardsafterwards that, being on a country excursion with a party of ladies, the sight of the Chateau de Montmorency revived the recollection of my old friend. I related the history of his eccentricities to the ladies who accompanied me: their curiosity was excited, and we determined to visit the chateau. The porter refused to admit us. On my enquiring whether the gentleman was at his country residence, I received for answer that he was there, and that this was precisely the reason why we could not be admitted. I thought it very extraordinary that he should thus immure himself and render himself totally inaccessible. With considerable difficulty I prevailed on the servant to announce M. Le Sage. The sound of the name operated like enchantment; the affront offered to an elegant calash and rich liveries was immediately repaired. The gates were thrown open, apparently to the no small astonishment of the porter. The servants received orders to show us over the building and to offer us every kind of refreshment. We had brought with us in the carriage provisions for a little rural repast; but a sumptuous dinner was laid out for us in one of the best apartments; and we could not, with any thing like a good grace, decline accepting what was so politely offered. All this hospitality was perfectly disinterested on the part of the worthy old gentleman, who was confined to his chamber by the gout. He was overjoyed at seeing me; and he seemed to regard my visit as the return of the prodigal son. He insisted on seeing the ladies who accompanied me, and was carried into the dining-room to do the honours of the dessert. One thing that amused us infinitely was that he seemed to have no idea of the rank of the friends by whom I was accompanied; and he treated them like persons of inferior rank, though they were in reality ladies of distinction. The old gentleman would now scarcely allow me to depart; he insisted on my repeating my visit, and said, that I and all my friends should ever be welcome to his residence. But alas! I 169could not avail myself of his kindness; for a few days afterwards I read in the papers an account of the death of this kind and sincere friend.

"From the commencement of my greatness, I may, under every point of view, date the termination of the golden age of my Atlas. When I was transplanted to Court and permitted to approach your Majesty’s person, I conceived that I could not with propriety descend to the details that had hitherto occupied me. I confided the management of the copyright to one of my old college companions, who had been an emigrant like myself, but who did not turn the publication to so good an account as I had done.

"On entering upon my new post at Court, I was loaded with compliments on my production; but to these I replied indifferently, and just as one would do at a ball, after dropping one’s mask. When it was found that I never alluded to my work, that I never quoted from it, and that I avoided all discussion on it, I was never spoken to on the subject; and at length people began to wonder how I had ever written it, and indeed to doubt whether I had any right at all to be considered as its author.

"On hearing these words, the Emperor said to me, ‘My dear Las Cases, even this doubt has found its way to St. Helena. I have heard it affirmed that the work was not written by you, that you purchased the manuscript from the real author; and in support of this assertion it has been remarked that you know nothing at all about the book, because you never speak of it. To these observations,’ continued he, ‘I have merely contented myself with saying, Did you never know any question to remain without a complete answer? Besides I recognise throughout the whole work the style, the very expressions, of Las Cases.’

“Many,” said I, resuming my narrative, "will think I injured myself by this denial; but I preferred good taste to quackery, and I was only acting according to the dictates of my natural disposition. Your Majesty was the other day describing how Syees used to present himself loaded with written plans, and at the very first word of contradiction, as soon as he found it necessary to act on 170the defensive, he would gather up his papers and be off in a moment. This was precisely my feeling. I never could stand up publicly to support my opinions. Before I could do this, I must enjoy the authority of rank or the freedom of intimate friendship: otherwise I prefer dooming myself to silence, that is to say, when I am not interrogated and urged to the point. But to return to my subject.

"So long as I remained in obscurity I enjoyed the good-will of every one; but my elevation rendered me an object of enmity, and I felt the influence of that vague feeling of envy and malevolence which ever follows the footsteps of fortune. The public journals, which for a length of time had overflowed with flattery and agreeable expressions in favour of the Historical Atlas, now inserted some very ill-natured articles respecting the work, and when these were traced to their source, the writers frankly avowed that they had been occasioned solely by changes that had taken place in political opinions and public affairs.

"A report was delivered to the Institute of all the works that had appeared for several years past; and in this report the Atlas was very severely treated. Happening to be one day in company with the writer of this report, to whom I was known only by the name of Le Sage, I expressed to him my dissatisfaction at what he had said of the Atlas. He candidly confessed that the work and its author were alike unknown to him; that, having found the labour of writing the report too much for him, he had divided the task among several other persons. He informed me that the article on Le Sage’s Atlas was infinitely more severe when delivered to him than it appeared as inserted in the report. He had softened it down considerably. ‘I can easily perceive,’ continued he, ‘that you have enemies in the literary world, and for these you are indebted to your habits and your situation. You have connected yourself with a Count somebody, who holds places at Court; but courtiers and authors never agree well together. Those gentlemen are, for the most part, very unlike us. It is said that, in this curious partnership, you supply the talent and he 171provides the money. What is the use of that? The Count is only making his profit of you; your work is good, and your bookseller would have remunerated you for it. However, I am only repeating what I have heard, and I advise you to what I conceive to be your interest. If you wish to enjoy our suffrage, you must connect yourself with us, you must identify yourself with our doctrines, and leave the great folks to themselves.’

"I replied, with all possible civility, that I was certainly indebted to him for his kind advice, though it was not just then in my power to follow it. I assured him that he had formed an unfair opinion of my friend; that our purses and our very lives were common to each other; that our friendship and intimacy were indissoluble; that we had vowed to live and die together, and that nothing could induce us to break that vow. It was altogether a truly comic scene.

"Some time afterwards I was dining at the table of a Prince: I was seated beside my illustrious host, and wore a uniform covered with lace. The member of the Institute was one of the guests. Surprise and embarrassment were portrayed in his countenance. I spoke to him several times; but he always drew close to his neighbours, whispering to them, and apparently making enquiries. After dinner, he came up to me, and very good-humouredly begged me to relieve him from his perplexity. He said that he perfectly recollected having had the honour of meeting me before, but that he was quite at a loss to comprehend the trick that I had played upon him. I disclaimed any intention of hoaxing him. ‘All that you have seen,’ said I, ‘and all that I have told you, is nothing but reality and truth. The mystery is easily solved. You then saw M. Le Sage who supplies the talent, and you now see M. Le Comte who provides the funds. You now understand how histories are written, and I have learned how reports are made out.’

“An equally ridiculous mistake procured for M. Le Sage in the famous Yellow Dwarf, the honour of being set down as a Weathercock, in quality of genealogist of the order under the humorous name of Parvulus Sapiens (Little Le Sage). For this favour, as I afterwards learned, I was 172indebted to the suppression that was made during the King’s reign of the genealogy of your Majesty, whose descent I was supposed to have traced from Æneas and Ascanuis. It is difficult to conceive what could have been meant by all this, as there was nothing in the Atlas that could either directly or indirectly have suggested such an idea. However, at all the various times at which the Atlas and its author were assailed, numerous zealous and fervent partisans enquired whether I would be pleased to permit them to take up my defence. I invariably desired that the subject might be dropped; I conceived that, by thus occupying public attention, I should surely endanger my own tranquillity. I smiled at the ill-natured attacks that were made on poor M. Le Sage; but I should have been very sorry to have seen them extended to his alias.

“If however my Atlas enjoyed this general and extensive success, it certainly deserved it. The work is indeed adapted to every age, to every country, to every period; it is suited to all opinions, classes and plans of education. It is an assistant to him who wishes to learn, and a remembrancer to him who has learned. It is a guide to the scholar and an illustrator to the master. It embraces chronology, history, geography, politics, &c. To those who understand it, and know how to use it, it may be truly said to compose a whole library in itself. It is the vade mecum of the pupil and the tutor, of the scholar and the man of business.

“Thus it had an immediate sale, and never, I imagine, did any literary work prove so productive to its author. On its first appearance, the daily subscriptions frequently amounted to 2 or 300 louis. During the period when I personally superintended the publication, I calculated that the receipts constituted a yearly income of at least 60 or 80,000 francs. It procured me a fortune. I had no other, for the Revolution had deprived me of my patrimony, which I had afterwards no hope of recovering; for I had been obliged to renounce it upon oath, before I could be permitted to set foot on the French territory.

“There“There have been published 8 or 10,000 copies of my 173Atlas in various editions; and their sale has thrown into circulation 8 or 900,000, perhaps a million of francs, out of which there has been a clear profit of 300,000 francs now in my hands. This constitutes my whole fortune, for I possess nothing that has not arisen out of my Atlas, and that may not be included in its accounts. On my departure from Europe, the sum of 150,000 francs was due to me in outstanding debts, either good or bad; and I possessed a collection of books obtained by exchange, worth 200,000 francs; which being divided into lots of 1000 crowns each, and exported to foreign countries, seemed to promise certain returns. But, unfortunately, out of all this brilliant produce, I can now only reckon upon what I have already in my hands; the rest is involved in so many chances that I cannot but consider it as lost. I have no agent in Europe to manage my affairs, for I had not time to make arrangements for that purpose; and the details are so numerous, scattered, and diversified, that I could not possibly give any one a clue to follow. The outstanding debts are growing old; some of my debtors are dead, some have left the country, and as for the books, they are mostly scattered about, spoiled, and lost.

“At one time my work was on the point of ensuring to me the possession of a brilliant fortune; but my prospects were defeated by the vilest shuffling. The details of this case are so curious that I cannot forbear mentioning them to your Majesty.

“At the commencement of the year 1813, two merchants, who had discovered that I was the author of Le Sage’s Historical Atlas, called on me, and offered, if I would supply them with two millions’ worth of copies, to pay me immediately at the rate of 20 per cent. in ready money, and to convey the books gratis to London, where they should still be my property and should remain at my disposal. I stared at this—I could not conceive what was meant, and suspected that the merchants were hoaxing me. They, on the other hand, sought to explain themselves, by saying that the offer was made for the sake of procuring licences, an affair with which they found I was totally unacquainted. On repeating this 174conversation to a friend, I afterwards learned that the vessels which were licensed to sail to England, to bring home colonial goods, could not leave France without exporting goods equal in nominal value to their intended importation. Books were included among the allowable objects of exportation, and the merchants sought to obtain a light freight and a high price, which, at little expense, would entitle them to a considerable importation. My Atlas was admirably calculated for this kind of speculation. However, before I entered into any agreement, I consulted the Director General of Customs, and the President of the Committee of Exportation, by whom I was informed that the thing was perfectly legal. With this assurance I immediately set to work. I entered upon one of the most curious speculations that can possibly be conceived. Only a brief interval was allowed me for making the necessary preparations. One hundred forms in folio were distributed among thirty of the principal printing offices in Paris; and from that moment the presses were kept at work without intermission. All the vellum paper of a certain size was bought up, and it daily increased in price until it reached upwards of 100 per cent. Such a general bustle prevailed among all the printers in Paris as to alarm the police, until the affair was fully investigated and explained. I afforded employment either directly or indirectly to between 300 and 400 hands. At the expiration of one-and-twenty days I was to be ready with the two millionsmillions worth of copies of the Atlas, and was to receive 400,000 francs in ready money. I was perhaps the only individual in the world who could have engaged in such a speculation; for by a singular chance, I had kept all my forms ready composed by purchasing the types at a vast expense. I was now reaping the fruits of ten years’ industry and expenditure. This was truly a prize in the lottery. I was mad with joy at my unexpected good fortune. But alas! I was building on a sandy foundation, and I was doomed to pay dearly for the few happy moments of my illusion.

“The cynical M. de P——, the Director General of the bookselling trade, who was my colleague in the Council of State, seemed bent on my ruin, though I was 175unable to divine the cause of his animosity. While he was giving me every assurance of his readiness to serve me, he was, in an underhand way straining every nerve to injure me; and was exciting against me all the most active booksellers, whom he had induced to become the agents of his operations. Of these facts I can entertain no doubt; for the letters secretly written on this subject by P.... were confidentially communicated to me; but motives of delicacy forbid my taking the satisfaction of reproaching him with his baseness.

“He first of all intimated to me that the sheets of my Atlas could not be carried out of France, because the law permitted the exportation of books only. I then enquired whether books in sheets were suffered to be exported; and, on receiving an answer in the affirmative, I observed that my sheets must be considered merely as unbound books. M. de P.... then declared that the favour granted by the Emperor could be extended only to booksellers and not to authors; but M. de Montalivet, the Minister of the Interior, objected to this partiality and silenced M. de P..... The latter then asserted that the price of my sheets had been considerably encreased; but it was proved by reference to two hundred advertisements inserted in the Journals during the last ten years, that the price had never varied. He next alluded to the intrinsic value of the work, and affirmed that what I sold for 100 sous did not cost me more than five or six, and started many other difficulties of an equally absurd kind. Meanwhile time was flying; the ships were taking in their freights, the advantages offered by the owners were diminishing, the arbitrary valuations of the committees arrived, and I, who had persevered in my operations in spite of every difficulty, now found myself involved in a thousand anxieties and vexations, and thought myself happy in escaping absolute ruin, and being able to recover my expenses, which exceeded 80,000 francs.”

“But,” said the Emperor, “this seems almost incredible; I can scarcely conceive how all this happened. Your speculation was exactly suited to my taste; it would have advanced you in my good opinion; I should 176have been delighted with your activity and the method of your details. Nothing afforded me greater pleasure than to enable those around me to make their fortunes by honest means. Why did you not appeal to me? Why did you not expose the conduct of P....? You should have seen how I would have treated him.”—"Sire," I replied, "such an idea never entered my mind, the moment was critical: your time was precious. How could I hope that your Majesty would listen to me, or that I could satisfactorily explain an affair so complicated and delicate? How could I convince you that I was the author of a work that bore the name of another? What would have been thought of one so near your Majesty’s person meddling with commercial licenses and bookselling speculations? I felt that I was so little known to your Majesty that I dreaded the thought of the affair reaching your ear. Thus, though I was actively engaged in this affair, yet I exerted every endeavour to prevent its gaining publicity, and I made up my mind to suffer the worst."

“You were very wrong,” said the Emperor. “You behaved rather awkwardly towards me and perhaps also towards P....; I cannot otherwise explain the unnatural malignity which he evinced towards you.”

THE GOVERNOR’S VISIT.—HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE EMPEROR.

16th.—The breach between the Governor and ourselves had been decided ever since the occurrence of what I have already set down as his first ill-natured trick, his first insult, &c. Our reserve and mutual dislike encreased every day; in short, we were on very bad terms with each other.

He appeared at Longwood about three o’clock, accompanied by his military secretary, and desired to see the Emperor, as he wished to speak with him on business. The Emperor was rather unwell and was not yet dressed; however, he said he would see the Governor as soon as he had finished dressing. In the course of a few minutes, he entered the drawing-room, and I introduced Sir Hudson Lowe.

177As I was waiting in the ante-chamber with the military secretary, I could hear, from the Emperor’s tone of voice, that he was irritated, and that the conversation was maintained with great warmth. The interview was very long, and very clamorous. On the Governor’s departure, I went to the garden, whither the Emperor had sent for me. He had not been well for the last two days, and this affair completely upset him.

“Well, Las Cases,” said he, on perceiving me, “we have had a violent scene. I have been thrown quite out of temper! They have now sent me worse than a gaoler! Sir Hudson Lowe is a downright executioner! I received him to-day with my stormy countenance, my head inclined, and my ears pricked up. We looked most furiously at each other. My anger must have been powerfully excited, for I felt a vibration in the calf of my left leg. This is always a sure sign with me; and I have not felt it for a long time before.”

The Governor had opened the conversation with an air of embarrassment, and in broken sentences. He said, some planks of wood had arrived.... The newspapers must have made Napoleon acquainted with this circumstance.... They were intended for the construction of a residence for him.... He should be glad to know what he thought of it ... &c. To this the Emperor replied only by a very significant look. Then adverting hastily to other subjects, he told the Governor with warmth, that he asked him for nothing, and that he would receive nothing at his hands; and that he merely desired to be left undisturbed. He added that, though he had much cause to complain of the Admiral, he had never had reason to think him totally destitute of feeling; that, though he found fault with him, he had nevertheless always received him in perfect confidence; but that, during the month that Sir Hudson Lowe had been on the island, he had experienced more causes of irritation than during the six preceding months.

The Governor having observed that he did not come to receive a lesson, the Emperor replied, "But that is no proof that you do not need one. You tell me, Sir, that your instructions are much more rigid than those 178that were given to the Admiral. Do they direct that I should suffer death by the sword or by poison? No act of atrocity would surprise me on the part of your ministers! If my death is determined on, execute your orders. I know not how you will administer the poison; but, as for putting me to death by the sword, you have already found the means of doing that. If you should attempt, as you have threatened, to violate the sanctuary of my abode, I give you fair warning that the brave 53rd shall enter only by trampling over my corse.

“On hearing of your arrival, I congratulated myself in the hope of meeting with a general who, having spent some portion of his life on the Continent, and having taken part in important public affairs, would know how to act in a becoming way to me; but I was grossly deceived.” The Governor here said that, as a soldier, his conduct had been conformable with the interests and forms of his country. On which the Emperor replied, “Your country, your government, and yourself, will be overwhelmed with disgrace for your conduct to me; and this disgrace will extend to your posterity. Was there ever an act of more refined cruelty than yours, Sir, when, a few days ago, you invited me to your table by the title of General Bonaparte, with the view of rendering me an object of ridicule or amusement to your guests? Would you have proportioned the extent of your respect to the title you were pleased to give me? I am not General Bonaparte to you. It is not for you or any one in the world to deprive me of dignities which are fairly my own. If Lady Loudon had been within my boundaries, I should undoubtedly have visited her, because I do not stand upon strict etiquette with a woman; but I should nevertheless have considered that I was conferring an honour upon her. I have been told, you propose that some of the officers of your staff should accompany me in my rides about the Island, instead of the officer established at Longwood. Sir, when soldiers have been christened by the fire of the battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes. It is not the sight of any particular uniform that offends me here, but the obligation of seeing soldiers at all; since this must be regarded as a 179tacit concession of the point which I dispute. I am not a prisoner of war; and I cannot, therefore, submit to the regulations required in such a situation. I am placed in your power only by the most horrible breach of confidence.”

The Governor, on taking leave, requested to be allowed to present his Military Secretary to the Emperor; but the latter replied that that was very unnecessary, and that if the officer had any delicacy of feeling he could not wish it; for his own part he would rather decline it. He added that no social relationship could exist between gaolers and prisoners; and that the presentation was therefore perfectly useless. He then dismissed the Governor.

The Grand Marshal joined us; he came from his own house, where the Governor had alighted both before and after his visit to the Emperor. He gave a detailed account of both his calls.

He said that the Governor on his return had shown great ill-humour, and had complained very much of the Emperor’s temper. Not relying sufficiently on his own wit, he had recourse to that of the Abbé de Pradt, whose work had just then passed through our hands. He had said, “that Napoleon was not content with having created to himself an imaginary France, an imaginary Spain, and an imaginary Poland, but that he now wished to create an imaginary St. Helena.” On hearing this, the Emperor could not refrain from laughing.

We then drove out in the calash, and on our return the Emperor took a bath. He sent for me, and having intimated that he would not dine till nine o’clock, kept me with him. He talked over the affairs of the day, and dwelt on the abominable treatment he suffered, the atrocious malignity by which it was dictated, and the brutality with which it was executed. After a few moments of silence and reflection, he exclaimed, as he frequently does, “My dear Las Cases, they will kill me here! It is certain!” What a horrible prophecy!...

He dismissed me at half-past ten.

17th.—I was very ill the whole of the night; the Emperor breakfasted in the garden, and sent for me to 180attend him there. He was himself dull and melancholy, and was not at all well. After breakfast we walked for a long time in the garden; he uttered not a word. The heat obliged him to return in-doors about ten o’clock. He regretted excessively the want of shade.

About four o’clock he sent to know how I was. He had just returned from taking a drive in the calash, in which I had not been able to join him. I walked with him and the Grand Marshal until half past five. He still had a melancholy and abstracted air. He desired Bertrand to give us an account of his residence at Constantinople in 1796, his journey to Athens, and his return across Albania. A great deal was said relative to Selim III. and his improvements, the Baron de Tott, &c. The conversation was very interesting, but unfortunately I find in my manuscript only a few imperfect notes, which my memory cannot now assist me in filling up.

After dinner the Emperor, who had scarcely eaten any thing, attempted to read to us the meeting of the academy from Anacharsis. His voice and his whole frame had lost their wonted vigour and spirit. Contrary to his custom, he ended without analysis or observation. He retired to rest as soon as the chapter was concluded.

MADAME MARSHAL LEFEVRE.

18th.—The Emperor continued indisposed. On his return from a drive in the calash, he took a bath, and sent for me. He shewed a cheerfulness of manner; and we conversed till half-past eight o’clock.o’clock. He ordered dinner in his own study; and he desired me to stay and dine with him. The place, the tête-a-tête, the elegance of the dinner service, and the neatness with which the table was laid out, gave me, I said, an idea of comfort; the Emperor smiled at my observation. He asked me many questions relative to London, my emigration, the French Princes, and the Bishop of Arras. He himself recurred to the principal events of his Consulship, and gave me some curious details and anecdotes on these subjects. We then began to talk about the old and new courts of France, &c. Many of the observations that were made would, if stated here, only be repetitions, for I believe I 181have mentioned them before. Other remarks that fell from the Emperor, and which are merely hinted at in my manuscript, must remain for ever lost.

I will transcribe only the following particulars as new. I was entertaining the Emperor with the anecdotes and ridiculous stories, that were related gratuitously, no doubt, of Madame Lefèvre, who long enjoyed the privilege of furnishing the drawing-rooms of Paris, and even the drawing-room of the Tuileries, with a subject for quizzing. “I joined in the ridicule,” said I, "like every body else, until one day I renounced it for ever, on hearing an anecdote which proved her nobleness of sentiment and goodness of heart.

"Madame Lefèvre, whose husband was once a private in the guards, and who consequently filled a humble station in life, seemed to take pleasure in reviving the recollection of circumstances connected with her former station, and even in alluding to the laborious occupations which she had been obliged to pursue. During their poverty, she and her husband had been engaged in a domestic capacity in the family of the Marquis de Valady, the Captain of the corps in which Lefèvre served. The Marquis, who stood godfather to Lefèvre’s child, played a conspicuous part in the desertion of the guards, nor was he less celebrated for his fanatical zeal in favour of republican liberty; he was nevertheless a man of generous sentiments. He was a member of the Convention, and he perished because he opposed the execution of Louis XVI., publicly declaring that he considered it as absolute murder, adding, that Louis had already been too unfortunate as a King to render the infliction of any additional punishment necessary.