Chapter IV: Part 4

We were astonished at this unexpected occurrence; and we at first concluded that Noverraz had acted in obedience to the Emperor’s wishes. Though we had ample reason to complain of the Admiral, yet we did all in our power to relieve him from his embarrassment; his awkward situation distressed us. Meanwhile the Governor’s staff was summoned and introduced; and this circumstance served only to increase the Admiral’s confusion. In about a quarter of an hour the Emperor took leave of his visitors. The Governor came out of the drawing-room, and the Admiral eagerly advanced to meet him. They said a few words to each other with some degree of warmth, then took leave of us and departed.

We joined the Emperor in the garden, and our conversation turned on the Admiral’s discomfiture. The Emperor knew nothing of the matter. The whole circumstance was solely the effect of chance. The Emperor declared himself delighted with the joke. He burst into a fit of laughter, rubbed his hands, and exhibited the joy of a child, of a school-boy, who had successfully played off a trick on his master. “Ah! my good Noverraz,” said he, “you have done a clever thing for once in your life. He had heard me say that I would not see the Admiral again, and he thought he was bound to shut the door in his face. But this honest Swiss may perhaps carry the joke too far; if I were unfortunately to say we must get rid of the Governor, he would be for assassinating him before my eyes. After all,” said the Emperor, assuming a more serious tone, "it was entirely the Governor’s fault. He should have requested that the Admiral might be admitted, particularly as he had informed me that he could be presented only by him. Why, again, did he not request the Admiral’s admission when he presented his officers to me? He is solely to blame. But," continued he, “the Admiral has lost nothing by the mistake. I should without hesitation have apostrophized him in the presence of his countrymen. I should have told him that by the sentiment attached to the honourable uniform which we had both worn for forty years, I accused him of having, in the eyes of the world, degraded his nation and his Sovereign by wantonly and stupidly failing in respect to one of the oldest soldiers in Europe. I should have reproached him with landing me at St. Helena just as he would have landed a convict at Botany-Bay. I should have assured him that a man of true honour would shew me more respect on my rock than if I were still on my throne and surrounded by my armies.” The force and spirit of these remarks put a period to our gaiety, and closed the conversation.

As I have thus alluded to the Admiral, and as he is now about to quit us, I will once for all sum up the insults with which we have to reproach him, with as much impartiality as our situation and the state of our feelings will admit of.

We cannot pardon the affected familiarity with which he treated us, though our conduct afforded but little encouragement to it. Still less can we forgive him for having endeavoured to extend this familiarity to the Emperor. We can never forget the haughty and self-complacent air with which he addressed Napoleon by the title of _General_. The Emperor, it is true, has immortalized that title; but the tone and the intention with which it was applied were sufficiently insulting.

On our arrival at St. Helena, he lodged the Emperor in a little room, a few feet square, where he kept him for two months, though other residences could have been procured, and there was one which the Admiral had himself fixed upon. He indirectly prohibited the Emperor from riding on horseback, even in the grounds surrounding the Briars; and the individuals of the Emperor’s suite were loaded with embarrassments and humiliations, when they came to pay their daily visits to him in his little cell.

On our removal to Longwood, he stationed sentinels under the very windows of the Emperor; and then, by an evasion, which savoured of the bitterest irony, he alleged that this step had been taken only with a view to the _General’s_ own advantage and protection. He suffered no one to come near us without a note from him, and, having thus placed us in close confinement, he declared that these arrangements had been made solely to secure the Emperor against importunity, and that he (the Admiral) was merely acting the part of _Grand Marshal_. He gave a ball, and sent a written invitation to _General Buonaparte_, in the same manner as he did to every individual in the suite. He replied with the most unbecoming jeers to the notes of the Grand Marshal, who used the title of _Emperor_, saying that he knew no _Emperor_ at the Island of St. Helena, nor any such Sovereign in Europe, or elsewhere, who was not in his own dominions. He refused to forward a letter from the Emperor to the Prince Regent, unless it were delivered to him open, or he were permitted to read it. He even stifled the sentiments and expressions of respect which other individuals manifested for Napoleon. We were assured that he had put persons in inferior situations under arrest, merely for having used the title of Emperor or other similar expressions; which, however, were frequently employed in the 53rd regiment, doubtless, as the Emperor observed, through an irresistible sentiment with which these brave men were inspired.

The Admiral, from his own personal caprice, had limited the extent of our rides and walks. On this subject he had even broken his word to the Emperor. At a moment when he appeared somewhat inclined to make concessions, he had assured Napoleon that he was free to ride in all parts of the Island, without being annoyed even by the sight of the English officer appointed to guard him. But a few days after this, just as Napoleon was on the point of mounting his horse to ride out to breakfast in a shady spot at some distance from our residence, he found himself under the necessity of renouncing this little enjoyment. The officer declared that he must henceforth form one of the party and ride close to him. From that moment the Emperor refused to see the Admiral. The latter had moreover neglected the most ordinary forms of decorum, always fixing upon unsuitable hours for his own visits, and directing strangers who arrived at the Island to select the same unseasonable periods for visiting the Emperor. This was no doubt done with a view of preventing people from gaining access to Napoleon, who constantly refused to be seen on these occasions. It has already been stated that the Admiral acted thus when the Governor paid his first visit to Longwood; and the satisfaction he evinced at the Governor’s ill reception but too plainly betrayed his design.

However, if we were required to pronounce an impartial opinion on him, making allowance for the irritability of our own feelings and the delicacy of his situation, we should not hesitate to declare that our grievances rested in forms rather than facts. We should say, with the Emperor, who had after all a natural predilection for him, that Admiral Cockburn is far from being an ill-disposed man, that he is even susceptible of generous and delicate sentiment; but that he is capricious, irascible, vain, and overbearing: that he is a man who is accustomed to authority, and who exercises it ungraciously; frequently substituting energy for dignity. To express in a few words the nature of our relations with respect to him, we should say, that, as a jailor, he was mild, humane, and generous, and that we have reason to be grateful to him; but that, as a host, he was generally unpolite, often something worse, and that in this character we have cause to be displeased with him.

About two or three o’clock, the Emperor took his usual airing. During our walk in the garden and our ride in the calash, he said a good deal about the events of the morning; and the conversation on this subject was resumed after dinner. Some one jokingly observed that the two first days of the Governor’s arrival had been like days of battle, and were calculated to make us appear very untractable, though we were naturally most patient and accommodating. At these last words, the Emperor smiled and pinched the ear of the individual who made the remark.

The conversation then turned on Sir Hudson Lowe. He was described as being a man about forty-five years of age; of the ordinary height, and of slender make, with red hair, a ruddy complexion, and freckled. His eyes were said to have an oblique kind of expression; glancing askance, seldom fixed full in a person’s face; surmounted by fair, bushy, and very prominent eyebrows. “He is hideous,” said the Emperor, "he has a most villainous countenance. But we must not decide too hastily; the man’s disposition may perhaps make amends for the unfavorable impression which his face produces; this is not impossible."

CONVENTION OF THE SOVEREIGNS RESPECTING NAPOLEON.—REMARKABLE
OBSERVATIONS.

18th. The weather had been horrible for some days past, but it cleared up a little to-day. The Emperor went out early to take his walk in the garden; about 4 o’clock he got into the calash and took rather a longer airing than usual. Before dinner the Emperor desired me to translate to him the Convention of the Allied Sovereigns relative to his captivity. It was as follows:—

CONVENTION BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN, AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, AND RUSSIA.—_Signed
at Paris, August 20th, 1815._

"Napoleon Bonaparte being in the power of the Allied Sovereigns, their Majesties the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the King of Prussia, have agreed, by virtue of the stipulations of the treaty of the 25th of March, 1815, on the measures best calculated to preclude the possibility of his making any attempt to disturb the peace of Europe.

"Art. I.—Napoleon Bonaparte is considered by the Powers who signed the treaty of the 20th of March last, as their prisoner.

"Art. II.—His safeguard is specially intrusted to the British Government.

"The choice of the place and the measures which may best ensure the object of the present stipulation, are reserved to his Britannic Majesty.

"Art. III.—The imperial courts of Austria and Russia and the Royal court of Prussia shall appoint Commissioners to reside in the place which his Britannic Majesty’s Government shall assign as the residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, and who, without being responsible for his security, shall assure themselves of his presence.

"Art. IV.—His most Christian Majesty is invited in the name of the four Courts above mentioned, also to send a French commissioner to the place of Napoleon Bonaparte’s detention.

"Art. V. —His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland pledges himself to fulfil the engagements assigned to him by the present convention.

"Art. VI.—The present convention shall be ratified, and the ratification shall be exchanged in the space of a fortnight, or sooner if possible.

"In virtue of which the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present convention, and have affixed their seals thereto.

“Given at Paris on the 20th of August, in the year of our Lord 1815.”

When I had finished translating this document, the Emperor asked me what I thought of it.

“Sire,” I replied, "in the situation in which we are placed, I would rather depend on the interests of a single one, than on the complicated decision of four. England has evidently dictated this treaty. You see how carefully she stipulates that she alone shall answer for and dispose of the prisoner. She has been labouring to provide herself with the lever of Archimedes, and therefore it is not probable that she w¡ll entertain any idea of breaking it."

The Emperor, without explaining his ideas on this subject, adverted to the different chances which might bring about his liberation from St. Helena, and he made the following remarkable observations: “If the Sovereigns of Europe act wisely, and should succeed in completely restoring order, we shall not be worth the money and the trouble which it must cost to keep us here, and they will get rid of us. But our captivity may still be prolonged for some years, perhaps three, four, or five. Otherwise, setting aside the fortuitous events which are beyond the reach of human foresight, I calculate only on two uncertain chances of our liberation: first, that the Sovereigns may stand in need of me to assist in putting down rebellion among their subjects; and secondly, the people of Europe may require my aid in the contest that may arise between them and their monarchs. I am the natural arbiter and mediator in the immense conflict between the present and the past. I have always aspired to be the supreme judge in this cause. My administration at home and my diplomacy abroad all tended to this great end. The issue might have been brought about more easily and promptly; but fate ordained otherwise. Finally, there is a last chance, which perhaps is the most probable of all; I may be wanted to check the power of the Russians; for, in less than ten years, all Europe may perhaps be overrun with Cossacks, or subject to republican government. Such however are the statesmen who brought about my overthrow.” Then, reverting to the decision of the Sovereigns respecting him, he observed that it was difficult to account for the style of the document, and the malignant spirit which pervaded it.

“The Emperor Francis,” said he, “is a pious sovereign, and I am his son-in-law.—As for Alexander, we once loved each other. With regard to the King of Prussia, I doubtless did him much harm, but I might have done him much more; and after all, might he not have found real glory and self-satisfaction in distinguishing himself by generosity? As to England, it is to the animosity of her Ministers that I am indebted for all. But it remained for the Prince Regent to observe and interfere, or to be branded as a fool, and a protector of vulgar malignity.—One thing however is certain, namely: that the Allied Sovereigns have compromised, degraded, and lost themselves, by their treatment of me.”

THE DECLARATION REQUIRED FROM US BY THE
GOVERNOR.

19th.—This morning the Grand Marshal and Madame Bertrand came into the garden, in consequence of the Emperor having expressed an intention of breakfasting there; but as he had passed a very restless night, and had had no sleep, he breakfasted in his chamber.

The Governor gave us official notice that we must each send him a declaration, expressing our voluntary determination to remain at Longwood, and to submit to all the restrictions which Napoleon’s captivity might require. Mine was as follows:—

_Declaration._—"I, the undersigned, repeat the declaration which I made when in Plymouth-roads; namely, that I wish to devote myself to the fate of the Emperor Napoleon, to accompany him, to follow him, and to alleviate, as far as lies in my power, the unjust treatment he experiences, through the most unheard-of violation of the law of nations, of which I am the more particularly sensible as it was I who conveyed to him the offer and assurance of Captain Maitland of the Bellerophon, purporting that he had orders to receive the Emperor and his suite under the protection of the British flag, if agreeable to him, and to convey him to England.

"The Emperor Napoleon’s letter to the Prince Regent, which is known to all England, and which I had previously communicated to Captain Maitland, without his having made the slightest observation on it, explains to the world much better than any thing I can say how frankly the Emperor met this offer of hospitality, and, consequently, how much he has been the dupe of his sincerity and confidence.

"Notwithstanding the experience I have had of the horrors of a residence on the Island of St. Helena, which is so prejudicial to the Emperor’s health, and to that of every European, and though, during the six months which we have passed on the island, I have been subjected to every species of privation, which I myself daily multiply, in order to avoid, as much as possible, the violation of that respect which my rank and habits demand, yet, constant to my first sentiments, and resolved that for the future no fear of misfortune, or hope of advantage, shall separate me from the Emperor Napoleon, I repeat my desire to remain with him, and to submit to whatever restrictions may be arbitrarily imposed on him."

FAREWELL VISIT OF THE LATE GOVERNOR.—INTERESTING CONVERSATION.—REMARK OF
AN OLD ENGLISH SOLDIER.

20th.—Colonel Wilks, being on the eve of his departure for Europe, called with his daughter to take leave of the Emperor. The young lady was presented by Madame Bertrand. I have already mentioned that Colonel Wilks had formerly been Governor of the Colony, for the East India Company; he was succeeded by the Admiral, in the King’s name, when, in consequence of our removal to St. Helena, the island was transferred from the possession of the Company to that of the Government.

The Emperor was in a remarkably cheerful humour. He conversed for some time with the ladies, and then took Colonel Wilks aside to the recess of one of the windows, whither I followed to serve as interpreter.

Col. Wilks, as I have probably mentioned before, was for a long time the diplomatic agent of the Company in the Indian Peninsula; he has written a history of that country. He is a man of extensive information, and possesses great knowledge of chemistry. Thus he was at once a soldier, an author, a diplomatist, and a chemist. The Emperor put questions to him relative to all these subjects, and treated them himself with great fluency and spirit. The conversation was lively and varied; and it was maintained for upwards of two hours. The following are the principal particulars which I noted down. I shall probably in some measure repeat what I have said before, for the Emperor and Colonel Wilks had, some months ago, a long conversation on precisely the same topics; but that is of no importance; these subjects are so interesting that I would rather incur the risk of repeating than of losing any thing connected with them.

The Emperor began by speaking of the English army, its organization, and particularly its system of promotion. He compared it with the French army, and repeated what I have formerly stated with regard to the excellent composition of our military force, the advantage of the Conscription, and the bravery of our troops. Then, turning to the subject of politics, he said, “You lost America by liberation: you will lose India by invasion. The first loss was perfectly natural; as children advance in years, they break the parental bonds. But, for the Hindoos, they are not advancing at all. They still remain children. The catastrophe, therefore, can only proceed from without. You are not aware of all the dangers with which you were threatened by my arms or my negotiations. As for my Continental system, you perhaps laughed at it?” “Sire,” replied the Colonel, “we affected to do so, but all men of judgment felt the full force of it.”—"Well," continued the Emperor, "I stood alone in my opinion on the Continent; and I was forced for the moment to employ violence every where. At length my plan began to be understood. The tree already bears its fruit. I made the beginning; time will do the rest.... Had I maintained my power, I would have changed the course of trade, and the direction of industry. I had naturalized sugar and indigo in France, and I should have naturalized cotton, and many other articles of foreign produce. I should have knocked up the Colonies, if we had continued to be denied a share of them.

“With us the impulse was most powerful. National prosperity and science advanced beyond measure. Yet your Ministers proclaimed through all Europe that the French were overwhelmed with misery, and were retrograding to a state of barbarism. Thus the view of our internal prosperity strangely surprised the vulgar mass, and even disconcerted the more thinking portion of the European public. The strides of knowledge in France were gigantic. The ideas of the French people were every where properly directed and extended. We took pains to render science popular. I was informed that your countrymen were distinguished for their knowledge of chemistry; and yet I will not decide on which side of the water the most able chemist will be found.”—"In France," said the Colonel immediately.

“It is of little importance,” continued the Emperor; “but I maintain that in the mass of the French people there is ten, and perhaps a hundred, times more chemical knowledge than in England; because the manufacturing classes now employ that science in their daily labour. This was one of the characteristics of my school. Had I been allowed sufficient time, there would soon have been no such thing as trades in France; they would all have been converted into arts.”

The Emperor concluded with these remarkable observations: "England and France held in their hands the fate of the world; and particularly that of European civilization. What injury have we not done to each other!——What good might we not have done! Under Pitt’s system, we desolated the world; and what has been the result? You imposed on France a tax of fifteen hundred millions of francs, and raised it by means of Cossacks. I laid a tax of seven thousand millions on you, and made you raise it with your own hands, by your Parliament. Even now, after the victory you have obtained, who can tell whether you may not sooner or later sink under the weight of such a burden?——With Fox’s system, we should have understood each other; we should have accomplished and preserved the emancipation of nations, the dominion of principles. Europe would have presented but a single fleet and a single army. We might have ruled the world. We might every where have established peace and prosperity, either by dint of force or persuasion. Yes, I repeat it, what mischief have we not done! What good might we not have effected!"

Never was Napoleon in a more talkative humour. He laughed more than once at the endeavours I made to keep up with the volubility with which he uttered his observations. As for the Colonel, he took his leave, amazed and confounded by what he had heard.

When he was gone, the Emperor continued to converse for a long time in the drawing-room. He afterwards went into the garden, in spite of the bad weather, and sent for us all to join him. He was desirous of reading the declarations which we had made; they became the subject of conversation.

Four ships arrived here to-day from Europe. They had on board the 66th regiment, and had left England before the Phaëton, which brought the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe.

After dinner, the Emperor good-humouredly related the remark made by an old soldier of the 53rd, who, having seen him yesterday for the first time, went back to his comrades and said,—"What lies they told me about Napoleon’s age; he is not old at all; the fellow is still young enough for at least sixty campaigns." We thought this expression savoured very much of the Frenchman, and we laid claim to it as having proceeded from one of our grenadiers. We then related to him a number of _bons-mots_ made by our soldiers during his absence and on his return, with which he was much entertained. But what particularly excited his risibility was the answer made by a grenadier at Lyons. A grand review was held there, just after the Emperor had landed on his return from Elba. The Commanding Officer remarked to his soldiers that they were well clothed and well fed, that their pay might be seen upon their persons:—"Yes, certainly," replied the grenadier to whom he addressed himself.—"Well!" continued the officer, with a confident air, “it was not so under Bonaparte. Your pay was in arrear, he was in your debt?”—"And what did that signify," said the grenadier smartly, “if we chose to give him credit?”

THE EMPEROR’S MESSAGE TO THE PRINCE REGENT.—CHARACTERISTIC
REMARKS.—PORTFOLIO LOST AT WATERLOO.—ON AMBASSADORS.—M. DE
NARBONNE.—NAPOLEON ON THE POINT OF BEING TAKEN PRISONER IN GERMANY
AFTER THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW.—COST OF THE EMPEROR’S TOILET.—EXPENSE OF A
FAMILY ESTABLISHMENT IN THE DIFFERENT CAPITALS OF EUROPE.—THE
FURNISHING OF NAPOLEON’S HOUSE IN THE RUE DE LA VICTOIRE.—THE FITTING
UP OF THE IMPERIAL PALACES.—THE EMPEROR’S METHOD OF EXAMINING HIS
ACCOUNTS.

21st.—The Emperor sent for me to attend him in the garden, about four o’clock, to act as interpreter. Captain Hamilton, the Commander of the Havannah frigate, was to sail next day for Europe, and, with his officers, had come to take leave of the Emperor. Captain Hamilton spoke French. When I joined the party in the garden, the Emperor was expressing himself with warmth.

“They wish to know what I desire?” said he; “I demand my liberty or death. Report these words to your Prince Regent. I no longer ask to hear from my son, since they have had the barbarity to leave my first request unanswered.... I was not your prisoner. Savages would have had more respect for my situation. Your Ministers have basely violated in my person the sacred rights of hospitality; they have for ever dishonoured England!”

Captain Hamilton having ventured to observe that Napoleon was not the prisoner of England alone, but of all the Allied Powers, the Emperor warmly resumed; “I did not deliver myself up to Russia, there I should doubtless have been well received; I did not surrender myself to Austria, there I should have been equally well treated; but I delivered myself up, of my own free will and choice, to England, because I had confidence in her laws and her public morals. I have been cruelly deceived! But Heaven will avenge my wrongs; and, sooner or later you will meet the punishment of a deed for which mankind already reproaches you!——Repeat all this to the Prince Regent, sir.” He accompanied these last words with a motion of his hand, and dismissed the Captain.

We walked about for a few minutes, and on the return of the Grand Marshal, who had accompanied Captain Hamilton a short distance, we thought that it would be proper to leave him alone with the Emperor; but I had scarcely entered my room when he sent for me. He was alone, in his own apartment; he asked me whether I had not had enough of retirement during the day. I told him that a feeling of respect and discretion had alone induced me to leave him. To this he answered that there was no occasion for it, as nothing had passed that he wished to make a secret of. “Besides,” added he, “a certain degree of freedom and ease is not without its charm.” These words, which fell carelessly from Napoleon’s lips, may better serve to show his character than hundreds of pages.

We then perused an English publication, containing the official documents found in his portfolio, which was taken at Waterloo. The Emperor was astonished himself at the number of orders which he had issued almost at the same moment, and the countless details which he had directed in every quarter of the empire. “This publication,” said he, “can do me no harm, after all. It will at least satisfy every one that its contents are not the production of a sluggard. They will compare me with the legitimate Sovereigns, and I shall not suffer by the comparison.”

After dinner, the Emperor conversed on several unconnected subjects. In speaking of his Ambassadors, he said that he considered M. de Narbonne as the only one who had fully deserved that title, and had really fulfilled the duties of his office. “And that,” said he, “by the peculiar advantages, not only of his talents, but of his old-fashioned morals, his manners, and his name. When an Ambassador has merely to prescribe, any one may fill the post; one person is just as good as another; perhaps an aide-de-camp is the best man that can be chosen. But when it is necessary to negotiate, the affair is widely different. In that case it is indispensable to present to the old aristocracy of the Courts of Europe, only the elements of that aristocracy, which, in fact, constitutes a sort of free-masonry. If an Otto or an Andreossi were to enter the saloons of Vienna, there would be a stop to the interchange of opinion; habitual manners would cease. They would be regarded as intruders and profaners, and the mysteries of diplomacy would be suspended. But how different would it be with a Narbonne, possessing the advantages of affinity, sympathy, and identity! A lady of the old nobility would perhaps resign her person to a plebeian, though she would not discover to him the secrets of the aristocracy.”

The Emperor was much attached to M. de Narbonne, and regretted him deeply. He had made him his aide-de-camp, he observed, only because Maria Louisa, through the intrigues of the persons composing her suite, had refused to let him be appointed her gentleman of honour; a post for which he was perfectly adapted. “Until the period of his embassy,” continued the Emperor, “we had been duped by Austria. In less than a fortnight, M. de Narbonne penetrated all the secrets of the cabinet of Vienna, and M. de Metternich was deeply mortified at the appointment. However, by a singular fatality, perhaps, even the success of M. de Narbonne thwarted my views. I found that his talent was no less fatal than useful. Austria, supposing that her designs were guessed, threw aside the mask, and took precipitate steps. Had less penetration been shewn on our part, she would have acted with greater reserve and deliberation. She would have prolonged her natural indecision, and in the interim other chances might have risen up.”

Some one present having alluded to the embassies of Dresden and Berlin, and being apparently inclined to attach blame to our diplomatic agents in those courts, at the period of the return from Moscow, the Emperor replied that, at that period, the fault was not to be attributed to persons, but to things; that with a single glance any one might have foreseen what would happen; and that, for his part, he had not been deceived for a moment. He added that if he had not in person conducted the army back to Wilna, and into Germany, it was through the fear of not being able himself to reach France. He wished, he said, to obviate this imminent danger by the boldness of his movements in crossing Germany rapidly and alone. He was, however, on the point of being taken in Silesia: “but luckily,” said he, "the Prussians were deliberating at the moment when they ought to have been acting. Their conduct in this respect was like that which the Saxons observed towards Charles XII., who said, when he quitted Dresden on a similar occasion;—‘You will see that they will hold a consultation to-morrow upon the expediency of having detained me to-day.’”

Before dinner the Emperor called me into his closet to go over some English exercises with him. He told me that he had just been calculating the expenses of his toilet, and that it cost him about four napoleons per month. We laughed at the immensity of the budget. He talked of ordering some clothes, shoes, boots, &c. from the tradesmen in Europe who had his measures. I thought that this would be attended with serious inconvenience, and, after some consideration, we were convinced that it would never be permitted.

“It is, however,” observed the Emperor, “extremely vexatious to be thus deprived of money; and I wish to come to some settlement on this point. As soon as the bill, which is to determine our situation here, shall be notified to me, I intend to make arrangements for receiving an annual loan of seven or eight millions of napoleons from Eugene. He cannot refuse me. He has received from me perhaps upwards of forty-millions; and it would be an insult to his sentiments to doubt his readiness to serve me. Besides, we have long accounts to settle together. I am sure, if I had appointed a committee of my Councillors of State to draw up a report on this subject, they would have presented me with a balance of at least ten or twelve millions against Eugene.”

At dinner the Emperor asked us some questions respecting the sum necessary to enable a bachelor to live in a European capital, or for the support of a plain family establishment, or the maintenance of a family in a style of elegance. He is fond of these questions and calculations; he treats them with great shrewdness, and enters into the most curious details.

We each presented our budgets, and agreed that a residence in Paris would cost 15,000, 40,000, and 100,000 francs. The Emperor dwelt much on the prices of various articles, and even on the prices of the same articles, as they are charged to different persons, and under different circumstances.

“When I was about to leave the army of Italy,” said he, “to return to Paris, Madame Bonaparte wrote to inform me that she had furnished, in the best possible style, a small house that we had in the _Rue de la Victoire_. The house was not worth more than 40,000 francs. What was my surprise and vexation to find that the drawing-room furniture, which, after all, appeared to me nothing out of the way, was charged at the enormous rate of between 120 and 130,000 francs. In vain did I remonstrate; I was obliged to pay the amount. The upholsterer showed me the directions he had received, and which required that every article should be the very best in its kind. Every thing had been made after new designs, and the designs themselves had been invented expressly for the fitting up of my house. Any judge of the case must have condemned me.”

The Emperor then adverted to the extravagant charges made for furnishing the imperial Palaces, and the vast saving which he had made on this point. He told us the price of the throne, the imperial ornaments, &c. Nothing could be more curious than to hear him detail these charges, together with his own plans of economy. How much I regret not having noted them down at the time! The following particulars will serve to show some of the methods which he adopted for ascertaining the correctness of the accounts that were presented to him:—

On one occasion, when he returned to the Tuileries, which had been magnificently fitted up during his absence, those about him were anxious to direct his attention to all the new furniture and decorations. After expressing his satisfaction at every thing he saw, he walked up to a window overhung with a rich curtain, and, asking for a pair of scissars, cut off a superb gold acorn which was suspended from the drapery, and coolly putting it into his pocket, he continued his inspection to the great astonishment of all present, who were unable to guess his motive. Some days afterwards, at his levee, he drew the acorn from his pocket and gave it to the person who superintended the furnishing of the palace. “Here,” said he, “Heaven forbid that I should think you rob me; but some one has doubtless robbed you. You have paid for this at the rate of one-third above its value. They have dealt with you as though you had been the steward of a great nobleman. You would have made a better bargain if you had not been known.” The fact was that Napoleon, having walked out one morning in disguise (as he was often in the habit of doing), called at some of the shops in the Rue Saint Denis, where he enquired the price of ornaments similar to that which he had cut from the curtain, and enquired the value of various articles of furniture like those provided for the palace, and thus, as he said, he arrived at the result in its simplest form. Every one knew his habits in this respect. These, he said, were his grand plans for ensuring domestic economy, which, notwithstanding his extreme magnificence, was carried to the utmost degree of precision and regularity.

In spite of his numerous occupations he himself revised all his accounts; but he had his own method of doing this, and they were always presented to him in their details. He would cast his eye on the first article, sugar for example, and, finding some thousands of pounds set down, he would take a pen, and say to the person who drew up the accounts: “How many persons are there in my household?”—"Sire, so many:" (and it was necessary to give the answer immediately.)—"And how many pounds of sugar do you suppose they consume per day on an average?"—"Sire, so many."—He immediately made his calculation, and, having satisfied himself, he would give back the paper, saying, “Sir, I have doubled your estimate of the daily consumption, and yet you are enormously beyond the mark. Your account is erroneous. Make it out again, and let me have greater correctness.” This reproof would be sufficient to establish the strictest regularity. Thus he sometimes said of his private, as of his public, administration, “I have introduced such order, and employed so many checks, that I cannot be much imposed on. If I am wronged at all, I leave the guilty person to settle the matter with his own conscience. He will not sink under the weight of his crime, for it cannot be very heavy.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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