Chapter XV: Part 15

The Emperor was already in bed when he sent for me: he wished, he said, to put some questions to me, and to inquire concerning some dates connected with matters which concerned us materially. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ELOQUENT DICTATIONS OF THE EMPEROR.—CHARACTERISTIC
DETAILS, AND PARTICULARS.

30th.—Whenever the Emperor took up a subject, if he was in the least animated, his language was fit to be printed. He has often, when an idea struck him forcibly, dictated in an off-hand way to any one of us who happened to be in his way, pages of the most polished diction. The other gentlemen of his suite must possess a great many of these dictations, which are all most valuable. Unfortunately for me, the weak state of my eyes, which prevented me from writing, most frequently deprived me of this advantage.

On one occasion, when the English ministerial newspapers adverted to the treasures which Napoleon must possess, and which he, no doubt, concealed, the Emperor dictated as follows:

“You wish to know the treasures of Napoleon? They are immense, it is true, but they are all exposed to light. They are: The noble harbours of Antwerp and Flushing, which are capable of containing the largest fleets, and of protecting them against the ice from the sea,—the hydraulic works at Dunkirk, Havre, and Nice,—the immense harbour of Cherbourg,—the maritime works at Venice,—the beautiful roads from Antwerp to Amsterdam; from Mentz to Metz; from Bordeaux to Bayonne;—the passes of the Simplon, of Mont Cenis, of Mont Genevre, of La Corniche, which open a communication through the Alps in four different directions; and which exceed in grandeur, in boldness, and in skill of execution, all the works of the Romans: in these alone you will find eight hundred millions;—the roads from the Pyrenees to the Alps, from Parma to Spezzia, from Savona to Piedmont,—the bridges of Jena, Austerlitz, the Arts, Sevres, Tours, Rouanne, Lyons, Turin, of the Isere, of the Durance, of Bordeaux, of Rouen, &c.—the canal which connects the Rhine with the Rhone by the Doubs, and thus unites the North Sea with the Mediterranean; the canal which connects the Scheldt with the Somme, and thus joins Paris and Amsterdam; the canal which unites the Rance with the Vilaine; the canal of Arles, that of Pavia, and the canal of the Rhine—the draining of the marshes of Burgoing, of the Cotentin, of Rochfort—the rebuilding of the greater number of the churches destroyed during the Revolution—the building of others—the institution of numerous establishments of industry for the suppression of mendicity—the works at the Louvre—the construction of public warehouses, of the Bank, of the canal of the Ourcq—the distribution of water in the city of Paris—the numerous sewers, the quays, the embellishments, and the monuments of that large capital—the works for the embellishment of Rome—the re-establishment of the manufactures of Lyons—the creation of many hundreds of cotton manufactories for spinning and for weaving, which employ several millions of hands—funds accumulated to establish upwards of 400 manufactories of sugar from beet-root, for the consumption of part of France, and which would have furnished sugar at the same price as the West Indies, if they had continued to receive encouragement for only four years longer—the substitution of woad for indigo, which would have been at last brought to equal in quality, and not to exceed in price, the indigo from the Colonies—numerous manufactories for all kinds of objects of art, &c.—fifty millions expended in repairing and beautifying the palaces belonging to the Crown—sixty millions in furniture for the palaces belonging to the Crown in France and in Holland, at Turin, and at Rome—sixty millions in diamonds for the Crown, all purchased with Napoleon’s money—_the Regent_ (the only diamond that was left belonging to the former diamonds of the Crown) withdrawn from the hands of the Jews at Berlin, with whom it had been pledged for three millions—the Napoleon Museum, valued at upwards of four hundred millions, filled with objects legitimately acquired either by money or treaties of peace known to the whole world, by virtue of which the master-pieces it contains were given in lieu of territory or of contributions—several millions amassed for the encouragement of agriculture, which is the paramount consideration for the interest of France—the introduction into France of Merino sheep, &c.——these form a treasure of several thousand millions, which will endure for ages! these are the monuments that will confute calumny!”

History will say that all these things were accomplished amidst perpetual wars, without having recourse to any loan, and whilst the national debt was even diminishing every day, and that nearly fifty millions of taxes had been remitted. Very large sums still remained in his private treasury; they were guaranteed to him by the treaty of Fontainebleau, as the result of the savings effected on his civil list and of his other private revenues. These sums were divided and did not go entirely into the public treasury, nor altogether into the treasury of France!!

On another occasion, the Emperor reading in an English newspaper that Lord Castlereagh had said, at a meeting in Ireland, that Napoleon had declared at St. Helena that he never would have made peace with England but to deceive her, to take her by surprise, and to destroy her; and that, if the French army was attached to the Emperor, it was because he was in the habit of giving the daughters of the richest families of his empire in marriage to his soldiers: the Emperor, moved with indignation, dictated as follows: “These calumnies uttered against a man who is so barbarously oppressed, and whose voice is not allowed to be heard in answer to them, will be disbelieved by all persons well educated and susceptible of feeling. When Napoleon was seated on the first throne in the world, then no doubt his enemies had a right to say whatever they pleased; his actions were public, and were a sufficient answer to them; at any rate, that conduct now belonged to public opinion, and history; but to utter new and base calumnies against him at the present moment is an act of the utmost meanness and cowardice, and which will not answer the end proposed. Millions of libels have been and are still published every day, but they are without effect. Sixty millions of men, of the most polished nations in the world, raise their voices to confute them, and fifty thousand English, who are now travelling on the Continent, will, on their return home, publish the truth to the inhabitants of the three kingdoms of Great Britain, who will blush at having been so grossly deceived.

“As for the Bill, by virtue of which Napoleon has been dragged to this rock, it is an act of proscription similar to those of Sylla, and still more atrocious. The Romans unrelentingly pursued Hannibal to the utmost extremities of Bithynia; and Flaminius persuaded King Prusias to assent to the death of that great man; yet at Rome Flaminius was accused of having acted thus in order to satisfy his personal hatred. It was in vain that he urged in his defence that Hannibal, yet in the vigour of life, might still become a dangerous enemy, and that his death was necessary; a thousand voices were raised, and answered that acts of injustice and ungenerous actions can never be useful to a great nation; and that, upon such pretences as that now set forth, murder, poisoning, and every species of crime might be justified! Succeeding generations reproached their ancestors with this base act. They would have paid a high price to efface the stain from their history, and, since the revival of letters among modern nations, there is not a generation that has not added its imprecations to those pronounced by Hannibal at the moment when he drank the fatal cup: he cursed Rome, who, whilst her fleets and legions covered Europe, Asia, and Africa, wreaked her vengeance against a man alone and unprotected, because she feared, or pretended to fear, him.

“The Romans, however, never violated the rights of hospitality: Sylla found an asylum in the house of Marius. Flaminius, before he proscribed Hannibal, did not receive him on board his ship and declare that he had orders to treat him favourably; the Roman fleet did not convey him to the Port of Ostia; and Hannibal, instead of placing himself under the protection of the Romans, preferred trusting his person to a King of Asia. When he was proscribed, he was not under the protection of the Roman flag; he was under the banners of a king who was an enemy of Rome.

“If ever, in the revolutions of ages, a King of England should be brought before the awful tribunal of his nation, his defenders will urge in his favour the sacred character of a king, the respect due to the throne, to all crowned heads, to the anointed of the Lord! But his accusers will have a right to answer thus: ‘One of the ancestors of this King, whom you defend, banished a man that was his guest, in time of peace; afraid to put him to death in the presence of a nation governed by positive laws and by regular and public forms, he caused his victim to be exposed on the most unhealthy point of a rock, situated in another hemisphere, in the midst of the ocean, where this guest perished, after a long agony, a prey to the climate, to want, to insults of every kind! Yet that guest was also a great Sovereign, raised to the throne on the shields of thirty-six millions of citizens. He had been master of almost every Capital of Europe; the greatest Kings composed his Court; he was generous towards all; he was during twenty years the arbiter of nations; his family was allied to every reigning family, even to that of England; he was twice the anointed of the Lord; twice consecrated by the august ceremonies of religion!!!’”

This passage is certainly very fine, for its truth, its diction, and above all, for its historical richness.

The Emperor always dictated without the least preparation. I never saw him, on any occasion, make any research respecting our history or that of any other nation; and yet no man ever quoted history more faithfully, more _apropos_, or more frequently. One might have supposed that he knew history by quotations only, and that these quotations occurred to him as by inspiration. And here I must be allowed to mention a fact which has often struck me, and which I never could satisfactorily account for to myself; but it is so very remarkable, and I have witnessed it so often, that I cannot pass it in silence. It is that Napoleon seems to possess a stock of information on several points, which remains within him, in reserve as it were, to burst forth with splendour on remarkable occasions, and which in his moments of carelessness appears to be not only slumbering, but almost unknown to him altogether. With respect to history, for instance, how often has it happened that he has asked me whether St. Louis reigned before or after Philip the Fair, and other questions of the same kind. But, when occasion offered, when his moment came, then he would quote without hesitation, and with the most minute details; and when I have sometimes happened to be in doubt, and to go and verify, I have always found him to be right and most scrupulously exact: I have never been able to detect him in error.

Another singular peculiarity in him of the same kind is this:—In his common intercourse of life, and his familiar conversation, the Emperor mutilated the names most familiar to him, even ours; yet I do not think that this would have happened to him on a public occasion. I have heard him many times, during our walks, repeat the celebrated speech of Augustus; and he has never missed saying, “Take a seat, Sylla.”[30] He would frequently create names of persons according to his fancy; and, when he had once adopted them, they remained fixed in his mind, although we pronounced them as they should be, a hundred times in the day, within his hearing; but he would have been struck if we had used them as he had altered them. It was the same with respect to orthography: in general, he did not attend to it; yet, if our copies had contained any faults of spelling, he would have complained of it. One day the Emperor said to me; “You do not write orthographically, do you?” This question gave rise to a sarcastic smile from a bystander, who thought that it was meant to convey a reproach. The Emperor, who saw this, continued:—“At least, I suppose you do not; for a man occupied with public or other important business, a Minister, for instance, cannot, and need not, attend to orthography. His ideas must flow faster than his hand can trace; he has only time for hieroglyphics; he must put letters for words, and words for sentences; and leave the scribes to make it out afterwards.”—The Emperor left a great deal for the copyists to do; he was their torment: his handwriting actually formed hieroglyphics; he often could not decipher it himself. My son was one day reading to him a chapter of the Campaign of Italy: on a sudden he stopped short, unable to make out the writing. “The little blockhead,” said the Emperor, “cannot read his own writing!”—“It is not mine, Sire.”—“And whose then?” “Your Majesty’s.”—“How, you little rogue! do you mean to insult me?” The Emperor took the manuscript, tried a long while to read it, and at last threw it down, saying, “He is right: I cannot tell myself what is written.”—He has often sent the copyists to me, to try to read to them what he had himself been unable to decipher.

Footnote 30:

Instead of Cinna, in Corneille’s tragedy of _Cinna_, act v. scene
1st.—_Eng. Ed._

The Emperor accounted for the clearness of his ideas, and the faculty of extremely protracted application which he possessed, by saying that the different affairs were arranged in his head as in a closet. “When I wish to turn from any business,” said he, “I close the drawer which contains it, and I open that which contains another. They do not mix together, and do not fatigue me or inconvenience me.” He had never been kept awake, he said, by an involuntary pre-occupation of mind. If I wish to sleep, I shut up all the drawers, and I am soon asleep. So that he had always, he added, slept when he wanted rest, and almost at will.

MY ATLAS.—PREDESTINATION, &C.—THE GOVERNOR MAKES FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS TO
BE RECEIVED BY THE EMPEROR.

Tuesday, 1st October. When I entered the Emperor’s room, he had my Atlas in his hands. He turned over several of the genealogical maps, whose relation and correspondence with each other he now understands remarkably well. On closing the book, he said, “What a concatenation! how each part results from and corroborates what goes before it! How every part unfolds itself and remains fixed in the mind! Las Cases, if you had done nothing more than point out the true method for instruction, you would still have rendered a most essential service. Every one may now clothe the skeleton as they like; it will, no doubt, be improved upon, but the first conception is yours,” &c.

Amongst the numerous subjects of conversation which followed, predestination was mentioned. The Emperor made many remarkable observations on that subject; amongst others, “Pray,” said he, “am I not said to be given to the belief in predestination?” “Yes, Sire, at least by many people.” “Well, well! let them say on; one may sometimes be tempted to imitate, and it may occasionally be useful.... But what are men!... How much easier it is to occupy their attention, and to strike their imaginations, by absurdities than by rational ideas! But can a man of sound sense listen for one moment to such a doctrine? Either predestination admits the existence of free will, or it rejects it. If it admits it, what kind of predetermined result is that which the mere will, a step, a word, may alter or modify, _ad infinitum_? If predestination, on the contrary, rejects the existence of free will, it is quite another question; in that case a child need only be thrown into its cradle as soon as it is born; there is no necessity for bestowing the least care upon it; for if it be irrevocably determined that it is to live, it will grow though no food should be given to it. You see that such a doctrine cannot be maintained: predestination is but a word without meaning. The Turks themselves, those patrons of fatalism, are not convinced of the doctrine, or medicine would not exist in Turkey; and a man residing in a third floor would not take the trouble to go down by the longer way of the stairs, he would immediately throw himself out of the window: you see to what a string of absurdities that will lead.”

At about three o’clock, the Emperor was told that the Governor wished to communicate to him some instructions which he had just received from London. The Emperor replied that he was unwell, that the instructions might be sent to him, or communicated to some of his suite; but the Governor insisted on being admitted, saying, that he wished to communicate directly with the Emperor: he added that he had also a few words to say to us in private, after having spoken to _the General_. The Emperor again refused; upon which the Governor retired, saying that he begged he might be informed when he _could_ see _the General_. This period may be distant indeed; the Emperor, with whom I was at that moment, having said to me that he was determined never to receive him again.

After dinner, the Emperor had Buffon and Valmont de Bomare brought to him. He looked at what these authors say respecting the diversities in the human species, the difference between a negro and a white; but he was not much satisfied with what he found in them on the subject. He retired early to his apartment: he was unwell.

2d. The Emperor having told me that he was determined to apply again to the study of English, and that I must oblige him every morning to take his lesson, I accordingly went to his apartment at about half-past twelve. I was not fortunate in the choice of the moment, for he was lying on his sofa asleep after his breakfast. I must have vexed him, and was very much vexed myself. However, he would not let me go away, and read a little English for about half an hour. He was not very well. He dressed. Having told him that we had finished what he had given us to do, he at first proposed to go to work on the chapters of the Campaign of Italy; but he afterwards altered his mind, and was busy the whole day on something else. At about five o’clock he attempted to walk out, but found the weather too cold. After dinner, he tried to read, but in vain; he could not go on: he felt tired, drowsy, indisposed, and withdrew almost immediately.

JURISPRUDENCE; THE CODE; MERLIN, &C.—MONUMENTS IN EGYPT.—PLAN OF AN
EGYPTIAN TEMPLE IN PARIS.

3d. After breakfast, the Emperor took two or three turns in the garden. We were all with him. He spoke of the communications which the Governor had to make to us, and took a review of the different conjectures—some good, some bad—which each of us formed on the subject. The weather was tolerable; he ordered the calash, and we went round the wood. The heat and the heaviness of the atmosphere, though the sun was obscured, obliged him to go into the house again. He sat down and dictated to my son until five o’clock.

We again tried to take a few turns in the garden; but the air was cold and damp. He went in-doors again, and made me go to converse with him. He turned over an English book, and stopped at a part relating to jurisprudence, and the criminal codes of France and England, endeavouring to compare them. Every body knows how extremely well versed he is in our codes; but he has little knowledge of that of England, and, with the exception of some general points, I could not answer his questions. In the course of the conversation he said: Laws which in theory are a model of clearness become too often a chaos in their application; because men, with their passions, spoil every thing they touch, &c.... Men can only avoid being exposed to the arbitrary acts of the judge, by submitting to the despotism of the law, &c.... I had at first fancied it would be possible to reduce all laws to simple geometrical demonstrations; so that every man who could read, and connect two ideas together, would be able to decide for himself; but I became convinced, almost immediately that this idea was absurd. However,” added he, “I should have wished to start from some fixed point, and follow one road known to all; to have no other laws but those inserted in the code; and to proclaim, once for all, that all laws which were not in the code were null and void. But it is not easy to obtain simplicity from practical lawyers: they first prove to you that simplicity is impossible, that it is a mere chimera; and endeavour next to demonstrate that it is incompatible with the stability and the existence of power. Power, they say, is exposed alone to the unforeseen machinations of all: it must therefore have, in the moment of need, arms kept in reserve for such cases: so that, with some old edicts of Chilperic or Pharamond, ferreted out for the occasion,” said Napoleon, “nobody can say that he is secure from being hanged in due form and according to law.

“So long as the subjects of discussion in the Council of State,” said the Emperor, “were referable to the code, I felt very strong; but when they diverged from it, I was quite in the dark, and Merlin was then my resource—he was my light. Without possessing much brilliancy, Merlin is very learned, wise, upright, and honest; one of the veterans of the good old cause: he was very much attached to me.

“No sooner had the code made its appearance, than it was almost immediately followed by commentaries, explanations, elucidations, interpretations, and the Lord knows what besides. I usually exclaimed, on seeing this: Gentlemen, we have cleaned the stable of Augeas; for God’s sake do not let us fill it again!” &c.

During dinner, the Emperor made some very remarkable observations respecting Egypt, which will be found in the chapters dictated to Bertrand. He then reverted to his expedition to Syria, and declared that the grand object of the expedition to Egypt was to shake the power of England in the four quarters of the world, by effecting a revolution capable of changing the whole face of the East, and giving a new destiny to India. Egypt, he said, was to stand us in stead of St. Domingo, and our American Colonies, to reconcile the liberty of the blacks with the prosperity of our commerce. This new colony would have ruined the English in America, in the Mediterranean, and even on the banks of the Ganges.

Then, answering the reproach preferred against him of having deserted his army, he said: “I merely obeyed the call of France, which summoned me to save her, and I had a right to do so. I had received from the Directory a _carte blanche_ for all my operations in the basin of the Mediterranean, in Africa, and in Asia. I had full powers for treating with the Russians, the Turks, the Barbary States, and the provinces of India. I was at liberty to appoint a successor, to bring back the army, or to return myself, if I thought proper.”

The Emperor thought that all he had seen in Egypt, and, particularly, all those celebrated ruins so much talked of, were not to be compared with Paris and the Tuileries. The only difference between Egypt and us was, in his opinion, that Egypt, thanks to the pureness of its air and the nature of its materials, preserved her ruins for ever; whereas the nature of our European atmosphere would not admit of our having any for any length of time, every thing being soon corroded and gone.

Vestiges of a thousand years’ date might be found on the banks of the Nile; but not one would subsist on the banks of the Seine in fifty years. He, however, regretted very much that he had not caused an Egyptian temple to be erected at Paris: he could have wished to adorn the capital with such a monument, &c.

RESOURCES DURING THE EMIGRATION: ANECDOTES, &C.—OFFICIAL
COMMUNICATIONS.—NEW OFFENCES.

4th. At about twelve o’clock, I went to the Emperor’s apartment. He took a good lesson of English in Telemachus: he resolved to take up my method again; he approves of it, he said, and derives great benefit from it. He observed that he thought I had excellent dispositions for being a very good schoolmaster; I told him it was the fruit of my experience. He then made me enter into a great many details respecting the time when I gave lessons in London, during my emigration, and he was very much amused by them. “However,” said he, “you gentlemen, must have done credit to the profession, if not by your learning, at least, by your manners.” I then told him that one of our Princes had taught mathematics during his emigration. “And this alone,” said he, with animation, “would make a man of him, and shew him to have possessed some merit; that is assuredly one of the greatest triumphs of Madame de Genlis.”

I then related to him the following curious anecdote, which I had heard on that subject. “The Prince was in Switzerland: and, being so circumstanced as to find it advisable to conceal his existence, he wished to take a name that might favour his disguise. One of our Bishops, from the South of France, fancied that nothing could be better than to give him the name of a young man from Languedoc then at Nismes, who was a very zealous Protestant; which was just as it ought to be, the Prince being in a Protestant canton. The Bishop added that there was no appearance that the young man would ever be in the way to falsify the Prince’s assumption of his name. But it had so happened that the young man had gone into the army, and had become an aide-de-camp to M. de Montesquiou, and that shortly afterwards he had emigrated precisely into Switzerland with his general. What was his surprise to find himself at the _table d’hôte_, at dinner with a person of his own name, of the same religion, and who belonged to the same town! It was exactly like the scene of the two Sosias.[31] But the best of the joke was that the young man had also changed his name, and carefully concealed his own. Such incidents are only to be met with in novels; they are thought of impossible occurrence. Perhaps the present story has been rather embellished; yet, I think, I can affirm that I heard it from the young man himself.”

Footnote 31:

In Moliere’s Comedy of Amphitryon. _Eng. Ed._

“But,” observed the Emperor afterwards, “those amongst you emigrants who had created for yourselves resources abroad must have felt quite lost when you returned to France, and ruined once more?”—“Certainly, Sire; for we found nothing of what we had formerly left in France, and we had just abandoned the little we had made ourselves. But we had not calculated: our impatience to revisit our native land had over-balanced every other consideration, and several amongst us soon found themselves in the greatest distress, in want of every thing, although acquainted and even intimate with many of the great personages of the day—with your Ministers, Sire, your Councillors of State, and others. This circumstance gave rise to a _bon mot_ from one of our _wits_. Meeting one day, in the saloon of the Minister for Maritime Affairs, a friend who like himself hardly knew how to manage to subsist, he exclaimed, by way of consolation: “Well, my friend, if we die of hunger, we may still have two or three Ministers at our funeral.” The Emperor laughed heartily at the jest, and admitted that it gave an exact description of the situation of affairs at the time.

After his lesson of English, and the conversation which followed, the Emperor went out for a walk. We walked to the end of the wood, where the calash drove up to us.

On the Emperor’s return, the Doctor came to inform him that Colonel Reade, whom he had consented to receive instead of the Governor, wished to be presented to him. Colonel Reade delivered to the Emperor a note of considerable length; and I was sent for to translate it. It contained the communications which Sir Hudson Lowe had for three or four days past been vainly endeavouring to make in person. The note was couched in the most offensive terms, and the Governor wished to have reserved to himself the satisfaction of communicating its contents to the Emperor. This is a characteristic trait, and it requires no comment. The harsh terms in which it was expressed, and in particular the repeated threat that we should be separated from the Emperor, vexed us exceedingly, and put us out of spirits for the remainder of the day.

THE EMPEROR READS MY JOURNAL, AND DICTATES TO ME.—CONFERENCE BETWEEN THE
GRAND MARSHAL AND THE GOVERNOR.

5th.—At an early hour this morning, before I had risen, I heard some one softly open my chamber-door. My apartment is so encumbered with my own bed and that of my son, that it is no easy matter to enter it. I perceived a hand drawing aside my bed-curtain: it was the Emperor’s. I was reading a book of geometry, a circumstance which amused him very much, and, as he said, saved my reputation. I instantly rose, and soon rejoined the Emperor, who was proceeding to the wood alone. He conversed for a considerable time on the events of the preceding day. He then returned to the house for the purpose of taking a bath: he was very ill, and had passed a bad night.

He sent for me at one o’clock. He was in the drawing-room, and he expressed a wish to take his English lesson. The weather was very hot and close. The Emperor felt languid and dispirited: he could not bend his mind to study, and several times fell asleep. At length he rose, saying he was determined to shake off his lethargy, and he proceeded to the billiard-room to breathe a little fresh air.

Conversing on the subject of the Campaigns of Italy, he enquired what I had done with the first rough draughts, observing that all the chapters had been several times re-copied. I told him that I had carefully preserved them. He desired to have all the manuscripts brought to him, and, laying aside two complete copies, he sent the rest into the kitchen to be burnt.

I have already several times mentioned that the Emperor knew I kept a Journal. This was a secret, and therefore he never spoke to me on the subject, except when we happened to be alone together. He often asked me whether I still continued my Journal, and what I could find to set down in it. “Sire,” I replied, “all that your Majesty does and says, from morning to night.” “Then,” said he, “you must have a monstrous deal of repetition, and must tell many useless things! But no matter, go on, some day we will look it over together.”

When he visited my chamber, he frequently found the faithful Aly engaged in re-copying my Journal; for he had kindly offered to employ himself in this way, during his leisure hours. The Emperor sometimes cast his eyes upon Aly’s writing, and, after reading a few lines, that is to say, as soon as he ascertained what it was, he would turn away and speak about something else, without ever alluding to the subject. This is precisely what had occurred this morning; and the Emperor, recollecting the circumstance, said that he wished at length to have a sight of this famous _jumble of trifles_. My son brought a portion of the manuscript, and the Emperor spent upwards of two hours in perusing it. The introduction, which relates to myself personally, fixed his attention; he read it over twice, and then said: “Well, very well; this is a fine inheritance for little Emanuel.” As to the Journal, he approved of its form and general plan. He made several corrections with his own hand, on those parts which related to his family and his childhood. He desired my son to take the pen, and he dictated to him some details respecting Brienne, Father Patrault, &c. When he had done, he desired me to continue my labours, as he was pleased with them; and he promised to furnish me with many anecdotes, particularly concerning Alexander and the other sovereigns.

He afterwards took a drive in the calash, in which I accompanied him, and the Journal again became the topic of conversation. The Emperor said a great deal on the subject, and expressed himself very much pleased with the idea. He gave me several hints respecting it, and concluded by observing that, from the peculiar circumstances under which it was produced, it might become a work truly unique in its character, and an invaluable treasure to his son.

On our return to Longwood, we found the Grand Marshal, who had just returned from Plantation House, where he had been to hold a conference on the subject of the communications of yesterday. We anxiously awaited the answer he might bring back. He informed us that a proposition had been made, which was nothing less than that four of us should be separated from the Emperor. There were many other minor points of a very vexatious nature; but this one caused us to lose sight of all the rest. The Governor had, however, finally agreed to remove only the Pole and three of the domestics. According to the report of the Grand Marshal, I was the individual upon whom the storm had lowered, of whom the Governor most particularly complained, and whose removal, he said, he should certainly have decided upon, had he not thought me too useful to the Emperor. He complained that I was constantly writing to Europe, declaiming against the Government and the injustice and oppression which I alleged were exercised towards us. His other subjects of complaint were, that I spoke of the Emperor to the strangers who visited Longwood in such a way as to excite their interest; that I was constantly endeavouring to establish communications with different individuals on the island (and he mentioned the instance of Mrs. Sturmer); that I had addressed, or endeavoured to transmit, various documents to Europe, &c. However, after having spoken of me in the most angry terms, for some reason or other, he endeavoured to soften down what he had said by a few complimentary observations. He remarked that he could scarcely have expected such conduct in a man possessing so much information, and whose good character was established throughout Europe.

After dinner, the Emperor amused himself by solving some problems in geometry and algebra: this, he said, reminded him of his youthful days; and it surprised us all to find that the subjects were still so fresh in his recollection.

PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCE CONNECTED WITH MY JOURNAL.—THE
EMPIRE OF OPINION.—TALMA, CRESCENTINI, &C.

6th—7th. During these two days, a circumstance has occurred, which is so nearly connected with the nature of the present work, that I cannot omit noticing it. I have just mentioned that the Emperor had expressed himself well satisfied with my journal: he alluded to it several times in the course of the day, assuring me that he should feel great pleasure in perusing and correcting it. This information, as it may be supposed, was highly gratifying to me. The moment which I had so long and ardently looked for had at length arrived. That which I had hastily, and, perhaps, inaccurately, collected, was now about to receive an inestimable correction and sanction. Imperfect points would be developed, chasms filled up, and obscurities explained. What a fund of historical truths and political secrets was I about to receive! Elated by these expectations, I the first day presented myself to the Emperor at the usual hour, having my journal with me; but he began to dictate to me on a totally different subject, and I was obliged to put up with the disappointment. Next day, the same thing occurred again. I now wished to call the Emperor’s attention to my Journal; but he did not appear to understand me, and I took the hint. I know Napoleon so well! He possesses in the highest degree the art of not seeming to understand; he resorts to it frequently, and always for some particular object. In the present instance I understood him sufficiently, and I did not again attempt to draw his attention to the subject. At first I was much puzzled to guess the motive that had induced him to act thus; and I made several conjectures, which have probably occurred to the reader, as well as to myself. A few days afterwards I was forced away from him, though I had not the least cause in the world to anticipate this fatal event.

I have dwelt on this circumstance with scrupulous exactness, because I conceive that it affords a new guarantee of my sincerity, and serves to explain precisely the nature of my Journal. Of the great bulk of its contents, and in particular the important events described in it, no doubt can be entertained. Some involuntary errors may, however, have crept into the details, from the hasty manner in which they were collected, and from my being deprived of the advantage of having the manuscript revised by the only individual who was capable of correcting its inaccuracies.

The Emperor, while he was dressing and waiting for the Grand Marshal to take his turn in writing, amused himself by conversing on different subjects.

He spoke of the influence of opinion, to which he so frequently alludes. He traced its secret progress, its uncertainty, and the caprice of its decisions. He then adverted to the natural delicacy of the French, which he said was exquisite in matters of decorum, the laudable susceptibility of our manners, and the graceful action and gentleness of touch which authority must employ, if an attempt is made to interfere with the national feeling.

“In conformity with my system,” observed he, “of amalgamating all kinds of merit, and of rendering one and the same reward universal, I had an idea of presenting the cross of the Legion of Honour to Talma; but I refrained from doing this, in consideration of our capricious manners and absurd prejudices. I wished to make a first experiment in an affair that was unimportant, and I accordingly gave the Iron Crown to Crescentini. The decoration was foreign, and so was the individual on whom it was conferred. This circumstance was less likely to attract public notice or to render my conduct the subject of discussion; at worst, it could only give rise to a few malicious jokes. Such,” continued the Emperor, “is the influence of public opinion. I distributed sceptres at will, and thousands readily bowed beneath their sway: and yet I could not give away a bit of ribbon without the chance of incurring disapprobation; for I believe my experiment, with regard to Crescentini, proved unsuccessful.” “It did, Sire,” observed some one present. “The circumstance occasioned a great outcry in Paris; it drew forth a general anathema in all the drawing-rooms of the metropolis, and afforded ample scope for the expression of malignant feeling. However, at one of the evening parties of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, a _bon-mot_ had the effect of completely stemming the torrent of indignation. A pompous orator was holding forth, in an eloquent strain, on the subject of the honour that had been conferred on Crescentini. He declared it to be a disgrace, a horror, a perfect profanation, and inquired what right Crescentini could have to such a distinction? On hearing this, the beautiful Madame G—— who was present, rose majestically from her chair, and, with a truly theatrical tone and gesture, exclaimed, ‘_Et sa blessoure Monsieur!_ do you make no allowance for that?’ This produced a general burst of laughter and applause, and poor Madame G—- was very much embarrassed by her success.”

The Emperor, who now heard this anecdote for the first time, was highly amused by it. He often afterwards alluded to it, and occasionally related it himself.

At dinner, the Emperor informed us that he had worked for twelve hours; and we observed that his day was not yet ended. He seemed to be ill and fatigued.

THE ODYSSEY—COMBAT BETWEEN ULYSSES AND IRUS.

8th. When I entered the Emperor’s apartment this morning, I found him engaged in reading the files of the _Journal des Debats_, which had lately arrived. At three o’clock he began to dress. His first valet de chambre was ill; and he observed that those who acted as his substitutes were not equal to him in address.

The weather was tolerable, and we walked to the extremity of the wood, where the calash was to take us up.

I had a disposable sum of money in London, which I had conveyed thither in 1814. The recollection of the privations I had endured during my emigration, and the chance of being exposed to future want, had prompted me to this act of prudence, and I was now reaping the fruits of it. Owing to this circumstance, I was more at my ease, as to pecuniary affairs, than any other individual of the Emperor’s suite at St. Helena; but what led me to regard this sum as an inestimable treasure was the happiness of being able to lay it at the feet of the Emperor. I had already several times proposed that he should accept it; and I now once more repeated the offer, while I adverted to the renewed outrages which we had just experienced from the Governor. At this moment we were joined by Madame de Montholon, who had set out after us. She observed that the Emperor walked so fast that she should certainly have lost sight of him, had not my gesticulations enabled her to keep her eye upon us; and that she had been puzzled to guess the cause of my vehemence of manner. “Madam,” said the Emperor with the most captivating grace, “he has been trying to make me accept his bounty; he has been offering to support us here.”

We returned almost immediately to the house, as the weather was very damp and the Emperor complained of tooth-ache. For some time past he has been troubled with a profuse secretion of saliva.

After dinner he resumed the reading of the Odyssey: we had arrived at the passage describing the combat between Ulysses and Irus, on the threshold of the palace, both in the garb of beggars. The Emperor very much disapproved of this episode, which he pronounced to be mean, incongruous, and beneath the dignity of the King. “And yet,” continued he, “independently of all the faults which, in my opinion, this incident presents, I still find in it something to interest me. I fancy myself in the situation of Ulysses, and then I can well conceive his dread of being overpowered by a wretched mendicant. Every prince or general has not the broad shoulders of his guards or grenadiers; every man has not the strength of a porter. But Homer has remedied all this by representing his heroes as so many giants. We have no such heroes now-a-days. What would become of us,” he added, glancing round at us all, “if we lived in those good times when bodily vigour constituted real power? Why, Noverraz (his valet-de-chambre) would wield the sceptre over us all. It must be confessed that civilization favours the mind entirely at the expense of the body.”

THE POLE ARRESTED BY THE GOVERNOR.—THE EMPEROR’S REFLECTIONS ON HIS SON
AND ON AUSTRIA.—NEW VEXATIONS.—REMARKS ON LORD BATHURST.—OBSERVATIONS
DICTATED BY NAPOLEON.

9th.—As we were walking to come up with the calash, we received information that the Pole had just been put under arrest by the Governor. This was, of course, merely a first step—a warning of what we all had to expect. Intimidation seems to be the system to which the Governor has resorted since the arrival of his last instructions, which he endeavours to fulfil to the utmost of his ingenuity. We shall see how far he will go.

When I waited on the Emperor, before dinner, I found him dull and apparently absent. The conversation led him to mention Austria, and he alluded to the wrongs which he had received from that Power, and the errors of her policy. He described the weakness of the monarch, who, he said, had never evinced energy, except when it tended to ruin him in the estimation of his subjects. He dwelt on the venality and want of principle which distinguished the men who had advised and executed the measures of the Austrian cabinet. He spoke of the blind policy of Austria, and described her dangerous situation. “She now stands,” said he, “in the most imminent peril, advancing to meet the embraces of a colossus in her front, while she cannot recede a single step, because an abyss is yawning on her flank and rear.”

This turn of the conversation naturally led the Emperor to speak of his son. “What education will they give him?” said he. “What sort of principles will they inculcate in his youthful mind? On the other hand, if he should prove weak in intellect—if they should inspire him with hatred of his father! These thoughts fill me with horror! and where is the antidote to all this? Henceforth there can be no certain medium of communication—no faithful tradition between him and me! At best my Memoirs, or perhaps your Journal, may fall into his hands. But to subdue the false precepts imbibed in early life, to counteract the errors of a bad education, requires a certain capacity, a certain strength of mind and decision of judgment which fall not to the share of every one.” He appeared deeply affected; and, after a pause of a few moments, he said, suddenly and with emphasis, “But let us talk of something else;” however, he still continued silent. I sat down to write, and after an hour or two the Grand Marshal came and took my place.

Just after I had quitted the Emperor’s apartments, I was again sent for to translate to him a large packet of papers which had been received from the Governor. The state of my eyes, which are now altogether failing me, obliged me to avail myself of M. de Montholon’s assistance in reading the papers.

Their contents were 1. Some of the new restrictions that have been imposed on us, in which the Emperor is treated in a way that may be termed curious; for indecency and indecorum are carried so far as to prescribe the nature and limits of the conversations which he is to be permitted to hold. This will scarcely be credited!

2. The form of the declaration which was presented for our signature. This was merely a series of arbitrary and useless vexations, heightened by every irritating circumstance that vengeance could suggest.

3. Finally a letter from the Governor to the Grand Marshal, founded on the note presented by Colonel Reade, which I translated to the Emperor, and which the colonel had refused to leave behind him; the reader will recollect my having already noticed it. However, in the letter now transmitted to the Emperor certain essential points were very ingeniously suppressed or modified: the Emperor frequently remarked that the Governor possesses a peculiar talent for business of this sort. I will here retrace this note from recollection. Though I read it only once, namely, at the time when I translated it to the Emperor, yet I think I can vouch for the following being an accurate representation of its contents.

“The Frenchmen who wished to remain with General Bonaparte, were required to sign the formula which should be presented to them, and by which they would subject themselves to all the restrictions imposed on the General. This obligation was to be regarded as perpetual. Those who should refuse to enter into this agreement were to be sent to the Cape of Good Hope. Four individuals were to be removed from the suite of General Bonaparte. Those who might remain were to be considered as though they were Englishmen by birth, and to be subject to the laws established for securing the safe custody of General Bonaparte; that is to say, they would incur the punishment of death by conniving at his escape. Any Frenchmen who might use insulting language or reflections, or behave so as to give offence to the Governor or the Government, would be immediately removed to the Cape of Good Hope, without being provided with the means of returning to Europe: the whole expense of the voyage devolving on himself.”

During dinner, and the greater part of the evening, these documents became the subject of conversation.

We were much amused by that passage in the Governor’s letter which transmitted the ministerial instructions, and informed us that those who might be wanting in respect for the Governor, or render themselves obnoxious, would be removed to the Cape, and the expense attending their return to Europe was to be defrayed by themselves. We thought this very droll, and the Emperor said, “Of course this threat appears to you very extraordinary and ridiculous; but no doubt it was perfectly natural to Lord Bathurst. I dare say he could not imagine a more terrible punishment. It is a true shopkeeper idea!”

The Emperor concluded the evening by reading to us Adelaide Duguesclin, which contains a fine rhodomontade upon the Bourbons.

After reading it, the Emperor said, “During the time of my power, an order was given for suppressing the performance of this drama, under the idea that it would be offensive to me. This circumstance accidentally came to my knowledge, and I ordered the piece to be revived. Many things of the same kind took place; people often acted very unwisely under the idea that they were serving or pleasing me.”

I transcribe here the restrictions to which I have just alluded. They are curious in themselves, and will serve better than volumes of description, to give a just idea of our situation; but what enhances the value of this document is that the observations which accompany each article were made by the Emperor himself.

RESTRICTIONS drawn up by Sir Hudson Lowe, and transmitted to Longwood on the 19th of October, 1816, but which he had already put into execution by different secret orders, since the preceding month of August, though he never communicated them to the English officers on duty, doubtless, because he was ashamed of them.

TEXT OF THE RESTRICTIONS.

“1st.—Longwood, with the road by Hut’s Gate, along the hill, as far as the signal-post near Alarm-House, are to be fixed as boundaries.“

OBSERVATION. Sir Hudson Lowe’s predecessor had extended the boundary line to the summits of the hills; but in about a fortnight, he perceived that, by removing the sentinels to a little further distance, the house and garden of Secretary-general Brook would be included within the boundaries, and he immediately gave orders for the change.

At about forty fathoms from the road-side is Corbett’s garden, which contains about eight or ten oak trees and a fountain; thus affording a cool and agreeable shade.[32] According to the new restrictions, which confined him to the high-road, a line is substituted for a surface, and the secretary’s house and Corbett’s garden are excluded from the boundaries.

Footnote 32:

In the very spot here described by Napoleon is his grave.

“2d.—Sentinels will mark the boundary lines, which nobody must pass to approach the house or grounds of Longwood, without the Governor’s permission.”