Chapter I: Am Not Allowed to Remain in England.—removal to Ostend.—persecutions (6)

I have to reproach myself for not having taken an opportunity to relate the adventures of Santini. At the conclusion of every drama, whatever may be its nature, one likes to meet again in the _dénouement_ with all those who have figured in the early part of it. Santini’s story involves moreover traits of manners, tints of the times, a reference to public affairs, which induce me to repair my omission, since I have it in my power to do so.

We had long given up Santini for lost, confined, dead, when all at once he again made his appearance among us soon after the death of Napoleon: and the following narrative is from his own lips, and nearly in his own words.

After making his escape from England, he had traversed Belgium and some parts of Germany, with the intelligence and address of a clever Italian. At length, on entering Münich, he imagined that he had overcome the grand obstacles, and was safe in port. But precisely in that city he was apprehended, and, in spite of all his applications to the different authorities, and to several ambassadors, in order to obtain permission to pass quietly, he was carried back by gendarmes into Wirtemberg, which he traversed at liberty, but under evident _surveillance_. On reaching Lombardy, at Como, he went to declare himself to the police: they had been expecting him there; he was arrested and conveyed to Milan, where he was told that he could not remain in the country, at full liberty, without serious inconvenience; and that, in consequence, he should be conducted to Mantua, where he would be under less restraint. Now the less restraint that was promised him proved to be nothing better or worse than a prison, where he was not allowed to hold communication with any person whatsoever. Such was the importance attached to his complete seclusion that, Maria Louisa having passed through that city, and stopped there for twenty-four or thirty-six hours, poor Santini had for an extraordinary companion in his room a police officer who did not suffer him to be for a moment out of his sight, not even during meals or when he slept; which serves to show the extreme care that was taken to prevent all communication between Napoleon and Maria Louisa.

At length, in consequence of the disturbance and complaints which he made in his dungeon, an order arrived to remove him to Vienna; but the captain of the circle was required to travel in the same carriage with him, and to conduct him by forced journeys to his new destination.

Santini, contrary to his expectation, found himself again imprisoned, and again made a great noise; incessantly insisting on being tried, and either shot, as he said, if he deserved it, or set at liberty if he had not done any thing wrong. He was at last told that they had nothing to lay to his charge, but that his entire liberty was attended with great difficulties; that he could not be suffered to go into every country, and he should therefore have his choice between England and Austria. Santini replied that he would never more set foot on land governed by the executioners of his master. He was then carried to Brünn, the capital of Moravia, where he was obliged to take an oath to abstain from seeking any foreign correspondence. On his arrival there, he found himself, it is true, under a special _surveillance_; but there, said Santini, ended his persecutions and his troubles; there began a better condition. His captivity indeed became, he said, a blessing, and his heart was filled with gratitude. He there found himself an object of attention and interest: all, from the highest to the lowest, showed him the greatest kindness. The inhabitants had twice seen Napoleon; as an enemy it is true, and yet they felt profound veneration for him. In this manner Santini spent, what he called, three happy years.

It had been recommended by superior authority that a strict watch should be kept, at Brünn in particular, to prevent Santini from sending off any paper for the Emperor Francis. When that monarch was going to the Congress at Troppau, he stopped at Brünn, and Santini said that two days before, a police officer had arrived from Vienna to watch lest he should address any thing to the Emperor. Thus the heart of Francis was under as vigilant _surveillance_ as that of Maria Louisa; the emotions of both were suspicious, and of course they were much feared. All precautions, however, were vain. Santini had interested the highest personages, and a petition from him, on the treatment that he had experienced, reached the hands of the Sovereign. He complained in it of his pecuniary situation, and of the privation of liberty, and accompanied it with attestations which he had brought from St. Helena, especially the order for the pension which Napoleon had assigned to him. The Emperor Francis appeared to be much struck with this order, which was signed by the Grand Marshal, and headed “_By express order of the Emperor._” It purported that a pension of a certain amount was granted to Santini, and that it should be paid him by the first relatives or the first friends of the Emperor’s to whom he should present it. “Is it not terrible?” said the Emperor Francis, looking at it—“he is prisoner at St. Helena, and yet he continues to give orders as if nothing had happened!” His beneficence, however, got the better of his surprise, and whether he considered himself as a relative, or merely followed the impulse of his kind heart, he ordered a sum of money to be remitted to Santini; and it is a singular circumstance, which I could not observe without a kind of emotion, that the first two sums set down on the order for Santini’s pension, are placed precisely against names not related to the Emperor by blood—the Princess Stephanie of Baden and the Emperor of Austria, the one his adopted daughter, the other his father-in-law.

SUPPLEMENT.

-------

[It has been judged desirable to subjoin a few extracts from the celebrated Work by Dr. Antommarchi, Napoleon’s Physician, as furnishing, in their details of the latter moments, death, and interment of the fallen Ruler, a natural sequel to the account of what may be called his _penultimate_ days, by the faithful Las Cases.]

-------

NAPOLEON’S RELIGIOUS NOTIONS.

At half-past one he sent for Vignali.—“Abbé,” said he, “do you know what a _chambre-ardente_[47] is?”—“Yes, Sire.”—“Have you ever officiated in one?”—“Never, Sire.”—“Well, you shall officiate in mine.”—He then entered into the most minute detail on that subject, and gave the priest his instructions, at considerable length. His face was animated and convulsive, and I was following with uneasiness the contraction of his features, when he observed in mine I know not what expression which displeased him.—“You are above those weaknesses,” said he, “but what is to be done? I am neither a philosopher nor a physician. I believe in God, and am of the religion of my father. It is not every body who _can_ be an Atheist.” Then turning again to the priest—“I was born a Catholic, and will fulfil the duties prescribed by the Catholic religion, and receive the assistance it administers. You will say mass every day in the chapel, and will expose the holy sacrament during forty hours. After my death, you will place your altar at my head in the room in which I shall lie in state; you will continue to say mass, and perform all the customary ceremonies, and will not cease to do so until I am under ground.”

Footnote 47:

A room in which dead bodies lie in state.

The Abbé withdrew, and I remained alone with Napoleon, who censured my supposed incredulity. “How can you carry it so far?” said he. “Can you not believe in God, whose existence every thing proclaims, and in whom the greatest minds have believed?”—“But, Sire, I have never doubted it. I was following the pulsations of the fever, and your Majesty thought you perceived in my features an expression which they had not.”—“You are a physician,” replied he laughing, and then added, in an under-tone, “Those people have only to do with matter; they never will believe any thing.”

HIS WISHES AS TO HIS BURIAL PLACE.

Napoleon was free from vomiting, and drank a great deal of cold water. “If fate had decreed that I should recover, I would erect a monument on the spot where the water flows, and would crown the fountain in testimony of the relief it has afforded me. If I die, and my body, proscribed as my person has been, should be denied a little earth, I desire that my remains may be deposited in the cathedral of Ajaccio in Corsica; and if it should not be permitted to me to rest where I was born, let me be buried near the limpid stream of this pure water.”

HIS ADVICE TO THOSE AROUND HIM.

Napoleon still preserved his presence of mind, and recommended to his executors, in case he should lose it, not to allow any other English physicians to approach him than Doctor Arnott. “I am going to die,” said he; “and you to return to Europe: I must give you some advice as to the line of conduct you are to pursue. You have shared my exile; you will be faithful to my memory, and will not do any thing that may injure it. I have sanctioned all principles, and infused them into my laws and acts; I have not omitted a single one. Unfortunately, however, the circumstances in which I was placed were arduous, and I was obliged to act with severity, and to postpone the execution of my plans. Our reverses occurred: I could not unbend the bow; and France has been deprived of the liberal institutions I intended to give her. She judges me with indulgence: she feels grateful for my intentions: she cherishes my name and my victories. Imitate her example; be faithful to the opinions we have defended, and to the glory we have acquired; any other course can only lead to shame and confusion.”

HIS DEATH.

Icy coldness of the lower extremities, and in a short time, of the whole body—eye fixed—lips closed and contracted—violent agitation of the nostrils—most complete adynamia[48]—pulse extremely weak and intermittant, varying from one hundred and two to one hundred and eight, one hundred and ten, and one hundred and twelve pulsations per minute—breathing slow, intermittant, and stertorous—spasmodic contraction of the epigastric region and of the stomach—deep sighs—piteous moans—convulsive movements, which ended by a loud and dismal shriek. I placed a blister on the chest, and one on each thigh; applied two large sinapisms on the soles of the feet, and fomentations on the abdomen, with a bottle filled with hot water: I also endeavoured to refresh the Emperor’s lips and mouth by constantly moistening them with a mixture of common water, orange-flower water, and sugar; but the passage was spasmodically closed; nothing was swallowed; all was in vain. The intermittent breathing and mournful sound still continued, accompanied by a violent agitation, of the abdominal muscles: the eyelids remained fixed, the eyes moved and fell back under the upper lids; the pulse sunk and rallied again.—It was eleven minutes before six o’clock—Napoleon was about to breathe his last!—a slight froth covered his lips—he was no more!—Such is the end of all human glory!

Footnote 48:

Weakness.

ARRANGEMENTS RESPECTING THE CORPSE, &C.

It had not been possible, for want of the necessary materials, to embalm the body, the whiteness of which was really extraordinary. It was deposited upon one of the small tent-beds, furnished with white curtains as funeral hangings!!! The cloak of blue cloth which Napoleon had worn at the battle of Marengo served to cover him. The feet and hands were exposed to view; at his right side was his sword, and on his chest a crucifix. At some distance from the body was the silver vase in which I had been obliged to deposit his heart and stomach. Behind his head was an altar, at which the priest, habited in his surplice and stole, recited prayers. All the persons of his suite, officers and servants, dressed in mourning, were standing on his left. Doctor Arnott watched over the corpse, which had been placed under his personal responsibility.

The door of the _chambre ardente_, and the approach to it, had been for some hours past thronged by an immense crowd. The door was at last opened; and the crowd entered, and gazed upon the lifeless remains, without confusion, without tumult, and in a religious silence. The order of admittance was regulated by Captain Crokat, the orderly officer of Longwood. The officers and subalterns of the 20th and 66th regiments were first admitted, and the remainder afterwards. All felt that emotion which the spectacle of courage and misfortune united never fails to excite in the hearts of all brave men.

The coffin which was to receive the Emperor having been brought, I was obliged to place the heart and stomach in it. I had flattered myself that I should be able to convey them to Europe; but all my entreaties on that subject were fruitless: I experienced the grief and mortification of a refusal. I left the first-mentioned of these two organs in the vase in which it had at first been enclosed, and placed the second in another vase of the same metal, and of a cylindrical shape, which had been used to keep Napoleon’s sponge. I filled the vase containing the heart with alcohol, closed it hermetically, soldered it, and deposited it with the other at the angles of the coffin, in which Napoleon was then laid. The body was first placed upon a kind of mattress and pillow, in a tin-box lined with white satin. The Emperor’s hat, which could not remain on his head for want of room, was placed on his feet; eagles, some pieces of all the coins bearing his effigy, his fork and spoon, his knife, a plate with his arms, &c. were also put into that box, which was carefully soldered, and placed in another of mahogany. A third, of lead, received these two boxes; and the whole was finally enclosed in a fourth of mahogany, which was closed, and secured with iron screws. The coffin was then covered with the cloak Napoleon had worn at the battle of Marengo, and exposed on the same spot where the body had lain. Arnott continued to watch, and Vignali to pray; whilst the crowd, which increased every hour, were allowed to circulate round these mournful objects.

THE FUNERAL.

The Governor himself soon arrived at Longwood, and was shortly afterwards followed by the Admiral and all the civil and military authorities. The weather was beautiful, the roads were crowded with people, and the hills covered with musicians: never had so mournful and solemn a spectacle been before exhibited in the island. At half-past twelve the grenadiers took the coffin, which they could not lift without difficulty, and, after repeated and persevering efforts, succeeded in carrying it to and placing it on the hearse, which was waiting in the great walk in the garden; and it was then covered with a violet coloured velvet cloth, and the cloak which Napoleon wore at Marengo. The Emperor’s household was in mourning; and the funeral procession was arranged, and proceeded in the following order, which had been regulated by the Governor himself:—

Abbé Vignali, habited in the sacerdotal ornaments used
for the celebration of mass, with young Henry
Bertrand, carrying a vase of silver
containing Holy-water and
the
_Aspersorium_.
Doctor Arnott and myself.
The persons appointed to take care of the hearse, which
was drawn by four horses, led by grooms, and
escorted by twelve grenadiers on
each side, without arms.[49]

Footnote 49:

They were to carry the coffin, when the bad state of the roads
should prevent the hearse from advancing.

Young Napoleon Bertrand and Marchand, both on foot
on each side of the hearse.
Counts Bertrand and Montholon on horseback immediately
behind the hearse.
Part of the Emperor’s suite.
Countess Bertrand, with her daughter Hortense, in a
calash drawn by two horses led by servants
who walked on the side of the
precipice.
The Emperor’s horse, led by his _piqueur_ Archambaud.
The officers of the marines on foot and on
horseback.
The officers of the staff on horseback.
General Coffin and the Marquis Montchenu on horseback.
The Admiral and the Governor on horseback.
The inhabitants of the Island.

The procession left Longwood in this order, passed before the guard-house, and the garrison of the island, about two thousand five hundred strong, which lined the whole of the left side of the road as far as Hut’s Gate. Bands of music, stationed at intervals, added by their mournful sounds to the solemn sadness of the ceremony. After the procession had passed before the troops, they followed, and accompanied it towards the place of burial. The dragoons marched first, the 20th regiment of infantry followed; then came the marines, the 66th regiment, the volunteers of St. Helena; and, lastly, the regiment of royal artillery, with fifteen pieces of cannon. Lady Lowe and her daughter were waiting on the road at Hut’s Gate, in a calash drawn by two horses, and afterwards followed the procession at a distance, accompanied by some servants in mourning. The fifteen pieces of cannon were stationed along the road, and the men were near their pieces ready to fire.

At about a quarter of a mile beyond Hut’s Gate the hearse stopped, and the troops halted and ranged themselves in order of battle along the road. The grenadiers then took the coffin on their shoulders, and carried it thus to the grave, by the new road which had been made for that purpose on the side of the mountain. Every body then dismounted; the ladies got out of the calash, and the procession followed the corpse without observing any order: Counts Bertrand and Montholon, Marchand, and young Napoleon Bertrand, holding the four corners of the pall. The coffin was deposited on the edge of the grave, which was hung with black, and near to it were the machinery and the ropes with which it was to be lowered: every thing offered a mournful aspect; every thing contributed to increase the grief and affliction which filled our hearts. Our emotion was great, but deep, concentrated and silent. The coffin having been uncovered, Abbé Vignali recited the usual prayers, and the body was consigned to the grave, the feet turned towards the east. The artillery then fired three successive volleys of fifteen guns each. During the march of the funeral procession, the Admiral’s ship had fired twenty-five minute-guns. An enormous stone, which was to have been employed in the construction of the Emperor’s new house, was now used to close his grave. The religious ceremonies being over, that stone was lifted up by means of a ring fixed in it, and was lowered down over the body, resting on both sides on a strong stone wall, so as not to touch the coffin. It was then fastened; the ring was taken away, the hole it had left filled up, and the masonry covered with a layer of cement.

THE TOMB OF NAPOLEON.

London: Published for HENRY COLBURN, February, 1836.
]

The Emperor’s grave is about a league from Longwood. Its shape is quadrangular, but wider at the top than at the bottom; its depth is about twelve feet. The coffin is placed upon two strong pieces of wood, and isolated on all sides. We were not allowed to place over it either a stone, or a modest inscription: the Governor opposed this pious wish; as if a tombstone, or an inscription, could have told the world more than they already knew!

TESTAMENT OF NAPOLEON.

-------

NAPOLEON.

_This 15th April, 1821, at Longwood, Island of St. Helena. This is my
Testament, or act of my last will._

1. I die in the Apostolical Roman religion, in the bosom of which I was born, more than fifty years since.

2. It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well.

3. I have always had reason to be pleased with my dearest wife, Maria Louisa. I retain for her, to my last moment, the most tender sentiments—I beseech her to watch, in order to preserve, my son from the snares which yet environ his infancy.

4. I recommend to my son never to forget that he was born a French prince, and never to allow himself to become an instrument in the hands of the triumvirs who oppress the nations of Europe: he ought never to fight against France, or to injure her in any manner; he ought to adopt my motto: “_Every thing for the French people._”

5. I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy and its * * *. The English nation will not be slow in avenging me.

6. The two unfortunate results of the invasions of France, when she had still so many resources, are to be attributed to the treason of Marmont, Augereau, Talleyrand, and La Fayette.

I forgive them—May the posterity of France forgive them as I do!

7. I thank my good and most excellent mother, the Cardinal, my brothers, Joseph, Lucien, Jerome, Pauline, Caroline, Julie, Hortense, Catarine, Eugene, for the interest they have continued to feel for me. I pardon Louis for the libel he published in 1820; it is replete with false assertions and falsified documents.

8. I disavow the “Manuscript of St. Helena,” and other works; under the title of Maxims, Sayings, &c., which persons have been pleased to publish for the last six years. Such are not the rules which have guided my life. I caused the Duc d’Enghien to be arrested and tried, because that step was essential to the safety, interest, and honour of the French people, when the Count d’Artois was maintaining, by his own confession, sixty assassins at Paris. Under similar circumstances, I should act in the same way.