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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through I lie lull lexl of 1 1 us book on I lie web al |_-.:. :.-.-:: / / books . qooqle . com/| 3 DC 311 •Alt 12^ [ :.\\\i. arv.i.l. ijmU, U» ■ A^j^ te~yju.-u. fatu^.a-'- RECOLLECTIONS EMPEROR NAPOLEON, FIEST THREE YEARS OP HIS CAPTIVITY ISLAND OF ST. HELENA: INCLUDING THE TIME OF HIS RESIDENCE AT HEB FATHERS HOUSE, "THE BRIARS." BY MRS. ABELL, LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. ! LONDON GBOROB WOODFALL AND SON, AKOE& COURT, SKINNBR STREET. * V <9 \ PREFACE. The writer of the following pages trusts she will not be thought presumptuous in presenting them to the public Thrown at a very early age into the society of Na- poleon, and of those who composed his ^ suite, she considers it an almost imperative ^ duty to communicate any fact or impres- sion, which, though uninteresting in itself, may still be worth recording as relating to him, and as serving to elucidate his cha- racter. Could these recollections of the emperor have been published without hav- ing her name appended to them, they would long ago have appeared, but feeling that the sole merit to which they could lay claim consisted in their being faithful records of him, and that if produced a 2 IV PREFACE. anonymously, there would be no guarantee for their truth; being moreover desirous to shun publicity, and unequal to the task of authorship, the undertaking has been postponed from time to time, and, perhaps, would have been delayed still longer, but for the pressure of calamitous circum- stances, which compels her to hesitate no more, but with all their imperfections on their head, to send these pages at once into the world. The authoress may compare her feel- ings, as she launches her little vessel on the waters, to those of Shelley, when, hav- ing exhausted his whole stock of paper, he twisted a bank-note into the shape of a little boat, and then committing it to the stream, waited on the other side for its arrival with intense anxiety. Her ship- building powers, she fears, are as feeble, her materials as frail ; but she has seen the little Paper Nautilus floating with impu- nity and confidence on the bosom of that \ PREFACE. V mighty ocean, which has engulfed many a noble vessel : accepting the augury, she in- trusts her tiny bark to the waves of public opinion, not with confidence, however, but with timidity and hesitation, — yet is her solicitude not altogether unenlivened by the hope that it may reach its haven if wafted by friendly breezes and favoured by propitious skies. The writer must crave indulgence for the frequent mention of herself during the narrative. The nature of the subject ren- ders this unavoidable. LUCIA ELIZABETH ABELL. a3 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page A slight Description of the Island. — Its Appear- ance from the Sea. — Consternation at its threat- ening Aspect. — Singular Position of St. James Town. — The Briars. ..... 1 CHAPTER II. Alarm from Ladder Hill. — Ship in Sight. — News of the expected Arrival of Napoleon. — Our dis- belief of the Report, and my childish Fears. — The Arrival of Sir George Cockburn, on Board the Northumberland, with his illustrious Prisoner Napoleon Bonaparte. — The Emperor's Landing, and Annoyance at being stared at . . .10 CHAPTER III. View of the Cavalcade going and returning from Longwood the Day after Napoleon's Landing at St. Helena. — The Emperor s Admiration of the Briars. — Takes up his Residence amongst us. — Description of his Manner, Person, &c. — Ques- tions me in Geography. — His Opinion of English Music . 10 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Page Napoleon's Habits during his Stay at the Briars. — Miss Legg, her Terror of the Emperor. — Na- poleon attacked by a Cow. — The Room occupied by him. — His simple Mode of Living. — Cari- cature of a Frenchman. — My Indignation at being quizzed about Count Las Cases' Son . 28 CHAPTER V. Napoleon's Condescension in entering into and promoting the Amusements of Children. — His beautiful Hand. — Anecdote of the Sword. — Mi- niatures of the King of Rome and other Branches of the Emperor's Family. — The Game at Whist. — The Ball Dress 39 CHAPTER VI. The Emperor's favourite Retreat in the Briars' Garden. — The Malay Slave.— Napoleon's ge- neral Information and versatility of Conversation. — Consternation of Captaui Poppleton at the supposed Escape of his Prisoner, on his first Riding Excursion after Napoleon left the Briars 53 CHAPTER VII. The Sevres China. — Napoleon displaying and explaining its Devices. — His Good Nature in forwarding the Amusements of Children. — The Mice. — Blindman's Buff, &c. . . . .67 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER VIII. Page Our first Dinner with the Emperor. — The Creams. — New Year's Day; Present from the Emperor. — General Gourgaud's Sketch of Miss. . — Napoleon's Opinion of the Empress Josephine. — Account of Count Pioutkowski. — The Emperor's Ideas of Englishmen's Devotion to Wine, and Badinage in accusing my Country- women of the same Propensity . . .76 CHAPTER IX. The Rage of the Emperor on being told he was to leave the Briars for Longwood. — His Horror of the Smell of Paint. — Our Sorrow at his De- parture. — His Present to my Mother and myself. — Our impression of his Character,- &c. . .89 CHAPTER X. Our first Visit to Napoleon at Longwood. — De- scription of it. — His Pleasure at seeing us. — Anecdote of the Marquis de M .—Napo- leon's animated Account of Sir W. D.'s Hospi- tality and the Beauty of " Fairy Land," &c. . 96 CHAPTER XI. Dead wood Races.- — Mameluke. — F&te at Ross Cottage. — Napoleon's attempt at Singing. — Visit X CONTENTS. Page to Madame Bertrand's. — The Emperor's English. — Plantation House. — Napoleon's Method of fighting over again his Battles . . .111 CHAPTER XII. Ball at Deadwood. — Napoleon's Criticisms on Dress. — His Dislike to the Custom of sitting late after Dinner. — Drive to Deadwood Ball. — Lord Amherst. — The Dejeune on Board the Newcastle. — The Extraction of the Emperor's first Tooth. — His Horror of plain Women . 121 CHAPTER XIII. Anecdote of Lieut. C — - Journey up Peak Hill. — Napoleon upon Elementary Chemistry. — Capt. Wallis. — The Emperor's New Year's Gift. — Napoleon s Solicitude about Capt. Mey- nell's Health .137 CHAPTER XIV. V Anecdote of the Hon. G. C. . — Conversation with Napoleon on Religious Subjects. — Instances of Priestcraft recounted by the Emperor. — Translation of Dr. Warden's Book. — The Earth- quake. — Napoleon's Admiration of the Character of the Governor's Lady, Mrs. Wilks . .152 CHAPTER XV. The Legend of Friar's Valley. — Bust of the CONTENTS. XI Page young King of Rome.— -The Emperor's Emotion on showing it. — Exhibition of some Toys sent by Lady Holland to Madame Bertrand's Children, &c. &c 168 CHAPTER XVI. Arrival of "the Conqueror." — Napoleon's Abuse of the Island. — Nauseous Bon-bons presented by my Brother to the Emperor, &c. &c. — His first serious Illness at St. Helena .178 CHAPTER XVII. Sir George Cockburn's Newfoundland Dog. — Fatal Accident to a Soldier of the Fifty-third Regiment. — The Runaway Slave. — Exhibition of a Caricature, and consequent Punishment to me 194 CHAPTER XVIII. Napoleon s Talent for Mimicry. — His Retired Walk, planned by Himself. — Cardinal Richelieu, &c. — The Pic-Nic. — Nocturnal Adventure, &c. 208 CHAPTER XIX. My Questions to the Emperor respecting the Atrocities imputed to him at Jaffa. — The Song upon the Death of the Duke d'Enghien. — Napoleon's Remarks upon it. — The Sculptor . 217 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. Page Our Farewell Visit to the Emperor. — Embarka- tion for England 228 CHAPTER XXI. Concluding Chapter . . 232 Appendix 245 RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. CHAPTER I. There points the Muse to stranger's eye, The graves of those that cannot die. A SLIGHT DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND. — ITS APPEAR- ANCE FROM THE SEA. — CONSTERNATION AT ITS THREAT- ENING ASPECT. — SINGULAR POSITION OF ST. JAMES TOWN. — THE BRIARS. My object in the following Memoir is to confine myself, as far as possible, to what concerns Napoleon personally. Having, however, many reminiscences, unconnected with him, of the happy days of my child- hood, and feeling that they might be in- teresting td the public, especially to those who visited the island during the emperor's B 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. I. captivity there, I venture to insert them. A slight description of the localities connected with Napoleon will not, I trust, be con- sidered uninteresting to my readers, and I may, perhaps, commence this slight me- moir most properly, by a few remarks upon the general aspect of St. Helena, and of the impression conveyed by it, on first ap- proaching its shores. The appearance of St. Helena, on viewing it from the sea, is different from that of any land I ever saw, and is certainly but little calculated to make one fall in love with it at first sight. The rock, rising abruptly from the ocean, with its oblong shape and perpendicular sides, suggests to one's mind more the idea of a huge dark-coloured ark lying at anchor, floating on the bosom of the Atlantic, than of a land intended for the habitation and support of living beings ; nor, on a nearer acquaintance, does its cha- racter become more amiable. If a stranger approach it during the night, the effect on CH. i.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, 3 coming on deck in the morning is most peculiar, and at first, almost alarming. From the great depth of water, ships are able to run very close in, to the land ; and the eye, long accustomed to the expanse of sea and atmosphere, is suddenly startled by coming almost, as it seems, in contact with the dark threatening rock towering hundreds of feet into the air, far above the masts of the tallest vessel. I was quite a child at the time of my first visit, and my terrors were increased by being told that the giant-snouted crag, which bore some resemblance to the head of a negro, when the breakfast bell struck, would devour me first, and afterwards the rest of the passengers and crew. I rushed instantly below, and hiding my face on my mother's lap, tremblingly announced our fate. It was not without much difficulty that she succeeded in soothing my ter- rors, by assurances of safety and protec- tion. But I did not venture from under b2 4 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. i. her wing until the dreaded " eight bells" had sounded, and the appearance of break- fast announced better things in store for us. I was told that even the mighty heart of Napoleon sank within him, when he first surveyed his future home ; and as the Northumberland glided to her anchorage, revealing the galleries of the batteries on either side, bristling with cannon, and frowning heavily upon him ; the despairing inscription which the beautiful language of his infancy had rendered familiar to him, seemed to have been inscribed on the gloomy rock : — " Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch'entrate." On rounding Munden's battery, James Town breaks upon the view. It is singu- lar and striking, and quite in harmony with the rest of the peculiar scenery of St. Helena. The houses are all built at the bottom of a wide ravine, which looks as if it had been caused by some great convulsion of nature, or as if the rock, I CH. I.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, 5 tired of its solitary life and isolated situa- tion in the midst of the Atlantic, had given a great yawn, and had then been unable to close its mouth again. The buildings are confine^ entirely to the bottom of this cleft or chasm, as its sides are too precipitous to allow of houses being built on them. The position of the town renders it suffi- ciently hot in summer. The cool sea- breeze, so delicious in all tropical climates, is almost excluded by the situation of the valley, as the inhabitants call James Town, and for nine months in the year the heat is almost unendurable. We were fortunate enough to reside out of town, my father possessing a beau- tiful little cottage called the Briars, about a mile and a quarter from the valley; a spot meriting a slight description, both from its intrinsic beauty, and from having been the residence of Napoleon during the first three months of his exile in St. Helena. « ^ 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. I. The way to the Briars winds out of the town by roads cut in the side of the moun- tain, I cannot say I saw much of this road or the surrounding scenery, on my first journey to our distant abode ; I was on that occasion put into a basket, and car- ried on a negro's head, who trudged away with me very merrily, singing some joyous air. Occasionally he put me down to rest, and, grinning from ear to ear, asked me if I felt comfortable in my little nest. I was rather frightened, as this was the first time I had seen a black man ; but I soon recon- ciled myself to him, and we became great friends. He told me, he generally carried vegetables into the valley, and appeared highly honoured, and proud that a living burden should have been confided to his care. I was soon deposited iij safety at the door of the Briars, and bade adieu to my sable bearer, who went away quite delighted with some little present my father gave him for making himself so amiable to me. ^ CH. I.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 7 Our cottage was built in the style of the bungalows in India ; it was very low, the rooms being chiefly on one floor, and, had it not been for its situation, would not have been thought so pretty; but surrounded, as this verdant spot was, by barren mountains, it looked a perfect little paradise — an Eden blooming in the midst of desolation. A beautiful avenue of banyan trees led up to it, and either side was flanked by evergreen and gigantic lacos, interspersed with pomegranate and myrtle, and a pro- fusion of large white roses, much resem- bling, our sweetbriar, from which, indeed, the place derived its name. A walk, shaded by pomegranate trees, thirty or forty feet in height, conducted to the gar- den. I must plead the same excuse for devot- ing a few lines to the garden that I have to the cottage, for it was lovely in itself, and the favourite retreat of the emperor during his sojourn with us. It would re- 8 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. I. quire the pen of a Scott, or the pencil of a Claude, to do any thing like justice to its beauty. I often wande* in my dreams through its myrtle groves, and the orange trees, with their bright green leaves, deli- cious blossoms, and golden fruit, seem again before me, as they were in my blessed days of childhood. Every description of tropical fruit flourished here luxuriantly; » various species of vine, citron, orange, fig, shadoc, guava, mango— all in endless pro- fusion. The produce of this garden alone, which the family could not consume, brought annually from £500 to £600. Nature, as if jealous of the beauty of this enchanting spot, had surrounded it on every side with impenetrable barriers. On the east, to speak geographically, it was bounded by a precipice, so steep as to render all approach impracticable. The dark frowning moun- tain, called Peak Hill, rendered it inacces- sible from the south ; to the westward it CH. I.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 9 was protected by a cataract, in itself a most picturesque and striking object. I forget its height, but its roar was very im- posing to me, and the volume of water must have been considerable. In that hot climate it was a delightful next-door neigh- bour; in the most sultry day one could hardly feel the heat oppressive, when gaz- ing on its cool and sparkling waters. On the side nearest the cottage the defences of the garden were completed by an aloe and prickly pear hedge, through which no living thing could penetrate. The garden at the Briars, like the bright dreams and hopes of my own early youth, is now with- ered and destroyed: it was sold to the East India Company, by whom it was dug up, and planted with mulberry trees, which speedily became " food for worms," if I may be guilty of a conceit on — to me — a melancholy subject. I believe the intended speculation proved unsuccessful. b3 —m 10 RECOLLECTIONS OF Tch. n. CHAPTER II. Nay, then farewell ! I 've touched the highest point of all my greatness. And from that full meridian of my glory I haste now to my setting. I shall fall Like a bright exhalation in the evening, And no man see me more. ALARM FROM LADDER HILL.— SHIP IN SIGHT. — NEWS OF THE EXPECTED ARRIVAL OF NAPOLEON.— OUR DIS- BELIEF OF THE REPORT, AND MY CHILDISH FEARS. — THE ARRIVAL OF SIR GEORGE COCKBURN, ON BOARD THE NORTHUMBERLAND, WITH HIS ILLUSTRIOUS PRI- SONER NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. — THE EMPEROR^ LAND- ING, AND ANNOYANCE AT BEING STARED AT. We had been living for years in this ro- mantic and secluded glen, when our little " isle was suddenly frighted from its pro- priety" by hearing that Napoleon Bonaparte was to be confined as a prisoner of state. It was in October, 1815, that this news first burst upon us. We heard one morning an CH. H.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 11 alarm gun fired from Ladder Hill, which was the signal that a vessel was in sight, off the island. The same evening, two naval officers arrived at the Briars, one of whom was announced as Captain D., command- ing the Icarus man-of-war. He requested to see my father, having intelligence of im portance to communicate to him. On be- ing conducted to him, he informed him that Napoleon Bonaparte was on board the Northumberland, under the command of Sir George Cockburn, and within a few days' sail of the island. The news of his escape from Elba, and the subsequent eventful campaign had, of course, not reached us, and I remember well how amazed and incredulous they all seemed to be at the information. Captain D. was obliged more than once to assure them of the correctness of his statement. My own feeling at the intelligence was excessive terror, and an undefined conviction that something awful would happen to us all, 12 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. H. though of what nature I hardly knew. I glanced eagerly at my father, and seeing his countenance calm, I became more com- posed, but still I listened to every word of Captain D.'s detail as if my fate depended on what he was telling us. The earliest idea I had of Napoleon was that of a huge ogre or giant, with one large flaming red eye in the middle of his forehead, and long teeth protruding from his mouth, with which he tore to pieces and devoured naughty little girls, especially those who did not know their lessons. I had rather grown out of this first opinion of Napoleon ; but, if less childish, my terror of him was still hardly diminished. The name of Bo* naparte was still associated, in my mind, t with every thing that was bad and horrible. I had heard the most atrocious crimes im- puted to him ; and if I had learned to consider him as a human being, I yet still believed him to be the worst that had ever existed. Nor was I singular in these feel- \ CH. II.] THE EMPEB0R NAPOLEON. 13 ings; they were participated by many much older and wiser than myself ; I might say, perhaps, by a majority of the English nation. Most of the newspapers of the day described him as a demon; and all those of his own country who lived in Eng- land were of course his bitter enemies ; and from these two sources alone we formed our opinion of him. It was not, therefore, with- out uneasiness, that I saw my father depart, a day or two afterwards, to go on board the vessel which had just cast anchor in the bay. The fleet consisted of the Northum- berland, commanded by Sir George Cock- burn, to whose care Napoleon had been confided ; the Havannah, Captain Hamilton, and several other men-of-war, together with transports containing the 53rd regiment. We remained many hours in great anxiety; at last my father returned from his visit in safety, and we rushed out to question him as to what had occurred. " Well, papa, have you seen him ? * we 14 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. II. exclaimed, for we thought of no one but Napoleon. He told us he had not seen the emperor, but had paid his re- spects to Sir George Cockburn, and had been introduced to Madame Bertrand, Madame Montholon, and the rest of Na- poleon's suite. He added that General Bonaparte would land in the evening, and was to remain for the present at the house of a Mr. Porteus, until Longwood, which was intended for his ultimate resid- ence, should be ready for him. We were so eager to see the illustrious exile that we determined to go in the evening to the val- ley to witness his disembarkation. It was nearly dark when we arrived at the landing- place, and shortly after, a boat from the Northumberland approached, and we saw a figure step from it on the shore, which we were told was the emperor, but it was too dark to distinguish his features. He walked up the lines between the Admiral and General Bertrand, and enveloped as CH. II.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 15 he was in his surtout, I could see little, but the occasional gleam of a diamond star, which he wore on his heart. The whole population of St. Helena had crowded to behold him, and one could hardly have be- lieved that it contained so many inhabitants. The pressure became so great that it was with difficulty way could be made for him, and the sentries were at last ordered to stand with fixed bayonets at the entrance from the lines to the town, to prevent the multitude from pouring in. Napoleon was excessively provoked at the eagerness of the crowd to get a peep at him, more particu- larly as he was received in silence though with respect. I heard him afterwards say how much he had been annoyed at being followed and stared at " comme une bete ferocje." We returned to the Briars that night to talk and dream of Napoleon. 16 RECOLLECTIONS OF [CH. HI. CHAPTER III. Out of the fertile ground he caused to grow All trees of noblest kind for sight, smell, taste. Milton. Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm; Others whose fruit burnished with golden rind, Hung amiable, — Hesperian fables true, If true, here only, — and of delicious taste. — Milton. VIEW OP THE CAVALCADE GOING AND RETURNING FROM LONGWOOD, THE DAY AFTER NAPOLEON'S LAND- ING AT ST. HELENA.— THE EMPEROR'S ADMIRATION OF THE BRIARS. TAKES UP HIS RESIDENCE AM0NG8T US. — DESCRIPTION OF HIS MANNER, PERSON, ETC. — QUESTIONS ME IN GEOGRAPHY.— HIS OPINION OF ENG- LISH MUSIC. The next morning, we observed a large cavalcade moving along the path which wound round the mountain, at the base of which our dear little cottage was lying, almost hidden in its nest of leaves. The ^Mflfw; I CH. III.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 17 effect of the party was very picturesque. It consisted of five horsemen, and we watched them with great interest, as, following the windings of the road they now gleamed in the sun's rays, and were thrown into brilliant relief by the dark background be- hind, and then disappearing, we gazed earnestly until, from some turn in the road, they flashed again upon us. Some- times we only saw a single white plume, or the glitter of a weapon in the sun. To my Already excited fancy, it suggested the idea of an enormous serpent with burnished scales, occasionally showing himself as he crawled to our little abode. We were still doubtful whether Na- poleon were of the party. We had already learnt to look for the grey surtout and small cocked hat, but no figure in that dress could be distinguished, though our spy-glass was in anxious requisition. Every one thought he would be best able to discover him. At last, one of the party exclaimed, " I see a 18 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. III. figure with a small cocked hat, but no great coat;" and then we were at last certain that it was the emperor. We concluded he was on his way to Longwood, to look at his future residence. About two o'clock on that day, Mr. O'Meara and Dr. Warden called on us, and were overwhelmed with all kinds of questions about Bonaparte, his manner, ap- pearance, &c, &c. They described him as most agreeable and pleasing, and assured us we should be delighted with him. But all their fair words were thrown away upon me ; I could think of him only with fear and trembling. When leaving us, they again repeated that our opinion of Na- poleon would entirely change when we had once seen and conversed with him. At four o'clock in the evening, the same horsemen whom we had seen in the morning again appeared, on their return from Long- wood. As soon as they reached the head of the narrow pass which led down to the CH. in.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 19 Briars, they halted, and after apparently a short deliberation, with terror I saw them begin to descend the mountain and ap- proach our cottage. I recollect feeling so dreadfully frightened, that I wished to run and hide myself until they were gone ; but mamma desired me to stay, and to re- member and speak French as well as I could. I had learned that language during a visit my father had paid to England some years before, and as we had a French serv- ant, I had not lost what I had then ac- quired. The party arrived at the gate, and there being no carriage-road, they all dismounted, excepting the emperor, who was now fully visible. He retained his seat and rode up the avenue, his horse's feet cutting up the turf on our pretty lawn. Sir George Cock- burn walked on one side of his horse, and General Bertrand on the other. How vi- vidly I recollect my feelings of dread min- gled with admiration, as I now first looked 20 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. in. upon him whom I had learned to fear so much. His appearance on horseback was noble and imposing. The animal he rode was a superb one ; his colour jet black ; and as he proudly stepped up the avenue, arching his Heck and champing his bit, I thought he looked worthy to be the bearer of him who was once the ruler of nearly the whole European world ! Napoleon's position on horseback, by add- ing height to his figure, supplied all that was wanting to make me think him the most majestic person I had ever seen. His dress was green, and covered with orders, and his saddle and housings were of crimson velvet richly embroidered with gold. He alighted at our house, and we all moved to the entrance to receive him. Sir George Cockburn introduced us to him. On a nearer approach Napoleon, con- trasting, as his shorter figure did, with the noble height and aristocratic bearing of Sir George Cockdurn, lost something of the ch. in.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 21 dignity which had so much struck me on first seeing him. He was deadly pale, and I thought his features, though cold and im- movable, and somewhat stern, were exceed- ingly beautiful. He seated himself on one of our cottage chair^ and after scanning our little apartment with his eagle glance, he complimented mamma on the pretty situ- ation of the Briars. When once he began to speak, his fascinating smile and kind manner removed every vestige of the fear with which I had hitherto regarded him. • While he was talking to mamma, I had an opportunity of scrutinizing his features, which I did with the keenest interest ; and certainly I have never seen any one with so remarkable and striking a physiognomy. The portraits of him give a good general idea of his features ; but his smile, and the expression of his eye, could not be trans- mitted to canvas, and these constituted Napoleon's chief charm. His hair was dark brown, and as fine and silky as a child's, 22 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. III. rather too much so indeed for a man, as its very softness caused it to look thin. His teeth were even, but rather dark, and I after- wards found that this arose from his constant habit of eating liquorice, of which he always kept a supply in his waistcoat pocket. The emperor appeared much pleased with the Briars, and expressed a wish to remain there. My father had offered Sir George Cockburn apartments at the cottage, and he immediately assured us of his willing- ness to resign them to General Bonaparte, as the situation appeared to please him so much; and it was arranged, much appa- rently to Napoleon's satisfaction, that he should be our guest until his residence at Longwood were fit to receive him. Our family, at the time of the emperor's arrival, consisted of my father, my mother, my elder sister, myself, and my two bro- thers, who were quite children. Napoleon determined on not going down to the town again, and wished his rooms to be got ready CH. III.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 23 for him immediately. Some chairs were then brought out at his request, upon the lawn, and seating himself on one, he de- # sired me to take another, which I did with a beating heart. He then said, " You speak French :" I replied that I did, and he asked me who had taught me. I informed him, and he put several questions to me about my studies, and more particularly concern- ing geography. He inquired the capitals of the different countries of Europe. "What is the capital of France ?" " Paris." " Of Italy r " Rome." " Of Russia ? " " Pe- tersburg now," I replied ; " Moscow for- merly." On my saying this, he turned ab- ruptly round, and, fixing his piercing eyes full in my face, he demanded sternly, " Qui Fa brule ?" When I saw the expression of his eye, and heard his changed voice, all my former terror of him returned, and I was unable to utter a syllable. I had often heard the burning of Moscow talked of, and had been present at discus- 24 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch, in. sions, as to whether the French or Russians were the authors of that dreadful confla- gration, I therefore feared to offend him by alluding to it. He repeated the question, and I stammered, "I do not know, sir." " Oui, oui," he replied, laughing violently : " Vous savez tres bien, 9'est moi qui Pa brule." On seeing him laugh, I gained a little courage, and said, " I believe, sir, the Russians burned it to get rid of the French." He again laughed, and seemed pleased to find that I knew any thing about the matter. The arrangements made for him were necessarily most hurried; and while we were endeavouring to complete them in the way we thought most likely to con- tribute to his comfort, he amused himself by walking about the grounds and garden. In the evening he came into the house ; and as my father and mother spoke French with difficulty, that language being then much less studied in England than it is at CH. in.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 25 present, he addressed himself again to me, and asked me whether I liked music, add- ing, " You are too young to play yourself." I felt rather piqued at this, and told him I could both sing and play. He then asked me to sing, and I sang, as well as I could, the Scotch song, "Ye banks and braes." When I finished, he said it was the pret- tiest English air he had ever heard. I re- plied it was a Scottish ballad, not English; and he remarked, he thought it too pretty to be English : " their music is vile — the worst in the world." He then inquired if I knew any French songs, and among others, "Vive Henri Quatre." I said I did not. He began to hum the air, be- came abstracted, and, leaving his seat, marched round the room, keeping time to the song he was singing. When he had done, he asked me what I thought of it ; and I told him I did not like it at all, for I could not make out the air. In fact, Na- poleon's voice was most unmusical, nor do c 26 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. III. I think he had any ear for music; for neither on this occasion, nor in any of his subsequent attempts at singing, could I ever discover what tune it was he was executing. He was, nevertheless, a good judge of music, if any Englishwoman may say so> after his sweeping denunciation of our claims to that science, probably from having constantly listened to the best per- formers. He expressed a great dislike to French music, which, he said, was almost as bad as the English, and that the Ita- lians were the only people who could pro- duce an opera. A lady, a friend of ours, who frequently visited us at the Briars, was extremely fond of Italian singing, which " she loved, in- deed, not wisely, but too welt" for her own attempts in the bravura style were the most absurd burlesque imaginable. Napoleon, however, constantly asked her to sing, and even listened with great po- liteness ; but when she was gone, he often ch. hi,] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 27 desired me to imitate her singing, which I did as nearly as I could, and it seemed to amuse him. He used to shut his eyes and pretend he thought it was Mrs. , " our departed friend," and then pay me gravely the same compliments he would have done to her. The emperor retired for the night shortly after my little attempt to amuse him, and thus terminated his first day at the Briars. c 2 28 RECOLLECTIONS OF [CH. ir. CHAPTER IV. The spicy myrtle, with unwithering leaf, Shines there and flourishes, the golden boast Of Portugal and Western India. There The ruddier orange and the paler lime Peep through their polished foliage. Cowper. napoleon's habits during his stay at the briars. — miss lego, her terror of the emperor. — napo- leon attacked bt a cow. — the room occupied by him. — his simple mode op living. — caricature op a frenchman. — my indignation at being quizzed about count las cases 1 son. It is not in my power to give a detailed account of the events of each day the em- peror spent with us. I shall never cease regretting that I did not keep a journal of all that occurred, but I was too young and too thoughtless to see the advantage of doing so ; besides, I trusted to a memory J CH. IV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 29 naturally most retentive, thinking it would enable me at any time to recall the mi- nutest incident concerning Napoleon. In this I have deceived myself. My life has been a chequered and a melancholy one, and many of its incidents have been of a nature to absorb the mind and abstract the attention from every thing but the consider- ation of present misery. This, continued for a length of time, has erased things from my recollection which I thought I never could have forgotten, but of which I now retain nothing but the consciousness that they took place, and the regret that I am unable to record them. Many of the circumstances I am about to relate, however, I did write down shortly after they occurred, and the others have been kept fresh in my memory by being repeated to friends ; so that the reader of my little volume may depend on the abso- lute truth and fidelity of my narrative, a consideration, indeed, to which I have f f 30 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. iv. thought it right to sacrifice many others. I do not, then, profess to give a journal of what Napoleon daily said and did at the Briars ; but the occurrences related I have inserted as nearly as possible in the order in which they took place. The emperor's habits, during the time he stayed with us, were very simple and regular. His usual hour for getting up was eight, and he seldom took any thing but a cup of coffee until one, when he breakfasted, or rather lunched; he dined at nine, and retired about eleven to his own rooms. His manner was so unaf- fectedly kind and amiable, that in a few days I felt perfectly at ease in his society, v and looked upon him more as a companion of my own age, than as the mighty warrior at whose name " the world grew pale." His spirits were very good, and he was at times almost boyish in his love of mirth and glee, not unmixed sometimes with a tinge of malice. CH. IV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOMJON. 31 Shortly after his arrival, a little giri, Miss Legg, the daughter of a friend, came to visit us at the Briars. The poor child had heard such terrific stories of Bona- parte, that when I told her he was coming up the lawn, she clung to me in an agony of terror. Forgetting my own former fears, I was cruel enough to run out and tell Napoleon of the child's fright, begging him to come into the house, He walked up to her, and, brushing up his hair with his hand, shook his head, making horrible faces, and giving a sort of savage howl. The little girl screamed so violently, that mamma was afraid she would go into hys- terics, and took her out of the room. Napoleon laughed & good deal at the idea of his being such a bugbear, and would hardly believe me when I told him that I had stood in the same dismay of him. When I made this confession, he tried to frighten me as he had poor little Miss ^ e SS9 by brushing up his hair, and distort- 32 RECOLLECTIONS OP [ch. iv. ing his features ; but he looked more gro- tesque than horrible, and I only laughed at him. He then (as a last resource) tried the howl, but was equally unsuccessful, and seemed, I thought, a little provoked that he could not frighten me. He said the howl was Cossack, and it certainly was barbarous enough for any thing. He took a good deal of exercise at this period* and was fond of taking exploring walks in the valley and adjacent mountain. One evening he strolled out, accompanied by General Gourgaud, my sister, and my- self, into a meadow in which some cows were grazing. One of these, the moment she saw our party, put her head down and (I believe) her tail up, and advanced a pas de charge against the emperor. He made a skilful and rapid retreat, and leap- ing nimbly over a wall, placed this rampart between himself and the enemy. But General Gourgaud valiantly stood his ground, and, drawing his sword, threw ■ ■■ ■ _ __ ■ ■ y , - * ' - ' Cfl. IV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 33 himself between his sovereign and the cow, exclaiming, " This is the second time I have saved the emperor's life." Napo- leon laughed heartily when he heard the General's boast, and said, "He ought to have put himself in the position to repel cavalry." I told him the cow appeared tranquillized, and stopped the moment he disappeared, and he continued to laugh, and said, " She wished to save the English government the expense and trouble of keeping him." The emperor, during his residence under my father's roof, occupied only one room and a marquee; the room was one my father had built for a ball-room. There was a small'lawn in front,. railed round, and in this railing the marquee was pitched, connected with the house by a covered way. The marquee was divided into two compartments, the inner one forming Napoleon's bedroom, and at one c 3 r«HII^>— 1H^^^»^«iP^ ch. IV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 37 Napoleon walked first, Las Cases next, then his son, and, lastly, my sister Jane. I allowed the party to proceed very quietly until I was left about ten yards behind ; and then I ran with all my force on my sister Jane, — she fell with extended hands on the little page, he was thrown upon his father, and the grand chamberlain, to his dismay, was pushed against the emperor, who, although the shock was somewhat diminished by the time it reached him, had still some difficulty, from the steepness of the path, in preserving his footing. I was in ecstacies at the confusion I had created, and exulted in the revenge I had taken for the kiss; but I was soon obliged to change my note of triumph. Las Cases was thunderstruck at the insult offered to the emperor, and became perfectly furious at my uncontrollable laughter. He seized me by the shoulders, and pushed me vio- lently on the rocky bank. It was now my turn to be enraged. I burst into tears of ■nufcfcfciMw 38 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. iv. passion, and turning to Napoleon, cried out, " Oh ! sir, he has hurt me." " Never mind," replied the emperor, " ne pleurs pas — I will hold him while you punish him." And a good punishing he got; I boxed the little man's ears until he begged for mercy ; but I would show him none ; and at length Napoleon let him go, telling him to run, and that if he could not run faster than I, he deserved to be beaten again. He immediately started off as fast as he could, and I after him, Napoleon clapping his hands and laughing immoderately at our race round the lawn. Las Cases never liked me after this adventure, and used to call me a rude hoyden. ch. v.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 39 CHAPTER V. O that those lips had language ! Life has pass'd With me but roughly since I heard thee last. Those lips are thine. Thy own sweet smile I see. Cowpeb. NAPOLEONS CONDESCENSION IN ENTERING INTO, AND PROMOTING THE AMUSEMENTS OF CHILDREN. — HIS BEAUTIFUL HAND.—- ANECDOTE OF THE SWORD. — MI- NIATURES OF THE KING OF ROME AND OTHER BRANCHES OF THE EMPEROR'S FAMILY. — THE GAME OF WHIST. — THE BALL DRESS. I never met with any one who bore childish liberties so well as Napoleon. He seemed to enter into every sort of mirth or fun with the glee of a child, and though I have often tried his patience severely, I never knew him lose his temper or fall back upon his rank or age, to shield himself from the consequences of his own familiarity, or of his indulgence to me. I looked upon him, in- 40 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. V. deed, when with him, almost as a brother or companion of my own age, and all the cautions I received, and my own resolu- tions to treat him with more respect and formality, were put to flight the moment I came within the influence of his arch smile and laugh. If I approached him more gravely than usual, and with a more sedate step and subdued tone, he would, perhaps, begin by saying, « Eh bien, qu'as tu, Mademoiselle Betsee ? Has le petit Las Cases proved inconstant? If he have, — bring him to me ;" or some other playfiil speech, which either pleased or teased me, and made me at once forget all my pre- vious determinations to behave prettily. My brothers were at this time quite children, and Napoleon used to allow them to sit on his knee and amuse themselves by playing with his orders, &c. More than once he has desired me to cut them off to please them. One day Alexander took up a pack of cards, on which was the usual CH. v.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 41 figure of the Great Mogul. The child held it up to Napoleon, saying, " See, Bony, this is you." He did not understand what my brother meant by calling him Bony. I explained that it was an abbreviation — the short for Bonaparte, but Las Cases inter- preted the word literally, and said it meant a bony person. Napoleon laughed and said, " Je ne suis pas osseux," which he certainly never could have been, even in his thinnest days. His hand was the fattest and prettiest in the world ; his knuckles dimpled like those of a baby, his fingers taper and beautifully formed, and his nails perfect. I have often admired its symme- try, and once told him it did not look large and strong enough to wield a sword. This led to the subject of swords, and one of the emperor's suite who was present, drew his sabre from the scabbard, and pointing to some stains on the blade, said, that it was the blood of Englishmen. The emperor desired him to sheath it, telling him it was 42 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. v. bad taste to boast, particularly before la- dies. Napoleon then produced from a richly embossed case, the most magnificent sword I ever beheld. The sheath was composed of an entire piece of most splendidly marked tortoise-shell, thickly studded with golden bees. The handle, not unlike a fleur-de-lys in shape, was of exquisitely wrought gold. It was indeed the most costly and elegant weapon I had ever seen. I requested Na- poleon to allow me to examine it more closely; and then a circumstance which had occurred in the morning, in which I had been much piqued at the emperor's conduct, flashed across me. The tempta- tion was irresistible, and I determined to punish him for what he had done. I drew the blade out quickly from the scabbard, and began to flourish it over his head, making passes at him, the emperor retreat- ing, until at last I fairly pinned him up in the corner ; I kept telling him all the time CH. v.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 43 that he had better say his prayers, for I was going to kill him. My exulting cries at last brought my sister to Napoleon's as- sistance. She scolded me violently, and said she would inform my father if I did not instantly desist ; but I only laughed at her, and maintained my post, keeping the emperor at bay until my arm dropped from sheer exhaustion. I can fancy I see the figure of the grand chamberlain now, with his spare form and parchment visage, glow- ing with fear for the emperor's safety, and indignation at the insult I was offering him. He looked as if he could have annihilated me on the spot, but he had felt the weight of my hand before on his ears, and pru- dence dictated to him to let me alone. When I resigned my sword, Napoleon took hold of my ear, which had been bored only the day before, and pinched it, giving me great pain. I called out, and he then took hold of my nose, which he pulled 44 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. v. heartily, but quite in fun ; his good humour never left him during the whole scene. The following was the circumstance which had excited my ire in the morning. My father was very strict in enforcing our doing a French translation every day, and Napoleon would often condescend to look over them and correct their faults. One morning I felt more than usually averse to performing this task, and when Napoleon arrived at the cottage, and asked whether the translation was ready for him, I had not even begun it. When he saw this, he took up the paper and walked down the lawn with it to my father, who was prepar- ing to mount his horse to ride to the val- ley, exclaiming as he approached, "Bal- combe, voila le theme de Mademoiselle Betsee. Qu'elle a bien travaille ;" holding up at the same time the blank sheet of paper. My father comprehended imper- fectly, but saw by the sheet of paper, and CH. v.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 45 my name being mentioned by the laughing emperor, that he wished me to be scolded, and entering into the plot, he pretended to be very angry, and threatened if I did not finish my translation before he returned to dinner, I should be severely punished. He then rode off, and Napoleon left me, laugh- ing at my sullen and mortified air, and it was the recollection of this which made me try and frighten him with the sword. The emperor in the course of the even- ing desired a quantity of bijouterie to be brought down to amuse us ; and amongst other things the miniatures of the young king of Rome. He seemed gratified and delighted when we expressed our admira- tion of them. He possessed a great many portraits of young Napoleon. One of them represented him sleeping in his cradle, which was in the form of a helmet of Mars ; the banner of France waved over his head, and his tiny right hand supported a small globe. I asked the meaning of these 46 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. V. emblems, and Napoleon said he was to be a great warrior, and the globe in his hand signified that he was to rule the world. An- other miniature, on a snuff-box, represented the little fellow on his knees before a cru- cifix, his hands clasped and his eyes raised to heaven. Underneath were these words : " Je prie le bon Dieu pour mon pere, ma mere, et ma patrie." It was an exquisite thing. Another portrayed him with two lambs, on one of which he was riding, while the other he was decking out with ribbons. The emperor told us these lambs were pre- sented to his son by the inhabitants of Paris. An unwarlike emblem, and per- haps intended as a delicate hint to the em- peror to make him a more peaceable citi- zen than his papa. The paschal lamb, how- ever, is, I believe, the badge on the colours of a distinguished English regiment, and perhaps may be intended to remind the soldier that gentleness and mercy are not inconsistent with the fiercer and more lion- ch. v.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 47 like attributes of his profession. We next 1 saw another drawing, in which the empress Maria Louisa and her son were represented, surrounded by a sort of halo of roses and clouds, which I did not admire quite so much as some of the others.. Napoleon then said he was going to show us the por- trait of the most beautiful woman in the world, and produced an exquisite miniature of his sister Pauline. Certainly I never saw any thing so perfectly lovely. I could not keep my eyes from it, and told him how enchanted I was with it. He seemed pleased with my praises, and said it was a proof of taste, for she was perhaps one of the most lovely women that ever existed. The emperor usually played cards every evening, and when we were tired of look- ing at the miniatures, &c, he said, " Now we will go to the cottage and play whist." We all walked down together. Our little whist table was soon formed, but the cards did not run smoothly, and Napoleon desired i ! i [ I 48 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. v. Las Cases to seat himself at a side table, and deal them until they dealt easily. While the grand chamberlain was thus employed, Napoleon asked me what my robe de bed was to be. I must mention that on my father's refusal to allow me to go to the ball, which was to be given by Sir George Cockburn, I had implored the emperor's intercession for me. He most kindly asked my father to let me go, and his request, of course, was instantly acceded to. I now ran up stairs to bring my dress down to him. It was the first ball dress I had ever possessed, and I was not a little proud of it. He said it was very pretty ; and the cards being now ready I placed it on the sofa, and sat down to play. Napo- leon and my sister were partners, and Las Cases fell to my lot. We had always hitherto played for sugar-plums, but to- night Napoleon said, " Mademoiselle Betsee, I will bet you a Napoleon on the game." I had had a pagoda presented to me, which CH. V.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 49 made up the sum of all my worldly riches, and I said I would bet him that against his Napoleon. The emperor agreed to this, and we commenced playing. He seemed determined to terminate this day of espie- glerie as he had begun it. Peeping under his cards as they were dealt to him, he en- deavoured, whenever he got an important one, to draw off my attention, and then slily held it up for my sister to see. I soon dis- covered this, and calling him to order, told him he was cheating, and that if he con- tinued to do so, I would not play. At last he revoked intentionally, and at the end of the game tried to mix the cards together to prevent his being discovered, but I started up and seizing hold of his hands, I pointed out to him and the others what he had done. He laughed until the tears ran out of his eyes, and declared he had played fair, but that I had cheated, and should pay him the pagoda ; and when I persisted that he had revoked, he said I was me- D 50 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. v. cJtante and a cheat ; and catching up my ball dress from off the sofa, he ran out of the room with it, and up to the pavilion, leaving me in terror lest he should crush and spoil all my pretty roses. I instantly set off in chase of him, but he was too quick, and darting through the marquee, he reached the inner room and locked him- self in. I then commenced a series of the most pathetic remonstrances and entreaties, both in English and French, to persuade him to restore me my frock, but in vain ; he was inexorable, and I had the mortifi- cation of hearing him laugh at what I thought the most touching of my appeals. I was obliged to return without it. He afterwards sent down word he intended to keep it, and that I might make up my mind not to go to the ball. I lay awake half the night, and at last cried myself to sleep, hoping he would relent in the morning; but the next day wore away, and I saw no signs of my pretty frock. I sent several CH. V.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 51 entreaties in the course of the day, but the answer was that the emperor slept, and could not be disturbed. He had given these orders to tease me. At last the hour arrived for our departure for the valley. The horses were brought round, and I saw the little black boys ready to start with our tin cases, without, alas ! my beautiful dress being in them. I was in despair, and hesi- tated whether I should not go in my plain frock, rather than not go at all, when, to my great joy, I saw the emperor running down the lawn to the gate with my dress. " Here, Miss Betsee, I have brought your dress ; I hope you are a good girl now, and that you will like the ball ; and mind that you dance with Gourgaud." General Gourgaud was not very handsome, and I had some childish feud with him. I was all delight at getting back my dress, and still more pleased to find my roses were not spoiled. He said he had ordered them to be arranged and pulled out, in case any might have been crushed d 2 52 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. Y. the night before. Napoleon walked by the side of our horses until he came to the end of the bridle-road which led to the Briars. He then stopped and remarked on the beauty of a house which was situated in the valley beneath us, asking to whom it belonged, and expressing his intention of going down to see it. Las Cases accom- panied the emperor down the side of the mountain, and we went on to the ball. He mentioned the next day how charmed he had been with the place, and that he had ridden home on a beautiful little Arab pony, belonging to the owner, Major Hodg- son. ch. vi.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 53 CHAPTER VI. From the thicket the man-hunter sprung, My cries echoed loud through the air ; There was fury and wrath on his tongue, He was deaf to the voice of despair. The Slave. THE EMPERORS FAVOURITE RETREAT IN THE BRIARS* GARDEN. — THE MALAY SLAVE. — NAPOLBON's GENE- RAL INFORMATION AND VERSATILITY OP CONVERSA- TION. CONSTERNATION OF CAPTAIN POPPLETON AT THE SUPPOSED ESCAPE OF HIS PRISONER, ON HIS FIRST RIDING EXCURSION AFTER NAPOLEON LEFT THE BRIARS. The only exception to the emperor's habits of regularity when with us was in his hour of rising. In the midst of our garden was a very large pond of transparent water, full of gold and silver fish ; and near this was the grapery, formed of trellis-work, quite covered with vines of every description. 54 RECOLLECTIONS OP £ch. VI. At the end of the grapery was an arbour, round and over which a treillage of grapes clustered in the richest profusion. To this spot, which was so sheltered as to be cool in the most sultry weather, Napoleon was much attached. He would sometimes convey his papers there as early as four o'clock in the morning, and employ himself until breakfast time in writing ; and, when tired of his pen, in dictating to Las Cases. No one was ever permitted to intrude upon him when there, and this little attention was ever after gratefully remembered. From this prohibition, however, I was exempt, at the emperor's own desire. I was considered a privileged person. Even when he was in the act of dictating a sentence to Las Cases he would come and answer my call, "Come and unlock the garden doof," and I was always admit- ted and welcomed with a smile. I did not abuse this indulgence, and seldom in- truded on him when in his retreat. I re- CH. VI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 55 member, however, one day, a very pretty young lady came from the valley to pass the morning with us : she was dying to see Napoleon, but the heat was very oppres- sive, and he had retired to his arbour to avoid it. I hesitated for some time be- tween the fear of disturbing him and dis- appointing my friend ; but at last Miss C. appeared so mortified at not seeing him, that I ran down to the garden and knocked at the door. For a long while I received no answer; but at length, by dint of thumping and calling to the emperor, I succeeded in waking him. He had fallen asleep in the arbour over his papers. He came up to the door, and asked me what I wanted. I said, "Let me in, and you shall know." He replied, "No; tell me first what it is, and then you shall come in." I was then obliged to say I wished to introduce a young lady to him. He declined seeing her, and desired me to say he was unwell. I told him she would be 56 RECOLLECTIONS OF £ch. VI. dreadfully disappointed, and that she was so pretty. " Not like the lady I was obliged to say agreeable things to yesterday ? " he jejoined. I assured him she was quite a different person, being very young and handsome. At last I succeeded in getting the door opened. As soon as I found it unlocked, I ran up to the table where he had been writing and snatched up his papers. " Now," I said, " for your ill na- ture in keeping me so long at the door, I shall keep these, and then I shall find out all your secrets." He looked a little alarmed when he saw the papers in my hand, and told me to put them down in- stantly ; but I refused, and set off round the garden, flourishing my trophies. At last he told me, if I did not give them up he would not be my friend, and I relin- quished them. I then tools hold of the emperor's hand, for fear he should escape, and led him to the house, where we found Miss C. I introduced her to Napoleon, CH. VI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 57 and he delighted her excessively by his compliments on her beauty, &c. When she was going away, he walked down the lawn with her, and lifted her on to her horse. He told me after she was gone, that she was a very pretty girl, but had the air of a marchande de modes. The golden fruit in this modern garden of Hesperides had for its dragon an old Malay slave, named Toby, who had been captured and brought to the island as a slave many years before, and had never since crossed its boundary. He was an original, and rather an interesting charac- ter. A perfect despot in his own domain, he never allowed his authority to be dis- puted ; and the family stood almost as much in awe of him, as they did of the mas- ter of the Briars himself. Napoleon took a fancy to old Toby, and told papa he wished to purchase him, and give him his freedom ; but for some political reason it was not permitted. The old man retained ever d 3 58 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. VI. afterwards the most grateful sense of Napoleon's kindness, and was never more highly gratified than when employed in gathering the choicest fruit, and arranging the most beautiful bouquets, to be sent to Longwood, to " that good man, Bony," as he called the emperor. Napoleon made a point of inquiring, whenever I saw him, after the health of old Toby, and when he took his leave of him he presented him with twenty Napoleons. The emperor was very accessible while at the Briars, and knowing how much it would delight us, he seemed to wish to return any little attentions we were able to offer him by courtesy and kindness to our friends. My father, one day, during his residence with us, invited a large party, and the emperor said he would join us in the evening. He performed his promise, and delighted every one with his urbanity and condescension. When any of our guests were presented to him, he usually ch. VI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 59 inquired his profession, and then turned the conversation upon some topic con- nected with it. I have often heard won- der expressed at the extent of Napoleon's information, on matters of which he would hardly have been expected to know much. On this occasion, a very clever medical man, after a long conversation with the emperor on the subject of his profession, declared his astonishment to my fttther at the knowledge he possessed, and the clear- ness and brilliancy with which he reasoned on it, though his theories were sometimes rather heterodox. Napoleon told him he had no faith whatever in medicine, and that his own remedies were starvation and the warm bath. At the same time he professed a higher opinion of the medical, or rather surgical profession, than of any other. The practice of the law, he said, was too severe an ordeal for poor human nature, adding, that he who habituates himself to the distortion of truth, and to exultation at 60 RECOLLECTIONS OF £ch. vi. the success of injustice, will at last hardly know right from wrong ; so it is, he re- marked, with politics, a man must have a conventional conscience. Of the church, also, (les ecclesiastiques,) he spoke harshly, saying that too much was expected from its members, and that they became hypo- crites in consequence. As to soldiers, they were cut-throats and robbers, and not the less so because they were ready to send a bullet through your bead if you told them your opinion of them. But surgeons, he said, are neither too good nor too bad. Their mission is to benefit mankind, not to destroy, mystify, or inflame them against each other; and they have opportunities of studying human nature as well as of acquir- ing science. The emperor spoke in high terms of Larrey, who, he said, was a man of genius and of unimpeachable integrity*. On the emperor's first arrival in St. He- * The above conversation is from a note of my father's. oh. vi.] THE EMPEBOK NAPOLEON. 61 lena, he was fond of taking exploring walks in the valley just below our cottage. In these short walks he was unattended by the officer on guard, and he had thus the pleasure of feeling himself free from ob- servation. The officer first appointed to exercise surveillance over him when at Longwood was a Captain Poppleton, of the 63rd regiment. It was his duty to at- tend him in his rides, and the orders given on these occasions were, " that he was not to lose sight of Napoleon" The latter was one day riding with Generals Ber- trand, Montholon, Gourgaud, and the rest of his suite, along one of the mountainous bridle-paths at St. Helena, with the orderly officer in attendance. Suddenly the empe- ror turned short round to his left, and spur- ring his horse violently, urged him up the face of the precipice, making the large stones fly from under him down the moun- tain, and leaving the orderly officer aghast, gazing at him in terror for his safety, and 62 RECOLLECTIONS OF [cH. VI. doubt as to his intentions. Although equally well mounted, none of his Generals dared to follow him. Either Captain Pop- pleton could not depend on his horse, or his horse was unequal to the task of fol- lowing Napoleon, and giving it up at once, he rode instantly off to Sir George Cock- burn, who happened at the time to be dining with my father at the Briars. He arrived breathless at our house, and, set- ting all ceremony aside, demanded to see Sir George, on business of the utmost im- portance. He was ushered at once into the dining-room. The Admiral was in the act of discussing his soup, and listened with an imperturbable countenance to the agitated detail of the occurrence, with Captain Poppleton's startling exclamation of " Oh ! sir, I have lost the emperor." He very quietly advised him to return to Longwood, where he would most probably find General Buonaparte. This, as he prognosticated, was the case, and Napo- r* ch. VI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 63 leon often afterwards laughed at the con- sternation he had created. On Captain Poppleton's arriving at Longwood he found the emperor seated at dinner, and was un- mercifully quizzed by him for the want of nerve he displayed in not daring to ride after him. The emperor's vanity was flattered at having still the power to create fear, though a captive in such a prison as the impregnable island of St. Helena. I have mentioned being struck with Napoleon's seat on horseback on first seeing him. He one day asked me whether I thought he rode well. I told him, and with the great- est truth, that I thought he looked better on horseback than any one I had ever seen. He appeared pleased, and calling for his horse, he mounted and rode several times at speed round the lawn, making the ani- mal wheel in a very narrow circle, and showing the most complete mastery over him. 64 RECOLLECTIONS OF C CH - VI - One day, Achambaud, his groom, was breaking in a beautiful young Arab, which had been bought for the emperor's riding. The colt was plunging and rearing in the most frightful manner, and could not be induced to pass a white cloth which had been purposely spread on the lawn to break him from shying. I told Napoleon it was impossible that he could ever ride that horse, it was so vicious. He smiled, and beckoning to Achambaud, desired him to dismount ; and then, to my great terror, he himself got on the animal, and soon succeeded in making him not only pass the cloth, but put his feet upon it ; and then rode him over and over it several times. Achambaud, as it seemed to me, hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. He was delighted with his emperor's prowess, but mortified at his managing a horse so easily which he had been trying in vain to subdue. Napoleon mentioned that he had once ridden a favourite grey charger one CH. yi.3 THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON- 65 hundred and twenty miles in one day. It was to see his mother, who was danger- ously ill, and there were no other means of reaching her. The poor animal died in the course of the night. He said that his own power of standing fatigue was im- mense, and that he could almost live in the saddle. I am afraid to say how many hours he told me once he had remained on horseback, but I remember being much surprised at his powers of endurance. His great strength of constitution was probably more instrumental than one would imagine, at first view, in enabling him to reach the pinnacle of his ambition. The state of the mind is so dependent on the corporeal frame, that it is difficult to see how the kind of mental power which is necessary to success in war, or political turmoil, can exist without a corresponding strength of body, or at least of constitution. In how many critical periods of Napoleon's life would not the illness of a week have been i 66 RECOLLECTIONS OF [CH. VI. fatal to his future schemes of empire ! How might the sternness of purpose by which he subjugated his daring compeers of the revolution have been shaken, and his giant ambition thwarted, by a trivial sickness ! The mind of even a Napoleon might have been prostrated, and his mighty will enfeebled, by a few days' fe- ver. The successful leader of a revolu- tion ought, especially, to be exempt from the evils to which flesh is heir ; his very absence from the arena for a few days is enough to ruin him ; depreciating reports are spread, the prestige vanishes, and he is pushed from his stool by some more vigor- ous and more fortunate competitor. CH. VII.3 THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 67 CHAPTER VII. Good humour there, and gay good will, And each still pleased in pleasing still.— -Neelb. But first he flew, I forgot to say, That he hover d a moment upon his way To look upon Leipsic plain. — Byron. THE SEVRES CHINA. — NAPOLEON DISPLAYING AND EX- PLAINING ITS DEVICES. — HIS GOOD NATURE IN FOR- WARDING THE AMUSEMENTS OF CHILDREN. THE MICE. — blindman's BUFF. The emperor possessed a splendid set of china, of the Sevres manufacture, which had been executed at an enormous cost, and presented to him by the city of Paris. The service was now unpacking, and he sent for us to see them. They were painted by the first artists in Paris, and were most lovely. Each plate cost twenty-five Napoleons, 68 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. vn. The subjects all bore reference to his cam- paigns, or to some period of his early life. Many of them were battle pieces, in which the most striking incidents were portrayed with the utmost spirit and fidelity ; others were landscapes, representing scenery con- nected with his victories and triumphs. One, I remember, made a great impression on me ; it was a drawing of Napoleon on the bridge of Areola — a slim youth, stand- ing almost alone, with none near but the dead and dying who had fallen around him, was cheering on his more distant comrades to the assault. The emperor seemed pleased at my admiring it, and putting his hand to his side, exclaimed, laughing, " I was rather more slender then than I am now." The battle of Leipsic was one of the subjects depicted on the china. Napoleon's figure was happily done, and an admirable like- ness ; but one feels rather surprised at the selection of such a subject for a compli- mentary present. I believe the battle of CH. VII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 69 Leipsic is considered to have been one of the most disastrous defeats on record, but probably the good citizens of Paris were not so well aware of this at the time the china was presented to him as they now are. His campaign in Egypt furnished subjects for some of the illustrations. The ibis was introduced in several of these Egyptian scenes, and happening to have heard that that bird was worshipped by the Egyptians, I asked him if it were not so. He smiled, and entered into a long narra- tion of some of his adventures with the army in Egypt, advising me never to go there, as I should catch the ophthalmia and spoil my eyes. I had also heard that he had professed Mahometanism when there, and I had been prompted by some one to catechise him on the subject, I at once came out with the question in my An- glo-French, "Pourquoi avez vous tourne Turque?" He did not at first understand me, and I was obliged to explain that " tourne 70 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. vn. Turque " meant changing his religion. He laughed and said, " What is that to you ? Fighting is a soldier's religion; I never changed that. The other is the affirir of women and priests ; quant a moi, I always adopt the religion of the country I am in." At a later period some Italian ecclesiastics arrived at St. Helena and were attached to Napoleon's suite. Amongst the emperor's domestics at the Briars was a very droll character, his lamp- lighter, a sort of Leporello, — a little fellow, most ingenious in making toys and other amusing mechanical contrivances. Napo- leon would often send for the scaramouch to amuse my brothers, who were infinitely de- lighted with his tricks and buffooneries. Sometimes he constructed balloons, which were inflated and sent up amidst the ac- clamations of the whole party. One day he contrived to harness four mice to a small carriage, but the poor little animals were so terrified that he could not get them to CH. VII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 71 move, and after many ineffectual attempts, my brothers entreated the emperor to in- terfere. Napoleon told them to pinch the tails of the two leaders, and when they started the others would follow. This he did, and immediately the whole four scam- pered off, to our great amusement, Napoleon enjoying the fun as much as any of us, and delighted with the extravagant glee of my two brothers. I had often entreated the emperor to give a ball (before he left the Briars for Longwood) in the large room occupied by him, and which had been built by my father for that purpose. He had promised me faithfully he would, but when I pressed him urgently for the fulfilment of his word, he only laughed at me, telling me he wondered I could be so silly as to think such a thing possible. But I never ceased reproaching him for his breach of faith, and teased him so, that at last, to escape my importunities, he said that, as the ball was out of the question, he would 72 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. VII. consent, by way of amende honorable, to any thing I chose to demand to console me for my disappointment. " Dites moi — Que veux-tu que je fasse, Mademoiselle Betsee, pour te consoler ? " I replied instantly, if you will play the game of blindman's buff, that you have so often promised me, I will forgive you the ball, and never ask for it again. Not knowing the French term (if there be any) for blind- man's buff, I had explained before to the emperor the nature of the operation to be gone through. He laughed at my choice, and tried to persuade me to choose some- thing else, but I was inexorable ; and see- ing his fate inevitable, he resigned himself to it with a good grace, proposing we should begin at once. My sister and my- self, and the son of General Bertrand, and some others of the emperor's suite formed the party. Napoleon said we should draw lots who should be blind- folded first, and he would distribute the CH. VII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 73 tickets. Some slips of paper were pre- pared, on one of which was written the fatal word "la mort," and the rest were blanks. Whether accidentally, or by Na- poleon's contrivance, I know not, but I was the first victim, and the emperor, taking a cambric handkerchief out of his pocket, tied it tightly over my eyes, asking me, if I could see. " I cannot see you," I replied; but a faint gleam of light did certainly escape through one corner, making my darkness a little less visible. Napoleon then taking his hat, waved it suddenly before my eyes, and the shadow and the wind it made, start- ling me, I drew back my head : " Ah, leetle monkee," he exclaimed in English, « you can see pretty well." He then proceeded to tie another handkerchief over the first, which completely excluded every ray of light. I was then placed in the middle of the room, and the game began. The em- peror commenced by creeping stealthily up to me, and giving my nose a very sharp E 74 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. vii, twinge ; I knew it was he both from the act itself and from his footstep, I darted forward, and very nearly succeeded in catching him, but bounding actively away, he eluded my grasp. I then groped about, and, advancing again, he this time took hold of my ear and pulled it. I stretched out my hands instantly, and in the exulta- tion of the moment screamed out, " I have got you — I have got you, now you shall be blindfolded !" but to my mortification it proved to be my sister, under cover of whom Napoleon had advanced, stretching his hand over her head. We then recom- menced, the emperor saying that as I had named the wrong person, I must continue blindfolded. He teased and quizzed me about my mistake, and bantered me in every possible way, eluding at the same time, with the greatest dexterity, all my en- deavours to catch him. At last when the fun was growing "fast and furious," and the uproar was at its height, it was an- CH. vn.J THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 75 nounced that some one desired an audience of the emperor, and to my great annoyance, as I had set my heart on catching him and insisting on his being blindfolded, our game came to a conclusion. E 2 76 REC0LLECTI0N8 OF f CH. nil. CHAPTER VIII. Wear this for me, one out of suits with fortune; That would give more, but that her hand lacks means. Shakspeare. Master go on, and I will follow thee To the last gasp with truth and loyalty. OUR FIRST DINNER WITH THE EMPEROR. — THE CREAMS. — NEW TEAR'S DAY; PRESENT FROM THE EMPEROR. — GENERAL GOURGAUD's SKETCH OP MISS . NAPO- LEON'S OPINION OF THE EMPRESS JOSEPHINE. — AC- COUNT OF COUNT PIOUTKOWSKI. — THE EMPEROR'S IDEAS OF ENGLISHMEN'S DEVOTION TO WINE, AND BA- DINAGE IN ACCUSING MY COUNTRYWOMEN OF THE SAME PROPENSITY. The emperor having returned from seeing his visitor, and his dinner hour approach- ing, he invited us to dine with him. We told him we had already dined. "Then come and see me eat," he added, and when his dinner was announced by Cipriani, we CH. VIII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 77 accompanied him to his marquee. When at table, he desired Navarre to bring in some creams for me. I declined them, as I had dined, but I had, unfortunately, told him once before, that I was very fond of creams, and though I begged in vain to be excused, repeating a thousand times that I had dined and could eat no more, he pressed and insisted so strongly, that I was at last obliged to comply, and with some difficulty managed to eat half a cream. But although I was satisfied, Napoleon was not ; and when I left off eating, he commenced feeding me like a baby, calling me his little bambina, and laughing vio- lently at my woful countenance. At last I could bear it no longer, and scampered out of the tent, the emperor calling after me, " Stop, Miss Betsee ; do stay and eat another cream, you know you told me you liked them. The next day he sent in a quantity of bon-bons by Marchand, with some creams, desiring his compliments to * 138 RECOLLECTIONS OF £*y*m^ m **Z. "■ * ■* ■ ' «J_"» ^ ' ■ w- ' CH. xiv.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 153 midshipman who conducted the fatigue parties at Longwood. On one occasion a remarkably handsome and high-born young reefer attracted his notice, from the activity he displayed in setting his men to work in erecting a commodious marquee out of a studding-sail. He inquired his name, and when he heard it was the Honour- able G. C, he remarked that he was one of the very few instances in which he had observed high birth combined with so much amiability and intelligence. We told the emperor we had the pleasure of being ac- quainted with the young middy he so much admired, and that he was the most popular of any of his young companions in the ward- room. I related to the emperor our first introduction to him, which was on our re- turn from the admiral's ball, when we saw him elevated in a cart, surrounded by his brother middies, shouting at the top of his voice, " Lord W.'s carriage stops the way;" and true enough the way was stopped, as h 3 154 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XIV. the cart had been dragged by some of these wild boys within the arch of the castle, through which we had all to pass on our road homeward. The next time we heard of him our sympathies were excited by hear- ing he had narrowly escaped being drowned, and afterwards being very nearly shot, when rowing guard one night. The surf was dan- gerously high, compelling his boat to keep off shore, and when hailed by the sentry, the roaring of the sea against the iron-girt rocks prevented the countersign from being heard ; the guard then fired in amongst the crew, but our gallant young friend most providentially escaped with his life. We concluded our history of the middy by telling Napoleon, that his talent was equally distinguished in performing his duties either on sea or land, and that Sir Pulteney Malcolm had made a farmer of him, entrusting to his management the superintendence and cultivation of one of the government farms. The admiral de- CH. xiv.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 155 clared he had never before seen such ve- getables produced on the sterile rock of St. Helena. Napoleons concluding remark was, that " Whatever British sailors took in hand, they never left undone." When we were visiting Madame Ber- trand's we always passed our Sundays as if at home, reading the lessons for the day and observing the prayers, &c. One Sun- day morning, Napoleon came bustling in, and seeing me very earnestly employed reading aloud to my sister, asked what I was so intently engaged upon, and why I looked so much graver than usual. I told him I was learning to repeat the collect for the day, and that if I failed in saying it, my father would be very angry. I remarked, " I suppose you never learnt a collect or any thing religious, for I am told you dis- believe the existence of a God/' He seemed displeased at my observation, and answered, " You have been told an untruth; when you are wiser you will understand that no one 156 ' RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xiv. could doubt the existence of a God," My mother asked him if he was a predestina- rian, as reported. He admitted the truth of the accusation, saying, " I believe that whatever a man's destiny calls upon him to do, that he must fulfil." Dr. O'Meara often amused us by recount- ing conversations he had with the emperor respecting priestcraft : one anecdote is im- pressed on my recollection from the amuse- ment it afforded. A poor erring monk having paid the debt of nature, a funeral oration was delivered by a brother priest, to a large as- sembled congregation. The holy father pro- ceeded to inform the multitude that the soul of the departed had had to appear before the judgment-seat, there to render an account of all its past actions ; that being done, the evil and the good were then separated and thrown into opposite scales, in order to see which preponderated. The good deeds were so few, that the scale flew up, and the poor soul was condemned to the regions below, » CH. XIV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 157 and conducted by devils to Eblis' dread abode, there to be tormented with "fire unquenched, unquenchable — around, within his form to dwell." The flame had reached his feet and legs, and was proceeding to envelope his wretched body, when he, sink- ing into the bottomless pit with but his head above the liquid fire, cried out, " Oh ! my patron saint, save me ! take compassion on me, and throw into the scale of my good deeds all the lime and stone that I gave to repair the convent." His saint listened to the supplications of the tortured one, and gathering all the materials the monk had collected to build and adorn his monastery, did as he desired, and threw them into the scale of good, which imme- diately had the effect of overbalancing the evil, and the sinner's soul was taken to Pa- radise that moment. The moral meant to be conveyed was, how useful to that poor sinner's eternal salvation was his having kept his convent in repair ; for had he not 158 RECOLLECTIONS OF £ch. XI v. bestowed all that lime and stone, his soul would have been to this day consuming in the fires prepared for the Devil and his an- gels. Billiards was a game much played by Napoleon and his suite. I had the honour of being instructed in its mysteries by him; but when tired of my lesson, my amuse- ment consisted in aiming the balls at his fingers, and I was never more pleased than when I succeeded in making him cry out. One day our pass from Sir Hudson Lowe only specified a visit to General Bertrand, but my anxiety to see Napoleon caused me to break through the rule kid down, and the consequences of my imprudence were nearly proving very serious, as my father all but lost the appointment he then held under government. I had caught sight of the emperor in his favourite billiard-room, and not being able to resist having a game with him, I listened to no remonstrance, but bounded off, leaving my father in dis- CH. xiv.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 159 may at the consequences likely to ensue. Instead of my anticipated game of throwing about the balls, I was requested to read a book, by Dr. Warden, the surgeon of the " Northumberland," that had just come out. It was in English, and I had the task of wading through several chapters, and mak- ing it as intelligible as my ungrammatical French permitted. Napoleon was much pleased with Dr. Warden's book, and said, " his work was a very true one." I finished reading it to him whilst we remained with Madame Bertrand. In the cool of the evening we used to have chairs brought out and placed on the lawn leading to the billiard-room, under the gum-wood trees, and the Countesses Bertrand and Montholon, with their hus- bands and children, my sister and myself, would remain for hours after sunset listen- ing to the thousand crickets with which the ground at Longwood seemed alive. The moonlight nights were remarkably 160 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xiv. beautiful at St. Helena ; the blue of the sky so deep and clear, that it would be difficult to imagine any scene more solemn and im- posing than the appearance presented by the landscape on such occasions. Either the stars shine brighter in that firmament, and the moon seems fuller and more lustrous, or it may be that the recollection of those joyous days had no cloud to dim their ra- diance. It was on one of these splendid starry nights, and at the time we were on a visit to Madame Bertrand, that the party was grouped about, some seated on the steps of the billiard-room, others in the garden enjoying the cool refreshing breeze. The day had been one of the most sultry ever experienced within the recollection of the oldest inhabitant of St. Helena. Sud- denly we heard a lumbering heavy noise, as if loaded waggons were rumbling over the ground immediately under us. Those seated near the billiard-room sprang up aghast, thinking the house was falling about their CH. XIV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 161 ears. Dr. O'Meara and Major Blakeney, who was appointed captain of the guard at Longwood, rushed immediately from their rooms, expecting to find the ladies half dead with fear. All the household, some of whom were in bed, ran out in the greatest alarm ; some were gazing up at the sky, others look- ing stupified with wonder and amazement as to what had caused such a commotion. Little Tristram Montholon, who had some time previously retired to rest, came scream- ing to his mother, declaring that somebody had been trying to throw him out of bed. The cause of our terror proved to be an earthquake, the only one remembered to have occurred at St. Helena for nearly a century. The horror this event occasioned us all, can only be conceived by those who are acquainted with the island; more espe- cially was the alarm felt by those whose friends and relatives were residing in any of the valleys, so narrow and wedge-like in their form, and flanked, as they generally 162 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xiv. were, by tremendous overhanging precis pices, at the summit of which enormous loose rocks threatened continual destruc- tion to those who were beneath. It was observed at the time, that had the shocks been lateral instead of perpendicular, those who resided in the valleys must have been destroyed by the vast boulders of stone which would have fallen from the moun- tains above. Napoleon had retired to bed, and it was not till the next morning that we saw him. x He asked us if we had been frightened by the trembkment de terre on the previous evening, observing that I looked pale and quiet He mentioned to General Bertrand that he at first thought the " Con- queror/' a 74 lying in the harbour, had blown up, and that the great powder maga- zine had exploded, but on feeling the third shock he perceived it to be an earthquake. It lasted from 16 to 18 seconds. Many people fancied the rumbling noise they at first heard to be thunder, but when it was CH. XIV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON* 163 remembered that such a phenomenon as thunder* was never heard, nor had light- ning ever been seen since the discovery of St. Helena, that idea was abandoned. Thunder and lightning have never been known to disturb the harmony of the cli- mate. To account for this, it is said that the electric fluid is attracted by a high and conical-shaped mountain, called Diana's Peak, and conducted by it into the sea. I was too much alarmed after the occur- rence of the earthquake to go to bed for many nights. Seeing me one day unusually low-spi- rited, Napoleon inquired what could possi- bly have happened to drive away the dim- ples from my usually riant face. " Has any one run away with a favourite robe de bal, or is the pet black nurse, old Sarah, dead ! What can have occurred ? " I told him it * It is mentioned in Brooks's History of St. Helena, there had been two shocks of earthquakes in the island during the years 1756 and 1782. 164 RECOLLECTIONS OF [en. xiv. was neither one thing nor the other, but simply that our kind lady governess, Mrs. Wilks * had left the island, and such de- monstrations of grief had never before been seen at St. Helena. She was so beloved, people of all ranks and ages crowded to the castle to say, " God bless you, and a safe and happy voyage home." Not a dry eye was to be seen amongst the crowd then collected; that leave-taking of our much loved and respected governor and his fa- mily resembled more a funeral than a levee ; so sad and solemn was every face. I fancy I can see them now, following the party to the beach as they embarked in the barge that conducted them on board the Havannah ; and when the noble frigate spread her canvas to the swelling breeze that bore from the little rock those who had contributed so much to the happiness of its gratefully impressed inhabitants, groups of * Mrs. Wilks, now Mrs. Blamire, the wife of the late M.P. for the county of Cumberland. CH. XIV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 165 sorrow-stricken ladies were seen wandering under the pepul trees of the Sisters' Walk watching the vessel as she lessened from their tearful gaze, bearing on board a fa- mily who had rendered themselves so po- pular by their urbanity and kindness, which is even remembered to this day. I recount- ed the scene we had witnessed (and suffered with the rest) to the emperor ; he was quite interested in the recital, and regretted much not having been acquainted with the lady governess, as she must have been so very amiable. Napoleon's hour for rising was uncertain; though generally early, it much depended on the rest he took during the day, or the sultry state of the weather ; occasionally he would sleep for an hour or two on the bench under our trellised grape walk at the " Briars," and when he awoke refreshed, would write or dictate away for hours to- gether. Sometimes he would diversify his occupation by riding round our lawn on his 166 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. Xiv. beautiful black horse u Hope." The name pleased him ; it was the first he had rid- den on the island, and he liked the au- gury. After his long day sleeps he would court the drowsy god at night by desiring Marchand to read to him until the " sweet restorer, nature's soft nurse," came to his aid. Frequently, when the nights were illumined by the splendid tropical moon, would he rise at three o'clock, and saunter down to the garden long before old Toby, the slave, had slept off his first nap, and there he would regale himself with an early breakfast of delicious fruits, with which our garden abounded. Our old Malay was so fond of the man Bony, as he designated the emperor, that he al- ways placed the garden key where Na- poleon's fingers could reach it under the wicket. No one else was ever favoured in the like manner, but he had completely fascinated and won the old man's heart, and Napoleon looked upon Toby with a r CH. XIV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 167 kind of romantic interest, as one who bad been cruelly wronged in his youthful career. After these early risings he generally fasted until eleven, when he would breakfast a la fourchette with his suite ; he usually ate very fast, but did not admire highly sea- soned dishes. He preferred a roasted leg of mutton to any other English joint, and I have often seen him take the knuckle in his hand and pare off all the brown part of it. Napoleon had some very beautiful seals and rare coins, from which he good-na- turedly employed himself in taking off im- pressions in sealing-wax. Whilst he was thus engaged, I once mischievously jogged his elbow, and caused him to drop the hot wax on his fingers. It was very pain- ful, and raised a large blister ; but he was so very good-natured about it, that I told him I was quite sorry for what I had done ; whereas, had he been cross, I should have rejoiced. 168 RECOLLECTIONS OF £ch. XV. CHAPTER XV. And thou dread statue ! yet existent in The austerest form Our nation's foes lament on Fox's death. A bust delay'd, a book refused, can shake The sleep of him who kept the world awake. Byron. THE LEGEND OP FRIAR's VALLEY. — BUST OP THE YOUNG KING OP ROME. — THE EMPEROR'S EMOTION ON SHOWING IT. —EXHIBITION OP SOME TOYS SENT BY LADY HOLLAND TO MADAME BERTRAND's CHILDREN, ETC. ETC. It was not long after Napoleon had been at Longwood, that chance took him in one of his rides to a romantic glen named " The Friar's Valley," a wildly picturesque spot, so called from the peculiar formation of a huge rock fashioned by nature's hand into the figure of a monk with his cowl j CH. XV. J THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 169 thrown back, dressed in flowing robes, with a rosary at his side. He forms a peculiar feature in the grotesque scenery with which great part of the island abounds; that immediately around it consisting of stupendous sterile rocks, detached by deep and frightful ravines, some rising perpen- dicularly many hundred feet ; and here and there are seen bare masses of stone tower- ing aloft, with flowering aloes bursting forth from fissures in their iron-coloured sides. I have endeavoured to convey, in the annexed sketch, some faint idea of this romantic though desolate-looking valley. Napoleon had heard of the legend connect- ed with it, and asked me if I had ever seen the " Will-o'-the-Wisp," which he was told lighted the old friar's lantern. I said I had been often frightened by it, for when quite a little child, my mother, thinking the air on the mountains purer than that of St. James's Valley, generally sent me thi- ther under the care of an old negro nurse, I 170 RECOLLECTIONS OP £<&. XV. who resided in a little cottage directly overlooking the vale. Oftentimes would she threaten, if I did not repeat my letters correctly, to give me to the monk, who would carry me off in his lantern. I perfectly recollect how heartily the emperor laughed at my describing the tricks I played old Sarah* I had a box of letters, which it was her daily duty to see me arrange and place in alphabetical or- der : my great fun was to turn them topsy- turvy, at the same time keeping them quite straight. When I placed them property, I arranged them unevenly ; but the dear old nurse, who did not understand a letter in her alphabet, was certain to commend me for the neat arrangement I had effected ; but I was threatened with the friar when my lesson presented an untidy appearance, however right it might be. The story attached to the valley was this. The place where the friar now stands, was supposed once to have been the site of a CH. XV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 171 Roman Catholic chapel, adjoining which was the residence of the officiating priest, a monk of the Franciscan order, who was considered an example of Christian piety and humility, his life being passed in the performance of acts of charity and benevo- lence, such as attending the sick, relieving the oppressed ; and often did he interpose his charitable interference between the severe taskmaster and his wretched slaves, when the latter were condemned for some trifling offence to undergo fearful mutila- tions or the cruel lash. Thus in acts of piety this man of God pursued his way, blessing and blessed, till his senses became enthralled by the surpassing beauty of a mountain nymph, who dwelt in a cottage not far removed from the friar's lonely ha- bitation* It was in one of his rambles in search of some object of charity that his eyes first encountered this lovely daughter of the Atlantic isle, tending a herd of her father's mountain goats ; they had strayed i 2 172 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xv. so far that she had vainly tried to collect them, and was returning tired and sad to her dwelling, when, encountering the monk, she humbly told her tale, and asked his assistance. It was readily accorded, for who could resist such an appeal, enhanced by so much beauty ? The scattered flock was reunited, and the young girl, gracefully acknowledging his service, with a light heart returned to her home. It would have been well for the good father had that interview been the last, but fate ordained it other- wise. Again and again he sought her mountain cot, pouring into the maiden's ear his tale of love and adoration, and finally besought her to be his bride. She promised, but on one condition only, to listen to his suit — he must renounce his creed, and be- come of her faith : upon these terms alone would she consent, and until he had re- solved thus to prove his devotion, must not hope to see her again. The struggle was a fearful one in the breast of the monk ; — ■ -. CH. XV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 173 but love triumphed in the end : he forsook the faith of his fathers, broke his vows, and became a renegade. In due course of time the wedding-day was fixed : the ceremony was to be performed in that very chapel which had so often re-echoed the apostate's pious prayers for his suffering flock, and the bride, accompanied by her attendant maid- ens, approached the altar. The service was read, and just as the bridegroom was clasping the hand of his beloved, a fearful crash resounded, the rock was rent asunder, and every vestige of the chapel, and of those it contained, for ever disappeared. In its place stands the gaunt image of the grim friar, — an example and a sad warning to those who suffer their evil passions to prevail over their better judgment. I remember one morning seeing the emperor much moved ; he had been exhi- biting a marble bust of the King of Rome, which had been sent to him by the Em- press Marie Louise. He took us into his bedroom to inspect it, and we were 174 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XV. loud in our praises of the beauty of the child who could have furnished the sculptor with so attractive a subject for his classical art. Napoleon gazed on it with proud sa- tisfaction, and was evidently much delighted at our warm encomiums upon its loveli- ness. My mother told him he ought in- deed to exult at being the father of such a beautiful creature as that boy must be. Smiles seemed to light up his lace, and my mother often said she never saw a counte- nance at the time so interestingly expres- sive of parental fondness. The bust of the young Napoleon was the size of life, exqui- sitely chiselled in white marble ; and on it was inscribed " Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph," &c. ; it bore the decoration of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour. It was sent mysteriously to Napoleon, and arrived in charge of a sailor, who had re- ceived it through the orders of Marie Louise: the sculptor resided at Leghorn, and the empress had it conveyed to the gunner of a ship bound for St. Helena, (it CH. XV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. i75 was said,) as a silent token of her regard and unchanged affection for the ex-emperor. When we had seen and admired this treasure, Madame Bertrand invited us to accompany her, and be charmed by the exhibition of a variety of presents from Lady Holland, which had been sent out and had arrived only a few days before. They offered a rich feast to my eyes ; such an assemblage of beautiful trinkets I had never beheld, and I viewed them again and again in an ecstacy of delight. Lady Holland was very kind to Mes- dames Bertrand and Montholon, especially to the former ; and many were the grateful prayers I have heard her offer for the happi- ness of that excellent lady, who evinced such true charity in displaying so many consider- ate attentions, which could not but be high- ly appreciated under such circumstances. Napoleon, when speaking of her ladyship, always called her " La bonne Lady Hol- land," and expressed himself very grateful 176 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xv. for her kindness and attention to him, when abandoned by the world in that desolate island. He remarked, that all the mem- bers of the family of the great Fox abound- ed in liberal and generous sentiments. In speaking of that statesman he used to say, " He was sincere and honest in his inten- tions, and had he lived, England would not have been desolated by war ; he was the only minister who knew the interests of his country." He said he was received with a kind of triumph in every city of the French empire, and fited and welcomed by all its inhabitants. Every town he visited seemed to vie with the other which should offer him the greatest honours. He related a circumstance which, he said, must have made a gratifying impression on the mind of that great man. One day Fox visited St. Cloud. The private apartments of the palace there were never shown, being ex- clusively kept for the use of the emperor ; however, by some accident the minister CH. XV.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 177 and Mrs. Fox opened one of the doors of the sanctum, and entered ; there they be- held statues of the great men of all times and nations — Sydney, Hampden, Washing- ton, Cicero, Lord Chatham, and amongst the rest his own, which was instantly re- cognised by his lady, who exclaimed, " My dear, this is yours." This little incident, though trifling, procured him great atten- tions, and spread directly through Paris. i 3 178 RECOLLECTIONS OP £ch. xvr. CHAPTER XVI. He that has sail'd upon the dark blue sea, Has view'd at times, I ween, a full fair sight ; When the fresh breeze is fair as breeze may be, The white sail set, the gallant frigate tight.— Byron. ARRIVAL OP " THE CONQUEROR." — NAPOLEON^ ABUSE OP THE ISLAND. — NAUSEOUS BON-BONS PRESENTED BY MY BROTHER TO THE EMPEROR, ETC., ETC, — HIS FIRST SERIOUS ILLNESS AT ST. HELENA. I recollect being at Longwood one beau- tiful day ; the atmosphere had that peculiar lightness and brilliancy which in a great measure constituted the charm of the cli- mate of St. Helena. The sea lay glistening in the sun like a sheet of quicksilver, the lit- tle merry waves bursting in sparkling foam at the foot of the stupendous rocks, and the exquisite soft verdure immediately sur- rounding Longwood formed a very pleas- CH. XVI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 179 ing contrast to the stern features of the rest of the island. It was one of those days in which the past and the future are alike disregarded ; anxious thought is sus- pended for a moment, and the present alone is felt and enjoyed. I remember bounding up to St. Dennis and asking for Napoleon ; my joyousness was somewhat damped by the gravity with which he replied, that the emperor was watching the approach of the "Conqueror," then coming in, bearing the flag of Admiral Famplin. "You will find him," he said, "near Madame Bertrand's, but he is in no mood for badinage to-day, Mademoi- selle." Notwithstanding this check, I pro- ceeded towards the cottage, and in a mo- ment the whole tone of my mind was changed from gaiety to sadness. Young as I was, I could not help being strongly impressed by the intense melancholy of his expression ; " the ashes of a thousand thoughts were on his brow ; " he was stand- 180 EECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvi. ing with General Bertrand, his eyes bent sadly on the 74, which was yet but a speck in the line of the horizon. The magnifi- cent ship soon grew upon our sight, as, beating up to windward, silently yet proudly she pursued her brave career. " Sailing amid the loneliness, like a thing endowed with heart and mind," she seemed the very impersonation of majesty ! Byron thought the ocean, with a single vessel moving over it, the most poetical object in nature ; per- haps its utter loneliness is the cause. The thought has since occurred to me, that Napoleon might then have gazed upon that ship as typical of his own for- tunes, so lordly, yet mastered, and impelled by some unseen resistless power towards that wild shore destined to be the tomb of all his daring hopes and mad ambition. Such spirits are undoubtedly sent into the world by an omniscient Providence for a bene- ficent and merciful purpose; their fiery course is run ; they would still urge on, but CH. xvi.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 181 their headlong rashness may be made the instrument of their ruin, and the stern hand of death arrest them before they have tasted of that earthly glory for which they toiled ; their deeds, however, still live, and become often benefits to mankind, though springing from an evil source. The emperor, after a long silence, com- mented on the beautiful management of the vessel. " The English are kings upon the sea," he said ; and then, smiling some- what sarcastically, added, " I wonder what they think of our beautiful island; they cannot be much elated by the sight of my gigantic prison walls ! " His natural prejudice against the island rendered him blind to the many beauties with which it abounded ; he beheld all with a jaundiced eye : thus ever do our views of life take their colouring from our feelings and the nature of the circumstances in which we are placed. "Our eyes see all around in gloom with hues of their own, fresh 182 RECOLLECTIONS OF TcH. XVI. i borrowed from the heart." He would fre- 1 quently rail at the island in no measured language ; I always defended it in propor- tionate terms of praise. Sometimes he laughed at my impertinence, and at others he would pinch my ear, and ask me how I could possibly dare to have an opinion on the subject. The emperor had that great charm in social life of being amused and interested in matters of trifling import. It seems to me to be an attribute of his country- men, from which, no doubt, they derive that vivacity and talent de societe gene- rally possessed by them, but which, from our inherent reserve and national shy- ness, would sit awkwardly on us English. It would be something like the statue of Hercules in the National Gallery stepping from his pedestal and taking Cerito's place in the "Pas de rOmbre*" Napoleon was very fond of extracting from me my little store of knowledge, acquired CH. XVI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 183 from, I fear, rather desultory reading. However, being fond of books, and having a retentive memory, I could apparently chain his interest for some hours. " Now, Mademoiselle Betsee," he would say, " I hope you have been goot child and learnt all your lesson ; " which he said purposely to annoy me, as I was anxious to be thought full grown, and like most young ladies of my age, scorned the idea of being called a child, deeming myself fully competent to embark upon the troublous sea of life, and to battle with its storms without the rudder of experience. He was much in- terested in a favourite study of mine, namely, the account of the discovery and colonization of St Helena by the Por- tuguese, and he would listen attentively while I repeated it, for I had it almost by heart. My young brother, Alexander, had a pet goat, of which he was very fond, and the animal used to draw him about in a little 184 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvi. carriage. One day Napoleon had given him a little box, made by Piron, full of bonbons : when my brother had eaten all his sugar-plums, and was grieving over his exhausted store, he unluckily chanced to espy a pill-box, which, with other medicines, had been inadvertently placed on a bench in the garden ; he carefully put some of its contents into his bonbonniire, and gravely walking up to the emperor, presented it. Napoleon, always good-natured to the child, and supposing them to be sugar- plums, helped himself to one, and began eating it. I need not say how soon it was ejected, and what coughing and nausea en- sued, when my little brother's mischievous trick was divulged, and it was found that pills of a very unpalatable nature had been offered to and swallowed by the em- peror. The poor little fellow got soundly whipped by my fether, to whom his naughty conduct had been made known by Las Cases, who witnessed the joke and im- CH. XVI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 185 mediately reported it ; be knew my father to be too severe a disciplinarian to over- look even a trifling fault. My father had been suffering from a very violent attack of gout, which pre- vented his riding to Longwood, as was his daily habit. When he saw Napoleon after his recovery, the emperor began laughing at him, and told him, if he sat a shorter time after dinner he would have fewer attacks of gout. He asked him what remedies he had resorted to to be cured. My father replied he had taken " Eau medicinale," upon which Napoleon laugh- ingly remarked, had he drank more pure water and less wine he might have dis- pensed with the eau medicinale. He told him he was too young to want physic, as re- medies ought only to be resorted to by the old. In speaking of his own abstemious habits, he observed that he drank very little wine; however, the little he did drink was absolutely taken medicinally, 186 BECOLLECnON8 OF [cH. XVI. and he always found himself better after it, feeling convinced that if he left it off he should soon become ill- One of his prin- cipal specifics was a warm salt water bath. Mr. O'Meara told us that having recom- mended Napoleon a dose of medicine, soon after he came to St. Helena, he an- swered him by a slap in the face, and told him if he were not better on the morrow, he should have recourse to his own re- medy — abstinence and a bath. He was very fond of asking anatomical questions, and often fancied he had disease of the heart, and made O'Meara count its pulsa- tions. He constantly complained of ill- ness from the exposed situation of Long- wood, the wind continually beating in his face, or the sun scorching his brain ; he used to observe, when at the Briars, that he never suffered any ailment, for there he had shady and sheltered walks. Certainly Longwood was very bleak, and scarcely any vegetables would grow upon it, except CH. XVI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 187 a kind of coarse (Sow-grass, which even horses refuse. A long interval frequently elapsed be- tween our visits to the emperor. A few months previously to our leaving St. He- lena he had been very ill, and from Mr. O'Meara's account we feared he might never rally from the state of prostration of mind and body into which he had sunk. He was obstinate in refusing to take ex- ercise, disliking the strict watch kept over him on the occasion of his walk- ing abroad; and he declared he would rather die at once than use the only means recommended of alleviating his disorder. Mr. O'Meara entreated permission to call in a brother surgeon, that in the event of his complaint continuing obstinate, blame might not be attached to him for trusting solely to his own opinion. I recollect hearing Mr. O'Meara repeat the emperor's repl 7 , which waa to this effect; " that if all the physicians in the universe 188 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvi. were collected, they would but repeat what you have already advised me — to take con- stant exercise on horseback. I am well aware of the truth of what you say, but were I to call in Mr. , it would be but like sending a physician to a starving man, instead of giving him a loaf of bread. I have no objection to your making known to him my state of health, if it be any satis- faction to you ; but I know that he will say — exercise. As long as this strict sur- veillance is enforced I will never stir out." It was in vain Dr. O'Meara again and again urged the subject ; his invariable re- ply was, " Would you have me render myself liable to be stopped and insulted by the sentries surrounding my house, as Madame Bertrand was some days ago ? " It would have made a fine caricature in the London print shops, — Napoleon Bona- parte stopped at the gate by a sentinel charging him with fixed bayonet. How the Londoners would have laughed ! The only CH. XVI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 189 one of his suite who appeared careless of these restrictions was General Gourgaud; he had been stopped, Napoleon observed, fifty times. Once, when at the Briars, he said he had been treated rather unceremo- niously by a sentry, and complaints being made to the Admiral, that officer was really displeased about it, and took every precaution to prevent a recurrence of such annoyance. When we saw Napoleon after this ill- ness, the havoc and change it had made in his appearance was sad to look upon. His face was literally the colour of yellow wax, and his cheeks had fallen in pouches on either side his face. His ankles were so swollen that the flesh literally hung over his shoes ; he was so weak, that without rest- ing one hand on a table near him, and the other on the shoulder of an attend- ant, he could not have stood. I was so grieved at seeing him in such a pitiable state, that my eyes overflowed with tears, and I could with difficulty forbear sobbing *\ 190 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvi. aloud. He saw how shocked we were, and tried to make light of it, saying, he was sure the good O'Meara would soon cure him ; but my mother observed, when we bad left, that death was stamped on every feature. He, however, rallied from this attack, to pass nearly three more years in hopeless misery; for it became more evident to him that the anticipation in which he indulged (on first coming to St. Helena) of quitting the island, became fainter as health declined, and time wore on. The emperor expressed much curiosity to be introduced to a Mr. Manning, who had arrived at St. Helena on his voyage to England from China, which country he had visited after exploring the unknown, and at that time untravelled, kingdom of Thi- bet. Napoleon said he had a great cu- riosity to hear something relating to their mode of worshipping the Grand Lama, as he was induced to believe most of the ac- counts he had read and heard of it were fabulous. I described the impression Mr. CH. XVI.]] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 191 Manning had made on me by his imposing appearance; his dress was like that of a Mandarin, and he wore a long black beard which reached to his waist. He had, dur- ing the war, been a prisoner in France, and had been treated with great clemency by Napoleon; thus was each party an- xious to see the other. Mr. Manning had brought many very curious presents for Napoleon, which he had collected in his travels. He obtained a pass to see the emperor : he said he had been presented to the Lama, who was a very intelligent boy of seven years old ; that he had gone through the same forms as the other wor- shippers who were admitted to the celes- tial presence. Napoleon asked him if he were not afraid of being seized as a spy. The traveller did not seem pleased that the emperor should have thought that his ap- pearance could have conveyed such an im- pression ; but he laughingly pointed to his beard and dress, and seemed much diverted 192 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XVI. with his interview. He could not think how they, jealous as they were in their re- ligious rites, should have admitted an un- believer into their sacred temple, and have permitted him to approach the Lama. Mr. Manning said he honoured and respected all religions, as did Napoleon. The emperor wished to know if he had passed for an Englishman, as the shape of his nose was too good for a Tartar. Mr. Manning replied, that he had been taken for a Hindoo, which, from the regularity of his features and fine eyes, might easily have been the case. Napoleon told him that travellers were privileged to tell marvel- lous stories, and he hoped he was not doing so in relating the wonders of Thibet. He wanted to know if it were true that the revenues of the Grand Lama were derived from the gifts of the multitudes that daily flocked from all parts to worship at his shrine, as well as from priestly ex- tortion. Manning told the emperor it / j CH. xvi.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 193 was quite true, and complimented him • upon being as well informed as the travel- ler himself. The Lama was subject to the Chinese; he never married, neither did his priest; the body into which, ac- cording to their belief, the spirit passed, was found out by the priests from certain signs. Napoleon's conference with the tra- veller lasted some time ; he asked a thou- sand questions respecting the Chinese, their language, customs, &c. When the inter- view was concluded, he observed it had given him greater pleasure than he had experienced for many long months. 194 RECOLLECTIONS OP [ch. XVII. CHAPTER XVII. Unsepulchred they roam'd, and shriek'd each wan- dering ghost. SIB GEORGB COCKBURN's NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. — FATAL ACCIDENT TO A SOLDIER OF THE FIFTY-THIRD REGI- MENT. — THE RUNAWAY SLAVE. — EXHIBITION OF A CARICATURE, AND CONSEQUENT PUNISHMENT TO ME. Upon one occasion, Sir George Bingham gave a grand ball to all the people on the island, as a sort of return for civilities shown to him and his officers of the 53rd regiment. It was the prettiest thing of the kind and the best one I ever remember either before or since ; and as the scene of revel was close to Longwood, we were told the emperor had the curiosity to take a peep at it incog. I verily believe he had, from the faithful and animated detail he i CH. xvii.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 195 entered into respecting it the next day, and his criticisms upon dancing, dress, &c. The first attempt at waltzing was made on that occasion in the Saraband, and he took off a certain young lady's graceless movements so inimitably, that we felt sure he had in- dulged himself with a peep. Sir G. Cockburn had a beautiful dog of the Newfoundland breed, which was a great favourite, both from its beauty and docility. It was very fond of accompanying its noble master whenever he honoured the Briars with a visit, for the place abounded with ponds and rivulets, in which Tom Pipes delighted to swim and cool himself after following at the horses' heels up the mountain, under a sultry tropical sun. One time, as Napoleon was engaged making notes in the garden of the Briars, close to a large pond foil of gold and silver fish, I called the dog to have a gambol and refresh himself with a bath, well knowing his cus- tom was to shake his huge sides after duck- k 2 196 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvn. ing, and then woe betide the person nearest him whilst this operation was performing, they were sure to have their clothes com- pletely saturated. Such was now the case ; for Pipes enjoyed his bath immensely, and dived and ducked about, much to the con- sternation of the gold and silver fish. When he thought he had had enough, he scrambled up the bank, took his place by the emperor's side who was so much absorbed by his employment as to be unaware of the shower- bath in store for him, and it was not until a vigorous shake of the dog, and a plentiful besprinkling all over dress and person, that he found out the mischief of which I had been the cause. The paper on which he had written was spoiled, and he presented a very deplorable figure himself. It was impossible to help laughing, although he was very angry, for Tom Pipes would not go away ; he had been a shipmate of Na- poleon's on board the Northumberland, and was so glad to see him again, that he * j OH. xvil.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 197 kept jumping on him with his wet paws, thereby adding mud to wet and dust. One morning, as we were walking, or ra- ther scrambling, among the rocks that close in the waterfall near the Briars, we espied something banging over the ledge of a rock above us which had the appearance of a soldier in his uniform : the height was so great, and the precipice so perpendicular, that it was an utter impossibility for us to attempt scaling it to ascertain what it could be ; but still it looked so strange, and the position of the man (if man it were) so pe- rilous, that we determined on returning to the cottage to send forth some one of bolder heart and steadier nerves than our party possessed, who might throw a light upon the mysterious occupant of the rocky ledge. On our way we encountered Count Las Cases and the emperor, whose curiosity had also been directed to the object which had excited our attention ; he had seen it from his pavilion, and was reconnoitring it with 198 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XVII. his little spy-glass, the same with which he viewed the battle of Waterloo. We asked him what he thought it could be; he looked grave, aud replied, we had better return to the house and remain there for a time, as we might probably be shocked at a scene which he doubted not would soon present itself. Hfc had discovered, by the aid of his glass, that the object which had raised our curiosity was the corpse of a soldier, who must have met his death by some dreadful accident ; his conjecture was soon ascertained to be too true. A soldier had obtained leave of absence the night be- fore for a few hours, and was to have been back by sunset. He outstayed his leave, be- guiling time with some old comrades, and had perhaps indulged too freely at the shrine of Bacchus. But be that as it may, on find- ing he had exceeded his time, and being well aware of the severe discipline necessa- rily maintained at this time on the island, he had tried to reach his barrack by a short CH. xvil.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 199 cut, missed his footing, and was precipitated over the ledge, Hilling from a height of at least one hundred feet. We were all in a state of the most painful excitement during the ceremony of the coroner's inquest which was held on the dead man. I recollect Napoleon did not lose that occasion of hint- ing to my father, that if the poor soldier had sat less time after dinner he probably would not have met with so dreadful a fate. About that time there was quite a chapter of tragical accidents, one of which has flashed on my mind. My young bro- ther had a kind of tutor, faute de miens, a curious character, whose name was Huff; he had been an inhabitant of the island I believe at that time nearly half a century. This old man, since the arrival of Napo- leon, had taken many strange fancies into his brain ; among others, that he was des- tined to restore the fallen hero to his pris- tine glory, and that he could at any time free him from thraldom. All argument r* 200 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XVII. with this old man upon the folly of his ravings was useless; he still persisted in it, and it soon became evident that old Huff was mad, and, though strictly watched, he found an opportunity one fatal morning to destroy himself. An inquest was held on him, felo de se returned as verdict, (for there was much method evinced in his madness,) and his body was ordered to be interred in the spot where three cross-roads met. The nearest to the scene where the act was committed was the road leading to the Briars, and there they buried the old man. I had amongst many other follies a ter- ror of ghosts, and this weakness was well known to the emperor, who, for a consider- able time after the suicide of poor Huff, used to frighten me nearly into fits. Every night, just before my hour of retiring to my room, he would call out, " Miss Betsee, ole Huff, ole Huff." The misery of those nights I shall never forget ; I used generally to CH. xvn.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 201 fly out of my bed during the night, and scramble into my mother's room, and re- main there till morning's light dispelled the terrors of darkness. One evening, when my mother, my sis- ter and myself were quietly sitting in the porch of the cottage, enjoying the coolness of the night breeze, suddenly we heard a noise, and turning round beheld a figure in white— how I screamed. We were then greeted with a low gruff laugh, which my mother instantly knew to be the emperor's. She turned the white covering, and under- neath appeared the black visage of a little servant of ours, whom Napoleon had insti- gated to frighten Miss Betsee, .while he was himself a spectator of the effect of his trick. This pleasantry of Napoleon's gave rise soon after to a ghost scene, which was enacted to the life by one of our runaway slaves, of the name of Alley ; he had been missing for many weeks, and had eluded all search. Pigs, poultry, bread, all the K 3 202 RECOLLECTIONS OF I~oh. xvn. contents of the. larder nightly disappeared, no one knew how ; but the servants affirmed that a figure in white was seen hovering around the valley, and skipping from rock to rock ; they were so alarmed none would venture out singly. Days and weeks went on, Napoleon's cook complaining, in com- mon with ours, of depredations committed on his cuisine ; and not having the benefit of a market to replace the loss, it was a matter of no small annoyance. I firmly believed it to be Huff's ghost, and became quite ill from sleepless nights, being lite- rally afraid to close my eyes. At length, after repeated unsuccessful watching, my father and some friends saw a figure steal- ing along the valley which led towards the house; they watched it uninterruptedly, until it appeared within hail, and upon re- ceiving no answer to their challenge, they fired in the direction. A scream soon told the effect of their shot. Hastening to the spot, they beheld a negro slave, whom they CH. XVII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 203 discovered to be the runaway Alley. The poor boy was much hurt, though not mor- tally. When daylight came they repaired to his haunt, which was the most inge- niously contrived cave nature ever formed ; imperceptible until you came close to it, the entrance being low, and covered by a sheltering rock. There he had lived for weeks, close to his master, and had nightly prowled about, lightening our larders, and robbing the hen-roosts. Napoleon entered the cave with us, and seemed much diverted at the piles of bones collected and neatly arranged by the slave, after he had disposed of their various inte- guments. He said it reminded him of one of the catacombs in Paris. I recollect exhibiting to Napoleon a cari- cature of him in the act of climbing a ladder, each step he ascended represented some vanquished country ; at length he was seat- ed astride upon the world. It was a famous toy, and by a dexterous trick Napoleon ap- 204 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XVII- peared on the contrary side tumbling down head over heels, and after a perilous de- scent alighting on St. Helena. I ought not to have shown him this burlesque on his misfortunes, but at that time I was guilty of every description of mad action, though without any intention of being un- kind ; still I fear they were often deeply felt. My father, of whom I always stood in awe, heard of my rudeness, and desired me to consider myself under arrest for at least a week, and I was transferred from the drawing-room to a dark cellar, and there left to solitude and repentance. I did not soon forget that punishment, for the excavation swarmed with rats, that leaped about me on all sides. I was half dead with horror, and should most certainly have been devoured alive by the vermin, had I not in despair seized a bottle of wine, and dashed it amongst my assailants; finding that I succeeded in occasioning a momentary panic, I continued to diminish CH. XVII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 205 the pile of claret near me, and kept my enemies at bay. As the first faint light of morning dawned through my prison bars, I was startled to perceive what my victory would cost my father, for I was surrounded by heaps of broken bottles, and rivulets of wine ; and either from exhaustion, or the exhalation from the saturated ground of the cellar, I was found by the slave who brought me my breakfast in the morning, in a state of stupor from which I was with difficulty aroused. My father was too happy at my escape to blame me for the means I resorted to to preserve myself from my hungry foes; and I was forgiven my ill- judged pleasantry to the emperor. The latter expressed regret at my severe punish- ment for so trifling an offence, but was much amused by my relation of the battle with the rats ; he said he had been startled by observing a huge one jumping out of his hat, as he was in the act of putting it on. On a subsequent occasion, I was confined 206 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvn. during the day in the same prison that had been the scene of my nocturnal encounter. Having excited my father g ire for some mischievous trick, and for which, in spite of Napoleon's remonstrances, I was to be condemned to a week's imprisonment, I was taken to my cell every morning, and released at night only to go to bed. The emperor's great amusement during that time was to converse with me through my grated window, and he generally succeeded in making me laugh, by mimicking my do- lorous countenance. He was much surprised and amused to find me, on the third day of my imprisonment, busily employed making myself a dress ; and was more astonished still when I told him it was a voluntary act ; that I had, in a fit of desperation at the dulness of my sejour in the cellar, begged my old black nurse, Sarah, to give me some work. I regret that my fit of industry did not survive the term of my incarceration. 1 CH. xvii.] THB EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 207 The emperor advised my mother to keep the dress I had made during my imprison- ment, and occasionally exhibit it to me, when I was contemplating any rash act which might bring down a renewal of my late punishment. He always denominated it the prison livery. 208 RECOLLECTIONS OF Qch. XVIII. CHAPTER XVIII. Who goes there ? — stranger, — quickly tell. A friend ! The word ? Good night ! All's well. NAPOLEON'S TALENT FOB MIMICRY. — HIS RETIRED WALK, PLANNED BY HIMSELF. CARDINAL RICHELIEU, ETC. — THE PIC-NIC. — NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE, ETC. Napoleon was a tolerable mimic : one day he asked my sister if she had ever heard the London cries ; on her replying she had, he began imitating them, very much to our diversion. He did it well in all, save the pronunciation of the English, which sound- ed very droll. My sister said she was sure he must have visited England incog, to have acquired them so perfectly. He said he had been much entertained by one of his buffo actors introducing the cries of London, in some comedy which was got up in Paris. CH. xviil.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 209 Napoleon was a great admirer of Talma ; he said he was the truest actor to nature that ever trod the boards. He was on very in- timate and familiar footing with him. I told him I had heard he took lessons from Talma how he was to sit on his throne. He said he had been often asked if such had been the case, and that he one day mentioned the report to the great actor, at the same time remarking to him, " C'est un signe que je m'y tiens bien." He often spoke of Mademoiselle Georges, whom he represented as being very talented, and transcendently beautiful. One morning, after having been to a ball, and being consequently very tired, I tried in vain, during one of my Longwood prome- nades, to find where the emperor had hid him- self. I was told he was superintending a ditch which was forming for him, that he might have a walk free from molestation. Thither I bent my steps, and discovered Napoleon contemplating the work, with arms folded, 210 RECOLLECTIONS OP [ch. xvin. and downcast gaze. He said he intended having a private walk, where he could not be overlooked, and for that purpose had di- rected the ditch to be constructed. It was so laughable an idea, that we could not help smiling at a man's having a ditch to prome- nade in, but so it was ; the work was com- pleted soon after, and he had an unob- served walk, which, when made, we were told he never used. I think my memory in this instance has not felled me. After the earthquake, from sitting on the steps of the verandah, I caught a violent cold, and was sneezing and coughing all the morning. Napoleon said the climate was so bad it was not to be wondered at, and that we ought to have fireplaces made at the Briars, to keep out the cold in the wintry season. I told him it would be useless, as there were no coals on our island. He said we had better then burn some of the orange trees. He was in a bad humour that morning, or he would never have af- CH. xviii.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 211 fronted us so much by bidding us destroy our garden, and grub up our beautiful orange trees to burn. I remember one of Napoleon's favourite contemplations was the history of great men who had figured in bygone days. He told me an anecdote of Cardinal Richelieu, which impressed us much at the time it was repeated to us. It was during the days of his (I may call it) sovereignty, that a nobleman, who waited upon him about affairs of importance, was ushered into his private cabinet. Whilst they were con- versing together a great personage was announced, and entered the room; after some conversation with the cardinal, the great man took his leave, and Richelieu, in compliment to him, attended him to his carriage, forgetting that he had left the other alone in the cabinet. On his return to his room he rang a bell, one of his confidential secretaries entered, to whom he whispered something. He then con- 212 RECOLLECTIONS OF \jm. xvm. versed with the other very freely, appeared to take an interest in his affairs, kept him in conversation for a short time, accom- panied him to the door, shook hands with him, and took leave of him in the most friendly way, telling him he might make his mind easy, as he had determined to provide for him. The poor man departed highly satisfied, and full of thanks and gra- titude. As he was going out of the door, he was arrested, not allowed to speak to any one, and conveyed in a coach to the Bastile, where he was kept au secret for ten years ; at the expiration of which time the cardinal sent for him, and expressed his great regret at having been obliged to adopt the step he had taken; that he had no cause of complaint against him; on the contrary, he believed him to be a good subject to his majesty: but the fact was, he had left a paper on his table when he quitted the room, containing state accounts of vast importance, which he was afraid he • 1 CH. XVIII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 213 might have perused in his absence; that the safety of the kingdom demanded they should not be divulged, and obliged him to adopt measures to prevent the possibility of the contents being known ; that as soon as the safety of the country permitted, he had released him ; was sorry, and. begged his pardon for the uneasiness he had caused him, and would be happy to make him some amends. The Commissary-General of St. Helena, Mr. Ibbetson, was a great favourite with every one who had the pleasure of being ac- quainted with him. He was most amusing, and very clever. He established a theatre on the island, and the amateur plays per- formed by him, assisted by the officers of the 53rd and 66th regiments stationed there? rendered the little island a scene of gaiety and continued merriment ; what with the races, balls, plays, and pic-nics, sham fights by sea and land, &c., there was scarcely a day undiversified by some amusement or 214 RECOLLECTIONS OF £ch. xvm. other. On one memorable occasion, Mr. I. invited a large party to pic-nic at his house ; nearly all the inhabitants St. Helena contained (who delighted in those pleasur- able amusements) were there. The house was situated near the celebrated - " Friar's Valley," at a great distance from any of the dwellings of the people bidden to the fete, and the roads leading thereto must be seen to be conceived. No language, how- ever romantic in its flight, could impress the reader with the varied dangers and diffi- culties with which they abounded, and the temptation must indeed have been great to induce a timid horsewoman to encounter them. The ride there, I recollect, was com- paratively easy ; the party was so delightful, and the weather so charming, that time was beguiled, and the hours unnumbered stole on, till the faint echo of the Ladder Hill gun stole on our startled senses ; for it told the guests there assembled that the ninth hour had struck, and without the counter- »*\ * CH. XVIII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 215 sign none must venture forth, unless they made up their minds to be taken prisoners, and confined for the night in the first guard house they came near. A consultation was held, and the most daring of the party de- clared the risk of returning home must be run ; amongst the boldest of these was my father ; and, being under his command, my mother and sister, with myself, and a large proportion of the guests, mounted their horses and set forward. The night was star- light, but the road so bad and unfrequent- ed, that though for a long while the sen- tries placed about the heights were eluded, our way was lost. I shall never forget the scrambling and tumbling about, the horses' feet tripping under them every moment, over loose stones. At length, my father hailed a light, which appeared at a short distance before us — a most unlucky circumstance. He was answered by a sentry presenting his musket, and demanding " Who goes there ? " "A friend," says my father. "Advance, 216 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xvill. friend, and give the countersign." But no countersign had we, and to the alarm- house we were all marched, (a guard-room placed between Long wood and the Briars.) We passed a wretched night in the little hole, eaten up by fleas, musquitoes, and all sorts of horrible things ; but the most dis- agreeable was, the quizzing we were obliged to endure from our acquaintance, who had been wise enough to stay at Cruise Plain, instead of being so foolhardy as to venture forth. Napoleon was highly diverted, and rather pleased with the opportunity it gave him for abusing the strict watch which was set to prevent the possibility of his escaping. CH. XIX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 217 CHAPTER XIX. Had the sword laid thee with the mighty low, Pride might forhid e'en friendship to complain ; But thus unlaurell'd to descend in vain, While glory crowns so many a meaner crest ! Byron. MY QUESTIONS TO THE EMPEROR RESPECTING THE ATROCITIES IMPUTED TO HIM AT JAFFA. — THE SONG UPON THE DEATH OF THE DUKE d'eNGHIEN. — NAPO- LEON'S REMARKS UPON IT. THE SCULPTOR. The thoughtlessness of youth, or the con- sciousness of being a privileged person, prompted me more than once, whilst con- versing with Napoleon, to touch upon ten- der, if not actually forbidden ground, and to question him about some of the many cruel acts assigned to him ; entr'autres, the butchery of the Turkish prisoners at Jaffa, and the poisoning the sick in hospital at the same place, came one day on the tapis. I remember well his own explanation of L 218 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xix* the latter report, which though "an old tale and often told/' may not prove the less interesting on that account, when re- corded, as far as my memory serves me, in the emperor's own words. a Before leaving Jaffa," said Napoleon, "and when many of the sick had been embarked, I was informed that there were some in hospital wounded beyond recovery, dangerously ill, and unfit to be moved at any risk* I desired my medical men to hold a consultation as to what steps had best be taken with regard to the unfortu- nate sufferers, and to send in their opinions to me. The result of this consultation was, that seven-eighths of the soldiers were considered past recovery, and that in all probability few would be alive at the expiration of twenty hours. More- over, some were afflicted with the plague, and to carry those onward would threaten the whole army with infection, and spread death wherever they appeared, without \ CH. XIX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 219 ameliorating their own sufferings or in- creasing their chance of recovery, which, indeed, in such cases, was hopeless. On the other hand, to leave them behind was abandoning them to the cruelty of the Turks, who always made it a rule to mur- der their prisoners with protracted tor- ture. In this emergency, I submitted to Desegnettes the propriety of ending the misery of these victims by a dose of opium. I would have desired such a relief for my- self under the same circumstances. I con- sidered it would be an act of mercy to an- ticipate their fate by only a few hours, en- suring them an end free from pain, and oblivious of the horrors which surrounded and threatened them, rather than a death of dreadful torture. My physician did not enter into my views of the case, and dis- approved of the proposal, saying, that his profession was to cure, not to kiU. Ac- cordingly I left a rear-guard to protect these unhappy men from the advancing l 2 220 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xix. enemy, and they remained till nature had paid her last debt and released the expir- ing soldiers from their agony." Such is the true, and now almost universally acknow- ledged version of this atrocious story. " Not that I think it would have been a crime," Napoleon observed, "had opium been administered; on the contrary, I think it would have been a virtue. To leave a few miserables, who could not recover, in order that they might be mas- sacred according to the custom of the Turks, with the most dreadful tortures, would I think have been cruelty ; nor would any man under similar circumstances, who had the free use of his senses, have hesitated to prefer dying easily a few hours sooner, rather than expire under the tor- tures of those barbarians. I ask you, O'Meara, to place yourself in the situation of one of these men, and were it demanded of you which fate you would select, either to be left to suffer the tortures of those CH. XIX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 221 miscreants, or to have opium administered to you, which would you rather choose? If my own son, and I believe I love my son as well as any father does his child, were in a similar situation, I would ad- vise it to be done ; and if so situated my- self, I would insist upon it, if I had sense enough and strength to demand it. Do you think if I had been capable of secretly poisoning my soldiers, or of such barbari- ties, (as have been ascribed to me,) of driv- ing my carriage over the mutilated and bleeding Lodies of the wounded — that my troops would have fought under me with the enthusiasm and affection they uniformly displayed? No, no; I should have been shot long ago; even my wounded would have tried to pull a trigger to despatch me." It is to be regretted that the conscience of Napoleon did not prompt him to feel or say with Richard III., " E'en all mankind to some lov'd ills incline ; Great men choose greater things, ambition 's mine. ' ft 222 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xix. There are many reasons why the worst fea- tures of this report were at first readily be- lieved. It was consistent with Napoleon's character to look at results rather than at the measures that were to produce them, and to consider in many cases the end as an excuse for the means; besides, not three months before, he had given the world a fearful example of how bloody a deed he was capable, when he considered it necessary to the furtherance of his own plans. The execution of the Turkish pri- soners at Jaffa was equal in cruelty, though not in extent, to the fusillades of the revo- lution. Besides which, it was unjustifiable by the usages of war, the Turks having given up their arms and surrendered them- selves prisoners of war on condition of safety of life at least. It is true that this dreadful deed will always remain a deep stain upon Napoleon's character, but it would be uncharitable to view it as the indulgence of an innate love of cruelty, for CH. xix.] THE EMPUEOR NAPOLEON. 223 nothing in Bonaparte's history shows the existence of such a vice. It was one of the numerous atid sad results of boundless ambition, united to unlimited power. In aiming at gigantic undertakings, he forgot to calculate the watte of human life which the execution of his projects necessarily involved. There was a lady, the wife of an officer in the 66th regiment, a Mrs. Baird, who sang and played very well ; among her fa- vourite songs was a monody upoti the Duke d'EnghieH. I learned this, and sang it to Napoleon one day at Madame Bertrams. He was pleased with the air, and asked me what it was. I showed it to him: there was a vignette on the tover of the music, representing a man standing in a ditch, with a bandage round his eyes and a lantern tied to his waist; in front of him several soldier*, with their muskets level- led in the act of firing. He asked what it meant. I told him it was intended to 224 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xix. represent the murder of the Duke d'Eng- hien. He looked at the print with great in- terest, and asked me what I knew about it. I told him he was considered the murderer of that illustrious prince. He said, in re- ply, it was true, he had ordered his execu- tion, for he was a conspirator, and had landed troops in the pay of the Bourbons to assassinate him; and he thought from such a conspiracy, he could not act in a more politic manner than by causing one of their own princes to be put to death, in order the more effectually to deter them from attempting his life again; that the prisoner was tried for having borne arms against the republic, and was executed ac- cording to the existing laws; but not, as here represented, in a ditch, and at night. There was nothing secret in the transac- tion ; all was public and open. I told him I had heard that he wore armour under his dress, to render him in- vulnerable, as he was continually in dread ti»mmmmmtmi ■ntiMUff. CH. XIX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 225 of assassination, and that he never slept two nights together in the same bed-room. He told us all these things were fabrications ; but that he ever adopted one rule — never to make public his intention whither he meant to go five minutes before he ac- tually took his departure, and he doubted not many conspirators were thus foiled, as they were ignorant where he was at any time to be found. There was a sculptor named Caracchi, a Corsican, who had once made a statue of him, and who at one time had been strongly attached to Napoleon; but hav- ing become a fanatical republican, deter- mined to kill him. For that purpose he went to Paris, and begged to be allowed to model another statue for him, saying, the first was not as well done as he could have desired. Napoleon, little thinking this man meant to assassinate him, only refused his consent because he did not like the trouble of sitting in the same posture L 3 226 KECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xix. for some days. This saved his life, as it was Caracchi's intention to have poniarded him whilst sitting. Another time, a letter was sent to in- form the emperor that a certain person was to leave at a stated time for Paris, where he would arrive on a day indicated in the letter, his intentions being to mur- der him. The police took measures, and watched him ; he arrived on the day noted, and was seen to enter a chapel whither Napoleon had gone, in celebration of some festival. He was arrested, and expressed his intentions, and said, when the people knelt down on the elevation of the host, he observed the emperor gazing on a beautiful woman. At first, he intended to advance and fire; but, upon reflec- tion, thought it would make it surer to stab him when coming out of chapel. " I forgave the wretch, for I never liked to execute, if I could save life, and merely or- dered him to be put in confinement. After CH. XIX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 227 leaving France for Elba, I heard he had been ill treated by the other party at the head of affairs, and had escaped. On my return to Paris from Elba, retiring one night to my chamber, the same man some- how or other obtained entrance ; by some accident he fell, and the fall caused some- thing in his pocket, which was intended to despatch me, to explode, wounded him so severely instead, that he nearly died. I heard afterwards, that he had thrown him- self into the Seine, and was drowned." 228 RECOLLECTIONS OF £cH. XX. CHAPTER XX. Farewell ! a word that must be, and hath been — A sound which makes us linger ; yet — farewell ! Byron, OUR FAREWELL VISIT TO THE EMPEROR. EMBARKA- TION FOR ENGLAND. In consequence of my mother's health de- clining, from the enfeebling effects of the too warm climate of St. Helena, she was ordered by her medical adviser to try a voyage to England, as the only means of restoring her shattered constitution. The Winchelsea store-ship having arrived from China, my father took our passage on board, obtaining first, from Sir Hudson Lowe, six months 9 leave of absence from his duties as purveyor to Napoleon and his suite, &c. A day or two before we embarked, my CH. xx] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 229 father, my sister, and myself rode to Long- wood, to bid adieu to the emperor. He was in his billiard room, surrounded by books, which had arrived a few days before. He seemed much depressed at our leaving the island, and said he sincerely regretted the cause ; he hoped my dear mother's health would soon be restored, and sent many affectionate messages to her, she being too ill to accompany us to Longwood. When we had sat with him some time, he walked with us in his garden, and with a sickly smile pointed to the ocean spread out before us, bpunding the view, and said, " Soon you will be sailing away towards England, leaving me to die on this miserable rock. Look at those dread- ful mountains — they are my prison walls. You will soon hear that the Emperor Na- poleon is dead." I burst into tears, and sobbed as though my heart would break. He seemed much moved at the sorrow manifested by us. I had left my handker- 230 KEOOLLECTIONS OF [cr. xx. chief in the pocket of my side-saddle, and seeing the tears run fast down my cheeks, Napoleon took his own from his pocket and wiped them away, telling me to keep the handkerchief in remembrance of that sad day. We afterwards returned and dined with him. My heart was too full of grief to swallow ; and when pressed by Napoleon to eat some of my favourite bon-bons and creams, I told him my throat had a great swelling in it, and I could take nothing. The hour of bidding adieu came at last. He affectionately embraced my sister and myself, and bade us not forget him ; adding that he should ever remember our friend- ship and kindness to him, and thanked us again and again for all the happy hours he had passed in our society. He asked me what I should like to have in remembrance of him. I replied, I should value a lock of his hair more than any other gift he could present. He then sent for Monsieur Mar- CH. XX.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 231 chand, and desired him to bring in a pair of scissors and cut off four locks of hair for my father and mother, my sister, and myself, which he did. I still possess that lock of hair ; it is all left me of the many tokens of remembrance of the Great Em- peror. 232 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XXI CHAPTER XXI. My task is done — Would it were worthier ! CONCLUDING CHAPTER. In concluding my brief record of Napoleon, I will spare my readers any lengthened expression of my own opinion of his cha- racter. I have placed before them the greater part of what occurred while I was in his society, and have thus given them, as far as I am able, the same means of judging of him as I myself possess. But m yet, in a personal intercourse, incidents occur, of too trivial or subtle a nature to be communicated to others, but which are still the truest indications of character, from being the result of impulse, and un- CH. xxi.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 233 premeditated. Even a look, a tone of the voice, a gesture, in an unreserved moment, will give an insight into the real disposi- tion which years of a more formal inter- course would fail to convey; and this is particularly the case in the association of a person of mature age with very young people. There is generally a confiding candour and openness about them which invites confidence, in return, and which tempts a man of the world to throw off the iron mask of reserve and caution, and to assume once more the simplicity of a little child. This, at least, took place in my intercourse with Napoleon, and I may therefore perhaps venture to say a few words on the general impression he left on my mind after three months' daily com- munication with him. The point of character which has, more than any other, been a subject of dispute between Napoleon's friends and his ene- mies, and which will ever be the most im- ^ i 234 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xxi, portant of all, in the estimation of a woman, is, whether he furnished another proof of the " close affinity between superlative in* telleot and the warmth of the generous affections," (to use the words of the ReT. - Crabbe, m his delightful Life of h* Father,) or whether he must be considered only as a consummate calculating machine the reasoning power perfect, but the heart altogether absent Bonrrienne, who, al- though conscientious and exact in the main, exhibits no partiality to the^emperor, describes him as " tres peu aimant/Ntnd re* ports that he once said, " I have no friend except Duroc, who is unfeeling and cold, and suits me;" and this may have been true in his intercourse with the world, and with men whom he was accustomed to consider as mere machines, the instru- ments of his glory and ambition, and whom he therefore valued in proportion to the sternness of the stuff of which they were composed. Even his brothers, whom he is r- **i : - *. ^i TL*. * f*HH_fefe^*W_BA**^^B CH. XXI J THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 236 said to have included in this sweeping ab- negation of friendship, he taught himself to look upon as the means of carrying out his ambitious projects 4 and as they were not always subservient to his will, but came at times into political collision with him, his fraternal affection, which seldom resisted the rude shocks of contending worldly interests, was cooled and weakened in the struggle. But my own convictiocf is, that unless Napoleon's ambition, to which every other consideration was sacri- ficed, interfered, he was possessed of much sensibility and feeling, and was capable of, strong attachment. The Duchess d'Abrantes, who was inti- mately acquainted with Napoleon at an early age, gives him credit for much more warmth of heart than is allowed to him by the world; and brought up, as she had been, with himself and hi* family, she was well qualified to form an opinion of him. I think his love of children, and the de- 236 RECOLLECTIONS OF \jcn. XXI. light he felt in their society, — and that, too, at the most calamitous period of his life, when a cold and unattachable nature would have been abandoned to the indul- gence of selfish misery, — in itself, speaks volumes for his goodness of heart. After hours of laborious occupation, he would often permit us to join him, and that which would have fetigued and exhausted the spirits of others, seemed only to recruit and renovate him. His gaiety was often exuberant at these moments ; he entered into all the feelings of young people, and when with them was a mere child, and, I may add, a most amusing one. I feel, however, even painfully, the diffi- culty of conveying to my readers my own impression of the disposition of Napoleon. Matters of feeling are often incapable of demonstration. The innumerable acts of amiability and kindness which he lavished on all around him at my father's house, derived, perhaps, their chief charm from CH. XXI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 237 the way in which they were done; they would not bear being told. Apart from the sweetness of his smile and manner, their effect would have been comparatively nothing. But young people are generally keen observers of character. Their per- ceptive faculties are ever on the alert, and their powers of observation not the less acute, perhaps, because their reason lies dormant, and there is nothing to interrupt the exercise of their perceptions. And af- ter seeing Napoleon in every possible mood, and in his most unguarded moments, when I am sure, from his manner, that the idea of acting a part never entered his head, I left him impressed with the most com- plete conviction of his want of guile, and the thorough amiability and goodness of his heart. That this feeling was common to almost every one who approached him, the respect and devotion of his followers at St. Helena is a sufficient proof. They had then nothing more to expect from him, 238 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xxt. and only entailed misery on themselves by adhering to his fortunes. Shortly after he left the Briars for Long- wood, I was witness to an instance of the reverence with which he was regarded by those around him. A lady of high distinction at St. Helena, whose husband filled one of the diplomatic offices there, rode up one morning to the Briars. I happened to be on the lawn, and she re- quested me to show her the part of the cottage occupied by the emperor. I con- ducted her to the pavilion, which she sur- veyed with intense interest; but when I pointed out to her the crown which had been cut from the turf by his faithful ad- herents, she lost all control over her feel- ings. Bursting into a fit of passionate weeping, she sank on her knees upon the ground, sobbing hysterically. At last she fell forward, and I became quite alarmed, and would have run to the cottage to tell my mother and procure some restoratives, ^dMaW CH. XII.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 239 but, starting up, she implored me, in a voice broken by emotion, to call no one, for that she should soon be herself again. She entreated me not to mention to any one what had occurred, and proceeded to say that the memory of Napoleon was treasured in the hearts of the French peo- ple as it was in hers, and that they would all willingly die for him, She was herself a Frenchwoman, and very beautiful. She recovered herself after some time, and put a thousand questions to me about Napo- leon, the answers to which seemed to in- terest her exceedingly. She said several times, " How happy it must have made you to be with the emperor!" After a long interview, she put a thick veil down over her still agitated features, and returning to her horse, mounted and rode away. For once, I kept a secret, and, though questioned on the subject, I merely said she had come to see the pavilion, without betraying what had taken place. 240 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. XXI. Napoleon, on his first arrival, showed an inclination to mix in what little society St. Helena afforded, and would, I think, have continued to do so, but for the unhappy differences with Sir Hudson Lowe. These at length grew to such a height, that the emperor seemed to consider it almost a point of honour to shut himself up, and make himself as miserable as possible, in order to excite indignation against the go- vernor. Into the merits of these quarrels it is not my intention to enter. With all my feeling of partiality for the emperor, I have often doubted whether any human being could have filled the situation of Sir Hudson Lowe without becoming embroiled with his unhappy captive. The very title by which he was accosted, and the manner of address- ing him, when contrasted with the devotion of those around him, must have seemed almost insulting; and the emperor was most brusque and uncompromising in showing l#lv s-m his dislike to any one who did not please ^Wfe CH. XXI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 241 him ; the necessary restrictions on his per- sonal liberty would always have been a fruitful source of discord; and even had Napoleon himself been inclined to submit to his fate with equanimity, it is doubtful whether his followers would have permitted him to do so. Accustomed as they had been to the gaiety and brilliancy of the French capital, their " sejour," to use their own words, on that lone island, could not fail to be " affreux"; and as they were gene- rally the medium of communication be- tween Napoleon and the authorities, the correspondence would necessarily be tinged with more or less of the bitterness of their respective feelings. Their very devotion to the emperor would make them too tena- cious and exacting with regard to the de^ ference to which his situation entitled him ; and thus orders and regulations, which only seemed to the authorities indispensable to his security, became a crime in their eyes, and were represented to the emperor as M 242 RECOLLECTIONS OF [ch. xxi. gratuitous and cruel insults. Napoleon, too, in the absence of every thjng more worthy of supplying food to his mighty intellect, did not disdain to interest himself in the merest trifles. My father has often described him as appearing as much absorbed and oc- cupied in the details of some petty squabble with the governor as if the fate of empires had been under discussion. He has often made us laugh with his account of the ridi- culous way in which Napoleon spoke of Sir Hudson Lowe ; but their disputes were ge- nerally on subjects so trivial, that I deem it my duty to draw a veil over these last infirmities of so noble a mind. One circumstance, however, I may relate : Napoleon, wishing to learn English, pro- cured some English books ; amongst them " iEsop's Fables," were sent him. In one of the fables the sick lion, after submitting with fortitude to the insults of the many animals who came to exult over his fallen greatness, at last received a kick in the CH. XXI.] THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. 243 face from the ass. " I could have borne every thing but this," the lion said. Na- poleon showed the wood-cut, and added, " It is me and your governor." i Amongst other accusations against Na- \ poleon, some writers have said that he was I deficient in courage. He always gave me > the idea, on the contrary, of being constitu- tionally fearless. I have already mentioned his feats of horsemanship; and the speed with which his carriage generally tore along the narrow mountainous roads of St. He- lena would have been intolerable to a timid person. I have more than once seen gen- tlemen whose horses were rather skittish, when the emperor approached them at a rapid pace, compelled to turn and gallop rapidly for some distance before him, to their great annoyance, until they reached an open space where they could pass his carriage without danger of their horses shy- ing and going down a precipice. He had a description of jaunting car, to which he m2 244 RECOLLECTIONS, ETC. [ch. XXI. yoked three Cape horses abreast, in the French style, and if he got any one into this, he seldom let his victim out until he had frightened him heartily. One day he told General Gourgaud to make his horse rear and put his fore feet into the carriage, to my great terror. He seemed, indeed, to possess no nerves himself, and to laugh at the existence of fear in others. Napoleon, as far as I was capable of judging, could not be considered fond of literature. He seldom introduced the topic in conversation, and I suspect his reading was confined almost solely to scientific sub- jects. I have heard him speak slightingly of poets, and call them revews, and still I believe the most visionary of them all, was the only one he ever perused. But his own vast and undefined schemes of ambition, seemed to have found something congenial in the dreamy sublimities of Ossian. i%i~' "~^ I A< APPENDIX. The annexed anecdotes, relating to the Em- peror Napoleon, have been given me by friends. I have appended them to the Second Edition, hoping it will add somewhat to its interest. The anecdotes related in Chapter I. were supplied me by an officer of high standing in the British Navy; those in Chapter II. are from the journal of Mr. Reid, who was at St. Helena, on his homeward-bound passage from India. APPENDIX. CHAPTER I. To go on with a few Recollections of Napoleon, I will state that on the 26th of July, 1815, the Bellerophon, of 74 guns, dropped anchor in Plymouth Sound, commanded by Captain Frederick Maitland, having on board one whose name will live "long as memory holds her seat," or the history of the past can interest a single student, in a word, " Napoleon Buona- parte." Most surely this was no every day occur- rence. The man who for twenty years had filled the world with his fame-— who had liter- ally a million of soldiers at his beck — who had led his devoted armies from the sand deserts of Egypt to the ice plains of Moscow ! — he who, but a brief time before, pulled down kings and set up princes at his pleasure ; who had pre- sided over eight hundred thousand square miles of territory, one fifth part of the inhabited world, and one half of united Europe ! 248 APPENDIX. That man was now a captive before Ply- mouth, stripped of all his power-denied the title of emperor — a diminished suite his only- attendants— the deck of a British ship of war his widest liberty! Here he remained eight days, those days of soul-shaking doubt and ex- pectation, during which time bis future fate was under deliberation ; and no ministry of England was ever more puzzled to know how to dis- pose of him, thoroughly alarmed as they were. Nights and days were passed in the greatest possible suspense, hundreds of schemes were proposed to the Prince Regent and Privy Council, and fell to the ground as fast as they were proposed, all being equally involved in one vast dilemma. Day by day, and hour by hour, all England strained ceaselessly to this focal point. Thousands of densely crowded boats assembled round his floating prison. It was here the bitter sentence of eternal separa- tion from France, and from all that he held dear and loved, was officially communicated to him; it was here that indignant protest was penned, in which he so bitterly inveighed against the " perfidy and inhospitality of Eng- land." And when on the 4th of August the tall bark faded from view, it was to bear him to that lone isle, in the far Atlantic, from which APPENDIX, 24$ he was destined never more to return alive. Resuming in a great measure, partially, the thread of this extraordinary man's history, of this eventful but brief period of his life — we may state, on his arrival at Paris, after his de- feat at Waterloo, he found ruin to his fame and fortunes staring him deeply in the face ; it, perhaps, may be a bold thing to say of him that he had not the moral spirit to bear up against his misfortunes at that critical moment, and do what he ought to have done. He had Grouchy, with 40,000 troops, perhaps the flower of the French army, and devoted to him, across the Loire ; whilst he could have joined, and at their head he could instantly have placed him- self, had he had but the spirit to have done so. He might then have fallen bravely in combat, or have made such terms as a gallant soldier could have accepted, which indeed would have been too gladly offered him ; instead of which, he first of all abdicated the throne of France in favour of his son, and then basely fled from Paris in the middle of the night to Rochfort, in the hope of gaining a passage to America. I speak advisedly that that was his original intention; however, on his arrival he was baffled in that, there being no vessel in port that could or would take him. He well considered time M 3 250 APPENDIX. with him was both short and precious, and the moment his flight was known in Paris he was satisfied he should be as instantly followed. Some of the British ships were then in sight, blockading the port and the whole coast of France, and to get on board one of those ships was his last hope of safety; this purpose he accomplished as he mounted the side of the Bellerophon. The following are a few particulars relative to Napoleon, from the period of his arrival at Ply- mouth in H. M. ship Bellerophon to the time of his removal on board the Northumberland, for the purpose of being conveyed to St. Helena, together with a few sketches from re- collection, necessarily indistinct from lapse of time, by an officer of the latter ship. The first appearance of Napoleon certainly did not prepossess the beholder in his favour, nor did it alter to my mind as time passed on; his general expression of countenance bore a strong resemblance to that delineated in the numerous representations of him now univers- ally known. During the outward passage in the Northumberland he invariably dressed in the uniform of the National Guard, but he never APPENDIX. 251 wore boots, which gave him the singular ap- pearance of a man in full uniform, with an un- usually large cocked hat, white small-clothes, silk stockings, and shoes with gold buckles ; perhaps the peculiarity may have originated in some degree from vanity, as he had a good leg and an exceedingly small foot ; his hands also were small, but plump, and were dimpled on the knuckles. He was by no means what might be called a good-looking man the time I speak of, but in the field of battle, where all bis un- equalled energies were called forth into mighty and resistless action, or even in the senate, his bearing and countenance would doubtless have undergone a perfect transformation. His com- plexion was of a very sallow hue, his neck was short, and his dark hair worn in a crop was thin and straggling, though longer than was usually worn at that period ; it never seemed to have been subjected to much discipline from the brush, although, to all appearance, such a course of treatment would not have been un- availing. His c6at was always kept hooked up close to his chin, completely concealing his stock, as the collar of his coat came up close round a full and fat cheek. I was asked a thousand times after my return home, " Well, what do you think of Napoleon, did he look 252 APPENDIX. like a lion, or the man that crossed the Bridge of Lodi, or fought the battle of Austerlitz ? " How was it possible to answer such questions, when one considered his dejected condition, induced by misfortunes of no ordinary kind, after a splendid and unprecedented career of glory, victory, and triumph, and after having fairly earned the proud title of arbiter of the fate of kings ? At one epoch of his career, in- deed, there were no less than five of his brothers, friends and relations, on different thrones of Europe, viz., Joseph on that of Spain, Louis of Holland, Jerome of Westphalia, Bernadotte of Sweden, Murat of Naples, and his son of Rome, all placed there too by his indomitable arm ; besides which, he had created princes, dukes, and an innumerable host of inferior no- bility. How then was it possible to give an opinion of such a man, situated as he now was, a poor wretched exile, torn from all he held dear, and sent he hardly knew whither. A man with whose renown the whole world had re- sounded for nearly a quarter of a century, the quarter-deck of a British 74 and a small apart- ment his whole domain, a passenger and a captive, ignominiously borne to his last abode in this world ; his reception on board the North- umberland was that of a general officer only. APPENDIX. 253 This was in obedience to the express orders of the Admiralty, of which he afterwards bitterly complained. Every possible attention was shown both to him and to his suite during the passage to St. Helena. The captain, Captain Ross, and Mr. Glover, the admiral's Secretary, both gave up their cabins to the Generals Ber- trand and Montholon and their families ; and every officer in the ship, though she was densely crowded, having upwards of a thousand persons on board, contributed their share to the conveni- ence of others of the suite ; and no greater de- ference was shown by any one than by our gal- lant admiral, Sir George Cockburn, to whose sole charge Napoleon had been intrusted, in the most complimentary manner, by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent ; for as soon as it was de- cided by the Regent and the Privy Council that Napoleon was to be sent to St. Helena, his Royal Highness's first inquiry was, " Where is Cock- burn ? " And on being informed by Lord Mel- ville that he was in town, he instantly exclaimed, " That is fortunate ; send for him and let him have the whole and sole charge of Buonaparte ; give him a carte blanche to act as I am sure his own prudence and his high and honourable feelings will dictate." That confidence thus re- posed was never violated, for Sir George Cock- 254 APPENDIX. burn's attentions to the fallen emperor were incessant, and duly were they appreciated by Napoleon. He was always glad to take the admiral's arm and walk the deck with him ; and it was pleasing to see him do so, as he was always in deep conversation, and ap- parently more happy than at any other time ; for, excepting on those occasions, he generally stood by one of the guns on the quarter-deck, or leaning against it, with the officers of his suite around him all uncovered, let the weather be what it might. Nor did I ever hear him desire them to put on their hats, notwithstand- ing the inconvenience felt from the wind or sun, particularly by poor old Las Cases, who always got under the lee of some one, or held his hat up by the side of his head, in the vain en- deavour to obtain some relief. The outward passage might be called comparatively good, as we had little or no bad weather. Sir George Cockburn's orders were to keep the whole of the squadron at full speed, night and day. Napoleon noticed little that was going on on board, and it was before his usual hour of rising or coming out of his cabin that the ship crossed the line, therefore he did not see Nep- tune, who appeared in all his glory on the occasion, with the usual fun of shaving, &c., APPENDIX. 255 although he proposed to present the ship's company with two hundred Napoleons as his fine, which was of course declined by the admiral. He was on deck nearly every day, and was only prevented by trifling indisposition from dining at the admiral's table two or three times during the voyage. He was quite as much at home the first day he came on board as the last; he breakfasted by himself in his own cabin, and generally came out about two o'clock, and either played at chess with General Montholon, or, if the weather was very fine, he walked the quarter-deck with the admiral. Four o'clock was the dinner-hour, and he generally retired early, either to the deck or to the after- cabin, and the evenings were enlivened either by whist or vingt'un ; sometimes by conversa- tion or reading, though of the latter there was not much ; but he had a most complete and compact assortment which he called his " Field Library;" the books were well selected and packed in strong and thick leather cases, fitting over the backs and partially round the bodies of mules or horses, and when unstrapped and opened out flat on the deck had a very hand- some and neat appearance. One evening he happened to take up a book from one of them which appeared to interest him very much, and 256 APPENDIX. after looking over it some time he said, laugh- ingly, he would read it aloud. It was a moral and simple tale, and it had apparently some bearing towards himself, at least from his man- ner 1 believe he thought so. It began by re- lating that a poor young man, of industrious habits, and a willingness to push himself for- ward in the world, met with nothing but mis- fortunes, each following the other in succession, driving him almost to madness. One day, pray- ing for an alleviation of his misery, a good spirit appeared to him, and inquired his wants and wishes ; the young man then related all his distresses, and also his willingness to exert himself for his subsistence, and bitterly la- menting at the same time his reverses. The good spirit listened patiently to his tale, and then promised him his aid ; but upon one con- dition, which was, that he should have all he required, provided he kept within the bounds of reason and strict justice, and asked for nothing unjust. The young man expressed his gratitude, and the good spirit disappeared. Well, the young man sat himself down to think and be grateful for his happiness and good fortune ; he looked around, and he con- sidered his hut or dwelling-place was a miser- able one, and thought he should like a better. ■ — - ■'- APPENDIX. 257 His first wish was granted, as he found himself in possession of a good and comfortable abode. Happy and pleased, he then wished for more lands and grounds to cultivate — he had them — and although before this good fortune happened to him he worked hard by himself, and now, as his lands had increased, he prayed for more as- sistance, for horses, carts, waggons, and labour- ers or servants, all of which he obtained, and began to rise in the world and grow rich. He then thought it was very lonely living by himself, and he wished for a wife, who speedily appeared, and in due course children. He then thought his happiness complete ; but, alas for human nature ! he could not rest, for he became bold and aspiring, forgetting his early promises; and the more he wished for, the more he had, although repeatedly near the brink of ruin. However, he had pretty well kept within bounds, but as he advanced in the world he became more ambitious ; he was already the lord of many lands, houses, horses, carriages, and everything that could render life comfort- able and happy, and enviable to others ; but still, still he aspired to more, his good spirit occasionally approaching him. However, at last his desires became boundless, he bought this country, and exchanged that, until he was 258 APPENDIX. possessed of a large territory ; and being de- sirous of having all his property in a sort of ring fence, one of the lords his neighbours possessing lands that were in some measure intermingled with his own, he wanted to get it from him. His neighbour, however, not being inclined to part with his ancient patrimony, withstood all the demands of this now proud and arrogant lord, resisting alike his threats and attempted vio- lence. Finding he could not succeed in forcing his neighbour out, he invoked the aid of his good spirit; the angelic messenger instantly appeared, but cast upon him such a glance that his heart quailed within him, and he sunk almost sense- less to the earth. " Begone, vile wretch," cried the spirit, " and meet the fate your overbearing ambition has brought upon you ; and reflect that had you been satisfied with even more than your reasonable wants you might still have been prosperous and happy. Remember too my words, i As long as your wishes were bounded by reason, 9 all would have been duly granted, but alas ! your ambition has carried you beyond all bounds; therefore go and repent in an exile." After some little silence and apparent reflection on his part, " La voila," said Napoleon, " et voici je m'en vais k St. Hetene." APPENDIX. 259 He was generally anxious when the charts and the day's reckoning were brought into the admiral's cabin at noon, and the ship's position marked on the chart, to see it, and often ex- pressed his astonishment at the possibility of hitting so small a spot as St. Helena with that degree of accuracy with which it was generally done. We had a lottery of a Napoleon each for the day we should arrive, which was won by Madame Montholon ; but some days before we made the land, going well with the fresh wind, Sir George Cockburn told him we should make the land on such a day, naming it. On that day arriving, and after the observations at noon had been taken and worked up, the admiral told him the land would be seen that afternoon; and when we sat down to dinner Napoleon asked the admiral if he was yet of the same opinion. The admiral said yes, and that it would be seen before we got up from table; and sure enough, just before the usual time of rising, the signal officer came in to report the land right a-head. Every body instantly got up and went on deck, whence it was distinctly seen ; and had not the weather become dark and cloudy we should have seen it three hours be- fore. Napoleon's astonishment was indeed great, on looking over the large chart of the 260 APPENDIX. ocean, to see how so small a spot could hare been so accurately hit upon. Napoleon was very communicative with Sir George Cockburn, who I believe he courted to ask questions. As he often observed, " You have an old saying the same as we have, ' that the devil is never so black as he is painted ; ' and as I dare say I have been painted black enough in England, you may ask me any- thing you like." — "The affair of the Duke d'Enghien, and the poisoning your sick at Jaffa," said the admiral, " were considered very serious affairs." — "Bah," said Napoleon, a manner he had of expressing himself when he thought any thing was simple or ridiculous, and began as follows ; but mind, this was nearly thirty years ago, and the greater part of all these remarks are from memory alone, there- fore I must be allowed much latitude. He said, about Captain Wright's affair, respecting which he had been also questioned, that he knew nothing, but the fact was, that Captain Wright, who had been employed upon the coast of France, was captured and supposed to have been murdered in the Temple. However, respecting the Duke d'Enghien, Napoleon said thus, and his relation was nearly as follows : — He stated it was in the year 1804, vast con- APPENDIX. 261 spiracies were going on in Paris, and on the sea-coast, although the heart of France was. quiet and content. There was a great movement in the government with the police, and al- though supposed to be the best in the world, they were, for a time, at fault ; so much art and cunning was made use of by the conspirators, and so great was their power, that every day's information became more and more alarming; the greatest vigilance was therefore necessary, not only in Paris, but along the entire line of coast, as it was well known that spies and ene- mies to the French government had been re- peatedly and constantly landed over from British ships of war. Indeed, from the com- mencement of the war, that system had been carried on to a great extent, both by hired agents, or officers and men on both sides making their escape from those dreadful prisons. About this time a French surgeon who had been a prisoner of war in England was landed on the coast, supposed from an English vessel of war, and taken prisoner. Much suspicion being attached to him, it was soon ascertained in what capacity he came, which was that of a spy. However, nothing could be elicited from him, although the government were anxious to a degree, well 262 APPENDIX. knowing there was something going on in the dark. The circumstance was reported to me ; I gave directions that this officer should be most strictly examined, and that if they could get nothing from him, he was to be tried in the usual way in those cases, and sufie? any punishment he might deserve, if found guilty. And as death was quite certain to follow his conviction, he became most anxious to save his life by a full con- fession, which he did, revealing all he knew. The consequence was, that the government, having been in so great a state of excitement and alarm for some months past, were to a de- gree quieted ; for by means of this man's in- formation the particulars Were ascertained of one of the greatest conspiracies ever known ; indeed, so formidable was it to my government, as to shake it to its very foundation, and throw the whole republic into a state of probable re- volution and bloodshed, by one means and another, all arising from the information thus obtained. And from the wonderful dexterity of the police, other discoveries of the very greatest importance, causing the arrest of the greater part of the conspirators, viz., Moman, Pichegru, Georges, Castondal, and others, whose fate k well known ; but there was APPENDIX. 263 some others not yet discovered — men appa- rently of much higher importance. The facts and information already received proved there was still something to be discovered; every care and inquiry was made, and night and day the police were on the alert, not only in Paris, but by means of their emissaries throughout the whole of France, and indeed at every capi- tal on the continent. At last it was discovered by Savary, who had been unwearied in his ex- ertions, that a person had been repeatedly known to have entered France from the side of Baden and proceed to Paris ; and as this fact was well ascertained, a sufficient force was appointed under Caulaincourt ; and from in- formation received they entered the territory of Baden, and surrounded the chateau to which place this person had been traced. The con- sequence was that he was surprised and cap- tured, and turned out to be the Duke d'Enghien. He was immediately brought to Paris, and then sent to the Castle of Vincennes ; brought before a military tribunal, when the strongest possible proofs of his guilt in having been con- cerned with the other conspirators were pro- duced; he was condemned and shot. After re- lating all this, he declared he was fully borne out in that act, so much abused by all the 264 APPENDIX. powers of Europe, from the position France was then in. He said that France had been gorged with revolutions, and the most horrible murders and bloodshed, and massacres of the most terrible description, for many years past, but that now she was in a state of comparative j repose ; the war was progressing favourably to the nation, provisions in abundance, and, in- deed, a fair hope of future happiness and peace, terms for which he would be willing to enter into at a favourable opportunity. When in the midst of this tranquillity those fresh revo- lutionary feelings broke out — tired and sick as the whole nation had been of former cruelties, and dreading their repetition, which must in- evitably have ensued, as he was strong him- self, and the revolutionists, as far as those they knew, were the first in the land, and were likely to be well backed by most of the conti- nental powers, he thought the strongest arm he could make sure of, and the most decisive measures he could take, aided also by the power of the law, was to let the law take its course, and as the least evil of the two, allow this execution to take place. As it was impossible to know all the ramifi- cations of such a conspiracy, all Paris was in a state of agitation and alarm; and indeed the h APPENDIX. 265 whole country was the same ; and to save it from the horrors of another revolution, he thought it the wisest and most humane policy, for the good of the whole nation, and to pre- vent such dreadful calamities from recurring hereafter, to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many ; and time has shown his judgment, he said, to have been correct, as, after the exe- cution had taken place, the nation merged into a state of internal peace and quietude, and of seeming prosperity; and however painful the act, he considered that he was fully borne out in the strong measures he had taken, although it might have been deemed the extreme of seve- rity, but by it thousands of human lives had undoubtedly been preserved ; indeed, the times and the state of the country demanded it : and had the culprit been even Louis, who was then an exile in England, there would have been no difference in his determination. He then adverted to the circumstance of the sick at Jaffa, said falsely to have been poisoned by his orders. He acknowledged, what all the world knew before, that be was under the ne- cessity of marching suddenly from Jaffa ; that it was impossible to remove the sick with him ; and being well aware, from sad experience, of* the dreadful fate that would await them if left N 266 APPENDIX. behind, — as in the course of their march through Egypt he had witnessed the dreadful and atrocious cruelties on such of his troops as had unfortunately fallen into the hands of the Turks or Arabs ; many of his finest soldiers had been found by the rear-guard dead in the desert, nearly devoured by birds of prey and ravenous animals, not killed outright, but man- gled and left to die in the greatest possible torture ; some had been found with one knee hacked through, another with a leg chopped off, others hamstrung, their eyes dug out and filled with the hot sand of the desert, others with their fingers and other parts of their bodies cut off and crammed down their throats ; and all these and many other equally shocking bar- barities in the wild desert, without covering or water, and under a burning sun ; — therefore he gave out a public statement of these facts, call- ing upon the medical board of the army to give their opinion, whether it would not be more humane to remove those poor unfortu- nate fellows by a slow and quiet death, than to leave them to the horrible tortures so many of their brother soldiers had endured, with the certainty of dying by lingering torture. The affair was soon concluded. A medical board was immediately held, and all these statements J APPENDIX. 267 laid before them — which was hardly necessary, as all these facts were well known through- out the army. Their report was given in, and although agreeing in the humanity of the proposition, it was to a certain degree repugnant to their feel- ings ; but they stated, that if the general could leave a rear-guard in the hospital for twenty- four hours, or perhaps for a less period of time, the disease under which they laboured, which was the plague, would ere long remove them for ever from this world without his incurring the horror of having accelerated their death. The general accordingly gave orders that this should be done. In consequence, a strong guard was left with these poor unfortunate men for their protection ; and at the end of the twenty -four hours, this rear-guard rejoined the army with the report of their deaths— which was, as far as numbers went, fully corroborated by Captain Beattie, then serving on board the Northumberland in the Royal Marines; he having fought at Cairo and in other parts of Egypt. Moreover, Captain Beattie's state- ment cleared up one great point with reference to Buonaparte — as it had been reported, and was currently believed all over the world, that this monster, Buonaparte, had poisoned all his N 2 268 APPENDIX. sick, amounting to between three and four hundred men, — whereas it is clearly ascer- tained that not one of his men had ever been put to death by poison or in any other manner, nor were there actually more than ten or twelve dead bodies altogether in the whole hospital. t I i APPENDIX. 269 CHAPTER II. St Helena, 31st July, 1816. As we do not expect to sail till the evening, I will employ the interval in digesting the notes respecting Buonaparte, collected from Captain O'Brien and Lieutenant Scott, (my fellow pas- sengers,) immediately after they had dined with the admiral, Sir Pulteney Malcolm, who is much more intimate with him than any other person on the island. " He is busy writing his life, which, he says, will occupy him four years ; though, added he, in his laconic and forcible manner, it might be comprised in a few words : for, at twenty-four I commanded an army — at thirty I ruled over France — and at Moscow I ought to have died. But I do not think I can live above three years here. On which the admiral promptly re- marked — 'Remember, Sir, by your own ac- count it will require four to write your life.' 270 APPENDIX. "He says he surrendered to the English only, who had a right to dispose of him as they thought fit, but not to their allies, — ' a parcel of petty emperors/ as he styled them, whom he lately had under his thumb ! To mark his displeasure towards them, he has not yet ad- mitted any of their ambassadors into his pre- sence. " He constantly blames us for sending him to St. Helena, and says he would much rather have been confined in the Tower of London, with liberty to walk upon the house-top. But in so saying, he is very inconsistent ; for he has repeatedly declared to the admiral, that he never would give his parole to any one. Con- versing, as he frequently does, upon this subject, he once jocosely asked Sir Pulteney if he thought it possible for him to escape ? The reply was worthy of a British admiral — c I know not what you may be tempted to do on shore, Monsieur, but keep away from the sea, for that is my province.' " He has allowed Sir Pulteney to question him on very delicate subjects, and bears con- tradiction better than he expected. He de- fends his conduct in suggesting the adminis- tration of opium to his sick at Jaffa, from the utter impossibility of saving them from the ■ ■ "*»Mh.'.-»ri,.. -> f — Ai .._ *~^*--m ii"iai II ■ mf^i ~ ~ i^ * ^ " APPENDIX. 271 Turkish sabres. He acknowledges having or- dered the Due d'Enghien to . be shot, because he was at the head of a conspiracy against him. He disavows all recollection of Captain Wright's case, and does not believe it ever came before him in any shape. " He admits the Duke of Wellington to be a good general, but will not allow old Blucher to be more than a mere hussar. He says he lost the battle of Waterloo from two causes — the treachery of one of his generals, and from his cavalry charging too soon. " He blamed Lady Lowdon for her indeli- cacy in wishing him to descend into the valley merely to see her, when she knew he must in such case be attended by an officer and two troopers. He offered to meet her at his picket, but this she declined. " As to his way of life, he has a tolerable house and garden, which axe undergoing im- provements, and has a circle of three miles in which he can ride or walk about unattended. If he pass that circle, an officer and two sol- diers attend him. He reads or writes till four in the afternoon, seldom seeing any one before that hour. Of late he has disused horse exer- cise, and generally takes a short drive in the evening in a barouche, with some of his suite, 272 APPENDIX. and occasionally some English ladies have ac- companied him. His temper is capricious, and frequently sullen, and he is supposed to live on very indifferent terms with those about him. He makes them still call him Emperor, and remain uncovered in his presence. Our government orders are to call him general, to which he objects, and with reason, I think ; for in so doing, we degrade him below one of his own generals, whom we call ' marshal' (Ber- trand). The admiral calls him plain Monsieur, to which he has never objected. He is now very difficult of access to what he was, and seldom sees any one of inferior rank, observing that he has not come here to be made a show of; and that when he gives up his dignity he will be no more than a common man." September I, 1817. Returned from a visit of ten days to my cousin General Beatson; when Sir Pulteney Malcolm happening to dine with us, furnished me with the following additional anecdotes of Buonaparte. " He observed that one of the most extraor- dinary things about Buonaparte was the re- APPENDIX, 273 spect which is still paid him by his suite, he being as much feared and attended to as if on the throne of France. None of them offer to cover their heads, to sit down, or to speak in his presence till desired; and Madame Ber- trand having one day offended him, he caused her own husband to write her a letter, forbid- ding her to come into his presence till she had received his permission to that effect. " He remarked very justly, upon reading an account of the riots occasioned by Hunt, Wait- man, and others, that ' ces choses W were of much service to the ministers of our government by furnishing them with pretexts for strengthen- ing their power, and that in the formation of a new constitution, he should like nothing bet- ter than having such fellows to deal with. " Having praised the English income tax, and blamed our ministers for relinquishing it, Sir Pulteney asked him how he could judge of the goodness of such a tax ? To which Buo- naparte instantly replied, in the most charac- teristic manner, ' Because every one com- plained of it ; all must have paid it, and there- fore it must have been an excellent tax ! ' "He exculpated Marshal Soult from the suspicion of having, in the distribution of the troops, had an eye to his escape from Elba ; N 3 1 274 ' APPENDIX. not a soul being acquainted with the part of France he meant to land at. He justly dwells upon the success he met with upon that occa- sion as the most remarkable occurrence of his life." Sir Pulteney thought the saying, lately re- corded in the newspapers, of Buonaparte to Lord Amherst, on the failure of his lordship's mission to China, to be highly probable, for his language at times is very coarse, resembling that in vogue among soldiers in their barracks. I was much surprised to hear, after this, that he seldom traduced the character of any one* " He said, the man who commits suicide is a great fool, and that he had no intention of ever doing so. " He has some old prejudices, such as an aversion to physicians, but a liking for sur- geons — a dislike to the engineers, but a liking for the artillery — he hates the superior not the inferior orders of the clergy. " He continues to complain of our sending him to St. Helena, being willing to pass the rest of his life in a cottage in England. 'But,' said Sir Pulteney, c you would not be contented with the cottage long, you would be desirous of engaging in war again. 9 * Non, non, je suis bien tranquille je vous l'assure.' ' Oui, Monsieur, APPENDIX. 275 vous etes tranquille ici 9 mais par necessite.' He only smiled. He has now, I believe, given over all hopes of escape from St. Helena, but cherishes the idea of some change occurring in the government of Europe which may in- duce his recall. He admits, however, that un- less such an event take place soon, the ener- gies of his mind and body will be gone. "He took a very friendly leave of Sir Pulteney, who advised him, as the means of rendering his stay on the island more agreeable, to keep on better terms with Sir Hudson Lowe ; but Buonaparte replied it was impossi- ble, for that the governor was so disagreeable a man, that he should be sure to quarrel with him again in a week." 1822. Such are the anecdotes and observa- tions I have collected regarding this extraor- dinary man, who died on the 5th May, 1821, of a cancer in the stomach, by his own account an hereditary complaint. His actions, civil and military, already form a large portion of modern history, and must ever command the attention, if they do not elicit the admiration, of man- kind ! SUBSCRIBERS. Abergavenny, Earl of Adams, — , Esq. Amherst, Earl of Amiel, Captain Ashburnham, Hon. P. Ashburnham, Hon. Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. Allan, Grant, Esq. 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Usher, Sir Thomas, Bart Vallance, James, Esq. Vansittart, Rev. Charles Viret, J., Esq. Vivian, Mrs. Webb, Sir Henry, Bart. Walker, Ernest, Esq. Walker, — , Esq. Walker, Mrs. Walker, Miss Wallis, Captain Walsh, — , Esq. Warburton, Major Watts, Miss Wellesley, Mrs. West, Mrs. West, Mrs. Temple Wethered, Thomas, Esq. Wheeler, Miss Whinfield, — , Esq. Whitelocke, Miss Whitwick, G., Esq. Wilding, — , Esq. Wilks, Miss Williams, William, Esq. Williams, Mrs. Wilmot, — , M.D. Wilson, Mrs. Wimble, Captain Wingfield, H., Esq. Woldridge, — , Esq. Wood, D., Esq. Woods, — , Esq. Woods, Miss Wright, Alexander, Esq. Wyatt, — , Esq. Wynyard, General Wynyard, Mrs. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. " We recommend Mrs. Abell's ' Recollections of the Em- peror in Exile' to general favour, for they present to those who never saw Napoleon or his contemporaries vivid pictures of him — before whom the world grew pale — in his gentler moods ; at the same time that they re- vive in the memories of those who lived and moved in the stirring scenes of which he was a foremost actor, images of heroes, and exploits now fast fading into oblivion." — Times. " Although a quarter of a century has elapsed since the period adverted to in this volume, the interest naturally attaching to all that relates to Napoleon has in no de- gree diminished. The Authoress is peculiarly qualified to give to the world a picture of his private life, as it was exhibited, at least during the early period of his residence in St. Helena, being the daughter of Mr. Bal- combe, the proprietor of the ' Briars,' where the fallen emperor was located previously to taking up his abode at Longwood. Accustomed as we are to regard that ex- traordinary man in the light only of a mighty warrior, or of a consummate politician whose capacity for civil affairs was scarcely inferior to his genius in the field, we now find him delineated in his domestic character, divested of all imperial attributes, and peep upon him, as Tullyupon Henri IV., romping with children." — Mornr ing Post. " We have found in these Recollections a most lively, curious, and pleasing picture of Napoleon ; there is in f f OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. them a most charming verisimilitude and warmth of feeling ; they are written with the grace, cordiality, and unaffectedness of a sensible, earnest, and accomplished woman." — Examiner. " This book could be moralized into a thousand needful similes were we so disposed. It is in every point of yiew curious, valuable, and touching. — Athenceum" C. V\ oodfall and Son, Printers, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London. DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES. Portrait of the Author . Frontispiece. View of St. Helena . to face page 4> The Briars . . 16 Longwood . . 92 "Fairy Land" . 108 Friar s Valley . 172 St. James Town . . 230