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 LIBRARY OF 
 
 LEWIS BINGLEY WYNNE 
 
 A. 8. A.M.. COLUMBIAN COLLEGE.-71.73 
 WASHINGTON. D. C. 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 MRS. MARY A. WYNNE 
 
 AND 
 
 JOHN H. WYNNE 
 
 CORNELL *9B 
 1922 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
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HISTORY 
 
 or 
 
 THE CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON 
 
 AT ST. HELENA; 
 FROM THE LETTERS AND JOURNALS 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 LIEUT.-GEN. SIR HUDSON LOWE, 
 
 AND 
 OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS NOT BEFORE MADE PUBLIC. 
 
 BY WILLIAM FORSYTH, M.A., 
 
 AUTHOR Or ' HORTENSIUS' AND ' HISTORY OF TRIAL DY JURY.' LATE FELLOW 
 OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HARPER <fc BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 329 & 331 PEARL STREET, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 1853. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When Mr. Murray first proposed to place in my 
 hands the papers of the late Sir Hudson Lowe in order 
 that I might undertake the present work, after some 
 consideration I declined the task, chiefly on grounds 
 of a professional nature. For the Law is a jealous 
 mistress, and recognizes no half-hearted or divided al- 
 legiance. But the proposal was again pressed upon 
 me in so flattering a manner, that I was induced to 
 reconsider my decision. I reflected that the subject 
 was one for the due treatment of which my profession 
 in some degree qualified me, as the value of the work 
 must mainly depend upon the mode in which evidence 
 is handled, and conflicting statements are discussed. 
 The habit which a Lawyer acquires of sifting evidence, 
 is one which he may usefully apply in the solution of 
 historical questions, as well as in forensic disputes. 
 But he must be on his guard, and remember that he 
 betrays the office of an Historian if he assumes the 
 tone of an Advocate. When I commenced the present 
 volumes, I made as it were a covenant with myself, 
 that I would, in the language of our courts, " well 
 and truly try the question at issue between the par- 
 ties, and a true verdict give according to the evidence." 
 I was not asked to make out a case for Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, nor, had I been asked to do so, would I have 
 consented. I regarded the duty of examining the 
 papers left by him as a solemn trust for the due and 
 truthful discharge of which I was responsible to the 
 public, and a still more searching tribunal, my own 
 conscience. Amicus Socrates, amicus Plato, sed 
 magis arnica Veritas. 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 The present narrative has been written amidst the 
 claims of a laborious profession, during the periods 
 which otherwise would have been given to relaxation. 
 I do not say this to deprecate criticism, for it is un- 
 doubtedly true that no author ought voluntarily to 
 undertake what he does not think he can fairly exe- 
 cute. I merely state the facts. 
 
 As to the style and manner in which I have per- 
 formed the task it is not for me to judge. That ques- 
 tion will be decided by the public for themselves, and 
 every writer must submit himself to their impartial 
 opinion, from which there is no appeal. But I do 
 claim for myself the right to be believed when I assert 
 that the present volumes have been written with the 
 most minute and scrupulous regard to truth. I had 
 to deal with an enormous mass of papers, and selec- 
 tion and curtailment were inevitable ; but I have not 
 kept back one single fact or expression which, whether 
 it told for the one side or the other, could by possibility 
 throw light upon the great question at issue. And 
 for this reason I have sometimes introduced matter 
 which might well have been omitted, if my sole ob- 
 ject had been to interest or amuse the reader, and 
 not to state the ivhole case. The reader will not fail 
 to observe inaccuracies of expression and mistakes of 
 grammar in the letters and documents quoted, but I 
 did not think myself at liberty to make any alteration 
 for the purpose of correction, except now and then 
 with respect to some mere clerical error. I have used 
 the orthography " Bonaparte," although there is no 
 doubt that the name was originally and properly writ- 
 ten " Buonaparte ;" but Napoleon dropped the u, and 
 modern usage has sanctioned the change. 1 Lord 
 Bathurst, in his correspondence with Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, usually wrote " Buonaparte," but sometimes 
 " Bonaparte" or " Bonaparte." 
 
 If the language in which I have f requently spoken 
 
 1 See on this subject O'Meara's " Voice from St. Helena " vol. ii. 
 p. 93, and "Quarterly fteview," vol. xxviii. p. 254. 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 of O'Meara seems severe, let the reader, before it is 
 condemned, consider whether it has not been deserved. 
 I am not one of those who think that such conduct 
 as he has been guilty of in slandering others may 
 be sufficiently censured in the dulcet tones of gentle 
 animadversion. He merits a sterner and more fearless 
 judgment. Such writers are the pests of literature. 
 They corrupt the stream of history by poisoning its 
 fountains, and the effect of his work has been to mis- 
 lead all succeeding authors, and perpetuate a tale of 
 falsehood. 
 
 As regards Napoleon, if I know any thing of myself, 
 my sympathies were in his favor. I can not now 
 sufficiently express rny admiration of his genius ; but 
 neither can I blind myself to the fact that he did 
 not exhibit in misfortune that magnanimity without 
 which there is no real greatness, and that he concen- 
 trated the energies of his mighty intellect on the ig- 
 noble task of insulting the Governor of St. Helena, 
 and manufacturing a case of hardship and oppression 
 for himself. I have endeavored to hold the balance 
 even, and it is not the weight of prejudice, but of facts, 
 which has made one of the scales preponderate. 
 
 Let me now say a few words respecting the materi- 
 als I have used. And here I can not do better than 
 quote the late Sir Hudson Lowe's own account of the 
 papers in his possession, which he drew up when he 
 contemplated a publication of them in his lifetime ; a 
 design, however, which unfortunately for his reputa- 
 tion, he failed to execute. He says — "There are 
 perhaps few, if any, public administrations of any 
 kind, of which the records are so full and complete as 
 those of my Government at St. Helena. There is not 
 only a detailed correspondence addressed to the proper 
 department of His Majesty's Government, reporting 
 the occurrences of almost every day during the five 
 years that Napoleon Bonaparte remained under my 
 custody, but the greater part of the conversations held 
 with Bonaparte himself, or with his followers, was 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 immediately noted down with an ability and exactness 
 which reflect the highest credit on my Military Secre- 
 tary [Major G-orrequer]. This gentleman was not only 
 a perfect master of the French language, hut possess- 
 ed a memory equally remarkable for its accuracy and 
 tenacity, and was therefore eminently qualified to 
 report the conversations at which he was himself 
 present, and to detect any error to which a misappre- 
 hension of the meaning of foreigners might lead other 
 persons who repeated what passed at interviews with 
 Bonaparte and his followers." 
 
 I have had access to a vast number of original dis- 
 patches of Earl Bathurst, who was Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies while Napoleon was at St. Helena, 
 and to the originals or copies of every important docu- 
 ment connected with the subject. Thirty folio vol- 
 umes are filled with copies of correspondence and 
 other writings, carefully made under the direction of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, who seems to have treasured a 
 memorial of almost every incident, however trivial, 
 connected with that important period of his life. In 
 addition to these, there are several large boxes which 
 contain manuscripts, chiefly copies, relating to the 
 same events, all of which have been diligently examin- 
 ed for the purpose of the present work. Two sets of 
 copies of O'Meara's letters to Mr. Finlaison, so fre- 
 quently quoted in the narrative, were placed in my 
 hands ; but I wish distinctly to state that I have not 
 seen the originals. One of these sets was made offici- 
 ally at the time when the letters were communicated 
 through the Admirality to the Cabinet, as will be ex- 
 plained in the course of the narrative, and their cor- 
 rectness can not for a moment be doubted. 
 
 It only remains that I should make an acknowledg- 
 ment for the assistance I have received. The Lowe 
 papers were originally placed, some years ago, in the 
 hands of the late Sir Harris Nicolas, with a view to 
 publication under his auspices as editor. He under- 
 went the heavy labor of arranging them, and before 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 his death had proceeded so far as to have a voluminous 
 mass of documents set up in type, down to the date 
 of September, 1817. His plan, however, was to print 
 almost every letter and other manuscript at full length 
 in chronological order, connecting them with a slender 
 thread of explanatory remark. The consequence would 
 have been that if his plan had been carried out the 
 work must have consisted of eight or nine closely 
 printed octavo volumes, the price of which would have 
 rendered them inaccessible to the public generally. 
 Moreover, the interest of the subject was suffocated 
 under a mass of minute detail, which would have be- 
 wildered the attention and exhausted the patience of 
 the reader. I, therefore, after full consideration, re- 
 solved to re- write the work, and adopt a wholly differ- 
 ent plan. I thought that the only mode of doing jus- 
 tice to the importance of the subject was to make use 
 of the letters and documents as materials for the nar- 
 rative, and treat them as the hewn stones out of which 
 the fabric of a history was to be constructed, instead 
 of piling them in a heap with little regard to architec- 
 tural symmetry and effect. But I most willingly and 
 gladly admit my obligations to Sir Harris Nicolas in 
 having gone through the drudgery of a thorough ex- 
 amination of the papers, the mere sight of which was 
 enough to appall a writer and deter him from under- 
 taking the task of editing them. His labors have 
 greatly assisted and lightened mine, nor do I know that 
 I should have had the courage to commence the work 
 if he had not paved the way by rendering the materi- 
 als more manageable under my hands. Moreover, I 
 am much indebted to him for the careful collation he 
 had made of references and authorities, in which I 
 have generally found him scrupulously correct. I 
 thought that the public would rather have a history 
 than a mere collection of documents, but that in a 
 work like this, which must challenge hostile criticism 
 on the part of those who are determined to believe the 
 calumnies which have so long had currency respecting 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 the captivity of Napoleon, they would require to see 
 in exlenso all the documents of importance which sup- 
 port the views put forward in the narrative. These, 
 therefore, are published at the end of the present 
 work, and may be considered as the Pieces Justifica- 
 tives of the history. 
 
 I must also thank Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, 
 Professor of Military Surveying at the East India 
 College at Addiscombe, for his ready and obliging 
 willingness to give me every information in his power 
 respecting events in which he was an actor, and re- 
 specting persons of whom he is now one of the very 
 few survivors. In conclusion I can only express my 
 earnest hope that this work may be the means of rec- 
 tifying some erroneous views, and enabling the public 
 to form a just opinion respecting one of the most in- 
 teresting episodes of history. It will be to me a source 
 of sincere and lasting satisfaction if I have, with the 
 most rigid adherence to truth, and by the mere force 
 of facts, succeeded in vindicating the memory of those 
 who have been long calumniated, and proving that 
 neither the British Government nor Sir Hudson Lowe 
 was in fault as regards the treatment of Napoleon at 
 St. Helena. 
 
 Temple, May, 1853. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Surrender of Napoleon Bonaparte to the British Government, and 
 his arrival at St. Helena 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 St. Helena — The Briars — Longwood — Correspondence of Sir 
 George Cockbum with Counts Montholon and Bertrand — 
 O'Meara 34 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Memoir of Sir Hudson Lowe up to the period of his becoming 
 Governor of St. Helena 82 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 First interview of Sir Hudson Lowe with Bonaparte — Difficulty in 
 getting the French officers to sign the declaration — Other inter- 
 views with Bonaparte — Letters of O'Meara to Sir Thomas Reade 
 and others 125 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Arrival of Rear-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm and the foreign 
 Commissioners — Proclamation by the Governor — Madame Ber- 
 trand's note to the Marquis de Montchenu — Question of Napo- 
 leon's residence and expenses of his establishment — Interview 
 between him and the Governor — Sir Hudson Lowe's Dispatches 
 to England 167 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 O'Meara's letters to Sir Thomas Reade — Complaints respecting 
 provisions — Question of reduction of expenses at Longwood — 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's last interview with Napoleon — Letter of 
 remonstrance from Count Montholon, and comments by the 
 Governor — Correspondence on the subject of passes to Long- 
 wood signed by Count Bertrand 204 
 
CONTENTS Of VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Reduction of expenses at Longwood — Plate broken up for sale — 
 Real object of this — Letters of O'Meara— Dispatches from Lord 
 Bathurst — O'Meara's correspondence with Mr. Finlaison at the 
 Admiralty — Information given of projects for Napoleon's escape 
 — Refusal of Napoleon to see Sir Hudson Lowe — Interviews of 
 Sir Thomas Reade with Bonaparte and Count Bertrand 241 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Objections of the French to signing the declaration — Alterations 
 made by Sir Hudson Lowe in the regulations — Proposal of 
 ^Bonaparte to assume another name — Interview between the 
 "" Governor and Count Bertrand on the subject — Napoleon on the 
 New Testament — His criticism on the battle of Waterloo — 
 Letter from O'Meara to Mr. Finlaison, and his description of the 
 style of living at Longwood — More plate broken up, and Mon- 
 tholon's account of the stratagem — Calumny of O'Meara 277 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Discovery of clandestine correspondence, and arrest of Las Cases. 314 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Correspondence and interviews between Las Cases and the Gov- 
 ernor — -Removal of Las Cases from St. Helena 337 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Napoleon receives a lock of his son's hair — Frustration of attempt 
 
 \sl effect an accommodation between him and the Governor — 
 
 y Observations by Bonaparte on the Regulations, and Sir Hudson 
 
 Lowe's remarks — Refusal to take exercise — Letter from O'Meara 
 
 to Mr. Finlaison 374 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Conversation between Sir Pulteney Malcolm and Napoleon — Com- 
 plaints of the quality of the provisions at Longwood — Napoleon's 
 plan for a French invasion of England — Letters of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe to Earl Bathurst — His comments on Las Cases' protest — 
 Conversations between Napoleon and O'Meara 401 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Quality of provisions supplied at Longwood — Letter from O'Meara 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe — Napoleon's health — Dispatches from 
 Earl Bathurst — Sir Pulteney Malcolm's interview and conversa- 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 tion with Napoleon — Correspondence between Sir Pultency 
 Malcolm and Sir Hudson Lowe — Mr. Warden's book, " Letters 
 from St. Helena" — Napoleon's remarks on Lord Amherst's 
 embassy to China— Lbrd Bathurst's speech in the House of 
 Lords 427 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Story of the bust of Napoleon's son — Mr. Elphinstone's present, 
 and correspondence respecting it — Santini's pamphlet, " Appeal 
 to the British Nation" — Newspapers at Longwood — Proposal 
 that Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm should mediate differences 
 between Napoleon and the Governor — Arrival of Admiral Plam- 
 pin — Lord Amherst's interview with Bonaparte — Interrogatory 
 of Captain Popplcton, the Orderly Officer 452 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Lord Bathurst's dispatches — Discussion between the Governor 
 and O'Meara — Dissensions among the French at Longwood — 
 The style and expense of living there — Grounds of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's dissatisfaction with O'Meara — Reception of the Gov- 
 ernor's attempts to promote the convenience of Bonaparte — 
 Difficulty of the Governor's position- — Complaints of a deficiency 
 of fuel examined 482 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Proposal for the extension of Napoleon's limits — Correspondence 
 between Sir Hudson Lowe and Count Bertrand — Observations 
 by Napoleon on Lord Bathurst's speech, addressed to Lord 
 Liverpool — Napoleon and the officers of the 53d regiment — 
 Regulations at this time in force — Letters on the subject be- 
 tween Count Bertrand and the Governor— " Apostille" written 
 by Bonaparte, and Sir Hudson Lowe's remarks 505 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's dissatisfaction with O'Meara — Reports of 
 Bonaparte's health — O'Meara's pledge to Napoleon not to reveal 
 conversations — His letter to the Governor on the subject 527 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Question of the title of Emperor — The Foreign Commissioners — 
 Conversation with O'Meara respecting the Regulations — Cir- 
 cumstances connected with the departure of General Gourgaud 
 — O'Meara's charge as to fictitious bulletins respecting Napol- 
 eon's health considered — Death of Cipriani 534 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Complaint at Longwood against the Purveyor — Command of funds 
 .by Napoleon — Considerate conduct of Lord Bathurst — Change 
 in the purveyorship — O'Meara and the affair of the snuff-box — 
 He is subjected to the same restrictions as the French at Long- 
 wood — Second " Apostille" written by Bonaparte — O'Meara's 
 misstatements 552 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 O'Meara interrogated by the Governor — Alleged dampness of Na- 
 poleon's apartments — Expulsion of O'Meara from the mess of 
 the 66th regiment — Departure of the Austrian Commissioner — 
 Count Bertrand challenged by Colonel Lystcr — Dispatches from 
 the Colonial Office relative to information given by General 
 Gourgaud — Clandestine correspondence carried on at Long- 
 wood 568 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Removal of O'Meara from St. Helena — Plans for the construction 
 of a new residence for Bonaparte — Unfavorable influence exer- 
 cised by Count Bertrand — Sir Hudson Lowe's measures for the 
 extinction of slavery in the island — Good effects of O'Meara's 
 departure — Discovery of clandestine correspondence implicating 
 O'Meara, Mr. Balcombe, and others 589 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Difficulties caused by Bonaparte's refusal to show himself to the 
 Orderly Officer — Interviews and conversations between the 
 Governor and Count Montholon — Alleged grievances — Orderly 
 Officer's reports — Cardinal Fesch's application — Calumnious 
 remarks of O'Meara at Ascension Island — Suspicious letter from 
 the Cape 604 
 
HISTOKY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE TO THE BRITISH GOV- 
 ERNMENT, AND HIS ARRIVAL AT ST. HELENA. 
 
 At a time when one of the family of Bonaparte is again 
 seated on the throne of France, and the Empire has been 
 once more proclaimed in that country of political revolutions, 
 fresh interest- is awakened in the history of him who was the 
 founder of the dynasty, and to the magic of whose name the 
 present ruler of the French owes his elevation to the Imperial 
 dignity. The period therefore is not inopportune for giving to 
 the world a true narrative of the last six years of the life of 
 Napoleon, which he spent, as the prisoner of England and 
 the Allied Powers, on an island rock in the midst of the At- 
 lantic, when the fabric of his power had been shattered at 
 Waterloo, and he was compelled to seek refuge on board a 
 British man of war, and throw himself into the hands of those 
 whom he described as " the most powerful, the most constant, 
 and the most generous of his enemies." 
 
 I say emphatically a true narrative ; for hitherto the 
 story of Napoleon's captivity has been told by writers whose 
 object was not to make known the truth, but to exalt the 
 
14 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 character of their hero and depreciate that of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. O'Meara, Las Cases, Montholon, and Antommarchi, 
 who were the immediate attendants of the exile at Long- 
 wood, who were eye-witnesses of the treatment he received, 
 and on whose statements, therefore, the opinion of the puhlic 
 mainly rests, had each a separate cause of quarrel with the 
 late Governor of St. Helena. O'Meara attributed to him his 
 removal from the post of physician to Napoleon, and dismissal 
 from the navy by the English Government for conduct at ut- 
 ter variance with his duty. This rankled in his heart, and his 
 book bears in every page the mark of implacable hatred against 
 those who were the authors of his disgrace. But of him we 
 shall speak more at length hereafter, and show, by evidence 
 that can not be disputed, that his " Voice from St. Helena" 
 is a voice wholly unworthy of belief. Las Cases also was 
 sent away from the island by the Governor for infringing the 
 rules laid down to insure the safe custody of Napoleon ; and 
 in his " Journal" he has perverted almost every fact which 
 he records, for the purpose of vilifying the one, and exalting 
 by contrast the character of the other. He did not hesitate 
 to avow that the Emperor was the god of his idolatry, and at 
 that shrine he thought it little to sacrifice the reputation of 
 the officer to whose keeping his master was committed, with 
 whom he himself came in collision, and who, in the execution 
 of his duty, could not but give offense to minds so irritated 
 and susceptible as those of the inmates of Longwood. We 
 shall see the estimate which Napoleon and O'Meara them- 
 selves formed of the veracity of Montholon ; and it is too 
 much to assume that when the supposed interests of the fallen 
 Emperor were at stake he would be more scrupulous in his 
 subsequent writings than in his language at the time when 
 the events which he professes to record occurred. As to An- 
 tommarchi, his amour-propre had been offended by his being 
 subjected to the same regulations as the French residents at 
 Longwood, and also by the earnestness with which Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe pressed upon the attendants of Napoleon the neces- 
 sity of having recourse to additional medical advice when his 
 illness became serious. 
 
Chap. I. HISTORIANS OF THE CAPTIVITY. 15 
 
 The period, however, has arrived when a just and impartial 
 verdict may be given. We have now the means of knowing 
 the facts as they really happened, and we are too far removed 
 from the era to which they relate to be influenced by the 
 feelings which agitated the minds of the men of that genera- 
 tion. The tomb has closed over almost all the great actors 
 in the struggle. The passions arising from the long conflict 
 in which England was engaged have died away. Party has 
 no longer any object to serve in making the treatment of Na- 
 poleon an engine of political attack, and we may hope that 
 in this country, at all events, the public will be disposed to 
 take a calm and unprejudiced view of events, the account of 
 which has been hitherto given with little regard to the stern 
 fidelity which is the first duty of the historian. 
 
 There are indeed some persons to whom a refutation of 
 charges once believed is addressed in vain. Having taken 
 the pains to form an opinion, they cling to it as a first prin- 
 ciple, which admits* of neither question nor dispute. Their 
 minds are no longer open to conviction, for prejudice has 
 closed every avenue through which truth can enter. "With 
 such it is in vain to argue. No amount of evidence is suffi- 
 cient to alter the foregone conclusion at which they have per- 
 haps not unwillingly arrived. 1 They have made up their 
 minds that Sir Hudson Lowe was a tyrant and Napoleon his 
 victim, and they refuse to listen when they are told that it 
 can be proved to demonstration that the assertion is untrue. 
 These are the reasoners to whom the great satirist of antiquity 
 alludes when he makes one of his characters exclaim, " Al- 
 though you persuade me, I will not be persuaded." In daily 
 life we all know how difficult it is to free ourselves from sus- 
 picion of a man who has once been assailed by calumny, how- 
 ever groundless the calumny may be. The correction of error 
 requires a degree of labor which few persons care to take. It 
 is as true now as it was when the Greek historian wrote, that 
 the generality of men will not give themselves trouble in 
 
 1 " Ambitionem ecriptoris facile adverseris ; obtrectatio et livor pronis 
 auribas accipiuntur." — Tacitus. 
 
PRE FACE. 
 
 "When Mr. Murray first proposed to place in my 
 hands the papers of the late Sir Hudson Lowe in order 
 that I might undertake the present work, after some 
 consideration I declined the task, chiefly on grounds 
 of a professional nature. For the Law is a jealous 
 mistress, and recognizes no half-hearted or divided al- 
 legiance. But the proposal was again pressed upon 
 me in so flattering a manner, that I was induced to 
 reconsider my decision. I reflected that the subject 
 was one for the due treatment of which my profession 
 in some degree qualified me, as the value of the work 
 must mainly depend upon the mode in which evidence 
 is handled, and conflicting statements are discussed. 
 The habit which a Lawyer acquires of sifting evidence, 
 is one which he may usefully apply in the solution of 
 historical questions, as well as in forensic disputes. 
 But he must be on his guard, and remember that he 
 betrays the office of an Historian if he assumes the 
 tone of an Advocate. When I commenced the present 
 volumes, I made as it were a covenant with myself, 
 that I would, in the language of our courts, " well 
 and truly try the question at issue between the par- 
 ties, and a true verdict give according to the evidence." 
 I was not asked to make out a case for Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, nor, had I been asked to do so, would I have 
 consented. I regarded the duty of examining the 
 papers left by him as a solemn trust for the due and 
 truthful discharge of which I was responsible to the 
 public, and a still more searching tribunal, my own 
 conscience. Amicus Socrates, amicus Plato, sed 
 magis arnica Veritas. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The present narrative has been written amidst the 
 claims of a laborious profession, during the periods 
 which otherwise would have been given to relaxation. 
 I do not say this to deprecate criticism, for it is un- 
 doubtedly true that no author ought voluntarily to 
 undertake what he does not think he can fairly exe- 
 cute. I merely state the facts. 
 
 As to the style and manner in which I have per- 
 formed the task it is not for me to judge. That ques- 
 tion will be decided by the public for themselves, and 
 every writer must submit himself to their impartial 
 opinion, from which there is no appeal. But I do 
 claim for myself the right to be believed when I assert 
 that the present volumes have been written with the 
 most minute and scrupulous regard to truth. I had 
 to deal with an enormous mass of papers, and selec- 
 tion and curtailment were inevitable ; but I have not 
 kept back one single fact or expression which, whether 
 it told for the one side or the other, could by possibility 
 throw light upon the great question at issue. And 
 for this reason I have sometimes introduced matter 
 which might well have been omitted, if my sole ob- 
 ject had been to interest or amuse the reader, and 
 not to state the whole case. The reader will not fail 
 to observe inaccuracies of expression and mistakes of 
 grammar in the letters and documents quoted, but I 
 did not think myself at liberty to make any alteration 
 for the purpose of correction, except now and then 
 with respect to some mere clerical error. I have used 
 the orthography " Bonaparte," although there is no 
 doubt that the name was originally and properly writ- 
 ten " Buonaparte ;" but Napoleon dropped the u, and 
 modern usage has sanctioned the change. 1 Lord 
 Bathurst, in his correspondence with Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, usually wrote "Buonaparte," but sometimes 
 " Bonaparte" or " Bonaparte." 
 
 If the language in which I have frequently spoken 
 
 1 See on this subject O'Meara's "Voice from St. Helena," vol. ii. 
 p. 93, and "Quarterly Review," vol. xxviii. p. 254. 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 of O'Meara seems severe, let the reader, before it is 
 condemned, consider whether it has not been deserved. 
 I am not one of those who think that such conduct 
 as he has been guilty of in slandering others may 
 be sufficiently censured in the dulcet tones of gentle 
 animadversion. He merits a sterner and more fearless 
 judgment. Such writers are the pests of literature. 
 They corrupt the stream of history by poisoning its 
 fountains, and the effect of his work has been to mis- 
 lead all succeeding authors, and perpetuate a tale of 
 falsehood. 
 
 As regards Napoleon, if I know any thing of myself, 
 my sympathies were in his favor. I can not now 
 sufficiently express my admiration of his genius ; but 
 neither can I blind myself to the fact that he did 
 not exhibit in misfortune that magnanimity without 
 which there is no real greatness, and that he concen- 
 trated the energies of his mighty intellect on the ig- 
 noble task of insulting the Governor of St. Helena, 
 and manufacturing a case of hardship and oppression 
 for himself. I have endeavored to hold the balance 
 even, and it is not the weight of prejudice, but of facts, 
 which has made one of the scales preponderate. 
 
 Let me now say a few words respecting the materi- 
 als I have used. And here I can not do better than 
 quote the late Sir Hudson Lowe's own account of the 
 papers in his possession, which he drew up when he 
 contemplated a publication of them in his lifetime ; a 
 design, however, which unfortunately for his reputa- 
 tion, he failed to execute. He says — "There are 
 perhaps few, if any, public administrations of any 
 kind, of which the records are so full and complete as 
 those of my Government at St. Helena. There is not 
 only a detailed correspondence addressed to the proper 
 department of His Majesty's Government, reporting 
 the occurrences of almost every day during the five 
 years that Napoleon Bonaparte remained under my 
 custody, but the greater part of the conversations held 
 with Bonaparte himself, or with his followers, was 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 immediately noted down with an ability and exactness 
 which reflect the highest credit on my Military Secre- 
 tary [Major Gorrequer]. This gentleman was not only 
 a perfect master of the French language, but possess- 
 ed a memory equally remarkable for its accuracy and 
 tenacity, and was therefore eminently qualified to 
 report the conversations at which he was himself 
 present, and to detect any error to which a misappre- 
 hension of the meaning of foreigners might lead other 
 persons who repeated what passed at interviews with 
 Bonaparte and his followers." 
 
 I have had access to a vast number of original dis- 
 patches of Earl Bathurst, who was Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies while Napoleon was at St. Helena, 
 and to the originals or copies of every important docu- 
 ment connected with the subject. Thirty folio vol- 
 umes are filled with copies of correspondence and 
 other writings, carefully made under the direction of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, who seems to have treasured a 
 memorial of almost every incident, however trivial, 
 connected with that important period of his life. In 
 addition to these, there are several large boxes which 
 contain manuscripts, chiefly copies, relating to the 
 same events, all of which have been diligently examin- 
 ed for the purpose of the present work. Two sets of 
 copies of O'Meara's letters to Mr. Finlaison, so fre- 
 quently quoted in the narrative, were placed in my 
 hands ; but I wish distinctly to state that I have not 
 seen the originals. One of these sets was made offici- 
 ally at the time when the letters were communicated 
 through the Admirality to the Cabinet, as will be ex- 
 plained in the course of the narrative, and their cor- 
 rectness can not for a moment be doubted. 
 
 It only remains that I should make an acknowledg- 
 ment for the assistance I have received. The Lowe 
 papers were originally placed, some years ago, in the 
 hands of the late Sir Harris Nicolas, with a view to 
 publication under his auspices as editor. He under- 
 went the heavy labor of arranging them, and before 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 his death had proceeded so far as to have a voluminous 
 mass of documents set up in type, down to the date 
 of September, 1817. His plan, however, was to print 
 almost every letter and other manuscript at full length 
 in chronological order, connecting them with a slender 
 thread of explanatory remark. The consequence would 
 have been that if his plan had been carried out the 
 work must have consisted of eight or nine closely 
 printed octavo volumes, the price of which would have 
 rendered them inaccessible to the public generally. 
 Moreover, the interest of the subject was suffocated 
 under a mass of minute detail, which would have be- 
 wildered the attention and exhausted the patience of 
 the reader. I, therefore, after full consideration, re- 
 solved to re-write -the work, and adopt a wholly differ- 
 ent plan. I thought that the only mode of doing jus- 
 tice to the importance of the subject was to make use 
 of the letters and documents as materials for the nar- 
 rative, and treat them as the hewn stones out of which 
 the fabric of a history was to be constructed, instead 
 of piling them in a heap with little regard to architec- 
 tural symmetry and effect. But I most willingly and 
 gladly admit my obligations to Sir Harris Nicolas in 
 having gone through the drudgery of a thorough ex- 
 amination of the papers, the mere sight of which was 
 enough to appall a writer and deter him from under- 
 taking the task of editing them. His labors have 
 greatly assisted and lightened mine, nor do I know that 
 I should have had the courage to commence the work 
 if he had not paved the way by rendering the materi- 
 als more manageable under my hands. Moreover, I 
 am much indebted to him for the careful collation he 
 had made of references and authorities, in which I 
 have generally found him scrupulously correct. I 
 thought that the public would rather have a history 
 than a mere collection of documents, but that in a 
 work like this, which must challenge hostile criticism 
 on the part of those who are determined to believe the 
 calumnies which have so long had currency respecting 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 the captivity of Napoleon, they would require to see 
 in extenso all the documents of importance which sup- 
 port the views put forward in the narrative. These, 
 therefore, are published at the end of the present 
 work, and may be considered as the Pieces Justifica- 
 tives of the history. 
 
 I must also thank Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, 
 Professor of Military Surveying at the East India 
 College at Addiscombe, for his ready and obliging 
 willingness to give me every information in his power 
 respecting events in which he was an actor, and re- 
 specting persons of whom he is now one of the very 
 few survivors. In conclusion I can only express my 
 earnest hope that this work may be the means of rec- 
 tifying some erroneous views, and enabling the public 
 to form a just opinion respecting one of the most in- 
 teresting episodes of history. It will be to me a source 
 of sincere and lasting satisfaction if I have, with the 
 most rigid adherence to truth, and by the mere force 
 of facts, succeeded in vindicating the memory of those 
 who have been long calumniated, and proving that 
 neither the British Government nor Sir Hudson Lowe 
 was in fault as regards the treatment of Napoleon at 
 St. Helena. 
 
 Temple, May, 1853. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Surrender of Napoleon Bonaparte to the British Government, and 
 '' his arrival at St. Helena 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 St. Helena — The Briars— Longwood — Correspondence of Sir 
 George Cockburn with Counts Montholon and Bertrand — 
 O'Meara 34 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Memoir of Sir Hudson Lowe up to the period of his becoming 
 Governor of St. Helena 82 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 First interview of Sir Hudson Lowe with Bonaparte — Difficulty in 
 getting the French officers to sign the declaration — Other inter- 
 views with Bonaparte — Letters of O'Meara to Sir Thomas Reade 
 and others 125 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Arrival of Rear-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm and the foreign 
 Commissioners — Proclamation by the Governor — Madame Ber- 
 trand's note to the Marquis de Montchenu — Question of Napo- 
 leon's residence and expenses of his establishment — Interview 
 between him and the Governor — Sir Hudson Lowe's Dispatches 
 to England 167 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 O'Meara's letters to Sir Thomas Reade — Complaints respecting 
 provisions — Question of reduction of expenses at Longwood — 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's last interview with Napoleon — Letter of 
 remonstrance from Count Montholon, and comments by the 
 Governor — Correspondence on the subject of passes to Long- 
 wood signed by Count Bertrand 204 
 
x CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Reduction of expenses at Longwood — Plate broken up for sale. — 
 Real object of this — Letters of O'Meara — Dispatches from Lord 
 Bathurst — O'Meara's correspondence with Mr. Finlaison at the 
 Admiralty — Information given of projects for Napoleon's escape 
 — Refusal of Napoleon to see Sir Hudson Lowe— Interviews of 
 Sir Thomas Reade with Bonaparte and Count Bertrand 241 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Objections of the French to signing the declaration — Alterations 
 made by Sir Hudson Lowe in the regulations — Proposal of 
 f JBnnaparte to assume another name — Interview between the 
 ^ Governor and Count Bertrand on the subject — Napoleon on the 
 New Testament — His criticism on the battle of Waterloo — 
 Letter from O'Meara to Mr. Finlaison, and his description of the 
 style of living at Longwood — More plate broken up, and Mon- 
 tholon's account of the stratagem — Calumny of O'Meara 277 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Discovery of clandestine correspondence, and arrest of Las Cases. 314 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Correspondence and interviews between Las Cases and the Gov- 
 ernor — Removal of Las Cases from St. Helena 337 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Napoleon receives a lock of his son's hair — Frustration of attempt 
 
 Je/ effect an accommodation between him and the Governor — 
 
 / Observations by Bonaparte on the Regulations, and Sir Hudson 
 
 Lowe's remarks — Refusal to take exercise — Letter from O'Meara 
 
 to Mr. Finlaison 374 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Conversation between Sir Pulteney Malcolm and Napoleon — Com- 
 plaints of the quality of the provisions at Longwood — Napoleon's 
 plan for a French invasion of England — Letters of Sir Hudson 
 .--' Lowe to Earl Bathurst— His comments on Las Cases' protest — 
 Conversations between Napoleon and O'Meara 401 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Quality of provisions supplied at Longwood — Letter from O'Meara 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe — Napoleon's health — Dispatches from 
 Earl Bathurst — Sir Pulteney Malcolm's interview and convcrsa- 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. xi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 tion with Napoleon — Correspondence between Sir Pultency 
 Malcolm and Sir Hudson Lowe — Mr. Warden's book, " Letters 
 from St. Helena" — Napoleon's remarks on Lord Amherst's 
 embassy to China — Lc-rd Bathurst's speech in the House of 
 Lords 427 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Story of the bust of Napoleon's son — Mr. Elphinstone's present, 
 and correspondence respecting it — Santini's pamphlet, "Appeal 
 to the British Nation" — Newspapers at Longwood — Proposal 
 that Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm should mediate differences 
 between Napoleon and the Governor — Arrival of Admiral Plam- 
 pin — Lord Amherst's interview with Bonaparte — Interrogatory 
 of Captain Poppleton, the Orderly Officer 452 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Lord Bathurst's dispatches — Discussion between the Governor 
 and O'Meara — Dissensions among the French at Longwood — 
 The style and expense of living there — Grounds of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's dissatisfaction with O'Meara — Reception of the Gov- 
 ernor's attempts to promote the convenience of Bonaparte. — 
 Difficulty of the Governor's position — Complaints of a deficiency 
 of fuel examined 482 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 Proposal for the extension of Napoleon's limits — Correspondence 
 between Sir Hudson Lowe and Count Bertrand — Observations 
 by Napoleon on Lord Bathurst's speech, addressed to Lord 
 Liverpool — Napoleon and the officers of the 53d regiment — 
 Regulations at this time in force — Letters on the subject be- 
 tween Count Bertrand and the Governor — " Apostille" written 
 by Bonaparte, and Sir Hudson Lowe's remarks 505 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's dissatisfaction with O'Meara — Reports of 
 Bonaparte's health — O'Meara's pledge to Napoleon not to reveal 
 conversations — His letter to the Governor on the subject 527 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Question of the title of Emperor — The Foreign Commissioners — 
 Conversation with O'Meara respecting the Regulations — Cir- 
 cumstances connected with the departure of General Gourgaud 
 — O'Meara's charge as to fictitious bulletins respecting Napol- 
 eon's health considered — Death of Cipriani 534 
 
xii CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Complaint at Longwood against the Purveyor — Command of funds 
 by Napoleon — Considerate conduct of Lord Bathurst — Change 
 ' ' in the purveyorship — O'Meara and the affair of the snuff-box — ■ 
 He is subjected to the same restrictions as the French at Long- 
 wood — Second " Apostille" written by Bonaparte — O'Meara's 
 misstatements 652 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 O'Meara interrogated by the Governor — Alleged dampness of Na- 
 poleon's apartments — Expulsion of O'Meara from the mess of 
 the 66th regiment — Departure of the Austrian Commissioner — 
 Count Bertrand challenged by Colonel Lystcr — Dispatches from 
 the Colonial Office relative to information given by General 
 Gourgaud — Clandestine correspondence carried on at Long- 
 wood 568 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Removal of O'Meara from St. Helena — Plans for the construction 
 of a new residence for Bonaparte — Unfavorable influence exer- 
 cised by Count Bertrand — Sir Hudson Lowe's measures for the 
 extinction of slavery in the island — Good effects of O'Meara's 
 departure — Discovery of clandestine correspondence implicating 
 O'Meara, Mr. Balcombe, and others 589 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Difficulties caused by Bonaparte's refusal to show himself to the 
 Orderly Officer — Interviews and conversations between the 
 Governor and Count Montholon — Alleged grievances — Orderly 
 Officer's reports — Cardinal Fesch's application — Calumnious 
 remarks of O'Meara at Ascension Island — Suspicious letter from 
 the Cape 604 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE TO THE BRITISH GOV- 
 ERNMENT, AND HIS ARRIVAL AT ST. HELENA. 
 
 At a time when one of the family of Bonaparte is again 
 seated on the throne of France, and the Empire has heen 
 once more proclaimed in that country of political revolutions, 
 fresh interest- is awakened in the history of him who was the 
 founder of the dynasty, and to the magic of whose name the 
 present ruler of the French owes his elevation to the Imperial 
 dignity. The period therefore is not inopportune for giving to 
 the world a true narrative of the last six years of the life of 
 Napoleon, which he spent, as the prisoner of England and 
 the Allied Powers, on an island rock in the midst of the At- 
 lantic, when the fabric of his power had been shattered at 
 Waterloo, and he was compelled to seek refuge on board a 
 British man of war, and throw himself into the hands of those 
 whom he described as " the most powerful, the most constant, 
 and the most generous of his enemies." 
 
 I say emphatically a true narrative ; for hitherto the 
 story of Napoleon's captivity has been told by writers whose 
 object was not to make known the truth, but to exalt the 
 
14 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 character of their hero and depreciate that of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. O'Meara, Las Cases, Montholon, and Antommarchi, 
 who were the immediate attendants of the exile at Long- 
 wood, who were eye-witnesses of the treatment he received, 
 and on whose statements, therefore, the opinion of the public 
 mainly rests, had each a separate cause of quarrel with the 
 late Governor of St. Helena. O'Meara attributed to him his 
 removal from the post of physician to Napoleon, and dismissal 
 from the navy by the English Government for conduct at ut- 
 ter variance with his duty. This rankled in his heart, and his 
 book bears in every page the mark of implacable hatred against 
 those who were the authors of his disgrace. But of him we 
 shall speak more at length hereafter, and show, by evidence 
 that can not be disputed, that his " Voice from St. Helena" 
 is a voice wholly unworthy of belief. Las Cases also was 
 sent away from the island by the Governor for infringing the 
 rules laid down to insure the safe custody of Napoleon ; and 
 in his " Journal" he has perverted almost every fact which 
 he records, for the purpose of vilifying the one, and exalting 
 by contrast the character of the other. He did not hesitate 
 to avow that the Emperor was the god of his idolatry, and at 
 that shrine he thought it little to sacrifice the reputation of 
 the officer to whose keeping his master was committed, with 
 whom he himself came in collision, and who, in the execution 
 of his duty, could not but give offense to minds so irritated 
 and susceptible as those of the inmates of Longwood. We 
 shall see the estimate which Napoleon and O'Meara them- 
 selves formed of the veracity of Montholon ; and it is too 
 much to assume that when the supposed interests of the fallen 
 Emperor were at stake he would be more scrupulous in his 
 subsequent writings than in his language at the time when 
 the events which he professes to record occurred. As to An- 
 tommarchi, his amour-propre had been offended by his being 
 subjected to the same regulations as the French residents at 
 Longwood, and also by the earnestness with which Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe pressed upon the attendants of Napoleon the neces- 
 sity of having recourse to additional medical advice when his 
 illness became serious. 
 
Chap. I. HISTORIANS OF THE CAPTIVITY. 15 
 
 The period, however, has arrived -when a just and impartial 
 verdict may be given. We have now the means of knowing 
 the facts as they really happened, and we are too far removed 
 from the era to which they relate to he influenced by the 
 feelings which agitated the minds of the men of that genera- 
 tion. The tomb has closed over almost all the great actors 
 in the struggle. The passions arising from the long conflict 
 in which England was engaged have died away. Party has 
 no longer any object to serve in making the treatment of Na- 
 poleon an engine of political attack, and we may hope that 
 in this country, at all events, the public will be disposed to 
 take a calm and unprejudiced view of events, the account of 
 which has been hitherto given with little regard to the stern 
 fidelity which is the first duty of the historian. 
 
 There are indeed some persons to whom a refutation of 
 charges once believed is addressed in vain. Having taken 
 the pains to form an opinion, they cling to it as a first prin- 
 ciple, which admits 'of neither question nor dispute. Their 
 minds are no longer open to conviction, for prejudice has 
 closed every avenue through which truth can enter. With 
 such it is in vain to argue. No amount of evidence is suffi- 
 cient to alter the foregone conclusion at which they have per- 
 haps not unwillingly arrived. 1 They have made up their 
 minds that Sir Hudson Lowe was a tyrant and Napoleon his 
 victim, and they refuse to listen when they are told that it 
 can he proved to demonstration that the assertion is untrue. 
 These are the reasoners to whom the great satirist of antiquity 
 alludes when he makes one of his characters exclaim, " Al- 
 though you persuade me, I will not be persuaded." In daily 
 life we all know how difficult it is to free ourselves from sus- 
 picion of a man who has once been assailed by calumny, how- 
 ever groundless the calumny may be. The correction of error 
 requires a degree of labor which few persons care to take. It 
 is as true now as it was when the Greek historian wrote, that 
 the generality of men will not give themselves trouble in 
 
 ' " Ambitionem scriptoris facile adverseris ; obtrectatio et livor pronis 
 auribus accipiuntur." — Tacitus. 
 
16 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 search of truth, but content themselves with what happens 
 first to come to hand. 1 
 
 And what has been the nature of the proofs upon which 
 the question of the conduct of the British Government and 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe toward Napoleon has been allowed to rest? 
 
 The Chinese have a proverb that " No lies are so wicked 
 as. those which have a foundation in truth." And the reason 
 of this is obvious. A direct and naked falsehood can seldom 
 be supported. It has no element of vitality, and after an- 
 swering a temporary purpose dies from mere inanition. It is 
 capable of a short and positive contradiction, and convincing 
 proof can generally be given promptly and without difficulty 
 to show that it is a falsehood. But the case is very different 
 with ingenious distortions of fact. A caricature must preserve 
 some of the features of the portrait, or it would fail in its pur- 
 pose. It would cease to be a caricature, for no one would 
 recognize the resemblance. And so in descriptions of events 
 and details of conversations. By dexterous additions and 
 omissions, by transpositions of dates, by alterations, " here a 
 little and there a little," an effect may be produced quite op- 
 posite to the truth, and yet it may require far more care and 
 thought and attention than the great mass of readers are will- 
 ing or able to bestow, to unravel the web, and separate the 
 threads of falsehood which have been skillfully shot through 
 the tissue of the narrative. I shall show, indeed, that the 
 writers to whom I have alluded did not shrink from resorting 
 at times to willful untruth, but their chief weapon has been 
 misrepresentation. In a suppressed passage of Count Las 
 Cases' Journal, under the date of November 30, 1815, he 
 says, 2 " We had nothing left us but moral weapons ; that to 
 make the most effective use of these, it was necessary to reduce 
 to a system our demeanor, our words, our sentiments, even 
 our privations; that a large population in Europe would take 
 
 1 " Ouroj? araAaiViopor rots- 7roXAoir rj {qrrjaiv ttj? akr/Bcias, ko.1 eVi 
 ra €TOifj.a fiaXXov Tpeirovrai." — Tkucydidcs. 
 
 2 The circumstances under which the original manuscript of Las 
 Cases' Journal came into the possession of Sir Hudson Lowe, who was 
 thus enabled to have an exact copy taken will -be detailed hereafter. 
 
Chaf. I. THE LONGWOOD POLICY. 17 
 
 a lively interest in our behalf; that the Opposition in England 
 would not fail to attack the Ministry on the violence of their 
 conduct toward us." 1 The policy of Longwood was a policy 
 of deception and intrigue. It was a desperate attempt by 
 Napoleon to create sufficient sympathy in Europe to render 
 probable the chance of his removal from his ocean prison, and 
 to attain this end no calumny was deemed too gross — no mis- 
 representation was thought too mean. "My good friend," 
 said General Montholon one day to Lieutenant (now Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel) Jackson, at St. Helena, who told him that Sir 
 Hudson Lowe had refrained from appointing him orderly offi- 
 .cer at Longwood out of delicacy to Napoleon because he was 
 then only a lieutenant — " My good friend, you have had a 
 fortunate escape ; for had you come hither as an orderly offi- 
 cer ice would most assuredly have ruined your reputation. 
 It is a part of our system, et que voulez vous dire?" Does 
 not this sentence speak volumes ? 
 
 From a French writer wc might naturally expect on this 
 subject nothing but panegyric upon Napoleon and invective 
 against Sir Hudson Lowe. 2 One author of that nation, how- 
 ever, has honorably distinguished himself by the impartial 
 tone in which he has criticised the conduct of the Governor 
 and his captive. Lamartine has done homage to truth, and, so 
 far as he had the means of forming a just judgment, has taken 
 pains to arrive at it. He has fully penetrated the motives 
 
 1 " Qu'il ne nous restait que des armes morales ; que pour en faire 
 l'usage le plus avantageux, il fallait reduire en systeme notre attitude, 
 nos paroles, nos sentimens, nos privations memes ; qu'une nombreuse 
 population en Europe prendrait une tendre interet en nous ; que Top- 
 position en Angleterre ne manquerait pas de combattre le ministere 
 dans la violence qu'ils ont exerce contre nous." 
 
 2 It is almost a point of honor with the French to believe all that is 
 evil of Sir Hudson Lowe. He is the bete noire of their imagination. 
 Thus, Victor Hugo, in his " Napoleon le Petit," a philippic in which he 
 exhausts invective against the author of the coup d'etat of the 2d of 
 December, the present Emperor of France, thinks he attains the climax 
 of sarcasm when he exclaims " pire que Hudson Lowe ! Hudson Lowe 
 n'etait qu'un geolier, Hudson Lowe n'etait qu'un bourreau ; Phomme 
 qui assassine veritablement Napoleon, c'est Louis Bonaparte ; Hudson 
 Lowe n'avait tue que sa vie, Louis Bonaparte tue sa gloire." 
 
18 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 of Napoleon in keeping up his quarrel with Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 and, if he has formed a wrong estimate in some respects 
 of the character of the latter and misconstrued his actions, 
 we must remember that he was obliged to winnow out the 
 facts of the case from the heap of calumny and falsehood with 
 which the enemies of that officer have loaded his memory, 
 and that he had not access to the materials which would 
 have enabled him to correct in many points his opinion. In 
 the following passage he thus speaks of the Governor of St. 
 Helena and Napoleon : l — " He" (that is the latter) " pursued 
 slowly and obstinately the suicide of his captivity. The ar- 
 rival at St. Helena of a new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 riveted more closely his voluntary chains. That Governor, 
 whom the myrmidons of Napoleon, and Napoleon himself, 
 attacked with groundless and passionate charges, such as 
 the hallucinations of captivity alone could inspire — treated 
 by them as a petty constable and an assassin — had neither 
 criminal intent against his captive in his thoughts, nor insult 
 toward the unfortunate in his heart. But, crushed under 
 the load of responsibility which weighed on him lest he might 
 suffer to escape the disturber whom Europe had given him 
 to guard, narrow in his ideas, jealous in his regulations, nerv- 
 ously tenacious of forms, deficient in tact, and odious to his 
 captives from the very nature of his functions, he wearied 
 Napoleon with restrictions, superintendence, orders, visits, 
 and even marks of respect. He soon imparted to the duties 
 of the Governor of the island and guardian of an European 
 hostage the appearance and rudeness of a jailer. Neverthe- 
 less, although he may be reproached with impropriety, he 
 can not be charged with ill-usage. He was the occasion 
 rather than the cause of the unhappy end of Napoleon. In 
 reading with attention the correspondence and notes exchanged 
 on every pretext between the attendants on Napoleon and 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, one is confounded at the insults, the pro- 
 vocations, and the invectives with which the captive and his 
 friends outraged the Governor at every turn. Napoleon at 
 
 1 Histoire de la Restauration, torn. vi. p. 416. 
 
July, 1815. DIFFICULTY OF THE MINISTRY. 19 
 
 that time sought to excite by cries of pain the pity of the 
 English Parliament, and to furnish a grievance to the speak- 
 ers of the Opposition against the Ministry, in order to obtain 
 a removal nearer to Europe. The desire of provoking insults 
 by insult, and of afterward exhibiting these insults as crimes 
 to the indignation of the Continent, and of making Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe the Pilate of this Napoleonic Calvary, is plainly 
 evident in all those letters." 
 
 No doubt the portrait of the Governor is here harshly 
 drawn, and some of the particulars are incorrect. For in- 
 stance, when Lamartine speaks of Sir Hudson Lowe weary- 1 
 ing Napoleon with visits, he seems not to be aware, or to'; 
 have forgotten, that during the whole of the six years of the I 
 captivity the Governor had only five interviews with his pris- 
 oner ; and that Napoleon rudely and discourteously refused, 
 after insulting him to his face with the grossest language of 
 abuse, to see or have any intercourse with him again. Nor 
 was there any thing in his conduct or demeanor, as the reader 
 will see, which can justify the application to him of the odious 
 epithet of jailer. But this question will appear in its true light 
 as our narrative proceeds, and we need not anticipate here the 
 judgment which will be formed on the facts of the captivity. 
 
 There never was a question of greater moment and diffi- 
 culty presented to the consideration of a Ministry than that 
 which arose in July, 1815, when the British Government 
 received the astounding intelligence that Napoleon Bonaparte 
 had surrendered himself to England, and was on board His 
 Majesty's ship of war, the Bellerophon, in Torbay. How was 
 he to be treated ? in what character ought he to be received ? 
 was he the prisoner or the guest of England ? was he to be re- 
 garded as an outlaw, and dealt with as hostis humani generis ? 
 
 Each of these views had its advocates. In truth it was a 
 case without a precedent. The great lawyers of the day 
 were at fault. It was in vain to search the works of writers 
 on the Law of Nations, for experience had not supplied, nor 
 imagination suggested, an instance in point. Sir William 
 Grant, Sir William Scott, Lord Ellenborough the Lord Chief 
 
20 CAPTIVIT7 OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 Justice, and Lord Eldon the Lord Chancellor of England, were 
 consulted and gave conflicting opinions. 1 That of the Lord 
 Chancellor was, "that the case was not provided for by any 
 thing to be found in Grotius or Vattel, but that the law of 
 self-preservation would justify the keeping of Napoleon under 
 restraint in some distant region, where he should be treated 
 with all indulgence compatible with a due regard for the 
 peace of mankind." 
 
 Napoleon himself suggested the nearest parallel which 
 history affords. " I come," he said, in his famous letter to 
 the Prince Regent, 2 " like Themistocles, to seek the hospi- 
 tality of the British nation. I place myself under the pro- 
 tection of their laws." And at first sight it might appear 
 that the conduct of Persia was more magnanimous than that 
 of England. For the eastern monarch assigned three royal 
 cities, Lampsacus, Myus, and Magnesia, for the support of his 
 fallen enemy, and lavished gifts upon him in profusion, while 
 we banished our former foe to a distant island in the At- 
 lantic, and treated him there as a prisoner of war. But a 
 moment's consideration will show that the cases were not 
 similar. Themistocles did not surrender himself flagrante 
 bello. Moreover, he claimed protection on the ground that 
 his exile was owing to his zeal for the interests of Persia, and 
 he offered to do further injury to Greece as N the price of his 
 asylum. It was not therefore generosity, but policy, which 
 influenced the Persian king. He rewarded the past treach- 
 
 1 Lord Holland brought forward, on the 8th of April, 1816, a motion 
 in the House of Lords, for referring to the judges the question of the 
 status of Napoleon Bonaparte, and our right to detain him as a prison- 
 er. This was properly and successfully resisted by the Lord Chancel- 
 lor (33 Pari. Deb., 1019.) The question was clearly one of state policy, 
 and not of municipal law ; but Lord Eldon relied on a more conclusive 
 reason, which was that, whatever the opinions of the judges might be, 
 an Act of Parliament was necessary to meet the exigency of the case. 
 
 • "Royal Highness — Exposed to the factions which divide my 
 country, and to the hostility of the greatest powers of Europe, I have 
 closed my political career, and I come, like Themistocles, to seek the 
 hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under the protection 
 of their laws, which I claim from your Royal Highness, as the most 
 powerful, the most constant, and the most generous of my enemies." 
 
Joly, 1815. WAS' HE GUEST OR PRISONER? 21 
 
 ery of a bad citizen, and purchased the future service of a 
 renegade. Napoleon could advance no plea of having be- 
 trayed his country for the sake of England, nor would En- 
 gland, have stooped to bargain for his help against France 
 had she needed it, and had he been base enough to offer it. 
 
 The whole question of right or wrong in the conduct of the 
 British Government toward Napoleon turns upon the view 
 taken of this matter. It is essential to determine what was 
 his real position when he first set foot on board the Bellero- 
 phon. Was he a guest, uninvited indeed, but still a guest, 
 and, as such, entitled by misfortune to claim the sacred rights 
 of hospitality ? or was he an enemy brought at last to bay, 
 who had been hemmed round by foes until he was compelled 
 to choose one among them to whom he would surrender him- 
 self a prisoner of war ? 
 
 Napoleon always assumed that he ought to have been re- 
 ceived and treated in the former character. When he heard 
 that he was to be conveyed to St. Helena he drew up on 
 board the Bellerophon a protest, in which he said, " I hereby 
 solemnly protest, in the face of Heaven and mankind, against 
 the violence that is done me, and the violation of my most 
 sacred rights, in forcibly disposing of my person and liberty. 
 I voluntarily came on board the Bellerophon. I am not the 
 prisoner, I am the guest of England." And throughout his 
 captivity he consistently maintained the same view. When 
 he was at St. Helena, he said that, if the Governor were to 
 give him the whole of the island on condition that he would 
 pledge his word not to attempt an escape, ho would not ac- 
 cept it, because it would be equivalent to the acknowledging 
 himself a prisoner. x But a claim is not a title. The facts 
 of the case can not be altered because Bonaparte chose to put 
 upon them an interpretation favorable to himself. Now 
 what are those facts ? Vanquished at Waterloo by the com- 
 bined armies of the Allied Powers, he fled through Paris and 
 reached Roehefort, from which port, owing to the presence of 
 British cruisers, he found escape by sea impossible. He might 
 
 r Voice from St. Helena, i. 371, 372. 
 
22 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 indeed have attempted to rekindle the war in the heart of 
 France, and hazarded the chance of another hattle with the 
 hroken fragments of his army, which, under the command of 
 Grouchy, had retired behind the Loire, but this he saw was 
 a hopeless scheme, and the idea was, after due consideration, 
 abandoned. He might have surrendered himself to Austria, 
 or Russia, or any other Power, rather than to England ; but 
 still it must have been surrender, for all Europe was arrayed 
 against him. If he had fallen into the hands of the Prussians, 
 it was the intention of Blucher to have him shot over the 
 grave of the Due d'Enghien in the ditch of Vincennes. 1 i In 
 truth, Napoleon had merely the choice of the nation to which 
 he must give himself up, and not of the mode in which he 
 was to be disposed of by that nation. .Nor is this proposition 
 likely to be disputed among ourselves. 1 ! Even those who most 
 strongly opposed the determination to send Napoleon to St. 
 Helena hardly ventured to contest our right to do so..\ In the 
 protest drawn up by Lord Holland, and signed by himself 
 and the Duke of Sussex, against the bill " for the more effec- 
 tually detaining in custody Napoleon Bonaparte," he said, 
 that "to consign to distant exile and imprisonment a foreign 
 and captive chief who after the abdication of his authority, 
 relying on British generosity, had surrendered himself to us in 
 preference to his other enemies, is unworthy of the magna- 
 nimity of a great country." It may have been unworthy of 
 our "magnanimity" — that is a question to be determined by 
 a just and dispassionate view of the exigencies of the case — 
 but we were assuredly guilty of no violation of any right 
 which Napoleon could claim for himself nor of any depart- 
 
 1 This resolution of the stern old Field Marshal is placed beyond a 
 doubt by the recent publication of Baron von Muffling's " Memoirs," 
 where we find (page 274) a note addressed to that officer by General 
 von Gneisenau, and dated June 29, 1815, in which he says, " I am di- 
 rected by the Field Marshal (Blucher) to request your Excellency to 
 communicate to the Duke of Wellington that it had been his intention 
 to execute Bonaparte on the spot where the Due d'Enghien was shot ; 
 that, out of deference, however, to the Duke's wishes, he will abstain 
 from this measure, but that the Duke must take on himself the respons- 
 ibility of its non-enforcement." 
 
Jclt, 1815. MODE OF HIS SURRENDER. 23 
 
 ure from the princip les which regulate warfare among civil- 
 ized nations. It must not~be forgotten that he had already 
 escaped from Elba, and the result was the battle of Water- 
 loo and the loss of sixty thousand men. And if among a 
 neighboring people, who are the least likely to acquiesce in 
 the justice of our treatment of the illustrious captive, writers 
 are found to advocate a different theory, and to reproach En- 
 gland for guarding him as a prisoner instead of entertaining 
 him as a guest, let them remember how Abd el Kader was 
 for many years kept in close confinement among themselves, 
 after he, relying not on French "generosity," but the solemn 
 promise of a French prince who assured him that he would 
 not be dealt with as a captive, surrendered himself into the 
 hands of his enemies. 1 Napoleon indeed pretended that he 
 might urge a similar plea. In his protest on board the 
 Bellerophon he said, "I came at the instigation of the cap- 
 tain himself, who declared he had orders from the Govern- 
 ment to receive and convey me to England, together with my 
 suite, if agreeable to me. I came forward with confidence 
 to place myself under the protection of the laws of England." 
 This, however, is distinctly contradicted by Captain Mait- 
 land, who in his letter to Mr. Croker, the Secretary of the 
 Admiralty, dated " Basque Roads, July 14th, 1815," after 
 stating that Count Las Cases and General Lallemand had 
 that day come on board the Bellerophon with a proposal for 
 him to receive Napoleon Bonaparte, for the purpose of throw- 
 ing himself on the generosity of the Prince Regent, and that 
 he had acceded to the request, added as follows : 2 — " that no 
 misunderstanding might arise I have explicitly and clearly 
 explained to the Count Las Cases that I have no authority 
 whatever for granting terms of any sort ; but all I can do is 
 to convey him and his suite to England, to be received in 
 such manner as his Royal Highness may deem expedient." 
 So far, therefore, from Captain Maitland instigating the 
 
 1 The liberation of Abd el Kader from his long captivity is the most 
 graceful act of the present Emperor of France. His imprisonment 
 throws a deep stain on the government of Louis Philippe. 
 
 2 Narrative of the Surrender of Bonaparte, by Captain Maitland, p. 69. 
 
24 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 step taken by Napoleon, or holding out any false hopes, he 
 made it known in the most positive manner that he could 
 guarantee nothing but a safe conveyance of the fugitive across 
 the Channel, to be thereafter dealt with as his Government 
 migh t thin k fit. 
 ■ Xfter much deliberation it was resolved by the English 
 Ministry that Bonaparte should be considered a prisoner of 
 war; that the island of St. Helena, which then belonged to 
 the East India Company, should be the place of his detention ; 
 that he should be immediately conveyed there in charge of 
 Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn ; and that Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, who then commanded the troops at Marseilles, should 
 be appointed Governor of the island, and have the custody of 
 Napoleon's person. 
 
 At the end of July the ex-Emperor was officially informed 
 that he was to be restrained in his personal liberty and sent 
 to St. Helena, and that he might select from those who had 
 accompanied him to England any three of his officers (except 
 Generals Savary and Lallemand), and his surgeon and twelve 
 servants, to attend him ; but that those persons would not be 
 permitted to quit the island without the sanction of the British 
 Government. 
 
 As it was more convenient that H.M.S. the Northumber- 
 land, of seventy-four guns, should convey Napoleon to St. 
 Helena, than that he should proceed in the Bellerophon, that 
 ship was prepared for his reception ; and Sir George Cockburn 
 accordingly hoisted his flag on board of her| The subjoined 
 Instructions, in the form of " Memorand a , ' for the Admiral's 
 guidance, were transmitted to the Lords of the Admiralty by 
 Earl Bathurst, then secretary of State for the Department of 
 War and the Colonies, inclosed in a letter in which his Lord- 
 ship said — 
 
 " In committing so important a trust to British officers, the 
 Prince Regent is sensible that it is not necessary to impress 
 upon them his anxious desire that no greater measure of 
 severity, with respect to confinement or restriction, be im- 
 posed than what" is deemed necessary for the faithful dis- 
 charge of that duty which the Admiral, as well as the Gov- 
 
July, 1813. INSTRUCTIONS TO SIB G. COCKBURN. 25 
 
 ernor of St. Helena, must ever keep in mind — the perfect se- 
 curity of General Bonaparte's person. Whatever, consistent 
 with this great object, can be allowed in the shape of indul- 
 gence, His Royal Highness, is confident will be willingly shown 
 to the General ; and he relies on Sir George Cockburn's known 
 zeal and energy of character that he will not allow himself to 
 be betrayed into any improvident relaxation of his duty." 
 
 " Memoranda. 
 
 "War Department, July 30, 1815. 
 
 "1. When General Bonaparte shall remove from the Belle- 
 rophon into the Northumberland, it will be a fit moment for 
 Admiral Sir George Cockburn to direct an examination of the 
 effects which the General shall have brought with him. 
 
 " 2. Admiral Sir George Cockburn will allow all articles 
 of furniture, books, and wine, which the General may have 
 brought with him, to be transhipped on board the Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 " 3. Under the head of furniture is to be included his plate, 
 provided it be not to such an amount as to bespeak it to be 
 rather an article of convertible property than of domestic use. 
 
 " 4. His money, diamonds, and negotiable bills of every 
 description are to be given up. The Admiral will explain 
 to the General that it is by no means the intention of the 
 British Government to confiscate his property, but simply to 
 take the administration of these effects into their own hands, 
 for the purpose of preventing their being converted by him 
 into an instrument of escape. 
 
 " 5. The examination must be made in the presence of 
 some person appointed by General Bonaparte ; and an in- 
 ventory of the effects so to be retained must be signed by this 
 person, as well as by the Bear- Admiral, or any one appointed 
 by him to make out the inventory. 
 
 "6. The interest, or the principal (according to the amountof 
 the property), will be applicable to his maintenance ; and the 
 disposition of it, in that respect, left chiefly to his own choice. 
 
 "7. He will for that purpose from time to time communi- 
 cate his wishes to the Admiral, until the new Governor of St. 
 Vol I .— B 
 
26 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 Helena arrives, and to the Governor afterward ; and, unless 
 the proposition be objectionable, the Admiral or Governor, as 
 the ease may be, will give the necessary orders, and the bills 
 will be paid by bills drawn upon His Majesty's Treasury. 
 
 " 8. In the event of his death, the disposition of his prop- 
 erty will be determined by his will, the contents of which he 
 must be assured will be strictly attended to. ■* 
 
 " 9. As an attempt may be made to represent part of the 
 property as belonging to persons in his suite, it must be un- 
 derstood that the property of those who go out with him is 
 subject to the same regulation. 
 
 " 10. The disposition of the military allotted to guard him 
 must be left to the Governor, the Governor being instructed to 
 attend to the wishes of the Admiral in the instances hereafter 
 to be mentioned. 
 
 " 11. The General must be always attended by an officer 
 appointed by the Admiral or Governor, as the case may be. 1 
 If the General be permitted to move beyond the boundaries 
 where the sentries are placed, the officer should be attended 
 by one orderly at least. 
 
 " 12. In the event of ships arriving, so long as they con- 
 tinue in sight the General must be confined within the bound- 
 ary where the sentries shall be placed. He must during that 
 interval be prohibited from all intercourse and communication 
 with the inhabitants. They who accompany him to St. Hel- 
 ena must be subject at this period to the same regulations. 
 They are to reside with him ; and it is left to the discretion 
 of the Admiral in the first instance, and to the new Governor 
 afterward, to establish such regulations with respect to them 
 at other times as may appear expedient. 
 
 " 13. The Admiral will not take on board any individual 
 belonging to General Bonaparte's suite, for the purpose of 
 
 1 Count de Las Cases asserts in his Journal (20-23 Dec. 1815) that 
 it was one of the orders issued by the English Ministry, that an En- 
 glish officer should be constantly at Napoleon's table — " Mesure bar- 
 bare qui nous eiit prives de la douceur de nous trouver en famille ;" 
 and he adds that the order was not carried into effect only because 
 Bonaparte took his meals in his own chamber. This is simply untrue. 
 Such a measure was never either attempted or intended. 
 
July,1815. INSTRUCTIONS TO SIR G. COCKBURN. 27 
 
 conveying him to St. Helena with the General, except with 
 his full consent, after it has been explained to him that he 
 thereby becomes liable to all the regulations to which it may 
 be deemed necessary to subject him for the security of the 
 General's person. 
 
 " 14. The General must be given to understand that, in 
 the event of his attempting to escape, he will be afterward 
 subject to close custody ; and they who go out with him 
 must also understand that, if they shall be detected in con- 
 triving means for his escape, they will be separated from 
 him, and placed in close custody. 
 
 " 15. All letters addressed to him, or his attendants, must 
 be first delivered to the Admiral, or to the Governor, as the 
 case may be, who will read them before they are delivered to 
 the persons to whom they are addressed. All letters written 
 by the General or his attendants must be subject to the same 
 regulation. 
 
 "16. No letter which has not been transmitted to St. Hel- 
 ena by the Secretary of State should be delivered to the Gen- 
 eral, or to those who accompany him, if it be written by any 
 person not resident in the island ; and all their letters ad- 
 dressed to persons not resident in the island must be sent 
 under cover to the Secretary of State. 
 
 "17. The General must be given clearly to understand 
 that the Governor and Admiral are strictly instructed to for- 
 ward to his Majesty's Government any wish or representation 
 which he may think proper to make to the British Govern- 
 ment ; and in that particular they are not at liberty to exer- 
 cise any discretion ; but the paper on which such application 
 or representation may be written must be left open for their 
 joint inspection, in order that in transmitting it they may be 
 enabled to accompany it with such observations as they may 
 think expedient. 
 
 18. " Until the arrival of the new Governor, the Admiral 
 must be considered as entirely responsible for the security of 
 General Bonaparte's person ; and his Majesty's Government 
 entertains no doubt of the disposition of the actual Governor 
 to concert with the Admiral for this purpose. 
 
28 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 ,: 19. The Admiral is authorized to keep the General on 
 board, or re-embark him, if the security of his person, can not, 
 in the Admiral's opinion, be otherwise obtained. 
 
 " 20. On the representation of the Admiral upon his arrival 
 at St. Helena, the Governor will take measures immediately 
 to convey, either to England, or to the Cape, or to the East 
 Indies, according to the circumstances of the case, such non- 
 commissioned officers and privates in the military corps at 
 St. Helena as the Admiral may deem expedient to relieve 
 from their military duty in the island, by reason of being for- 
 eigners, or on account of their general character and disposition. 
 
 " 21. If there are any foreigners in the island whose resi- 
 dence there appears to the Admiral calculated to be instru- 
 mental to General Bonaparte's escape, measures must be taken 
 for their removal. 
 
 " 22. The whole coast of the island, and the vessels and 
 boats frequenting it, must he placed under the control of the 
 Admiral. He will regulate the places which boats may fre- 
 quent ; and on his representation the Governor will station a 
 sufficient guard at those places at which the Admiral may 
 think precaution necessary. 
 
 " 23. The Admiral will take the most effectual steps to 
 watch the arrival and departure of every ship, so as to pre- 
 vent any intercourse with the shore, except such as he may 
 approve. 
 
 " 24. An order for preventing, after due notice, foreign 
 Ships, and ships belonging to the private trade, from resorting 
 to St. Helena, will be forthwith given. 
 
 " 25. If the General should he attacked with any serious 
 indisposition, the Governor and the Admiral will each direct 
 a medical person, in whom they may have confidence, to be 
 in attendance on the General, in addition to his own medical 
 assistance, and direct them severally to report daily on the 
 state of his health. 
 
 " 26. In the event of his death, the Admiral will give or- 
 ders for his body being conveyed to England." 
 
 On the 4th of August the Bellerophon sailed from Plymouth 
 
July. 1815. INSTRUCTIONS TO SIR G. COCKBURN. 29 
 
 Sound to meet the Northumberland, and on the 6th she an- 
 chored off the Start. Lord Keith and Sir George Cockburn 
 went on board, and communicated to Bonaparte their instruc- 
 tions, part of which were as follows : 
 
 " The Admiral will allow the baggage, wines, and pro- 
 visions which the General may have brought with him to be 
 taken on board the Northumberland. Among the baggage 
 his table-service shall be understood as included, unless it be 
 so considerable as to seem rather an article to be converted 
 into ready money than for real use. His money, his diamonds, 
 and his saleable effects (consequently bills of exchange also), 
 of whatever kind they may be, must be delivered up. The 
 Admiral will declare to the General that the British Govern- 
 ment by no means intend to confiscate his property, but 
 merely to take upon itself the administration of his effects, to 
 hinder him from using them as a means to promote his escape. 
 
 " As an attempt might be made to make a part of his prop- 
 erty pass for the property of the persons of his suite, it must 
 be signified that the property of his attendants is subject to 
 the same regulations. 
 
 " The Admiral is not to take any person on board for St. 
 Helena without the consent of such person, to whom he is pre- 
 viously to explain the necessity of being subjected to all the 
 regulations which it may be thought proper to establish for 
 securing the person of the General. It must be made known 
 to the General, that if he make any attempt to escape he will 
 expose himself to close imprisonment ; and that any of his 
 suite who may be discovered in endeavoring to facilitate his 
 escape will incur the same punishment. All letters which 
 shall be addressed to him, or to any of his suite, are to be 
 delivered in the first place to the Admiral or the Governor, 
 who is to read them previously to transmitting them. The 
 same regulation is to be observed with respect to letters written 
 by the General, or those of his suite. 
 
 " The General is to be informed that the Governor and the 
 Admiral have received positive orders to forward to his Ma- 
 jesty's Government any request or representation he may 
 
30 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. I. 
 
 think proper to make. Nothing is left to their discretion on 
 this point ; but the paper on which such representations shall 
 be written is to remain open, in order that they may subjoin 
 such observations as they may think expedient." 
 
 Captain Maitland also received an order from Lord Keith, 
 that all arms of every description were to be taken from the 
 French, of whatever rank, who were on board the Bellerophon. 
 These arms were to be carefully packed, and remain in charge 
 of the captain of the Bellerophon, and the captain of the ship 
 to which the French were to be transferred. 
 
 This order was not, however, literally executed, for Napo- 
 leon was allowed to retain his sword ; and, on their arrival 
 at St. Helena, the swords of the French officers were restored 
 to them. 1 
 
 On the 7th of August Bonaparte was removed to the Nor- 
 thumberland, accompanied by a suite of twenty-five persons; 
 namely, Count and Countess Bertrand and their three chil- 
 dren ; Count and Countess de Montholon and their child ; 
 Count de Las Cases and his son, a youth of the age of four- 
 teen ; General Gourgaud ; Marchand, St. Denis (sometimes 
 called Aly), Noverraz, and Santini, valets-de-chambre ; the 
 two Archambaults, brothers, grooms ; Gentilini, foot-man ; 
 Cipriani, maitre-d'hotel ; Le Page, cook ; Pierron, butler ; 
 
 1 Count Montholon invents a story of Bonaparte's sword having been 
 demanded of him on the 7th of August by Lord Keith. His Lordship, 
 he says, "Iui dit, d'une voix assourdie par une vive emotion, 'L'Angle- 
 terre vous demands voire epee? L'Empereur, par un mouvement con- 
 vulsif, posa la main sur cette epee qu'un Anglais osait demander. L'ex- 
 pression terrible de son regard fut sa seule reponse. Jamais elle 
 n'avait ete plus puissante, plus surhumaine. Le vicil Amiral se sentit 
 foudroye : sa grande taille s'afFaissa ; sa tete, blanchie par Ies annees, 
 tomba sur sa poitrine comme celle d'un coupable qui s'humilie devant 
 sa condamnation. L'Empereur garda son epee." — Recits de la Captivite 
 de VEmpereur Napoleon a, Sainte-Helene, par M. le General Montholon : 
 Paris, 1847, torn. i. p. 118. This is pure fiction. The story is contra- 
 dicted by Count Las Cases in his Journal, who says, " I ask whether 
 it was possible that they would go so far as to deprive the Emperor of 
 his sword 1 The Admiral replied that it would be respected, but that 
 Napoleon was the only person exempted, as all the rest would be dis- 
 armed." — (Ed. Paris, 1824, torn. i. p. 102.) 
 
Oct. 1815. THE VOYAGE TO ST. HELENA. 31 
 
 Rousseau, steward ; and Josephine, Bernard and his wife, 
 servants of Count Bertrand. As M. Mengeaud, the surgeon 
 who accompanied Napoleon from Rochefort, was unwilling 
 or unable to follow him to St. Helena, Mr. Barry Edward 
 G'Meara, the surgeon of the Bellerophon, was chosen by Bo- 
 naparte and permitted by Lord Keith to accompany him in 
 the capacity of medical attendant. 
 
 The Northumberland sailed on the 8th of August, with a 
 small squadron consisting of the Havannah frigate and several 
 sloops of war. 1 They hove to off Funchal, in Madeira, for 
 refreshments, and arrived at St. Helena on the 15th of Octo- 
 ber. In a letter written a few days after they landed by 
 O'Meara, to his friend Mr. Finlaison at the Admiralty (with 
 whom he kept up a secret correspondence, which we shall 
 have occasion to consider more fully hereafter), he gives a 
 description of the exiles on board the Northumberland, which 
 stands in remarkable contrast to the style of his printed work, 
 and the tone in which he there speaks of the French ladies 
 at Longwood. Nothing but the necessity there is for exhibit- 
 ing this writer in his true colors, and showing what were his 
 real opinions, could induce me to publish such remarks. But 
 it must not for a moment be imagined that what O'Meara 
 says in disparagement of others is to be believed because he 
 asserts it. Henceforward we may hope that the character 
 of no one will be affected by his statements. In the letter 
 referred to he says — 
 
 " During the passage the ladies were either ill the whole 
 time or fancied themselves to be so, in either of which cases 
 
 1 An account of Napoleon while on board the Northumberland was 
 published by Mr. Warden, surgeon of that vessel, in a work purporting 
 to be "Letters written on board H. M. S. Northumberland and at St 
 Helena." There is little doubt, however, that this title was a mis- 
 nomer, and that the letters were in reality concocted in England after- 
 ward from notes perhaps taken previously. This is proved by the inter- 
 nal evidence of various discrepancies and mistakes which could not 
 have occurred if the letters had been written at the dates they profess 
 to bear. They were ably criticised in the " Quarterly Review," No. 
 XXXI., p. 208. and No. XXXII., p. 486. We shall have occasion 
 again to advert to Mr. Warden's book in the course of the narrative. 
 
32 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Cha*. 1 
 
 it was necessary to give them medicine, in the choice of which 
 it was extremely difficult to meet their tastes or humors, or 
 their ever unceasing caprice ; what was most extraordinary, 
 they never complained of loss of appetite. They generally 
 eat of every dish in a profusely supplied table of different 
 meats twice every day, besides occasional tiffins, bowls of soup, 
 &e. They mostly hate each other, and I am the depository 
 of their complaints, especially Madame Bertrand's, who is like 
 a tigress deprived of her young whenever she perceives me 
 doing any service for Madame Montholon. The latter, to tell 
 the truth, is not so whimsical nor subject to so many fits of 
 rage as the other. Bonaparte was nearly the entire of the 
 time in perfect health. . . . During the passage Napoleon 
 almost invariably did not appear out in the after-cabin before 
 12 ; breakfasted either in bed or in his own cabin about 1 1 ; 
 dined with the Admiral about 5 ; staid about half an hour 
 at dinner, then left the table and proceeded to the quarter- 
 deck, where he generally spent a couple of hours either in 
 walking or else leaning against the breach of one of the quar- 
 ter-deck guns, talking to De Las Cases. He generally spoke 
 a few words to every officer who could understand him ; and, 
 according to his usual custom, was very inquisitive relative to 
 various subjects. His suite, until the day before he landed 
 (three days after our arrival), invariably kept their hats off 
 while speaking to him, and then by his directions remained 
 covered. He professes his intention (I am informed) to drop 
 the name of Bonaparte, and to assume that of a Colonel he 
 was very partial to, and who was killed in Italy. He is to 
 proceed in a few days to Longwood, the present seat of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, where there is a plain of above a mile 
 and a half in length, with trees (a great rarity here) on it. 
 He is to have a captain constantly in the house with him, 
 and is also to be accompanied by one whenever he goes out : 
 none of his staff are to go out unless accompanied by an En- 
 glish officer or soldier. I had a long conversation with him 
 the day before yesterday. Among other remarks he observed, 
 ' Why, your Government have not taken the most economical 
 method of providing for me ; they send me to a place where 
 
Oct. 1815. HIS OPINION OF THE ISLAND. 33 
 
 every necessary of life is four times as dear as in any other 
 part of the globe ; and, not content with that, they send a 
 regiment here, to a place where there are already four times 
 as many inhabitants as it can furnish subsistence to, 1 and 
 where there are a superabundance of troops also. This is the 
 way,' continued he, ' that you have contracted your national 
 debt ; not by the actual necessary expenses of the war, but 
 by unnecessary expenses of colonies. This island costs, or 
 will cost, two millions a year, which is so much money thrown 
 into the sea. Your East India Company,' said he, ' if their 
 affairs were narrowly scrutinized, would be found to lose in- 
 stead of gaining, and in a few years must become bankrupt. 
 Your manufactories, in consequence of the dearness of neces- 
 saries in England, will be undersold by those of France and 
 Germany, and the manufacturers will be ruined.' He is 
 greatly displeased with the island : he says ' there is nothing 
 good in it but air." 2 
 
 1 Upon this passage Sir Hudson Lowe has observed, " There is truth 
 in this remark, yet the Governor is constantly abused both as to the 
 quality and quantity of the provisions, as if he could have always had 
 access to a regularly supplied European market. The difficulties in 
 this respect are little understood in Europe." 
 
 2 " It is here admitted that the air was good, and where the air is good 
 the climate can not be bad. " — Note by Sir Hudson Lowe. Referring to 
 this passage Sir Hudson Lowe observes — " On this, and indeed on all 
 other specified subjects of complaint, I may quote a suppressed passage 
 from the Journal of Count Las Cases, which told too much to be pub- 
 lished — ' Les details de Ste. Helene sont peu de chose ; c'est d'y etr* 
 qui est la grande affaire. 1 " 
 
 Count Las Cases tells us in his Journal that Bonaparte remarked to 
 him on the 1st of February, 1816, " After all, as a place of exile, per- 
 haps St. Helena was the best. (Apres tout, exil pour exil, Ste. Helene 
 etait peut-etre la meilleure place.) In high latitudes we should have 
 suffered greatly from cold, and in any other island of the tropics we 
 should have expired miserably under the scorching rays of the sun. This 
 rock is wild and barren, no doubt ; the climate is monstrous and un- 
 wholesome ; but the temperature, it must be confessed, is mild (douce)." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 SAINT HELENA THE BRIARS L0NGW00D CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 OP SIR GEORGE COCKBURN WITH COUNTS MONTHOLON AND 
 BERTR AND o' MEARA. 
 
 "What were the feelings of the imperial captive when he 
 first gazed upon that lonely rock of the ocean which was 
 henceforth to he his island prison ? Although he once said 
 of himself that he had a soul of marble, 1 he was not cast in 
 the mould of the fallen Archangel, who could exclaim in all 
 the pride of unconquerable self-reliance — 
 
 "What matter where, if I be still the same'!" 
 
 The mind of Napoleon was dependent for happiness on the 
 accidents of external fortune. He had an organization which 
 was sensitive in the extreme. It has been truly said that 
 exalted genius has generally in its composition something of 
 a feminine as distinguished from an effeminate nature, and 
 this is perhaps the reason why it is so often susceptible of 
 annoyances and disgusts which a coarser and rougher temper- 
 ament does not feel. We have read an anecdote of Napoleon 
 which tells us that, when once in the presence of his troops 
 he tasted some of the soldiers' soup, he had the greatest diffi- 
 culty in swallowing it because he detected a hair in the spoon. 
 He mastered, however, although he could not wholly conceal 
 his repugnance. The sight of St. Helena must have smitten 
 the heart of such a man with dismay. Its appearance from 
 the sea is gloomy and forbidding. Masses of volcanic rock, 
 with sharp and jagged peaks, tower up round the coast and 
 form an iron girdle which seems to bar all access to the in- 
 terior. And the few points where a landing can be effected 
 
 1 Voice from St. Helena, ii. 391. 
 
Oct. 1815. SCENERY OP ST. HELENA. 35 
 
 were then bristling with cannon, so as to render the aspect 
 still more formidable. 
 
 The whole island bears evidence of having been formed by 
 the tremendous agency of fire, but so gigantic are the strata 
 of which it is composed, and so disproportioned to its size, 
 that some have thought it the relic and wreck of a vast sub- 
 merged continent. Its seared and barren sides, without foli- 
 age or verdure, present an appearance of dreary desolation. 
 No delicious scenery, like that of Funchal in Madeira, allures 
 the mariner to stop on his voyage, and the exigency arising 
 from the want of water or provisions alone induces him to 
 visit the lonely rock. But even here nature has not left her- 
 self without witness that she possesses softer charms. There 
 are few places in the earth where we can travel from Dan to 
 Beersheba and say with truth that all is barren. In the 
 narrow valleys that radiate from the great basaltic ridge, 
 which forms the back-bone of the island and wind themselves 
 between the hills toward the coast, she has scattered loveli- 
 ness with a lavish hand. Vegetation there flourishes, and 
 the eye is gratified and refreshed with a variety of foliage and 
 the verdure of grassy slopes. " That the outwardly wild and 
 shapeless mass of rock which St. Helena seems upon its being 
 approached," says an accurate observer, " should contain the 
 alternation of hill and dale, and the delightful scenes of lux- 
 uriant and endless verdure, which in the interior every where 
 meet the eye, has been the wonder of all who have ever be- 
 held them." 1 
 
 But on emerging from the ravines to those parts of the 
 island where there is any table-land, a different kind of scenery 
 appears. Here there is little wood, except that of the gum- 
 tree, which affords scanty shade, and on every side frown 
 masses of dark rock, the summits of which are clothed with 
 the cabbage-tree and a gigantic species of fern. 
 
 " Each purple peak, each flinty spire, 
 Is bathed in floods of living fire ; 
 But not a setting beam can glow 
 Within the dark ravines below." 
 
 1 Seale's "Geognosy of St. Helena." 
 
36 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 The plains in the upland, however, which exists only at 
 Deadwood and Longwood, are by no means barren. They 
 are covered at various depths with a shaggy lava of a brown 
 and reddish hue, with a steel tarnish of amorphous scome, 
 parts of which soil yield corn and pasture in abundance. And 
 the climate here is more healthy than in the valleys. The 
 heat of the sun is tempered by a refreshing breeze, which, 
 wafted from the southern ocean, envelops the more elevated 
 parts of the island in a shroud of mist. With respect to the 
 climate, Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, in a letter to the author, 
 gives the following account of his experience of it during sev- 
 eral years: — "Lying within the influence of the southeast 
 trade-wind, which is usually a strong breeze between the 
 Cape and St. Helena, the tropical heat is moderated thereby 
 to a delightful temperature, and perhaps there is no finer 
 climate to be found than in certain parts of St. Helena. In 
 the town I rarely saw the thermometer above 80°, while the 
 general height may have been about 75°. But I write from 
 memory, having lost my register of the temperature. Be- 
 tween Longwood and Jamestown there is a difference of 8°. 
 or 10°. A fire is rarely necessary, unless perhaps as a cor- 
 rective of the dampness produced by fog, to which the ele- 
 vated portions of the island are occasionally liable. I believe 
 the average duration of life at St. Helena to be much as in 
 England." 
 
 And Mr. Henry, who was stationed there as assistant-sur- 
 geon during the time of Napoleon's residence at Longwood, 
 says i 1 
 
 "For a tropical climate, only fifteen degrees from the line, 2 
 St. Helena is certainly a healthy island, if not the most healthy 
 of this description in the world. During one period of twelve 
 months, we did not lose one man by disease out of five hun- 
 dred of the 66th quartered at Deadwood. In 1817, 18, and 
 19, Fahrenheit's thermometer, kept at the hospital there, 
 
 1 Events of a Military Life, vol. ii. p. 45. 
 
 2 It would be more accurate to say sixteen degrees. St. Helena is 
 situated 15° 55' south latitude. 
 
Oct. 1815. HEALTHINESS OF ST. HELENA. 37 
 
 ranged from fifty-five to seventy degrees, with the exception 
 of two calm days, when it rose to eighty. It was about twelve 
 degrees higher in the valleys and in James Town, on an aver- 
 age ; but from the situation of the latter, and the peculiar 
 radiation of heat to which it was exposed, the temperature 
 was sometimes upward of ninety. The great source of health 
 and comparative coolness in St. Helena is the southeast trade- 
 wind, coming from an immense extent of the southern ocean, 
 which winnows the rock, and wafts over it every morning a 
 cloudy awning that mitigates the strong sun. This is not 
 without concomitant humidity in the highlands for half the 
 year, but the inconvenience is as nothing compared with the 
 comfort, fertility, and salubrity which the clouds bestow. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the assertions of Napoleon's adherents, 
 who had an interest in painting the place in as dark colors 
 as they could, I must maintain that, correctly speaking, we 
 had no endemic disease in the island. Human life, certainly, 
 did not extend to the same length as in cooler regions, though 
 some organs appeared to be privileged there ; diseases of the 
 lungs, for instance, being very rare. It has been stated that 
 there are no old people in the island, but this is certainly a 
 mistake, though the proportion may appear small to an En- 
 glish eye. I believe it is as large as in Spain and the south 
 of Italy ; and I have seen some blacks of eighty, and whites 
 approaching ninety. The upper parts of St. Helena, includ- 
 ing the residence of Bonaparte, are decidedly the most healthy, 
 and we often moved our regimental convalescents from James 
 Town to Deadwood for cooler and better air. The clouds 
 moved so steadily and regularly with the trade- wind, that 
 there appeared to be no time for atmospherical accumulations 
 of electricity, and we never had any thunder or lightning. 
 No instance of hydrophobia in man or any inferior animal 
 had ever been known in St. Helena." 
 
 Napoleon did not land at James Town until the evening 
 of the 17th of October, when he took up his abode for one 
 night in the town, at the house of Mr. Porteous, which had 
 been engaged for him by the Admiral, but the next day he 
 
38 " CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 removed to the Briars, a country house, about a mile and a 
 half from James Town, belonging to Mr. Balcombe, who af- 
 terward became purveyor to the establishment at Longwood. 
 
 On the 17th, two proclamations were issued by Colonel 
 Wilkes, the acting Governor of the island. 
 
 One of these warned " all the inhabitants or other persons 
 on this island from aiding or abetting hereafter, in any way 
 whatever, the escape of the said General Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 or that of any of the French persons who have arrived here 
 with him, and interdicted most pointedly the holding of any 
 communication or correspondence with him or them, except- 
 ing only such as may regularly be authorized by the Govern- 
 or, or Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn, in whose imme- 
 diate charge the said General Bonaparte and his attendants 
 are particularly placed." 
 
 The other was as follows : 
 
 "Proclamation. 
 
 " October 17, 1815. 
 " Whereas, during the detention at St. Helena of General 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, and the French persons attending him, 
 it appears essentially necessary to adopt some additional pre- 
 cautions on the island, and particularly by night : This is 
 therefore to give notice to all the inhabitants and other per- 
 sons of every description, that after this date nobody whatever 
 will be permitted to pass in any part of the island (excepting 
 within the immediate precincts of the town), between the 
 hours of nine at night and daylight in the morning, without 
 the parole of the night, the sentries and patrols having orders 
 henceforth to secure and hold as prisoners until morning all 
 persons they may find between the said periods not possessing 
 the parole ; and the officers of the different guards, &c, are 
 to cause all persons so taken up to be sent, prior to being re- 
 leased the next morning, to the Governor, with a statement 
 of the particular circumstances under which they were appre- 
 hended, that he may, if he judge necessary, make such fur- 
 ther investigation into the ease, or take such further steps 
 respecting it, as to him may appear advisable. It is distinctly 
 
Oct. 1815. COLONEL WILKES'S PROCLAMATIONS. 39 
 
 to be understood by the inhabitants that this ordinance is in 
 no respect intended to interfere with the customary inter- 
 course of hospitality, and that every proper facility will be 
 given to any respectable inhabitant who may intend to return 
 home at a later hour than nine o'clock, by application to the 
 field-officer of the day if going from town, or to the commis- 
 sioned officer commanding any outpost in the country ; but a 
 written report of all persons to whom the parole may thus 
 have been granted in the country must be made to the field- 
 officer of the day on the ensuing morning. Patrols from all 
 the outposts are to be sent at uncertain hours of the night, to 
 be determined by the field-officer of the day, for the purpose 
 of enforcing this regulation." 
 
 Another proclamation on the same day declared that the 
 whole coast of the island, and all vessels and boats belonging 
 to it, were placed under the immediate control of Sir George 
 Cockburn, and all owners of boats were commanded to make 
 an exact return, specifying the description and use to which 
 they were applied. 
 
 On the 22d of October Sir George Cockburn sent H.M.S. 
 Redpole to England, and addressed an interesting report of 
 his proceedings to Mr. Croker, Secretary to the Admiralty. 
 In his dispatch he said : 
 
 " On the day of my arrival I lost no time in consulting fully 
 with Governor Wilkes upon the subject of the important 
 duties with which I am charged ; and the next day, having 
 visited the different houses and estates throughout the island, 
 and the Governor, as well as the members of the Council, 
 and every other person I have consulted here, most fully con- 
 curring with me in considering Longwood not only the best, 
 but the only place on the island calculated to answer for the 
 future residence of General Bonaparte, I have not hesitated in 
 fixing upon it for the purpose accordingly. Longwood is de- 
 tached from the general inhabited parts of the island, there- 
 fore none of the inhabitants have occasion, or are at all likely, 
 to be met with passing in its neighborhood, excepting those 
 who have business with the General or the estate : it is the 
 
40 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 most distant from the parts of the coast of the island always 
 accessible to boats, some of which spots, owing to the present 
 inadequacy of their defenses, the Governor considers it of im- 
 portance to keep from the view of General Bonaparte and his 
 military followers ; and at Longwood an extent of level ground 
 (easily to be secured by sentries) presents itself, perfectly adapt- 
 ed for horse exercise, carriage exercise, or for pleasant walk- 
 ing, which is not to be met with in all the other parts of the 
 island. The house is certainly small ; hut it is, I think, equal 
 in size and convenience to any of the others I have seen on 
 the island (out of the town), excepting only the Governor's 
 (Plantation House) ; and I trust the carpenters of the Nor- 
 thumberland, with the assistance of the workmen the Gov- 
 ernor has kindly offered me, will in a little time be able to 
 make such additions to the house as will render it, if not as 
 good a one as might be wished, yet at least as commodious 
 as necessary ; and whenever the artificers and frames, &c, 
 my Lord Mulgrave promised to send after me, arrive, we 
 shall be enabled further to improve it to any extent required. 
 
 " I have found the premises of Longwood in possession of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, but this officer, also most fully con- 
 curring in the advantages it offers for the residence of Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte, has most readily consented to change as 
 quickly as possible into another house, and has already com- 
 menced moving his effects, &c, accordingly. I have there- 
 fore reason to hope I shall be enabled to get the General and 
 his party into it in the course of next week. In the mean 
 time, as, after being so long confined on board of ship, the 
 General showed much anxiety to be permitted to land, which 
 might also he considered necessary for his health, and the 
 Governor not showing any objections to it, I have hired for 
 the moment a furnished house in the town by the week, in 
 which are now General Bertrand and all the other attend- 
 ants ; the General himself having, at his own request, re- 
 moved the day after his landing to a small house a little way 
 out of the town, in which there is only one spare room for 
 himself. 
 
 " I now beg to draw their Lordships' attention to the sub- 
 
Oct. 1815. SIR G. COCKBUEN'S FIRST DISPATCH. 41 
 
 jeet of the expenses to be incurred for the maintenance of 
 General Bonaparte and his followers on this island, upon 
 which point, my instructions not being very detailed, I will 
 venture to adopt such measures as appear to me most advis- 
 able under the existing circumstances, until I can receive the 
 further pleasure of His Majesty's Government. I find that 
 neither General Bonaparte nor any of his followers have 
 brought him an article of furniture excepting a small service 
 of plate, and another of Sevres china ; linen, and every thing 
 else, therefore, for the establishment of Longwood, must be 
 purchased for them ; and as they have not brought any money 
 with them, and the sum I took from them on board the Bel- 
 lerophon and transmitted to the Treasury proved so small 
 that it becomes out of the question looking to it for covering 
 the expenses for establishing and maintaining here the Gen- 
 eral and his suite, agreeably to what I consider the intention 
 of His Majesty's Government on this head — viz. ' that, as far 
 as it may prove practicable, such comforts and establishment 
 as are usually enjoyed by officers bearing the rank of full 
 General should be allowed to General Bonaparte, and a table 
 of eight covers kept for him, with every thing else in a simi- 
 lar ratio' — I propose to draw, from time to time, from the 
 commissary such sums as may be necessary for the furnish- 
 ing and keeping up accordingly, or as near as conveniently 
 may be, an establishment of this nature for the General and 
 his suite ; and the better to enable me to effect this at the 
 cheapest rate, and to avoid the imposition I might be liable 
 to as a stranger, I have engaged a Mr. Balcombe, a respect- 
 able inhabitant, strongly recommended to me by Colonel 
 Beatson before I quitted England, and by the Governor since 
 my arrival, as most conversant and efficient in such matters, 
 to purvey for me, and generally to assist me in procuring the 
 several things it becomes necessary for me to purchase upon 
 the island. . . . And it is necessary I should add, while on 
 this subject, that the Count de Bertrand has already applied 
 to me to know what allowances himself and the other attend- 
 ants of Bonaparte may look for, independent of their main- 
 tenance and lodging. I avoided giving a direct answer to 
 
42 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 him, on. the plea of not having precise instructions on the 
 point; but it does not appear that any of these people have 
 private fortunes of their own, by means of which they might 
 be supplied ; and as themselves and their families will be 
 constantly wanting clothes, &c, it becomes a subject on 
 which I beg to request I may be furnished with directions. 
 General Bonaparte has since his arrival also applied to me 
 for a carriage, on the plea of its being often the only exercise 
 he can take ; and as fortunately Governor "Wilkes happens 
 to have one which he will spare me for this purpose, I shall 
 not hesitate in purchasing it ; and the General having also 
 applied to me to cause him to be furnished with horses, I pro- 
 pose to send to the Cape for some for him, such indulgence 
 appearing to me to come decidedly within the idea I have of 
 the comforts and establishment intended to be allowed him. 
 
 "I am sorry to have to add that, since General Bonaparte 
 has landed here, he has appeared less resigned to his fate, 
 and has expressed himself more dissatisfied with the lot de- 
 creed him, than he did before ; this, however, I merely attri- 
 bute to the first effects of the general sterile appearance of 
 this island around where he now resides, and the little pros- 
 pect it yields himself and followers of meeting with any of 
 those amusements and enjoyments they have been accustomed 
 to. I am therefore the more anxious to get them into Long- 
 wood, where the appearance of the country is so much better ; 
 and when I have procured for them the carriage, horses, &c, 
 before mentioned, I am not without hopes that this discon- 
 tented turn may again wear off; and their Lordships will, I 
 trust, very readily believe that nothing shall ever be wanting 
 on my part to render the General's detention here as little 
 afflictive and irksome to him as possible, so long as the para- 
 mount object of his personal security be not compromised 
 
 " I have considered it incumbent on me to send back to 
 England, also in the Redpole, a French servant who was 
 smuggled on board the Northumberland, in addition to the 
 twelve domestics allowed to General Bonaparte, in the hurry 
 of the transhipment from the Bellerophon, though I had pre- 
 viously most pointedly refused to allow of his going. I have 
 
Nov. 1815. SIR G. COCKBTJRN'S FIRST DISPATCH. 43 
 
 therefore, not permitted him to set his foot ashore here, and I 
 have directed Captain Denman to be careful to secure him 
 when he arrives in England until their Lordships' pleasure 
 
 respecting him shall be known 
 
 " I have now only to add, for their Lordships' considera- 
 tion, that my present idea is, with a view to perfect the 
 security of this island, two vessels of war should be always 
 kept at anchor here, one where the Northumberland now is, 
 and one as far to the southward as she can get shelter ; and 
 two brigs in addition to those already sent should also be kept 
 cruizing in the offing, one in the north and the other in the 
 south ; to enable me to effect which, giving the necessary 
 reliefs and to supply contingencies, I should require three 
 more vessels of war under my command than are now upon 
 the station, and I must submit to their Lordships the propri- 
 ety of sending another post-captain to continue on it, to enable 
 me to maintain the necessary discipline by courts-martial, in 
 the event of the same becoming necessary." 
 
 On the 5th of November Count Bertrand addressed the 
 following letter and "note" 1 to Sir George Cockburn, pro- 
 testing against the whole proceedings of the English Govern- 
 ment toward Napoleon and his suite, and complaining of the 
 regulations to which they were subjected. It should be ob- 
 served that, although every possible effort was made to ren- 
 der Longwood fit for their reception, it was not ready until the 
 9th of December : 
 
 " St. Helena, 5th November, 1815. 
 " Monsieur. l'Amiral — As you are charged with every 
 thing concerning us, I have the honor to address to you a 
 Note of the way in which the service about the person of the 
 Emperor has hitherto been performed. I will occasionally 
 write to you on what regards us. — Pray accept, &o. 
 
 " The Grand Marechal Comte Bertrand." 
 
 1 Throughout the present work translations are generally given of 
 letters, documents, and expressions in a foreign language, but, wherever 
 it can be at all important to know the exact words used in the original, 
 they are subjoined. 
 
44 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON Chap. II. 
 
 " Note. 
 
 "The Emperor embarked on board the Bellerophon in the 
 roads off the He d'Aix on the 15th of July ; he remained on 
 board without landing till the 7th of August, when he was 
 put on board the Northumberland ; she sailed immediately 
 for St. Helena, and anchored in the roadstead on the 15th of 
 October at nine in the morning, and the Emperor remained 
 on board during the 15th and 16th. On the 17th, at eight in 
 the evening, after a passage of ninety-five days, the Emperor, 
 accompanied by Admiral Sir George Cockburn and the Grand 
 Marechal, landed, and repaired to a furnished house, where 
 he occupied one room, the rest of the house being occupied by 
 the officers and other persons of his suite. The next day, the 
 18th, at six in the morning, he went on horseback with the 
 Admiral and Grand Marechal to look at Longwood, where 
 he breakfasted with the Lieutenant-Governor. On his return 
 he stopped at a place two miles from the town, and situated 
 at the extremity of the valley, preferring to live here in a room 
 which the Admiral had prepared, rather than in the house in 
 town, which had neither court nor garden in which he could 
 walk. The Emperor is still in the same lodging, where he 
 is very uncomfortable, the pavilion having but one room, in 
 which he is obliged to sleep, eat, work, and remain all day. 
 The Comte de Las Cases and his son occupy a small chamber 
 above. After so long a confinement on board ship it would 
 have been very desirable if the Emperor could have had a bath ; 
 but this was not possible, the place offering no convenience 
 of any kind. It is necessary that the Emperor should be 
 able to ride on horseback ; for this purpose a few saddle- 
 horses are requisite, which would be attended to by his own 
 people — one for himself, one for an officer of his suite, and a 
 third for his servant. After having been for three weeks on 
 board the Bellerophon with our arms, and surrounded by the 
 respect due to the Emperor and to our rank, we were dis- 
 armed in violation of all justice, and even contrary to the 
 usages of war in the case of general officers. The Admiral 
 has just returned our swords to us, but on the condition of 
 
Nov. 1815. THE ADMIRAL'S ANSWER. 45 
 
 our not using them, as we are always to consider ourselves 
 prisoners of war. Indeed we can not communicate with the 
 pavilion occupied by the Emperor without being accompan- 
 ied by a sergeant ; and the Emperor himself was at first sur- 
 rounded by sentries and officers on duty. The sentries have 
 since been withdrawn. It is greatly to be desired that the 
 authorities would so conduct themselves toward the Emperor 
 as to banish from his mind all recollection of the painful pos- 
 ition in which he is placed ; I do not hesitate to say it is 
 such as barbarians even would be touched by and have con- 
 sideration for. It can not be feared that any escape can 
 be effected from this rock, almost every where inaccessible. 
 Why can they not, if it be deemed necessary, increase the 
 guard on the coast, and allow us to ramble over the island 
 without restraint ? It were also much to be wished that 
 we might be lodged near the Emperor, to bear him com- 
 pany. 
 
 " The Grand Marechal Comte Bertrand." 
 
 To this Sir George Gockburn answered — 
 
 "Northumberland, St. Helena Roads, 
 ' Novemlcr, 6th, 1815. 
 
 " Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter and note of yesterday's date, by which you oblige 
 me officially to explain to you that I have no cognizance of 
 any Emperor being actually upon this island or of any person 
 possessing such dignity having (as stated by you) come 
 hither with me in the Northumberland. With regard 
 to yourself and the other officers of distinction who have ac- 
 companied you here, it has been, and will continue to be, my 
 most anxious study to render your situations as little irksome 
 and disagreeable as possible under the existing circumstances ; 
 and I can only further assure you that I very sincerely lament 
 to find my endeavors on this head seem hitherto to have 
 proved unsuccessful. I do myself also the honor of stating to 
 you, in reply to a part of your note, that it is incompatible 
 with my instructions to permit of your passing beyond the 
 established line of sentries without your being accompanied 
 
46 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 by an English officer or non-commissioned officer. I seize 
 this opportunity to beg of you to accept the assurances, &C. 1 
 
 "G. CoCKBURN." 
 
 Sir George Cockburn transmitted this correspondence to 
 England on the 11th of the same month, and wrote to Earl 
 Bathurst : 
 
 " I beg permission to remark to your Lordship upon this 
 curious note, that, although the tenor of it prevented my en- 
 tering at all into the merits of M. de Bertrand's statement, 
 yet General Bonaparte (if by the term ' Emperor' he meant 
 to designate that person) inhabits his present temporary resi- 
 dence wholly and solely in compliance with his own urgent 
 and pointed request after looking at it ; and the only English 
 officer stationed there is the one in attendance upon the Gen- 
 eral, agreeably to my instructions on that head. 
 
 " I will only detain your Lordship, however, while I add, 
 that since my arrival in this island I have not ceased in my 
 endeavors to render these people as comfortable as their situ- 
 ations and the existing circumstances would admit of; but, I 
 am sorry to say, I find their requests and complaints (particu- 
 larly those of M. de Bertrand) but increase with every favor 
 and attention shown them." 
 
 There is, it must be confessed, some affectation in this letter ; 
 and we can only smile at Sir George Cockburn's doubt as to 
 who was meant by the Emperor at St. Helena. Upon the ques- 
 tion of the imperial title, it is, I think, difficult to refute the 
 arguments used by Napoleon in favor of his right to be styled 
 Emperor. We, indeed, had not recognized that title when he 
 was on the throne of France, but the reason was that we had 
 been at war with him from a period prior to his assumption of 
 the imperial crown ; and no opportunity had occurred for the 
 interchange of courtesies as between friendly powers. But 
 he was not the less Emperor of France, by a solemn act of 
 coronation, with the assent and amidst the acclamations of 
 the nation ; nor can we for a moment doubt that if, at any 
 
 1 See 'Reeits,' i. 175. 
 
Nov. 1815. HIS RIGHT TO THE IMPERIAL TITLE. 47 
 
 time between his ceasing to be First Consul and his invasion 
 of Spain, he had been willing to make peace upon fair and 
 equitable terms, England would have treated with him in 
 his character of Emperor. Indeed she did so at Chatillon in 
 1814 ; and if Napoleon had only then been true to himself, 
 and not been dazzled by a temporary success over the troops 
 of Blucher into a belief that he could arrest the tide of inva- 
 sion which was rolling over France, he might have kept pos- 
 session of the imperial throne, with the full assent of England, 
 provided that he was content with the ancient limits of the 
 monarchy. 
 
 It seemed puerile in us to ignore a title by which he will 
 be known in history as certainly as Augustus or Charlemagne. 
 It can not be urged that to recognize Napoleon as Emperor 
 would have been to abandon the cause of the Bourbons, for 
 we had previously concluded the treaty of Amiens with him 
 as the de facto ruler of France ; and we had no right to im- 
 pose either a king or a form of government upon that country. 
 A better reason than the almost technical one, that we had 
 not acknowledged him as Emperor in the height of his pow- 
 er, and ought not therefore to do so in his fall, may be found 
 in the danger there might be of keeping alive pretensions which 
 Napoleon had formally renounced. His partisans might be less 
 ready to abandon the cause of their former master while he re- 
 tained the imperial style, and was present to their minds still 
 as the Emperor, acknowledged as such by the powers of Eu- 
 rope. But there would have been no difficulty in calling him 
 ex-Emperor, which would have sufficiently expressed the his- 
 tory of the past and the fact of the present. It would have 
 gratified his feelings, and done much to smooth the difficul- 
 ties which occurred at St. Helena. Or the English Ministry 
 might have promptly acceded to his own expressed wish to 
 assume an incognito, and take the name of Baron Duroc or 
 Colonel Meudon, which he himself, more than once proposed ; 
 but Lord Bathurst, as will be seen threw cold water on the sug- 
 gestion when it was communicated to him by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 At all events, I think we choose for him the worst title that 
 could have been selected. We can not wonder that he who had 
 
48 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 entered every capital on the continent of Europe as a conquer- 
 or — who had partitioned kingdoms and dictated laws to nations 
 — who had created Marshals of world-wide renown, and had 
 heen for seven years seated on the throne of France — should 
 have felt it as an insult to he told that he was henceibrth 
 to be known only as General Bonaparte. A philosopher might 
 indeed have cared little for the name of former sovereignty 
 when its power and reality were gone for ever ; hut Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte was not a philosopher. He had played for 
 the prize of worldly ambition and won a greater stake than 
 had ever fallen to the lot of man. He was not indifferent to 
 titular distinction, and did not affect to despise the insignia 
 of power. "He persisted," says Lamartine, 1 "with an affec- 
 tation which his flatterers consider heroic, but which history 
 will judge as puerile, because it is a misconception of his for- 
 tune, in exacting the titles of Emperor and Majesty, which 
 England, never having acknowledged the Empire, was not of- 
 ficially bound to give him. He appealed to heaven and earth 
 against this breach of etiquette. He dictated notes on this 
 trifle as he would have done on the conquest or the loss of 
 Europe." It was throughout the whole period of his captivi- 
 ty at St. Helena, a constant subject of irritation and dispute; 
 and, as he himself said, one half of the disgusts he there ex- 
 perienced originated in that source. But it would, I think, 
 have been more magnanimous in England to have humored 
 in this point the wish of fallen greatness ; and no real danger 
 need have been apprehended, although perhaps some little in- 
 convenience might be felt. 
 
 Sir George Cockburn wrote to the Admiralty, and suggest- 
 ed that ships coming to St. Helena should call at Bordeaux for 
 claret and other French wines, "as General Bonaparte and his 
 followers (the ladies and children as well as the gentlemen) 
 invariably drink wine at breakfast, dinner and supper ;" and 
 to give some idea of the average expense of this, he inclosed a 
 statement of the wines which had been consumed on the pas- 
 sage out, in addition to some casks of inferior description for 
 
 1 Histoire de la Restauration. 
 
Nov. 1815. INSTRUCTIONS FOR, ORDERLY OFFICER. 49 
 
 the servants. The whole amounted to more than a hundred 
 dozen of wines of various kinds. 
 
 Instructions of the most rigorous nature were given to the 
 officers in command of the various posts and guards, especial- 
 ly those toward the sea, to prevent improper or unauthorized 
 communication with any part of the island ; and in addition, 
 an orderly officer 1 was placed in constant attendance upon Bo- 
 naparte, whose duties are best shown by his instructions : 
 
 " The officer charged with this duty is not to absent him- 
 self from the premises where the General may be staying, more 
 than two hours at a time, without having obtained the sanc- 
 tion of the Admiral or Commandant, He is to make a point 
 of seeing or of obtaining satisfactory information of the Gen- 
 eral being on the spot, at least twice in the twenty-four hours : 
 by ' satisfactory information' is meant such as Dr. O'Meara, 
 or other person of responsibility, reporting having seen him in 
 his own room, confined by sickness or otherwise. Copies of 
 the proclamations which have been, or which may be, issued 
 here with reference to, and in consequence of, the General's 
 being detained upon this island, should be delivered to the 
 officer charged with this duty ; and he will be expected to 
 see them attended to and complied with as far as the same 
 may depend upon him, and to be very careful to inform the 
 Admiral whenever he has cognizance of their being in the 
 slightest degree infringed ; and he is to endeavor (as far as 
 may be practicable without attracting the General's notice) 
 to prevent the slaves upon the island from approaching, so as 
 to render their being talked to by him likely. Whenever the 
 General rides or walks beyond the boundaries where the sen- 
 tries are placed, he is to be invariably attended by the officer ; 
 and should the General during such rides or walks approach 
 the coast, or any of the fortified parts of the island, the officer 
 is respectfully to request of him to turn in some other direc- 
 tion, acquainting him (if requisite) with the reason. After 
 
 1 The first orderly officer was Captain Thomas Poppleton, of the 53d 
 regiment. 
 
 Vol. I— C 
 
50 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II, 
 
 the arrival of the dragoons written for from the Cape, the 
 officer is, during such excursions, to be always attended by 
 one orderly at least ; and the officer on this duty is every day 
 to dispatch one of them to the Admiral at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, and at sunset in the evening, with a written report, 
 signed by the said officer, stating the hour the General was 
 last seen by him, or that he received satisfactory information 
 of his being on the spot, and whether every thing is going on 
 well with regard to the General and his French attendants, 
 or otherwise, as the case may be. He is likewise to be partic- 
 ular in informing the Admiral whenever he observes symptoms 
 of packing parcels or trunks, or in short any extraordinary 
 movements among any of the Frenchmen which may in the 
 least tend to awaken a suspicion respecting them ; and he is 
 always to keep a dragoon in attendance ready to send off at 
 a moment's warning between the above specified hours, should 
 circumstances arise which he may judge it advisable to com- 
 municate speedily to the Admiral. He is to take care that 
 the General and (after they are established at Longwood) all 
 his attendants are within the house by nine o'clock (a signal 
 will be forthwith established to notify to all parts of the island 
 the moment the General or any of his attendants may be 
 missed), unless a notification from the Admiral be made to 
 the officer to inform him of the Admiral having given his 
 sanction for their absence beyond that hour. He is clearly to 
 be given to understand that all foreigners of every description 
 who have accompanied General Bonaparte to this island are 
 subject to the same restrictions, and their conduct is to be 
 equally subject to the supervision and control of the officer as 
 the General. And lastly, the officer charged with this duty, 
 who must he of the rank of a captain, is to understand that 
 the subaltern's guard, which, so soon as the General removes 
 to Longwood, is to be established upon the premises, will be 
 ordered to pay immediate attention to any request he may see 
 occasion to make, and, in short, will be entirely subject to his 
 directions." 
 
 On the 7th of December, a few days before Napoleon re- 
 
Dec. 1815. THE BfilARS. 51 
 
 moved to Longwood, a proclamation was issued forbidding 
 civilians to pass eastward of Hutt's Gate in the direction of 
 Longwood, on any pretense whatever, by night or by day, 
 without a passport, on pain of being made prisoners ; and 
 private signals were established for the posts throughout the 
 island to intimate the presence and movements of Bonaparte. 
 
 While Napoleon was at the Briars he exhibited himself in 
 his most amiable mood. His mind was soothed by the beauty 
 of the scenery, and in the retired privacy of its shady walks 
 he could meditate on the past, and speculate, not perhaps 
 altogether without hope, on the future. He liked the family 
 of the Balcombes, who did every thing in their power to min- 
 ister to his comfort, and he soon made himself quite at home. 
 He was an especial favorite with the young people, and one 
 of the daughters has written a very interesting account of his 
 stay among them. 1 She tells us how good-humoredly he bore 
 her girlish tricks — how she made him burn his fingers with 
 hot sealing-wax, and irreverently pushed the .Grand Cham- 
 berlain down a steep path against the Emperor — how he 
 revenged himself upon her by running away with her ball- 
 dress — how he played at blindman's buff, and entered into 
 the spirit of the game as heartily as a child. These are 
 pleasing traits of Napoleon's disposition, and showed that he 
 still retained a freshness of heart and elasticity of mind which 
 the vicissitudes of his marvelous career and his mighty fall 
 had not been able to destroy. He occupied while at the 
 Briars a marquee and a single room detached from the house, 
 which had been built for a ball-room. The marquee was 
 pitched on a small lawn, and was connected with the house 
 by a covered way. It was divided into two compartments, 
 of which the inner one formed Napoleon's bedroom, and Gen- 
 eral Gourgaud slept on a small tent bed at the extremity of 
 the other. On the turf floor between the two divisions of his 
 tent the devotion of his followers had cut out an imperial crown. 
 
 In this delightful retreat he resided until the 10th of Decem- 
 
 1 Recollections of the Emperor Napoleon, by Mrs. Abell (formerly 
 Miss Elizabeth Balcombe.) 
 
52 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 ber, and left it with great reluctance to take up his abode at 
 Longwood, where every exertion had been made to render it 
 as fit for his reception as circumstances would allow. The 
 precincts of Longwood itself comprised a circumference of 
 about four miles. It was of an irregular figure, and fenced 
 by a low rough stone wall. The space, however, within 
 which Napoleon might ride or walk unattended by an officer, 
 and in complete seclusion, was triangular in form, and em- 
 braced a circuit of twelve miles. "Within it was situated 
 nearly all the tolerably level ground in the island, and both 
 Longwood and Deadwood adjoining, where the British troops 
 were encamped, were nearly flat and well covered with turf. 
 On the latter ground was formed an excellent race-course, a 
 mile and a half in length, of which one mile was in a straight 
 line. The plateau on which Longwood stands is flanked on 
 all sides by deep and precipitous ravines which form walls of 
 rock inaccessible to the foot of man, and the road leading to 
 it from James Town runs along the top of a narrow ridge, on 
 one side of which lies a tremendous hollow, known by the 
 name of the Devil's Punch Bowl. 
 
 The house at Longwood had been originally intended as a 
 country residence for the Governor of the island, and was at 
 first merely a small dwelling of one story. It was added to 
 for the reception of Bonaparte and his suite, and a tolerably 
 correct but not flattering idea of it may be gathered from the 
 following description given by O'Meara in his book : 
 
 " Longwood is situated on a plain formed on the summit of 
 a mountain, about eighteen hundred feet above the level of 
 the sea ; and, including Deadwood, comprises fourteen or fif- 
 teen hundred acres of land, a great part of which is planted 
 with an indigenous tree called gum wood. Its appearance is 
 
 sombre and unpromising Unfortunately the house only 
 
 consisted of five rooms on a ground floor, which had been 
 built one after the other, according to the wants of the family, 
 and without any regard to either order or convenience, and 
 were totally inadequate for the accommodation of himself and 
 his suite. Several additions were consequently necessary. . . . 
 
Dec. 1815. DESCRIPTION OF LONG WOOD HOUSE. 53 
 
 By means of incessant labor Long-wood House was enlarged 
 so as to admit, on the 9th of December, Napoleon and part 
 of his household, Count and Countess Montholon and children, 
 Count and young Las Cases. Napoleon himself had a small 
 narrow bedroom on the ground floor, a writing-room of the 
 same dimensions, and a sort of small antechamber, in which 
 a bath was put up. The writing-room opened into a dark 
 and low apartment, which was converted into a dining-room. 
 The opposite wing consisted of a hedroom, larger than that of 
 Napoleon, which, with an antechamber and closet, formed the 
 accommodation for Count and Countess Montholon and sou. 
 From the dining-room a door led to a drawing-room, about 
 eighteen feet by fifteen. In prolongation of this, one longer, 
 much higher, and more airy, was built of wood by Sir George 
 Cockburn; with three windows on each side, and a veranda 
 leading to the garden. This, although it labored under the 
 inconvenience of becoming intolerably hot toward the evening, 
 whenever the sun shone forth in tropical splendor, by the rays 
 penetrating the wood of which it was composed, was the only 
 good room in the building. Las Cases had a room next to the 
 kitchen, 1 which had formerly been occupied by some of Col- 
 onel Skelton's servants, through the ceiling of which an open- 
 ing was cut so as to admit a very narrow stair, which led to 
 a sort of cockloft above, where his son reposed. The garrets 
 over the old building were floored and converted into apart- 
 ments for Marchand, Cipriani, St. Denis, Josephine, &c. 
 From the sloping structure of the roof, it was impossible to 
 stand upright in those garrets, unless in the centre ; and the 
 sun, penetrating through the slating, rendered them occasion- 
 ally insupportably hot. Additional rooms were constructing 
 for them, and for General Gourgaud, the orderly officer, and 
 myself, who, in the mean time, were accommodated with 
 
 1 " Some time afterward an apartment was built for the Count and 
 his son at the back of the house, which was subsequently divided into 
 a bed and sitting room, with one for their servant. They were so small 
 that there was not room for a chair between the bedsteads of the father 
 and son, and so low that the ceiling could be touched by a person stand- 
 ing on the floor." — Voice, p. 16, note. 
 
54 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 tents Count and Countess Bertrand and family were 
 
 lodged in a little house at Hutt's Gate, about a mile from 
 Longwood, which, though uncomfortable, was nevertheless 
 hired at their own request, and was the only one which could 
 be procured at a moderate rate in the neighborhood, as it was 
 found impossible to accommodate them at Longwood until 
 a new house, the foundation of which was immediately laid 
 down by Sir George Cockburn, could be finished. .... A 
 space of about twelve miles in circumference was allotted to 
 Napoleon, within which he might ride or walk, without being 
 accompanied by a British officer. Within this space was 
 placed the camp of the 53d, at Deadwood, about a mile from 
 Longwood house, and another at Hutt's Gate, opposite Ber- 
 
 trand's, close to whose door there was an officer's guard 
 
 A subaltern's guard was posted at the entrance of Longwood, 
 x about six hundred paces from the house, and a cordon of sen- 
 :, tinels and pickets were placed round the limits. At nine 
 o'clock the sentinels were drawn in, and stationed in commu- 
 nication with each other, surrounding the house in such posi- 
 tions that no person could come in or go out without being 
 seen and scrutinized by them. At the entrance of the house 
 double sentinels were placed, and patrols were continually 
 passing backward and forward. After nine, Napoleon was 
 not at liberty to leave the house, unless in company with a 
 field-officer ; and no person whatever was allowed to pass 
 without the countersign. This state of affairs continued until 
 day light jnj-he morning." 1 ^____ 
 
 *""' Immediately after Napoleon had removed to Longwood 
 Sir George Cockburn drew up the following Regulations for 
 securing his person : 
 
 " That the officer stationed at Hutt's Gate be ordered not 
 to allow any person to pass that post in the direction toward 
 Longwood, excepting only officers in uniform, people belong- 
 ing to the water-works or Company's farm, persons having 
 business with the camp, and for the present the persons em- 
 
 1 Voice from St. Helena, vol. i. pp. 10, 15, 20, 21. Longwood is also 
 fully described, and plans of it are given, in Count Montholon's " Recits." 
 
Dec. 1815. THE ADMIRAL'S REGULATIONS. 55 
 
 ployed on the improvements carrying on at Longwood, unless 
 furnished with a pass from the Governor, Commandant, or 
 Admiral. 
 
 " The officer in charge of the guard at Longwood House to 
 be directed not to suffer any person whatever to pass within 
 the lodge gates or to come within any part of the premises 
 of Longwood, unless they produce a pass, as in the preceding 
 article, excepting only the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 Commandant, Members of Council, and the Admiral, and 
 persons belonging to the establishment of the house, to the 
 Company's farm or water-works, and (for the present) those 
 employed upon the improvements." 
 
 An addition was made to these Regulation on the 31st of 
 December, and a pass from Count Bertrand was allowed to 
 introduce persons into the precincts of Longwood. Sir George 
 Cockburn stated also in a letter to Sir George Bingham, who 
 commanded the troops — 
 
 " An invitation from Comte de Bertrand to any person to 
 come to Longwood may also be considered in future as a suf- 
 ficient pass ; but it is to be understood that every written 
 document used to pass any person or persons into Longwood 
 premises is to be left with the guard at the lodge gates ; and 
 I have further to request you will give directions that all 
 these documents may be carefully preserved, and invariably 
 transmitted to me by the earliest favorable opportunity which 
 may offer on the succeeding day." 
 
 Secret signals were established for communicating immedi- 
 ate notice of Bonaparte's movements; and Captain Poppleton 
 was directed to inform Sir George Cockburn, by signal, once 
 every morning and again in the course of the evening, "wheth- 
 er all was well with regard to the General and the other 
 foreigners at Longwood ;" and he was to intimate occasionally 
 at other times their movements as he might think advisable, 
 particularly when any one of them passed (even if properly 
 attended) the cordon of sentinels. Those signals were prin- 
 cipally to the following effect : " All is well with respect to 
 General Bonaparte and family." "General Bonaparte is un- 
 
56 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 well." " General Bonaparte is out, properly attended, beyond 
 the cordon of sentries." " General Bonaparte is out, but 
 within the cordon of sentries." " General Bonaparte has been 
 out longer than usual, and is supposed to have passed the sen- 
 tries, not properly attended." "General Bonaparte is miss- 
 ing." " General Bonaparte has returned home." "General 
 Bonaparte is in want of — — ." In the event of the signal 
 being made expressive of " General Bonaparte being missing," 
 immediately after it was answered at the commanding tele- 
 graphic officer's post, a blue flag was to be hoisted, which 
 was to be repeated by every signal-post on the island as fast 
 as they discovered it ; and this flag was to be continued flying 
 until notice was obtained of the General, or till it was hauled 
 down at the post of the commanding telegraphic officer ; and 
 upon the above signal being made the signal officers at the 
 different posts were strictly enjoined to lose no time in com- 
 municating the intelligence personally to the places nearest 
 them were troops might be stationed, to the "end that patrols 
 might be immediately sent out in every direction to insure 
 his recovery, and to prevent the practicability of any person 
 whatever escaping from the island. Whenever the signal 
 ,\cas made of his "being out longer than usual, and supposed 
 to have passed the sentinels, and not properly attended," it 
 was to be repeated to the different posts throughout the island, 
 and the same precautions were to be taken as in the event of 
 the preceding signal; but the blue flag was not to be hoisted. 
 In the event of either of the foregoing signals being made with 
 reference only to any of the attendants of the Generals, the 
 signals were to be repeated to the different posts, and the 
 same measures were to be also taken as in those cases, but 
 the blue flag was not to be hoisted. 
 
 " On the 20th of December," says Count Montholon, "the 
 Admiral came to Longwood, but the Emperor would not re- 
 ceive him ; he was always angry that he had not the whole 
 island for his prison, and refused to believe that the restric- 
 tions upon his liberty were the orders of Ministers. He com- 
 manded me to write a series of complaints' to the Admiral on 
 1 Recits, i. 200. 
 
Dec. 1815. COUNT MONTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE. 57 
 
 this subject." These were comprehended in a letter which 
 was a complete catalogue of grievances, written in a dictato- 
 rial and insolent tone. It was as follows : 
 
 " To Admiral Sir George Cockburn. 
 
 " Longwood, December 21, 1815. 
 "Sir — Our condition at Longwood, distressing as it may 
 he, would not draw from us any complaint, and we could bear 
 it with the resignation of martyrs, were it not for the constant 
 want of respect evinced for our rank and our sufferings. If, to 
 the injustice committed by your Government in sending the 
 Emperor Napoleon to St. Helena, in defiance of the rights of 
 nations, and which will excite the indignation of all times and 
 all people, they have added that of confining us to the most 
 barren spot on the island, at least we had a right to expect those 
 consolations of which even your Ministers had not dared to de- 
 prive us ; and yet we find that such intercourse with the inhab- 
 itants as was allowed by the instructions you communicated to 
 us is every day more restricted. You had arranged that we 
 might walk in any part of the island, if accompanied by an En- 
 glish officer, or by Dr. O'Meara, surgeon of the British navy, 
 and established by you at Longwood. General Gourgaud paid 
 a visit to the Governor at Plantation House, accompanied by 
 that officer ; this was in conformity with your own Regulations, 
 and yet you reprimanded Mr. O'Meara, and the next day issued 
 an order to the troops that he was no longer chosen to accom- 
 pany us, and that we could not for the future go beyond the 
 boundaries of Longwood without being escorted by such officer 
 as you yourself should point out on each occasion to the 
 Camp-Major. It was agreed upon between us, Sir, that the 
 porter at the gate of Longwood should be a Frenchman, and 
 the sentinels should refer visitors to him to know if they 
 could be received; this was clearly allowing them to come 
 freely. I accordingly wrote to the Captain of the 53d regi- 
 ment, on duty at Longwood, begging him to give orders that 
 persons who should come to visit us might be directed to the 
 lodge where I had placed the porter ; but I then learnt, to 
 my great surprise, that it was expressly forbidden to come to 
 
58 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. 11. 
 
 Longwood to visit the Emperor or any of us without a pass- 
 port from you. Can it be possible that we are denied the 
 little consolation which we might derive from the society of a 
 few individuals shut up like ourselves in this desert, or of that 
 of a few of the inhabitants, who have i'requently expressed 
 their wish to come and see us ? The officers of the 53d, en- 
 camped within 500 paces of Longwood, wished to come here ; 
 the permission to do so was refused them. You told me yes- 
 terday, Sir, if I understood you rightly, that this order was 
 given only under the apprehension that these visits might 
 importune the Emperor; but his majesty had never com- 
 plained of this kind of importunity while at the Briars, and 
 this inconvenience, if even it had been deemed such, could 
 easily have been obviated by directions given by ourselves to 
 the domestics of the establishment. The line of our inclosure 
 seems purposely to have been traced with a view to avoid 
 taking in such of the country houses as, from their position, 
 might have formed the object of a walk. The boundary of 
 the inclosure comprises only arid rocks and ravines which the 
 eye can not contemplate without horror ; the only vegetation 
 is that of the gum-tree, which affords no shade ; water is 
 very scarce and oi'bad quality. We might, at least, have ex- 
 pected that we should have been spared the inconveniences 
 we had experienced in town from the continual mistakes 
 in the orders given out, but, whatever care the officers and 
 soldiers of the 53d regiment take to avoid them, the multi- 
 plicity and frequent change of orders which they receive are 
 such, that they have not been able to prevent these annoy- 
 ances from having occurred twice already. I appeal to 
 yourself, Sir, does not every day bring with it some change 
 in our position, or are we not confined to fixed rules ? The 
 Emperor is ill at ease at Longwood, and is greatly incommod- 
 ed by the smell of paint. The climate is more uncongenial 
 at this particular spot than at any other part of the island. 
 It is always windy, and it rains every day. We live in the 
 midst of clouds and in a very damp atmosphere. The Em- 
 peror feols his health giving way, and we all suffer more or 
 less. We want for every thing, and the little furniture at 
 
.dec. isio. COUNT MONTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE. 59 
 
 Long-wood seems to be made up of articles that have been 
 worn out in servants' halls, and no French servant. On our 
 arrival here his Majesty commissioned me to go and buy, at 
 his own expense, such furniture and linen as was wanting, 
 and as could be had in the shops of James Town. The next 
 day I learned that Mr. Glover, your secretary, had caution- 
 ed the shopkeepers not to let me have any thing. There are, 
 within the inclosure in which we are allowed to stroll, some 
 wild goats and partridges ; we would have liked to have 
 killed a few, and I had the honor to request of you yesterday 
 to return us our fowling-pieces; but if you can not, Sir, 
 grant my request without obliging us to give them up every 
 evening to the captain on guard, we prefer that you should 
 persist in the resolution you took on this subject in town with 
 regard to General Gourgaud. In conclusion, Sir, I beg you 
 will be so kind as to give me your answer to the following 
 demands : — 1st, That the inclosure be enlarged, and that we 
 may go without constraint to the Governor at Plantation 
 House. 2d, That any inhabitants of the island, or any offi- 
 cers of the 53d regiment, who should desire to come to Long- 
 wood, be ?Uowed to do so freely. 3d, that Dr. O'Meara may 
 be permitted, as heretofore, to accompany us ; the refusal 
 given to him to do so being an insult to him as well as to us. 
 4th, That we be allowed to go to town with an English offi- 
 cer, and that the steward or any other of the Emperor's 
 domestics be also allowed to go to town, accompanied by an 
 orderly, whenever it may be necessary for procuring provisions 
 or for other wants of the house. 5th, The establishment of 
 Longwood, which is unwholesome and disagreeable in sum- 
 mer, will be intolerable in winter ; and I demand that we 
 may be enabled to fix ourselves in a part of the island where 
 there is verdure, less frightful scenery, and a temperature 
 more healthy and agreeable. I should have repaired in per- 
 son, Sir, to carry to you these remonstrances and demands, if 
 I had been permitted to go to town, as was the case in the 
 first days after our arrival. I beg you, Sir, to receive the as- 
 surances, &c. 
 
 "Le General Cokte de Montholon " 
 
60 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 To this letter Sir George Cockburn sent the following 
 reply : 
 
 " To General Comte de Montholon. 
 
 " St. Helena, December 22, 1815. 
 
 « Sir — A letter of yesterday's date which I have received 
 bearing your signature I have read, I assure you, Sir, with 
 equal surprise and concern. "With regard to what is therein 
 stated respecting an ' Emperor Napoleon,' I have only to in- 
 form you that I have no cognizance of such a person. The 
 very uncalled-for intemperance and indecency of the language 
 which you have permitted yourself to use to me respecting my 
 Government, I should not perhaps, Sir, condescend to notice, 
 did I not think it right to inform you that I shall not in future 
 consider it necessary to answer any letters which I may re- 
 ceive couched in a similar strain of unfounded invective, and 
 to assure you how much you are deceived if you really be- 
 lieve the Government of Great Britain have not, ' dared' (as 
 you have been pleased to express it) to give every requisite 
 order for authorizing whatever measures may be deemed 
 necessary, as well for the furtherance of the purposes for 
 which you and the other French officers and persons who 
 have accompanied you have been sent here, or for insuring a 
 continuance of due tranquillity and security to the island ; al- 
 though I have the satisfaction to add, that the instructions 
 hereupon breathe throughout the same moderation and justice 
 which have hitherto characterized the whole conduct of my 
 Government toward you, and which (notwithstanding your 
 individual assertion to the contrary) will, I have no doubt, ob- 
 tain the admiration of future ages, as well as of every unpre- 
 judiced person of the present. It is not for me, Sir, to explain 
 the grounds on which I have found fault with Dr. O'Meara 
 or any other British subject on this island. Yourself, Sir, as 
 well as any of the French officers and other persons who have 
 accompanied you to this island, have (until I judge it neces- 
 sary to give contrary directions) free permission to visit not 
 only the town, but every part of the island (those places alone 
 excepted where there are fortifications), it being only required 
 
Dec. 1815. THE ADMIRAL'S REPLY. 61 
 
 that you be accompanied by a British officer whenever be- 
 yond the boundaries allotted you around Longwood ; but I 
 must still decline consenting to a physician being considered 
 as an officer within the intention of this regulation. No 
 officer nor respectable inhabitant of this island whatsoever 
 has been or will be prevented from visiting at Longwood 
 House, upon being disposed so to do, provided they confirm to 
 such regulations (with respect to themselves) as the Govern- 
 or (if inhabitants) or the Commandant or myself (if officers) 
 may consider it right to require of them, according to the cir- 
 cumstances of the moment. The orders given upon your 
 arrival at Longwood have neither been increased nor altered 
 in the slightest degree, excepting only upon the points to which 
 at your repeated personal solicitation I so reluctantly consent- 
 ed ; and as I explained to you, Sir, in the most forcible man- 
 ner possible, at the moment I so swerved to oblige you, the 
 reasons which induced me so long and strongly to combat 
 your wishes to obtain alterations in the regulations then es- 
 tablished,! could but little have expected to have received from 
 you the remarks thereupon contained in your letter ; and to the 
 question you conclude this subject with, ' whether changes are' 
 not daily taking place with regard to ' your position,' I do not 
 hesitate in answering most pointedly ' No,' nor do I think it 
 at all likely any will take place, because it does not appear to 
 me at present necessary that any should. Longwood is allowed 
 to be beyond comparison the most pleasant as well as the most 
 healthy spot of this most healthful island. Every pains have 
 been taken to make the house as comfortable as possible with- 
 in the short time which has been allowed for improving it, 
 and I derived great satisfaction, when I accompanied General 
 Bonaparte to it, from his having expressed himself to me so 
 much contented with it. I am, sir, of course proportionably 
 mortified to learn your unfavorable opinion of it, which, how- 
 ever, I am not without hope may soon change with the 
 weather, which has of late been rainy beyond precedent at 
 this season of the year. Mr. Glover, my secretary, assures me 
 that what you state to have learnt, respecting his having de- 
 sired merchants in James Town not to deliver to you articles 
 you wished to buy with your own money, is without founda- 
 
62 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 tion in truth ; to prove which, he requests only to know the 
 name of the person who gave you this information. As when I 
 had the honor to seeyouthe day hefore yesterday, and to receive 
 from you the request respecting the fowling-pieces, in which 
 I immediately acquiesced, the proposal of their being lodged 
 out of the house, though within reach when wanted, origi- 
 nated with yourself, I have not been less surprised at the para- 
 graph on this subject than at the rest of your letter ; this be- 
 ing, however, the season at which it is contrary to the laws 
 of the island to shoot, it becomes, perhaps, the less necessary 
 to enter into further discussion on this head. I have now, 
 Sir, followed your letter to its conclusion, though not without 
 the pain natural to a person upon discovering his constant 
 and unremitted exertions likely to fail in one of their prin- 
 cipal objects ; I trust, however, what I have stated upon the 
 different subjects to which you have referred will at least prove 
 sufficiently explicit to prevent any further misconceptions. I 
 have the honor, &c. " G. Cockburn." 
 
 It appears that Count Montholon soon afterward felt some- 
 what ashamed of his letter of the 21st of December, for on 
 the 12th of January, 1816, Sir George Cockburn wrote to 
 Earl Bathurst, and told him that Count Montholon had ex- 
 plained to him that it was written in a moment of petulance 
 on the part of Bonaparte, and that he (the Count) was aware 
 of the reproach to which he subjected himself by writing it ; 
 also that he considered the party at Longwood to be in point 
 of fact very well off, and to have every thing necessary for 
 them, though he was anxious that there should be no restric- 
 tions whatever as to Bonaparte going unattended by an offi- 
 cer wherever he pleased throughout the island. "As, how- 
 ever," said Sir George Cockburn, "this is incompatible with 
 my instructions, and also, in my opinion, witli the future safety 
 of his person, I have firmly resisted it, and shall most certain- 
 ly continue to do so until the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 whom I am now daily expecting." 1 
 
 1 Count Montholon says (Rcci/s, i. 313) that Napoleon dictated a 
 long letter to Count Bertrand on the 24th of January for the Admiral, 
 complaining of several petty and useless vexations ; hut no letter of 
 that date has been found among the Loive papers 
 
Jan. 1816. SEALED LETTER. 03 
 
 Owing to a mistake Bonaparte was stopped by a sentinel 
 on the 12th of January while rilling on horse-back near Hutt's 
 Gate. As soon as Sir George Cockburn heard of the circum- 
 stance he directed his secretary to write the following note to 
 the orderly officer at Longwood, and he went there himself on 
 the 14th to express his regret at what had taken place: 1 
 
 •' The Admiral was much annoyed this afternoon to find 
 that General Bonaparte had been yesterday refused to pass 
 the sentry at Hutt's Gate. He therefore begs you will have it 
 explained to him that it was entirely a mistake, either of the 
 officer at Hutt's Gate, or of the orders given him ; at the same 
 time you will state that General Bonaparte and all his suite 
 (including servants) have the liberty of passing and repassing 
 any where within the cordon of sentries ; consequently they 
 can come this way as far as the sentry at the Alarm House." 
 
 On the 13th of March Count Bertrand wrote to Sir George 
 Cockburn, and asked him whether he could charge himself 
 with a sealed letter from the Emperor to the Prince Regent, 
 with the assurance that it would not be opened, but be for- 
 warded to the hands of the Prince Regent. 
 
 The Admiral said in his reply — 
 
 " As I have already had the honor to remark to you, in my 
 letter of the 6th of November last, 2 I have no knowledge of 
 the person designated by you 'the Emperor,' there being no 
 person on this island I can consider entitled to such dignity, 
 Kings being actually at the head of our respective countries, 
 and there being more than one nation in Europe, and else- 
 where, ruled by acknowledged Emperors. I inclose, how- 
 ever, for your guidance, and for that of any of the other dis- 
 tinguished foreigners similarly situated with yourself, extracts 
 of my instructions with regard to the correspondence permit- 
 ted to you, from which I do not consider myself authorized to 
 swerve." 
 
 1 Recits, i. 208, 209. Count Montholon adds that Bonaparte ac- 
 cepted the Admiral's excuses upon condition that the soldier should 
 not be punished. Count Las Cases says he was a drunken corporal 
 who had misunderstood the countersign. 2 See p. 45, ante. 
 
fi4 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. CiiAr. II. 
 
 To this Count Bertrand rejoined — 
 
 " St. Helena, March 20, 1816. 
 
 :< Monsieur l'Amiral — I have the honor to acknowledge 
 the receipt of your letter of the 14th March, by which you re- 
 fuse to forward such sealed letters as we would address to your 
 Sovereign or your Government. I accordingly abstained, on 
 the departure of the Ceylon for Europe, from sending the 
 Emperor's letter to the Prince Regent. The Emperor has 
 verbally desired Captain Hamilton 1 to make known to the 
 Prince Regent the strange treatment to which he is subject- 
 ed, and that he will have the honor of writing to him so soon 
 as any Englishman of distinction shall visit the island who 
 will take charge of his letter. Nothing, certainly, that is un- 
 just, or contrary to the rights of man and the custom of civil- 
 ized nations, can surprise the Emperor, on the part of those 
 who have violated in his person the rights of hospitality — 
 rights held sacred even among barbarians. Nevertheless, on 
 reading with attention the extract of the instructions which 
 you have taken the trouble to send me, we think we do not 
 find in it any authority for your conduct on this occasion. 
 How, indeed, can it be conceived that a government would 
 prohibit the direct address to it of complaints, if these were 
 of a nature not to be seen by the person who, at a distance of 
 2000 leagues from the metropolis, being armed with all pow- 
 er, might commit the most extraordinary excesses ? In fact, 
 the spirit of the instructions, by directing that complaints be 
 addressed unsealed, is entirely in the interest of the complain- 
 ants, and in order that, the complaints being accompanied by 
 your observations, your Government might afford the more 
 prompt satisfaction : this article of your instructions, there- 
 fore, so far from being opposed to the interests of those who 
 have occasion to complain, is but a modification in their 
 favor. Your Government does not prohibit, nor can it prohibit, 
 our sending to it sealed letters when such is the wish of those 
 who write them, still less can such prohibition have reference 
 
 1 Of tho Havanna frigate. 
 
Mar. 1816. COUNT BERTRAND'S COMPLAINTS. 65 
 
 to letters addressed to your Sovereign ; besides which, your 
 instructions speak of demands which might be made ; but a 
 letter to the Prince Regent or to your Government may con- 
 tain other matters with which you ought not to be made ac- 
 quainted. It appears therefore that you have no right, either 
 by the nature of things or by the spirit of your instructions, 
 to intercept the correspondence with the Prince Regent or 
 with your Ministers ; neither would you, if there were in 
 this part of the world a General your superior in this com- 
 mission, have any right to prevent recourse being had to him. 
 One might we'll ask if such a discussion as the present is 
 being carried on under the laws of European nations or in the 
 wilds of Tartary ? Please to accept, &c. 
 
 " Le Comte Bertrand." 
 
 Sir George Cockburn answered that, "notwithstanding the 
 arguments adduced in this letter, he conceived that nothing 
 could be more clear and conclusive than the following extract 
 from his instructions: — -'Any letters addressed to him (General 
 Bonaparte) or his attendants must be first delivered to the Ad- 
 miral, or to the Governor, as the case may be, who will read 
 them before they are delivered to the persons to whom they 
 are addressed. All letters written by the General or his at- 
 tendants must be subject to the same regulation.' " l 
 
 He added — 
 
 " I have no hesitation, Sir, in agreeing with you as to the 
 considerate and benign principle toward you which influenced 
 His Majesty's Government in framing the other paragraph 
 of these instructions alluded to by you ; but I must beg to 
 observe to you, Sir, that although the spirit of that particular 
 instruction, as you very justly observe, is intended to prove 
 favorable to you, yet it does not lose sight of the necessary 
 justice toward myself, or toward whomsoever may remain 
 charged with your detention at St. Helena ; it being equally 
 
 1 This paragraph deserves particular attention, for the enforcement 
 of the rule by Sir Hudson Lowe was one of the grievances most bitter- 
 ly complained of by the French, and he was accused of having innovat- 
 ed in this respect upon the practice of his predecessor. 
 
66 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 calculated to prevent the possibility of any complaint you 
 might think proper to allege with regard to our conduct to- 
 ward you here being known in Europe six months without 
 observation or answer from us. 
 
 " Although, Sir, it would have been certainly very far from 
 entering my imagination, had it not been for a paragraph in 
 your last letter, I now deem it right, previous to concluding 
 this, to beg of you to be assured that nothing yourself nor any 
 of the foreign gentleman similarly situated may think proper 
 to write concerning me can, in the slightest degree, affect the 
 line of conduct toward you I consider to be called for from 
 ■me by the tenor of my instructions, or the consideration and 
 respect toward you which I consider to be called for by your 
 present situation." 
 
 When Sir George Cockburn transmitted a copy of this cor- 
 respondence to Earl Bathurst, he said — 
 
 " I consider General Bonaparte to be angry at my continu- 
 ing to resist the frequent applications which have been made 
 to me personally by his attendants that he might be permitted 
 to range at pleasure over the whole interior of the island 
 without being attended by a British officer ; but, as I remarked 
 to your Lordship in my letter of the 12th of January last, con- 
 sidering such permission to be incompatible with my instruc- 
 tions, and also with the safety of his person, I have felt it my 
 duty still to refuse my acquiescence thereto." 
 
 It is important to notice how clearly it appears from these 
 letters that Sir George Cockburn's measures were displeasing 
 to Bonaparte ; and it will be seen hereafter how little reason 
 he and his suite had to complan of increased rigor on the part 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe. But feeling the inconvenience of present 
 restrictions, they were apt to forget the past, and imagine or . 
 pretend that they had enjoyed more liberty under Sir George 
 Cockburn. Napoleon afterward indulged in the grossest abuse 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe, and often contrasted that officer's conduct 
 toward him with the treatment he had received from Sir 
 George Cockburn in a manner highly favorable to the latter, 
 and yet he had spoken in nearly similar terms of Sir George 
 
Mae. 1816. O'MEARA'S LETTER TO FINLAISON. 67 
 
 Cockburn himself. 1 This fact is shown by a letter from 
 O'Meara to Mr. Finlaison dated the 16th of March 1816, 
 which contains some interesting information not in his printed 
 work : 
 
 " Notwithstanding the assertion of some that Napoleon 
 Bonaparte is contented with his lot, I can assure you that 
 directly the reverse is the case, and that he inveighs most bit- 
 terly against the British Ministry for sending him here, par- 
 ticularly to me on various occasions. He has been for some 
 time back at Longwood, where he is tolerably well lodged, 
 considering the island ; though, to tell you the truth, the 
 movables which compose the furniture of the house are not 
 such as could be wished for, notwithstanding that great exer- 
 tions were made on the part of Sir George Cockburn to pro- 
 cure the best ; but the fact is that the island does not afford 
 them. 
 
 " He was greatly displeased with the Admiral some weeks 
 back, in consequence of orders having been given prohibiting 
 all persons from going to Longwood without a pass. He sent 
 for me in great haste, and, with considerable emotion, ex- 
 pressed himself nearly in the following terms : — ' That I should 
 demand from the Admiral that the orders prohibiting all per- 
 sons to visit him or any of his suite should be forthwith re- 
 scinded, as well to the officers as to the inhabitants ; that he 
 was desirous of seeing the officers of the 53d regiment, as 
 well as such of the inhabitants as from their situation in life 
 might visit him, and such as he thought proper. That it was 
 absurd to prohibit people from calling upon him, while at the 
 same time he was at liberty himself to go out and call on 
 them.' ' It is,' added he, ' an insult, and one of those which 
 are daily offered to myself or some of my followers. I will 
 never receive any person coming with a pass from the Ad- 
 
 1 Bonaparte's dissatisfaction with Sir George Cockburn appears, 
 moreover, from the works of O'Meara, Count Las Cases, and Count 
 Montholon, as well as from the correspondence between the Admiral 
 and Count Bertrand. Count Las Cases has filled several pages of his 
 Journal with a catalogue of all " the wrongs (torts) with which they had 
 to reproach him." 
 
68 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 miral, as I will immediately set down the person receiving it 
 as being like the donor, and a spy upon me. Tell him, that 
 his sending to inform me that the sentinels are placed in order 
 to prevent people from annoying me with visits is only add- 
 ing wrong to insult ! I will choose myself what kind of vis- 
 itors I like. A gross insult has been offered to me by Glover, 
 the secretary, going round to the different shops' (this was, 
 however, partly a misrepresentation to him), ' and cautioning 
 the shopkeepers not to give any goods to the French officers, 
 even if ready money is offered. Yes,' continued he, ' one of 
 them sent me word of it. I wish to furnish the house myself 
 and pay myself for it. They have collected all the crazy fur- 
 niture in the island for my use ; and probably said at the 
 same time, we will gather all the rotten articles in a mass— 
 they are good enough for Bonaparte and the French. Was 
 the Admiral to heap every kind of benefit on me, the manner 
 in which he does it would make me conceive each and every 
 one an insult. Every thing is given to us as if we were de- 
 manding alms. I have money and friends sufficient to pay 
 for every thing I want. I want nothing from the English 
 Government. When I was at Elba, I had deputations from 
 the four first commercial cities in France, offering me what- 
 ever money I wanted ; and from the Americans also. The 
 contemptuous manner in which every thing is offered is pecu- 
 liarly grating. Some forms are necessary with strangers and 
 the unfortunate.' Here he related an anecdote about the Mar- 
 quis of Semonville, who, when detained by the Austrians and 
 , ] was nevertheless treated with the most marked re- 
 spect, served every day in plate with the greatest luxuries, 
 and every species of attention paid to him. ' Let them at 
 least not treat me with contempt, even if they give me no- 
 thing. Let them refuse me every thing, but do it in a polite 
 manner. Tell him,' continued he, ' that it is not generous to 
 insult the unfortunate.' 
 
 " Then becoming more warm, he said, 'Who is the Admiral? 
 I never heard his name mentioned as conquering in a battle, 
 
 1 The words omitted could not deciphered. 
 
Mak. 1816. O'MEARA'S LETTER TO FINLAISON. 69 
 
 either singly or in general action, Tis true he has rendered 
 his name infamous in America, which I heard of, and he will 
 now render it so here on this detestable rock. I believe, how- 
 ever, that he is a good soldier. Stopping, then, with much 
 agitation, and looking at me earnestly—' Next to your Gov- 
 ernment exiling me here, the tvorst thing they could have 
 done, and the most insufferable to my feelings, is sending me 
 with such a man as him ! I will make my treatment known 
 to all Europe. It will be a reflection and a stain to his pos- 
 terity for centuries. What ! does he want to introduce Turk- 
 ish laws into the rock ? Even prisoners under sentence of 
 death are allowed to communicate, by the laws of England 
 and all other civilized nations. Tell him,' continued he, ' what 
 I have told you, and that I will make a remonstrance to the 
 Governor here — to Colonel Bingham, and the civil power — if 
 he does not alter within twenty-four hours the orders which 
 he has given, and to conceive the letter written by Montholon 
 to hini as written by myself, and not to blame him.' I told 
 the Admiral every thing he had said except the personal part. 
 His object was, that every person might be permitted to come 
 and see him at Longwood without a pass from the Admiral, 
 and to get some of the orders changed, which in fact I believe 
 it was not in the Admiral's power to comply with. 
 
 " Since that, however, matters have been arranged by the 
 Admiral's permitting such persons as he thinks proper to go 
 to Marshal Bertrand, who lives about a mile from Longwood, 
 and on receiving a pass from him they are allowed to enter 
 Longwood. He has also discovered since this that the Admi- 
 ral's conduct has been most grossly and shamefully misrepre- 
 sented and blackened to him. The people he is surrounded 
 by at present give me some faint idea of what the Court 
 of St. Cloud must have been during his omnipotent sway. 
 Every thing even here is disguised and mutilated in the repre- 
 sentation to him, particularly by Montholon. 1 Marshal Ber- 
 trand, however, is an exception to this, and is, in my opinion, 
 really an honest and good man. 
 
 1 It is very necessary to bear in mind this important statement of 
 O'Meara. Ample proofs of its truth will appear in the following pages 
 
70 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 "He frequently breaks out into invectives against the 
 English Government for sending him to this island, which he 
 pronounces (with some reason) to be the most detestable spot 
 in the universe. ; Behold the English Government,' said he, 
 gazing around at the frightful and stupendous rocks which 
 encompassed him. ' This is their liberality to the unfortunate, 
 who, confiding in what he so blindly imagined to be their 
 national character, in an evil hour gave himself up to them. 
 But your Ministers laugh at your laws. I thought once that 
 the English were a free nation, but I see now that you are 
 the greatest slaves in the world,' said he to me one day ; ' you 
 all of you tremble at the sight of that man. In my greatest 
 power I could not do such things as I have seen done to your 
 sailors and others since I have come to this Isle de Brouillard.' 
 " Another time, talking to me about the island, he said, ' In 
 fact I expect nothing less from your Government than that 
 they will send out an executioner to dispatch me. They send 
 me here to a horrible rock, where even the water is not good ; 
 they send out a sailor with me who does not know how to 
 treat a man like me, and who puts me a camp under my nose, 
 so that I can not put my head out without seeing my jailers. 
 Here we are treated like felons ; a proclamation issued for 
 nobody to come near or touch us, as if we were so many lepers, 
 or had the itch !' "When I brought back the Admiral's verbal 
 answer to him (to the conversation that was related above), 
 viz. that it would be better for him to complain to him, the 
 Admiral, if he had any grievances, without the intervention 
 of a third person, he said, ' No, no. I recollect, when I was 
 First Consul, that I had a conversation with your Embassa- 
 dor — Lord Titwort (Whit worth), I think,' says he, ' was his 
 name — in which I conducted myself with great calmness and 
 propriety, without more heat or intemperance in my language 
 than I am at present making use of to you ; but in a short 
 time afterward I saw in the English paper a paragraph as 
 long as that,' said he, getting up and stretching out his arm 
 very significantly, ' filled with lies.' However, the Admiral 
 a few days afterward had an audience with him, and satis- 
 fied him several of the things he had imputed to him had 
 
Mak. 1816. CONDUCT OF THE SUITE. 71 
 
 been misrepresented, and they parted better friends than I 
 expected. 
 
 " To give you an instance of how much, even in his present 
 comparative obscurity, attempts are made to conceal the truth 
 from him, and to give him false impressions concerning every 
 occurrence, the following will be a good example : — Some time 
 back General Montholon complained to the Admiral that the 
 rest of the people of the house were continually disturbed by 
 some person or persons endeavoring at night to get into the 
 room of a female servant of his, and also declaring his appre- 
 hension that the house might be robbed, and perhaps Napo- 
 leon assassinated. He therefore solicited the Admiral to give 
 directions that the sentinels nightly placed about the house 
 might be directed to approach close to the doors and windows, 
 instead of keeping as much out of sight as the nature of cir- 
 cumstances would admit, as heretofore. In consequence of 
 this, the Admiral directed that every night a corporal should 
 be sent up to the house in order to give directions to the sen- 
 tinels, after a certain hour, which he (Montholon) was to point 
 out, that no persons should be suffered to go out of or enter 
 the house. Now you must know that it is Bonaparte's great- 
 est annoyance to see a sentinel placed near him, and at his 
 request before measures were taken to keep them as much 
 out of his sight as was consistent with the duty imposed upon 
 them ; therefore, upon finding the sentries nearly stuck into 
 the windows, and blockading closely all the doors, he was 
 greatly offended, and expressed himself very warmly on the 
 subject. Montholon, dreading his indignation, told him that 
 it was the Admiral's orders, without having any request made 
 to him to do so ; and he also told General Gourgaud to 
 remonstrate strongly against it, as being a breach of promise 
 on the part of the Admiral, and intended as an annoyance. 
 This came to my ears, and intelligence of the same was imme- 
 diately dispatched by me to the Admiral, who at first could 
 scarcely credit it, but afterward sent me up word to undeceive 
 General Bonaparte as soon as I had an opportunity of speak- 
 ing to him, which I did the same day. Napoleon broke out 
 into several invectives against Montholon, whom he called a 
 
72 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 ' coglione,' imbecile, &c. &c, and only fit to go into the kitchen 
 and look after the pots ; adding, that he had worse blood in 
 his veins than the black fellow he had sent off — alluding to 
 a negro he had discharged for caterwauling ! This has in a 
 great manner opened his eyes to Montholon, as he scarcely 
 spoke to him for several days ; and on one occasion, when 
 Montholon was going into the town for some business, Napo- 
 leon said to him ' Now, Montholon, do not bring me back any 
 lies as news, as Marshal Bertrand is going to town to-morrow, 
 and I will then hear the truth.' Napoleon has been in very 
 good health, but I have trouble enough with some others of 
 them. General Gourgaud has been very ill with dysentery. 
 but is now recovering ; Madame Montholon also has been ill 
 with the same complaint ; she is likely to bring another Mon- 
 tholon into the world shortly. Madame Bertrand has been in 
 general good health, and bears her lot much better than 1 
 expected. In fact, though a little passionate, I believe that 
 she is at bottom a good woman ; she is certainly free from 
 dissimulation. I had an offer from the Admiral of £328 a 
 year as a compensation for remaining here. This I think, 
 however, is a very inadequate sum. The assistant-surgeons 
 of the Company have very nearly as much, and the regimental 
 surgeons have upwards of £500 — permanent situations, with 
 two assistants to perform their duties ; and the medical su- 
 perintendent £850. I have to perform every duty of physi- 
 cian, surgeon, apothecary, and indeed orderly-man, I may 
 say ; and, in fact, was my duty to be so laborious as it has 
 been for some weeks back, I would not (as the Admiral's own 
 surgeon told him) take a thousand a year to perform it. In 
 fact, if the Government does not choose to give me what Bo- 
 naparte offered me himself, viz. 12,000 francs, and repeated 
 once in a letter from General Montholon, which has been for- 
 warded to the Admiralty, I must decline holding the situation 
 any longer. If I must be a prisoner, it is only the hopes of 
 emolument which will induce me to continue in this cage. 
 You will perceive that the greatest part, if not the whole, of 
 this letter would be unfit to meet the public eye, perhaps 
 would not be altogether agreeable to the Government also ; 
 
Mar. 1S16. GENERAL GOCTRGAUD'S ILLNESS. 73 
 
 however, of this you are, of course, the best judge. I merely 
 tell you in confidence of what really happened — particularly 
 as Napoleon now is able, with a dictionary, to read the En- 
 glish papers, and, of course, in consequence of nobody ever 
 having been present during the greater part of the conversa- 
 tions which have taken place between him and me, would 
 immediately discover that I was the author, and I know 
 would be greatly offended. It must be evident to you that, 
 unless I was on good terms with him, it would be very disa- 
 greeable, if not impossible, to remain as his surgeon. There- 
 fore may I beg of you to confide this only to such persons as 
 you know will not put the contents in the newspapers ? Pro- 
 bably you might alter such parts of it as did not take place 
 immediately between him and me, or such as might appear 
 to have been mentioned publicly, to answer any purpose you 
 might wish. 
 
 " I will take the advantage of the Northumberland leaving 
 this to send Mrs. Finlaison something by a safe hand. I hope 
 that you are in better health, and that Mrs. Finlaison and all 
 the little ones are quite well. If I have time, I will inclose 
 in another packet a letter for Captain Maitland and my sister ; 
 but at present, in consequence of General Gourgaud and Ma- 
 dame Montholon's illness, together with several very serious 
 accidents having happened up here, I have been vainly 
 endeavoring to get time to write. Indeed, you can expect 
 nothing from me but unconnected letters, as I am disturbed 
 every ten minutes with calls of some kind, either real or fan- 
 cied. I really do not know why I should not receive the same 
 pay as a regimental surgeon on shore here ; I know that I 
 have ten times more to do. Between sickness, illness, and 
 whims, fears, &c, I have very little time to myself. I have 
 been offered by Bonaparte himself a very handsome salary in 
 addition, which I have refused to himself, as I do not think 
 it proper for a British officer to receive money from him with- 
 out the sanction of Government. I want the Government to 
 make my situation equal to others of the same rank here, and 
 to be under no obligation to any person else. By-the-by, do 
 not be surprised if there is some noise made in England about 
 Vol. I.—D 
 
* 74 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 Bonaparte's household being a little stinted in their living, 
 and in some other particulars. I forgot to mention to you that 
 he is at present composing the History of his Life, several parts 
 of -which I have seen. He dictates to the others, and after- 
 ward corrects himself what they have written." 
 
 On the 26th of March O'Meara wrote to the same corre- 
 spondent : 
 
 " Gourgaud is now recovering from dysentery, of which he 
 has had a severe attack. During his illness I never saw a 
 man betray so much fear of dying as he did on various occa- 
 sions : in fact, I was completely scandalized at seeing a man 
 of the sword so excessively timorous. One night a large black- 
 beetle got into the bed, and crawled up alongside of him. His 
 distressed imagination immediately magnified this insect in- 
 to a devil, or some other formidable apparition, armed with 
 talons, long teeth, and ready to tear away his lingering soul 
 from its mortal abode. He shrieked, became terribly agitated, 
 convulsed ; a cold sweat bedewed his pallid face ; and, when 
 I entered, he presented all the appearance of a man about to 
 expire, with the most terrific ideas of what could be his future 
 lot ; and it was not until after a considerable time that he 
 was restored to some degree of composure. A second instance 
 occurred, with this difference, that the latter was a frightful 
 dream, in which he fancied that he was dragged under the 
 wheel of a huge water-mill, where he was crushed to pieces, 
 and lay expiring ; at the same time he fancied that his ears 
 were deafened with the confused voices of numberless people 
 crying, ' He is gone ; his life is demanded, and nothing can 
 snatch him from perdition.' 
 
 "Disease will doubtless enfeeble the energies of the soul, 
 and produce considerable despondence even in the bravest 
 men ; but that a man really brave could manifest so much 
 fear of dying, and such childish depression of spirits, I can 
 scarcely * credit. He repeatedly wept, and called upon his 
 mother and sister. This is the man who, when he came here 
 first, most ostentatiously produced a sword to the Miss Bal- 
 combes, where he had Jmnself represented in the act of killing 
 
Mak. 1816. O'MEARA'S EARLY CAREER. 75 
 
 a Cossack who was endeavoring to take Bonaparte prisoner, 
 with a pompous inscription describing the particulars. At the 
 end of the blade he made them observe a spot, which he ex- 
 plained to the young ladies as being stained with the blood of 
 two Englishmen slain by him at the battle of Waterloo. He 
 also added, that at the same battle he might readily have 
 made the Duke of Wellington prisoner, but that indeed he saw 
 the business was decided, and was unwilling to produce any 
 more effusion of human blood. Credat. During his illness, 
 however, he seemed to have forgotten all his exploits, as one 
 day, when whining and lamenting his present state, he said, 
 with many tears, that he did not know for what reason he 
 was exiled and treated like a felon ; that he had never done 
 harm to mortal." 
 
 And now let us say a few words respecting the writer of 
 these and many other letters which will be quoted in the 
 present work. Barry Edward O'Meara entered the army as 
 assistant-surgeon in the year 1804, at the age of eighteen. 
 While in Sicily, at Messina, with his regiment in 1808, a duel 
 was fought between two of the officers, to one of whom, the 
 challenger, O'Meara acted as second. He was in consequence 
 tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be cashiered. He 
 then became a naval surgeon, and served in the Mediterranean 
 and the West Indies, where he appears to have discharged his 
 duties to the satisfaction of his superiors. He was in three 
 different ships successively under the command of Captain 
 Maitland, who received Napoleon on board the Bellerophon, 
 and that officer had a high opinion of him. In a letter which 
 O'Meara has published, Captain Maitland says that, during 
 the fifteen years he had commanded ships of war, he had never 
 had the pleasure of sailing with an officer in his situation who 
 so fully met his expectations. And he speaks warmly of his 
 attention and tenderness to the men under his charge. So 
 much, in fairness to O'Meara, we are bound to state, and it is 
 all we know respecting his previous career before he became 
 the medical attendant of Napoleon at St. Helena. 
 
 In a letter which appeared in the "Morning Chronicle" on 
 
76 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 the 17th of March, 1823, he attempted to give an explana- 
 tion of the letters which he had written from time to time to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, Sir Thomas Reade, and Major Gorrequer, 
 while he was with Bonaparte at Longwood, and which will 
 be found to be in remarkable contrast to the assertions and 
 opinions contained in his printed work. He said : 
 
 " I had been five months at St. Helena when this Governor 
 arrived there. Although 1 had gone out with Sir George 
 Cockburn, who knew all the preliminaries to my appoint- 
 ment ; although I had remained so many months the ac- 
 knowledged surgeon to Napoleon ; although every person fully 
 recognized me — what was the very first step of this Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe ? He said that he had no official knowledge of my 
 appointment ; and that, if I could not show him my written 
 appointment, he would, in his own classical phrase, ' bundle 
 me off the island back to England.' a He well knew I had 
 then no written appointment. In vain did 1 refer him to Sir 
 George Cockburn, and to all the officers, British as well as 
 French, as to the fact of my nomination by Napoleon, and its 
 confirmation by the Admiralty. All this testimony was in- 
 admissible : nothing would answer but the written appoint- 
 ment. I asked, if he did send me off the island, what would 
 become of Napoleon in case of illness? ' Oh,' said he, 'Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte shall be attended by my own surgeon, who 
 speaks Italian, and was for several years with me in the 
 Corsican Bangers.' It was some time since I had seen the 
 play of 'Richard the Third,' and the meaning of the words 
 did not at once strike me. 2 Napoleon was wiser. I did, how- 
 ever, ask him, anxious as I naturally was not to abandon my 
 illustrious charge, whether I could in no way conciliate his 
 protection. He replied that he was determined that no Brit- 
 ish subject should associate with Napoleon who did not sub- 
 sequently report his conversation ; that I might remain by 
 
 1 It will be seen hereafter that this assertion is unfounded. 
 • I suppose O'Meara here alludes to the conversation between Rich- 
 ard III. and Buckingham, where the former says : 
 
 " Cousin, thou wast not wont to be so doll: — 
 Shall I be plain? I wish the bastards dead ; 
 And 1 would have it suddenly perform'd." 
 
1816. O'MEARA'S EXPLANATION. 77 
 
 rendering myself useful to the Government and himself, and 
 by reporting every thing that came under my observation, or 
 that made against the French, who had the impudence to 
 complain, though they were much better treated than they 
 deserved, for which they showed no gratitude. The proposal 
 was abhorrent, but still the alternative was worse, and I de- 
 termined upon consulting the Emperor. I did so ; and never 
 shall I forget that instinct perception for which he was so 
 remarkable, and which at the moment lighted up his coun- 
 tenance. 'Never,' said Napoleon, 'never shall the body-phy- 
 sician of that Governor attend me. I have seen his face, 
 and the proposal needs no other commentary. You may do 
 any thing, only keep me out of the hands of that man's body- 
 physician. Doctor, humanity will excuse the pious fraud to 
 which I command you. Speak as you will of us all ; gratify 
 his nature by abusing or decrying us ; but keep me out of the 
 hands of his body-physician.' The intenseness with which 
 Napoleon spoke convinced me he was agitated and in ear- 
 nest, and I thus consented to make occasional communica- 
 tions, which, if unexplained, would bear the appearance of 
 duplicity toward him. It is a concession, I admit, of which 
 the humblest man might well be ashamed, but I did it at the 
 intercession of an illustrious individual, whose fallen fortunes 
 made every generous man his friend, while they left no hon- 
 orable man his enemy. Let it be remarked that all the let- 
 ters quoted are dated prior to the 9th of October, 1816 ; and 
 until the carrying into execution the Restrictions of that day, 
 the Governor's conduct, although tyrannical, was still that 
 of a human being." 
 
 And in the same letter O'Meara added : 
 
 " The reader will see that they have not produced any let- 
 ters of mine, except strictly official, subsequent to October, 
 1816. ' Then came the infamous, the nation-degrading Re- 
 strictions, after which I determined to abjure Sir Hudson 
 Lowe and his gang as soon as my appointment had been con- 
 
 1 O'Meara here refers to an article in the " Quarterly Review" for 
 October, 1822, which was reprinted in February, 1823. 
 
78 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II 
 
 firmed in writing, and that I thought myself secured by the 
 support of Lord Liverpool." 
 
 Now it will be observed that here are two distinct asser-. 
 tions — the one, that Napoleon commanded O'Meara to com- 
 mit a "pious fraud" in gratifying Sir Hudson Lowe by reports 
 defamatory of the French, in order that the Governor, being 
 thus propitiated, might allow him to remain as medical at- 
 tendant at Longwood ; the other, that it was in consequence 
 of the Restrictions which were imposed in October, 1816, that 
 O'Meara determined no longer to keep up appearances, but 
 thenceforth, as soon as he could do it with safety, " abjure 
 Sir Hudson Lowe and his gang." Neither of these state- 
 ments will for a moment bear examination. With respect to 
 the former, the reader will judge when he peruses the letters 
 themselves, and sees the abandon of their style and tone. He 
 will then decide whether they do not bear the unmistakable 
 impress of being the genuine and spontaneous effusions of a 
 man ready, if not eager, to communicate all he knew on the 
 subjects to which they refer, and whether their internal 
 evidence does not prove that the author wrote at the time 
 exactly as he felt. As to the latter, it will be shown that nei- 
 ther at the date of the Restrictions, nor during his correspond- 
 ence for a considerable period afterward, did O'Meara find any 
 fault with them, nor was there any change whatever in the 
 tone of his letters until many months subsequent to October, 
 1816. Moreover, we have the means of testing his veracity in 
 a manner which is seldom possible. "We possess an authen- 
 tic record of his real opinions and of the facts that came 
 under his eye in a copy of the long and voluminous ■private 
 correspondence which he kept up with his friend Mr. Fin- 
 laison, the well-known actuary, who was then a clerk in the 
 Admiralty, of which we shall have more to say by-and-by. 
 We can thus easily ascertain the truth of the statements which 
 a few years afterward he published to the world, and are able, 
 as it were, to confront the witness with himself. 1 
 
 ' This is done with admirable force and effect in the " Quarterly Re- 
 view," No. LV., pp. 219-245 (October, 1822). 
 
1816. OBJECT OF O'MEARA'S "VOICE." 79 
 
 I have already said that the object which this writer had 
 in view when he printed his "Voice" was to avenge himself 
 upon Sir Hudson Lowe, as the supposed author of his disgrace. 
 And the means of accomplishing this were not difficult to a 
 man who was content to sacrifice truth, honor, and honesty 
 in the attempt. He had been in constant intercourse with 
 Napoleon, and had had many confidential interviews with Sir 
 Hudson Lowe. He knew perfectly well the real character of 
 every alleged grievance and complaint, and he had taken co- 
 pious notes of transactions and conversations as they occurred. 
 What, then, was more easy than to re-cast these memoranda, 
 and garble them to suit the object he had in view ? — to sup- 
 press some passages, and add others, so *as to alter the tone 
 and complexion of the original, and yet preserve throughout 
 a substratum of fact ? And this is what O'Meara has done. 
 It is a serious charge to bring against a writer, and one which 
 ought not to be lightly made nor readily believed. But hap- 
 pily for the cause of truth, in this case, proof, amounting to 
 demonstration, of what is here asserted, can be supplied. It 
 may be thought, indeed, that this is impossible, for we have 
 no access to O'Meara's notes, and how, then, it may be asked, 
 can we show what they originally contained ? But although 
 we can not produce these memoranda, there exists a series of 
 confidential letters written by him from time to time, during 
 a great part of the period embraced by his book, in which he 
 relates conversations and events as they happened, and the 
 narrative is obviously taken from the same notes of which he 
 professed afterward to give to the world a true manuscript 
 when he published his work. "We are thus enabled to com- 
 pare and contrast his written and printed statements of the 
 same occurrences, and the result will show that, to gratify his 
 malice against Sir Hudson Lowe, he published a most unfair, 
 not to say false, version of his own notes, and that no reliance 
 whatever can be placed on his veracity. Moreover, at most 
 of the conversations recorded by him, Major Gorrequer, the 
 military secretary of the Governor, was present, and he wrote 
 down at the time, or immediately afterward, full minutes of 
 all that passed, so that we can. cite him as a witness, and 
 oppose his statements to those of O'Meara in his book. 
 
80 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. II. 
 
 Some things, indeed, are incapable of confutation : — as, for 
 instance, where O'Meara says that Sir Hudson Lowe made a 
 remark "with a peculiar grin," or pointed to a passage in a 
 review "with a triumphant laugh," or "darted a furious 
 look," or met him "with an exulting air." But what can 
 not he disproved may notwithstanding he disbelieved. The 
 credit due to such assertions depends upon the fact, that we 
 put faith in the truthfulness of the narrator, and common 
 sense as well as common charity requires that, when a writer 
 is convicted in numerous instances of having borne false tes- 
 timony against another, we should refuse to believe accusa- 
 tions which rest upon his testimony alone. 
 
 The same remark applies to the coarse and vulgar expres- 
 sions which O'Meara so frequently puts into the mouth of Sir 
 Hudson Lowe when repeating conversations at which they 
 only were present, and which are intended to convey the idea 
 that the British officer who had been intrusted with the diffi- 
 cult and delicate charge of insuring the safe custody of Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte, was a man without the refinement of a 
 gentleman, a sort of military Squire Western, to whom the 
 use of low and violent language was habitual. All that can 
 be said on this subject is, that nothing is to be found in his 
 correspondence, or any of the papers he has left, which can 
 justify this opinion, or lead us to the belief that such expres- 
 sions were uttered by Sir Hudson Lowe, and were not the 
 invention of O'Meara. 
 
 Parliament met on the 1st of February, 1816, and on the 
 1 1th of April two Acts received the royal assent — the one en- 
 titled, "An Act for the more effectually detaining in custody 
 Napoleon Bonaparte ;" and the other, " An Act for regulating 
 the intercourse with the island of St. Helena during the time 
 Napoleon Bonaparte shall be detained there." 1 Next day a 
 warrant was issued to Sir Hudson Lowe, under the authority 
 given by the former act to the Secretary of State, empowering 
 and requiring him safely to detain and keep Napoleon Bona- 
 parte as a prisoner of war in the island of St. Helena during 
 
 1 The former of these Acts will be found among the Letters and 
 Documents at the end of the volume. 
 
April, 1816. ACTS OF PARLIAMENT. 81 
 
 his Majesty's pleasure, and to treat and deal with him as a 
 prisoner of war, under such restrictions and in such manner 
 as had been, or should from time to time be signified in that 
 behalf by his Majesty, under the hand of one of his Majesty's 
 Principal Secretaries of State ; — and in case of the escape or 
 rescue of the said Napoleon Bonaparte, to retake, detain, and 
 keep him in custody. 
 
 But before we enter upon the details of Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 eventful government it is necessary to become acquainted 
 with his previous history, in order to see how far the English 
 ministry were justified in appointing him to an office of such 
 trust and responsibility. 
 
 D* 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE UP TO THE PERIOD OF HI3 
 BECOMING GOVERNOR OF ST. HELENA. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe was, as he himself tells us in a frag- 
 ment of an autobiography which he left, born in the army. 
 His father was an Englishman, a native of Lincolnshire, 1 
 who obtained a medical appointment early in life with the 
 troops that served in Germany during the Seven Years' War. 
 After the breaking out of the war of the French Revolution, 
 he was appointed Surgeon-Major and head of the medical de- 
 partment in the garrison of Gibraltar, the duties of which he 
 continued to discharge until his death in 1801. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, the subject of the present memoir, was born in the 
 town of Galway on the 28th of July, 1769. 2 Shortly after 
 his birth his father's regiment, the 50th, was ordered to the 
 West Indies, and he was taken out with it. On his return to 
 England, and while still at school, before he had attained his 
 twelfth year, he was appointed to an ensigncy in the East 
 Devon Militia, and actually passed a review in military uni- 
 form at that age. In the autumn of the year 1787, he ob- 
 tained a King's commission as ensign in the 50th regiment, 
 which was at that time stationed at Gibraltar, the Governor 
 being the celebrated Sir George Augustus Eliott, afterward 
 created Lord Heathfield. " The works of the fortress," says 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, " were still in the most ruinous state from 
 the effects of the siege. The whole rock was literally covered 
 with fragments of broken shells and shot, and there was not 
 a house in the town, nor a building within the batteries, which 
 
 1 His ancestors had been settled for several generations in the county 
 of Lincoln, near Grantham. 
 
 s Sir Hudson Lowe and Napoleon, therefore, were within one month 
 of the same age. 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 83 
 
 did not bear the marks of its devastation. Sir George Eliott 
 was succeeded in the command by General O'Hara, who pur- 
 sued exactly the same course of discipline, with even an addi- 
 tional degree of personal zeal and activity. ... I was once 
 proceeding with the escort in order to reach the barrier-gate 
 by daybreak, and was moving with my head down, to stem, 
 as well as I was able, the tremendous gusts of rain and wind 
 which opposed me, when I heard myself very sharply spoken 
 to by a mounted officer, who desired me to ' hold up my head, 
 and look what I was about, for it was not as a mere matter 
 of form I was ordered on that duty.' This officer was Gen- 
 eral O'Hara, who was on such occasions always the foremost 
 to observe that the public duty was rightly performed. This 
 was the only real rebuke I ever experienced from a superior 
 officer during the whole course of my military life. I admitted 
 its point as well as its justice, and am proud to believe the 
 beneficial effect was not wholly lost upon me. I might eite 
 instances of praise bestowed upon my conduct by the same 
 distinguished officer, and even of services he afterward ren- 
 dered me ; but I relate only the above, because conveying 
 what appears to me a really useful lesson. . . . Upon one 
 occasion, at a guard mounting parade, it is in my recollection 
 that some little innovation had been introduced by Prince 
 Edward which did not happen to meet General O'Hara's 
 ideas, and a reproof was conveyed to him in the hearing of 
 the officers assembled. ' I hope, Sir,' said Prince Edward, 
 'I shall always do my duty.' ' And if you do not do so, Sir, 
 I will make you do it,' was General O'Hara's reply." 
 
 After having been more than four years upon garrison duty, 
 during which time, he says, every third or fourth night was 
 passed on guard, with no other appliances for repose, between 
 the reliefs of sentries, than a blanket upon boards and a pil- 
 low resting generally upon a stone, Lieutenant Lowe obtained 
 leave of absence, and traveled in France and Italy, whereby 
 he acquired a proficiency in the languages of those countries, 
 which was of singular use to him in after life. 
 
 On his return to Gibraltar the war had broke out afresh, 
 
84 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 and he proceeded with his regiment to Corsica, where he wa£ 
 actively engaged in service until the 50 th was ordered to gar- 
 rison Ajaccio. The future Governor of St. Helena was thus 
 quartered in the same town with the Bonaparte family, none 
 of whom, however, he seems to have met. He says, 
 
 " We were all delighted with our change of quarters to 
 Ajaccio. The town was well laid out, spacious, well huilt, 
 and the citadel had excellent accommodations, but not suffi- 
 cient for all the officers. One of the best houses in the town 
 was occupied by the mother and sisters of Bonaparte. The 
 present General De Butts, of the Engineers, then a lieutenant 
 in that corps, had been sent forward to provide quarters, and 
 to intimate to the family that, as their sons were in the French 
 service, or had quitted the island, they must surrender their 
 house for the use of the English garrison. An officer of the 
 50th, of the name of Ford, was for a short time quartered in 
 their house, and spoke with much satisfaction of the kind 
 manner in which the family acted toward him — the young 
 girls, for such they were at that time, running slipshod about 
 the house, but hardly any notice was taken of them. There 
 were several balls and parties given shortly after our arrival 
 there ; but Madame Bonaparte was not invited to them, on 
 account of the situation of her sons. She soon after removed 
 to Cargese, which had been originally a Greek colony, to a 
 house which had been built or occupied by Count Marboeuf, 
 while at the head of the French administration in that part 
 of the island. It is not from my own recollection I mention 
 these circumstances, because, strange as it may appear, I 
 was not aware of the residence of any part of the Bonaparte 
 family at Ajaccio during nearly two years we were in garri- 
 son in that town. I used frequently to hear Napoleon spoken 
 of, but not as connected with the exploit which has been gen- 
 erally mentioned as having given the first early celebrity to 
 his name — his share, namely, in the expulsion of the British 
 from Toulon. The person whom I most frequently recollect 
 to have heard speak of him was Signor Campi, who at that 
 time was employed in our Commissariat, and who afterward, 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIS HUDSON LOWE. 85 
 
 I have understood, acted as secretary to Joseph Bonaparte. 
 Signor Campi used to speak to me with admiration of the in- 
 trepidity which he showed in shutting himself up in the build- 
 ing called the Seminary, with a body of the National Guards, 
 and bidding defiance to the Royalist troops who were stationed 
 in the citadel, and who thus became besieged there at the 
 commencement of the Revolution. He also spoke of rather 
 an unsuccessful operation which had been afterward under- 
 taken against the Maddalena Islands ; but I heard not a 
 word at that time of Toulon, which has since appeared to me 
 rather extraordinary." 
 
 On the evacuation of Corsica, Lieutenant Lowe accom- 
 panied his regiment to Porto Ferrajo, in Elba. In 1795 he 
 was promoted to a company ; and was soon after appointed 
 Deputy Judge-Advocate to the troops. From Elba, the 50th 
 proceeded to Lisbon, and remained quartered nearly two years 
 in Portugal, at Fort St. Juliens. At the expiration of that 
 period it was ordered to Minorca, which was then commanded 
 by General Fox, and to this island flocked a large body of 
 emigrants from Corsica, who were organized into a small corps 
 called the Corsican Rangers. With this body of troops Sir 
 Hudson Lowe's fate and fortunes became intimately connected. 
 
 The charge of the newly-raised corps was intrusted to him. 
 In August, 1800, being then about two hundred strong, they 
 were sent to Gibraltar for the purpose of joining the expedi- 
 tion to Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby. The command 
 of the corps was given to Lowe, with the temporary rank of 
 Major ; and it formed part of the reserve commanded by Ma- 
 jor-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. The army landed 
 at Aboukir on the 8th of March, and the Corsican Rangers 
 formed on the right of the Guards. The corps was warmly 
 engaged, and sustained in several conflicts heavy loss. "While 
 in Egypt, Major Lowe sent his father, who was the Surgeon- 
 Major to the garrison at Gibraltar, clear and detailed accounts 
 of events as they occurred, but they are too well known to 
 justify relation here. 
 
 He was present at the battle of Alexandria, on the 21st of 
 
86 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 March, 1801, and during the campaign was the means of 
 saving Sir Sidney Smith's life. A picket having mistaken 
 Sir Sidney for a French officer, from his wearing a cocked 
 hat (the English army then wearing round hats), they level- 
 ed their pieces at him, when Major Lowe struck up their 
 muskets, and saved him. 
 
 He received the first proposals for the surrender of Cairo, 
 commanded the rear-guard of the escort to the French army 
 on its march to Rosetta, and was present at the advances 
 against and surrender of Alexandria. 1 His zeal and ability 
 in command of the outposts, on various occasions, obtained 
 for him this flattering encomium from General Moore — " Lowe, 
 when you're at the outposts, I always feel sure of a good night's 
 rest." 
 
 And the same gallant and distinguished officer, when writ- 
 ing on the 27th of October, 1801, to Major Lowe's father, thus 
 spoke of the son : 
 
 "In Sir Ralph Abercromby he lost, in common with many 
 others a good friend ; but however, his conduct has been so 
 conspicuously good, that I hope he will meet with the reward 
 he merits." 
 
 Nor was the body of troops which he commanded one of 
 which any leader need have been ashamed. Sir Robert 
 Wilson, one of the historians of the campaign, bears strong 
 testimony to their merits, saying of the Corsican Rangers — 
 " This corps in every action, and especially in the landing, 
 distinguished itself particularly ; and Major Lowe, who com- 
 manded it, gained always the highest approbation. Indeed it 
 was a corps which, from its conduct and appearance, excited 
 general admiration, and did honor to the nation of the First 
 Consul of France." 
 
 1 In a letter to his father on the 28th of May, 1800, Major Lowe 
 mentioned the following instance of the heat of the climate : — "On the 
 23d instant we had a strong specimen of the desert wind. The ther- 
 mometer in the shade stood at 108 ; when exposed to the southern blast 
 it rose to 120 ! No metal could be touched. Long Duncan of the 
 Royals, burnt his fingers in taking his snuff-box out of his pocket. It 
 is now again become tolerably cool." 
 
Chap. III. .MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 87 
 
 On the evacuation of Egypt they returned to Malta, and at 
 the peace of Amiens were disbanded ; but Major Lowe was 
 confirmed in his rank as Major-Commandant from the 1st of 
 July, 1800. He was then placed on half-pay; and through 
 the recommendation of Major-General Moore was soon after- 
 ward appointed to the 7th or Royal Fusiliers. Congratulat- 
 ing him upon this appointment, General Moore said, on the 
 21st of April, 1802 — " It is nothing more than you well de- 
 serve ; and if I have been at all instrumental in bringing it 
 about, I shall think the better of myself for it. .... I trust 
 you will always consider me as a person warmly interested in 
 your welfare." Major Lowe remained at Malta from October, 
 1801, until July, 1802, during which time he was secretary to 
 a Board for the adjustment of claims. He arrived in England 
 toward the end of August; and about May, 1803, through 
 the influence of General Moore, was appointed one of the 
 permanent Assistants Quartermaster-General. " If," said Sir 
 John Moore, on the 15th of June, " I have had the good for- 
 tune to get you employed in the way you wish, I am glad of 
 it. I have known you a long time, and I am confident your 
 conduct, in whatever situation you are placed, will be such as 
 to do honor to those who have recommended you." 
 
 Before Major Lowe had been many weeks in the west of 
 England, he was sent by the Government on a secret mission 
 to Portugal, for the purpose of ascertaining the military con- 
 dition and resources of that country in the districts of Oporto, 
 Viafia, Valenca, Chaves, Braganca, and Almeida. Having 
 carefully inspected those places, he reported favorably of the 
 troops and defenses, and expressed an opinion of the " practi- 
 cability of defending the country by united British and Portu- 
 guese means." He returned to Lisbon in September, and 
 proceeded to the Mediterranean to raise another corps of Royal 
 Corsican Rangers, of which he was appointed Lieutenant- 
 Colonel on the 31st of December, 1803. 
 
 After much difficulty he succeeded in raising his regiment, 
 which formed part of Sir John Craig's expedition to Naples, 
 in conjunction with some Russian troops ; and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Lowe commanded the advance of the armv. The 
 
88 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 success of the French arms, however, and the approach of a 
 powerful force under General St. Cyr and Marshal Massena, 
 together with the withdrawal of the contingent of Russia, 
 destroyed all hope of saving Naples, and the British troops 
 returned to Sicily. 
 
 In May, 1806, the island of Capri surrendered to the squad- 
 ron under Sir Sidney Smith ; and Sir John Stuart, who had 
 succeeded Sir James Craig in the command of the army, de- 
 termined upon sending Colonel Lowe, with five companies of 
 the Corsican Rangers and a small detachment of artillery, to 
 garrison the island, " feeling confident," said Sir John Stuart, 
 in his instructions to him, " that these numbers, under the 
 influence of your zeal and judgment, will suffice to maintain 
 it against any efforts of the enemy." He assumed the com- 
 mand of Capri on the 11th of June, and after the battle of 
 Maida (at which part of his regiment was present) the whole 
 of his corps was sent to join him in the island. 
 
 Early in August Sir John Moore arrived at Messina, as 
 second in command to General Fox. He visited Capri, where 
 he and Colonel Lowe met for the last time. But their corre- 
 spondence was frequent, and Sir John Moore's letters show 
 his disgust at the intrigues of the Court of Palermo. In one 
 of these he said — 
 
 " Hitherto we have all of us, perhaps infected by Sir Sidney 
 Smith, interfered too much in Sicilian politics. For my part, 
 I believe the more we keep aloof from them, and confine our- 
 selves to our military duties, the more we shall improve when 
 it becomes necessary in affairs of real importance, and the 
 less we shall be bespattered with the dirt of a very mean and 
 intriguing court." * 
 
 Colonel Lowe, however, was obliged to keep up a corre- 
 spondence with Sicilian agents, more properly called spies, for 
 the purpose of obtaining intelligence, and, among others, with 
 a man named Suzzarelli, who seems to have acted the part 
 of a double spy, and betrayed both sides whenever he had the 
 opportunity. But his real character was well understood by 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 89 
 
 Colonel Lowe, who took care not to intrust him with any in- 
 formation of importance. 1 
 
 An event now occurred — the defense and loss of Capri — 
 which, although Colonel Lowe's conduct at the time was 
 warmly applauded by his superiors, became a convenient 
 handle of attack to his enemies afterward, and has been 
 made the subject of reproach in a famous military history. 3 
 The facts shall here be shortly told, and the public can then 
 judge for themselves. 
 
 In August Murat took possession of his kingdom, and soon 
 after his arrival at Naples he determined to recover if pos- 
 sible the island of Capri. Sir John Stuart had deemed it 
 necessary to strengthen the garrison ; but the only corps 
 selected for that purpose was the Royal Malta regiment, 
 which was then in a bad state of discipline. To this regi- 
 
 1 A long story is related by O'Meara (Voice from St. Helena, ii. 300- 
 329), on the authority of Cipriani, Bonaparte's maitre-d'hotel, to the 
 effect that Suzzarelli, while pretending to give information to the injury 
 of the Neapolitan government, was in fact an agent of Saliceti, the 
 minister of war, and that Cipriani, then called Franchesci, was em- 
 ployed in assisting him to deceive Colonel Lowe. O'Meara's statement 
 is full of errors in dates and facts. But, as has been well observed in 
 the " Quarterly Review" (No. LV. p. 230), " Suppose the whole story 
 had been true, what would it amount to? — that Suzzarelli was a double 
 spy, and took money and gave information on both sides." The En- 
 glish were not, however, such dupes in this matter as O'Meara and 
 others have described them. Colonel Lowe told Mr. Eliott in August, 
 1806, that he was " long acquainted with Suzzarelli's character ;" 
 that, not wishing to keep him at Capri, he had allowed him to return 
 to Naples, " as his project involved no risk or expense to any one but 
 himself." 
 
 2 Napier's " History of the Peninsular War," vol. ii. 56. He says 
 that it was at Capri " Sir Hudson Lowe first became known to history, 
 by losing in a few days a post that, without any pretensions to celebri- 
 ty, might have been defended for as many years." We can not be sur- 
 prised that Napoleon made this the subject of a sarcasm. One of his 
 
 ■ suite at St. Helena having remarked that " Sir Hudson Lowe could not 
 forget Capri, where, with two thousand men and thirty pieces of cannon, 
 mounted in the clouds, he was taken by twelve hundred French, com- 
 manded by the brave Lamarque, who could only reach him by the help 
 of a triple escalade" Napoleon observed, " Well, Sir Lowe shows him- 
 self a better jailer than a good general." — Count Las Cases' Journal 
 (Nov. 15, 1816.) 
 
90 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 ment, under the command of Major Hammill, the defense of 
 Ana Capri (a part of the island with a fort of the same name 
 to the west of the town of Capri, and separated from it by a 
 valley or ravine) was intrusted, and the three companies of 
 Corsican Rangers which had previously occupied that post 
 were withdrawn. The total number of troops in Capri 
 amounted to 1362, and, with the exception of a small detach- 
 ment of artillery (not exceeding nine men) and some officers, 
 the whole of these were foreigners. 
 
 The island of Capri 1 is three miles and a half long and 
 about two miles in breadth at its broadest point, and it con- 
 tained at this time 4000 inhabitants. The coast, except in 
 a few places, is an inaccessible rock. Ana Capri stands on 
 an elevated platform of rock, which on the Capri side can only 
 be ascended by a flight of more than five hundred steps, cut 
 out of the stone. The few landing places in Ana Capri are 
 bad. The eastern extremity of Capri forms a strong position, 
 the land-front being secured on the right by perpendicular 
 rocks, on the left by a rocky height on which is the castle, 
 and in the centre by the city, the houses of which, being con- 
 nected, form a continuous wall. The castle, which is on a 
 commanding situation, could make a good defense against 
 musketry, but not against cannon ; nor could this be remedied 
 without rebuilding it from the foundation. In a letter writ- 
 ten at the time by Colonel Lowe he said he considered 2190 
 men to be necessary for the defense of the island, and he had 
 less than two-thirds of that number with him. 
 
 Early on the 4th of October, 1807, the enemy's flotilla was 
 seen steering for the island from Naples. Soon afterward 
 another division of vessels with troops, escorted by gun-boats, 
 approached the back of the island from the direction of Sa- 
 lerno. The French expedition was commanded by General 
 Lamarque, an officer of high reputation, and he had about 
 three thousand troops under his command. 
 
 Supposing that the town of Capri was the enemy's first 
 object, Colonel Lowe sent two companies of the Maltese regi- 
 
 1 Capri is the ancient Capreae, famous, or rather infamous, as the 
 retreat of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 91 
 
 ment to assist the Corsican Rangers in defending the Marina 
 Grande and adjacent places. The attempt of the enemywas 
 repelled, and about noon they abandoned their design of attack- 
 ing the Marina ; and the principal division proceeded to the 
 westward of Palazzo di Mare. The Maltese companies were 
 consequently ordered to join their regiment in Ana Capri. 
 The main hope of repelling the enemy consisted in prevent- 
 ing him from landing, and Colonel Lowe had felt confident 
 that the Maltese regiment was fully capable of doing this ; 
 but in fact little if any opposition was offered by that regi- 
 ment to the disembarkation. Nearly two thousand troops 
 were landed at Ana Capri ; and notwithstanding the most 
 strenuous efforts on the part of Major Hammill to encourage 
 his men, the Maltese regiment gave way on the left, and dis- 
 persed themselves among the vineyards, while others had 
 taken shelter from the fire of the gun-boats behind the stone 
 walls which covered part of their position. The three com- 
 panies of Corsican Rangers under Captain Church, 1 assisted 
 by some companies of the Maltese, gallantly repulsed the 
 enemy on the right, with great loss, in four successive at- 
 tempts to advance ; but in the evening, being reinforced by 
 eight hundred men, the French compelled the Corsican troops 
 to retreat, and General Lamarque took possession of Ana 
 Capri, and made prisoners the whole of the Maltese regiment 
 which had acted with such pusillanimity. 
 
 Next morning a flag of truce brought a summons from 
 General Lamarque to Colonel Lowe to surrender the forts 
 and batteries of Capri. He said — 
 
 " 1 hold a commanding position, and as soon as my artillery 
 shall be placed I will destroy Capri, and it will be no longer 
 time to negotiate. At this moment I may treat you with less 
 severity." 
 
 To this Colonel Lowe gallantly replied — 
 
 " I acknowledge all the advantages which your present 
 commanding positions afford you. Defense may therefore be 
 
 1 Afterward Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Church, C.B., G.C.H. 
 
92 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 more difficult, but it is not the less incumbent on me. Your 
 propositions of rigor or favor on such an occasion must be 
 alike indifferent to an officer whose conduct will never be 
 influenced by any other considerations than those of his duty." 
 
 A close siege now commenced, the details of which are 
 minutely recorded in a journal of Sir Hudson Lowe. Here 
 we can only state that Capri was vigorously attacked and 
 bravely defended until it became evident that its commander 
 could expect no reinforcements, and all hope of effectual naval 
 aid from the British squadron had vanished. 1 
 
 By the morning of the 15th the enemy had made a practica- 
 ble breach, and, though every effort was used to fill it up, the 
 rottenness of the materials and the rapidity of their fire render- 
 ed the task impossible. The besieged then attempted to raise 
 a palisading behind, and an entrenchment above the breach, 
 which was all that could be done, the tower to the right of 
 it having been so much battered as to be in danger of falling. 
 Meanwhile the French sharpshooters had established them- 
 selves so close beneath the walls as to enfilade all the salient 
 parts. The enemy had succeeded in placing a field-piece in 
 the Governor's house within thirty paces of the walls, with 
 which they kept up a fire, and the cannon of the besieged 
 had been rendered unserviceable by the enemy's shot. Short- 
 ly before noon the French flotilla approached the Campanella 
 Point. At six in the evening General Lamarque sent a flag 
 of truce, bearing a summons to surrender, with an intimation 
 that the General wished to have a personal interview with the 
 English Commandant. Upon this Colonel Lowe arranged that 
 hostilities should cease during the night, and agreed to confer 
 with General Lamarque at his advanced post the next morning. 
 
 Accordingly, early on the 16th, Colonel Lowe proceeded to 
 meet the General. The latter demanded the immediate sur- 
 render of the place, and that the garrison should become pri- 
 soners of war, except only Colonel Lowe himself and five or 
 
 1 A fuller account of the siege will be found among the Letters and 
 Documents at the end of the volume. 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIB, HUDSON LOWE. 93 
 
 six of his officers, whom he would allow to return to Sicily. 
 He expressed his astonishment that they had not quitted the 
 island instead of persisting in maintaining a post which was 
 not tenahle against cannon. Colonel Lowe replied that no 
 distinction could be allowed between the troops and their 
 commander or officers, and that the term " prisoners of war" 
 could not be admitted into any convention that might be fram- 
 ed. General Lamarque then proposed several modifications ; 
 but Colonel Lowe positively refused to accept of any other 
 conditions than to evacuate his post with arms and baggage, 
 and after his return to the town he drew up proposals for sur- 
 rendering the island, and forwarded them to General Lamar- 
 que, who ultimately, and after some hesitation and difficulty, 
 accepted them. 1 On the 20th Colonel Lowe evacuated the 
 town with his troops, and marched to the Marina, the place 
 of embarkation, with all the honors of war. 
 
 It deserves to be mentioned, that, when General Lamarque, 
 required the restitution of several of the foreigners who had 
 enlisted in the British service while prisoners of war, Colonel 
 Lowe peremptorily refused. " You may shoot me, but I will 
 never give up a single man," was his spirited reply to the 
 General's demand. 
 
 For the defense of the town of Capri, the highest praise 
 was bestowed upon its commander. After the fall of Ana 
 Capri, and the loss of nearly six hundred out of less than 
 fourteen hundred men, the surrender of the other part of the 
 island, unless the enemy's supplies could be cut off, and the 
 garrison received reinforcements, seemed inevitable. With 
 respect to Ana Capri, Colonel Lowe had felt confident that 
 the Maltese regiment would have repelled the landing of the 
 enemy there as completely as he had repulsed their disem- 
 barkation at the town of Capri. In this expectation he was 
 deceived ; and when enabled by the defeat of the enemy at 
 Capri to proceed in person to Ana Capri, he learned to his 
 
 1 See the official report of the capture of Capri at the end of the vol- 
 ume, where some flattering letters addressed to Colonel Lowe with 
 reference to his conduct on that occasion are given 
 
94 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 surprise that it had not only fallen, but that the greater part 
 of the Maltese regiment were prisoners. To recover that 
 position was utterly impossible ; all that remained was to 
 maintain his ground in Capri, but this was prevented by the 
 want of all aid from the English squadron, by which he had 
 hoped that the island would be completely blockaded, and 
 the enemy cut off from supplies. In this he was disappointed ; 
 and when he drew up in a summary form fourteen causes to 
 which he attributed the loss of Capri, among them he reckon- 
 ed as the principal, the want of vessels of war, the proceed- 
 ings of the British ships when they did arrive, and the con- 
 duct of the Maltese regiment. 
 
 Major-General Lord Forbes wrote to him and said, " I am 
 convinced that Sir John Stuart will lake an early opportu- 
 nity of expressing to you, as well as to the public, the sense 
 he entertains of the unremitting zeal, ability, and judgment 
 which your conduct has displayed under your late trying cir- 
 cumstances at Capri ; and I have only to lament that your 
 exertions, and those of the brave officers and men who sup- 
 ported you, have not been as successful as they are honorable 
 to you and to them." 
 
 Some time after Colonel Lowe arrived in Sicily he felt 
 much annoyed that his official report of the fall of Capri was 
 not published in the " London Gazette," and, thinking that 
 his professional reputation was at stake, he applied for leave 
 to go to England to vindicate himself from any imputation 
 that might be attached to his character for the loss of the place. 
 Indeed, at the time, owing to this circumstance and the un- 
 pleasant deportment of Sir John Stuart toward him, he seri- 
 ously contemplated retiring altogether from the army. 
 
 Sir John Stuart expressed " surprise at his wish to leave 
 his regiment at the present moment" — alluding to its being 
 about to form part of an expedition to the Bay of Naples ; but 
 he said he should not oppose his desire if he considered that it 
 was consistent with his professional duty to urge it. In reply, 
 on the 14th of May, 1809, Colonel Lowe said that the pecu- 
 liar circumstances of the moment induced him to suspend his 
 application for leave of absence, and to make a sacrifice of 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 95 
 
 his private feelings on such an occasion. He therefore re- 
 mained in Sicily with the army. 
 
 In June the expedition alluded to sailed from Sicily for the 
 Bay of Naples, the troops under the command of Sir John 
 Stuart, and the squadron under that of Rear-Admiral Martin ; 
 its object was to form a diversion in favor of our Austrian 
 allies, by menacing the kingdom and capital of Naples. Fif- 
 teen thousand men were embarked, including the Corsican 
 Rangers, under Colonel Lowe ; and on the 24th the troops 
 landed at Ischia, and Colonel Lowe did excellent service with 
 his riflemen. The town was rapidly taken, and on the 30th 
 the castle of Ischia surrendered, under a convention agreed 
 upon between the French Commandant, and Colonels Lowe 
 and St. Laurent on the part of the British authorities. 
 
 The Corsican Rangers returned to Sicily, and in September 
 formed part of an expedition under the command of Briga- 
 dier-General Oswald, to drive the French from the islands of 
 Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, and Cerigb. The ships anchored 
 before the town of Zante on the 1st of October ; and the next 
 morning the first division of the troops, under the immediate 
 orders of Colonel Lowe, effected a disembarkation, and turned 
 the defense of the town by cutting off its communication with 
 the castle. The other division, under General Oswald, ad- 
 vanced toward the castle, and the enemy then accepted the 
 terms which Colonel Lowe was directed to offer them, and 
 surrendered the island. Cephalonia was next attacked, and 
 submitted immediately. " I have," said General Oswald, in 
 his dispatch announcing its capture, " nominated Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Lowe to the important duty of commanding this isl- 
 and, certain that so delicate a trust could not be reposed in 
 more able hands." Ithaca yielded on the 8th to a detach- 
 ment under Captain Church, and Cerigo was taken a few 
 days afterward. The expediency of reducing the island of 
 Santa Maura, which contained a strong garrison and was 
 likely to become the rendezvous of a large force, strongly 
 impressed itself upon Colonel Lowe's mind. His reasons con- 
 vinced General Oswald, and it was determined to make the 
 attempt. On the 21st of March. 1810, troops were embark- 
 
96 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 ed in a squadron under the command of Captain (afterward 
 Vice-Admiral Sir George) Eyre. The proceedings of the ex- 
 pedition are minutely detailed in a letter written by Colonel 
 Lowe at the time, but it will be enough to quote General 
 Oswald's dispatch of the 24th of March, in which he says, 
 " Lieutenant-Colonel Lowe commanded the advance, a por- 
 tion of which (Greek light infantry under Major Church) was 
 kept upon the flank, and drove a party of Albanians from 
 the adjacent heights. The town was found to be evacuated. 
 . . . The enemy's flight was accelerated by a previously con- 
 certed and extremely well-executed movement of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Lowe with the rifles of his corps supported by a com- 
 pany of the 35th and two companies of the Royal Corsican 
 Rangers. The party, headed by the Lieutenant- Colonel, push- 
 ed along the narrow and perfectly exposed causeway which 
 connects the town with the fortress. This unexpected ad- 
 vance led upon the enemy's rear, and contributed to his so 
 quickly abandoning the strong redoubts, which a front attack 
 alone could with difficulty effect." The fortress of Santa 
 Maura held out until the 16th of April, when it was agreed 
 that the garrison should evacuate it with the honors of war, 
 and be sent, as prisoners, to some British port, but that the 
 officers should be allowed to return to Italy, on their parole 
 not to serve until exchanged. Santa Maura was made the 
 presidency of a government comprising the islands of Cepha- 
 louia and Ithaca, which was intrusted to Colonel Lowe. In 
 a circular letter announcing the appointment, General Os- 
 wald said he was confident "that it would be most grateful 
 to the Government and population of Cephalonia and Ithaca 
 to know that they would still enjoy the benefits arising from the 
 civil administration of an officer who had shown himself the 
 common father of all ranks and classes of their communities." 
 Colonel Lowe framed the provisional government, and pre- 
 sided over the civil as well as military administration of these 
 islands for nearly two years, without ever claiming or receiv- 
 ing any remuneration for the extraordinary duties with which 
 he was charged. Those duties were of a difficult nature, re- 
 quiring temper, firmness, and administrative talents. 
 
Chap. III. , MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 97 
 
 He was also frequently engaged in correspondence with the 
 Turkish authorities on the coast of Albania, and with the 
 British Resident at Yanina. Sir John Stuart placed him in 
 direct communication with Ali Pasha, with whom he had a 
 personal interview, and received an offer from him to land 
 thirty thousand Albanians in Italy, to effect a diversion for 
 the purpose of preventing the invasion of Sicily by Murat. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1S12, Lieutenant-Colonel Lowe ob- 
 tained the rank of full Colonel, and in the following month 
 was permitted to return to England on leave of absence. " 1 
 was then," he says, " in my twenty-fourth year of service, 
 and had never been absent a single day from my public duty 
 since the commencement of the war in 1793. I had been 
 in England only once during that time, and then only for a 
 period of six months during the peace of Amiens." 
 
 On the 9th of January, 1813, he was summoned to attend 
 Lord Bathurst, then Secretary of State for the War Depart- 
 ment, and directed to proceed without delay to the north of 
 Europe, to inspect a corps of troops called the " Russian- 
 German Legion," which had been raised by the authority of 
 the Emperor Alexander, and was composed of Germans who 
 had deserted or been taken prisoners during the retreat of the 
 French Army from Russia. At the same time Lieut, -Gen. 
 the Hon. Sir Alexander Hope was about to proceed to Swe- 
 den to conduct a negotiation, with the object of inducing the 
 Crown Prince, Bernadotte, to co-operate with the Allied 
 Powers, by the offer of a large subsidy and of compelling 
 Denmark to cede Norway to Sweden. 
 
 It was intended to place the Russian-German Legion under 
 the command of Bernadotte, and a subsidy had been asked 
 from this country for its support. But before this demand 
 was complied with, the British government desired to ascer- 
 tain the state and condition of the corps ; and the task of 
 obtaining this information was intrusted to Colonel Lowe, 
 
 After a stormy passage Sir Alexander Hope and Colonel 
 
 Lowe arrived at Stockholm on the 11th of February. They 
 
 had interviews with the King and Queen and the Crown 
 
 Prince of Sweden, and met there Madame de Stael, a lady 
 
 Vol. I.— E 
 
98 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 more celebrated than Bernadotte himself. Colonel Lowe 
 thus describes in a letter both these remarkable persons : — 
 "We were invited to an evening party at her house after 
 dining with the Prince Royal, and had the pleasure of dining 
 with her yesterday. Bonaparte's attempt against Russia she 
 treated with complete contempt ; addressing herself princi- 
 pally to the Colonel of the Guards, who was the person sent 
 to relieve the French officers who had been captured on the 
 retreat from Moscow. A little theatre was formed in the 
 house, and Madame de Stael, with her daughter, an extremely 
 interesting girl in her sixteenth year, went through some of 
 the finest scenes in Racine's tragedy of ' Iphigenie.' An old 
 French officer who was present told me she surpassed Made- 
 moiselle Clairon. After the tragic performance she, with 
 her daughter, went through a lively piece of her own com- 
 position with infinite spirit, and her daughter performed a 
 very graceful dance. The Prince Royal entered soon, darting 
 a glance at the company as he saw them collected in groups 
 at small tables in the different rooms, and then glided away 
 unperceived. I have never seen so remarkable a counte- 
 nance as that of Bernadotte ; an aquiline nose of most ex- 
 traordinary dimension, eyes full of fire, a penetrating look, 
 with a countenance darker than that of any Spaniard, and 
 hair so black that the portrait-painters can find no tint dark 
 enough to give its right hue ; it forms a vast bushy protuber- 
 ance round his head, and he takes great pains, 1 understand, 
 to have it arranged in proper form." 
 
 Pursuant to instructions from Lord Cathcart, the British 
 Embassador at St. Petersburg, Colonel Lowe proceeded to join 
 him at the head-quarters of the Emperor Alexander at Kalisch 
 in Poland, and in passing from Memel to Kbnigsberg he crossed 
 the river Niemen upon the same raft on which the memo- 
 rable conference was held between Napoleon and the Emperor 
 Alexander, after the battles of Eylau and Friedland. 
 
 He had an interview with the Emperor, and found that 
 the corps of which he was in pursuit was between Narva and 
 Kbnigsberg, scattered over an extent of more than five hun- 
 dred miles. After performing the duty of inspection he had 
 
Chat. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 99 
 
 the opportunity of being an eye-witness of the hard-fought 
 tattle of Bautzen, on the 20th and 21st of May. He there 
 for the first time saw Napoleon, his future prisoner — but then 
 in the plenitude of his power, and at the head of an immense 
 and devoted army. The passage from his letter to Lord 
 B^athurst in which he describes his view of the extraordinary 
 man with whose fate his own was afterward so strangely linked, 
 is full of interest. "Between the town of Bautzen, and the 
 position taken up by the combined armies is a long elevated 
 ridge, which descends rather abruptly toward the town, but 
 inclined in a gradual slope toward the position. This ground 
 had been yielded up on the preceding day, together with that 
 which the advanced guard had occupied near the town of 
 Bautzen and on the banks of the Spree. In the morning a 
 body of the enemy's troops was observed to be formed on its 
 crest. Immediately in their front a small group was col- 
 lected, which by aid of spy-glasses was soon discovered to be 
 composed of persons ofconsequence in the enemy's army, among 
 whom was most clearly distinguishable Napoleon Bonaparte 
 himself. He advanced about forty or fifty paces in front of 
 the others, accompanied only by one of his Marshals (conjec- 
 tured to have been Eugene Beauharnois), with whom he re- 
 mained in conversation, walking backward and forward (hav- 
 ing dismounted), for nearly an hour. I was on an advanced 
 battery in front of our position and had a most distinct view 
 of him. He was dressed in a plain uniform coat and a star, 
 with a plain hat, different from that of his Marshals and 
 Generals, which were feathered ; his air and manner so per- 
 fectly resembling the portraits given of him, that there was 
 no possibility of mistake. He appeared to be conversing with 
 the person near him, as on some indifferent subject, very rarely 
 looking toward our position, of which, however, the situation 
 in which he stood, commanded a most comprehensive and 
 distinct view." 
 
 In July he received instructions to inspect the whole of the 
 levies in the British pay in the north of Germany, amount- 
 ing to nearly 20,000 men. For this laborious duty he never 
 received the slightest pecuniary remuneration. In October, 
 
100 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 through the favorable opinion of Sir Charles Stuart, he was 
 attached to the allied Russian and Prussian army under the 
 command of General Blucher, and was with him in every 
 action in which he was engaged from the battles of Mockern 
 and Leipsic until the surrender of Paris. Of the battle of 
 Leipsic — the great Vblkc •rscMacM, or Battle of the Nations, 
 as it is called by the Germans — he wrote a long and able 
 account, but it is unnecessary here to describe events which 
 have been so often and so fully related. 
 
 After the battle Blucher was employed in pursuing the 
 fugitives. Colonel Lowe aeeompanied him, and he gives the 
 following picture of the retreat of the French army : "For an 
 extent of nearly fifty miles from Eisenach to Fulda, carcases 
 of dead and dying horses without number ; dead bodies of men, 
 who had been either killed or perished through hunger, sick- 
 ness, and fatigue, lying in the roads and ditches ; parties of 
 prisoners and stragglers brought in by the Cossacks ; blown- 
 up or destroyed ammunition wagons, in such numbers as ab- 
 solutely to obstruct the road, sufficiently attested the suffer- 
 ings of the enemy ; while pillaged and burning towns and vil- 
 lages marked at the same time the ferocity with which he 
 had conducted himself." 
 
 Colonel Lowe remained with Field-Marshal Blucher's army 
 until the beginning of November, when he returned to his 
 duties in the north of Germany. Soon after this temporary 
 removal from the Prussian forces he received a gratifying let- 
 ter from General Gneisenau, in which he said, "It is with 
 much regret that I have learnt that you have quitted our 
 head- quarters. Your honorable behavior and good conduct 
 have gained all our hearts. You have shared our hopes and 
 our fears, and you have enjoyed with us our victory and tri- 
 umph. Such events ought to link together forever those who 
 serve with an entire devotion the same cause. Be assured, 
 then, of our esteem and our attachment, and especially of my 
 own." 
 
 Toward the close of the year 1813, Colonel Lowe was ordered 
 by the War Office to repair to Holland, for the purpose of or- 
 ganizing the levies about to be raised of Dutch troops, which 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 101 
 
 were intended to serve with the army of Sir Thomas Graham ; 
 hut his destination was changed, apparently at his own re- 
 quest ; and on Blucher's army crossing the Rhine, he was 
 directed to join it immediately. He reached the Prussian 
 head-quarters, at Vaucouleurs, on the 24th of January, about 
 a week before the first engagement of the campaign, and from 
 that moment until the capture of Paris never quitted the Prus- 
 sian army. He was present at the battles or general actions 
 of Brienne, La Rothiere, Champaubert, Mery, Craone, Laon, 
 Ferre Champenoise, and Paris; forming in all, including Baut- 
 zen, Wurschen, Mbckern, and Leipsio, thirteen actions, in 
 eleven of which the enemy's army was commanded by Napo- 
 leon in person. During these campaigns, "I had," he says, 
 " my full share of military responsibility, besides being exposed 
 to all the ordinary dangers of war ; having been constantly 
 near the person of Marshal Blucher, present on one occasion 
 where he was wounded, on another where his Cossack orderly 
 was shot by his side, and on two others where he narrowly 
 escaped being made prisoner, being obliged to make a run for 
 it with the whole of his retinue through a party of the enemy, 
 Bonaparte having been nearly taken by him in the same way 
 and on the same day." He was privy to many important 
 deliberations, in which, as the only British officer of any rank 
 employed wii.li Blucher's army, he was able to offer sugges- 
 tions upon measures influencing the fate of the war, particu- 
 larly during the time of the conferences at Chatillon. He 
 strongly and eagerly advised the march against the French 
 capital, as the only means by which the power of Bonaparte 
 could be overthrown, and a solid peace obtained. In the 
 mean time he made many able reports to Sir Charles Stew- 
 art (now Marquis of Londonderry), upward of twenty of which 
 were immediately published in the " London Gazette." The 
 history of the campaign is, however, too well known to render 
 it necessary to reprint them in the present work. 
 
 When the capital of France was entered by the allied army, 
 Colonel Lowe brought the news of Napoleon's abdication to 
 England, being the English officer who first conveyed the 
 important intelligence direct from Paris to London. 
 
102 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 He arrived at the Foreign Office in. the night of the 9th of 
 April, and the intelligence of which he was the bearer was 
 announced in a supplement to the " London Gazette Extra- 
 ordinary" of that day. He was immediately knighted by the 
 Prince Regent ; the Prussian Order of Military Merit was 
 conferred upon him in April ; and he received soon afterward 
 the Order of Saint George from the Emperor of Russia. These 
 marks of honor were accompanied by very gratifying letters. 
 
 In the brevet of the 4th of June Sir Hudson Lowe obtained 
 the rank of Major-General, and he was soon after again called 
 into active service, for when the allied armies retired from 
 France he was appointed duartermaster-General to the Brit- 
 ish troops in the Low Countries, commanded by the Prince 
 of Orange. In that capacity he visited all the fortresses 
 along the Belgic frontier, and recommended their being re- 
 stored. He also inspected the fortresses which lay along 
 the line of frontier occupied by the Prussian army. Among 
 other plans which he proposed, he suggested the construction 
 of a work at Mont St. Jean (close to Waterloo), it being the 
 commanding point at the junction of the two principal cliaus- 
 secs leading direct from the French frontier on the side of 
 Charleroi and Namur to Brussels, and the line of direction 
 in which an enemy must move if Belgium were invaded. In 
 November he received a letter from General Count Gneisenau, 1 
 
 1 The character of this officer, who was the warm friend of Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe, is thus described by Sir Archibald Alison : — ; ' What was 
 wanting in prudence and circumspection for the ordinary duties of a 
 General in the Commander-in-Chief [General Blucher] was amply 
 compensated by the admirable talents and scientific acquirements of 
 his chief of the staff, General Gneisenau. This able man, though 
 much younger than Blucher, was endowed with all the foresight, ac- 
 curacy and comprehensive views which are in the long run indispensa- 
 ble for the successful conduct of a great army. . . . Thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the seat of war, a perfect master of strategy, and invariably 
 accurate in his estimate of distances and the march of troops, he in- 
 fused a degree of correctness and precision into the movements of the 
 army of Silesia, which enabled it to inflict the most terrible blows upon 
 the enemy without sustaining any serious losses itself. Europe was 
 astonished at the admirable skill with which, during that whole cam- 
 paign, the movements of this important army were conducted." — His- 
 tory of Europe, vol. ix. p. 398 (second edit.). 
 
L'hap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 103 
 
 in which that distinguished officer spoke in the most flatter- 
 ing terms of his character and services, saying — 
 
 " It is with the greatest satisfaction, my very dear and 
 very honored General, that I have received your letter of the 
 15th of September, which tells me that you have still pre- 
 served the remembrance of a man who is infinitely attached 
 to you, and who in the course of a memorable campaign, if 
 there ever were one, has learnt to appreciate your rare mili- 
 tary talents, your profound judgment on the great operations 
 of war, and your imperturbable sang froid in the day of 
 battle. ^ These rare qualities and your honorable character 
 will link me to you etiSnally. You may always pride your- 
 self, General, on having belonged to the small number of 
 those who opposed to timid counsels a firmness not to be 
 shaken by the reverses we sustained ; and you have never 
 departed from the conviction that to bring Europe back to a 
 just and equitable equilibrium, and to overthrow the govern- 
 ment of Imperial Jacobinism, its capital ought to be seized. 
 Without that there is no safety. Happily the event has just- 
 ified your calculations Your appointment, my dear 
 
 General, must place you in continual relation with the Duke 
 of Wellington. You would oblige me infinitely by being the 
 medium of presenting to that hero the sentiments of respect- 
 fid homage which I feel for him. By the circumspection 
 with which he conducted the war in the Peninsula he pre- 
 pared and led to that state of things which enabled Europe 
 to emancipate herself; and it was after his fine campaign 
 against Massena that they began in Russia to believe in the 
 possibility of resistance, and commenced making preparations 
 for it. Grateful posterity will count the Duke of Wellington 
 among the benefactors of the human race." 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1815, Field Marshal Blucher 
 wrote to him and said — 
 
 " Your letter, my dear General, I have duly received, and 
 I feel very much obliged to you for the sentiments you have 
 therein expressed toward me. The recollection of a man 
 
t 04 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 whom, during so very memorable an epoch as the last cam- 
 paign, we have learnt to esteem and respect, remains dear to 
 us, and will he ever dearly valued through life. On such 
 grounds you may rely with confidence on the continuance of 
 my attachment and friendship. I wish you joy from my 
 heart on the important post which the Prince Regent, in his 
 confidence, has bestowed upon you — and I rejoice that the 
 choice has fallen upon a man so perfectly equal to fulfill the 
 duties of it in its whole extent." 
 
 The news of Napoleon's return from Elba reached Brussels 
 early in March, and Sir Hudson I^we's situation at once 
 became one of much importance. He exerted himself vigor- 
 ously to induce the Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian corps 
 between the Rhine and the Meuse to cross the latter river, 
 and act in concert with the British troops in the defense of 
 Belgium, which he plainly saw would be the battle-field on 
 which the destiny of Europe would be decided. The Prus- 
 sian Generals, however, thought that Bonaparte would aim 
 his first blow on the side of Switzerland and Mayence, for, to 
 use the words of General Muffling in a letter to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe — " If he directed his force against Belgium he would 
 have to give a battle, the issue of which would always be 
 uncertain ; he would be distant from Italy ; he would lay 
 open that part of France which is not covered by fortresses 
 to German and Austrian invasion ; he would lose Switzerland. 
 These reasons are strong enough to induce the retention of a 
 position which enables General Count Kleist to direct his 
 force as well on Mayence as on Brussels." 
 
 In the beginning of April the Duke of Wellington assumed 
 the command of the allied army, and on the Cth of that month 
 Count de Gneisenau wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe from Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, and said — 
 
 " I salute you, dear and worthy General, our companion in 
 labor, in misfortune, and in glory, in whom, amid all vicis- 
 situdes of fortune, I have recognized an imperturbable char- 
 acter and a profound judgment, and always known of a coun- 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 105 
 
 sel opposed to that of pusillanimity and feeble minds. I am 
 happy to know that you are in our neighborhood, and, since 
 the perturber of the human race wills it, let us again trust 
 ourselves to the issue of arms and the chance of war. In me 
 you will always find, worthy General, my accustomed frank- 
 ness, and my attachment to you personally, and my partiality 
 for your estimable nation. The arrival of the great Duke 
 has tranquilized me as to what will be done on your part. 
 Respect for his glory will silence all secondary views, and he 
 will conduct the various interests with that wisdom and calm- 
 ness which we know to belong to him. The movements 
 which we in this quarter will be disposed to make will depend 
 on the views which the Duke of Wellington will have con- 
 ceived from that knowledge of circumstances which he will 
 have acquired after arriving at Brussels. He may count on 
 the co-operation of the Prussian army in all that he judges 
 useful to our cause." 
 
 Shortly afterward the same officer wrote again, and spoke 
 in no very respectful terms of the Vienna Congress : — " Our 
 force," he said, " without comprising the corps of Saxons 
 which will belong to the King of Saxony, amounts to 153,000 
 fighting men. We are ready to take the field as soon as we 
 receive orders ; but I fear that the cursed Congress will delib- 
 erate until our enemies are in a condition to enter the lists 
 with us." 
 
 Sir H. Lowe remained only a few weeks under the imme- 
 diate orders of the Duke of Wellington, for early in May he 
 was offered the command of the British troops at Genoa, in- 
 tended to act with the Austro-Sardinian army and the squad- 
 ron under Admiral Lord Exmouth in the south of France. 
 He did not for a moment hesitate about accepting this distin- 
 guished post ; but he felt unwilling to leave the Duke with- 
 out his entire approbation, and, having waited upon his Grace, 
 he communicated the result of the interview to Sir Henry 
 Bunbury (Under Secretary of State for the War Department) 
 in a letter, where he mentions the characteristic mode in which 
 the great Chief, whom we have so recently lost, expressed 
 
 E* 
 
106 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON Chap. III. 
 
 himself on the subject of his Quartermaster-General quitting 
 him at this juncture : — " He (the Duke) observed that Colonel 
 Sir "William De Lancy might be expected to arrive here in a 
 day or two, but that he knew not how soon he might be ren- 
 dered au fait of the duties of the department ; that Sir George 
 Murray (who was then on his return from Canada) had been 
 with him for six years, and that he was accustomed to him, 
 but that he did a good deal of his mm business, and coidd 
 do business ivith any one. He said it was a case in which 
 I must judge for myself." 
 
 The result was that Sir Hudson remained at his post with 
 the army in Belgium until the beginning of June, and before 
 he left it he received a friendly letter from Sir Henry (now 
 Viscount) Hardinge, dated " Liege, April 22, 1815," in which 
 he said — 
 
 "I have many acknowledgments to make for the letter 
 you were so good as to write to me, and many more to repeat 
 for the kindness of your introduction to this head-quarters, 
 which has obtained me many personal attentions. I should 
 (ail in doing your friends here justice were I to deny myself 
 the pleasure of assuring you of their esteem and attachment, 
 which they profess too earnestly and frankly not to make it 
 very acceptable for its sincerity. The Dutch insinuation that 
 our eyes were directed to our shipping was distinctly denied 
 in Lord Wellington's letter to General Gneisenau, in which 
 he said that the present position of the Prussians on the Meuse 
 and Sambre would induce him in any operations to make 
 common cause. Among other officers who hear reports with- 
 out having access to official information I have used your hint 
 usefully ; and I beg as the greatest favor you can confer on 
 me, that at any leisure you can spare you will do me the 
 kindness to continue these advices, which, in a new situation 
 which you know so well, are very valuable." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's successor as (iuartermaster-General of 
 the Duke of Wellington's army was the gallant Sir Edward De 
 Lancy. who fell at Waterloo, and whose sister he afterward 
 married. On his route to Geneva he passed through the Im- 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 107 
 
 perial head-quarters at Heidelberg, where he met Field Mar- 
 shal Bliicher, and had an audience of the Emperor Alexander, 
 after which he had an interview with Prince Schwartzenberg. 
 In a letter to Sir Henry Bunhury, dated June 10, he thus 
 describes his conversation with Alexander : 
 
 " The Emperor received me in his cabinet, quite alone, 
 and, having taken me by the hand, said he was glad to see 
 me, but that it must appear an unexpected situation to meet 
 in, after what had passed before ; that it was an unfortunate 
 and very much to be lamented occurrence that had compelled 
 him again to come forward ; that oceans of blood might be 
 again spilt, but that, while that man (Bonaparte) lived, there 
 would be no hope of repose in Europe ; that armies must be 
 kept up by every nation on a war footing, and that, in such 
 case, it was better to be at war, and perhaps, in the end, much 
 less expensive ; that in short, there appeared no other alter- 
 native than in pursuing the business with vigor, and bring- 
 ing it thus to the speedier close. The Emperor spoke in 
 E nglish, and the above are, nearly as I can recollect his very 
 words. He asked me then several questions about the force 
 and condition of our army in Belgium ; the state of the Prus- 
 sian army ; my own destination ; the description of force I 
 should have at Genoa ; the means of employing it, &c. : to 
 all of which I answered as satisfactorily as I could ; but I 
 thought he appeared both surprised and gratified at hearing 
 the numerical strength of the force under the Duke of Well- 
 ington, conceiving he had not more than 60,000 men dispos- 
 able, whereas I assured him the British and Hanoverian force 
 alone exceeded that number ; that, including the Dutch, and 
 Belgians, and Brunswickers, there were upwards of 100,000 
 men, of whom 90,000 might be regarded as quite disposable." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe arrived at Genoa on the 17th of June, 
 and assumed the command of the troops on the 19th. It 
 was not until the 2d of July that Lord Exmouth's squadron 
 appeared off that port, and no time was then lost in embark- 
 ing troops for Marseilles, which city and all the towns on the 
 coast, except Toulon and Antibes, had hoi6ted the white flag. 
 
.08 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 He sailed in the Boyne with Lord Exmouth on the 4th, and 
 on the 9th was off Toulon, where the tricolor was still flying, 
 and shots were fired from the batteries at the English squad- 
 ron. The next day they anchored at Marseilles, and the 
 Major-General and his staff landed on the 1 1th, but the whole 
 of the troops were not disembarked until the 15th. The gar- 
 rison of Toulon was commanded by Marshal Brune, and 
 Murat was then in the town. 
 
 The chief military and civil authority in this part of France 
 was at the time vested in the Marquis de la Riviere, and with 
 him Marshal Brune opened a negotiation, but the varying 
 nature of the hopes and fears of the Bonapartists is strikingly 
 shown in the following passage of a letter from Sir Hudson 
 Lowe to Lord Exmouth : 
 
 "Brune, on the very day he was writing to the Marquis 
 and trying to get a promise of his property being sacred, was 
 parading the streets and addressing the soldiers with cries of 
 ' Vive l'Empereur !' ' La patrie est sauvee !' " 
 
 The Admiral wrote to the General the day before with the 
 bluntness of a sailor : 
 
 "As it appears to be the fashion in France to permit all 
 their gang of rascally Marshals to go quietly out of their 
 country, I will not object to that prince of rogues, Marshal 
 Brune, going, under the white flag to Tunis. To a Christian 
 country I think no man should assume the power of sending 
 him, for no country in its senses ought to receive such fellows." 
 
 On the 24th the forts and ships in Toulon hoisted the white 
 flag, and Marshal Brune and the other French Generals and 
 Admirals signed their submissions to Louis XVIII. But their 
 minds still wavered, and when an English frigate attempted 
 to enter Toulon a shot was fired at her ; and though the 
 Marshal's order of the day directed the French troops to dis- 
 continue the use of the tricolor cockade and of the eagles, the 
 Major of the 15th regiment of the line, after reading this order 
 to his men, told them to " put the eagles in their pockets — 
 they had slept once before, and might aicake again." Lord 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 109 
 
 Exmouth and Sir Hudson Lowe, therefore, who were now at 
 Marseilles, proposed that Toulon should receive a British gar- 
 rison, under the white flag, and their energetic remonstrances 
 at length caused the departure of Marshal Brune, and the deliv- 
 ery up of the garrison at Toulon to the Marquis de la Riviere. 
 
 It was on the 1st of August that Sir Hudson Lowe most 
 unexpectedly received the important information that he was 
 to be intrusted with the custody of Napoleon Bonaparte, and 
 he was ordered to repair immediately to London. Before he 
 left Marseilles the municipality voted to him a silver urn, in 
 consideration of his " conduite personnelle." 1 
 
 On his arrival at Avignon in his way to Paris, he found the 
 place in commotion, and heard that only a few hours before 
 Marshal Brune had fallen a victim to the popular fury. His 
 possport being demanded, he produced one granted by himself, 
 as the person first in authority at Marseilles, and was allowed 
 to depart. As soon as he reached Paris he waited, pursuant 
 to his instructions, upon the Duke of "Wellington and Lord 
 Oastlereagh, with whom, as well as with Field-Marshal Blii- 
 cher, Prince Metternich, Count Pozzo di Borgo, and other emi- 
 nent persons, he had several communications. Lord Oastle- 
 reagh asked his opinion of the possibility of Bonaparte making 
 his escape. " I told him at once," says Sir Hudson, " that I 
 saw no other chance of it than that which might result from 
 his exciting a mutiny or disaffection among the troops, recol- 
 lecting two instances of formidable mutinies having occurred 
 at St. Helena, in which several lives were lost, and in both 
 of which the Governor had very narrowly escaped with his 
 own life ; but when I was informed what the composition of 
 the garrison was likely to be, I told him that all chance of 
 resource [danger ?] from such a cause would, of course, be pro- 
 
 1 Lord Exmouth's opinion of the merits of his colleague was cordially 
 expressed. In his dispatch describing the submission of Toulon he 
 said, "I can not close my letter without expressing in the strongest 
 terms the high satisfaction and pleasure I have experienced in servino- 
 with Major-General Sir Hudson Lowe, from whose active, intelligent, 
 mind the service has derived every advantage." — Gazette, August 12, 
 1815 
 
110 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 portionally diminished, although attempts to tamper with the 
 officers and men I thought it very likely might he made." 
 This was the only occasion in which Sir Hudson Lowe had 
 any conversation with Lord Castlereagh, to whom it has been 
 represented that he was entirely devoted. 
 
 Upon his arrival in England he was placed in direct com- 
 munication with many of the Cabinet Ministers respecting the 
 duty upon which he was to be employed, and received an 
 assurance in Lord Liverpool's name, that if he undertook the 
 charge of Bonaparte's person, and continued in that charge 
 for three years, "it should not stop there." He was told in 
 the Royal presence, by Lord Ellenborough, Lord Chief Justice 
 of the King's Bench, that "in the execution of the important 
 duty to be confided to him he might rest assured the law 
 would give him its support ;" and he had several interviews 
 with the Solicitor-General, Sir Samuel Shepherd, respecting 
 the Acts of Parliament that were to be prepared for the safe 
 custody of Bonaparte. 
 
 As the island of St. Helena at that time belonged to the 
 East India Company, the power of appointing the Governor- 
 was vested in the Court of Directors ; and on the 23d of Au- 
 gust they signified to Sir Hudson Lowe that the Court had 
 nominated him Governor of the island. The local rank of 
 Lieutenant-General with the command of the troops was 
 granted him, and his salary was fixed at twelve thousand 
 pounds per annum. 
 
 On the 12th of September Sir Hudson Lowe received his 
 Instructions 1 from Earl Bathurst, the Secretary at War, who, 
 after stating that he inclosed for Sir Hudson's information and 
 guidance a copy of the Memoranda which formed the basis of 
 Sir George Cockburn's Instructions, and that he was to ob- 
 serve them as the general principles by which his conduct 
 was to be regulated, thus continued : — " Many things, how- 
 ever, must be determined by local circumstances ; and the 
 experience which I have already had of your judgment and 
 discretion makes me repose this most important trust, without 
 
 1 See these in extenso at the end of the volume 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIB HUDSON LOWE. Ill 
 
 apprehension, in your hands. You will observe that the de- 
 sire of his Majesty's Government is to allow every indulgence 
 to General Bonaparte which may be compatible with the 
 entire security of his person : that he should not by any means 
 escape, or hold communication with any person whatever (ex- 
 cepting through your agency), must be your unremitted care ; 
 and these points being made sure, every resource and amuse- 
 ment which may serve to reconcile Bonaparte to his confine- 
 ment may be permitted." 
 
 On the same day he received a letter from Lord Bathurst 
 respecting Bonaparte's residence and maintenance, in which 
 his Lordship desired Sir Hudson Lowe to inspect the plan of 
 a house proposed to be sent out to St. Helena for Bonaparte, 
 and to give directions for what he thought requisite to be got 
 as furniture, " observing, as a general rule, that although it 
 was the intention of his Majesty's Government that the apart- 
 ments occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte should be sufficiently 
 furnished, yet needless expenses were to be avoided carefully, 
 and the furniture should be solid and well chosen, without 
 being profusely ornamental." 
 
 " I had," says Sir Hudson Lowe, " an interview with the 
 Solicitor-General, and endeavored to impress upon him the 
 necessity of such stipulations (in the Act of Parliament to be 
 drawn for the purpose) as might aid me in the discharge of 
 that part of my instructions. His reply to me was very re- 
 markable. He said he considered the danger of any unau- 
 thorized communication would be best guarded against by 
 means of sentries. The reply, I say, was remarkable, because 
 I had not wished to molest Napoleon Bonaparte by placing 
 sentries near his dwelling during the day time, and because 
 it shows the law-officers of the Crown to whom I was referred 
 had ideas of much greater rigor in the discharge of the duties 
 imposed upon me than those I had professed. I thought, 
 nevertheless, that what I had both said and written on the 
 occasion must have made some impression ; but when the 
 Acts of Parliament arrived at St. Helena, 1 found that, al- 
 though they provided an effectual punishment for any person 
 
112 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. 111. 
 
 who might be accessory to the escape of Napoleon Bonaparte 
 from St. Helena, they took not at all into their consideration 
 the support of the means which were necessary to prevent his 
 escape. Where the technicality of drawing out an Act for 
 the punishment of a crime is considered, without any portion 
 of that forethought which should go hand in hand with it, as 
 to the means of preventing such crime, and of guarding in 
 every way possible against its commission, the natural con- 
 sequence must be an increased care and responsibility in that 
 person whose vigilance is alone to present a sufficient guard." 
 
 On the 10th of January, 1816, Sir Hudson Lowe received 
 from Earl Bathurst a dispatch informing him that it was the 
 pleasure of the Prince Regent that, upon his arrival at St. 
 Helena, he should communicate to all the followers of Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, including the menial servants, that they were 
 at liberty to leave the island immediately, and to return to 
 Europe, or to go to the United States of America, but that 
 none could be permitted to remain at St. Helena, except 
 those who would declare in writing that it was their desire to 
 remain in the island, and to abide by the restrictions which 
 it was necessary to impose upon Napoleon Bonaparte person- 
 ally. And on the 18th Lord Bathurst wrote and said : "It 
 is only necessary to add that you are to continue to treat Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte as a prisoner of war until further orders." 
 
 All the arrangements for Sir Hudson Lowe's departure 
 were not completed until the middle of January, 1816, shortly 
 before which time he married Susan, the widow of Colonel 
 William Johnson, and sister of Colonel Sir William Howe De 
 Lancy, K.C.B. On the 23d of January he was appointed a 
 Knight Commander of the Bath ; and on the 29th, accom- 
 panied by his wife and two step-daughters ; by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Sir Thomas Readc, C.B., Deputy Adjutant-General ; 
 Brevet-Major Gorrequer, Aid-de-camp ; Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Lyster, Inspector of Militia ; Major Emmett, of the Royal 
 Engineers ; Lieutenant Basil Jackson, of the Staff corps ; l 
 
 1 Now Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, Professor of Military Surveying 
 at Addiscombe, to whom the author is indebted for his ready assistance 
 in affording information on various points of interest 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR. OF SIB HUDSON LOWE. 113 
 
 and Mr. Baxter, Deputy Inspector of Hospitals, he sailed from 
 Portsmouth in the Phaeton frigate for St. Helena, which he 
 reached on the 14th of April. 
 
 Such was the career of the officer whom the British Gov- 
 ernment selected for the arduous duty of Governor of St. He- 
 lena. And surely enough has been related to show that in 
 his previous history there was every thing to justify this mark 
 of confidence. Hitherto, however, his character has been al- 
 most wholly in the hands of his enemies, and few men have 
 been pursued with such persevering calumny as Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. He has been made the scapegoat of all the sins which 
 the English nation has been represented as guilty of toward Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte. The historian has charged him with mean- 
 ness and cruelty, and the satirist has turned him into ridicule. 
 He has been painted as a man whose conduct and language 
 befitted the turnkey of a jail rather than a British officer in- 
 trusted with the execution of a duty of unparalleled delicacy 
 and importance. And even those who have duly estimated 
 the difficulty of his task, and suspected the veracity of his 
 assailants, have been unable to divest themselves of an un- 
 easy consciousness that he might have performed his duty in 
 a more gracious manner. The tone of their defense has been 
 rather that of apology than vindication. And for this I can 
 not but think that Sir Hudson has himself been in some de- 
 gree to blame. "When we consider the ample materials he 
 possessed for refuting his enemies and putting the libelevs to 
 shame, we can not but marvel that he should have allowed 
 the grave to close over him without having puhlished his 
 defense to the world. 
 
 That he was not a master of the art of literary composition 
 will be apparent from a perusal of his letters in the course of 
 this work ; but the public would gladly have dispensed with 
 correctness of style and elegance of language, to have been 
 truly informed about facts in which they took so lively an 
 interest. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott says : " It would require a strong defense 
 on the part of Sir Hudson Lowe himself, refuting or explain- 
 ing many things which as yet have neither received contra- 
 
114 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 diction nor commentary, to induce us to consider him as the 
 very rare and highly exalted species of character to whom, as 
 we have already stated, this important charge ought to have 
 been intrusted." After mentioning that Sir Hudson Lowe 
 had received in the course of his military career from several 
 of the allied sovereigns and generals the most honorable test- 
 imonies of his services that could be rendered, Sir Walter 
 adds : " But there were other qualifications, and those not less 
 important, his possession of which could only be known by 
 putting him upon trial. The indispensable attribute, for ex- 
 ample, of an imperturbable temper was scarcely to be ascer- 
 tained until his proceedings in the office intrusted to him 
 should show whether he possessed or wanted it Know- 
 ing nothing of Sir Hudson Lowe personally, and allowing him 
 to possess the qualities of an honorable, and the accomplish- 
 ments of a well-informed man, we are inclined, from a review 
 of his conduct, divesting it, as far as we can, of the exagger- 
 ations of his personal enemies, to think there remain traces 
 of a warm and irritable temper, which seems sometimes to 
 have overborne his discretion, and induced him to forget that 
 his prisoner was in a situation where he ought not, even when 
 his conduct seemed most unreasonable and most provoking, 
 to be considered as an object of resentment, or as being sub- 
 ject, like other men, to retort and retaliation. ... Sir George 
 Cockburn had been in scipso totus, teres, atquc rotundus. 
 He did what his duty directed, and cared little what Napo- 
 leon thought or said upon the subject. The new Governor 
 was vulnerable ; he could be rendered angry, and might there- 
 fore be taken at advantage." 
 
 The language of Sir Archibald Alison, the historian of the 
 long conflict which followed the outbreak of the first French 
 Revolution, is still more unfavorable. He says that " Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe, who was appointed to the military command of 
 the island, proved an unhappy selection. His manner was 
 ri<nd and unaccommodating, and his temper of mind was not 
 such as to soften the distress which the Emperor endured 
 during his detention." And the present Lord Chief Justice 
 of England, Lord Campbell, who is hardly less distinguished 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 115 
 
 as an accomplished writer than as a great lawyer, pronounces 
 in his " Lives of the Lord Chancellors" ' this damnatory judg- 
 ment : "As things were managed, I am afraid it will be said 
 that he (Napoleon) was treated, in the eighteenth century, 
 with the same cruel spirit as the Maid of Orleans was in the 
 fifteenth ; and there may he tragedies on the Death of Napo- 
 leon, in which Sir Hudson Lowe will he the ; Sbirro ;' and 
 even Lord Eldon may he introduced as the stern old Council- 
 or who decreed the hero's imprisonment." 
 
 Now if this were a question to he decided by authority 
 alone, it would be vain and idle in me to oppose my opinion 
 to that of Scott, Alison, and Lord Campbell. The public 
 would at once pronounce in favor of the judgment of those 
 authors, and they would, in the absence of evidence to the 
 contrary be justified in so doing. But Sir Walter Scott admits 
 that he was precluded from making inquiry from Sir Hudson 
 Lowe himself, owing to the absence of the latter from Europe 
 at the time he wrote his Life of Napoleon ; and he says that 
 it was impossible to obtain impartial evidence on the subject 
 of the long train of minute incidents which form the cata- 
 logue of grievances laid to the charge of the late Governor of 
 St. Helena. The statements of Sir Archibald Alison and Lord 
 Campbell rest on no fuller means of knowledge than were 
 possessed by Sir Walter Scott, and it is impossible not to see 
 that all these distinguished writers have been influenced in 
 their opinions by the assertions of authors, the bitterest ene- 
 mies of Sir Hudson Lowe, who have hitherto occupied the 
 field of narrative with regard to the events at St. Helena. In 
 fact, it could not well be otherwise. No one can rise from 
 the perusal of the works of those authors, and without strong 
 evidence believe that there is not some foundation for the 
 charges they contain against Sir Hudson Lowe of peevishness 
 of temper, coarseness of language, and tyranny of conduct. 
 " WTiere there is so much smoke there must be fire," is too 
 often the saying of the many, contenting themselves with the 
 point of a proverb, even where a man's character is at stake. 
 
 1 Vol vi. p. 321. 
 
116 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 I know how difficult it is to remove an unfavorable impres- 
 sion which has sunk deep into the minds of men. A kind of 
 prescription is given to falsehood which is allowed to remain 
 long unrefuted ; hut I greatly deceive myself, if, when the 
 official and authentic documents now for the first time made 
 known in these volumes are perused, and the true version of 
 the history of the Captivity of Napoleon has been dispassion- 
 ately considered, public opinion will not deliver another ver- 
 dict and pronounce a different judgment. 
 
 But, independently of the evidence which will be adduced 
 in the present work, there are not wanting the testimonies of 
 persons who had good opportunities of forming a correct opin- 
 ion, and they are strongly in favor of Sir Hudson Lowe. Mr. 
 Henry, a military surgeon formerly attached to the 66th regi- 
 ment, which relieved the 53d at St. Helena, where he re- 
 mained from July 1817, until May, 1821, and was conse- 
 quently for nearly four years resident in the island, has written 
 an interesting book called " Events of a Military Life," and he 
 there gives a very different account of some of the incidents of 
 the Captivity from what is to be found in the pages of O'Meara 
 and the French writers. 1 Speaking of the Governor, in one 
 passage he says,' " From first impressions I entertained an 
 opinion of him far from favorable ; if, therefore notwithstand- 
 ing this prepossession, my testimony should incline to the 
 other side, I can truly state that the change took place from 
 the weight of evidence, and in consequence of what came 
 under my own observation in St. Helena. Since that time 
 he has encountered a storm of obloquy and reproach enough 
 to bow any person to the earth ; yet I firmly believe that the 
 
 1 Mr. Henry had not the means of knowing the extent and malignity 
 of O'Meara's misrepresentations, and yet he shrewdly suspected the 
 truth. Alluding to a remark he had made in the first edition of his 
 book unfavorable to Sir Hudson Lowe's character for temper, which 
 rested solely on the authority of O'Meara, the author, in a subsequent 
 edition says, " he now regrets its publication, as he has the strongest 
 reason for believing that at the time O'Meara had a selfish reason for 
 calumniating the Governor and falsifying the conversations between 
 them on the visits of the former to Plantation House." — Vol. ii. p. 60. 
 
 - Events of a Military Life, vol. ii. p. 9. 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIB HUDSON LOWE. 117 
 
 talen the exerted in unraveling the intricate plotting con- 
 stantly going on at Longwood, and the firmness in tearing it 
 to pieces, with the unceasing vigilance he displayed in the dis- 
 charge of his arduous and invidious duties, made him more 
 enemies than any hastiness of temper, uncourteousness of de- 
 meanor, or severity in his measures, of which the world was 
 taught to believe him guilty." 
 
 And again : l " It is extremely probable, and I believe it to 
 be the fact, that Sir Hudson Lowe went to St. Helena determ- 
 ined to conduct himself with courtesy and kindness to Napo- 
 leon, and to offord him as many comforts and as much per- 
 sonal freedom as were consistent with his safe custody. I 
 was intimately acquainted with the officer charged with the 
 care of Longwood for nearly three years, and he assured me 
 that the Governor repeatedly desired him to consult the com- 
 fort of the great man and his suite ; to attend to their sugges- 
 tions, and to make their residence as agreeable as possible. 
 Two of the orderly officers at Longwood, namely, Majors 
 Blakeney and Nicholls of the 66th Regiment, have given me 
 the same assurance. I have myself seen courteous notes from 
 Sir Hudson Lowe to these officers, accompanying pheasants 
 and other delicacies sent from Plantation House for Napo- 
 leon's table. Even after two unfortunate interviews, when 
 the Emperor worked himself into a rage and used gross and 
 insulting expressions to the Governor, evidently to put him 
 into a passion, but without success (for Sir Hudson maintained 
 perfect self-possession and self-command throughout), even 
 after this open breach the above civilities were not discon- 
 tinued. Still, when a pheasant, the greatest rarity in the 
 island appeared on the Governor's table, one was sure to be 
 sent to Longwood." 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Henry from Colonel Jackson that officer 
 gays, 2 — " Few persons, if any are better acquainted with Sir 
 Hudson Lowe than myself. When he was GUiartermaster- 
 
 1 Events of a Military Life, vol. ii. p. 57. 
 
 " This letter is quoted in the " Events of a Military Life," vol. ii. 
 p 59. 
 
118 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 General in the Netherlands in 1814 and 1815, 1 was a Deputy- 
 Assistant in the department and attached to the office, when 
 I was with him every day, and had, indeed, more communi- 
 cation with him than others, and sometimes of a confidential 
 character. I also at that time saw him when certain circum- 
 stances gave him much annoyance, but can not recollect any 
 single instance of his breaking out into any unseemly bursts 
 of anger, or showing real uncourteousness. He was very much 
 liked by all who served under him, being at all times kind, 
 considerate, generous, and hospitable. ... I have good reason 
 to believe that toward Napoleon and his suite the Governor's 
 bearing was at all times correct and proper. Except Las 
 Cases, I was intimate with all the individuals of the suite 
 .... especially so with Montholon (even after his return to 
 Europe) .... and I never heard any of them complain of Sir 
 
 Hudson Lowe's carnage toward them Depend upon it, 
 
 the reports spread of Sir Hudson Lowe's ' bursts of undignified 
 and reprehensible passion' were wholly without foundation as 
 regards the persons at Longwood, and most grossly exagger- 
 ated with reference to his behavior to ourselves. I have heard 
 Sir George Bingham speak highly of Sir Hudson ; your friend 
 General Nicol do the same ; and, in fact, most of the officers 
 of rank who were at St. Helena ; and I can not remember to 
 have heard any one complain of Sir Hudson's temper. Like 
 other men, he is liable to the infirmities of our nature ; but 
 want of proper self-command has never been one of his defects." 
 Elsewhere, in another passage, Colonel Jackson says, 1 — 
 "I was honored with the friendly notice of Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 and enjoyed much of his confidence, during a course of thirty 
 years. I knew him when his military reputation marked him 
 as an officer of the highest promise. I witnessed his able con- 
 duct as Governor of St. Helena ; I saw him when the malice 
 of his enemies had gained the ascendant, and covered him with 
 unmerited opprobrium ; I beheld him on his death-bed ; and 
 throughout these various phases in his career I admired and 
 respected his character, while I truly loved the man." Such 
 a tribute would not have been paid to one whose conduct had 
 1 United Service Magazine 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 119 
 
 been that of a tyrannical jailer at St. Helena. It is one of 
 which any man might well he proud. 
 
 In a letter written to Sir Hudson Lowe by Mr. (afterward 
 Sir Robert) Farquhar, the Governor of the Mauritius, who had 
 staid for a few days at St. Helena, on his way to England, 
 in January, 1817, that gentleman said — " As to your own 
 conduct with regard to Bonaparte, the more I reflect upon it 
 the more I am convinced of its perfect propriety, and that the 
 indulgence, kindness, and consideration with which you treat 
 him, are as much as could be granted conformably to your in- 
 structions, and even much more than many persons in your 
 place would be disposed to grant. Your instructions are very 
 concise, but extremely comprehensive. The strict construc- 
 tion of them would, in my opinion, bear you out in a mode of 
 confinement conformably to that which Bonaparte practiced 
 on his own state prisoners, instead of those extensive ranges 
 which from the mildness of your measures, he has unre- 
 strained access to, and which make his seclusion to St. He- 
 lena more like the banishment of the ancient nobles of France 
 to the boundaries of their domains than the confinement of a 
 state prisoner." And the late Lieut. -Col. Sir Henry Keating, 
 who, like Sir Robert Farquhar, visited St. Helena on his voy- 
 age from the Mauritius, bore similar testimony, saying. — "As 
 long as Sir Hudson Lowe continues Governor I will answer 
 with my head for the safety and secure custody of Bonaparte. 
 Sir Hudson, to great wisdom, perseverance, and judgment, 
 adds the most conciliatory conduct, and a desire that every 
 thing consisting with the safety of Bonaparte's person should 
 be most strictly attended to, in the most delicate manner, and 
 with a proper regard to the feelings of the fallen man." 
 
 In O'Meara's book Napoleon is represented as constantly 
 recurring to the topic of the indignity put upon him by the 
 selection of so obscure and ignoble a person for the office of 
 Governor. He called him a Sicilian hangman (boja) and 
 constable (sbirro) — a jailer — a leader of brigands and chief 
 of spies {capo di spioni) — a captain of vagabond Corsican 
 deserters — a clerk (scrivano) to Bliicher — a man " who had 
 never commanded, or been accustomed to, men of honor." 
 
120 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Ill 
 
 No epithet seemed too bad to apply to him, and it would ap 
 pear as if his previous history ought to have disqualified him 
 for so important a trust, and that knowing this, Napoleon 
 really felt the appointment of such a man to he in itself an 
 injury and an insult. But was the fact so ? Did Bonaparte 
 from the first look upon the new Governor as unfitted for the 
 post from the obscurity of his services or the nature of his ac- 
 tions ? Nothing of the kind. None of all this apparent in- 
 dignation was real. Sir Hudson Lowe's reputation and ser- 
 vices were well known to Bonaparte before the former arrived 
 at St. Helena, and they were then made the theme of praise, 
 and esteemed a sufficient pledge that he would discharge the 
 duties of his office in a manner agreeable to the feelings of 
 his captives. In a remarkable letter written to the Governor 
 by Las Cases, when on the point of removal from the island 
 in consequence of misconduct, as will be hereafter related, it 
 suited the purpose of the writer to state what were the senti- 
 ments with which he and his companions heard of the ap- 
 pointment of Sir Hudson Low. His object was to contrast 
 their previous expectations with his subsequent conduct, and 
 thus give point to their reproaches ; but it is a valuable tes- 
 timony to the fact that, in the eyes of Napoleon and his suite, 
 there was nothing which rendered Sir Hudson Lowe unfit to be 
 intrusted with the important office of Governor of St. Helena. 
 Count Las Cases, in a splendid letter to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 dated December the 19th, 1816, thus expresses himself: 
 
 " ' The eyes of Europe,' we said, ' are fixed upon our rocK ; 
 and nations will now judge of the conduct of kings : they 
 doubtless will be lavish of proofs of respect and marks of at- 
 tention, in expiation at least of what they call political neces- 
 sity A man is appointed to take the command here' 
 
 (you, Sir, were the person alluded to) ' who holds a distinguish- 
 ed rank in the army ; he owes his fortune to his personal merit ; 
 his life has been passed in diplomatic missions at the head- 
 quarters of the Sovereigns of the Continent, where the name, 
 the rank, the power, the titles of the Emperor Napoleon must 
 have become familiar to him. He will be acquainted with 
 the relations, both public and personal, that existed between 
 
Chap. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 121 
 
 the Emperor and those Sovereigns, who for a long time called 
 him brother, who have been his friends and allies, or are his 
 kinsmen. He will know that at Chatillon it depended solely 
 on the Emperor to reign in France with the consent even of 
 England, and that later he might have retained possession of 
 other countries. This man,' we said, ' in his diplomatic career 
 will have formed just notions both with respect to persons and 
 things ; he probably laughs himself, now that the object is at- 
 tained, at the mass of falsehood and libel which fear and policy 
 had invented for the vulgar ; and, having been placed in such 
 situations, he would not now accept a mission founded on prin- 
 ciples different from those thus established, and having any 
 other object than to better our present condition. His arrival 
 alone is therefore a sufficient pledge of the favorable nature 
 of his instructions with respect to us.' ' Did you not tell 
 me,' said the Emperor to us one day, ' that he was at'Cham- 
 paubert and at Montmirail ? We have then probably ex- 
 changed a few cannon-balls together, and that is always, in 
 my eyes, a noble relation to stand in.' Such was the dis- 
 position in which Sir Hudson Lowe was expected." 
 
 Now it is no answer to this to say that appearances are 
 deceitful, and that Napoleon afterward found reason to 
 change his opinion. The question here is not, What was the 
 subsequent conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe ? — that will be made 
 sufficiently manifest in the following pages — but, What were 
 Napoleon's expectations? And the passage from Las Cases 
 here cited incontestably proves that they were favorable to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe. It may, indeed, be urged that this makes 
 his subsequent complaints all the more likely to be true, and 
 that they were forced from him by bitter experience that his 
 hopes were not realized, and that the conduct of the New 
 Governor did not answer the promise held out by his ap- 
 pointment. But this is shifting the ground of attack. At 
 present we are dealing only with the question whether Bo- 
 naparte felt that he had any just ground for dissatisfaction 
 that the British Government had selected an officer like Sir 
 Hudson Lowe for the arduous and responsible post. 
 Vol. I— F 
 
122 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. III. 
 
 It became afterward the policy at Longwood to compare 
 him with Sir George Cockbura, always to the disadvant- 
 age of the former. And yet we have seen that, while the 
 latter was in command at St. Helena, Bonaparte used to 
 speak of him in the same contemptuous style in which 
 he afterward spoke of Sir Hudson Lowe. On one occa- 
 sion he said of the Admiral, "It showed the greatest 
 want of generosity in him to insult the unfortunate, because 
 insulting those who are in your power, and, consequently, 
 can not make any opposition, is a certain sign of a low and 
 ignoble mind. I, in my misfortune, sought an asylum, and, 
 instead of that, I found ill-treatment, contempt, and insult." 
 With justice, therefore, might Sir Hudson say — " Thus, then, 
 it is evident that the French retained their ill-humor against 
 Sir George Cockburn to the last moment of his government 
 at St. Helena, and that similar complaints were made of him 
 to those which for a much longer period were repeated and ac- 
 cumulated against me. The evidence here offered of these facts, 
 whatever may be its intrinsic worth, is good against the authors 
 of the calumnies with which I have been pursued, because 
 it is the evidence of these authors against themselves." 
 
 In reality Bonaparte was pleased at the change of guard- 
 ianship. On the 22d of April, 1816, O'Meara wrote to Mr. 
 Finlaison — " The new Governor has arrived here, and has 
 taken the charge of Napoleon out of the hands of Sir George 
 Cockburn very much to the satisfaction of both Napoleon 
 and Sir George himself ;" and in the same letter he says that 
 Bonaparte remarked to him after their first interview — 
 " This new Governor is a man of very few words, but, he ap- 
 pears to be a polite man : however, it is only from a man's 
 conduct for some time that you can judge of him." And 
 Colonel Sir George Bingham, who commanded the troops at 
 St. Helena, on being applied to on the subject, wrote to Sn - 
 Hudson Lowe and said — 
 
 " "With respect to the disposition of Napoleon toward you 
 at the time of your arrival, I can distinctly state that it wag 
 friendly ; for, on seeing the signal that the frigate (which 
 brought you out) was in sight with the new Governor on 
 
Cha?. III. MEMOIR OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 123 
 
 board, I went to Longwood to give him the intelligence. It 
 was before the usual hour at which he saw any one, and 
 I was shown into his dressing-room before he was dressed ; 
 and he was in one of those violent fits of rage he was so fre- 
 quently subject to, because Gourgaud had ushered in Har- 
 rison as well as myself. He pushed him out of the room, and 
 shut the door in his face. Resuming immediately his placid 
 manner, he asked me to sit down ; and, in answer to the 
 communication I made him respecting your arrival, he said, 
 ' I am glad of it; I am tired of the Admiral (Sir George 
 Cockburn), and there are many points I should like to talk 
 over with Sir Hudson Lowe ; he is a soldier, and has served ; 
 he was with Bliicher ; besides, he commanded the Corsican 
 regiment, and knows many of my friends and acquaintance.' " 
 
 In one respect, no doubt, the choice was an unfortunate 
 one. Almost from the first moment of seeing Sir Hudson 
 Lowe Napoleon conceived a dislike toward him, and this 
 soon ripened into utter aversion. It is not too much to say, 
 that for a long time, if not to the end of his life, he hated him 
 with a perfect hatred. The feeling seems to have been 
 almost an instinctive antipathy, for it displayed itself before 
 the newly-arrived Governor had introduced any change in 
 the regulations, or done any thing which could give offense. 
 If we may believe Bonaparte's passionate language, the coun- 
 tenance of Sir Hudson Lowe was repulsive to him ; and his 
 manner was not prepossessing, even in the judgment of favor- 
 able friends. 1 It is not unlikely that, in the irritable state of 
 mind of the fallen Emperor, a prejudice taken by him against 
 the physiognomy and manner of the Governor may have dis- 
 posed him to misconstrue his conduct, and attribute bad mo- 
 
 1 In a letter to the author from Colonel Jackson the latter says — " I 
 never heard any of the French say a word against Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's bearing toward them. His orders to his officers were to do all 
 that courtesy and kindness could dictate to render the situation of the 
 French persons as little unpleasant as possible, and, so far as I saw, 
 every desire on their part was promptly attended to. He was himself 
 a man possessing little of what is called manner — no man had less of 
 that ; — but he was full of kindness, liberality, and consideration for the 
 feelings of others " 
 
124 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. in. 
 
 tives to actions which were forced upon him by the plain dic- 
 tates of duty. But in reality it may well be doubted whether 
 it would have been possible for any one in the situation of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe to have conciliated the goodwill or confi- 
 dence of Napoleon. His pretensions to almost uncontrolled 
 freedom of intercourse and exemption from surveillance within 
 the island, and the tenacity with which he clung to the Im- 
 perial title which the instructions of the Governor positively 
 forbade him to accord, must have brought him constantly 
 into collision with whoever exercised authority over him. 
 From first to last he took a false view of his own position. He 
 did not claim indulgence as a favor, but as a right. He as- 
 serted that he ought not to be treated as the prisoner, but as 
 the guest of England; and he described the conduct of the 
 British Government in sending him to the rock of St. Helena 
 as an infamy and an injury for which posterity would avenge 
 his memory. With these incompatible views of the parties to 
 the nature of their relative situations, it was not possible for 
 them to agree in the expediency or propriety of the measures 
 to be adopted. A curtailment of liberty was looked upon by 
 the one as an act of tyranny, by the other as a measure of 
 necessary precaution. Nor is it a sufficient reply to say that 
 Napoleon found no fault with Sir Pulteney Malcolm, but, on 
 the contrary, regarded and spoke of him always with esteem. 
 It must be remembered that the Admiral was not the Gov- 
 ernor of the island. He had no authority over the inmates 
 of Longwood, and was not the instrument whereby the policy 
 of the Allied Powers toward Bonaparte was carried into ex- 
 ecution. But if Sir Pulteney had been substituted for Sir 
 Hudson, not even all his fine qualities would have saved him 
 from the dislike of Napoleon, for he would have done his duty 
 as Sir George Cockburn did, and, like Sir George Cockburn, 
 he would have been stigmatized with names of opprobrium. 
 The truth was told by Count Montholon when he said to 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, who visited him at his chateau 
 of Fremigny, near Arpajon, in France, after their return to 
 Europe, " Mon clier ami, an angel from heaven could not 
 have pleased us as Governor of St. Helena." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FIRST INTERVIEW OF SIR HUDSON LOWE WITH BONAPARTE 
 
 DIFFICULTY IN GETTING THE FRENCH OFFICERS TO SIGN THE 
 DECLARATION OTHER INTERVIEWS WITH BONAPARTE LET- 
 TERS OF o'MEARA TO SIR THOMAS READE AND OTHERS. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's first official act after taking the oaths 
 was to issue a proclamation confirming all Sir George Cock- 
 burn's general orders. He then, on the 16th of April, having 
 on the previous day intimated his intention at Longwood, pro- 
 ceeded there to visit Napoleon. He arrived at nine o'clock in 
 the morning, but was told that Bonaparte was indisposed and 
 could not then receive visitors. The Governor therefore re- 
 tired, after arranging that Sir George Cockburn and himself 
 should have an interview with Bonaparte the following day, 
 at four o'clock in the afternoon. 1 
 
 The particulars of that interview have been much misrepre- 
 sented. The following is Sir Hudson Lowe's own account of 
 what took place on the occasion : 
 
 " Had my first interview with him at four o'clock in the 
 
 1 Count Las Gases, in his "Journal" under date April 16, 1816, thus 
 describes the first attempted interview, misrepresenting motives as usual : 
 " April 16. — The new Governor arrived at Longwood about ten o'clock, 
 notwithstanding the rain, which still continued. He was accompanied 
 by the Admiral, who was to introduce him, and who had, no doubt, told 
 him that this was the most suitable hour for his visit. The Emperor 
 did not receive him : he was indisposed, and, even had he been well, he 
 would not have seen him. The Governor, by this abrupt visit, neglected 
 the usual forms of decorum. It was easy to perceive that this was a 
 trick of the Admiral. The Governor, who probably had no intention to 
 render himself at all disagreeable, appeared very much disconcerted. 
 We laughed in our sleeves. As for the Admiral, he was quite triumph- 
 ant. The Governor, after long hesitation and very evident marks of il!- 
 humor, took his leave rather abruptly. We doubted not that this visit 
 had been planned by the Admiral with the view of prepossessing us 
 against each other at the very outset." 
 
126 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 afternoon ; was accompanied to his house by Rear- Admiral 
 Sir George Cockburn. General Bertrand received us in his 
 dining-room, serving as an ante-chamber, and instantly after- 
 ward ushered me into an inner room, where I found him 
 standing, having his hat in his hand. Not addressing me 
 when I came in, but apparently waiting for me to speak to 
 him, I broke silence by saying, ' I am come, Sir, to present 
 my respects to you.' ' You speak French, Sir, I perceive ; but 
 you also speak Italian. You once commanded a regiment of 
 Corsicans.' 1 I replied, the language was alike to me. ' We 
 will speak, then, in Italian,' he said ; and immediately com- 
 menced in that language a conversation "which lasted about 
 half an hour, the purport of which was principally as follows : 
 He first asked me where I had served — how I liked the Cor- 
 sicans — ' They carry the stiletto : are they not a bad people V 2 
 looking at me very significantly for an answer. My reply was, 
 ' They do not carry the stiletto, having abandoned that cus- 
 tom in our service ; they have always conducted themselves 
 with propriety. I was very well satisfied with them.' 3 He 
 asked me if I had not been in Egypt with them ; and, on my 
 replying in the affirmative, entered into a long discussion re- 
 specting that country. ' Menou was a weak man. If Kleber 
 had been there, you would have been all made prisoners.' He 
 then passed in review all our operations in that country, with 
 which he seemed as well acquainted as if he had himself been 
 there ; blamed Abercromby for not landing sooner, or, if he 
 could not land sooner, not proceeding to another point ; Moore, 
 with his 6000 men, should have been all destroyed ; they had 
 shown themselves good generals, however, and merited suc- 
 cess from their boldness and valor. He asked me if I knew 
 Hutchinson — whether it was the same that had been arrested 
 at Paris. To which a reply was, of course, given in the nega- 
 
 1 " Je suis venu, Monsieur, pour vous presenter mes devoirs." B. 
 " Vous parlez Francais, Monsieur, je vois ; mais vous parlez aussi Italien. 
 Vous avez commande un regiment de Corses." 
 
 2 " Portano stiletti : non sono cattivil" 
 
 3 " Non portano stiletti; hanno perduto quella usanzanel nostro ser- 
 vizio : si conducevano sempre molto bene. Era molto contento di loro." 
 
April, 1816. SIR HUDSON LOWE'S FIRST VISIT. 127 
 
 tive. His question on this point, betrayed great interest. The 
 subject of Egypt was again resumed. It was the most im- 
 portant geographical point in the world, and had always been 
 considered so. He had reconnoitred the line of canal across 
 the Isthmus of Suez ; he had calculated the expense of it at 
 ten or twelve millions of livres — : Half a million sterling,' ' 
 he said, to make me understand more clearly the probable 
 cost of it : that, a powerful colony being established there, it 
 would have been impossible for us to have preserved our em- 
 pire in India. He then fell again to railing at Menou ; and 
 concluded with the following remark, which he pronounced 
 in a very serious manner : ' In war, the game is always with 
 him who commits the fewest faults.' 3 It struck me as if he 
 was reproaching himself with some great error. 
 
 " He then asked me some further questions regarding my- 
 self — whether I was not married ? — if I had not become so 
 shortly before my leaving England ? — how I liked St. Helena ? 
 I replied, I had not been a sufficient time here to form a judg- 
 ment upon it. ' Ah ! you have your wife ; you are well off ! 3 
 After a short pause he asked how many years I had been in 
 the service ? ' Twenty-eight,' I replied. ' I am, therefore, 
 an older soldier than you,' 4 he said. ' Of which history will 
 make mention in a very different manner,' 5 I answered. He 
 smiled, but said nothing. I proceeded immediately afterward 
 to take my leave, asking permission to present to him two 
 officers of my suite, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Thomas Eeade 
 and Major Gorrequer, who had accompanied me, to which he 
 assented. He spoke little to them, but, as we were going 
 away, turned to me and said, ' You are settling your affairs 
 with the Catholics, I see ; it is well done. The Pope has 
 made concessions, and smoothed the way to you.' Thus the 
 interview terminated." 
 
 As the accounts hitherto given of this interview create the 
 
 1 " Mezza millione di lire sterline." 
 
 2 " Dans le metier de la guerre, le jeu est toujours a celui qui fait la 
 moins de fautes." a " Ah ! avete la vostra moglie ; state bene !" 
 
 4 " Je suis done plus vieux soldat que vous." 
 
 6 " Dont l'histoire le fera connaitre d'une bien autre rnaniere." 
 
128 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 impression that Sir Hudson Lowe had rudely prevented Sir 
 George Cockburn from being present, 1 it is right to quote an 
 
 1 O'Meara says, " The following day Sir Hudson Lowe landed, and 
 was installed as Governor with the customary forms. A message was 
 then sent to Longwood that the new Govcrnor^vould visit Napoleon at 
 nine o'clock on the following morning. Accordingly, a little before 
 that time Sir Hudson Lowe arrived, in the midst of a pelting storm of 
 rain and wind, accompanied by Sir George Cockburn, and followed by 
 his numerous staff. As the hour fixed upon was rather unseasonable, 
 and one at which Napoleon had never received any person, intimation 
 was given to the Governor on his arrival that Napoleon was indisposed, 
 and could not receive any visitors that morning. This appeared to dis- 
 concert Sir Hudson Lowe, who, after pacing up and down before the 
 windows of the drawing-room for a few minutes, demanded at what 
 time on the following day he could be introduced : two o'clock was 
 fixed upon for the interview, at which time he arrived, accompanied as 
 before by the Admiral, and followed by his staff". They were at first 
 ushered into the dining-room, behind which was the saloon where they 
 were to be received. A proposal was made by Sir George Cockburn 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe that the latter should be introduced by him, as 
 being, in his opinion, the most official and proper manner of resigning 
 to him the charge of the prisoner ; for which purpose Sir George sug- 
 gested that they should enter the room together. This was acceded to 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe. At the door of the drawing-room stood Nover- 
 raz, one of the French valets, whose business it was to announce the 
 names of the persons introduced. After waiting a few minutes, the 
 door was opened, and the Governor called for. As soon as the word 
 ' Governor' was pronounced Sir Hudson Lowe started up, and stepped 
 forward so hastily, that he entered the room before Sir George Cock- 
 burn was well apprized of it. The door was then closed ; and when 
 the Admiral presented himself, the valet, not having heard his name 
 called, told him that he could not enter. Sir Hudson Lowe remained 
 about a quarter of an hour with Napoleon, during which time the con- 
 versation was chiefly carried on in Italian, and subsequently the officers 
 of his stafT were introduced. The Admiral did not again apply for ad- 
 mission." — Voice from St. Helena, vol. i. pp. 27, 28. Count Las Cases 
 says (Journal, April 17, 1816) that Napoleon was delighted (ravi) with 
 the circumstance. " He burst into a fit of laughter, rubbed his hands, 
 and exhibited the joy of a child — of a schoolboy who had successfully 
 played off a trick on his master. ' Ah ! my good Noverraz,' said he. 
 ' you have done a clever thing for once in your life. He had heard me 
 say that I would not see the Admiral again, and he thought he was 
 bound to shut the door in his face. This is delightful.' " Count Mon- 
 tholon, however (Merits, vol. i. p. 244,), describes Napoleon's conduct 
 very differently, and as having been much more becoming his charac- 
 ter : — " The oversight of the valet grieved him (le peina) ; he charged 
 O'Meara to say so to Sir George Cockburn, and even sent one of us to 
 express to him his regret. 
 
Arrui,, 1816. SIR HUDSON LOWE'S FIRST VISIT. 129 
 
 extract from the Governor's report of the occurrence in his 
 letter to Sir Henry Bunbury, the Under Secretary of State : 
 
 " In order that there might he no mistake respecting the 
 appointment being for Sir George Cockburn as well as my- 
 self, I distinctly specified to Bertrand that we should go up 
 together. "We went, were received in the outer room by 
 Bertrand, who almost immediately ushered me into Bona- 
 parte's apartment. I had been conversing with him for 
 nearly half an hour, when, on his asking me if I had brought 
 with me the Regent's Speech, I turned round to ask Sir 
 George Cockburn if I had not given it to him, and observed 
 to my surprise that he had not followed me into the room. 
 On going out I found Sir George in the ante-chamber much 
 irritated. He told me that Bertrand had almost shut the 
 door in his face as he was following me into the room ; that 
 a servant had put his arm across him. He said he would 
 have forced his way, but that he was expecting I would have 
 turned round to see if he was following me, when he supposed 
 I would have insisted on our entering the room together. I 
 told him I knew nothing of his not being in the same room 
 until Bonaparte asked me for the Regent's Speech ; that I 
 had not turned round before, nor would it have ever occurred 
 to me to do so, not having any suspicion of what was passing. 
 Bonaparte was ready to receive him after I had left the room, 
 but he would not go in. Bertrand and Montholon have been 
 with him since; making apologies; but the Admiral, I be- 
 lieve, is still not quite satisfied about it. I mention these 
 particulars for your private information, in the event of any 
 thing being said upon them, either in an official or private 
 manner, by the Admiral." 1 
 
 1 Among Sir H. Lowe's memoranda is one in which he says, " When 
 Bonaparte was ready to receive me, my name was called, and I inad- 
 vertently advanced immediately and entered the room, where Bonaparte 
 was standing. I did not discover, till I turned round, intending to refer 
 to the Admiral, that Sir George Cockburn was not in the room. It 
 appeared afterward that on his following me he was stopped at the 
 door by Noverraz, Napoleon's Swiss valet. I must acknowledge my 
 error in preceding Sir George Cockburn, who ought to have entered 
 
 F* 
 
130 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 The following is the account which O'Meara gave to Mr. 
 Finlaison of the contretemps which had happened ; and his 
 letter, which is dated April 22, 1816, contains some interest- 
 ing matter : 
 
 " Since I wrote to you last the new Governor has arrived 
 here, and has taken the charge of Napoleon out of the hands 
 of Sir George Oockburn, very much to the satisfaction of both 
 Napoleon and Sir George himself. It had been agreed be- 
 tween Sir Hudson Lowe and Sir George Cockburn (at the 
 suggestion of the latter) ' that they should not allow Bona- 
 parte to receive them separately, but that they should go in 
 together, in order to remove from him any remains of acting 
 the King. The day after the Governor's arrival, therefore, 
 he, accompanied by Sir George, proceeded to Longwood at 
 about nine o'clock in the morning, having the day before sig- 
 nified their intention of coming. However, Bonaparte was 
 so displeased at the earliness of the hour, and not having been 
 consulted himself as to what time he might like to admit them, 
 that he would not see either the Governor or Admiral, very 
 much to the astonishment of the former ; however, he sent 
 word that he would be ready to receive him the next day at 
 any time between one and five. Accordingly his Excellency (ac- 
 companied by the Admiral) the next day again ascended the hill 
 with his staff, and entered the front room of Longwood ; after 
 a few minutes' delay, Sir Hudson was called and went in, 
 but, on the Admiral's attempting to follow him, the servant 
 whose office it is to announce stopped him, and actually put 
 his hand close to his breast to prevent his entering, telling 
 him at the same time that the Emperor wished to see the 
 Governor alone. The Admiral, though greatly hurt at Sir 
 
 the room first for the purpose of introducing me ; but the mistake had 
 taken place before I was aware of it ; and when I was sensible of the 
 
 irregularity it was too late to correct it I leave the account of 
 
 this interview without any other remark than that the result of it was 
 in no degree unsatisfactory, nor the cause of any misunderstanding 
 with Bonaparte." 
 
 1 Opposite to this statement Sir Hudson Lowe has written, in the 
 margin, "False." 
 
April, 1816. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 131 
 
 Hudson Lowe breaking his agreement with him, nevertheless 
 took no further notice of it than quitting the room. Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe afterward endeavored to explain it away, by saying 
 that he thought the Admiral was at his heels, and that he 
 did not discover his mistake until he turned about to call Sir 
 Thomas Reade. This, however (in my opinion), is a very 
 lame excuse, as he certainly ought to have allowed the Ad- 
 miral to precede him in entering, in order to introduce him 
 officially. Montholon went the next day to the Admiral full 
 of excuses, which I believe to be all lies, and [to coincide 
 with ?] his own views, and not authorized by Bonaparte, par- 
 ticularly from a conversation which I had with him the same 
 day, in which, after some desultory remarks, he said, ' I be- 
 lieve the Admiral was ill-used yesterday when he came up 
 with the new Governor ; — what does he say about it?' con-, 
 tinued he. I replied, 'He certainly conceived it as an insult 
 offered to him, and was greatly offended at it ; some explana- 
 tion, however, has been given to him by General Montholon 
 concerning it.' Bonaparte then said, 'I certainly will nevei 
 see him with pleasure ; but he did not announce himself as 
 being desirous of seing me.' I replied, ' He wished to intro- 
 duce officially to you the new Governor, and thought in that 
 capacity it was not necessary to be previously announced.' 
 Bonaparte then said, ' He should have signified to me by 
 Marshal Bertrand that he wanted to see me ; but,' continued 
 he, ' he wanted to embroil me with the new Governor, and 
 for that reason persuaded him to come up at nine o'clock in 
 the morning, though he well knew that I never received any 
 persons, and never would, at that hour : he did it out of 
 malice. It is a pity that a man who really has talents — for 
 I believe him to be a very good officer in his service — should 
 have behaved so ill as he has done to me ; he had an oppor- 
 tunity of getting a good character by treating me well, but 
 instead of that he has proved [earned ?] himself one which 
 will cover him with disgrace to posterity. It will appear in 
 print yet ; it showed the greatest want of generosity in him 
 to insult the unfortunate, because insulting those who are in 
 your power, and consequently can not make any opposition, 
 
 r 
 
132 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 is a certain sign of a low and ignoble mind. I, in my mis- 
 fortune, sought an asylum, and instead of that I found ill- 
 treatment, contempt, and insult. The first he offered me 
 was at his own table in the Northumberland, shortly after I 
 came on board. I did not wish to sit at table for two or three 
 hours, like the English, guzzling down wine to make myself 
 drunk, and therefore got up and walked out upon deck ; upon 
 which he said in a contemptuous manner, "I believe the Gen- 
 eral has never read Lord Chesterfield," meaning that I was 
 deficient in politeness and did not know how to sit at table ; 
 upon which Madame Bertrand, who understands English, said 
 to him, " Sir, the greatest sovereigns in Europe have thought 
 it an honor to dine with the Emperor Napoleon." This was 
 a most gross insult to me. I will never see him with pleas- 
 ure : my communication with him is finished now. If he 
 chose to force his way in sword in hand, he might have done 
 it as I was in his power, but with my own freewill I will 
 never see him again. If he wanted to see Lord Keith, or Lord 
 St. Vincent, or Lord Melville, would he not have sent to know 
 at what time they would find it convenient to receive him ? 
 and I think that the actions I have performed are at least as 
 well known,' continued he, laughing, ' as any the two first 
 have done, setting aside that I have been a crowned head. 
 He is a madman,' said he then, ' a vulgar man.' 1 I said all 
 I could in the Admiral's excuse, but to no avail ; especially 
 after the Lord Chesterfield anecdote, I could say but little, 
 as he asked me, ' What could that be for but an insult ?' 
 ' This new Governor,' said he, ' is a man of very few words, 
 but he appears to be a polite man ; however, it is only from 
 a man's conduct for some time that you can judge of him.' 
 General Montholon came in at this moment with a transla- 
 tion of the paper which the domestics who wished to remain 
 with him were to sign. Bonaparte, looking at it, said, ' Why, 
 this is not French ; it is not sense.' ' Sire,' said the other, 'it 
 is a literal translation of the English.' ' However,' said Na- 
 paleon, ' it is neither French nor German' (tearing it in two) : 
 'you are a fool.' Then, looking at me, said he, ' He makes 
 
 1 " C'est un fou, .... c'est un horame grossier." 
 
April, 1816. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEAEA. 133 
 
 a translation into stuff which is not French, and is nonsense 
 to he understood hy any Frenchman.' He then desired Mon- 
 tholon to go into the next room, when he dictated to him in 
 my hearing the following in place of it : ' We, the undersign- 
 ed, wishing to continue in the service of H. M. the Emperor 
 Napoleon, consent, horrible as is the abode in St. Helena, to 
 remain here. We submit to the restrictions, though unjust 
 and arbitrary, that are imposed upon H. M. and upon the 
 persons in his service." ' There,' said he, ' let those who like 
 sign that. I remembered almost exactly the words, and 
 afterward obtained a copy of it. I ought to have mentioned 
 first to you that an offer has been made to such of the Gen- 
 erals and domestics as are willing to avail themselves of it to 
 proceed to the Cape, from whence a passage would be found 
 them to England, and that those who were desirous of re- 
 maining must sign a paper purporting their intention of stay- 
 ing with Bonaparte, and their consent to undergo such re- 
 strictions as the British might think proper to impose upon 
 him. All, however, have chosen the latter, with the excep- 
 tion of Marshal Bertrand, who, I believe, has not yet decided. 
 The next day Bonaparte spoke to me about the various letters 
 which had appeared in the English newspapers concerning 
 him since his arrival at St. Helena ; and alluded particularly 
 to one in which the writer asserted several falsehoods con- 
 cerning his voracity of appetite, and that he drank a pot of 
 porter and two bottles of claret at breakfast. 'Why,' said he, 
 ' I do not know what the English will make of me in the end ; 
 they say that I drink so many bottles of wine daily, that I eat 
 so much, that I will produce a famine in this detestable rook. 
 I suppose that they will make me eat a live bull at a meal 
 by-and-by,' continued he, laughing. ' Do you think the En- 
 glish people really believe those stories V He then launched 
 out into invectives against the island, which, as they were 
 not to be contradicted, of course I answered not ; asked me if 
 
 1 "Nous soussignes, voulant continuer a rester au service de S. M. 
 l'Empereur Napoleon, consentons, quelqu'affreux que soit le sejour de 
 Ste. Helene, a y rester. Nous nous soumettrons aux restrictions, 
 quoiqu'injustes et arbitraires, qu'on a imposees a S. M. et aux per- 
 sonnes de son service." 
 
134 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 I had not been at Capri in the Bay of Naples, to which I an- 
 swered in the affirmative. He asked me then which I thought 
 worst of the two ; to which I answered that in time of peace 
 with Naples [Capri was the] preferable residence, but in time 
 of war I conceived it [otherwise. He then asked] ' if I had 
 not been in Alexandria in Egypt : I answered, ' Yes.' ' In a 
 line-of-battle ship,' said he ; ' but I suppose you could not en- 
 ter [the harbor].' I told him that we soon found a passage 
 through which any vessel might go, which he would not be- 
 lieve for some time, until I told him that I saw the Tigre and 
 Canopus, of eighty guns each, enter with ease. 'Why,' said 
 he, with astonishment, 'that Commodore Barre, whom you 
 took in the Rivoli, was ordered by me to sound for a passage 
 when I was there, and reported to me that there was not a 
 possibility of a line-of-battle ship entering the harbor.' 2 He 
 observed then that the French fleet might have been saved 
 if he had done his duty ; and made some remarks not much 
 to the credit of the French naval officers. I told him then 
 that we had blockaded up the passage by sinking two vessels 
 laden with stone in it ; to which he replied that it was easy 
 to remove such obstacles. Notwithstanding the great pre- 
 judice he has against the Admiral, I should not be surprised if 
 he will have reason in a short time to wish him back again, 
 as I hear it whispered that, though the allowances, with re- 
 spect to eating and drinking, furniture, &c, will be much more 
 liberal than heretofore, yet that restrictions still more severe 
 than those ordered by the Admiral will be imposed upon him, 
 which, God knows, were so strict, that any thing more must 
 be superfluous. The Admiral had a very delicate and diffi- 
 cult task to perform ; and after having surmounted every 
 difficulty, presented both by nature and the want of every 
 convenience, and undergoing all the opprobrium with which 
 he is loaded by them for obeying his orders, Sir Hudson steps 
 in, finds every thing nearly finished, and brings with him 
 
 1 The words within brackets are supplied by conjecture, as blanks 
 exist in the copy of the letter to which the author has had access. 
 
 2 This sentence, which could not be deciphered, has been corrected 
 from the "Voice," vol. i. p. 57. 
 
April, 1816. GOVERNOR'S REPORT. 135 
 
 directions to supply Bonaparte's table in the most liberal 
 manner, instead of eight covers, which the Admiral, by his in- 
 structions, was limited to. The Admiral certainly was rather 
 too economical, but I suppose he acted according to the best 
 of his judgment up to the strict letter of his orders. Do not 
 let this letter be made public, as you must readily perceive 
 that he would know directly who was the author, and repute 
 me as a spy. I sent you by the Redpole some of his hair 
 and decorations, but you have not acknowledged the receipt 
 of them. . . . Hope is even an inhabitant of St. Helena, and 
 sometimes her cheering influence reaches to the breast of the 
 once so much dreaded possessor of Longwood." 
 
 In his dispatch to Earl Bathurst of the 21st of April, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, after making an official report of all his pro- 
 ceedings since his arrival, and of his interview and conversa- 
 tion with Bonaparte on the 17th, thus spoke of Longwood : 
 
 " While at Longwood, I took an opportunity of looking round 
 the situation and buildings. The situation appears to unite 
 as many advantages as could be well found in the island, and 
 really does not seem liable to the objections which General 
 Bonaparte's family has been so studious to raise against it ; 
 but the house itself is a very straggling one, having only a 
 ground floor, to which several small rooms have been added, 
 with offices, detached buildings, and a new house close to it 
 building for General Bertrand ; the whole with trees inter- 
 mixed, without any inclosure or area, and consequently 
 exceedingly difficult to guard with perfect security during the 
 night-time. Six sentries are drawn close to it at night ; but 
 the British officer who lives in the house, to accompany Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte when he goes out, acquaints me he does not 
 consider it would be difficult for him to effect his escape from 
 it, during a very dark night, without being observed by the 
 sentries. 
 
 " The only rooms of which I saw the interior in the build- 
 ing were the sitting and dining-rooms. They are as well 
 fitted up, perhaps, as the means of the island admitted, but 
 neither the furniture nor general appearance corresponds to 
 
136 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 what might be considered to appertain to a General officer 
 of rank in any other place — very inferior, indeed, to that 
 of the house allotted for me, which is like that of an English 
 gentleman's ordinary country residence, such as your Lord- 
 ship's instructions have pointed out for him. 1 
 
 " I, however, only saw two rooms, and must therefore 
 reserve a more conclusive report till I examine the house in 
 detail. As a temporary residence it is, perhaps, as good as 
 could have been obtained for him ; but the question of its 
 remaining as his permanent one is liable on more than one 
 ground to some objection. The general defect of the house 
 at Longwood is the scattered style of building, without having 
 any inclosed area. To remedy this, for any habitation in 
 which General Bonaparte may be placed, I should beg leave 
 to recommend that a considerable quantity of iron railing, not 
 of too massy a kind, should be sent out by some of the first 
 ships from England, sufficient to inclose a space of at least 
 600 yards. To make other inclosures and divisions it might 
 be advisable to send out about 1200 yards of invisible fence, 
 of somewhat a closer construction than is ordinarily used. . . 
 1 inclose, for your Lordship's information, two fortnights' ac- 
 counts of Mr. Balcombe, purveyor to General Bonaparte's 
 household. The amount of one is £683 5s. Ad. ; the other, 
 £567 10s. id. The annual expense, consequently, at the 
 former rate, is above £16,000 ; and at the latter, £13,000. 
 The number of persons for which this expense is incurred is 
 fifty-one, of whom nine alone, with four children, are of his 
 family ; the rest, with the exception of two officers in attend- 
 ance upon him, being servants. I am not as yet enabled to 
 say whether it may be possible to effect any reduction in this 
 expense." 
 
 We have seen, from O'Meara's letter of the 22d of April, 
 that the domestics at Longwood were required to sign a paper 
 stating their willingness to remain. A similar declaration 
 
 1 This passage shows the consideration of Sir Hudson Lowe for the 
 comfort of tho inmates of Longwood. 
 
April, 1816. DECLARATION OF LAS CASES. 137 
 
 was exacted from the French officers, in pursuance of the 
 instructions contained in Lord Bathurst's letter of the 10th 
 of January. " The tenor of this declaration," says Count Mon- 
 tholon, "was unsuitable; but to declare in writing our de- 
 termination to share the Emperor's captivity was accepted by 
 us without hesitation — I may venture almost to say with a 
 kind of joy, for it afforded us the opportunity of giving a high 
 testimony of our devotion." He then says that Count Las 
 Cases, General Gourgaud, and himself took their declarations 
 to Count Bertrand, and requested him to forward them with 
 his own to the Governor, but that Count Bertrand refused to 
 sign ; that he received an order to go to Plantation House to 
 reply verbally to the communication, and endeavor to obtain 
 some modification of the conditions ; that he was well received 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe, but gained nothing ; that the next day 
 Napoleon sent Count Montholon himself to Sir George Cock- 
 burn for the same purpose ; that the 19th was passed by the 
 Governor or his Aids-de-Camp going and coming on the sub- 
 ject of the declarations ; that the Governor would yield no- 
 thing ; and that on the 20th they had all signed except Count 
 Bertrand, who held out until the 24th. 1 Sir Hudson Lowe 
 had drawn up a form of declaration and sent it to them for 
 their respective signatures, but this by no means suited the 
 susceptible vanity of the French officers, who thought this a 
 good opportunity for making a display of heroism and insult- 
 ing the British Government. Each, therefore, adopted a 
 style of his own, and it is amusing to see how the changes are 
 rung upon the miseries they pretend, in order to enhance the 
 merit of their devotion to " the Emperor." 
 Count Las Cases said — 
 
 " I, the undersigned, repeat the declaration already made 
 by me in Plymouth Roads, that I mean to share the fate of 
 the Emperor Napoleon ; to accompany him, to follow him, and 
 to alleviate as much as I can the unjust treatment he experi- 
 
 1 Recits de la Captivite de l'Empereur Napoleon, tome i. pp. 247-249. 
 The English edition (vol. i. p. 185) gives a much shorter account of the 
 transaction. 
 
138 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 ences by the most unheard of violation of the rights of man, 
 and which affects me personally so much the more, as it was 
 I who transmitted to him the offer and the assurances of 
 Captain Maitland, of the Bellerophon, that he had orders 
 from his Government to take the Emperor and his suite un- 
 der the protection of the British flag, if such were his wish, 
 and to conduct him to England And now, notwith- 
 standing the knowledge I have acquired of the horrors of an 
 abode in St. Helena, so injurious to the health of the Em- 
 peror and to that of every European, and although during the 
 six months that we have passed in the island I have suffered 
 every species of privation, which I voluntarily increase daily, 
 in order to expose myself as little as possible to the want of 
 those courtesies to which my rank and habits lay claim, I 
 reiterate that, constant in my sentiments, my desire is to re- 
 main with the Emperor, and that I ana ready to submit to 
 the same restrictions as may be arbitrarily imposed upon him. 
 
 " Le Comte de Las Cases." 
 
 Count Montholon said — 
 
 " I, the undersigned, repeat the declaration which I made 
 in Plymouth Roads, of my desire to follow the Emperor Na- 
 poleon. I confided in the assurances given us by Captain 
 Maitland, of his Britannic Majesty's ship Bellerophon, in the 
 
 name of his Government In respect to us, all the 
 
 laws of nations and those of England have been violated. 
 From Plymouth Roads we have been transported to a dis- 
 tance of 2000 leagues from our country to the torrid zone, 
 and there confined on a sterile rook, continually enveloped in 
 clouds, drenched with rain, and beaten by the winds, and 
 whose climate, by the extraordinary variations of its temper- 
 ature, is more fatal than any other to the health of Euro- 
 peans. For the last six months we have been deprived of 
 every thing which could render life supportable, and, as if 
 that were not enough, we have been subjected to arbitrary 
 restrictions not even justified by necessity. Nevertheless, since 
 it is exacted, I hereby declare, in order that I may continue 
 my services to the Emperor Napoleon, and afford him some 
 
Apkil, 1816. MONTHOLON, GOTJRGAUD, BERTRAND. 139 
 
 consolation, in his unhappy condition, that I submit to the re- 
 strictions imposed, and voluntarily connect my fate with his. 
 " Le General Comte de Montholon." 
 
 General Gourgaud, after detailing his abortive commission 
 to deliver Napoleon's letter to the Prince Regent, thus pro- 
 ceeded : 
 
 "During the six months that we have been upon this rock 
 I have suffered from the fatal effects of its climate. A terrible 
 disorder (dysentery), from which I am scarcely recovered, had 
 brought me to the brink of the grave. 1 Separated from all 
 my family, having no one to tend me but strangers, whose 
 language I did not understand — for on my arrival in the 
 island, under pretense of some slight irregularity, an old serv- 
 ant who had followed me from attachment was taken from 
 me and sent back to Europe 2 — I have experienced more than 
 any one all the horrors of this place ; nevertheless, since I am 
 required to renounce remaining with the Emperor, to whom I 
 may minister some consolation, unless I declare my submis- 
 sion to the restrictions that are imposed upon him, I submit 
 to every thing that is dictated to me by my attachment, by 
 duty, and by honor. 
 
 " Le Baron de Gourgaud, General of Artillery." 
 
 Count Bertrand made more difficulty, and a correspondence 
 took place between him and the Governor, which was termin- 
 ated by the latter informing him positively, that if he refused to 
 sign the declaration he must embark with his family within a 
 week on board the Phaeton frigate, for the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 This decisive language of the Governor had the immediate 
 effect of inducing Count Bertrand to sign the following decla- 
 ration : 
 
 To Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 Longwood, April 24, 1816. 
 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur — I have received the letter 
 
 1 See O'Meara's account of General Gourgaud's illness, p. 74, ante. 
 
 1 This servant had clandestinely got on board the Northumberland, 
 and proceeded to St. Helena in defiance of the Admiral's positive pro- 
 hibition. See Sir G. Cockbum's dispatch, p. 42, ante. 
 
140 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 you did me the honor to write to me yesterday. The health 
 of the Emperor not allowing of my leaving him at present, 
 and no other means being left to me of fulfilling the engage- 
 ment I have contracted, I declare it is my wish to remain at 
 St. Helena, and to submit to the same restrictions as are im- 
 posed upon the Emperor. I have the honor to be, &c. 
 
 " Le Comte Beetrakd." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe transmitted his correspodence with Count 
 Bertrand, and copies of the declarations, to the Secretary of 
 State, in a dispatch, in which he said — 
 
 " The form of declaration was delivered to General Ber- 
 trand on the 18th instant. On the 20th I received a letter 
 from him, inclosing declarations in quite a different form from 
 all the officers and French attendants excepting himself. As 
 the conclusion of them is equally binding with that I gave, 
 and as the complaints with which they are prefaced would 
 probably have to be presented in some other form, I did not 
 deem it necessary to return them, the more particularly as 
 they contain so true a picture of the present disposition, feel- 
 ing, and character of some of the persons in question. The 
 declaration from the servants was quite unlooked for : I shall 
 have a further communication with them. 1 There has been 
 an evident attempt to mislead and entangle them as political 
 
 characters in the same discussions with their masters 
 
 With the present feelings of the persons attached to General 
 Bonaparte, I conceive the whole of them, with the exception 
 perhaps of Las Cases, had better be removed ; and the inso- 
 lent and presumptuous manner with which they manifest 
 their opinions on all occasions, both verbally and in writing, 
 respecting the measures which the British Government has 
 thought fit to adopt respecting Bonaparte himself (of which 
 General Bertrand's conversation will exhibit an example), 
 might afford a sufficient pretext ; — on all which, however, 
 your Lordship's judgment will better determine." 
 
 1 No copy of the declaration of the servants has been found in Sir 
 Hudson Lowe's papers. He subsequently saw them, and they con- 
 firmed what was stated in the paper they had signed. 
 
April, 1816. REPORT FROM ORDERLY OFFICER. 141 
 
 Although Sir Hudson Lowe consented to accept these dec- 
 larations, notwithstanding their offensive tone, the English 
 Government would not receive them couched in such lan- 
 guage, and, as will be hereafter seen, insisted that the decla- 
 ration should be signed as originally drawn, under pain of 
 instant dismissal from the island. 
 
 Among the materials for the history of Bonaparte's captiv- 
 ity, the reports of the orderly officer in attendance upon him 
 at Longwood are deserving of attention, as they noticed every 
 transaction and conveyed every complaint within a few hours 
 after, and often at the instant they occurred. For this reason 
 extracts from these reports from time to time will be given, 
 and they will afford the means of correcting some misrepre- 
 sentations. 
 
 On the 30th of April, Captain Poppleton wrote to the Gov- 
 ernor — 
 
 " I did not see General Bonaparte the whole of yesterday ; 
 he did not quit his apartments even to dinner. I ascertained 
 his being there in the morning by the usual ringing of his 
 bell. 1 In the evening, about four o'clock, I found Madame 
 Montholon, backed by the General, had said, General Bona- 
 parte as well as herself had heen extremely ill the whole of 
 the previous night in consequence of eating some fish. As 
 the General did not make his appearance, I requested Dr. 
 O'Meara would, under the pretense of visiting him on account 
 of his illness, ascertain if he was there. Dr. O'Meara went 
 to his room door, heard him speak, but from his confidential 
 servant, Marchand, was told he had not been ill at all, but 
 was up till a very late hour writing." 2 
 
 On the same day Sir Hudson Lowe had a second interview 
 with Napoleon, which he thus describes : 
 
 1 This was surely being content with very insufficient evidence. How 
 did Captain Poppleton know that it was Napoleon who rang the bell ? 
 
 2 These untruths were very common at Longwood. Count Montho- 
 lon says that on the 25th of April, 1816, the Governor asked to be ad- 
 mitted to Napoleon, who " refused to see him, and ordered him to be 
 told that he was ill and in bed. Hardly, however, had the Governor 
 left when the Emperor called for his carriage and took a long drive." 
 — Recits, vol. i. p. 261. 
 
142 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. TV. 
 
 " Having received an intimation from Captain Poppleton, 
 the orderly officer attached to Longwood House, that General 
 Bonaparte had not been visible the day before, but that either 
 he or Dr. O'Meara would certainly endeavor to see him in the 
 course of that evening, to be enabled to make his report as 
 usual to me, I immediately repaired to Longwood, in order to 
 prevent any unpleasant intrusion on him, however warranted 
 by the instructions given to the orderly officer, which require 
 that he should either see General Bonaparte twice during the 
 day, or ascertain his being on the spot and report accordingly. 
 I met General Montholon at the door of the house, asked how 
 General Bonaparte was, and, on being told he was indisposed 
 and suffering, said I wished to offer him the assistance of a 
 medical officer, but begged him to wait on General Bonaparte 
 and acquaint him I was there, imagining, as it was after four 
 o'clock, when he usually received people, he would probably 
 see me. General Montholon went in, and returned shortly 
 afterward, saying General Bonaparte would see me. 
 
 " I passed through his dining-room, drawing-room, another 
 room in which were displayed a great number of maps and 
 plans laid out on a table, and several loose quires of writings, 
 apparently memoirs and extracts, and was then introduced 
 into an inner apartment, with a small bed in it and a couch, 
 on which latter Bonaparte was reclining, having only his 
 dressing-gown on, and without his shoes. He raised himself 
 up a little as I entered the room, and, pointing out a chair to 
 me close to the couch, desired 1 would sit down. I seated 
 myself, and commenced the conversation by saying I was sorry 
 to hear he was suffering from indisposition, and had come to 
 offer him the assistance of a medical officer of respectability ' 
 who had come out with me from England, that he miglit 
 have the benefit of his advice as well as that of Dr. O'Meara, 
 should he require it. 'I want no doctors,' 2 was his reply. 
 He then, after some indifferent questions, asked me whether 
 the wife of Sir George Bingham had arrived ? She had not 
 arrived, I replied ; and I had reason to regret on another ac- 
 
 1 Dr. Baxter. ' " Je ne veux pas de medecins." 
 
April, 1S16. GOVERNOR'S SECOND INTERVIEW. 143 
 
 count the Adamant transport had not yet come in, as she was 
 laden with several articles that might be useful to him, such 
 as wines, clothes, furniture, &c. He said it was all owing to 
 the want of a chronometer ; that it was a miserable piece of 
 economy on the part of our Admiralty not to give every vessel 
 above 200 tons a chronometer — he had caused it to be done 
 in France ; that, exclusive of the value of the ship, the lives of 
 the persons in it merited that consideration. I said they were 
 not vessels employed under the direction of the Admiralty, 
 but of another board. This made no difference, he said. 
 After some other general and unimportat questions a short 
 interval of silence ensued. He lay reclined on his couch, his 
 eyes cast down, apparently suffering a good deal from an op- 
 pression in his breathing (which had been particularly observ- 
 able, so as to cause an occasional interruption to his voice 
 while in discourse), and his countenance unusually sallow 
 and even bloated. He recovered himself after a little while 
 to ask me what was the situation of affairs in France at the 
 time I left Europe ? I said, every thing, I believed was settled 
 there. 
 
 " Beauchamp's ' Campaign of 1814,' was lying on the floor 
 near him. He asked me if it was me who had written the 
 letters referred to in the appendix to his work. I replied 
 'Yes.' ' I recollect Marshal Blucher at Lubeck,' he said: 'is 
 he not very old V — ' Seventy-five years,' I replied, ' but still 
 vigorous, supporting himself on horseback for sixteen hours in 
 the day, when circumstances render it necessary.' He sat 
 reflecting a few moments without any observation. He re- 
 sumed : ' The Allies have made a convention declaring me 
 their prisoner : what do they mean? They have not authority 
 to do so (ni en droit ni en fait). I wish you to write to your 
 Government and acquaint it I shall protest against it. I gave 
 myself up to England, and to no other power. It is an act 
 of the British Parliament alone which can warrant the pro- 
 ceedings against me. I have been treated in a cruel manner. 
 I misunderstood the character of the English people. I should 
 have surrendered myself to the Emperor of Russia, who was 
 my friend, or to the Emperor of Austria, who was related to 
 
144 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 me. There is courage in putting a man to death, but it is an 
 act of cowardice to let him languish, and to poison him in so 
 horrid an island and in so detestable a climate.' 1 I said the 
 island of St. Helena had never been regarded in that light ; 
 that, except so far as related to the precautions necessary for 
 his personal security, it had been the desire of the British 
 Government to render his situation as comfortable as possible ; 
 that the house, furniture, and effects of every kind coming out 
 for his use, certainly indicated as much regard as it was pos- 
 sible to show him consistent with the main object for which 
 this place of residence had been seleoted. ' Let them send me 
 a coffin ; a couple of balls in the head is all that is necessary. 
 What does it signify to me whether I lie on a velvet couch or 
 on fustian ? I am a soldier, and accustomed to every thing. 
 I have been landed here like a convict, and proclamations 
 forbid the inhabitants to speak to me.' 3 — attributing a great 
 deal of all this to the Admiral ; but concluded with saying, 
 ' It is not that the Admiral is a bad man.' 3 
 
 " The conversation then turned on the localities of Long- 
 wood House. He inveighed bitterly against it ; said he was 
 excluded from all communication with the inhabitants ; that 
 many persons in the town would willingly come to see him, 
 but that they were afraid to ask for passes ; that he had no 
 trees about him ; that this alone rendered the spot detest- 
 able ; that he could not ride to any extent ; that he wish- 
 ed to have a greater range for his exercise without being 
 accompanied by an officer ; that unless I gave him a great- 
 er range I could do nothing for him. 1 told him the range 
 of Longwood was greater than any other piece of ground 
 
 1 " J'ai mal calculi; l'esprit du peuple Anglais. J'aurais du me rendre 
 a l'Empereur de Russie, qui etait mon ami, ou a l'Empereur d'Autriche, 
 qui etait mon parent. II y a du courage a faire tuer un homme, mais 
 c'est une lachete de le faire languir et empoisonner dans une ile si 
 affreuse et sous un climat si detestable." 
 
 2 " Qu'on m'envoie un cercueil ! Deux balles dans la tete, voila ce 
 qu'il faut. Qu'importe a moi si je me couche sur un canape de velours 
 ou de basin ? Je euis un soldat, et accoutume a tout. On m'a debarque 
 ici comme un galerien. Proclamations defendent aux habitans de me 
 parler." ? " Ce n'est pas que l'Amiral soit un mechant homme."" 
 
April, 1816. GOVERNOR'S SECOND INTERVIEW. 145 
 
 on the island. He said perhaps so ; but that there was the 
 camp on part of it. He did not want to see the camp always ; 
 he could not ride where that was. He wished the people of 
 the island might he allowed to come and see him. He re- 
 curred frequently to the hardship there was in depriving him 
 of all intercourse with them. His addresses to me on this 
 point were humble and artful ; they obtained no assent from 
 me. He spoke of my having insisted on seeing his servants ; 
 that it, was a strange thing to interfere between a man and 
 his valet-de-chambre ; that personally seeing and examining 
 the servants after having received their declaration was as 
 much as to say, ' in good French, that they had lied.' 1 I told 
 him ' it was Count Bertrand's fault. I had pointed out to 
 him the way in which I intended to receive their declaration ; 
 he wished it to be otherwise, but I had insisted upon receiv- 
 ing it in the manner I had indicated.' — ' Ah ! this is now 
 over,' he replied. 2 
 
 " He said he would recommend to the four who had signed 
 their declaration to leave him whenever he found his situa- 
 tion more precisely defined, and should make application for 
 their being permitted to do so. He said, ' Repeat every thing 
 I have mentioned to you to your Government. I wish them 
 to know my sentiments.' On going away I again offered him 
 medical assistance. ' I want no doctors,' he replied. These 
 were the last words he addressed to me." 3 
 
 1 " En bon Francais, qu'on avait menti." 
 
 1 " C'etait la faute du General Bertrand. Je lui avais indique la 
 maniere que je comptais recevoir Jeur declaration ; il l'avait voulu faire 
 d'vme autre, mais j'avais insiste pour la recevoir de la maniere que 
 j'avais indiquee." " Ah ! c'est unc chose passee." 
 
 3 Count Las Cases (Journal, April 30, 1816) has given a very differ- 
 ent account of this conversation, at which, however, he was not present. 
 It is twice alluded to by O'Meara (Voice, vol. i. 38, 47), and what he 
 represents Bonaparte to have told him that Sir Hudson Lowe had said 
 is untrue. Napoleon's own remark to him (if indeed he ever made it) 
 must have arisen from an excess of ill-humor : — " ' During the short in- 
 terview that this Governor had with me in my bedchamber,' continued 
 he ' one of the first things which he proposed was, to send you away, 
 and to take his own surgeon in your place. This he repeated twice ; 
 and so earnest was he to gain his object, that, although I gave him a 
 Vol. I.— G 
 
146 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 Further difficulties having been thrown in the way of the 
 orderly officer at Longwood seeing Bonaparte, who still con- 
 fined himself to his room, Sir Hudson Lowe determined upon 
 speaking to General Bertrand on the subject, and he proceed- 
 ed to his house, accompanied by Sir Thomas Reade, on the 4th 
 of May, when he had an interview which he thus describes : 
 
 " After the ordinary compliments I begged permission to 
 have some private conversation, accompanied, however, by 
 Sir Thomas Reade. I commenced by acquainting him of 
 the communication I had received on the 30th of April 
 from the orderly officer, as to the difficulty he had experi- 
 enced in making any report to me of the actual presence 
 of General Bonaparte at Longwood, in consequence of his 
 having been confined to his room and visible to no per- 
 son for nearly two days : that, understanding he had been 
 indisposed, I had myself repaired to Longwood to offer him 
 the assistance of a medical person, but that he declined re- 
 ceiving any aid : that his confining himself under such cir- 
 cumstances, without suffering himself to be seen by any one, 
 was productive of much inconvenience, as the orderly officer 
 could no longer make his usual reports to me of his being ac- 
 tually on the spot : that I had notwithstanding said nothing 
 on the subject, under the hope that the circumstance had oc- 
 curred by accident and would not fall into common practice ; 
 but that I had that morning received a second report on the 
 same subject, and found myself under the necessity of ad- 
 dressing him to obviate any thing unpleasant that might oc- 
 cur from it, conceiving this would best be done by General 
 Bonaparte following the same system he had pursued before 
 my arrival, of showing himself occasionally during the day, 
 or, if really confined by indisposition, allowing himself to be 
 
 moat decided refusal, when he was going out he turned about and again 
 proposed it. I never saw such a horrid countenance. He sat on a 
 chair opposite to my sofa, and on the little tahle between us there was 
 a cup of coffee. His physiognomy made such an unfavorable impres- 
 sion upon me, that I thought his looks had poisoned it, and I ordered 
 Marchand to throw it out of the window ; I could not have swallowed 
 it for the world.' " 
 
May, 1816. COMPLAINTS OF RESTRICTIONS. 147 
 
 visited by Dr. O'Meara, as had been before the practice : 
 that, confining himself for forty-eight hours at a time in his 
 room without any one seeing him, it became impossible to 
 know whether he was actually in the house or not ; the 
 more so as, when questioned respecting him, Count and 
 Countess de Montholon represented him to have been ex- 
 tremely unwell and vomiting, and his valet-de-chambre, who 
 was also questioned, saying nothing had been the matter 
 with him, but that he had been up all night writing : that, 
 amid such contrary reports, the orderly officer could ascertain 
 nothing from his own attendants : that I felt all the delicacy 
 of addressing him personally on such a subject : that I had 
 refrained from noticing it to any one in the first instance ; 
 and I trusted mentioning the matter ill an amicable manner 
 to him (Count Bertxand) would be the means of obviating 
 any thing of the same kind in future. 
 
 " General Bertrand heard me with great attention ; and 
 did not attempt to justify, but simply said General Bonaparte 
 was not aware of the officer at Longwood having any orders 
 to report about him. (I afterward ascertained from Sir 
 George Cockburn that the instructions the officer had received 
 on this subject, though not perhaps officially communicated 
 to General Bonaparte, were fully and perfectly understood ; 
 and until my arrival Dr. O'Meara had been in the usual 
 habit of seeing him every morning, whether ill or not.) Gen- 
 eral Bertrand then addressed me to remark that an order had 
 been given to the merchants and shopkeepers in James Town 
 not to give credit to the persons in General Bonaparte's fam- 
 ily — that this put them to very great inconvenience, as there 
 were several small articles which they could not obtain in 
 any other manner. I told him I had sent round such an 
 intimation to the different merchants and shop-keepers, but 
 that this was simply a renewal of the same caution they had 
 already received from Sir George Cockburn. General Ber- 
 trand said Sir George Cockburn had given out such an order, 
 but had afterward recalled it. I appealed to Sir Thomas 
 Reade to hear General Bertrand's remark, finding it in direct 
 contradiction to what Sir George Cockburn had himself said to 
 
148 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IT. 
 
 me only two days before. General Bertrand showed himself 
 to be much disconcerted at being detected in an assertion so 
 contrary to what the Admiral had said, and did not press fur- 
 ther on the subject, particularly when I told him there was 
 no difficulty in his obtaining any thing within proper bounds, 
 of which he might stand in need, but that he should send 
 in his list of things wanted either to me or to Mr. Balcombe, 
 instead of running up an account in town, and that they 
 would be immediately procured for him. To this arrange- 
 ment he could not object ; but as it checks communication 
 with a variety of persons with whom the sending of goods 
 might only be a pretext for other matters, I have no doubt 
 of the prohibition being considered as a very unpleasant one. 
 " Finding he had addressed me on one subject where pre- 
 caution had appeared to me particularly necessary, I resolved 
 on opening another matter to him. Two officers returning 
 to the Cape of Good Hope had gained admission to General 
 Bonaparte, having only a passport from General Bertrand. 
 I had understood from Sir George Cockburn that occasionally 
 General Bonaparte had invited to dinner persons who had 
 been presented to him ; and that in such cases he had di- 
 rected the invitation-card of General Bertrand should be con- 
 sidered as a sufficient pass. I said to General Bertrand I had 
 understood he had granted passports to several individuals 
 without reference to the only case in which I conceived they 
 could have been admitted, that of invitation ; and, to avoid 
 trouble to himself as well as to me, I begged he would not 
 give any pass to enter the house, except to such persons as 
 had my permission ; that otherwise they could not be allowed 
 to be valid, and the sentries must turn the persons back. He 
 affected great surprise at this communication ; said it had 
 been arranged with General Bonaparte and the Admiral him- 
 self that his (General Bertrand's) passports should be always 
 valid ; that it made an entire change in General Bonaparte's 
 situation, if he was to be regarded as a prisoner ' au secret,' 
 and not be allowed to see any person except with a permis- 
 sion from the Minister of Police ; that he must confer with 
 the ' Emperor' upon it, and have further explanation on the 
 
May, 1816. REGULATIONS ESTABLISHED. 149 
 
 subject. I advised General Bertrand not to endeavor to make 
 a point upon it ; that if he (General Bertrand) had authority 
 to grant passports to whom he pleased, my authority was of 
 no avail, and he might as well at once he Governor; that I 
 had only called his attention, in the three points we had dis- 
 cussed, to the regulations established by my predecessor — 
 merely recurred to first principles ; that I felt all the diffi- 
 culty of reconciling the strict execution of my duty with that 
 degree of regard and attention which General Bonaparte ap- 
 peared to require ; that it was an object of particular solici- 
 tude with me to do so, but that where one point interfered 
 with the other I could have no alternative, and I felt assured 
 General Bonaparte himself was too much of a soldier not to 
 know what my duty required of me, or to disapprove my 
 mode of executing it ; that I trusted he would explain all 
 this properly to him — if he required I would myself wait 
 upon him and repeat it — it was of consequence matters should 
 be explained in the precise terms and sense in which they 
 were expressed ; that, if so, I was assured he would see they 
 were natural, and not be disposed to cavil at them. He told 
 me the communication would be of a painful nature, but that 
 he should express them with every delicacy in his power, and 
 be careful in particular not to 'jeter de l'huile au feu.' 
 
 "The conversation then terminated. The result was the 
 establishment of three points, which had been either before 
 not sufficiently specific or had fallen into partial disuse, viz : 
 " 1st. The necessity of General Bonaparte showing himself 
 twice a day, morning and evening, or giving by some other 
 means certain indications of his actual presence at the house. 
 "2d. The prohibition of communication with merchants, 
 shopkeepers, and tradesmen, except through the medium of 
 a third person. 
 
 " 3d. The prevention of any stranger seeing him except 
 with the Governor's previous authority. 
 
 " Sir George Cockburn, after my conference, told me he 
 had suffered General Bertrand to give passports, 1 but con- 
 
 1 Vide. d. 55. ante. 
 
150 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. TV. 
 
 sidered himself as guarded from any ill consequence by the 
 officer of the guard being compelled to report every person 
 who passed, and send the passport to him. I was not aware 
 of General Bertrand's authority having extended to any thing 
 more than the invitations to dinner when I entered upon the 
 conversation with him, but have not on such account re- 
 gretted the precise line now established by my conference 
 with him." 
 
 On the 11th of May Sir Hudson Lowe caused a public 
 notice to be issued, that no person whatever was to receive or 
 be the bearer of any letters or communications from General 
 Bonaparte, the officers of his suite, his followers or servants 
 of any description ; or to deliver any to them ; as such com- 
 munications were to take place through the Governor only. 
 
 The Countess of Loudon and Moira, wife of Earl Moira, 
 Governor-General of India, having arrived at St. Helena on 
 her passage to England, Sir Hudson Lowe availed himself of 
 the occasion to invite Bonaparte to Plantation House, and 
 addressed a polite note on the 11th of May to Count Ber- 
 trand, in which he said, 
 
 " Should the arrangements of General Bonaparte admit it, 
 Sir Hudson and Lady Lowe would feel gratified in the honor 
 of his company to meet the Countess at dinner on Monday 
 next at six o'clock. They request Count Bertrand would 
 have the goodness to make known this invitation to him, and 
 forward to them his reply." 
 
 Count Bertrand sent the following reply : 
 
 " Count Bertrand has the honor to present his compliments 
 to General Sir Hudson Lowe, and to thank him for the trou- 
 ble he has been pleased to take to inform him of the arrival 
 in this island of the Countess Loudon ; he will be happy to 
 pay his respects to her. Count Bertrand has communicated 
 the note of Sir Hudson to the Emperor, who has not made 
 any reply to it. 1 
 
 " Longwood, May 12, 1816." 
 
 1 According to Count Montholon (Recits, vol. i. p. 270.) Napoleon 
 "laughed much at this ridiculous message;" and Count Las Cases 
 
May, 1816. INVITATION TO MEET LADY LOUDON. 151 
 
 The Countess of Loudon, however, received a verbal mes- 
 sage, that Bonaparte would have been charmed at the oppor- 
 tunity of paying his " court" to her if she had been within 
 his limits ; and he sent some sweatmeats for her children. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's invitation to Bonaparte to meet the 
 Countess of Loudon became the subject of an interesting con- 
 versation with Count Bertrand on the 17th of May : 
 
 " I mentioned to Count Bertrand," says Sir Hudson, "my 
 regret that I had not known of the difficulty which prevented 
 General Bonaparte from seeing the Countess of Loudon, as it 
 could have been so easily removed ; that, if he had any ob- 
 jection to be accompanied by the orderly officer resident at 
 Longwood House, I would myself, with pleasure, have accom- ■ 
 panied him, or sent any officer of my personal staff; or, if our 
 official situation were to be considered as imposing any re- 
 straint upon him, any other officer of his own particular de- 
 sire on the island. General Bertrand said the ' Emperor' was 
 resolved never to go beyond his limits, if accompanied by any 
 British officer whatever. He then entered into a long detail 
 of conversation, to prove to me that the precaution of giving 
 him limits was perfectly unnecessary with respect to his 
 security, so long as the sea-coast and the immediate approaches 
 to it were guarded ; and concluded by saying, ' He will never 
 go beyond the limits assigned to him if he is to be accompanied 
 by an English officer ; if they wish to kill him here, they can 
 do so.' 1 I replied, 'If General Bonaparte wishes to kill him- 
 self, it is not our fault. Being at all times free to go out, it 
 is his own affair if he does not profit by it. The reproach 
 addressed to us is unjust.' 2 I added, that I was really sorry 
 
 (Journal, May 11, 1816) says he (the Count) "blushed at the inde- 
 corum!" " Je suis devenu rouge de l'inconvenance." (See O'Meara's 
 "Voice," vol. i. p. 49.) 
 
 1 " II ne depasscra jamais ses limites s'il est accompagne par un 
 officier Anglais ; et si on veut le tuer ici, on peut le faire." 
 
 2 " Si le General Bonaparte veut se tuer lui-meme, ce n'est pas notre 
 faute. Etant toujours libre de sortir, c'est sa propre affaire de ne pas 
 en profiter Le reproche envers nous est injuste." 
 
152 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 to observe he had made such a strange law to himself, as 
 any extension of his limits would, I feared, prove incompatible 
 with the instructions I had received to provide for his per- 
 sonal security ; that the instructions were, he should be al- 
 lowed to proceed nowhere except accompanied by a British 
 officer ; that by the consideration of Sir George Cockburn he 
 had been, notwithstanding, granted an extent of nearly twelve, 
 miles on the most level and practicable part of the island for 
 his habitual exercise, without being accompanied by any one ; 
 that, instead of this meeting any acknowledgment, it appeared 
 to have only furnished matter for fresh demands ; that there 
 were several officers in the island whom I was well assured 
 the Prince Regent of England would not feel it an humilia- 
 tion to be attended by. General Bertrand appeared struck 
 by my last observation, but made no reply to it. In the 
 course of conversation I mentioned that it was not an encour- 
 agement to grant a further extension to his limits and that 
 of the officers with him, when I found that hardly a stranger 
 or any other person left the island who had an opportunity 
 of communication with him, that was not solicited to be the 
 bearer of letters or messages, under pretense of conveying in- 
 formation to their friends or relations ; at the same time that 
 they all knew I was always ready myself to transmit any 
 letters or communication they might have to send on such 
 subjects. General Bertrand attempted to justify himself from 
 this observation, but did it very imperfectly, being well aware 
 of the circumstances I referred to." 
 
 No one can doubt the kindness which prompted the Gov- 
 ernor to invite Napoleon to dinner ; but the act, though well- 
 intentioned, was, I think, a mistake. Bonaparte clung tena- 
 ciously to the title of Emperor, which Sir Hudson Lowe could 
 not accord to him. And he must have been under the sur- 
 veillance of an officer both in going and returning. The 
 meeting, therefore, at table under such circumstances would 
 have been productive of embarrassment on both sides. On 
 board the Northumberland the case was different, for there 
 to dine with the Admiral was almost a necessity. 
 
May, 1816. GOVERNOR'S THIRD INTERVIEW. 153 
 
 We must now detail the particulars of an extraordinary 
 interview between Bonaparte and Sir Hudson Lowe on the 
 same 17th of May, immediately after the latter had left Gen- 
 eral Bertrand : 
 
 " It being necessary to come to some decision in respect to 
 the house and furniture which had been sent from England 
 for the accommodation of General Bonaparte and his follow- 
 ers, I resolved," says Sir Hudson Lowe, " on waiting on him, 
 communicating to him the arrival of the various materials, 
 and asking his sentiments in respect to their appropriation 
 before I made any disposition of them. I previously called 
 on General Bertrand to ask if he thought General Bonaparte 
 would be at leisure to receive me, and on his reply, which 
 was in the affirmative, proceeded to Longwood House, where, 
 having met Comte Las Cases, I begged he would be the 
 bearer of my message to the General, acquainting him of my 
 being there, if his convenience admitted of being visited by 
 me. I received a reply, saying the ' Emperor' would see me. 
 I passed through his outer dining-room into his drawing-room. 
 He was alone, standing with his hat under his arm, in the 
 manner he usually presents himself when he assumes his Im- 
 perial dignity. He remained silent, expecting I would ad- 
 dress him. Finding him not disposed to commence, I began 
 in the following words : — ' Sir, you will probably have seen 
 by our English newspapers, as well, perhaps, as heard through 
 other channels, of the intention of the British Government to 
 send out hither for your accommodation the materials for the 
 construction of a house, with every necessary furniture. These 
 articles have now for the most part arrived. In the mean 
 time, Government has received information of the building 
 prepared for your reception at this place, and I have instruc- 
 tions for appropriating the articles as may seem best, whether 
 for making a new building, or adding to the conveniences of 
 your present one. Before making any disposition on the sub- 
 ject, I wished to know whether you had any desires to com- 
 municate to me regarding it.' He stood as before, and made 
 no reply. Observing his silence continue, I again commenced 
 by saying — ' I have conceived, Sir, that possibly the addition 
 
154 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 of two or three good rooms (deux ou trois salons) to your pres- 
 ent house, with other improvements to it, might add to your 
 convenience in less time than by constructing a new building.' 
 
 " He then commenced, but spoke with such rapidity, such 
 intemperance, and so much warmth, that it is difficult to re- 
 peat every word he used. Without apparently having lent an 
 ear to what I had said, he began, ' I can not understand the 
 conduct of your Government toward me. Do they want to 
 kill me ? Are you come here to be my executioner — my 
 jailer ? Posterity will judge of the way in which I have 
 been treated ; the sufferings I experience will recoil upon 
 your nation. No, sir, I will never allow any one to enter 
 the interior of my house, to penetrate into my bed-chamber, 
 as you have ordered to be done. When I heard of your 
 arrival in this island, I thought that, as an officer of the 
 army, I should find you possessed of politer manners than the 
 Admiral, who, as a naval officer, might have had a rougher 
 bearing. I have no fault. to find with his heart. But how 
 do you treat me ? It is an insult to invite me to dinner, and 
 to call me General Bonaparte. I am the Emperor Napoleon. 
 Are you come here to be my executioner — my jailer ?' ! 
 While speaking in this manner his right arm moved back- 
 ward and forward, his person stood fixed, his eyes and coun- 
 tenance exhibiting every thing which could be supposed in a 
 person who meant to intimidate or to irritate. 
 
 " I suffered him to proceed, though not without a strong 
 
 1 " Je ne concois rien a la conduite de votre Gouvemement envers 
 moi. Est-ce qu'on veut me tuer? Est-ce que vous etes venu ici pour 
 etre mon bourreau — moil geolier? La posterite jugera de la maniere 
 dont j'ai ete traite. Les malheurs que je souffre retomberont sur votre 
 nation. Non, monsieur ; je ne permettrai jamais qu'on entre dans l'in- 
 terieur de ma maison, qu'on penetre dans ma chambre-a-coucher, comme 
 vous en avez donne l'ordre. Lorsque j'ai entendu parler de votre arri- 
 vee dans cette ile, j'ai cru que, comme militaire de l'armee de terre, je 
 vous aurais trouve d'un caractere plus honnete que celui de l'Amiral, 
 qui, comme officier de marine, aurait pu avoir des manieres plus dures ; 
 je n'ai pas a me plaindre de son cceur. Mais de quelle maniere me 
 traitez-vous 1 C'etait une insulte de m'inviter a diner et de m'appeler 
 le General Bonaparte. Je ne suis pas le General Bonaparte — je suis 
 PEmpereur Napoleon. Est-ce que vous etes venu ici pour etre mon 
 bourreau — mon geolier V 
 
May, 1816. GOVERNOR'S THIRD INTERVIEW. 153 
 
 feeling of restraint upon myself, until he was nearly out of 
 breath, when, on his stopping, I said : ' Sir, I have not come 
 here to be insulted, but to treat of an affair which concerns 
 you more than it does me. If you are not disposed to speak 
 about it, I will retire.' ' I had no intention to insult you, sir, 
 but how have you treated me ? Has it been in a way be- 
 coming a soldier?' — ' Sir, I am a soldier to perform the duties 
 I owe to my country in conformity with its customs, and not 
 according to the mode of other countries. Besides, if you 
 think you have any cause to complain, you have only to 
 write, and I will transmit your representation to England by 
 the first opportunity.' — ' What will be the use of sending it to 
 your Government ? it will not be attended to there any more 
 than here.' — ' I will have it published in all the papers of the 
 Continent, if you wish it. I am performing my duty, and am 
 indifferent to any thing besides.' 1 Then adverting, for the 
 first time to the matter which had brought me to him, he 
 said : ' Your Government has made me no official communi- 
 cation of the arrival of this house. Is it to be constructed 
 where I please, or where you may fix it to be ?' — ' I am now 
 come, sir, for the express purpose of announcing it to you. I 
 have no difficulty in replying to the other point. If there is 
 any particular spot which you might have thought of to erect 
 it upon, I will examine it, and have it erected there, if I see 
 no objection to it. If I see any objection to it I will acquaint 
 you of it. It was to combine this matter in some degree of 
 concert with you that I am now come.' ' Then you had bet- 
 ter speak to the Grand Marechal about it,' he replied, ' and 
 
 1 " ' Monsieur, je ne suis point venu ici pour etre insulte, mais pour 
 traiter d'une affaire qui vous regarde plus que moi. Si vous n'etes 
 pas dispose d'en parler, je vais m'en aller.' * Je n'ai pas voulu vous 
 insulter, monsieur ; mais de quelle maniere m'avez vous traite ? — est-ce 
 de la maniere d'un militaire V ' Monsieur, je suis militaire a la ma- 
 niere de mon pays, pour faire mon devoir envers lui, et non pas d'apres 
 celle d'un autre. D'ailleurs, si vous croyez avoir raison de vous plain- 
 dre de moi, vous n'avez qu'a ecrire : j'enverrai votre representation en 
 Angleterre par la premiere occasion.' 'A quoi boa l'envoyer a votre 
 Gouvernement 1 elle ne sera pas plus ecoutee qu'ici.' ' Je la ferai pub- 
 lier dans toutes les gazettes du continent, si vous me le demandez. Je 
 fais mon devoir, et suis indifferent pour le reste.'" 
 
156 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 settle it with him.' — ' I prefer, sir, addressing you upon it. I 
 find so many mesintelligoices happen when I adopt the me- 
 dium of other persons, particularly as in the instance of the 
 orders which you mention 1 had given for forcing an entrance 
 into your private apartments, that I find it more satisfactory 
 to address yourself He made no particular reply to this, 
 walked about for a moment, and then, working himself up 
 apparently to say something which he thought would appall 
 me with extraordinary surprise or dread, he said : ' Shall I tell 
 you the truth, sir ? Yes, sir, shall I tell you the truth ? I 
 believe that you have received orders to kill me — yes, to kill 
 me. Yes, sir, you have received orders to do any and every 
 thing.' 1 He then looked at me as if expecting a reply. My 
 answer was : ' You remarked, sir, at the last interview I had 
 with you, that you had misunderstood the character of the 
 English people, and you now equally misunderstand that of 
 the English soldier.' 2 
 
 " Our conversation here terminated. He stood a little 
 while, and, as if neither of us had any thing more to say, we 
 mutually separated. Not seeing, however, any motive in 
 what had passed to prevent me from saying what I had in- 
 tended to do when I first came into the room, I addressed him 
 again by the word 'Monsieur,' and, on his turning his head, 
 said, ' There is at present an officer of my staff with me, who 
 I am desirous, on this occasion, of presenting to you. It is a 
 Lieutenant-Colonel of the King's Guards 3 (Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Wynyard).' 4 He replied, ' I can not receive him at present ; 
 
 1 " Voulez-vous, monsieur, que je vous dise la verite ! Oui, mon- 
 sieur, voulez-vous que je vous dise la verite] Je crois que vous avez 
 les ordres de me tuer — -oui, de me tuer; oui, monsieur, vous avez les 
 ordres de faire tout, tout." 
 
 3 " Vous avez observe, monsieur, dans la derniere entrevue que j'ai 
 eue avec vous, que vous aviez mal calcule l'esprit du peuple Anglais ; 
 vous calculez aussi mal a present l'esprit d'un militaire Anglais." 
 
 3 " II y a un officier de mon Etat-Major avec moi a present, que je 
 desirerais dans cette occasion vous presenter — c'est un Lieutenant-Col- 
 onel des Gardes du Roi." 
 
 4 Lieutenant-Colonel (afterward Major-General) Edward Buckley 
 Wynyard, C.B., arrived at St. Helena in the Adamant store-ship on 
 the 6th of May, and became Military Secretary to the Governor. 
 
May, 1816. ACCOUNT TRANSMITTED TO ENGLAND. 157 
 
 when one is insulted, one is not in a humor to see any one.' 1 
 I made an inclination of my head, and retired. On quitting 
 the room I found two of his servants close to and listening at 
 the outside of the door, and Count Las Cases walking in a 
 contemplative mood at the other end of the room." 2 
 
 On the 20th of May Sir Hudson Lowe transmitted these 
 notes of his conversation with Bonaparte to Earl Bathurst, 
 and said in his dispatch : 
 
 " It would be difficult to account for the extraordinary re- 
 sentment he displays at the most common precautions which 
 are taken for his personal security on any principle of common 
 reasoning. It must be, therefore, affectedly put on, or spring 
 from a great delusion in his own mind as to the degree of 
 faith and confidence to be reposed in him. Under either 
 point of view, I feel it more and more difficult to reconcile 
 the exercise of my duty with the high respect, regard, and 
 attention which he seems to require. His objects evidently 
 are — a greater degree of personal liberty, and greater oppor- 
 tunity of personal intercourse with that class of persons who 
 are the most likely to be worked on by him. ' If you can not 
 extend my limits, you can do nothing for me,' was a remark 
 he made in my second conference with him. All the rest, I 
 apprehend, he considers as a specious illusion, if not an in- 
 sult, and feels irritated at the same time his designs should 
 have been seen through, and his applications prove abortive. 
 It has been very remote indeed, however, from either my in- 
 tention or practice to give him any additional motive of irrita- 
 tion. The precautions for his security are precisely the same 
 as those established by Sir George Cockburn. The communi- 
 cations I addressed to your Lordship on the 13th instant, and 
 the memoranda of conversations referred to in them, will 
 
 1 " Je ne peux pas le recevoir a present ; lorsqu'on est insulte, on ne 
 peut tenir societe a personne." 
 
 s Montholon, Las Cases, and O'Meara concur in saying that this in- 
 terview took place on the 16th instead of the 17th of May, and they 
 have all more or less misrepresented what took place. No one of them, 
 it must be remembered, was present; and they must all have derived 
 their knowledge of the conversation from Bonaparte. 
 
158 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 show that no additional measures have been taken beyond 
 what the attempts to produce relaxation, and to establish 
 precedent thereupon, have too evidently required. In every 
 other respect I have been solicitous to add to his comforts and 
 convenience ; and on the occasion of informing him of the 
 arrival of the materials for his house, was prepared, if I had 
 found the objections to establish his permanent residence at 
 Longwood absolutely irremovable, to have offered to him the 
 selection of another spot, incomparably the most eligible in 
 point of air, trees, and verdure, on the island, and which I 
 had already in a certain degree for this purpose insured the 
 occupation of. The violence of his manner, however, pre- 
 vented his receiving any other communication than that 
 which is detailed in my conversation with him. 
 
 " In. relating the particulars of this conversation to your 
 Lordship, I think it a duty to myself to mention that General 
 Bonaparte's anger drew forth.no violence of language or ex- 
 pression from me. I said precisely what is stated in the 
 memoranda, and nothing else ; and what I did say was uttered 
 with a tone of composure. I understood he was in an exceed- 
 ingly ill-humor after I quitted him, but that the following 
 morning (during which interval he had seen General Bertrand, 
 and probably heard the conversation I had with him) he had 
 recovered his temper, so much so as to send for Dr. O'Meara 
 to breakfast with him, when his conversation almost entirely 
 ran on the accusations which had been brought against him 
 by Sir Robert Wilson for his conduct in Syria, and what he 
 had been accused of in respect to Captain Wright, alleging 
 the injustice of both, and saying he doubted not Sir Robert 
 Wilson would, during his late residence in France, have ascer- 
 tained upon what slight foundation his accusations stood." 1 
 
 Napoleon had, however, the grace to admit the impropriety 
 of his conduct toward Sir Hudson Lowe. Count Las Cases 
 says, in his Journal under the date 31st of May — 
 
 " After dinner the Emperor, conversing on our situation 
 and the conduct of the Governor, who came to-day and took 
 
 1 See "Voice," i. 51. 
 
May, 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S FORBEARANCE. 159 
 
 a rapid circuit round Longwood, reverted to the subject of the 
 last interview they had had together, and made some strik- 
 ing observations respecting it. ' I behaved very ill to him, 
 no doubt,' said he, ' and nothing but my present situation 
 could excuse me ; but I was out of humor and could not help 
 it ; I should blush for it in any other situation. Had such a 
 scene taken place at the Tuileries I should have felt myself 
 bound in conscience to make some atonement. Never during 
 the period of my power did I speak harshly to any one with- 
 out afterward saying something to make amends for it. But 
 here I uttered not a syllable of conciliation, and I had no 
 wish to do so. However, the Governor proved himself very 
 insensible to my severity ; his delicacy did not seem wounded 
 by it. I should have liked, for his sake, to have seen him 
 evince a little anger, or pull the door violently after him when 
 he went away. This would at least have shown that there 
 was some spring and elasticity about him, but I found no- 
 thing of the kind.'" 
 
 In other words, the Governor behaved with dignity and 
 forbearance during this explosion of bad temper on the part 
 of Bonaparte. He must have been more or less than man 
 not to feel the insult with which he was assailed, but he 
 kept perfect command over himself; and this is proved by the 
 testimony of Napoleon, who was annoyed and irritated at the 
 imperturbable coolness with which Sir Hudson Lowe bore his 
 outrageous language. 
 
 Count Montholon confirms this statement of Las Oases : 
 " 31st May. — The conversation in the evening turned upon 
 our situation toward the Governor ; and on my observing that 
 perhaps we had to reproach ourselves with keeping up the 
 fire rather than by trying to extinguish it, for it was, in fact, 
 the quarrel of the ' pot de terre contre le pot de fer,' the Em- 
 peror said to us, ' i" have treated him very ill, I allow, and 
 I can find no justification except in my horrible position. If 
 at the Tuileries I had had such a burst of ill-humor, I should 
 have thought myself obliged to make reparation.' " l 
 
 ' Recits, i. 293. 
 
160 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 Before quoting some letters written during the months of 
 May and June by O'Meara, I will give an extract from a 
 dispatch of the Governor to Lord Bathurst on the 13th of 
 May, which shows the readiness of the Doctor at that time 
 to afford information respecting the persons at Longwood. In 
 that dispatch Sir Hudson Lowe said — " Having found Dr. 
 O'Meara, who was attached to General Bonaparte's family 
 on the removal of his French physician, very useful in giving 
 information in many instances, and as, if removed, it might 
 be difficult to find another person who might be equally agree- 
 able to the General, I have deemed it advisable to suffer him 
 to remain in the family, on the same footing he was before 
 my arrival, until your Lordship's pleasure may be known." 
 
 O'Meara* s letters will speak for themselves : written at the 
 moment, and with no motive to deceive, they are much more 
 likely to be true than the resume of his memoranda for a 
 publication six years afterward, when, both from interest and 
 malice, he gave a very different account of the same persons 
 and the same transactions. From his position as the resident 
 medical officer at Longwood, he naturally enjoyed a larger 
 share of the confidence of its inmates than any other English- 
 man on the island. In what manner he repaid that confi- 
 dence, and the trust reposed in his professional character not 
 only by the men hut by the ladies under his care, will now 
 be made known to the world ; and perhaps in no other in- 
 stance has a similar violation of propriety, and even of com- 
 mon decency, disgraced any member of that liberal profession. 
 
 On the 22d of May, he thus wrote to Lieutenant- Colon el 
 Sir Thomas Reade : 
 
 " Longwood, May 22, 1816. 
 
 "Dear Sir Thomas — According to Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 desire, yesterday I communicated to General Montholon ' that 
 the Governor had been under the necessity of removing the 
 Persian servant, 1 in consequence of his having entered Long- 
 
 1 The removal of this servant is mentioned by Count Las Cases 
 (Journal, May 21, 1816), and by Count Montholon (Rccits, vol. i. p. 
 283). The latter represents Sir Hudson Lowe as galloping up to the 
 " poor Lascar," seizing him with his own hands by the throat, and then 
 
May, 1816. O'MEARA'S CORRESPONDENCE. 161 
 
 wood without permission from him, and his having hired himj 
 self without its having been first made known to the Governor, 
 which he (the Governor) held to be indispensable previous to 
 any domestic being hired, adding that, however, if General 
 Montholon wanted a servant, if he would write to Sir Hudson 
 expressing his wish, one would be provided for him.' He 
 would scarcely let me explain myself, and broke out into vio- 
 lent invectives against the Governor ; said that it was a most 
 gross personal insult, not only to him, but to the Emperor (as 
 he called him), taking away his servant without first acquaint- 
 ing him : that he considered it in the same light as if the 
 Governor had given him a slap in the chaps or a kick in the 
 ' derriere ;' adding that he would not always be a prisoner, 
 and that he would take an opportunity hereafter of making 
 Sir Hudson account for it : that General Gourgaud, De Las 
 Cases, &c, had hired servants in a similar manner without 
 being obliged previously to apprise the Admiral of it ; that 
 he would have done so had he known it to be necessary. He 
 also said that removing the ship servants was another insult 
 to Bonaparte, and that he (Bonaparte) would not receive the 
 others sent in lieu of them ; adding that they had been dis- 
 charged from the service, and that he had signed an agree- 
 ment with them, in presence of, or with the knowledge of (I 
 don't know which he said) Glover, 1 by which he bound him- 
 
 giving him in charge to a dragoon to conduct him to the town to be ques- 
 tioned : — " None of the French had seen this act of savage anger — the 
 English did not dare to inform me." Napoleon, he adds, was much 
 offended, as the man, who waited at his table in his Indian costume 
 pleased him. " He ordered the Grand Marshal to write to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, who, on this occasion at least, was convinced he was wrong, and 
 excused himself on account of his ignorance of the real situation of the 
 Lascar at Longwood ; but he did not send him back ; for, foreseeing, no 
 doubt, the issue of the explanation, he had caused him to be embarked 
 two hours after his arrest." The facts of the case are stated in the 
 above letter ; and see post, p. 220. No correspondence on the subject 
 has been found ; but a note in the margin of the volume in which that 
 letter was copied shows the propriety of removing the Lascar from 
 Longwood : " This man now fills the office of executioner at St. Helena, 
 having accepted that appointment in commutation of punishment on 
 conviction of some atrocious crime." 
 
 1 Mr. Glover was Sir George Cockburn's secretary. Vide p. 68, ante. 
 
162 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 Self to pay them six months' wages in advance in case of 
 sending any of them away, which of course he would be obliged 
 to adhere to. During this conversation his ivife was present ; 
 I do not know which was the most valorous of the two. The 
 epithet ' grossiere,' and others of a similar nature, were very 
 liberally dealt out by both ; and when her husband talked 
 of his wounded honor, and his determination to seek a repar- 
 ation for it, she seemed most nobly to second him, and I sup- 
 pose intends accompanying him to the field. I do not know 
 (as I have not seen Bonaparte since) whether he said that he 
 would not receive the other servants or not, but think it prob- 
 able, notwithstanding the authority is so bad. One of the 
 servants ordered to join his ship this day is not able to walk 
 down, therefore it would be advisable for Balcombe to send 
 up a horse to convey him down. I am, &c. 
 
 "Barhy E. O'Meara." 
 
 On sending a complaint about some copper stew-pans a few 
 days afterward, O'Meara again alluded to Count Montholon's 
 habitual disregard of truth : " He appeared very desirous to 
 have my testimony, apparently conscious that his own state- 
 ment would not meet with much credit unless corroborated by 
 others." 
 
 About this time the Countess Montholon "was expecting 
 her confinement, and her preparations for that event were the 
 constant subject of O'Meara's sneers and vulgar derision. But 
 however desirable it is that the true character of one whose 
 falsehoods have had such an injurious effect should be thor- 
 oughly exposed, many passages in his letters must be passed 
 over in silence ; for it would be a violation of propriety and 
 decorum to publish the coarse and unmanly language in which 
 the naval surgeon ridiculed the feelings of ladies whom he 
 professionally attended. And yet this is the man who had 
 the assurance, in his "Exposition," to reprove the author of 
 " Facts from St. Helena" for some harmless pleasantry on 
 Madame Bertrand's figure. When in that work he said that 
 the writer's " efforts to vilify and degrade the sex would, in 
 the estimation of Englishmen, return with tenfold weight on 
 
May, 1816. O'MEARA'S CORRESPONDENCE. 163 
 
 the calumniator's own head," he little thought of the retri- 
 bution which slowly hut surely awaited himself. 
 
 The following extract from a letter written by him to Major 
 Gorrequer on the 12th of June is merely flippant. After in- 
 forming Major Gorrequer that Le Page, the French cook, had 
 hurt his thumb, and would be incapable of doing any thing 
 for some days, he says, " General Montholon begs of you to 
 have the goodness to apprise his Excellency thereof, and to 
 request that (if possible) another person may be sent who un- 
 derstands the French dishes, to act during the illness of Maitre 
 Le Page. You have no idea what consternation has appeared 
 upon the countenances of more than one at the idea of such 
 a calamitous circumstance taking place as their being deprived 
 of the skill of Maitre Le Page for such a length of time as a 
 week or ten days. I have been requested, with lengthened 
 visage, to make a signal to you with all haste, as if the fate 
 of Caesar and of Rome depended upon it." 
 
 On the same day O'Meara added in a postscript to an un- 
 important letter written to Sir Thomas Reade. some remarks 
 which he thought witty, but which are indelicate and offens- 
 ive, respecting Madame Montholon, and then ended by say- 
 ing of her husband, the Count, that " were he not a liar and 
 base, he would be a gentleman ; and, except for these two 
 defects, is a good kind of man enough." 1 
 
 On the 14th of June he acquainted Sir Thomas Reade with 
 General Montholon's desire to have some articles for his wife's 
 confinement ; and after indulging in a strain of ribaldry con- 
 genial to his nature on the approaching event, he said — 
 
 " You can not conceive how the drooping spirits of both 
 were revived at the exhilarating sight of the French cook. 
 General Montholon observed to me how proper and necessary 
 it would be to have a cook in reserve (like a spare topmast) 
 in case of any unforeseen calamity befalling Le Page : ' for,' 
 said he, ' what would become of us if any accident happened 
 to him ? What could we do ? God only knows !' This was 
 
 1 The original is in Italian. " Se non fosse bugiardo e vile, sarebbe 
 galantuomo, ma levategli questi due difetti e bravuomo." 
 
164 CArTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IV. 
 
 accompanied with such an interrogatory countenance, so ex- 
 pressive of expected misery, that he put me in mind of a con- 
 demned criminal, for whom no hopes of pardon existed, im- 
 ploring the aid of a confessor. 
 
 " When Jeannette arrived, Maitre Le Page, after having 
 an observation at her, declared his intention (before he had 
 spoken a single word to her) of marrying her. Cipriani, the 
 maitre-d'hotel, to whom he expressed himself, told him that 
 it would be necessary first to ascertain that she had not al- 
 ready a husband, or perhaps if not, a lover. ' Oh, that last 
 is nothing,' said Le Page ; ' I don't care how many she may 
 have had of them' Then, running, with his arm in a sling, 
 toward her, said he, ' Madam, are you married ?' — ' No, Sir.' 
 — ' Then, if you please, I will many you immediately.' She 
 told him, however, that she could not think of it so very soon ; 
 ' at least,' said she ' let us wait two or three days first ;' which 
 he consented to with great apparent reluctance." 
 
 The arrival of some sheets at Longwood gave O'Meara an 
 opportunity, which he thought too good to be lost, of making 
 some gross and satirical jokes, but part of his letter must for 
 the sake of decency be omitted. He thus wrote on the 21st 
 of June to Major Gorrequer : 
 
 "Dear Sir — The sheets and pillow-cases have been re- 
 ceived to-day, and some of the produce of Old Ire- 
 land. I think, if a little of a plant not very dissimilar was 
 applied to the neck of her husband, in order to hang him out 
 in the sun to dry for just half an hour, it would not produce 
 many moist eyes at Longwood. Mr. Darling has been taking 
 the dimensions of the room, and has taken a list of what 
 things he thinks will be necessary ; and Montholon (better 
 known here by the appellation of ' il Biigiardff [the Liar]) 
 says that, if it is his Excellency's intention to build a new 
 house, it will be better to send up not the first-rate furniture, 
 but as much of the second as will make the rooms comfort- 
 able. Bonaparte is much pleased at the news of the books 
 being under way, and expressed himself so to me. He wishes 
 for a catalogue, if there is one, to be sent with them. I ex- 
 
fcME, 1816. O'MEARA'S CORRESPONDENCE. 165 
 
 plained to Montholon — who, were he not a poltroon and a liar, 
 would be a most excellent man, and who, but for these two 
 little defects, is a perfect gentleman 1 — that you were combin- 
 ing heaven and earth together to lodge him and his amiable 
 consort in state, which he assented to with several hypocrit- 
 ical grimaces and professions of thanks. The tin arrived two 
 days back. I remain, &c. Barry O'Meara." 
 
 And on the 27th of June lie wrote to Major Gorrequer 
 another letter in a mock-heroic tone, applying for a wet-nurse 
 for Madame Montholon, whom it seems to have been at the 
 time his delight to turn into ridicule. We will not sully our 
 pages with its contents, for, although not without a certain 
 degree of cleverness, we must remember that it is the jesting 
 of a physician at the expense of his patient, and that patient 
 a lady ! 
 
 To his correspondent at the Admiralty, Mr. Finlaison, he 
 said, on the 19th of June — 
 
 " Sir George Cockburn has not had any interview with 
 Bonaparte since the one I told you of, in which he certainly 
 was not very handsomely treated, neither has he called at 
 Longwood once. Bonaparte, however, has several times ex- 
 pressed his preference of him to Sir Hudson Lowe, though 
 latterly he has been much less abusive of the last-mentioned, 
 who also has not called on him for a considerable time. As 
 soon as I receive an answer to my former communications to 
 you I will continue the correspondence relative to him, pro- 
 vided that you will faithfully promise not to make public such 
 private conversations as I may have had with him, as such 
 would not only injure me in his estimation but also that of the 
 public." 
 
 On the 4th of June Sir Hudson Lowe sent a dispatch to 
 Earl Bathurst, which contained some additional particulars 
 respecting Bonaparte. In it he said — 
 
 " He (Bonaparte) told Dr. O'Meara, a few days after my 
 
 1 Se non fosse poltrone e bugiardo, sarebbe bravissimo uomo ; ma 
 levategli solamente questi piccoli difetti e perfetto galantuom 
 
166 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON Chap. IV. 
 
 last conversation with him, that he should have been happy 
 to have extended his rides as far as Plantation House, and to 
 have visited Lady Loudon when there, if the road had been 
 within his limits, but that his objections to being accompanied 
 by a British officer were insurmountable, as well as his dislike 
 to be called General Bonaparte : that, if a signal was made 
 when he wanted to ride out, horsemen might be placed on 
 the heights to watch him, which would answer the same pur- 
 pose as having an officer to accompany him. His disposition 
 to enter the houses of the inhabitants, to speak to all those he 
 meets, and to give money to the slaves and lower classes, 1 
 renders even this degree of indulgence one of very doubtful 
 propriety. He has recently rode through the camp of the 53d 
 regiment. I had before deliberated whether I should not 
 comply with the wishes he expressed to rne on my second in- 
 terview with him, of removing the camp from its present sit- 
 uation, in order that he might have a greater range for his 
 rides, and believe I shall now carry this into effect." 
 
 Captain Poppleton informed the Governor on the 5th of 
 June, that Bonaparte had, for the first time since he entered 
 Longwood, passed through the guard at the gate on the pre- 
 vious Sunday morning, not receiving the salute : formerly he 
 had always avoided it by going round. 
 
 1 Among the Lowe MSS. is a paper containing a list of a few per- 
 sons to whom Napoleon gave money on these occasions. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF REAR-ADMIRAL SIR PULTENEY MALCOLM AND 
 
 THE FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS PROCLAMATION BY THE 
 
 GOVERNOR MADAME BERTRAND's NOTE TO THE MARQUIS 
 
 DE MONTCHENU QUESTION OF NAPOLEON'S RESIDENCE AND 
 
 EXPENSES OF HIS ESTABLISHMENT INTERVIEW BETWEEN 
 
 HIM AND THE GOVERNOR SIR HUDSON LOWE'S DISPATCHES 
 
 TO ENGLAND. 
 
 On the 17th of June the Newcastle frigate, bearing the 
 flag of Rear- Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm, K.C.B., the suc- 
 cessor of Sir George Cockburn in the command of the naval 
 station at St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope, arrived at 
 St. Helena, having on board Lady Malcolm and the three for- 
 eign Commissioners — Count Balmain for Russia, Baron de 
 Sturmer for Austria, and the Marquis de Montchenu for France 
 — sent in conformity with the Convention of the 2d of August, 
 1815. l By this vessel Sir Hudson Lowe received the Act of 
 Parliament and "Warrant for the detention of Bonaparte, and 
 the two follow.ing letters from Earl Bathurst : 
 
 " London, April 15, 1816. 
 "Dear Sir — As it is very desirable that the expense attend- 
 ing the detention of Bonaparte in St. Helena should be ascer- 
 tained so far that an average estimate may be formed of the 
 annual amount, I think it necessary to desire that you should 
 lose no time in regulating, and if necessary abridging, the ex- 
 penditure of Bonaparte's table and household, so that the an- 
 nual cost may not exceed £8000, including wines and extra- 
 ordinaries of every kind. In case of his remonstrating against 
 the retrenchments which this regulation may occasion, you 
 
 1 Prussia, though a party to the Convention, sent no commissioner. 
 The Convention will be found among the Letters and Documents at the 
 end of this work, No. 22. 
 
168 CAPTIVITY" OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 are at liberty to allow him the full extent of the indulgences 
 he may require (in regard to table and so forth), provided he 
 will produce the funds necessary to cover the expense beyond 
 the £8000 a year." That he can command the pecuniary 
 means I apprehend there is no doubt ; and he must pay the 
 salaries and wages of such of his followers and servants as 
 may persevere in remaining with him ; but I hope you will 
 persuade most of them to accept the release we have offered 
 them. 1 I remain, &c. Bathurst." 
 
 " (Private.) 
 
 " Downing-street, April 15, 1816. 
 
 " My dear General — I hope you will have been able to 
 reduce very much the number of attendants on Bonaparte, by 
 encouraging the disposition which several of them must have 
 felt to return home or remove from St. Helena. Their resi- 
 dence in the island must add much to the expense, which you 
 will see by a demi-official letter from me it is very desirable 
 should be reduced as much as possible ; and it may always 
 occasion cabal with the inhabitants, and possibly even with 
 the Commissioners, who will have too little to do where they 
 are going to not to be tempted to do a little mischief. On 
 this principle also you will encourage the Commissioners to 
 amuse themselves by going to the Cape by way of change of 
 scene, and engage to furnish them and their Court with a 
 regular account of the state of your prisoner. I beg to be 
 remembered to Lady Lowe, and have the honor to be yours 
 very faithfully, "Bathurst." 
 
 Lord Bathurst here intimates his opinion of the uselessness 
 of the Foreign Commissioners. It was, in fact, altogether a 
 mistake to send them to St. Helena. Napoleon was quite 
 right when he Baid, " What folly it is to send those Commis- 
 sioners out here ! without charge or responsibility, they will 
 have nothing to do but to walk about the streets and creep 
 up the rocks." 3 Their presence in no respect contributed to 
 the safe custody of Napoleon, and it served only to irritate 
 
 1 This letter was communicated by the Governor to Count Mon- 
 tholon. 2 " Voice," vol. i. p. 64. 
 
June, 1816. THE FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS. 169 
 
 him and give trouble to the Governor. Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 correspondence and notes of conversations with the Commis- 
 sioners, independently of the communications to the Secretary 
 of State of which they were the subject, fill two closely writ- 
 ten folio volumes in manuscript, and we shall have occasion 
 more than once to notice the difficulties caused by their med- 
 dlesome interference. On the 21st of June, a few days after 
 their arrival, Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Sir Henry Bunbury, 
 Under Secretary of State, and gave the following amusing 
 account of the new comers : 
 
 " The Austrian Commissioner shows himself a true 'eleve' 
 of Prince Metternich. No chameleon could change his hue 
 more frequently than he has done on observing any desire or 
 opinion he has ventured upon not meeting my assent. He 
 was at first all for free intercourse with Bonaparte, to learn 
 every thing he could from him and his followers, to make up 
 a budget by every occasion for Prince Metternich. He now 
 reprobates any thing like communication, and is of an absolute 
 indifference as to any thing he can learn from him. In other 
 respects he appears a gentlemanly, pleasant, and well-informed 
 man. The French Marquis, who had been thirty years an 
 emigrant, says, ' C'e sont les gens d'esprit qui ont cause la 
 Revolution.' He evidently has had no hand in it. The 
 Russian appears to laugh at the other two, and really appears 
 to have much more in him than either of them. He is de- 
 scended from a Scotch family. The expense of this place 
 frightens them all, and, I think, will soon drive them all 
 away from it, except perhaps the Austrian, who may be 
 retained here in petto until it may be determined what shall 
 be the fate and fortunes of the King of Rome, of whose beauty, 
 intelligence, and the dignity of whose infantine manner the 
 Baroness his wife seems quite full." 
 
 By the Newcastle frigate Sir Henry Bunbury had written 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe, and he gave him some information 
 which furnished an additional motive for keeping vigilant 
 watch over all correspondence with and from Longwood. Sir 
 Henry said — 
 
 Voi ; . I.— H. 
 
170 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 " By an intercepted letter to Bonaparte which Sir George 
 Cockbum sent home, it is clear that the ex-Emperor has largo 
 sums of money in different parts ; and that his agents have 
 lodged money on his account in the principal towns of Amer- 
 ica as well as in England, with the hope of his being able to 
 get at some one or other of their deposits. We have been 
 unable hitherto to obtain any clew to this matter : it is very 
 desirable to discover both the treasure and the agents." 
 
 The same vessel brought also a copy of a work by Mr. Hob- 
 house, now Lord Broughton, entitled " The Substance of some 
 Letters written by an Englishman resident at Paris during 
 the last Reign of Napoleon." 1 It was sent by the author as 
 a present for Bonaparte, and gave rise to some unpleasant dis- 
 cussion. He had written in one of the volumes " Imperatori 
 Napoleon," and Sir Hudson Lowe did not think it consistent 
 with his duty to forward books with such an inscription from 
 a British subject. He therefore kept them, as he was author- 
 ized to do by the following note addressed to him by Mr. Hob- 
 house : 
 
 " Whitton Park, April 10, 1816. 
 
 "Mr. Hobhouse presents his best compliments to Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe, and trusts that he is not making a request which 
 can not be granted in asking that the accompanying volumes 
 may be presented to the ex-Emperor. Mr. Hobhouse hopes 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe will honor his volumes with a perusal 
 previously to forwarding them to Napoleon ; and he takes 
 the liberty of begging that, if it be thought improper to give 
 them at all to the person for whom they are destined, Sir H. 
 Lowe will afford them a place in his own library." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe received at the same time a kind letter 
 from his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent recommending to 
 his notice a map and plans of St. Helena, published by an 
 old officer of the name of Read, in whom the Duke took an 
 interest. 
 
 About this time Colonel (afterward Lieutenant-General Sir 
 
 1 With an Appendix of Official Documents. London, 8yo. % vols, 
 published anonymously. 
 
June, 1816. CONVERSATION WITH COL. KEATING. 171 
 
 Henry) Keating, who was on his way from the Mauritius, 
 had an interview with Bonaparte, and a curious conversation 
 took place between them, which was detailed by that officer 
 to the Prince Regent on his arrival in England. What ren- 
 ders it more interesting is, that it was afterward repeated by 
 the Prince Regent to the late King of the French, Louis 
 Philippe, who was then in this country, and who made a full 
 note of it in his journal, dated " Twickenham." This was, 
 with his other private papers, pillaged at the Tuileries, when 
 the mob broke into the palace during the revolution of Feb- 
 ruary, 1848. The family of the dethroned monarch must ac- 
 knowledge that Napoleon spoke with prophetic intelligence, 
 and that his words have been strikingly verified by the won- 
 derful events which have placed his nephew upon the throne 
 of France. He told Colonel Keating that England would 
 soon have need of him, and would remove him from St. 
 Helena. It was impossible that the Bourbons could retain 
 power in France, and that recourse must be had to himself 
 or his son, in either of which cases he would be summoned to 
 Europe. He said that if his brother Joseph had not been a 
 fool (benet) he would have enlightened Spain as he (Napo- 
 leon) had enlightened France, and then the Bourbons would 
 have had no hold there. " But," he continued, " I speak not 
 of my brother — the question is about my son : it is he who is 
 necessary to France, and France will have him, because she 
 can not do without him. People do not want your nonsense 
 about legitimacy. All the monarchs of Europe are fools with 
 their legitimacy. That is not common sense. The people 
 want no more of that. I must speak to your Prince Regent. 
 He has sense and spirit, and would understand what I have 
 to say to him. Europe and especially France are too enlight- 
 ened to be caught by the stupid nonsense which the old mon- 
 archs and their courts talk about legitimacy, divine right, the 
 throne, and the altar. The less they wish to grant liberty to 
 their subjects the more they must speak to them about it. I 
 do not wish it any more than they, you may be sure. I 
 know well that nowadays it requires a rod of iron to rule 
 men, but it must be gilded, and we must make them believe 
 
172 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 when we strike them that they direct the blow themselves. 
 It is necessary always to talk of liberty, equality, justice, and 
 disinterestedness, and never grant any liberty whatever. No 
 change of system is required, but only a change of language, 
 and, provided we talk to the people of liberty and equality, I 
 answer for it that they may be easily oppressed and made to 
 pay down to their last farthing, without being tempted to rise 
 in insurrection or feeling really any discontent." 1 
 
 On the 19th of June Sir Hudson took occasion, in writing 
 to Lord Bathurst, to complain of the ruinous and discredit- 
 able state of all the public buildings in the island, the repairs 
 of and additions to which he said he considered as necessary 
 more on account of the East India Company than of Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Next day he presented Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm to 
 Bonaparte. He gave an account of what took place, and also 
 of an interview with Count Bertrand, in a dispatch to Earl 
 Bathurst of the 21st of June : 
 
 "Yesterday I presented Rear- Admiral Sir Pulteney Mal- 
 colm to General Bonaparte. After speaking a few words to 
 the Admiral, Bonaparte addressed to me several polite and 
 attentive inquiries respecting myself and Lady Lowe. His 
 questions were of no significant import ; but they indicated 
 quite a different disposition to that with which he had re- 
 ceived me on the occasion of my last conference with him, 
 and had to Sir Pulteney Malcolm the appearance on his part 
 of a very marked overture. Knowing, however, the little 
 cause there had been for the asperity of his former behavior 
 — that it may even have been in a certain degree assumed 
 (as it is possible the kindness of his manner may be for the 
 present moment) — the change was to me neither surprising 
 nor unexpected. 
 
 " After my visit to him I took an opportunity of mention- 
 
 1 That the substance of this conversation took place, and the above 
 sentiments were expressed by Napoleon, the author has been assured 
 by his friend Mr. Keating, Q. C. (the son of the late Sir H. S. Keat- 
 ing), who frequently heard his father mention it. 
 
June, 1816. THE FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS. 173 
 
 ing to General Bertrand the arrival of the three Commis 
 sioners, and stated their desire of an opportunity of seeing 
 General Bonaparte. He asked me if they had brought any 
 letters from their sovereigns, and what was the particular 
 object of their mission ? I told him they had brought no 
 such letters, and that they were sent here merely to fulfill the 
 terms of the Convention which had been entered into be- 
 tween the Allied Sovereigns ; that they had no charge over 
 his person, but had merely to report his being in existence, 
 and that his personal security was watched ovor. I begged, 
 therefore, he would mention their arrival to General Bona- 
 parte, and ask him at what time and in what manner it 
 would be most agreeable to him to see them. General Ber- 
 trand asked me if there was a Prussian Commissioner with 
 them ; and, on my answering in the negative, said he would 
 mention the matter to Bonaparte, and give me a reply. 
 None has yet arrived, and I apprehend, therefore, this inter- 
 view may not be managed without some previous written 
 communication, even if General Bonaparte should willingly 
 accpiiesce to being seen at all by the Commissioners. The 
 Austrian and French Commissioners have informed me they 
 have instructions to send a proces verbal once every month to 
 their respective Governments, signed by themselves and by 
 the Russian Commissioner - , and to be countersigned by me, 
 stating Bonaparte to be in existence, and his personal security 
 provided for ; that it is necessary they should see him. The 
 French Commissioner said particularly it is essential he 
 should say ' Je l'ai vu.' The Russian Commissioner said he 
 had no instructions except those which your Lordship had 
 seen ; that he had no particular instruction that enjoined he 
 should actually see General Bonaparte ; but that he should 
 be happy to learn from me of the means and measures that 
 were taken for his personal security, for the satisfaction of his 
 Government. The whole appear to have come out with the 
 impression that not only there could be no difficulty in seeing 
 Bonaparte, but that they could at once be admitted to terms 
 of habitual and free intercourse with him; but I have ex- 
 plained to them the various regulations in force in the island 
 
174 CAPTIVITY" OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 in respect to the prevention of any correspondence or commu- 
 nication whatever with him, except through my intervention 
 (as well as the difficulties which result from the system which 
 he has laid down for himself), and find in their opinions a 
 general approval of what has been done. I have in the mean 
 time, however, furnished each of the Commissioners with a 
 passport, to pass through every part of the island where Brit- 
 ish officers of the navy and army are usually allowed to pass ; 
 this excepts Longwood House alone. 
 
 "If no answer comes from General Bertrand to-day, I shall 
 endeavor to see him again ; and if Bonaparte refuses to ac- 
 knowledge the Commissioners, or will not consent to being 
 seen by them, I may perhaps have some difficulty in recon- 
 ciling the regard and respect which is due to the high situa- 
 tion which these gentlemen fill, and to the sovereigns they 
 represent, with that attention which is prescribed to the sit- 
 uation of General Bonaparte himself in all points where his 
 personal security is not concerned. I do not believe any other 
 means than actual force could induce General Bonaparte to 
 receive a visit from the Commissioners in their official capa- 
 city ; but his desire of communication with them, and theirs 
 with him, will probably overcome difficulties on both sides 
 
 as to time and manner General Bonaparte is much 
 
 pleased with the arrival of his books, and has expressed his 
 satisfaction at several of the articles which have been sent 
 out for his use from England. He has said nothing further 
 regarding his house ; and I am in hopes, therefore, he is rec- 
 onciling himself to the situation at Longwood." 
 
 To Sir Henry Bunbury the Governor said — 
 
 " I had an interview yesterday with Bonaparte, when he 
 received me in a particularly gracious and condescending 
 manner. Sir Pulteney Malcolm, whom I had attended for 
 the purpose of presenting him to Napoleon, said he never saw 
 a person come round so much to another. Considering his 
 behavior on the occasion of my last visit to him to have been 
 a good deal theatrical, the change was not to me either very 
 surprising or unexpected." 
 
June, 1816. PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR. 175 
 
 The Acts of Parliament were published at St. Helena on 
 the 28th of June in a Proclamation by the Governor, which 
 after announcing that the Regulations already established 
 were to remain in full force, and declaring that, if any person 
 should have information of any attempted rescue or means of 
 escape of Napoleon, and should not make an immediate com- 
 munication of the same to the Governor, nor do his utmost 
 to prevent the same taking effect, he would be regarded as 
 having connived at and assisted in the rescue or escape, thus 
 proceeded : 
 
 " Any person or persons who may receive letters or com- 
 munications for the said Napoleon Bonaparte, his followers 
 or attendants, and shall not immediately deliver or make 
 known the same to the Governor or officer commanding for 
 the time being, or who shall furnish the said Napoleon Bo- 
 naparte, his followers or attendants, with money or any other 
 means whatever, whereby his escape might be furthered, will 
 be considered in like manner to have been assisting in the 
 same, and will be proceeded against accordingly. 
 
 " All letters or communications for or from the said Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, any of his followers or attendants, whether 
 sealed or open, are to be forwarded to the Governor without 
 loss of time, in the same state in which they may have been 
 received. 
 
 " And whereas it is not the object of the Regulations here- 
 by promulgated to induce any unusual or unnecessary rigor, 
 but to enforce the due execution of the rules heretofore es- 
 tablished, and to prevent the ill effects which result from ig- 
 norance and inconsiderateness, as well as design, it is in con- 
 sequence made known to all those persons whose duty calls 
 upon them to attend near the place where the said Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, his followers or attendants, reside, or who have 
 business which has any relation to them, that they will be 
 furnished upon due application, with regular licenses and au- 
 thorization from the Governor of the island, signed with his 
 hand ; and nothing is to be construed from the Acts of Parlia- 
 ment, or these Regulations, as warranting any violent or 
 
176 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 improper demeanor against him or them, so long as he or 
 they observe the restrictions under which the law and the 
 instructions of His Majesty's Government has placed them." 1 
 
 On the 29th Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Lord Bathurst, and 
 said that recently Bonaparte's valet-de-chambre — 
 
 " Came to town, and met one of the foreign servants — I be- 
 lieve one of the Marquis de Montchenu's— ^from whom he re- 
 ceived a letter which, I have reason to understand, gave some 
 account of the so-called King of Rome. I believe the Mar- 
 quis de Montchenu (if it was his servant) to be uninformed on 
 the subject, as he gave all the letters he had himself brought 
 to me ; but that one or more letters have been brought for 
 persons of General Bonaparte's family is unquestionable ; and 
 this is not one of the least evils I have to guard against as re- 
 sulting from the arrival of the Commissioners on this island. 
 They appear sensible themselves of the inconvenience which 
 may result from the communication between servants ; and I 
 shall hope to act in accord with them in whatever may be 
 done or proposed." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe has been reproached with harshness and 
 tyranny toward the Countess Bertrand, in having prevented 
 the delivery of a note she had written to the French Com- 
 missioner, the Marquis de Montchenu, for the purpose of in- 
 quiring after the health of her mother, who was an invalid. 
 In his "Voice from St. Helena," O'Meara merely says, with- 
 out comment, under the date of the 6th of July' 
 
 " Madame Bertrand informed Captain Poppleton and my- 
 self that she had written a letter to M. Montchenu, in which 
 she had requested him to call at her residence, as she had 
 heard that he had seen he?' mother, icho teas in an indiffer- 
 ent state of health, and she was very desirous to inquire 
 about her ; that Las Cases would also come and meet him on 
 
 ' This is not happily expressed. Even if the restrictions were not 
 observed by Bonaparte and his followers it would not warrant violent or 
 improper treatment of them. And yet this is what the proclamation 
 seems to imply. ° Vol. i. p. 70. 
 
July, 1816. MADAME BERTRAND'S NOTE. 177 
 
 his arrival, as he was informed that Montehenu had seen his 
 wife a short time before his departure from Paris." 
 
 And iu another passage, under date the 11th, he says, "His 
 Excellency asked me whether I knew what they wanted with 
 the Marquis Montehenu. I replied, that Madame Bertrand 
 wished to inquire after her mother's health, and that Las 
 Cases was to have met him at Hutt's Gate ; and that I was 
 informed he was very anxious to inquire abotat his wife, as 
 he had been told that Montehenu had seen her shortly before 
 
 his departure from Paris [Sir Hudson Lowe] desired 
 
 me also to tell Madame Bertrand that he was very sorry any 
 restrictions which he had imposed were disagreeable to her 
 or hurtful to her feelings, though it appeared to him that she 
 had been made a tool of, which he advised her not to try 
 again." O'Meara ill his book gives no explanation whatever 
 of the allusion in the sentence here marked in italics, and he 
 leaves the reader under the impression that he believed that 
 Madame Bertrand and Count Las Cases were really anxious 
 about their relatives, and that this was the sole object of the 
 intercepted note. Bu,t on the very morning of the 6th of July 
 — five days before the conversation which he represents him- 
 self as having had with the Governor on the 1 1th — he thus 
 wrote to Sir Thomas Reade : 
 
 " Madame Bertrand told me this morning that the letter 
 she wrote to Montehenu was at the express desire of Bona- 
 parte himself, repeated twice to her ; and that, in case he had 
 come up, old Las Cases was to have immediately proceeded 
 to her house in order to have an interview with him. . . . 
 
 " If you think Sir Hudson would like to know the above 
 circumstances, you had better communicate them to him." 1 
 
 ' The words in italics and large letters are so marked in O'Meara's 
 original note (interview being doubly underlined), which shows that 
 he wished to indicate his suspicions of the real state of the case. 
 
 This trick and the dishonesty of O'Meara were ably exposed in the 
 " Quarterly Review" (No. LV., Oct. 1822). But, when the Reviewer 
 there says that " the story of the mother and wife was all false," we 
 need not conclude that neither of them had any ailment. They may 
 
 H* 
 
178 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chat V. 
 
 Not a word is here said of the illness of either the mother 
 of Madame Bertrand or the wife of Count Las Cases ; and the 
 inference which O'Meara plainly leaves Sir Thomas Heade to 
 draw is, that the contents of the note were a mere pretense 
 for the purpose of obtaining a private interview between Las 
 Cases and the French Commissioner. 
 
 The letter had been given sealed to Mr. Porteous, at whose 
 house Napoleon had slept on the first night of his arrival at 
 St. Helena, and was by him, on the morning of the 1st of 
 July, most properly handed over to the Governor, who there- 
 upon addressed Count Bertrand on the subject, telling him of 
 the circumstance, and requesting that in future the inmates 
 of Longwood would pursue the course which had already been 
 clearly and distinctly pointed out to every person of the estab- 
 lishment — namely, of sending their letters open under cover 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe. "Whatever private communication," 
 said the Governor, " they may contain, which may be of no 
 importance for others to be informed of, will be held by me 
 most sacred ; and I shall be happy if, by accelerating their 
 transmission, or by endeavoring to obtain an early reply, I can 
 render any service which may be of use*to you or them. 
 
 " I should not omit to mention that, as all communications 
 and correspondence with the persons who reside at Longwood, 
 except with my knowledge and sanction, are positively inter- 
 dicted by the instructions I have received and published, the 
 employment of any individual to carry communications, either 
 written or verbal, except such as are addressed to or made 
 known to me through the orderly officer at Longwood, may 
 tend to involve in the most serious consequences those who 
 shall become the instruments of their conveyance ; and I should 
 hope this consideration, with those I have before presented, 
 will have its effect in preventing your recurrence in future to 
 any other channel than the very safe and simple one which 
 
 really have been ill — but the anxiety on their account expressed in the 
 note was a mere device suggested by Bonaparte himself — and this was 
 the fable. Count Las Cases (Journal, July, 1816) mentions the inci- 
 dent of the note as another instance of Sir H. Lowe's barbarity. See 
 also " Recits," vol. i. p. 318. 
 
July, 1816. MADAME BERTBAND'S NOTE. 179 
 
 I have pointed out, and from which I can not take upon my- 
 self to sutler any deviation." 1 
 
 It is difficult to believe that Bertrand was kept in ignor- 
 ance of the real facts of the case, but in his reply next day 
 he assumes that the note was written bona fide by his wife 
 from a simple desire to learn tidings of her mother. He said : 
 
 " M. de Montchenu having quitted Paris some time in March, 
 and having seen the family of Madame Bertrand, she was de- 
 sirous to have some news, more especially of her mother, who 
 has been long ill ; she has accordingly written a note to M. de 
 Montchenu, requesting him to come to Hutt's Gate to com- 
 municate the tidings to her, her health not allowing her to 
 go into town. My wife has for several days had the intention 
 of writing the note in question, but M. de Montchenu's land- 
 lord 2 having called to see her, she took that opportunity to 
 write. ¥ou say, Monsieur le Gouverneur, that we are pro- 
 hibited from receiving or from sending any letters which have 
 not passed through your hands ; this has been notified to and 
 punctually observed by us, but for such letters only as come 
 from beyond or go out of this island. We have foregone the 
 satisfaction of communicating with our families; but when the 
 other day I presented to the Emperor the open letter which 
 you sent me for him, he was greatly shocked by this want of 
 courtesy, and, as he had abstained from writing any letters, 
 that he might not have to transmit them unsealed, I am or- 
 dered not to receive any more open letters for him. Should 
 any arrive you are at liberty to burn them. During nine 
 months that we have been here we have constantly carried 
 on a correspondence of notes in the island, with the knowl- 
 edge of the Admiral, your predecessor, and even with your 
 own ever since you have been here. My communications and 
 those of the General officers at Longwood have been contin- 
 
 1 In the " Voice" (vol. i. p. 69), under the date 1st of July, the letter 
 of the Governor to Count Bertrand is mentioned as having forbidden all 
 sorts of communications, either written or verbal, with the inhabitants, 
 except with the Governor's knowledge through the orderly officer ; but 
 not a woTd is said of the circumstance that occasioned the prohibition. 
 
 " Mr. Potteooa 
 
180 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V 
 
 ued up to the present time, and, in most cases, our letters 
 have been taken from or transmitted to us by orderlies on foot 
 or on horseback, or by officers, according to circumstances. 
 The former Governor and his wife, the Lieutenant-Governor 
 and his wife, General Bingham, the Captain of the Northum- 
 berland, the officers of the navy — in a word, all the officers 
 and other persons residing here — have written to and received 
 letters from us. If we are to be regarded as prisoners of war, 
 it is contrary to all right that officers and their wives should 
 be prevented from writing notes to the inhabitants of the town 
 in which they are allowed to walk. It would .be an annoy- 
 ance without object ; for since we can go into town, within 
 the precincts, and into the camp, it follows naturally that 
 both speaking and writing are allowed. It can never have 
 been the intention of the British Government to prohibit the 
 writing of social notes to the persons with whom we are per- 
 mitted to converse — the very nature of things is against it. 
 If it had contemplated such a measure it would, of its own 
 authority, have declared us to be not prisoners of war, but 
 criminals, and cut off from all communication. "We will not 
 submit to this fresh vexation, and not one of us will write to 
 the inhabitants of the island if our letters are to be subjected 
 to your perusal. If you persist in this strange resolution you 
 will have rendered our situation still more miserable. If the 
 observations which you have done me the honor to send me 
 point to the fact that the letter in question was written to a 
 stranger arrived fron\ Paris, and that we were not to com- 
 municate with M. de Montchenu, you should have apprised 
 us of this. Monsieur le Gouverneur, since your arrival, I must 
 tell you, you have rendered the situation of his Majesty much 
 more frightful' than it was before. You speak in your letter 
 of verbal communications : this is incomprehensible, if it al- 
 ludes to persons in the island, with whom we must be allow- 
 ed to speak, since we see and meet them ; but thoughts are 
 not to be controlled, and no injustice can subdue the soul." 
 To this Sir Hudson Lowe, who had not then been in- 
 
 1 "Affreuse." 
 
July, 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S ANSWER. 181 
 
 formed through O'Meara of Bonaparte's ruse, rejoined on the 
 4th— 
 
 " Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 
 2d, which I received yesterday afternoon. Though the cir- 
 cumstance of the note having been sent to the Marquis de 
 Montchenu may have been wholly unknown to General Bo- 
 naparte, yet the manner in which it has been blended with 
 matters that do relate to him, and the sentiments you express 
 to me on his part, make me regard your letter as written with 
 his authority, and I shall reply to it accordingly. In regard 
 to the letter which came to the address ' pour l'Empereur,' it 
 was transmitted to you in the same state in which I received 
 it : any othgr which may arrive I shall send in the same 
 manner. It will remain, of course, with General Bonaparte 
 to determine whether he receives it or not. I had a gratifi- 
 cation in sending him a letter from so very near a relative 
 the very moment I received it, and trusted it might have 
 been agreeable to him ; but the reproach and prohibition 
 your letter contains afford a pretty strong proof how impossi- 
 ble it is to arrive at any proper understanding when things 
 are seen through such very opposite mediums. 
 
 " If the note delivered to Mr. Porteous had been addressed 
 to any officer or inhabitant on the island who had not been 
 sanctioned in his communications with you, I should have 
 equally disapproved of its transmission — as an interchange of 
 notes (except for an invitation to dinner, or to inform stran- 
 gers who had been introduced to you when General Bonaparte 
 would see them) is all that, to my knowledge, ever was per- 
 mitted : every thing beyond it I know Sir George Cockburn, 
 unless done with his intimate knowledge, of the persons and 
 of the circumstances, entirely prohibited. But the note re- 
 ferred to in your letter was written to no common person : it 
 was addressed to a foreign officer of rank and distinction, who 
 came here in an official situation, for an occasion of whose 
 being presented to General Bonaparte I had addressed myself, 
 Sir, to you, and neither General Bonaparte nor you had con- 
 descended to signify any thing in, reply. It is, Sir, a strange 
 expectation to entertain, that regards are to be shown on one 
 
182 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 side and totally withheld on the other, or that you can be 
 considered at one moment as the official confidant of General 
 Bonaparte, and the next as a private individual, free from 
 any restriction which is imposed upon him, or which his line 
 of proceeding may impose upon himself. The situation of the 
 Marquis de Montchenu, besides, had no analogy, whatever to 
 that of any officer or inhabitant in this island. It rested, Sir, 
 in your discretion to mark the line where your communica- 
 tions, without the necessary forms of introduction and my 
 known acquiescence, ought to have stopped : where that fail- 
 ed, it was my duty to impose the check, whatever further 
 restraints it might create, and I can not now rescind it. 
 
 " Your letter says, Sir, that since my arrival in this island 
 the situation of General Bonaparte has been rendered much 
 more ' affreuse.' I do not see how this follows as a corollary 
 upon a matter which has related principally to yourself; and, 
 in blending the relations of your domestic affairs with him, 
 and in involving him in the consequences of them, it really 
 appears to me, Sir, that you have more to reproach yourself 
 than me if his situation has been rendered more disagreeable 
 by it. With the sincere wish I have always had, and which 
 I still entertain (notwithstanding the strange reception and 
 repulsive language I have occasionally met with from Gene- 
 ral Bonaparte), to conciliate the strict execution of my duty 
 with those regards which my instructions warrant me in pay- 
 ing to him, I feel persuaded the difficulty to reconcile these 
 two hitherto discordant points would be much less if I had 
 only to treat of matters that related to him personally, or had 
 to communicate with him alone regarding them. 
 
 " If there are any persons among his followers who have 
 enjoyed a higher degree of consideration than others, it is, Sir, 
 you and your family 
 
 "In conclusion, Sir, I beg leave to observe that your resi- 
 dence on this island has been perfectly a voluntary one. You 
 have been at entire liberty to withdraw from the control 
 which my duty compels me to place you under ; and I can not, 
 therefore, acknowledge in you any right to convey to me your 
 reproaches for my manner of executing il It has been my 
 
July, 1816. DISPATCH TO EARL BATHURST. 183 
 
 wish hitherto to contribute as much as possible to the ease 
 and comfort of the officers who have accompanied General 
 Bonaparte to this island, consistent with the restrictions his 
 situation unavoidably placed them under ; but, viewing the 
 hostile tone of your last communication, I must resolve hence- 
 forward not to suffer my duties on this island to be increased 
 by an attention to any other representations than those which 
 relate personally to General Bonaparte himself, unless they 
 are conceived in a spirit of more conciliation than what I 
 have hitherto observed to prevail. I beg your communica- 
 tion of this letter to General Bonaparte, and have the honor 
 to be, &c. H. Lowe." 
 
 In a dispatch, marked " private and secret," to Earl 
 Bathurst on the 7th of July, Sir Hudson Lowe informed his 
 Lordship of the particulars of his recent correspondence with 
 Count Bertrand, copies of which were inclosed : 
 
 " My Lord — In the last communication which I had the 
 honor to address to your Lordship I expressed a suspicion of 
 a letter having been brought by a servant of the Marquis de 
 Montchenu to one of Bonaparte's attendants. I have since 
 learnt the letter in question was brought by the valet-de- 
 chambre of Baron de Sturmer, and that another letter was 
 brought by his cook, both as I understand addressed to the 
 same person, viz. Marchand, valet-de-chambre of Bonaparte. 
 This man's mother or wife, I have not yet precisely learnt 
 which, was nurse to the ' King of Rome,' and the first of the 
 letters contained a lock of the child's hair. The inclosed let- 
 ters to the address of ' Monsieur Feine,' which have been sent 
 to me from Marchand to be forwarded to England, are I be- 
 lieve replies to both ; and the lock of hair mentioned in one 
 of them is that above referred to. 
 
 " I did not fail to mention to the Baron Sturmer the cir- 
 cumstance of the letters having been brought by his servants 
 (though not the contents, as it might lead to the discovery of 
 the channel by which I learnt them). He replied he had no 
 knowledge of it ; and I am told he has given a strong repri- 
 mand to both his servants, acquainting them he would not 
 
184 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 screen them from the effects of the Act of Parliament which 
 had been promulgated in this island if they committed any 
 similar practice in future. I had previously told him that an 
 inhabitant might have been hanged for making such com- 
 munications. 1 Upon this subject I can not avoid offering to 
 your Lordship's consideration how much the Act of Parlia- 
 ment is weakened in its effect in this island by the arrival 
 of the Commissioners, as its penalties extend only to British 
 subjects or persons owing allegiance, instead of reaching, as I 
 believe penal statutes generally do, every person who is resid- 
 ing in a place where he is under British protection, and where 
 the British laws are in force. The foreign servants of the 
 Commissioners may therefore plead an exemption from the 
 effects of the Act. The valet-de-ohambre of Baron Stunner 
 has been fourteen years in the French service, and accompa- 
 nied Joseph Bonaparte to Spain. The chambermaid of the 
 Baroness, who is, as well as her mistress, a young Parisian, 
 writes letters, the Baron says, as well as himself. I had par- 
 ticularly cautioned him before my departure from London 
 against bringing out any French servants. The utmost I can 
 do at present is to keep them and General Bonaparte's attend- 
 ants as far asunder as possible, and every measure is taking 
 by me to this effect.". . . . 
 
 Sir Hudson then gave an account of Madame Bertrand's 
 sealed note, and afterward thus proceeded : ' 
 
 "I have, however, obtained certain information that the 
 pretext for sending the note to the Marquis de Montchenu, 
 as recited in the first part of General Bertrand's letter, was 
 entirely a fabrication. Madame Bertrand herself has said the 
 letter she wrote to the Marquis was at the express desire of 
 General Bonaparte himself, repeated twice to her, and that, 
 in case he had come up to see her, Count Las Cases was to 
 have immediately proceeded to her house in order to have an 
 interview with him. From the person to whom Madame 
 
 1 This may have been said in terrorem; but the Governor must 
 have known that the Act made it capital only to assist an attempt at 
 escape. _ . 
 
Juli-, IS 1 6. EXPENSES AT LONG WOOD. ]85 
 
 Bertram! mentioned this, I am led to imagine she begins to be 
 ashamed of her husband's line of conduct, and of herself being 
 made the instrument of such truly despicable intrigues 
 
 " I am now in a gradual course of reduction of the ex- 
 penses of General Bonaparte's establishment ; and at the con- 
 elusion of this month shall hope to be able to inform your 
 Lordship of the precise limit to which they can be brought. 
 Until the arrival of the store-ships from England every thing 
 was obliged to be purchased here at an increased expense — 
 nearly double in the article of wine to what it can now be 
 furnished at ; and as it was a point upon which I had no 
 specific instructions, I hardly felt myself at liberty to make 
 any sudden or considerable alteration in the mode or quantum 
 of supply which Sir George Cockburn had established. I am 
 now, however, in hopes to effect a reduction in the expense, 
 without any very sensible abridgment of the comforts or 
 necessaries they at present enjoy ; but should I not be able 
 to bring the expense within the limits of the sum your Lord- 
 ship has mentioned to me, 1 they have been distinctly inform- 
 ed the surplus charges must be defrayed by themselves, or a 
 reduction in the expenditure take place. 
 
 " General Count Montholon, who has the principal charge 
 of the household affairs, appears disposed to me-et me on these 
 points. The diminution in the numbers of the establishment 
 which your Lordship had contemplated, it is almost unneces- 
 sary to point out, has not taken place, and it is this which 
 may be the principal obstacle to a reduction in the expense. 
 There can, I believe, be no doubt that Bonaparte and his fol- 
 lowers can command the funds for any expenditure. Mr. Bal- 
 combe has told me Count Montholon offered him a bill in Bo- 
 naparte's name for £30,000 on the house of Hope of Amster- 
 dam ; that Sir George Cockburn advised him to take it, but, 
 on his saying he would, Count Montholon drew back from his 
 proposition, and said the 4000 napoleons must be first expend- 
 ed. I have the honor, &c, H. Lowe." 
 
 Before Sir Hudson Lowe took any measures for erecting the 
 1 Namely, £8000 per annum. Vide p. 167, ante. 
 
186 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 bouse for Bonaparte's residence, he applied to Count Montho- 
 lon to ascertain if possible Napoleon's wishes on the subject, 
 stating that he wished to know whether he should appropri- 
 ate a part of the materials that had arrived in adding new 
 apartments to his present residence, or commence a new build- 
 ing with them. 
 
 Count Montholon, however, gave him no decisive answer, 
 but referred him to Count Bertrand on the subject. Sir Hud- 
 son then mentioned to Count Bertrand the two propositions 
 he had made, and said he should await Bonaparte's determ- 
 ination. He suspended in the mean time some of the repairs 
 and additions at Longwood, but, finding that no communica- 
 tion arrived from Longwood, he directed the works which had 
 been in hand to be continued and completed. He then, on 
 the 6th of July, wrote to Count Montholon, and said, referring 
 to the subject — 
 
 " I have waited several days without receiving any specific 
 answer upon that or some other points upon which I had re- 
 quested Count Bertrand to communicate with General Bona- 
 parte (except some expressions of his indifference about it), 
 and therefore take the liberty, Sir, of addressing myself to you, 
 to request you will do me the honor to mention to the General 
 my desire to be informed more particularly of his sentiments 
 upon the point in question before I proceed any further with 
 the works at Longwood. In consequence of so much having 
 been already executed or undertaken there, and of the house 
 for Count Bertrand having been nearly completed since I first 
 spoke to him, the plan of adding new apartments to, and 
 finishing the building of, that establishment, is that by which 
 I consider more can be done within a short space of time for 
 his convenience and general accommodation, than by the con- 
 struction of a new edifice. It is that therefore which I beg 
 you to mention to him I propose to proceed upon, unless he 
 should have other wishes on the occasion, and do me the favor 
 to signify them to me, when I shall be ready to show them 
 every attention that my instructions will admit." 
 
 Count Montholon says' that Napoleon wished Bertrand to 
 1 Rccits, vol. i. p. 322. 
 
July, 1816 COMPLAINTS OF LONGWOOD. 187 
 
 reply to this letter, but that he refused, alleging that he ought 
 not to answer a letter that was not addressed to himself, at 
 which reply Bonaparte lost his temper ; and that at six o'clock 
 in the morning of the 8th, just as he was going into his bath, 
 he called Count Montholon, and dictated the following : 
 
 "Longwood, July 8, 1816. 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur — I have had the honor to re 
 ceive your letter. The Emperor having greatly suffered last 
 evening from rheumatism, I could not communicate it to him 
 till late at night. He said (these are his words) : — ' This let- 
 ter is written with the intention of being amiable. It presents 
 a contrast to the ignoble vexations that are daily contrived. 
 This does not agree with the conversation I had with Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, and to which the letter refers. That conver- 
 sation has left upon my mind only a painful recollection, 
 something gloomy. This island is very injurious to my health ; 
 it is the dampest country upon earth. They endeavor to ren- 
 der my residence in it still more unwholesome and miserable.' 
 I have thought, Monsieur le Gouverneur, that I could not better 
 respond to the confidence you have been pleased to show me 
 on this occasion, than by making you acquainted with the 
 feelings of the Emperor. He attaches but little importance 
 to whatever relates to lodging, furniture, and things of that 
 kind. With the best of intentions, your Government can not 
 remedy the continual privation in this island of objects of 
 primary necessity. Longwood is the most unhealthy spot 
 upon the island. There is no water, no vegetation, no shade ; 
 it has hitherto been impossible to grow vegetables here ; the 
 soil is parched up by the wind, 1 and, consequently, this part 
 of the island is uninhabited and wild. If the Emperor had 
 been established at Plantation House, where there are fine 
 
 1 There certainly seems an inconsistency in saying of the "dam-pest 
 country upon earth" that the soil of part of it is " parched up by the 
 wind." Count Montholon said that the only objection he saw to the 
 situation of Longwood was " the humidity of the place." In his famous 
 letter of remonstrance to Sir Hudson Lowe on the 23d of August, 1816, 
 he said of St. Helena, " it is at the same time the driest and the damp- 
 est country in the world." 
 
188 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 trees, water, and gardens, he would have been as well off as 
 it is possible to be in this miserable country. If you have 
 instructions to build, it would be desirable to do so in the 
 cultivated part of the island, where there are trees, water, 
 and vegetation. The idea of adding wings to the wretched 
 building of Longwood is every way objectionable ; it would 
 be merely enlarging a ruin, and adding the annoyance of 
 workmen for five or six months. All that is wished for at 
 Longwood is repairs ; during the last two months the rain 
 has not ceased entering into the rooms of Baron Gourgaud 
 and Count Las Cases, which renders their lodging extremely 
 unhealthy. A reservoir is necessary, in case of fire ; the 
 greater part of the roof being covered with tarred paper, a 
 single spark might set the house in flames. A great quan- 
 tity of linen and other effects has been rendered useless by 
 the rats, and this for want of closets. The books brought by 
 the Newcastle have been exposed for the last fortnight to 
 similar injury for want of shelves or a floor on which to place 
 them. The simplest mode of supplying all these little wants 
 would, in my opinion, be to charge some head workman with 
 the execution of the necessary repairs, and some upholsterer 
 with the supply and keeping of the furniture in order. If 
 the requisite materials be placed at the disposal of such per- 
 sons, they understand better than any one else the carrying 
 out of the details. 
 
 " Be pleased to accept, Monsieur Je Gouverneur, the assur- 
 ance of the high consideration wilh which I have the honor to 
 be your Excellency's very humble and very obedient servant, 
 " Le General de Montholon." 
 
 To this letter Sir Hudson Lowe replied on the 10th of July, 
 and said — 
 
 " I transmitted an exact copy of your letter to England, so 
 that the British Government will thus be accurately informed 
 of the feelings with which you state General Bonaparte views 
 his present situation at Longwood. I did not make any com- 
 ment upon his words which you quote to me. Were I to 
 adopt any measure that had in view solely to aggravate the 
 
Jcly, 1816. QUESTION OF REPAIRS, ETC. 189 
 
 unpleasantness of his situation, I should act in a manner 
 equally repugnant to my instructions as to my own sense of 
 the duty with which I am charged. I shall direct every 
 necessary repair at Longwood, and will attend there myself 
 to see what may be particularly required. If what apper- 
 tains to General Bonaparte's place of residence, whether there 
 or elsewhere, has been so long in an unsettled state, it can 
 only be attributed to the little attention with which my com- 
 munications on the subject have been hitherto received, as I 
 could not act upon conjecture alone." 
 
 In transmitting this correspondence to Lord Bathurst, Sir 
 H. Lowe wrote on the 9th of July a letter which shows his 
 readiness to consult the wishes and comfort of Napoleon : 
 
 " In regard to Plantation House," he said, " exclusive of 
 any considerations regarding myself or my family, it formed 
 a specific part of the instructions of the Court of Directors to 
 the Governor when General Bonaparte first came to this 
 island, that all the public buildings on it were to he at the 
 selection of Sir George Cockburn, the Governor's (Plantation 
 House) excepted. In other respects, the objections against 
 Longwood House, as stated in the concluding part of Count 
 Montholon's letter, appear but too well founded. In pro- 
 posing additions to it, I was rather guided by its situation 
 than by its actual state ; for, to make a good permanent resi- 
 dence it would almost require to be rebuilt. While directing 
 the repairs most immediately necessary, my next effort must 
 be to establish him in some other parts of the grounds near 
 Longwood House, or to add to the house that has been con- 
 structed for General Bertrand ; and if this does not succeed, 
 there are resources in other parts of the island where the same 
 degree of security may be obtained. To none of these, how- 
 ever, will recourse be had until every argument in respect to 
 Longwood has been exhausted ; and I should not perhaps 
 lay so much stress on the objections which he might urge if 
 his present house had not really so many defects as to stand 
 in need of continued reparations, and if it might not appear 
 ungracious, if not contrary to the intention manifested, to 
 
190 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V 
 
 withhold from him any of the comforts which Government 
 aad sanctioned in sending out a house and furniture for him." 
 
 On the 11th of July Sir Hudson Lowe had a conversation 
 with Count Montholon, 1 notes of which were taken by Major 
 Gorrequer : 
 
 " On walking round the house at Longwood, the Governor 
 pointed out to Count Montholon the place where he intended 
 to have erected wings, had it been agreeable to General Bona- 
 parte, and where some excellent rooms might be made. Gen- 
 eral Montholon said that was also his idea, and most fully 
 agreed it would be the best thing that could be done ; there 
 was already ' unfond' established there, which would require 
 a twelvemonth to make in any other place. On his observing 
 the house had been originally ill constructed, and was a very 
 bad one, Sir Hudson Lowe remarked it was, however, always 
 considered as the second best in the island. He replied, as to 
 the situation, he certainly considered it also as the second best. 
 The ' Emperor,' he added, was totally indifferent as to the 
 kind of house, provided it was ' saine ;' the only objection he 
 could foresee on his part would be the humidity of the place. 
 As to alterations or additions, he feared he would not like 
 having the workmen so near him, as he could not bear the 
 noise ; and things proceeded so very slowly in this island, that 
 they would be a long time in completing — he had been much 
 alarmed on that score — that he therefore doubted his consent- 
 ing to have repairs or works going on so near him. On the 
 Governor observing to him that the workmen might be em- 
 ployed on the other wing, where they could not disturb him, 
 
 1 Count Montholon says this interview occurred on the 10th of July ; 
 but he does not mention a word about the new house, and states only 
 that the Governor came to him to express his desire to mitigate the rigor 
 of the Emperor's captivity as much as lay in his power ; and complained 
 of the manner in which the French officers misunderstood their interests 
 (" role"). His instructions would, he said, justify him in the eyes of 
 posterity, and if he executed them strictly they would regret their pres- 
 ent situation. " Tell the Emperor so ; tell him also that I forward a!! 
 his complaints to my Government, however unjust they may be to my- 
 self." (Recits, vol. i. p. 325). Not a word on this subject occurs in 
 Major Gorrequer's notes of the conversation. 
 
July, 1816. PECUNIARY RESOURCES. 191 
 
 and when it was ready he might remove into it while the 
 other was completing, the Count answered, he had no doubt, 
 on talking with the ' Emperor' about it, he would conclude 
 by saying, ' Eh bien, qu'on le fasse' (well, then let it be done). 
 The Governor said, with regard to Plantation House, it was 
 not left either to the option of the British Government or his 
 own to assign it for his residence ; but the Court of Directors 
 had given leave for any other place. General Montholon re- 
 plied that the ' Emperor' was aware of it, having been so 
 informed at Plymouth ; what he had stated, therefore, in his 
 letters to the Governor, had no reference to himself or the Ad- 
 miral, for they knew it did not depend on either." 
 
 On the 19th of July, General Montholon stated to Major 
 Gorrequer, that — 
 
 " When the Emperor first heard of the intention of the 
 British Government to curtail the expense of his establish- 
 ment, he expressed to him that, in the event of any difficulty 
 about it, he would rather bear the whole expense himself than 
 be indebted to Government for a part. That he (General 
 Montholon) understood, when the Governor had some conver- 
 sation with General Bertrand on the subject of such a reduc- 
 tion in the expense, General Bertrand requested that the Gov- 
 ernor would inform him what proportion Government ex- 
 pected was to be paid by the ' Emperor,' that he might ac- 
 quaint him of it. On Major Gorrequer's answering that he 
 did not know whether such a request had been made, General 
 Montholon said that the ' Emperor' had himself told him that 
 he had informed the Governor, at their last interview a few 
 days before, that, if it was expected he should pay a part, he 
 would prefer paying the whole expense of the establishment, 
 provided he was allowed to draw from his own resources 
 through the medium of sealed letters. General Montholon 
 also remarked that the ' Emperor' could easily procure the 
 means of paying for his expenses by drawing upon some of 
 his relations — either Madame (his mother), the Princess Pau- 
 line, Prince Joseph, his own son, or Prince Eugene, or some 
 other of his family, for all of whom he had done so much, and 
 
192 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 who surely would not refuse him 500,000 livres if he applied 
 to them for it, particularly Prince Eugene, to whom the Em- 
 peror told him he had in one day made over twenty millions 
 of livres ; that, however the Emperor would only agree to 
 draw for money by means of sealed letters ; and that, if the 
 Governor wished to make any proposition in regard to this 
 matter the Emperor would he ready to receive it. General 
 Montholon added, that General Bonaparte had desired him to 
 ask Major Gorrequer, the next time he had an opportunity 
 of speaking to him on the subject, if Government would pay 
 for the whole of the servants, French and English, or was he 
 to continue paying the French servants only, or should he pay 
 the whole ? that he wished to be informed on these points, in 
 order to take some measures for obtaining a further supply of 
 money ; that he (General Montholon) would not have enough 
 to pay the expenses of the next month, as there was scarcely 
 money enough left for paying the salaries of the various per- 
 sons and attendants belonging to the household out of the 4000 
 napoleons." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe had another and extraordinary interview 
 with Napoleon on the 17th of July. 1 
 
 " I was immediately ushered into his presence," he says, 
 " and the room door shut on us. He was standing, as usual, , 
 with his hat under his arm. After an ordinary salutation, I 
 proceeded with saying I was directing some improvements at 
 Longwood, and wished to know if it was a point on which he 
 had any desires to express to me ? Instead of replying directly 
 to the subject, he began a very long series of remarks upon 
 the general mode in which he was treated in this island, and 
 the restraints imposed upon him and the persons attached to 
 him. ' It was impossible,' he said, ' Government could know 
 what kind of place the island of St. Helena was, or could ap- 
 
 1 Napoleon's account of this interview is reported by Count Montholon 
 (Recits, vol. i: p. 328), by O'Meara (Voice, vol. i. pp. 78, 79), and by 
 Count Las Cases (Journal, July 16, 1816) ; all of whom, however, say 
 it occurred on the 16th of July, and their versions, which are brief, 
 differ much from Sir Hudson Lowe's notes. 
 
July, 1816. GOVERNOR'S FOURTH INTERVIEW. ]93 
 
 prove the mode in which I executed my instructions in regard 
 to him.' I replied, 'that, from the various communications 
 Government had received, the island of St. Helena must be 
 as perfectly known as England itself; and that, with regard 
 to my conduct to him, I was scrupulously particular in inform- 
 ing Ministers of any thing I did, but that, if he had any rep- 
 resentations to make, I would with great pleasure forward 
 them ; that in the restrictions that were imposed I only acted 
 in compliance with my instructions, and that I should wholly 
 disobey them if I at the same time did not strive to conciliate 
 their execution with every degree of regard and attention in 
 my power to bestow.' ' Oh !' he said, ' your letters are per- 
 fect; the last to Count Montholon are written with great tal- 
 ent. If I were in the Government, I would say, Ah ! there 
 now is an officer who does his duty well. But it is not thus 
 that you act ; you treat us in a very different manner from 
 what you would have it thought. In your correspondence 
 you pay us compliments, and, at the same time you are stick- 
 ing pins into us.' 1 
 
 " I told him, as a proof of the sincerity with which I made 
 my communications, I would exactly relate what he then said 
 to me, and leave Government to decide how far my conduct 
 was consistent with what I wrote ; that again, if he wished 
 to say any thing himself, I would also forward it. He said 
 it was of no use, they would believe my representations. He 
 then entered into more detail ; criticised my first acts ; said 
 Sir George Cookburn had brought me to him at nine o'clock 
 in the morning on purpose to embroil us together ; and that I 
 had acted unfeelingly to ask his officers to sign the paper I 
 did so immediately on my arrival. I said it was difficult to 
 know how to act ; that if I had kept it in my pocket I might 
 have been reproached for not having made it known sooner. 
 
 1 " Vos lettres sont parfaites ; les dernieres au Comte de Montholon 
 sont ecrites avec bien de l'esprit. Si j'etais dans le Gouvernement, je 
 dirais, ' Ah ! voila un officier qui fait bien son devoir.' Mais ce n'est 
 pas ainsi que vous agissez ; vous nous traitez d'une toute autre maniere 
 que vous ne voulez faire croire ; par votre correspondance vous nous 
 faites des complimens, et vous nous enfoncez en meme temps des epin- 
 t|cs au dos." 
 
 Vol I — 1 
 
194 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 He made no answer to this. My prevention of General Ber- 
 trand's introduction of persons without my previous appro- 
 bation then came on. Sir George Cockburn had admitted it ; 
 and now my prevention of his writing notes to inhabitants, 
 without passing through my hands, was also contrary to what 
 Sir George Cockburn had permitted. I said I had done no- 
 thing but what was in strict conformity to Sir George Cock- 
 burn's written regulations ; that if he had suffered deviations 
 I was assured they must have been very partial ones, which 
 did not establish a precedent, otherwise his system of acting 
 must have been different from his written instructions ; that 
 in other respects the prevention of communication with any 
 person except through my intervention was one of the pivots 
 on which my instructions turned. He then attacked my let- 
 ter 1 to Count Bertrand : ' That I should not have put myself 
 into such a passion with him without having first informed 
 him of the established rules; that I had insulted him, and 
 that he ought to have cut my throat (called me out).' 2 I said 
 I did write a very polite letter to him, informing him of the 
 regulations established ; that he wrote me a very insulting 
 one in reply, and that I had answered him as I thought he 
 merited — ' He had brought it upon himself — ' He ought to 
 have cut your throat .... but I did not advise him to do so ; 
 you understand.' 3 He then observed, with an air as if he 
 wished to draw my consideration to General Bertrand, ' He is 
 a sedate man well known in Europe ; you should not have 
 been so short with him.' 4 I said he had spoken in his letter 
 of ' abus de pouvqir et injustice.' I was no more formed to 
 be a little tyrant in practice than a slave in thought. He 
 dropped Count Bertrand, and took up a part of my behavior 
 to Count Las Cases ; said, though letters were sent under 
 
 1 Vide, pp. 181-183. 
 
 2 " Que je n'aurais pas du m'emporter tant contre lui, sans premiere- 
 ment faire connaitre les reglcmens etablis ; que je l'avais insulte, et 
 qu'il aurait du me couper la gorge." 
 
 3 " II l'avait attire sur lui-meme." " II aurait du vous couper la gorge 
 mais je ne I'ai pas conseille de la faire ; vous entendez." 
 
 * " C'est un homme serieux, bien connu dans l'Europe ; il ne fallait 
 pas tant Ie brusquer." 
 
July, 1816. GOVERNOR'S FOURTH INTERVIEW. 195 
 
 open covers to me, it was not supposed I read them ; that I 
 had not only read a letter of Count Las Cases', but had after- 
 ward spoken to him of the contents of it, which were wholly 
 of a private nature. I said there could not be a stronger proof 
 of the manner in which matters were misrepresented to him ; 
 that on observing in the letter of Count Las Cases he had sent 
 for some articles to England which Government had ordered 
 out here for the use of the establishment, and which I had 
 sent up to Longwood, such as linen, stockings, &c, I thought 
 it an act of attention to call upon him and mention that such 
 articles had been sent up. Instead of testifying any acknowl- 
 edgment for this act of consideration, he (Las Cases) replied 
 indignantly he did not want any thing from the British Gov- 
 ernment. *I want things for myself, Sir, for myself,' 1 he said, 
 as if it was an insult to offer him articles which had been 
 sent up for general distribution. (This trait of Count Las 
 Cases merits particular attention, as he is known at Long- 
 wood as the person about Bonaparte the most ready to mis- 
 state and misrepresent matters to him, of which the above is a 
 strong proof.) Bonaparte made no particular answer. Heat- 
 tacked me on other points ; recurred to an old story 2 about my 
 having ordered away a servant of Count Montholon's without 
 letting him know of it, which I justified by saying I had seen 
 a stranger at Longwood who was there without my pass, and 
 I had, of course, ordered him away ; that I did not know at 
 the time he was engaged by Count Montholon, and sent to 
 him to say that I would get him another servant, but could 
 not permit that man to stay. 
 
 " He said, though persons around him had permission to 
 ride accompanied by British officers, yet it so happened they 
 were sometimes obliged to wait two or three hours before an 
 officer could be found. I said this was contrary both to my 
 orders and intention. ' Ah ! they thought it was done on pur- 
 pose. This shows that one may sometimes be mistaken.' He 
 said this as if conscious his officers had attempted to mislead 
 him. He compared Sir George Cockhurn and me ; said he 
 
 1 u Je veux des choses pour moi, Monsieur — pour moi." 
 
 2 Vide p. 160, ante. 
 
196 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 did not suffer so much from him, with the exception of some 
 little acts of rudeness : ' But you prick us behind our backs ; 
 there is no way of treating with you. You are a Lieuten ant- 
 General, and should not perform your duty like a sentinel. 
 You ought to consider your reputation, which will suffer from 
 the manner in which you conduct yourself toward us.' 1 I 
 answered, ' I did not come here in search of glory, nor did I 
 solicit the employment ; but, being here, 1 must do my duty, 
 which I esteem above glory ;' that I sincerely desired to con- 
 ciliate my duty with every regard and attention to him ; that 
 if I acted otherwise it was equally contrary to my instructions 
 as to my disposition, and would form a fit subject of complaint 
 against me ; that I would forward any thing he had to say. 
 'Ah ! if, while you load me with chains, your forms are civil, 
 your language may well be so too. It is always with you as 
 with the wolf in the fable : one can not be in the right with 
 you.' 2 He said there was no necessity of imposing so many 
 restraints upon him ; that it was almost impossible he could 
 get away from hence. ' History is made up of possibilities. 
 Persons have escaped from the Bastille, and from the prisons 
 of Magdeburg ; but here the chances are ever as 199 to 1. 
 It would be impossible, unless with the connivance of the 
 Governor or of the Admiral.' I made no reply ; but took the 
 first opportunity to renew the subject of the repairs at Long- 
 wood. He said — ' If I had had to answer you officially, I 
 would have asked that a new house be constructed for me ; 
 but it would take six years building. In a couple of years 
 there will be a change in the Ministry in England, or a new 
 Government in France, and I shall no longer be here. If, 
 however, I were obliged to remain at this place, I could not 
 live in this house ; it would be necessary to build another for 
 
 1 " Mais vous nous mettez des epingles au dos. II n'y a pas moyen 
 de traiter avec vous. Vous etes Lieutenant-GeniTal — vous ne devez pas 
 executer votre devoir comme une consigne. II fallait penser a votre 
 gloire, qui souffrira de la maniere dont vous agissez envers nous." 
 
 2 " Ah ! si vous me mettez des chaines a la jambe, et me dites des 
 politesses en meme temps, vous pourrez dire de meme. C'est tou- 
 jours avec vous la fable du loup et de l'agneau — on ne peut pas avoir 
 raison." 
 
July, 1816. GOVERNOR'S FOURTH INTERVIEW. 197 
 
 me in a more agreeable part of the island.' I told him the 
 situation in which he then was, was always considered so. 
 So, he said, all strangers who came to see him observed to 
 him ; hut he wished shade, and to be sheltered from the 
 wind : he suffered severely, he said, both from the sun and 
 wind, and nothing else in the situation could compensate him 
 for what it exposed him to in these respects. 
 
 " He talked of pecuniary means for his present establish- 
 ment ; said he had money enough for every thing, in France, 
 in Italy, and Holland ; that Prince Eugene would, he was 
 assured, give him any money he wanted ; but that he did not 
 like to send letters unopened [unsealed?]. He asked me what 
 the Commissioners wanted here. If they wished to see him 
 officially, why did not they send him the Convention, 1 when 
 he would consider the matter ? if as private individuals, they 
 might present themselves to Marshal Bertrand, and he would 
 see them. He asked me if the Countess Bertrand went to 
 visit the Marquis de Montchenu, would she be allowed to see 
 him. ' I do not know what the Marquis de Montchenu may 
 do,' I said : ' that will depend upon him.' He said, she only 
 wanted to have some news of her mother ; that her note to 
 the Marquis was about nothing else — ' some woman's gossip, 
 to which I could not object.' 2 He recurred to complaints of 
 his position in this island — of his health ; said it was impos- 
 sible Government could know the disagreeableness of his 
 situation in every respect ; that they could not approve my 
 mode of treating him ; that my letters must represent mat- 
 ters differently, &c., &e. I said 1 could do nothing more 
 than represent to Government every thing he said ; that 
 they knew perfectly well the restrictions he was under, and 
 could best determine whether his situation admitted any 
 change ; that I only begged him to be assured I did not wish 
 to aggravate what was unpleasant in his situation, and should 
 
 1 The Convention between the Allied Powers relative to the disposal 
 of Napoleon, which will be found at the end of the volume among the 
 Letters and Documents. 
 
 2 " Quelques commerages de femme, auxquels je ne devrais pas m'op- 
 poser." 
 
198 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 be always happy to show attention to every request he made 
 which was not incompatible with the main object of the duty 
 I was charged with. He bowed to me ; and I retired." 
 
 Nothing can more strongly show the straightforward fair- 
 ness of Sir Hudson Lowe than his minute of this conversation. 
 If he had been disposed to give a garbled version of it he cer- 
 tainly would have omitted Napoleon's twice-repeated sarcasm 
 about his " sticking pins into the backs" of his captives, and 
 the remark that although his letters were perfect his conduct 
 was very different. For the Ministry at home could of course 
 only judge of the manner in which he fulfilled his duties by 
 the accounts he gave in his letters ; and they were deprived 
 of all value if his conduct did not correspond with his pro- 
 fessions. 
 
 Sir Hudson transmitted the whole of the above in a dis- 
 patch to Earl Bathurst of the 27th of July, and said — 
 
 " The conversation that passed I have given in a separate 
 memorandum. Your Lordship will observe by it that no ex- 
 pectation seems to have been entertained or made known of 
 any immediate change in his place of residence ; but that, if 
 his stay was constantly fixed at this place, he should consider 
 the construction of another and better house in a more agree- 
 able part of the island necessary both for his health and his 
 comfort. Whether a new house is built for him or not, the 
 repairs at his present place of residence are indispensable ; 
 and therefore little time is lost in making a reference to your 
 Lordship's judgment as to the expediency of constructing a 
 new house, should he require it, in a part of the island more 
 agreeable to him. The spot which unites the most advant- 
 ages is a place called Rosemary Hall. It lies about a mile 
 from Plantation House, in one of the most beautiful and cul- 
 tivated parts of the island. It is not far distant from some of 
 the valleys and ravines which descend to the sea; but all these 
 are guarded, and the security of his person within the limits 
 that may be assigned to him can be as effectually obtained as 
 in his present place of residence. He would be more open to 
 receive visits, and if he was to escape from his limits he 
 
July, 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S DISPATCHES. 199 
 
 might possibly sooner find the means of concealment, if not of 
 evasion ; but the difference hardly appears to me so great as 
 to overbalance every other consideration regarding his comfort 
 or his health, particularly as, if doomed to a constant resi- 
 dence in this island, there is no spot which unites so many 
 advantages to reconcile him to it 
 
 " On the point of pecuniary means your Lordship will re- 
 mai'k what he has said. Prince Eugene is the only person 
 whom he spoke of to me as probably disposed to answer his 
 demands ; but by a conversation which Major Gorreqner, 
 acting as my Military Secretary, had with Count Montholon, 
 your Lordship will observe other individuals have been named, 
 even his son. So many channels of communication are opened 
 to your Lordship with these persons, that the question of pe- 
 cuniary means for his establishment now appears to be one 
 of the least embarrassing regarding him, if his relations and 
 former friends feel the sentiments which he supposes they do 
 respecting him. 
 
 "Your Lordship will observe the bitter remarks he made 
 as to my mode of treatment of him. I shall be extremely con- 
 cerned if I have misinterpreted, either in word or spirit, your 
 Lordship's instructions to me. If I have done so, it has been 
 wholly undesigned ; and, attacked as I have been by him, 
 though not, I think, with the same asperity now as in the first 
 instance, I owe it to myself to state what are my own con- 
 scious feelings on the occasion : that I have been myself most 
 unjustly and harshly treated by him in more than one instance ; 
 while from a sentiment of public duty, which has allowed no 
 private consideration whatever to interfere, I have abstained 
 from any possible act or expression which I thought could 
 give offense, and that my sins toward him have been solely 
 those of having executed my instructions, not in all cases 
 according to their strict letter, from which my predecessor had 
 suffered some not very material deviations, but tempering 
 every thing that was unavoidably harsh in them with as 
 much regard to his personal feelings and comforts as their 
 nature could possibly admit. If this has not been my prac- 
 tice, it has been at least the principle on which I have strove 
 
200 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEN. Chap. V. 
 
 to regulate myself; and if the object has not been attained, it 
 can have resulted only from defects in the manner. Your 
 Lordship will best judge if the irksomeness of his situation 
 admits in any case of being softened or ameliorated 
 
 " On the subject of any amelioration of his present position, 
 as to relief from internal restraints in the island, I can hardly 
 presume to offer your Lordship any suggestion. His principal 
 grievances are — 
 
 " lstly. That his limits for riding, unaccompanied by a 
 British officer, are too circumscribed. 
 
 " 2dly. That he can not communicate with persons on the 
 island without my intervention. 
 
 " 3dly. That he can not send home letters unopened. 
 
 " 4thly. That the officers and persons attached to him are 
 subject to the same restrictions as himself, and can not com- 
 municate with, or write notes to, persons on the island with- 
 out my leave. 
 
 " Sthly. The complaints against Longwood, his present 
 place of residence. 
 
 " On the first point, I may possibly be able to allow of some 
 variation in, rather than extension of, his present limits ; but 
 should your Lordship authorize me to give him any further 
 range during the day in the interior of the island, I should 
 deem it advisable that the instruction to such effect was 
 accompanied by an injunction to adopt additional precautions 
 during the night, as by the regulations established by Sir 
 George Cockburn, after a great deal of discussion between 
 them on the subject, the sentries are not mounted round his 
 house until nine o'clock in the night, and the interval between 
 dark and that hour is consequently a very anxious one. As 
 he sometimes walks about in his gardens after dark, and does 
 not dine till past eight, these have been the reasons to which 
 Sir George Cockburn yielded in not having the sentries posted 
 until nine. 
 
 " To the second cause of complaint, I am not aware he is 
 under any difficulty of communicating with whomever it is 
 proper to communicate with : I have never been rigid in pre- 
 venting access to him from proper persons. 
 
July, 1816. ALLEGED GRIEVANCES. 201 
 
 " On the third complaint your Lordship's judgment will hest 
 determine. 
 
 " The situation of the officers, as referred to in the fourth 
 article, is a very peculiar one. There is not one of them who 
 has not shown a disposition to elude the execution of the 
 estahlished regulations, and abuse the indulgences granted 
 them — but none more so than the one from whom I least 
 expected it, the Count Las Cases ; who, feeling his own 
 confinement here miserable and wretched, is known to be 
 constantly increasing the irritation of Bonaparte's mind by all 
 manner of complaints and misrepresentations, and has re- 
 cently had a quarrel with General Gourgaud on this very 
 ground. They are, besides, all at variance together, 1 and, I 
 feel almost assured, give Bonaparte himself more disquiet than 
 comfort. General Bertrand has requested he would not 
 charge him to write any more letters of complaint to me. 
 Generals Montholon and Gourgaud appear at present the 
 most in his good graces ; but this may be only temporary. 
 The greatest difficulty I have is in regard to my conduct with 
 the ladies of the establishment. Any restriction upon them is 
 affected to be considered as an offense against the delicacy and 
 respect due to their rank and sex ; while I have, at the same 
 time, incontestable proof that Bonaparte does not hesitate to 
 make them the instruments of all manner of communications 
 
 1 There can be no doubt as to the unhappy terms upon which the 
 French lived with each other at Longwood. Lieutenant (now Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel) Jackson, who resided there for some time with the orderly 
 officer, says, "The Court of Longwood, like the entourage of more 
 powerful sovereigns, was not free from jealousies, envy, and much un- 
 
 charitableness Generals Bertrand and Montholon were never 
 
 on friendly terms, while the latter and Gourgaud were at openly avowed 
 enmity ; and it is a fact that the two ladies, the Countesses Bertrand 
 and De Montholon, only interchanged formal calls perhaps once or 
 twice a year." {United Service Magazine, October, 1843, p. 265.) 
 These disagreements are also mentioned by Count Montholon (Recits, 
 vol. i. p. 305), and repeatedly by Count Las Cases in his Journal. Na- 
 poleon found much difficulty in preserving order among his followers, 
 who proceeded so far as to challenge each other. General Gourgaud's 
 situation was made so miserable by Count Montholon that he was 
 obliged to leave Longwood, and he returned to Europe in March, 1818, 
 as will be afterward detailed. 
 
202 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. V. 
 
 which the men themselves could not so conveniently meddle 
 with. 
 
 " The fifth and last subject of complaint I have fully ad- 
 verted to in the preceding letter ; and your Lordship will best 
 be able to determine upon it from its perusal. If any thing 
 could possibly reconcile him to this island, it is certainly hav- 
 ing a comfortable house and an agreeable country around it. 
 He may possibly give the preference hereafter to Longwood ; 
 but, otherwise, the place I have mentioned is best suited for 
 him. There is an advantage in a change to which I did not 
 before advert — that it might break any plans he might form 
 from a knowledge of the environs of his place of residence." 
 
 The proceedings of the Foreign Commissioners respecting 
 Bonaparte occasioned Sir Hudson Lowe much trouble and 
 embarrassment. They considered it to be their duty to see 
 Bonaparte himself, and he was determined not to grant them 
 an interview in their official capacity. 1 The Governor in con- 
 sequence was constantly applied to by them to interfere in 
 their behalf ; and he did use every effort in his power to facil- 
 itate to the Commissioners the means of seeing Bonaparte, 
 although the Convention merely said that they were to assure 
 themselves of his presence ; and Sir Hudson Lowe had no 
 instructions to bring about a personal interview. 
 
 The repugnance of Napoleon to receive them will appear 
 from the following letter of the Governor to Sir Henry Bun- 
 bury on the 29th of July : 
 
 " My dear Sir — Every step has been taken that depends 
 on me to counteract the effects of the plotting which you give 
 me reason to apprehend, by your letter of the 4th of May, is 
 going on at the Brazils for the attempted liberation of my pris- 
 oner; but it is by an additional number of small cruising ves- 
 sels, rather than by any other means, the projects of the per- 
 sons you mention are most likely to be defeated, and I believe 
 Sir Pulteney Malcolm writes to this effect. A vessel appear- 
 ing far to windward of the island could with difficulty be 
 
 1 The Russian Commissioner gave the least trouble. His instructions 
 did not require him to see Bonaparte. 
 
July, 1816. THE FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS. 203 
 
 reconnoitred by the small brigs which now cruise at each 
 extremity of it, and I really consider a small corvette well to 
 windward as essential to prevent the approach of any sus- 
 picious vessel. There is hardly any obstacle otherwise to 
 their coming in close to the shore during the night-time, send- 
 ing in a boat, and disappearing before the morning. Internal 
 precautions are of course taken to guard against this ; but the 
 most perfect one it appears to me is that which I have sug- 
 gested. I have transmitted Earl Bathurst a memorandum 
 of my last conference with Napoleon. He abused me, but 
 with much less asperity than before. His conversation 
 abounded with repetitions. I involuntarily fell back during 
 one or two pauses toward the door, when he renewed the 
 attack, sidled himself almost between me and the door, and 
 could not have done the thing more cunningly had he a 
 design to prevent my escaping from him. He never looked 
 me in the face ; and I had, therefore, for a long two hours 
 the opportunity of closely observing him. He will not, I be- 
 lieve, see the Commissioners. He says, not all the powers 
 in Europe shall compel him to receive them officially ; that 
 they may break open his doors if they will, and what then ? 
 
 He has no objection to see them privately, and 
 
 they are sick with their desire of seeing him; but I am not 
 much disposed to be an instrument for gratifying the wishes 
 of either party, except in the strictly official way. Sir Pul- 
 teney Malcolm has had very long conversations with Bona- 
 parte, and appears much in his good graces. 
 
 "I have, &c. H. Lowe." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 o'mEARa's LETTERS TO SIR THOMAS READE COMPLAINTS RE- 
 SPECTING PROVISIONS QUESTION OP REDUCTION OF EX- 
 PENSES AT LONGWOOD SIR HUDSON LOWE'S LAST INTER- 
 VIEW WITH NAPOLEON LETTER OF REMONSTRANCE FROM 
 
 COUNT MONTHOLON, AND COMMENTS BY THE GOVERNOR 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT OF PASSES TO LONG- 
 WOOD SIGNED BY COTOIT BERTRAND. 
 
 We now turn to O'Meara's correspondence ; and if we com- 
 pare his letters to Sir Thomas Reade, written during this 
 month, with the Journal which he afterward published, and 
 which professes to be a faithful record of events and conver- 
 sations written down at the time they occurred, we shall 
 want little further proof of the baseness and dishonesty of 
 that work. 
 
 A horse belonging to him having fallen ill, he applied for 
 permission to purchase one of the mules which had arrived 
 for the East India Company, and he thus wrote on the 8th 
 of July : 
 
 "Dear Sir Thomas — After I had the pleasure of hearing 
 from you yesterday the very kind manner in which Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe was pleased to consider and approve of my applica- 
 tion, and his very obliging offer of one of his own horses in the 
 interim, I met Captain Mansel, and, in the course of conver- 
 sation, asked him if there was a superabundance of mules 
 for the service, and was answered that one might be spared 
 very well, without the least injury to the public service, as 
 there were more than sufficient for the work required. I told 
 Bonaparte yesterday about a peace having been effected be- 
 tween the Barbary powers and all the states of Europe by 
 Lord Exmouth's active measures, except the Pope's States 
 and those of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had both 
 refused the mediation of the English. He said that it ought 
 
July. 1816. O'MEARA'S LETTERS. 205 
 
 to have been done long ago ; that it was a disgrace to the 
 powers of Europe, especially to the English, to have allowed 
 such contemptible bands of pirates to roam about to obstruct 
 the commerce of the world, who might have been so easily 
 crushed by England and France ; but, continued he, there 
 was some political reason for it. He said he could not believe 
 that the Pope and Grand Duke could have refused the medi- 
 ation of England — that men could have been so weak ; it. 
 must have been some other political reason. He also said 
 that it was a humiliation to allow any ransom to be paid for 
 the prisoners ; but he acknowledged that a great service had 
 been rendered to the world and to humanity if the Barbarians 
 fulfilled the treaty. He then asked, 'What are those coglioni 
 the Commissioners doing in the town ?' Asked about Ma- 
 dame Stiirmer. I said that she was, I believed, the hand- 
 somest, oroweof the handsomest women in the island. 'What,' 
 said he, ' is she handsomer than Lady Lowe ?' He asked about 
 Montchenu, and repeated, ' Poor fool ! poor old fool I' 1 and 
 'poor fool!' two or three times, with an air. of contempt. 
 ' And that coglianaccio his aid-de-camp, what does he do V 
 I said I believed he walked up and down the streets with his 
 master. 'Ah! poor fool,' said he, laughing ; and afterward, 
 ' Poor imbecile lacquey !' 2 
 
 " Somebody told Madame Bertrand (I believe Piontkowski) 
 that nobody was to go near her without a pass ; that she was 
 precisely in the same way as those at Longwood ; that none 
 of the servants, &c, would be allowed to enter the house — 
 which put her in a grievous taking for some time, until it 
 was explained to her how matters really were. She said 
 also that Bonaparte had ordered a very violent letter to be 
 written yesterday to Sir Hudson by Montholon, accusing him 
 of having no heart, &c. &c. ; and that one of a similar na- 
 ture, of five pages, had been ordered to be written by Gour- 
 gaud, but that her husband had torn it. 3 She said she did 
 
 1 " Povero coglione, povero vecchio coglione." 
 - "Ah ! povero minchione," " Ragazzaccio, povero imbecile." 
 3 Count Bertrand's efforts to prevent Napoleon from sending irritating 
 letters to the Governor are frequently mentioned by Count Montholon 
 
206 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 not know whether Morttholon had put Bonaparte's expressions 
 in the letter, but that they were very violent. She also says 
 that De Las Cases is the principal person who sets him so 
 much against Sir Hudson ; that he says the English Govern- 
 ment have sent two sharks out here to devour them — one Sir 
 George Cockburn, and the other Sir Hudson. 
 
 " I remain, &c. Barry E. O'Meara. 
 
 " De Las Cases himself told me that, if a sealed letter could 
 be sent, they would prefer a complaint against Sir Hudson to 
 the Prince Regent !" 
 
 The following letter is especially deserving of attention, 
 and the passages here marked in italics, while they stamp 
 O'Meara's book with falsehood, furnish the true explanation 
 of the calumnies of which Sir Hudson Lowe was the object : 
 
 "Longwood, July 10th, 1816. 
 
 Dear Sir Thomas. — You will oblige me by sending up to 
 me the paper you showed me last Monday, containing Ber- 
 trand's letter, which he is very anxious to see, notwithstand- 
 ing being informed that it would be very hurtful to his feel- 
 ings. I understand from Madame that they have it in con- 
 templation here to forward a letter of complaint against Sir 
 Hudson to England (by what channel I did not understand) , 
 containing, no doubt, divers untruths, and praying he may 
 be recalled. You had better give Sir Hudson a hint about it, 
 but let it be between you and him only ; as, though I have 
 some reason to think that some plot is hatching, I am not 
 quite sure of it, and any premature disclosure of it would not 
 be the thing. I believe I was pretty right in the information 
 I gave you about Montchenu's letter. Montholon has been 
 very busy finding out the price of every article used in the 
 house, which he carefully committed to paper. He keeps a 
 register of every article in the eating and drinking way which 
 arrives. 
 
 " He has been making great complaints to-day, and, I am 
 sorry to say, with reason. He made an agreement with Cole 
 or Fowler to try if fifty pounds of beef daily would do, with a 
 whole sheep and nine fowls. Yesterday 100 lbs. of beef came 
 
July, 1816. O'MEARA'S LETTERS. 207 
 
 up, and only three fowls about the size of crows ; to-day, 
 three quarters of mutton, and five fowls of the same magni- 
 tude nearly, and no beef; and was it not for the turtle sent 
 up by the Admiral, and a pig shot yesterday by General 
 Gourgaud (which was rooting up the garden, and for which 
 he paid afterward four pounds), they would not have enough 
 to eat.' Since the day you were up here in the tent, and had 
 some conversation with Montholon, they have not had either 
 Champagne or vin de Grave, and Montholon says that Bona- 
 parte has frequently asked for both. They are sufficiently 
 malignant to impute all these things to the Governor, instead 
 of setting them doivn as being owing to the neglect or care- 
 lessness of some of Balcombe's people. Every little circum- 
 stance is carried directly to Bonaparte, ivith every aggrava- 
 tion that malignity and falsehood can suggest to evil-dis- 
 posed and cankered minds. 
 
 " You recollect that you told me that they might purchase 
 fowls, and send the bills to Balcombe to be paid. Yesterday 
 that was done, and payment refused, and the memorandum, 
 containing a bill for fowls, fish, eggs, vegetables, and some 
 other articles, sent back unpaid, and Montholon says perhaps 
 Balcombe has not been ordered to pay them, officially, with- 
 out being looked at. All these circumstances are construed 
 by them into insults personally directed to them. Poppleton 
 would have gone over to Sir Hudson to represent matters to 
 him, as it was too long for a letter. I believe he will go to- 
 morrow. I remain, &c. Barry E. O'Meara. 
 
 " P.S. Montholon ha3 been at me two or three times about 
 the library. He says they are obliged to put the dishes on 
 the floor in the dining-room, as the tables have been taken 
 away in order to put the books on them." 
 
 On the 12th he wrote among immaterial gossip — 
 " Madame Bertrand told me yesterday that De Las Cases 
 had said ' that the Emperor was his god ! — the object of his 
 veneration and adoration !' This she desired me not to men- 
 tion. I forgot to tell it to Sir Hudson yesterday : I dare say 
 it will make him smile." 
 
208 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 The next letter might make the reader " smile," were he 
 not likely to be offended with its flippancy, and still more 
 with its indecency, if it were proper to print the whole. This 
 however is impossible. 
 
 " Longwood, July 24, 1816. 
 
 " My dear. Sir Thomas — Montholon has at last finally 
 evacuated his rooms, and preparations are making in order to 
 convert the large apartment into a library, and the two small 
 ones destined for Piontkowski, for which purpose a window is 
 breaking out to windward of the closet, and the door of com- 
 munication between it and the large room is to be built up. 
 Piontkowski's present room is to be made an office of for the 
 confectionary, as the smoke of the present one destroys the 
 furniture in the house. Great dissensions and civil commo- 
 tions between De Las Cases and Gourgaud (the latter backed 
 by Montholon) about the rooms. Both applied to Bonaparte 
 in urgent terms to get them, but Nap. very wisely settled it 
 like Pope Leo, by taking them himself. Montholon can not 
 conceal his joy at the failure of De Las Cases, and for the 
 present is triumphant ; ' but the Jesuit ever worketh under- 
 hand, speaketh little and mischievously, and at last will make 
 his way like a mouse in a cheese.' 1 They wish to have the 
 other two small libraries sent up as soon as possible in order 
 to finally arrange the library-room ; and I have been request- 
 ed to apply to you for them, as the room will be ready to 
 receive them to-morrow. A lieutenant and party of seamen 
 are busy in putting up the covering of the arbor in the gar- 
 den, but they will require, I fancy, about 400 yards more of 
 canvas. 
 
 " Napoleon yesterday appeared very melancholy and scarce- 
 ly said a word. He afterward went into Montholon's new 
 rooms, where he remained from six until a quarter past eight. 
 This will make Madame Bertrand as jealous as the deuce, 
 though I believe the real reason of it is that he has no other 
 room to sit in until the chimney is finished or the library put 
 to rights. Madame Montholon, however, exults much at the 
 
 1 " Ma il Gesuito sempre travaglia travaglia eotto mano, parla poco 
 e male, ed alia fine riuscira come topo nel formaggio." 
 
July, 1816. SUPPLY OF PROVISIONS. 209 
 
 favor shown unto her, and actually puttcth on two extra 
 goiv?is daily 1 in consequence thereof. " 
 
 The letter concludes with a libelous remark about Madame 
 Montholon, and with an indelicate anecdote, which O'Meara 
 says he had heard from Madame Bertrand, and requests that 
 it may not be made known, "unless to the select, as Madame 
 hears every thing." 
 
 On the 27th of July he wrote again to Sir Thomas Reade : 
 
 " No news here. Napoleon told me yesterday that the 
 Duke of Fitzjames was a disgrace to human nature. I told 
 him about old Montchenu wanting to embrace Mrs. Martin : 
 I never saw him laugh so much before. He said he sup- 
 posed . . . ." 
 
 The communications of Captain Poppleton, the orderly offi- 
 cer at Longwood, are material, not only on account of the 
 information they contain, but because he afterward came for- 
 ward as one of the supporters of O'Meara when Sir Hudson 
 Lowe instituted criminal proceedings against the latter. 
 
 It was one of the charges brought against the British Gov- 
 ernment, and one of the most frequent complaints at Long- 
 wood, that the provisions were bad in quality ; and there 
 seems at times to have been good ground for finding fault. 
 But neither the Government nor Sir Hudson Lowe was to be 
 blamed for the occasional neglect or inability of the purveyor 
 to provide what was so difficult to procure in the island, an 
 abundant supply of good meat. On the 5th of July Captain 
 Poppleton, the orderly officer, wrote to the Governor : 
 
 " The beef sent to Longwood yesterday was not eatable ; 
 it was returned ; the mutton sent was likewise returned. I 
 wrote a letter to the person who has contracted to serve Long- 
 wood with beef, and I made a signal to the purveyors, but no 
 meat arrived ; they purchased a number of fowls in lieu. I 
 have always endeavored to remedy or redress any complaints 
 of the foreigners at Longwood ; and when the above complaint 
 was made, I endeavored to remedy it without reference to 
 
 1 The passage in italics is underlined in the original. 
 
210 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. • Chap. VI. 
 
 yourself, but as my efforts were useless, I mention the circum- 
 stance to you, conceiving that my name may hereafter be 
 brought into question as refusing to listen to their grievances ; 
 and knowing well that the smallest opening for a complaint 
 would be eagerly laid hold of." * 
 
 Some circumstances are said to have occurred at Longwood 
 in July of which no mention is made in Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 papers. On the 4th and 25th Sir Pulteney Malcolm had in- 
 terviews with Napoleon, 2 and, according to Count Montholon, 
 told him that during the battle of Waterloo the Duke of Wel- 
 lington, thinking the day lost, and that he was fighting no 
 longer for victory, but was making a last effort to secure an 
 honorable retreat, sent orders to him (Sir Pulteney Malcolm) 
 to prepare every thing for the re-embarkation of the English 
 army, when the Prussians appeared on his left and decided 
 the battle ! The most remarkable event, however, was the 
 determination which Santini, one of Bonaparte's servants, is 
 represented to have expressed of shooting Sir Hudson Lowe in 
 revenge for his conduct toward the ex-Emperor. 3 
 
 1 The subjoined note from the person who supplied Longwood with 
 beef shows that he thought the French so " very difficult to please" 
 that he gave up the contract : 
 
 " Prospect Hall, July 20, 1816. 
 
 " Sir — I am sorry that any complaint should be made against me 
 about the beef. General Montholon is very difficult to please ; there- 
 fore, to prevent any further complaint, shall from this day decline kill- 
 ing any more for General Bonaparte. They have beef for to-day and 
 to-morrow. — I am, sir, your obedient, humble servant, J. Legg." 
 
 And the following note from Major Gorrequer shows the attention 
 paid to complaints respecting the quality of provisions : 
 
 "Plantation House, August 4, 1816. 
 
 " Major Gorrequer's compliments to Mr. Balcombe, and begs he will 
 make the best arrangements he can to supply the establishment at 
 Longwood with vegetables of the best quality and upon the most eco- 
 nomical plan. As those which were heretofore furnished from town 
 were represented by General de Montholon as unfit to be served up at 
 table, it will be necessary Mr. Balcombe would be good enough to give 
 directions that those which are hereafter supplied should be of a kind 
 not to give cause for complaint." 
 
 5 Voice, vol. i. p. 69 ; R'ecits, vol. i. pp. 319, 20 ; Journal, Aug. 25, 1816. 
 
 s Voice, vol. ii. p. 390 ; Recils, vol. i. p. 406. 
 
July, 1816. LONGWOOD EXPENSES. 211 
 
 As it became necessary, in pursuance of his instructions, 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe should make some reductions in the 
 expense of the establishment at Longwood, he considered it 
 desirable to ascertain Bonaparte's wishes on the subject. He 
 accordingly called at Longwood on the 16th of August, and 
 was told that Napoleon was in his bath ; but on mentioning 
 the object of his visit, Count Montholon communicated it to 
 Napoleon, and he referred Sir Hudson Lowe to Count Ber- 
 trand. Failing to find Count Bertrand at home, Sir Hudson 
 called upon hirn again the next day, and told him that he had, 
 in consequence of the arrangement which had taken place 
 with the view of curtailing the expenses of the establishment, 
 been able to reduce them in a certain degree ; but that, not- 
 withstanding, he could not bring them down to any thing like 
 the sum fixed upon by Government — viz., £8000 per annum. 
 He said that Ministers had, probably, when this sum was fixed 
 on, supposed that some of the officers and attendants might 
 have availed themselves of the offer made to them upon his 
 arrival of returning to Europe, and had not calculated upon 
 the number of which the establishment was still composed ; 
 at the same time he added that he doubted whether the 
 knowledge of this circumstance would make any difference 
 in regard to the sum fixed by Government. He then handed 
 to Count Bertrand a statement which he had caused to be 
 prepared. What follows is taken from Major Gorrequer's 
 minutes of the interview. 
 
 " General Bertrand then looked over the statement and 
 said, ' Very well ; I will speak to the Emperor about it, and 
 will tell him what you have just said to me ;' and in a tone 
 and manner indicative of much warmth and resentment he 
 began making remarks upon the restrictions placed on Gene- 
 ral Bonaparte respecting his correspondence. ' If the Em- 
 peror could make it known in Europe that the English Gov- 
 ernment could not afford to defray the expenses of his house 
 at St. Helena, he would probably find resources there (this 
 appeared to be said as an ironical reflection on Government) ; 
 but as all intercourse has been interdicted by prohibiting him 
 
212 CArTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 from sending or receiving any but open letters, it is impossible 
 he can communicate on his personal affairs with those to 
 whom he has confided them.' He was proceeding in a train 
 of reflections on this point with great acrimony, when the 
 Governor interrupted it by saying, ' Sir, I did not come here 
 to enter into these details ; I have had a conversation on the 
 subject of the expenses in question with General Bonaparte 
 himself, as also with Count Montholon, and neither the one 
 nor the other has made any difficulty about the mode of ob- 
 taining funds ; on the contrary, General Montholon, who has 
 occupied himself a great deal about the expenses of the house, 
 and who has greatly assisted me in diminishing them, has 
 repeatedly signified to me that General Bonaparte wished me 
 to speak to him frankly on the subject.' General Bertrand 
 upon this immediately handed back the statement he had 
 received from the Governor, saying, in an intemperate manner, 
 ' Very well ; you can give this paper to Count Montholon. 
 As for me, Monsieur le Gouverneur, I desire to have as little 
 communication with you as possible, either personally or in 
 writing.' The Governor immediately left his chair and quit- 
 ted the room, saying, ' And I can assure you, Sir, that wish 
 is quite reciprocal on my part.' l 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe proceeded immediately to Longwood to 
 acquaint Bonaparte with the manner in which he had been 
 treated by Count Bertrand ; but, being again told that Napo- 
 leon was in his bath (which was his usual excuse when he 
 was unwilling to see any one), he wrote to Count Montholon 
 a letter on the 17th, in which he said — 
 
 " The instructions I have received from the British Govern- 
 ment direct me to limit the expenditure of General Bonaparte's 
 establishment to £8000 per annum : they give me liberty at 
 the same time to admit of any further expense being incurred, 
 which he may require, as to table and so forth, beyond what 
 this sum would cover, provided he furnishes the funds where- 
 by the surplus charges might be defrayed. I am now there- 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer has given, in his minutes, the conversation in 
 French, as it was carried on in that language. 
 
Aug. 1816. GOVERNOR'S LAST INTERVIEW. 213 
 
 fore under the necessity of requesting you would make known 
 to him the impossibility I am under of bringing the expenses 
 of his household, on its present establishment in point of 
 numbers, within the limits prescribed, unless I make such a 
 reduction under several heads as might materially abridge 
 the conveniences which the persons around him now enjoy ; 
 and having been already very frankly informed by him as 
 well as by yourself that he has at his disposition, in vari- 
 ous' parts of Europe, means whereby the extra, or. even the 
 whole, expense may be defrayed, I beg leave to request being 
 informed, previous to attempting any further considerable re- 
 duction, which might prove inconvenient to him or to the per- 
 sons of his suite, if he is content such an attempt should be 
 made, or if he is willing to place at my command sufficient 
 funds to meet the extra charges which must otherwise be 
 unavoidably incurred." 1 
 
 On Sunday the 18th of August Sir Hudson Lowe had a 
 fifth and last interview with Bonaparte, and his account of 
 what took place is of great interest : 2 
 
 1 This letter is printed by O'Meara in the Appendix to his work, 
 and is described by him (Voice, vol. i. p. 92) as "making a demand of 
 £12,000 a year for the maintenance of Napoleon and suite." Two 
 statements accompanied this letter — the one an estimate by Mr. Ibbet- 
 son, the head of the Commissariat department, which amounted to 
 £19,152 2s. 7d, and the other by Major Gorrequer, which amounted to 
 £19,450 as the sum requisite for the yearly table expenses. 
 
 2 Sir Pulteney Malcolm was present at this conversation, and "on 
 coming away," says Sir Hudson Lowe, "the Admiral complimented me 
 on the particular clearness of my first statement to him [Bonaparte] 
 and my replies ; and, on my asking him if I had said too much to him, 
 he remarked, — ' You precisely said what I might have done, and no 
 more.' " Sir Pulteney Malcolm afterward wrote the following note to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe : 
 
 " Briars, August 30"; 
 "My dear Sir — In my letter to Lord Melville I have said that I 
 have read your statement to Lord Bathurst of the interview that we 
 had with Bonaparte on the 17th instant, and that your account of the 
 conversation is perfectly correct. My imperfect knowledge of the 
 French language prevents me from giving so exact an account of the 
 various expressions. I therefore referred Lord Melville to Lord Bathurst 
 for the details, which you had given in so clear and correct a manner 
 that I could vouch for every one of them. I have, &c, 
 
 " Pulteney Malcolm." 
 
214 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 " Having called at Longwood in company with Sir Pulteney 
 Malcolm, we found General Bonaparte was walking in his 
 garden. He went off immediately as he saw us ; but having 
 inquired for Count Montholon, and sent a message by him to 
 say we were there, Bonaparte returned to the garden, and 
 the Admiral and myself joined him. He spoke solely to the 
 Admiral, in which I made no attempt to interrupt him, but, 
 profiting by the first interval of silence, I commenced and ad- 
 dressed him as follows : — That I was sorry to be under the 
 necessity of saying any thing which tended to incommode him, 
 but I was placed under such peculiar circumstances, from the 
 conduct toward me of General Bertrand, that it became a 
 matter of indispensable necessity I should make known the 
 details of it to him, and endeavor to establish some rule for 
 my future communications in regard to his affairs. He was 
 aware of the instructions I had received from my own Govern- 
 ment in regard to the expenses of his establishment." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe related to him what had occurred between 
 Counts Montholon and Bertrand on the subject, and described 
 Count Bertrand's rude demeanor and offensive expressions. 
 He then observed to Napoleon — 
 
 " It was obvious, after this, I could have no further commu- 
 nication with General Bertrand, and I thought it proper to 
 call and acquaint him of it ; that, whatever might have been 
 General Bertrand's personal feelings toward me, I called upon 
 him by the desire of the person whom he acknowledged as 
 his Emperor to speak of his business ; that it was a failure 
 of respect to him as well as to me ; that I wished in conse- 
 quence to learn with whom it was his desire I should in 
 future communicate on questions of such nature in regard in 
 his affairs. General Bonaparte made no reply for so consid- 
 erable a space of time that I thought he did not mean to 
 speak at all ; but, finally, in a hollow, angry tone of voice, 
 "ommenced a string of remarks to the following purport, 
 addressing himself entirely to the Admiral : 
 
 " ' General Bertrand is a man who has commanded armies, 
 and he treats him as if he were a corporal ; he is a man well 
 
Aug. 1816. GOVERNOR'S LAST INTERVIEW. 215 
 
 known throughout Europe, and he (the Governor) had no right 
 to insult him. He did perfectly right in speaking about the 
 prohibition against sending letters, and was justified in engag- 
 ing in a discussion on that subject. He (Sir Hudson Lowe) 
 treats us all as if we were deserters from the Royal Corsican or 
 some Italian regiment ; he has insulted Marshal Bertrand, and 
 he deserved what the Marshal said to him.' I repeated what 
 I had said in a former conversation — that General Bertrand 
 had first insulted me ; that in the conversation which had 
 passed nothing could be more temperate and moderate than 
 my language to him, as could be testified by my military 
 secretary, who was present at the interview ; that I had said 
 nothing which, in tone or manner, could justify the reply he 
 gave to me. He recommenced his reproaches of my having 
 written insulting letters to General Bertrand, and provoked 
 him to say to me what he did. I again referred to his having 
 first written an insulting one to me ; that he had said I ren- 
 dered his (Bonaparte's) situation 'affreuse;' 1 had accused me 
 of'abus de pouvoir et injustice.' I then added: 'I am a 
 subject of a free government. Every kind of despotism and 
 tyranny I hold in abhorrence, and I will repel every accusa- 
 tion of my conduct in this respect as a calumny against him 
 whom it is impossible to attack with the arms of truth.' He 
 stopped a little on my making this observation, but soon re- 
 sumed, addressing himself to the Admiral, and with language 
 more bitter than before : ' There are two kinds of people,' he 
 said, ' employed by Governments — those whom they honor, 
 and those whom they dishonor ; he is one of the latter ; the 
 situation they have given him is that of an executioner.' I 
 answered , ' I perfectly understand this kind of manoeuvre — 
 endeavor to brand with infamy, if one can not attack with 
 other arms. I am perfectly indifferent to all this. I did not 
 seek my present employment ; but, it being offered to me, I 
 considered it a sacred duty to accept it.' — ' Then,' said he, 'if 
 the order were given you to assassinate me, you would accept 
 it?' — ■ No, sir.' He again proceeded (to the Admiral), and 
 
 1 Vide p. 180, ante. 
 
216 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 said I had rendered his situation forty times worse than it was 
 before my arrival ; that, though he had some disputes with 
 Sir George Coekburn, he always treated him in a different 
 manner ; that they were content with each other, but that I 
 did not know how to conduct myself toward men of honor ; 
 that I had put General Bertrand under arrest in his own 
 house ; and had taken away from him the permission to give 
 passes to Longwood. The Admiral said it was Sir George 
 Coekburn who had done this. Bonaparte replied, ' No, sir ; 
 he told you so' (alluding to me), ' but it is not true.' The 
 Admiral again told him it was not me, but Sir George Cock- 
 burn, had told him so. Bonaparte then said he could not 
 even write a billet de galanterie to my Lady Malcolm with- 
 out my seeing it ; that he could not now have a woman come 
 to see him without my permission ; and that he could not see 
 the Lieutenant-Colonel and the officers of the 53d. I inter- 
 rupted him here by saying he had refused to see the Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel and the officers of the 66th regiment. If they 
 wanted to see him, he answered, why did they not apply 'to 
 the ' Grand Marechal ?' I had mentioned it to General Bert- 
 rand, I observed. ' But the Lieutenant-Colonel ought to have 
 spoken to him, and not to you.' He again broke out into 
 invectives on my mode of treatment ; said I had no feeling ; 
 that the soldiers of the 53d looked upon him with compassion, 
 and wept (' pleuraient') when they passed him. Continuing, 
 he said to the Admiral, ' He kept back a book which had been 
 sent me by a Member of Parliament, and then boasted of it.' 
 ' How boasted of it ?' I exclaimed, struck with the falsehood 
 of the assertion. ' Yes, sir' (interrupting me), ' you boasted 
 of it to the Governor of the island of Bourbon ;' he told me 
 so. You took hold of him' (he said) ' on his arrival here, and 
 
 1 See p. 171. Colonel Keating, who is here alluded to, denied in the 
 strongest terms that he had made any such communication to Napoleon. 
 It was one of O'Meara's accusations against Sir Hudson Lowe that he 
 reported this affair to Earl Bathurst unknown to Colonel Keating (Ex- 
 position, p. 147). This is untrue. In a dispatch to Lord Bathurst, 
 dated August 29, 1816, Sir H. Lowe, speaking of that officer, said, "I 
 inclose a letter to inform him of what Bonaparte said." 
 
Adg. 1816. GOVERNOR'S LAST INTERVIEW. 217 
 
 made him believe that you were on the best footing with us 
 all, and treated us all particularly well ; but this was not 
 true.' He was proceeding with a further repetition of what 
 had passed between Colonel Keating and him, when the Ad- 
 miral interrupted him with a defense of my not having sent 
 the book to him ; said a book with such an inscription on it 
 I could not send, and that I ought not to have been made the 
 instrument of delivering it to him. The Admiral added, ' Col- 
 onel Keating was wrong in mentioning such a thing to him.' 
 ' Yes,' he said, ' in one to boast of it, and the other to repeat 
 it.' He then remarked that I had sent letters to him with 
 the title of Emperor. ' Yes,' replied I, ' but they came from 
 the Secretary of State's office, and were from your own rela- 
 tions or former subjects, and not from English persons. I am 
 personally acquainted with the gentleman who sent the book ; 
 he left it to my choice to send it or not, and I am certain he 
 will fully approve of what I did in not sending it.' He paused 
 at this, and dropped the topic. He again addressed himself 
 to the Admiral ; accused me of having published the contents 
 of a letter he had received from his mother. The Admiral 
 defended me ; said he knew I never published the contents of 
 any private letters received from his family. I replied, it 
 was not me that had done so ; it must have been his own 
 people that did it ; that every thing was misrepresented to 
 him. ' You have bad people about you, sir,' 1 I said. The 
 Admiral shortly afterward repeated a similar remark, saying, 
 'You have bad people around you.' 2 He appeared to me 
 struck at both our observations in this respect, and made no 
 attempt to reply, but went on again in his strain of invective, 
 general and personal ; told me, as he had done once before, 
 ' You are a Lieutenant-General, but you perform your duty as 
 if you were a sentinel ; there is no dealing with you ; you are 
 a most intractable man. If you are afraid that I should 
 escape, why do you not bind me V I answered, I merely ex- 
 ecuted my instructions ; that, if my conduct was disapproved 
 
 1 " Vous etes mal envirvnne, Monsieur." 
 
 2 "Vous Hes mal entoure." 
 Vol. I.— K 
 
218 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 of, I might be readily removed. ' Your instructions are the 
 same as Sir George Cockburn's,' he replied ; ' he told me they 
 were the same.' He said he was to be treated as a prisoner 
 of war ; that the Ministers had no right to treat him in any 
 other way than as prescribed by the Act of Parliament ; that 
 the nation was disposed to treat him well, but Ministers acted 
 otherwise ; accused me of being a mere instrument of the 
 blind hatred of Lord Bathurst. I remarked, ' Lord Bathurst, 
 sir, does not know what blind hatred (haine aveugle) is.' He 
 talked about our calling him General ; said he was ' Em- 
 pereur ;' that, when England and Europe should be no more, 
 and no such name known as Lord Bathurst, he would still be 
 Emperor. He told me he always went out of the way to 
 avoid me, and had twice pretended to be in the bath that he 
 might not see me. ' You want money ; I have none, except 
 in the hands of my friends ; but I can not send my letters.' 
 He attacked me about the note which had been sent back to 
 Count Bertrand, saying, ' You had no right to put him under 
 arrest ; you never commanded armies ; you were nothing but 
 the scribe of an Etat-Major. I had imagined I should be well 
 among the English, but you are not an Englishman.' He 
 was continuing in this strain, when I interrupted him with 
 saying, ' You make me smile, sir.' ' How smile, sir ?' he re- 
 plied, at the same time turning round with surprise at the 
 remark, and, looking at me, added, ' I say what I think.' 
 ' Yes, sir,' I answered, with a tone indicative of the sentiment 
 I felt, and looking at him, ' you force me to smile ; your mis- 
 conception of my character and the rudeness of your manners 
 excite my pity. I wish you good-day ;' and I left him (ev- 
 idently a good deal embarrassed) without any other salutation. 
 " The Admiral quitted him immediately afterward with a 
 salute of the hat." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe afterward made the following additions 
 to and remarks upon, this conversation : 
 
 " In the course of the conversation he said — ' My body is in 
 your power, but my soul is free ;' that I treated him like a 
 Botany-Bay convict — 'Europe shall know of it.' I replied, 
 
Aug. 1816. GOVERNOR'S LAST INTERVIEW. 219 
 
 ' I shall be well pleased that every thing relating to my con- 
 duet be published, not only in the English newspapers, but in 
 those of the Continent.' During the long course of his invec- 
 tives against me, which were principally addressed to the Ad- 
 miral, he was frequently interrupted by him with the observa- 
 tion that he was misinformed altogether about my proceed- 
 ings ; that I desired nothing more than to render his situation 
 as agreeable as I could; that he must be mal entoure, &c. 
 But truth was not the object : to lower me in the Admiral's 
 opinion, and to make an invidious distinction between us, was 
 the principal feature in his attack. The day after, he re- 
 peated several of the expressions he had used to me, without 
 mentioning one of mine in reply ; and expressed particular 
 pleasure at his having abused me (as he said) before the Ad- 
 miral. Count Las Cases has since informed a naval officer' 
 that the Emperor was very sorry he had lost his temper so 
 much in his last interview with the Governor ; that he had 
 said that during the whole time he was on the throne of 
 France he never was in such a passion, nor ever made use 
 of such language to any one before ; and that he conceived 
 he had lowered himself by it. 
 
 " It will appear singular that the invectives poured forth 
 so liberally by Napoleon Bonaparte should be so wholly un- 
 supported by facts. His reproaches, which have been more 
 than once repeated, that I execute my duty as a ' consigne,' 
 would lead naturally to the supposition that I was troublesome 
 to him by my personal observations and watchings of him, or 
 by some teasing minutice of military details about his house 
 and person. Nothing, however, can be more the reverse : I 
 never go near Longwood except I have real business there, or 
 on a visit of duty (about twice a week) to see how the repairs 
 are going on, and that all is right. On these occasions 1 
 never go near him, unless I have something particular to com- 
 municate. The observation of his movements during the day- 
 time rests with the cordon of piquets, and during the night 
 the security of his person is guarded by sentries around his 
 
 1 Lieutenant Louis of the Northumberland. 
 
220 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 house. This arrangement subsisted before ray arrival, and I 
 have made no alteration in it. 
 
 " The minutia, therefore, of which he complains must be 
 of the following nature : 
 
 " lstly. My having stopped a sealed note which was going 
 from Madame Bertrand to the Marquis de Montchenu before 
 Bonaparte had consented to receive the latter. 1 I can not 
 consider rny having checked in the bud the first attempt at 
 indirect communication between the persons of General Bona- 
 parte's household and the Commissioners as in any respect be- 
 neath my attention. It was followed up, therefore, by my 
 letter to Count Bertrand, prohibiting all interchange of sealed 
 notes in the island ; for I could not permit an interchange of 
 them between the officers of General Bonaparte's suite and 
 the inhabitants, and make an exception against the Commis- 
 sioners. Sir George Cockburn, I believe, never warranted 
 any exchange of notes, even with the inhabitants ; and if any 
 such passed, it was the result more of its being considered 
 unimportant than as being authorized. 
 
 " 2dly. Another point was my prevention of Count Ber- 
 trand's granting passes. This subject is discussed in a sepa- 
 rate letter. If Count Bertrand could grant passes without 
 my permission, there is no mischief or improper communica- 
 tion that might not have resulted. 
 
 " 3dly. Preventing the book being sent to him with the 
 inscription ' Imperatori Napoleon.' 2 This is left entirely to 
 superior judgment. 
 
 "4thly. Another point which had been frequently spoken 
 of before was my having ordered away a Persian who had 
 been engaged at Longwood as a servant by Count Montholon. 3 
 I saw this man walking about at Longwood in an Eastern 
 dress. Knowing he was there without my permission, I de- 
 sired my orderly dragoon to take him to the guard at the en- 
 trance of the grounds. On questioning him, he told me he 
 had obtained permission by a pass from Count Bertrand, and 
 he had engaged himself as servant to Count Montholon. I 
 
 1 Vide p. 176 , ante. - Vide p. 170, ante. 3 Vide p. 160, ante. 
 
Aug. 1816. ALLEGED GRIEVANCES. 221 
 
 immediately sent to the latter to inform him that this man 
 (whom I had particular reason for not suffering to stay) could 
 not remain, but that I would assist him in getting another 
 servant. The hire of servants without my permission was a 
 thing attempted to he established, and this put a stop to it. 
 
 " 5thly. Another cause of complaint is that of my having 
 neglected to send a letter immediately to Count Las Cases 
 which. I had received by a private hand. The letter was 
 sent to him, though, in compliance with my instructions, I 
 ought not perhaps to have done so ; but because it was not 
 sent as soon as received, a clamor was raised upon it. 
 
 " I have thus related every particular which, to my knowl- 
 edge, has occurred, to constitute what General Bonaparte calls 
 executing my duty as a ' consigne ;' but it is quite obvious 
 that every effort to conciliate regard and attention to him, or 
 to procure him any possible resource this island can afford, 
 must prove quite abortive, unless it squares with his views of 
 obtaining a greater degree of personal liberty, or a greater 
 freedom of correspondence and communication, both external 
 as well as internal. These are, besides, the two points of my 
 instructions to which the most unremitted care is required to 
 be paid." 
 
 It is surely impossible to read this statement and not sym- 
 pathize with the insulted Governor. There are limits to for- 
 bearance ; and Bonaparte deserved a severer rebuke than he 
 received. To his credit, however, it must be mentioned, that 
 on this, as on a former occasion, 1 he repented of his violent 
 expressions and demeanor. Count Las Cases says in his 
 printed Journal 2 — 
 
 " The Emperor admitted that he had during this conver- 
 sation seriously and repeatedly offended Sir Hudson Lowe ; 
 and he also did him the justice to acknowledge that Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe had never precisely shown any want of respect ; 3 
 
 1 Vide p. 159, ante. s Under date Aug. 18, 1816. 
 
 3 " Fort maltraite et souvent Sir Hudson Lowe ; et il lui rendait la 
 justice d'avouer encore que Sir Hudson Lowe ne lui avait jamais pre- 
 cisement manque." 
 
222 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 he had contented himself with muttering, between his teeth, 
 sentences which were not audible. He once saidthat he had 
 solicited his recall ; and the Emperor observed that it was 
 the most agreeable word he could possibly hear. He also 
 said that we endeavored to blacken his character in Europe, 
 but that our conduct, in that respect, was a matter of indif- 
 ference to him. ' The only failure, perhaps,' said the Em- 
 peror, ' on the part of the Governor, and which was trifling, 
 compared with the treatment he had received, was the ab- 
 rupt way in which he retired, while the Admiral withdrew 
 slowly and with numerous salutations.' The Em- 
 peror remarked that, after all, he had to reproach himself 
 with that scene. ' I must receive this officer no more ! he 
 puts me in a passion ; it is beneath my dignity ; expressions 
 escape me which would have been unpardonable at the Tuil- 
 eries ; if they can at all be excused here, it is because I am 
 
 in his hands and subject to his power.' We were in 
 
 the garden ; the Emperor reverted to the conversation which 
 he had yesterday in the same place with the Governor, in 
 the Admiral's presence, and again reproached himself with the 
 violence of his expressions. ' It would have been more worthy 
 of me,' said he, 'finer and greater, to have expressed all 
 these things with composure ; they would, besides, have been 
 more impressive.' He recollected, in particular, a term 
 which had escaped him against Sir Hudson Lowe {scribe 
 d'etat major), which must have shocked him the more because 
 it described the truth, and that, we know, is always offensive." 
 
 Count Montholon also states that Napoleon expressed re- 
 gret for his violence on that occasion. 1 It seems that the 
 coolness with which Sir Hudson Lowe bore his insult- 
 ing language increased his anger, for he said, "This is 
 the second time in my life that I have spoilt my affairs with 
 the English. Their phlegm leads me on, 2 and I say more 
 than I ought. I should have done better not to have re- 
 plied to him." 
 
 The Governor had written to Count Bertrand on the 23d 
 
 1 Recti's, vol. i. p. 358. ° " Leur flegme me laisse aller." 
 
Aug. 1816. MONTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE. 223 
 
 of July, inclosing a copy of the Convention, and requesting 
 that he might be allowed to introduce the Commissioners to 
 Bonaparte as soon as might be convenient. No notice was 
 taken of this letter ; but on the 24th of August Sir Hudson 
 Lowe received the following celebrated remonstrance from 
 Count Montholon, which was dictated by Napoleon himself: 1 
 
 "To Lieutenant-General Sib. Hudson Lowe. 
 
 "Monsieur le General — I have received the treaty of 
 the 2d of August, 1815, concluded between his Britannic Ma- 
 jesty, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the 
 King of Prussia, which accompanied your letter of the 23d of 
 July. 
 
 " The Emperor Napoleon protests against the contents of 
 this treaty. He is not the prisoner of England. After hav- 
 ing placed in the hands of the representatives of the nation 
 his abdication in the interest of the constitution adopted by 
 the French people, and in favor of his son, he went volunta- 
 rily and freely to England, to reside there in retirement as a 
 private person, under the protection of the British laws. The 
 violation of every law can not constitute a right : in point of 
 fact the person of the Emperor Napoleon is in the power of 
 the English nation ; but neither in point of fact nor of right 
 has he ever been, nor is he now, in the power of Austria, of 
 Russia, or of Prussia ; not even according to the laws of En- 
 gland, which, in the exchange of prisoners, never included the 
 Russians, the Austrians, the Prussians, the Spaniards, or the 
 Portuguese, although connected with these powers by treaties 
 of alliance, and carrying on war conjointly with them. The 
 Convention of the 2d of August, concluded fifteen days after 
 the Emperor Napoleon had reached England, can not by 
 
 1 The endorsement of the copy of this letter states that it had no 
 date and that it was received on the 24th of August, 1816. Count 
 Montholon always speaks of it as " My letter of the 23d of August, 
 1816." A translation of it was published in London as a pamphlet, 
 and went through several editions. The fourth edition was reviewed in 
 the " Quarterly" of January, 1817. In a note written by O'Meara on 
 the 20th of August, 1816, he says, "I am informed there is a letter of 
 six or seven pages hatching to he sent to Sir H." 
 
224 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 right, have any effect. It only testifies the coalition of the 
 four great powers of Europe for the oppression of one man— a 
 coalition disavowed hy the opinion of all nations, as well as 
 by every principle of sound morality. The Emperors of Aus- 
 tria and of Russia, and the King of Prussia, not having, 
 either in fact, or by right, any power over the person of the 
 Emperor Napoleon, they could not decree any thing respect- 
 ing him. If the Emperor Napoleon had been in the power 
 of the Emperor of Austria, that Prince would have remem- 
 bered the connection established by religion and by nature be- 
 tween a father and his son, a connection never violated with 
 impunity. He would have remembered that on four differ- 
 ent occasions Napoleon. restored his throne to him ; at Leo- 
 ben, in 1797 ; and at Luneville, in 1801, when his armies 
 were under the walls of Vienna ; at Presbourg, in 1806 ; and 
 at Vienna, in 1809, when his armies were masters of thec.apital 
 and of three-fourths of the monarchy. That Prince would have 
 called to mind the protestations he made at the bivouac of Mo- 
 ravia in 1806, and at the interview at Dresden in 1812. Had 
 the person of the Emperor Napoleon been in the power of the 
 Emperor Alexander he would have recollected the friendship 
 contracted at Tilsit, at Erfurth, and cementod by a daily cor- 
 respondence of twelve years ; he would have remembered 
 the conduct of the Emperor Napoleon the day after the battle 
 of Austeiiitz, when, though he could have taken him prisoner 
 with the wreck of his army, he was satisfied with his word, 
 and allowed him to effect his retreat. He would have re- 
 membered the personal danger to which the Emperor Napo- 
 leon exposed himself in arresting the conflagration of Mos- 
 cow, and saving that capital for him. That Prince would 
 not certainly have violated the duties of friendship and grati- 
 tude toward a friend in his misfortune. If the person of the 
 Emperor Napoleon had been placed in the power of the King 
 of Prussia, that sovereign would not have forgotten that, 
 after the battle of Friedland, the Emperor could have seated 
 another Prince on the throne of Berlin ; he would not have 
 forgotten in the case of a disarmed enemy the protestations of 
 devotion and the sentiments he expressed to him, in 1812, in 
 
Aug. 1816. MONTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE. 225 
 
 the interview at Dresden. Indeed, we see by the Articles 2 
 and 5 of the said treaty of the 2d of August, that having no 
 right to interfere in any way with the person of the Emperor 
 Napoleon, who is not in their power, these Princes consent to 
 whatever may be done by His Britannic Majesty , who takes upon 
 himself all the obligations. These Princes reproach the Em- 
 peror Napoleon for having preferred the protection of En- 
 glish laws to theirs. The erroneous idea entertained by the 
 Emperor of the liberality of the English laws, and of the in- 
 fluence exercised by the opinion of a great, a generous, and 
 a free people over their Government, induced him to prefer 
 the protection of these laws to those of his father-in-law or of 
 his former friend. The Emperor Napoleon could at anytime 
 have secured his personal interests by a diplomatic treaty, by 
 placing himself either at the head of the army of the Loire, 
 or of that of the Gironde commanded by General Clausel ; 
 but no longer seeking any thing hut retirement and the pro- 
 tection of the laws of a free people either English or American, 
 any stipulations appeared to him unnecessary ; he felt assured 
 the English would be more hound by the frank, noble, and 
 confiding step he took, than they could possibly be by the 
 most solemn treaties. He was mistaken ! But for this er- 
 ror every true Briton will blush ; it will stand out in the pres- 
 ent and in all future generations as a proof of the faithlessness 
 of the English Government. Austrian and Russian Commis- 
 sioners have arrived at St. Helena, if the object of their mis- 
 sion be to fulfill a part of the duties imposed upon the Emper- 
 ors of Austria and Russia by the treaty of the 2d of August, 
 and to see that the English agents, in a little colony in the 
 midst of the ocean, are not wanting in the courtesies due to 
 a Prince united to them by family ties and by so many other 
 circumstances, we recognize in the measure the character of 
 those two Sovereigns ; but, Sir, you have assured us that the 
 Commissioners have no right nor any power to hold even an 
 opinion on any thing which may be transacted on this rook. 
 " The English Minister has caused the Emperor Napoleon 
 to be taken to St. Helena, at 2000 leagues from Europe. 
 This rock, situated under the tropic, and 500 leagues from 
 
 K* 
 
226 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 any continent, is exposed to the parching heat of this latitude ; 
 it is enveloped in clouds and fogs during three parts of the 
 year; it is, at the same time, the driest and dampest country 
 in the world ; the climate is most unfavorable to the health 
 of the Emperor. Hatred alone has dictated the choice of this 
 abode, as also the instructions given by the English Minister 
 to the officers commanding here. They have been ordered 
 to call the Emperor Napoleon ' General,' endeavoring thereby 
 to make him acknowledge that he has never reigned in 
 France. Chief Magistrate for life of the Republic, under the 
 title of First Consul, he concluded the Preliminaries of Lon- 
 don and the Treaty of Amiens with the King of Great Britain ; 
 he received as embassadors Lord Cornwallis, Mr. Merry, and 
 Lord Whitworth, who resided in that capacity at his court ; 
 he appointed, as embassadors to the King of England, Count 
 Otto and General Andreossi, who resided as such at the Court 
 of Windsor. When, after an interchange of letters between 
 the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two Monarchs, Lord 
 Lauderdale came to Paris, with plenary powers from the King 
 of England, he treated with the plenipotentiaries having full 
 powers from the Emperor Napoleon, and resided for several 
 months at the Court of the Tuileries ; when, subsequently, 
 at Chatillon, Lord Castlereagh signed the ultimatum which 
 the Allied Powers presented to the plenipotentiaries, of the 
 Emperor Napoleon, he recognized the fourth dynasty. This 
 ultimatum was more advantageous than the Treaty of Paris ; 
 but it required that France should give up Belgium and the 
 left bank of the Rhine, which was contrary to the propositions 
 of Frankfort and to the proclamations of the Allied Powers ; 
 contrary to the oath taken by the Emperor at his coronation 
 to maintain the integrity of the empire. The Emperor be- 
 lieved the natural limits to be as essential to the security of 
 France as to the balance of Europe ; and that the French 
 nation, under the circumstances in which it was placed, should 
 rather incur all the hazards of war than give up the point. 
 France would have maintained this integrity, and with it its 
 honor, if treason had not come to the assistance of the Allies. 
 The treaty of the 2d of August, the Act of the British Par- 
 
Aug. 1816. MONTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE. 227 
 
 liament, call the Emperor ' Napoleon Bonaparte,' not giving 
 him the title of ' General' The title of General Bonaparte 
 is doubtless eminently glorious ; the Emperor bore it at Lodi, 
 at Castiglione, at Rivoli, at Arcole, at Leoben, at the Pyra- 
 mids, at Aboukir ; but for seventeen years he has borne that 
 of ' First Consul' and ' Emperor.' Not to admit this would 
 be to assert that he had been neither the First Magistrate of 
 the Republic nor Sovereign of the fourth dynasty. Those 
 who believe that nations are a herd belonging of divine right 
 to a few families, belong neither to the age nor to the spirit 
 of the English Legislature, which has several times changed 
 its dynasty, because great changes in opinion, not participated 
 in by the reigning princes, had rendered these the enemies 
 of the happiness and of the majority of the nation. Kings 
 are but hereditary magistrates, intended for the happiness 
 of nations, not nations for the pleasure of Icings. It is this 
 same spirit of hatred which has prescribed that the Emperor 
 is not to write or receive any letters without their being 
 opened and read by the English Ministers and the officers of 
 St. Helena. He has thus been deprived of the possibility of 
 receiving tidings of his mother, of his wife, of his son, and of 
 his brothers ; and when, in order to avoid the indignity of 
 having his letters read by inferior officials, he wished to send 
 sealed letters to the Prince Regent, he was informed that 
 none could be allowed to pass unless they were open, such 
 being the instructions of the Minister. This measure requires 
 no comment ; it would be disavowed in Algiers. Letters 
 have arrived for the general officers in the suite of the Em- 
 peror ; they were opened and delivered to you ; you have 
 not forwarded them, because they had not passed through 
 your Government. They had to travel four thousand leagues, 
 and these officers had the mortification of knowing that there 
 was news in this island from their wives, their mothers, and 
 their children, but that they could not be made acquainted 
 with it in less than six months. We are prohibited from re- 
 ceiving the ' Morning Chronicle,' the ' Morning Post,' or any 
 French papers ; occasionally a few odd numbers of the ' Times' 
 are sent to Longwood. In consequence of a request made 
 
a!i 8 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLKON. Chap. VI. 
 
 while on board the Northumberland, a few books were sent 
 to jus ; but all such as related to the events of late years were 
 carefully taken away. Since then we have endeavored to 
 obtain direct from a London bookseller such books as we 
 might want, and those relating to the circumstances of the 
 times, but this has been prevented. An English author, hav- 
 ing traveled in France, and printed his work in London, took 
 the trouble to send it through you to the Emperor ; but you 
 did not think proper to forward it to him, because it had not 
 come through the channel of your Government. It is also 
 said that other books, sent by their authors, have been kept 
 back, because some of them bore the inscription ' a l'Emper- 
 eur Napoleon,' and others that of 'a Napoleon le Grand.' 
 The English Minister has no authority to impose such vexa- 
 tions. The Act, iniquitous as it is, of the English Parliament, 
 regards the Emperor Napoleon as a prisoner of war ; and 
 never have prisoners of war been prohibited from subscribing 
 to newspapers or receiving printed works ; such a prohibition 
 belongs only to the dungeons of the Inquisition. 
 
 " The island of St. Helena is ten leagues in circumference ; 
 it is every where inaccessible ; brigs surround the coast ; guards 
 are stationed at ten different points along the shore in sight of 
 each other, thus intercepting all communication with the sea. 
 There is but one little town, James Town, where vessels an- 
 chor, and from whence they sail. In order to prevent any 
 person from leaving the island, it is sufficient to watch the 
 coast by sea and by land ; by interdicting the interior of the 
 island, no other object can be intended than to deprive us of 
 a promenade of eight or ten miles, which could be performed 
 on horseback, and the privation of which, according to the 
 opinion of the physicians, will shorten the life of the Emperor. 
 Longwood has been selected for the residence of the Emperor ; 
 it is exposed to every wind that blows, the land is sterile, un- 
 inhabited, without water, and unfit for cultivation of any kind. 
 There is an inclosure of about twelve hundred toises of uncul- 
 tivated land ; at the distance of one or two hundred toises, on 
 a rising ground, there is a camp ; another has just been estab- 
 lished at about the same distance in the opposite direction — 
 
Aug. 1816. MOiNTHOLON'S REMONSTRANCE* 229 
 
 so that whichever way we turn our eyes we see nothing hut 
 camps. Admiral Malcolm, knowing how useful in this place 
 a tent would be to the Emperor, has had one erected by the 
 sailors ; under it alone can shade be enjoyed. The Emperor, 
 however, has every reason to be satisfied with the spirit that 
 animates the officers and men of the brave 53d, as he also 
 was with the crew of the Northumberland. The building at 
 Longwood was erected to serve as a barn for the Company's 
 farm ; the Lieutenant-Governor of the island has since added 
 some rooms to it ; it served him for a country house, but is by 
 no means fit for a constant residence. For the last twelve 
 months they are constantly working at it, and the Emperor 
 has been continually exposed to the inconvenience and insa- 
 lubrity of living in a house in progress of construction. The 
 room in which he sleeps is too small to contain a bed of ordi- 
 nary size ; but any fresh construction at Longwood would only 
 prolong the annoyance of having the workmen about. There 
 are, however, in this miserable island some agreeable locali- 
 ties with trees, and gardens, and pretty good houses — Planta- 
 tion House among the rest ; but positive instructions from the 
 Ministry prohibit your granting that house, which would have 
 saved considerable expense to your treasury — money laid out 
 in building wooden huts, covered with tarred paper, and which 
 are already unserviceable. You have forbidden all correspond- 
 ence between us and the inhabitants of the island ; you have, 
 in fact, placed Longwood under interdiction ; you have even 
 interrupted our communication with the officers of the garri- 
 son ; it seems, accordingly, to be studiously intended to deprive 
 us of the few resources offered by this miserable place, and we 
 are just as badly off here as we should be on the barren and 
 uninhabited rock of Ascension. During the four months that 
 you have been at St. Helena, sir, you have aggravated the 
 position of the Emperor. Count Bertrand has observed to 
 you that you even violate the laws of your Government, that 
 you trample under foot the rights of the general officers, pris- 
 oners of war. You replied that you recognized nothing but 
 the letter of your instructions, and that these were even worse 
 than your conduct appeared to us. 
 
230 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, Monsieur le General, your very 
 humble and very obedient servant, 
 
 " Le General Comte de Montholon. 
 
 " p.S. — I had already signed this letter, sir, when I received 
 yours of the 17th, 1 accompanied by the approximate estimate 
 of a sum of £20,000 sterling, which you consider indispensa- 
 ble for the expenses of the establishment at Longwood, after 
 having made all the deductions you thought proper. It is not 
 for us to enter into any discussion of this estimate. The table 
 of the Emperor is barely supplied with what is strictly neces- 
 sary ; all the provisions are bad in quality, and every thing 
 here four times as dear as in Paris. You demand from the 
 Emperor £4000 sterling, your Government allowing only 
 £8000 for all expenses. I have already had the honor to in- 
 form you that the Emperor has no funds ; that for a year 
 past he had neither received nor written any letters ; and that 
 he is entirely ignorant of every thing that has taken place or 
 may happen in Europe. Brought by force to this rock, 2000 
 leagues removed, without being able to write or receive any 
 letters, he is entirely at the mercy of the English agents. It 
 has ever been and still is the wish of the Emperor to defray 
 all his own expenses of whatever nature, and he will do so 
 whenever you shall render it possible by countermanding the 
 orders issued to the merchants of this island not to facilitate 
 his correspondence, and when that correspondence shall no 
 longer be subjected to your inquisition or to that of any of 
 your agents. As soons as the wants of the Emperor shall be 
 known in Europe, those who take an interest in his behalf 
 will send the funds necessary to provide for them. The let- 
 ter of Lord Bathurst, 2 which you have communicated to me, 
 gives rise to strange surmises. Do not your Ministers know, 
 sir, that the sight of a great man struggling with adversity 
 is the sublimest of spectacles ? Do they not know that Napo- 
 leon at the Island of St. Helena, in the midst of persecutions of 
 every kind, to which he opposes only the most perfect serenity, 3 
 
 1 Vide p. 212-13, ante. 2 Vide p. 167, ante. 
 
 3 It is unnecessary to comment on this assertion after narrating the 
 violent explosions of ill-temper to which Napoleon had given way 
 
Aug. 1816. THE GOVERNORS VINDICATION. 231 
 
 is greater, more sacred, more to be venerated, than when., 
 seated on the greatest throne of the world, he was so long the 
 arbitrator of Kings ? Those who, in such circumstances, are 
 wanting toward Napoleon, only degrade themselves and the 
 nation they represent. 
 
 " Le General Comte de Montholon." 
 
 It is. obvious that the chief part of the matters complained 
 of in this letter were the acts of the British Government and 
 not of the Governor of St. Helena ; and though Sir Hudson 
 Lowe has left a reply to the whole of the charges contained 
 in it, it is only necessary to insert so much of his remarks as 
 relate to his own conduct, for as to that of the Government 
 there are no facts in controversy. 
 
 With respect to the "Morning Chronicle" and other news- 
 papers, and to new books, he says, speaking of himself in the 
 third person — 
 
 " General Bonaparte once sent a message to him request- 
 ing him to send him the ' Morning Chronicle,' and he im- 
 mediately sent the whole of those which he had then in his 
 possession. No application was ever made to him to sub- 
 scribe either to the ' Morning Chronicle' or the ' Morning Post,' 
 or to any French journal. Had such an application been made 
 he would have made the application known to his Govern- 
 ment. It has not been odd numbers of the ' Times' news- 
 paper, but regular series of them, which have been constant- 
 ly sent, the Governor never having kept back a single num- 
 ber. If any numbers were kept back it must have been done 
 by his (Napoleon's) own followers, to whom they were always 
 inclosed for him. 
 
 " The new books sent consisted of several hundred volumes, 
 the cost of which amounted to £ - 1 On being addressed as 
 to the mode of payment for them out of a sum of money which 
 General Bonaparte had brought with him from France, Count 
 Bertrand never honored the Governor with any reply. The 
 Governor is not aware of any books whatever being omitted 
 which could be obtained of those inserted in the list. 
 1 The sum is left blank in the original. 
 
232 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI 
 
 " No application was ever made to the Governor to corres- 
 pond with a bookseller in London to send out hooks. An ap- 
 plication has been recently made to correspond with a book- 
 seller on the Continent, and this he has forwarded to his Gov- 
 ernment to determine on. The facts are misstated here in 
 the same manner as with respect to the newspapers. Only 
 one book was ever received by the Governor, destined in any 
 way for General Bonaparte, which he did not immediately 
 transmit to him, the author leaving it to his option to deliver 
 it or not as he thought proper. He did not think proper to 
 do so, and has therefore kept the book. 1 An officer of rank 
 and distinction passing by St. Helena acquainted General Bo- 
 naparte of it, 2 and the Governor had to endure the most gross 
 language from General Bonaparte in consequence. The sup- 
 position that a book was sent with the inscription in it to ' Na- 
 poleon le Grand' is gratuitous, no such book having ever been 
 received by him." 
 
 On the other points of Count Montholon's letter that aflect- 
 ed himself Sir Hudson Lowe remarks — 
 
 " General Bonaparte has an extent of nearly twelve miles for 
 exercise on horseback, unaccompanied by an English officer ; 
 he has in his own grounds an extent of nearly four miles which 
 he can traverse in almost every direction without being in- 
 truded upon by an individual. It was not Admiral Malcolm 
 who conceived the utility of a tent in this position ; there had 
 been a species of tent erected by his predecessor, Sir George 
 Cockburn, on nearly the same spot, and, falling into a bad 
 condition, the Governor made an application to Admiral 
 Malcolm for his seamen to reconstruct it in a more fit and 
 permanent manner. The Governor also has every reason to 
 be satisfied with the conduct of the officers and men of the 
 53d regiment ; they have strictly followed his orders and in- 
 tentions by performing their important duty in such a man- 
 
 1 Mr. Hobhouse's book. Vide p. 170, ante. 
 
 2 Sir Hudson Lowe afterward found that he was mistaken in sup- 
 posing that Bonaparte heard of Mr. Hobhouse's book from Colonel 
 Keating. Vide note p. 216, ante. 
 
Aug. 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S VINDICATION. 233 
 
 ner as not to furnish motive for any complaint of want of per- 
 sonal attention and regard to tire individuals under their cus- 
 tody. The Governor soon after his arrival offered to huild a 
 house or to add new rooms to Longwood ; he never could get 
 General Bonaparte's assent either to one or the other : hints, 
 however, have heen received hy him, and this letter contains 
 one, that Plantation House, the Governor's own residence, 
 would have been agreeable for General Bonaparte's use. Ex- 
 clusive, however, of its being the Governor's own residence, 
 the East India Company, and not the Minister, directed, on 
 the arrival of General Bonaparte on this island, that this house 
 should not be given up to him. The Governor has long since 
 ceased to make any additions to Longwood House ; he is him- 
 self of opinion the house is not sufficiently good for a person 
 who has filled the high rank and station which General Bona- 
 parte did, if regard and consideration is intended to be shown 
 to him j 1 but as he would give no answer to the proposition 
 of having a new house built for him — and if, when it is pro- 
 posed to add other rooms to that in which he now resides, he 
 says, ' Any building at Longwood would prolong the annoy- 
 ance of the workmen' — how would he have the Government 
 or the Governor himself proceed ? 
 
 " There can be no necessity whatever for carrying on a cor- 
 respondence with the inhabitants of the island, while it would 
 be equally improper for them to be receiving notes constantly 
 from the ' Grand Marechal au nom de l'Empereur.' Open 
 notes sent through the orderly officer at Longwood or the 
 Governor he has, however, never made any difficulty in for- 
 
 1 This shows that the Governor was solicitous for the convenience 
 and comfort of Napoleon ; and the same appears from the following ex- 
 tract from a letter he wrote at the end of October this year to the East 
 India House : 
 
 " The wine for General Bonaparte was last year obtained from Messrs. 
 Gladstones. It was generally of good quality, and I beg to recommend 
 that the same house may be again employed. You will oblige me by 
 mentioning this to the chairman, and to pray his strong recommenda- 
 tion to Mr. Gladstone that the claret may be of the very first quality, 
 as the taste of the persons who are to drink it is of a very fastidious 
 nature, and as it is the particular wish of Government attention should 
 be shown to any little comforts of this nature." 
 
234 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 warding. General Bonaparte and the officers and persons of 
 his suite may meet the officers of the camp every day, not- 
 withstanding the attempt made by one of his followers, Cap- 
 tain Piontkowski, who spoke in the name of Count Bertrand, 
 to tamper with one of them on his departure from this island, 
 trying to prevail on him to be the bearer of the letter to which 
 this is the reply. If the allusion refers to the Act of Parlia- 
 ment, the Governor never had any conversation with Count 
 Bertrand regarding it, except a few days after he had deliver- 
 ed a copy of it to him, when Count Bertrand said he was em- 
 ployed in translating it, and did not say another word on the 
 subject. If the Governor, however, has violated that or any 
 other law of the legislature, why does not General Bonaparte 
 direct it to be named ? 
 
 "The Governor never said his instructions were worse than 
 his conduct ; he replied once to Count Bertrand that the lit- 
 tle acknowledgment for limits granted by Rear-Admiral Sir 
 George Cockburn was not encouraging to him in conceding 
 greater indulgences, and this sentiment he wishes to repeat." 
 
 It has been declared that Bonaparte remarked to Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe, on the 18th of August, that, if sufficient food were 
 not supplied him he would take his seat at the table of the 
 brave officers of the 53d ; and was certain they would not 
 refuse a share of their dinner to an old soldier like him. 1 This 
 telling speech, however, appears not to have been made, al- 
 though it soon got into circulation. At all events Sir Hudson 
 Lowe denied that any such expression had been used. In a 
 note to him, on the 28th of August, Captain Poppleton, re- 
 ferring to a conversation with Cipriani, Bonaparte's maitre- 
 d' hotel, said — 
 
 " I likewise casually mentioned the expression supposed to 
 be made by Napoleon to you respecting his dining in camp ; 
 that he was under a mistake, that no such expression had 
 been made use of. He said it was very possible, as it was a 
 mixture of what he would do, and what he had done." 
 In consequence of the Governor having refused to allow 
 1 Recits, vol. i. p. 357; Voice, vol. i. p. 95; Journal, Aug. 18, 1816. 
 
Aug. 1816. COUNT BERTKAND'S PASSES. 235 
 
 Count Bertrand's passes to be valid without his leave, a let- 
 ter of remonstrance was written by Count Montholon on the 
 28th of August, in which he said — 
 
 " In the event, Sir, of your persisting in the system you 
 have adopted, which to us is equivalent to our being placed 
 on a desert rock, I have to beg that you will grant no passes 
 for Longwood, either to residents of the island, to officers, or 
 to strangers, except it be the workmen, the tradespeople, and 
 others necessary for the service of the establishment ; for, in 
 that case, the Emperor protests and will not see any person 
 who can only come to Longwood with your passports, and 
 who, provided with them, is at liberty to wander round the 
 house at Longwood, to the great discomfort of the Emperor in 
 his walks, and without benefit to any one." 
 
 To this Sir Hudson Lowe replied on the 29th 1 — 
 
 " Sir — I regret to learn that General Bonaparte has been 
 incommoded with the visits or appearance of any persons 
 about his house, except those who might be on duty near it, 
 who had not already through Count Bertrand ascertained that 
 their visits would be received by him, as my passports have 
 been always given with such an explanation on this head as 
 I thought would have obviated the possibility of any unpleas- 
 ant intrusion on him. 
 
 "It is not, Sir, in my power to extend such a privilege as 
 you require to Count Bertrand. There is no part of my writ- 
 
 1 This and the following letter of Sir Hudson Lowe, though of no 
 great interest or importance, are given entire in consequence of the per- 
 version of the contents of the former by Count Montholon in his " Re- 
 cits," vol. i, p. 377. He there says — "Sept. 2: Sir Hudson Lowe re- 
 plied to me that he requested me to make known what letter had been 
 intercepted, and that, from the moment when General Bonaparte declared 
 he would not receive any more visits except through the mediation of 
 General Bertrand, he must conclude that all other modes of reaching 
 Longwood were inconvenient (inopporlun), and that he should conse- 
 quently adopt all the necessary measures that in future no importunate 
 visitor should enter the enceinte of Longwood. What irony !" It will 
 be seen that Sir Hudson Lowe's letter does not contain a word than can 
 by any possibility bear the construction which Count Montholon has 
 given to it. 
 
236 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 ten instructions more definite, or to which my attention is 
 more pointedly called, than that no person whatever should 
 hold any communication with General Bonaparte except 
 through my agency. I have already acquainted General Bo- 
 naparte personally of this, and beg leave, Sir, to state it to 
 you again for his information. In addressing all strangers 
 and other persons, except those whose duty might lead them 
 to Longwood, in the first instance to Count Bertrand (or ask- 
 ing him myself), to ascertain whether General Bonaparte 
 would receive their visit, and in not giving passes except to 
 such persons as had ascertained this point, or were directed 
 to do it, I conceive to have done every thing in my power to 
 conciliate my instructions with that regard which I was dis- 
 posed to show to General Bonaparte's convenience. I have, &o. 
 
 " H. Lowe." 
 
 And the next day he wrote to Count Montholon as follows: 
 Plantation House, August 30, 1816. 
 
 " Sir — In the letter you transmitted to me without date, 
 on the 24th instant, I observe the following paragraph which 
 refers to a fact of which I am wholly ignorant : 
 
 " ' Letters have arrived for general officers in the suite of 
 the Emperor : they were unsealed and were sent to your care : 
 you have not communicated them because they had not passed 
 through the channel of your Government, and they were obliged 
 to travel four thousand leagues. The officers had the pain of 
 knowing that there existed on this rock news of their wives, 
 their mothers, and their children, and that they could not be- 
 come acquainted with its import for six months.' As my 
 memory does not furnish me with the recollection of having 
 sent back any sealed or unsealed letters, whether brought by 
 the post or private hand, or otherwise, which contained news 
 of the mothers, wives, or children of any person of General 
 Bonaparte's establishment, or of not having sent them to Long- 
 wood, you will oblige me much by acquainting me of the par- 
 ticular instance to which you refer. I have to request you 
 will do me the favor to make known to General Bonaparte 
 that I can not henceforward receive any letters which have 
 
Aug. 1816. COUNT BERTRAND'S PASSES. 237 
 
 relation to his affairs from officers of his household, unless it 
 is distinctly expressed in the same that they are written to 
 me by his direction ; or, if intended for communication to a 
 higher authority, unless the paper to he transmitted has re- 
 ceived his signature. I have, &c. H. Lowe." 
 
 In a dispatch to Lord Bathurst on the 29th of August, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe gave the following reasons for not deeming it 
 expedient that Count Bertrand should have the power of 
 granting passes to Longwood : 
 
 " Count Bertrand's house lay in the way not only to Long- 
 wood hut to the camp, and to all the eastern parts of the 
 island. He saw almost all strangers that came, and had him- 
 self no restraint upon his communications with the inhabit- 
 ants. The eventual mischief, therefore, which might result 
 from a pass given by him could not be rendered abortive by 
 any caution subsequently taken ; and I have had an objection, 
 besides, that his pass should be valid with any guard, except 
 accompanied by one also from myself I therefore confined 
 tho giving passes solely to myself, to Sir George Cockburn, 
 and Sir George Bingham. 
 
 " It was not until those persons had seen Bonaparte with 
 Count Bertrand's passes, without my knowledge or previous 
 assent in any shape, that I made the alteration, and have rea- 
 son to believe the indulgence could not, without the grossest 
 abuses, have been continued to him, even if the instructions 
 contained in your Lordship's letter (which are different in that 
 respect from those of Sir George Cockburn) did not make it a 
 specific part of my duty to keep the granting of passes to my- 
 self." 1 
 
 In another long dispatch of the same date he said — 
 
 " . . . Your Lordship will observe the reply of Count 
 Monfholon respecting the expenses ; that he evades all settle- 
 ment of them in the way that he (Count Montholon) and 
 
 1 These instructions prohibited Napoleon from holding communica- 
 tion with any one except through Sir Hudson Lowe's agency. See 
 Letters and Documents at the end of the work, No. 23. 
 
238 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chai-. VI. 
 
 Bonaparte himself gave me to understand it would be settled, 
 and leaves me no other alternative than that of -putting the 
 establishment altogether upon fixed allowances. The number 
 of persons composing the establishment is stated in an accom- 
 panying paper, and amounts to fifty-five. In an island like 
 this, where every thing is raised to so extravagant a price, 
 and where no individual concerned has an interest for the 
 observance of that economy which is practiced in a private 
 family, it will, I fear, be impossible to bring the expenses 
 within the limits your Lordship has prescribed. It is only by 
 a diminution of numbers that any material reduction can be 
 effected in the expenditure ; and until I receive your Lord- 
 ship's commands on this subject, I do not feel myself author- 
 ized to send away any of the persons referred to — at least upon 
 
 such a ground as that of the expense they create The 
 
 conversation which passed between General Bonaparte and 
 myself will naturally attract your Lordship's particular atten- 
 tion ; and I beg leave to request your instructions in what 
 mode I am to act toward him, whether in notice of the grossly 
 insulting conduct he has manifested on this occasion, or if he 
 should persist in the same line of proceeding hereafter. As 
 the officers who form his suite do not consider themselves as 
 liable to any law of discipline or respect to any authority in 
 the island, I beg also to solicit your Lordship's instructions in 
 what mode I am to conduct myself toward them when they 
 imitate the behavior of him they affect still to consider as 
 their master. In all matters that relate to myself I naturally 
 feel reluctant to adopt any measure which might be consid- 
 ered as proceeding from motives of personal resentment for the 
 treatment I have myself endured. This sentiment has hith- 
 erto restrained me in all my proceedings toward Bonaparte ; 
 and in proportion as he has endeavored to provoke me to some 
 act of violence toward him, I have used a correspondent effort 
 to preserve my temper and to render his design abortive. 1 
 Having communicated to your Lordship the unprovoked in- 
 
 1 The passages in the text deserve particular attention with refer- 
 ence to the important question of Sir Hudson Lowe's temper and de- 
 meanor toward Napoleon 
 
Aug. 1816. ORDERLY OFFICER'S REPORT. 239 
 
 solence of his demeanor in the second interview I had with 
 him, an account of which was transmitted in my letter of the 
 20th of May, I shall hope not to he long in obtaining your 
 sentiments of his conduct on that occasion, and being able to 
 draw from them a rule for my proceeding, which may be 
 rendered applicable either to the present or to any future in- 
 stance. The principal delicacy I have felt in acting toward 
 him has sprung, not so much from his defenseless situation 
 and from the power which I hold in my hands, as from reflec- 
 tion on his voluntary surrender to the British nation, and 
 upon my instructions, which command me to treat him with 
 every indulgence that is compatible with his personal secur- 
 ity. It is a point, therefore, on which I wish to avoid acting 
 from my own feelings, but the support of my authority may 
 claim your Lordship's regard. The letter of Count Montholon 
 will show the spirit with which Bonaparte is at present actu- 
 ated." 
 
 On the 31st of August the orderly officer at Longwood 
 wrote the following note to the Governor : 
 
 " Dear Sir — All goes on well at Longwood. I was yes- 
 terday evening walking about the grounds, when I was sur- 
 prised by a message from Napoleon, who wished to speak to 
 me. He received me in the billiard-room — asked me if I was 
 not the senior Captain in the regiment : I told him I was. 
 He then said he had been told that it was said in the camp 
 that he did not wish to see the officers of the regiment, and 
 he therefore begged that I, as senior Captain, would explain 
 to the officers that he had never expressed such sentiments ; 
 that, on the contrary, he esteemed them as brave men and 
 good soldiers, and should be always happy to see them ; and 
 begged I would say, if it was so understood by them, that it 
 was false. He likewise said that he was told some orders had 
 been given to the regiment not to hold communication with 
 him. My answer was simply, that I knew of no such order, 
 and that I believed the whole of his information was without 
 the smallest foundation. He was in a very good humor, and 
 we parted with a great deal of civility on his part. This is 
 
240 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VI. 
 
 all the real information I have to give you. I inclose two 
 letters which are requested to be forwarded. Very faithfully 
 
 yours, T. PoFFLETON." 
 
 To this the Governor replied : 
 
 " My dear Sir — You did perfectly right to say the reports 
 he had heard were without the smallest foundation. He must 
 have had a motive for mentioning such inventions to you ; 
 and therefore be mindful of every further conversation he may 
 address to you, and acquaint me of it. He perhaps wished to 
 see if you would carry a communication for him. He has 
 placed a restraint upon himself by the letter you brought me 
 from Count Montholon, and now wishes to release himself 
 from it by means that are indirect. Be mindful of what is 
 said and done. Yours, &c, H. Lowe." 
 
 O'Meara in his book 1 represents Captain Poppleton to 
 have replied, when addressed by Napoleon, not simply that 
 " he believed the information which he had received was 
 groundless ;" but also " that the officers of the 53d were 
 acquainted with the good opinion which he had previously 
 expressed of them, which was highly flattering to their feel- 
 ings : that they had the greatest respect for him." And he 
 adds that Napoleon smiled and replied, " Je ne suis pas 
 vieille femme ; I love a brave soldier who has undergone ' le 
 bapteme de feu,' whatever nation he may belong to." Either 
 this is an invention, or Captain Poppleton suppressed in his 
 note to Sir Hudson Lowe part of the answer he gave to Na- 
 poleon. 
 
 "Voice," vol. i. p. 107. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REDUCTION OF EXPENSES AT LONGWOOD PLATE BROKEN UP 
 
 FOR SALE REAL OBJECT OF THIS— LETTERS OF o'MEARA 
 
 DISPATCHES FROM LORD BATHTIRST o'mEARa's CORRE- 
 SPONDENCE WITH MR. FINLAISON AT THE ADMIE.ALTY 
 
 INFORMATION GIVEN OF PROJECTS FOR NAPOLEON'S ESCAPE 
 REFUSAL OF NAPOLEON TO SEE SIR HUDSON LOWE IN- 
 TERVIEWS OF SIR THOMAS READE WITH BONAPARTE AND 
 COUNT BERTRAND.. 
 
 On the 1st of September, Sir Hudson Lowe forwarded to 
 Earl Bathurst a letter which he had received from O'Meara 
 on the 6th of the preceding month, requesting an increase of 
 his salary. The following passages of that letter deserve at- 
 tention : 
 
 " It may be proper, Sir, to inform you that General Bona- 
 parte himself, in a private conversation with me, after asking 
 minutely concerning my allowances, made me an offer of 6000 
 francs yearly, independent of any sum the British Govern- 
 ment might give me; which I then declined, and always will, 
 as I conceive that, holding the rank and situation of a British 
 officer, it would not be honorable or allowable in me to re- 
 ceive pay from a foreign captive, circumstanced as he is ; but 
 as the officers employed for his security enjoy nearly double 
 pay, I certainly conceive myself entitled to a suitable augmen- 
 tation. I conceive, Sir, that it is scarcely necessary to point 
 out to an officer of your discrimination, talent, and observa- 
 tion, that mine is a situation peculiarly and unpreeedentedly 
 delicate, and necessarily accompanied by several inconven- 
 iences and unpleasant circumstances indispensably united with 
 bo novel and trying an appointment — such a one, I believe I 
 safely may say, as no person has ever filled before, and re- 
 quiring not a little ' management.' prudence, and patience on 
 Vol. I— L 
 
242 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 the part of any individual holding it, which, independent of 
 the expatriation to so circumscribed and remote a residence 
 as St. Helena, would undoubtedly require the aid of a liberal 
 salary to induce any persons to make such sacrifices as are in- 
 separable from the nature of the appointment. Besides, Sir, 
 in consenting to live here, I give up all hopes of establishing 
 myself in England in a professional capacity ; and my time 
 of life renders it obviously necessary for me to endeavor to 
 obtain a permanent situation. My present salary does not 
 admit of a thought of saving such a sum yearly out of it as 
 (in the course of a few years, in case of the demise of the Gen- 
 eral) would be sufficient to recompense me for the loss of so 
 much time ; neither is it sufficient to defray the expenses of 
 a probable family, supposing that I was inclined to change 
 my state (which I must either do speedily or never), and 
 which certainly, in such a place as St. Helena, is essentially 
 necessary to render existence tolerahle. I hope, Sir, you will 
 excuse the tedious minuteness of the above details, and that 
 you will be pleased not to consider my requesting your ap- 
 probation of my prayer, and your decision in favor of my being 
 allowed a similar sum to that offered unto me by General 
 Bonaparte, as presumptuous, or beyond the bounds of modera- 
 tion ; as I certainly can not bring myself to determine upon 
 remaining in a situation so peculiarly embarrassing for such 
 a salary as I now receive, particularly as the allowance which 
 I have requested is by no means a novelty in the naval service, 
 as the surgeons of naval hospitals receive from £500 to £600 
 yearly, and also the dispenser of the naval hospital at Madras, 
 who is a naval surgeon, has £600 per annum allowed." 
 
 Upon this letter Sir Hudson Lowe observed to Earl Bath- 
 urst, " The peculiarity of Dr. O'Meara's situation in General 
 Bonaparte's family is so particularly adverted to in his letter, 
 that it is unnecessary for me to enter into any exposition of it ; 
 and having had experience of Dr. O'Meara's zeal and useful 
 information to me in several instances, I feel induced to solicit 
 your Lordship's consideration to his claim, in granting him 
 such an increase to the salary he already receives from the 
 
Sept. 1816. O'MEARA'S SALARY. 243 
 
 naval service of £365 per annum as may place him on the 
 footing of a staff surgeon of the army, whose pay at the island 
 rate would he £520 2s. Gd. per annum, exclusive of any 
 allowance for horse, rent, coals, and candles." 
 
 At the same time the Governor wrote to Earl Bathurst a 
 letter marked " private," relative to the subject of passes from 
 Count Bertrand, and in it he said — 
 
 " In the consideration of this matter I made no comparison 
 of my instructions and those of Sir George Cockburn, hut 
 acted from my own sense of the matter. Sir George in all his 
 proclamations had prohibited communication, except through 
 his channel, and it appeared to me as a matter of course ; but 
 in looking into your Lordship's letter of instructions of the 
 12th of September, 1815, I find a much more precise rule laid 
 down for my guidance than any which Sir George Cockburn 
 had received, in the injunction. ' That no person whatever 
 is to hold communication with Bonaparte except through 
 your agency.' Bonaparte, who saw the copy of Sir George 
 Cockburn's instructions in the public papers, has asserted 
 several times mine are the same as his, saying Sir George 
 told him so. Tt is not impossible Sir George, or some of the 
 officers in his confidence, considering this point of the restraint 
 upon communication as sufficiently understood, may have thus 
 expressed themselves to the Count or Countess Bertrand ; but 
 Sir George Cockburn could not have told Bonaparte himself 
 of it, as he did not see him from the time of my arrival at 
 St. Helena to that of his own departure ; and the clamor they 
 have made upon it may thus be wholly regarded as an attempt 
 to bluster and intimidate, which would not warrant my tres- 
 passing upon your Lordship's time with so long a detail upon 
 the subject, if I did not regard every thing which had relation 
 to my conduct toward General Bonaparte of importance to be 
 made as fully and as clearly known as possible. I should not 
 omit to mention that, previous to his departure from hence, 
 Sir George Cockburn expressed to me his opinion that, had he 
 been aware that Count Bertrand's house at Longwood would 
 have been so long constructing, he should not have extended 
 
244 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 to him the great indulgence he enjoyed in respect to receiving 
 visitors of almost all descriptions, and recommended my en- 
 forcing some restraint upon it." 
 
 The attention of Sir Hudson Lowe was now directed to a 
 reduction of the expenses at Longwood. Finding, from cal- 
 culations which he transmitted to Lord Bathurst, that the 
 existing establishment could not be supported for less than 
 £14,000 or £15,000 per annum, he sent Major Gorrequer 
 to Count Montholon on the 5th, to state to him that, as it 
 was possible the British Government might not have been 
 aware that General Bonaparte's establishment had suffered 
 no reduction of numbers when it fixed £8000 per annum as 
 the limits of the expense, he would undertake, on his own re- 
 sponsibility, until the instructions of Government should be 
 received, to allow of an expenditure to the amount of £12,000 
 including all charges ; that Mr. Balcombe must arrange this 
 matter with Count Montholon, so that the expense should in 
 no ease exceed £1000 per month, and that he had fixed this 
 sum from the conviction that it ought, with proper economy, 
 to suffice. " If General Bonaparte," he said, " was averse to 
 restrictions of any kind, further expenses might be incurred, 
 but drafts must in such case be given in the manner in which 
 the Governor understood from General Bonaparte himself and 
 Count Montholon would be the case." 
 
 Major Gorrequer had a long conversation on the 5th of 
 September with Montholon on the subject, which it is un- 
 necessary to detail, as the matter was communicated by the 
 Count to Napoleon ; and Major Gorrequer had another inter- 
 view with Montholon on the 7th, for the purpose of learning 
 Bonaparte's decision. 
 
 " After some common-place conversation," snys Major Gor- 
 requer, 1 " Count Montholon told me he had communicated to 
 the Emperor the purport of the conversation I had with him 
 two days previous ; that he (General Bonaparte) had ex- 
 pressed how painful it was to his feelings to find that he was 
 
 1 MS. Minutes. 
 
Sept. 1816. EXPENSES OF LONGWOOD. 245 
 
 obliged to enter into details of this nature ; that he had never 
 felt so mortified in his life as to be obliged to discuss the mat- 
 ter of a bottle of wine or a chicken more or less, and that the 
 British Government should find it necessary to descend to the 
 consideration of £1000 or =£2000 in the expenses of his house ; 
 that, if Government was so desirous of retrenchment and 
 economy, why did it not accede to his proposal of paying the 
 whole of his expenses himself; that it was what he most 
 particularly desired he might be allowed to do (but always 
 with reference to the letters being transmitted under seal), 
 and he would save the British nation the necessity of expend- 
 ing any thing whatever on his account. 
 
 " After going over again (at great length) what had been 
 already said in the conversation of the 5th on the mode pro- 
 posed by General Bonaparte of providing the means of pay- 
 ment through the medium of mercantile houses by sealed 
 communication, he added, that the ' Emperor' and himself 
 had been at work the whole of that morning to see what re- 
 duction might take place in his establishment, to approximate 
 the expenses to the allowance notified to him as fixed upon 
 by Government, if the Governor persisted in not acceding to 
 the mode proposed by him of obtaining the means of payment 
 from his own funds in the manner above stated ; that he had 
 sent for him very early for that purpose, and had entered into 
 the business with the greatest readiness and the best humor 
 possible ; that he had first asked him how many English 
 servants were employed in his house ; on his answering 
 twelve, and describing their different occupations, he said, 
 ' There are too many ; we can do with less ; send away one 
 from this employment, two from that,' &c. ; and had finished 
 by ordering that six of them and a black man-servant, an in- 
 habitant, should be discharged. The ' Emperor' had also in- 
 quired what quantity of wine was consumed daily ; and, on 
 being informed, he answered, ' We must be satisfied with 
 less ; twelve bottles of wine, including claret and white wines 
 of all descriptions, must suffice' (that is, for the use of himself 
 and the officers and families) ; ' let the greatest economy of 
 it,' he said, ' take place, and not a bottle be opened but what 
 
246 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 is necessary ;' and that he directed a proportionate diminution 
 to be made in the Cape wine, in consequence of the reduction 
 of the number of servants ; but that, with regard to the pro- 
 visions, he had observed he could not see any possibility of 
 their being reduced below what was now furnished. 
 
 " General Montholon then promised to send me the list of 
 things which General Bonaparte considered sufficient, 1 and 
 stated that he was desired to say, if it appeared still absolutely 
 necessary to restrict them further in any of the articles of 
 food, &c, the 'Emperor' in that case had charged him to dis- 
 pose of about 25,000 livres of his plate in a private manner, 
 either to Mr. Balcombe or any other merchant in town, as he 
 could spare that quantity (not being at present in use), and, 
 from the produce of its sale, contrive to provide those little 
 comforts denied them ; that this might last them two or three 
 months longer, or until some fresh instructions arrived from 
 England. General Montholon asked me if I thought the 
 Governor would have any objection to his sending up for Mr. 
 Balcombe, or some other merchant, to arrange about the dis- 
 posal of the plate, and remarked that it would be more de- 
 sirable a certain sum should be advanced upon the security 
 of the plate than to actually dispose of it. 
 
 " Count Montholon continued, that the ' Emperor' bore no 
 ill will, nor felt any cause of complaint, against the Governor 
 in regard to these retrenchments ; that he was only executing 
 his instructions, and the orders of his Government left him no 
 choice. General Montholon then made the following observa- 
 tion ; ' It is true that I have lately written, by order and 
 under the direction of the Emperor, some things very harsh 
 — very strong — and very grave, to the Governor ; but it was 
 on the subject of the protest, and they were not things per- 
 sonal to himself; and the Emperor is well convinced that he 
 can not expect the Governor to lay out money from his own 
 pocket, or go beyond what his own Government prescribes to 
 him.' Dr. O'Meara was present during the whole of 
 
 1 " This list was, however, never sent to me, but evaded by an excuse 
 when I afterward spoke to Count Montholon on the subject, and asked 
 bim for it." — Marginal Note by Major Gorrequer. 
 
Sept. 1816. EXPENSES OF LONGWOOD. 24V 
 
 this interview and conversation. 1 Captain Poppleton re- 
 mained for some time, but left us long before it was finished. 
 Dr. O'Meara informed me that General Bonaparte had sent 
 for Cipriani (his maitre-d'hotel) in the morning before he saw 
 General Montholon, and had directed him so to arrange that 
 General Bertrand's house should never exceed 100 francs per 
 day." 
 
 In consequence of what passed on this occasion Sir Hudson 
 Lowe wrote to Count Montholon, and requested him to in- 
 form Bonaparte that he had no hesitation to give him any 
 assurance he might require that any letters, bills, or commu- 
 nications whatever, which he might transmit through the 
 Governor respecting the means for his defraying the extra 
 charge incurred beyond the sum fixed by the British Govern- 
 ment for the expense of his domestic establishment, would 
 not be made known by the Governor to any individual on the 
 island or elsewhere, the Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 alone excepted. 
 
 Count Montholon's reply was dictated by Napoleon. It 
 was offensive and insulting in its tone, and, as it was not ex- 
 pressed to have been written under Bonaparte's direction, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, in conformity with the intimation he had con- 
 veyed to Count Montholon in his letter of the 30th of August, 2 
 returned it, informing him of the reason. 3 
 
 The Count chose to construe this into a refusal on the part 
 of the Governor to correspond with him, and he sent back the 
 
 1 O'Meara admits that he was present, but he has given ( Voice, vol. i. 
 pp. Ill, 112) a meagre and prejudiced account of it, in which some 
 . material remarks on both sides are suppressed. Not a word is men- 
 tioned of Bonaparte's having entered into the matter with readiness and 
 good humor, nor of his not feeling any ill-will or making any complaint 
 on the subject against the Governor. As to Count Montholon, it is al- 
 most unnecessary to say that he suppresses all notice of the conversa- 
 tion with Major Gorrequer (see Recits, vol. i. pp. 385, 386), and Laa 
 Cases is equally silent (Journal, Sept. 7, 1816). 
 
 a Vide p. 236, ante. 
 
 3 It is printed in Montholon's book (Recits, vol. i. p. 387), and wilj 
 be found, together with Sir H. Lowe's two letters in answer, at the end 
 of the volume. 
 
248 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON Chap. VII. 
 
 two letters he had received from him saying that he had made 
 no use of them. 
 
 On the 10th of September, says Major Gorrequer 1 — 
 
 " I was again at Longwood, and was then informed by Dr. 
 O'Meara that General Bonaparte had told him that General 
 Montholon had stated to him that at the interview of the 7th 
 Major Gorrequer had cither proposed to him directly, or by 
 his conversation had insinuated, the adoption of the measure 
 of disposing of the plate to assist in paying the expenses of the 
 establishment ; and that General Bonaparte appeared to be 
 much irritated and very indignant about it. Dr. O'Meara 
 having replied that he was present during the whole conver- 
 sation, and that no such proposal or suggestion was made by 
 Major Gorrequer, General Bonaparte asked him if he would 
 say so in the presence of General Montholon, and, he answer- 
 ing, ' Certainly he would,' General Bonaparte spoke of him 
 (Montholon) in a very angry manner, called him a ' bavard — 
 un coglione ;' 2 said he had never authorized him to enter into 
 any matter of that nature, and abused him for having so done 
 without his permission." 
 
 Few facts connected with the captivity of Napoleon have 
 excited more sympathy than the sale by him of his plate. As 
 the case has been generally represented, it did seem a pitiable 
 thing that he, who was the First Consul of the Republic, and 
 afterward Emperor of France — the conqueror at Austerlitz 
 and Jena, whose will gave law to the continent of Europe — 
 should have been reduced to the necessity of parting with his 
 silver plate in order to keep himself and his followers from 
 starvation at St. Helena. And if any necessity for the sale 
 really existed, it must have reflected indelible reproach upon 
 the British Government ; for, in depriving him of his liberty, 
 they charged themselves necessarily with the cost of his sup- 
 port. But was there such a necessity ? Surely, if we believe 
 Count Las Cases, there can be no doubt about the matter ; 
 for he tells us that provisions were ordered to bo purchased 
 
 1 MS. Minutes. 5 A babbler — a fool. 
 
Sei-t. 1816. SALE OF PLATE. 249 
 
 and paid for by the sale of the plate ; and that one morning 
 feeling hungry he asked for a mouthful of bread, and was 
 told there was none for him. "Thus," he says, "we are 
 denied drink and meat." 1 But happily for the cause of truth, 
 we can produce better evidence of the facts of the case than a 
 statement by Las Cases. That the plate was sent from Long- 
 wood for sale is indisputable ; but the alleged cause was a 
 fiction, and the whole affair was a manoeuvre of Napoleon to 
 create false sympathy for himself, and draw public odium upon 
 Sir Hudson Lowe. To prove this, we shall cite a witness 
 whose testimony here admits of no dispute. O'Meara himself 
 shall reveal the truth. In vain, however, shall we search his 
 printed pages for the real explanation of the circumstance. 
 There we find nothing to lead the reader to believe that the 
 sale was caused by any thing but want of food. 2 And yet 
 he had himself written, on the 23d of September, to Sir 
 Thomas Reade, " You know they have taken out the Eagles, 
 and beaten up into a mass a portion of the plate, openly and 
 avowedly for the purpose of providing money, in order to cover 
 expenses over and above the Government allowance. The 
 object they have in view in this is very evident, and does not 
 require me to point it out to you." 3 And again, in a private 
 letter to his friend Mr. Finlaison, on the 10th of October, after 
 mentioning that the French at Longwood daily spent more 
 than the Government allowance, to meet which outlay Bona- 
 parte had caused some of his plate to be broken up, he adds, 
 — " In this he lias also a ivish to excite an odium against 
 the Governor, by saying that he has been obliged to sell his 
 plate in order to provide against starvation, as he himself 
 
 TOLD ME WAS HIS OBJECT." 
 
 Moreover, it must be remembered that the only pretense 
 for the sale of the plate was Sir Hudson Lowe's expressed in- 
 tention to reduce the expenses of the establishment at Long- 
 
 1 In another passage he says, " At dinner we had literally scarcely 
 any thing to eat." — Journal, Sept. 14, 1816. And see Recits, vol. i. 
 p. 394. " See Voice, vol. i. pp. 120, 150, 299. 
 
 3 The words in italics and capitals are not underlined in the copies 
 of the letters furnished to the author 
 
250 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 wood to £12,000 a year, which sum was £4000 a year 
 more than his Government had authorized him to allow. 
 The obvious mode of meeting the retrenchment was to dismiss 
 more of the superfluous servants, as Bonaparte himself at first 
 proposed, but by this the French would have deprived them- 
 selves of a grievance, and therefore the plan was abandoned 
 until it was forced upon them. It was surely not too much 
 to require that, if they kept up a large retinue, making the 
 whole establishment consist of fifty-five persons, and insisted 
 upon luxuries, they should defray the additional cost beyond 
 £12,000 a year themselves. 
 
 On the 12th of September O'Meara informed Major Gorre- 
 quer that he had fully explained to Napoleon, that part of his 
 conversation which related to the plate, and that. Bonaparte 
 then acknowledged that he had authorized General Montho- 
 lon to sell some of it ; adding, "The next thing I must sell 
 will be my clothes." About the same time he sent for the 
 purveyor, Mr. Balcombe, and told him that it was his inten- 
 tion to send some of his plate down to town in order that he 
 might sell it for him, for he found that the retrenchments 
 lately made in the supplies for his table rendered it impossi- 
 ble for him to exist upon them ; Aat the quantity fixed upon 
 was quite insufficient. Mr. Balcombe said he hoped he was 
 not in earnest about selling the plate, upon which Napoleon 
 answered, " What is the use of plate when you have nothing 
 to eat off it 1" and added that he could do without it, and it 
 was necessary he should sell it to provide himself with what 
 was requisite for the table ; that the Governor had required 
 him to pay £12,000 in addition to what Government had 
 fixed upon, to make it up to £20,000 which was supposed 
 to be the expense his establishment would occasion annu- 
 ally ; l and that he was willing to pay the whole, if he 
 was allowed to employ such merchants as he chose to negoti- 
 ate his bills, and be the channel of his correspondence with 
 
 1 This was incorrect. The Governor had informed General Montho- 
 lon that he would, on his own responsibility, make up the allowance to 
 .£12,000 a year — and therefore the additional outlay to be defrayed by 
 the French themselves was £8000. not £12,000. Vide. p. 244, ante. 
 
Sept. 1816. QUESTION OF RESIDENCE. est 
 
 his friends in Europe, without being obliged to send his letters 
 open. 
 
 In a dispatch to Earl Bathurst Sir Hudson Lowe observed, 
 "The reductions are those which General Bonaparte has him- 
 self suggested, and therefore the best to be adopted." And 
 in another letter of the 21st of September, he said : 
 
 " By a conversation had with Dr. O'Meara, I understand 
 Bonaparte said it was his wish to have sentries placed at his 
 doors and windows, on the principle that the sooner matters 
 came to extremes the more likely they were to change. He 
 believes also Count Montholon and Count Las Cases are equal- 
 ly desirous to furnish pretexts by their conduct for having a 
 different punishment inflicted on them — that of sending them 
 off the island ; all being anxious for this termination, if their 
 honor can be saved, and harsh conduct or blame be imputed 
 at the same time in any way to the British authorities. As 
 Dr. O'Meara communicates very freely with General Bona- 
 parte, I obtain from him at times some singular developments 
 of the cunning and subterfuge both practiced by himself, and 
 the practice of which is authorized in those underneath him. 
 I inclose some memoranda on this subject, which show how 
 artfully it was designed that the proposal for selling Bona- 
 parte's plate should appear to have come from me instead of 
 being suggested by him ; and if I had not directed Major Gor- 
 requer to have a second person present when he communi- 
 cated with Count Montholon, this and other points, as will 
 appear in the memoranda, would have been exposed to the 
 grossest misrepresentations . ' ' 
 
 In a private letter to Earl Bathurst on the 29th of Septem- 
 ber, Sir Hudson Lowe said : 
 
 " Napoleon Bonaparte has remained pretty tranquil, hav- 
 ing been remarkable in no other way than in that of extra- 
 ordinary assiduity in the compilation of his History, which ho 
 has been heard dictating for five or six hours together to some 
 of his attendants. The pages of the ' Moniteur' I understand 
 furnish the principal field of his reference. What is to be done 
 with his History when it is terminated is a question that stDl 
 
252 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 remains in doubt. From the celerity with which he appears 
 to work at it, it does not seem designed for posthumous pub- 
 lication, and your Lordship may perhaps in this communica- 
 tion find matter sufficient for furnishing me with some in- 
 struction, whether the intention may be to publish during his 
 lifetime, or to leave it among his papers at the time of his 
 decease. 
 
 " He continues to resist every attempt to add to his com- 
 fort, so far as regards external appearances ; while the dimi- 
 nution of the charges on account of his table, and in matters 
 that do not strike and appear, have called forth expressions 
 of very indignant feeling from him. An upholsterer was fit- 
 ting up his billiard-room, which at the same time serves as 
 the hall of entrance to his apartments, when he angrily sent 
 away the man, saying he would not be troubled with his 
 noise. The room in consequence remains in a tattered and 
 discreditable state, which is, perhaps, what he prefers. In 
 resisting the suggestions I have at various times presented to 
 him for having a new house constructed, I have no doubt his 
 object has been to obtain the cession of the house in which 
 I myself reside. 1 The instructions of the Court of Directors 
 have placed it out of my power to give this up to him. So 
 far as relates to myself the objection might have been soon 
 removed, and even with respect to my family, had any other 
 house in the country presented a convenience to us ; for the 
 castle, which is the town residence, on account of the differ- 
 ence in the climate as well as the bad state of the building, 
 has been of late years rarely inhabited. But from the view I 
 am enabled to take of the general principle of all Bonaparte's 
 movements, I am inclined to think it is not so much that 
 Plantation is at present the best house in the island it is so 
 warmly desired, as that it is the residence of the Governor; 
 and that the cession of it therefore to him would imply a re- 
 gard and distinction which might have its consequent influ- 
 ence to apply as time and circumstances might best direct. 
 In other respects, Rosemary Hall, the place pointed out in a 
 
 Plantation House. 
 
Sept. 1816. QUESTION OF RESIDENCE. 253 
 
 former letter, presents equal advantages of situation with 
 Plantation House, and does not interfere with the Company's 
 establishment and improvements on the latter spot, which 
 have been very extensive, and require to be supported and 
 attended to with great care. Whether any change, however, 
 is desirable your Lordship's judgment will best determine." 
 
 We now turn to O'Meara, and quote from some of his un- 
 published letters, written during the month of September. 
 On the 7th he wrote to Sir Thomas Iteade, and mentioned 
 another trait of Count Montholon's character : 
 
 " Bonaparte has been this morning occupied in arranging 
 something respecting the intended economy in the house : he 
 sent for Cipriani, and consulted him on the subject very 
 minutely, and gave directions that five servants should be 
 discharged, viz., one from Montholon, one from the kitchen,' 
 one from the silver-room, and two from the stables. Cipri- 
 ani told him that Montholon's house was more like a Court 
 than a private person's house ; that it contained a magazine 
 of furniture ; and that, when he could not find any thing else, 
 so desirous was he of grabbing something, that he went out 
 and laid hold of the wood for fuel and carried it with him 
 into his store. Bonaparte sent for Montholon immediately 
 after, and they have been since closeted together above three 
 hours." 
 
 On the 13th he wrote to Major Gorrequer : 
 
 "Dear Major — Montholon has been with me this morn- 
 ing making a long harangue about the state of the ' cazze- 
 ruole,' 1 which he says are in a very dangerous position, in 
 consequence of the tinning having been worn away from the 
 inside, which he said daily exposed them to the risk of being 
 poisoned ; and added, that he had himself experienced divers 
 pains and commotions in his intestinal rigime, and concluded 
 with a hint that, if it was not desirous to have them poisoned, 
 he would be obliged to you to send the armorer to-morrow 
 with wherewithal to remedy the evil complained of. He said 
 
 1 Copper saucepans. See " Voice," vol. i. p. 120. 
 
254 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 this about being poisoned half-laughing, half-otherwise ; and 
 added that he had applied for several days to have the man 
 sent. He added, that this concerned me as the surgeon. I 
 have inquired myself into the state of the ' cazzeruole,' and 
 find that they are in a very bad state. You had better take 
 some steps to have them repaired, as he is malicious enough 
 to assert that it was neglected on purpose to poison them, 
 and very likely has already done so. Great complaints have 
 been made of the butter last sent up, which certainly was 
 very rancid and scarcely fit for any use. Yours, &c, 
 
 " Barky E. O'Meara." 
 
 On the 15th also he wrote to the Major and said — 
 
 "... Montholon told Balcombe the day before yesterday 
 that you had come up to Longwood purposely to find out 
 complaints against him ; that you had endeavored to do him 
 all the injury in your power ; and that you wanted him 
 (Montholon) to complain about the provisions in order to make 
 Balcombe lose the purveyorship, and that he (Montholon) had 
 refused to do so, and had prevented any complaints to be made ; 
 and a great deal more. I told Balcombe that the fact was 
 the reverse, as Montholon had required, in case Bonaparte paid 
 himself for the expenses of the establishment, that Balcombe 
 should be no longer purveyor ; at least that it should be op- 
 tional with Montholon to purchase from him or not, as he 
 would send out and buy a fat sheep instead of Balcombe's 
 lanterns, good fowls instead of crows, &c, &c. ; that he did 
 not mean to say that Balcombe was a ' voleur,' but that he 
 had ' voleurs' under him, &c. ; that I was witness to the con- 
 versation. You had better ask Balcombe about it when you 
 see him." 
 
 This letter mentioned also that the French complained of 
 there being a want of claret, that a dozen bottles were bor- 
 rowed by Captain Poppleton from the mess of the 53d reg- 
 iment, and that, Generals Montholon and Gourgaud thinking 
 it was adulterated with lead, the latter had asked him for the 
 means of testing it, as is related in O'Meara's book. 1 He 
 
 1 "Voice," vol i pp. 116. 120. 121 
 
Sept. 1816. SALE OF PLATE. 255 
 
 added, " I beg you will be good enough to explain the above 
 to the Governor, which is the whole of what took place." 
 
 On the 20th O'Meara acquainted Sir Thomas Reade that 
 the Countess Bertrand had told him that Bonaparte had given 
 her a phaeton, that she might raise money by selling it to pay 
 part of her debts at St. Helena, and that she wished to send 
 it to the Cape by Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm for sale. 
 Under date the 23d of August in his book he says, 1 " Received 
 an answer from Sir Thomas Reade, announcing that the Gov- 
 ernor had given his consent for the sale of the phaeton, with 
 a proviso that the money derived from it should not be paid 
 to themselves, but deposited in Mr. Balcombe's hands." The 
 answer, however, in fact, contained no such proviso* 
 
 From O'Meara's next letter to Sir Thomas Reade a pas- 
 sage has been already quoted relative to the sale of the plate, 3 
 and we need only add the following : 
 
 " Montholon has been cursedly down at the mouth for 
 some days back, and also his precious wife, though her appe- 
 tite is not at all diminished thereby. Gourgaud also looks 
 very gloomy." 
 
 On the 19th of September Major Gorrequer wrote to Captain 
 Poppleton, desiring him, in case Count Montholon applied for 
 an officer to accompany him to the town for the purpose of 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. i. pp. 123, 124. 
 
 2 To prove this, the note itself, which is otherwise unimportant, is 
 here subjoined at length : 
 
 "To Barry O'Meara, Esq., Lonbwood. 
 
 " September 23, 1810. 
 " My dear O'Meara — I have spoken with the Governor about Ma- 
 dame Bertrand's phaeton, and he has desired me to say that he has no 
 objection to her disposing of it ; but he regrets very much that she 
 should have been put to any inconvenience in regard to her pecuniary 
 affairs, the more so as the additional £4000 per annum which he gave 
 authority for being expended was specifically granted in consideration 
 of the officers and families attached to the establishment at Longwood, 
 and more on account of the Bertrands separately than the rest. He 
 would not, however, have exceeded the £8000 had General Bonaparte 
 been single, or with only two or three persons in his suite, and thinks 
 the remainder ought to have gone for the comforts of his followers until 
 they could arrange their own means. I am, &c, T. Reade." 
 
 3 Vide p. 250, ante. 
 
256 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 selling the plate, to inform him that he could not he allowed 
 to receive the money, but that the amount must be deposited 
 with the purveyor for Bonaparte's use. 
 
 Two days afterward Captain Poppleton told Sir Hudson 
 Lowe — 
 
 " Cipriani went to James Town yesterday to purchase pro- 
 visions ; and, by what I learn from him, the plate will he 
 given to the house of Baleombe to discharge the debts ; all 
 that was broken up is now given in that state to Cipriani. 
 General Montholon did not seem pleased with the communi- 
 cation ; at first begged I would have it made in writing, but 
 afterward told me not to make such a request. Cipriani, who 
 seemed to understand the business, said such was the order of 
 Government." 
 
 The Eurydice frigate arrived at St. Helena on the 29th of 
 September, and Sir Hudson Lowe received by her a series of 
 important dispatches from Earl Bathurst, conveying the Prince 
 Regent's entire approval of his conduct ; and informing him 
 that, as attempts were likely to be made for Bonaparte's 
 escape, the utmost vigilance and precaution were necessary. 
 They contained also some additional instructions. 
 
 Lord Bathurst's first dispatch was dated June 26, 1816, and 
 in it he said — 
 
 " I have great satisfaction in communicating to you the 
 Prince Regent's entire approbation of the conduct which you 
 pursued in requiring that the officer on guard should be ena- 
 bled to ascertain twice in the four-and-twenty hours that Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte is safe in his custody. I need not, I am sure, 
 point out to you that the officer on guard should continue to 
 ascertain this fact as late in the evening and as early in the 
 morning as possible. His Royal Highness also approves of 
 the regulations which you have adopted for preventing Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte having a clandestine ' intercourse with the 
 inhabitants. The conduct of General Bonaparte and his fol- 
 lowers, the information which I have from time to time 
 directed to be forwarded to you, and many concurring circum- 
 stances, can not fail of impressing you with an expectation of 
 
Sept. 3 816. INSTRUCTIONS FROM ENGLAND. 257 
 
 some attempt being made to effect his escape ; and it is to be 
 apprehended that he may be much assisted in such an under- 
 taking by the number and character of the persons who are 
 about him.- 
 
 " You will, therefore, remove from General Bonaparte at 
 least four of the persons who went out with him. You will 
 understand that I include Piontkowski among this number, 
 although, strictly speaking, he followed him some time after 
 the Northumberland sailed. In making this selection you will 
 be guided by the unfavorable opinion you may have reason to 
 entertain of their conduct. If you have any difficulty in mak- 
 ing the selection, you will call upon them to draw lots, and 
 
 on their refusal you will direct it to be done for them 
 
 If you prefer letting the selection be made by lot, you will, of 
 course, not subject Generals Bertrand, Montholon, or Count 
 de Las Cases to such an alternative." 
 
 And on the 17th of July he wrote as follows : 
 
 "There is a wide distinction between the conduct which 
 you ought to hold toward General Bonaparte and toward 
 those who have chosen to follow his fortunes by accompany- 
 ing him to St. Helena. It would be a want of generosity not 
 to make great allowance for the intemperate language into 
 which the former may at times be betrayed. The height 
 from whence he _ has been precipitated, and all the circum- 
 stances which have attended his fall, are sufficient to overset 
 a mind much less irritable than his, and it is to be appre- 
 hended that he can find little consolation in his reflections, 
 either on the means by which he attained his power or his 
 manner of exercising it. So long, therefore, as his violence 
 is confined to words, it must be borne with, always under- 
 standing and giving him to understand that any willful 
 transgression on his part of the rules which you may think 
 it necessary to prescribe for the security of his person, will 
 place you under the necessity of adopting a system of restraint 
 which it will be most painful to you to inflict. 
 
 "With respect to his followers, they stand in a very differ- 
 ent situation : they can not be too frequently reminded that 
 
258 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 their continuance in the island is an act of indulgence on the 
 part of the British Government ; and you will inform them 
 that you have received strict instructions to remove them 
 from the person of General Bonaparte, and to transport them 
 out of the island, if they shall not conduct themselves with 
 that respect which your situation demands, and with that 
 strict attention to your regulations which is the indispensable 
 condition on which their residence in the island is permitted." 
 
 On the 3d of July Lord Bathurst wrote respecting the 
 4000 napoleons which had been taken from Bonaparte on 
 board the Northumberland. He said — 
 
 "As the expenses which General Bonaparte proposed de- 
 fraying out of that fund are of a nature which must other- 
 wise have been borne by his Majesty's Government, I see no 
 objection to the application of the portion assigned to the 
 payment of Mr. Balcombe's charge. With respect to the 
 residue, however, which it is proposed to leave for the future 
 disposal of General Bonaparte, I must observe that a sum 
 amounting to 1396Z. Is. has already been paid in this coun- 
 try for books ordered by General Bonaparte, and that there- 
 fore the sum applicable to future payments in St. Helena is 
 reduced by that amount to a sum altogether insufficient for 
 the purposes to which he was desirous of applying it. You 
 will not fail to take an early opportunity of explaining this 
 circumstance to General Bonaparte." 
 
 It has been already mentioned that the British Government 
 were determined to mark their sense of the insolent tone 
 adopted by the French officers in their declarations of their 
 wish to remain at St. Helena, by refusing to receive them, 1 
 and the Eurydice brought out a dispatch for the Governor 
 from Earl Bathurst, directing him again to submit to them 
 his original form of declaration for their signature, and at the 
 same time acquaint them that he was instructed forthwith to 
 withdraw from attendance on Bonaparte and transport out 
 of the island all those who, within a given period " (say a 
 
 ' Vide p. 141, ante. 
 
Sept. 1816. ANONYMOUS LETTER. 259 
 
 week)," should not have signified their assent to that declar- 
 ation, simply and without comment, by subscribing the paper 
 which he was to present to them. 
 Lord Bathurst added — 
 
 " You will, however, on the delivery of the paper for their 
 signature, first explain to them that, by their signing it, they 
 are not to imagine that they thereby become irrevocably bound 
 to remain in the island of St. Helena, but that you are in- 
 structed to permit any of those who shall have signed the 
 paper nevertheless to depart from the island within a reason- 
 able time after they shall have made an application for that 
 purpose, and you will transport them to the Cape of Good 
 Hope until you shall receive instructions to the contrary." 
 
 Before noticing the next dispatch from England we must 
 advert to a circumstance which occurred in June this year. 
 On the 19th of that month Captain Hamilton, of H.M.S. 
 Havannah, which had just arrived from St. Helena and was 
 then lying at Spithead, wrote to Admiral Thornbrough, the 
 Commander at Portsmouth, and informed him that a letter 
 had been printed in one of the Portsmouth newspapers which 
 professed to give information respecting Napoleon, and was 
 reported to have been brought to England by the Havannah, 
 and that it appeared to have been put on board by ■' Dr. 
 O'Meara." 1 Tidings of this were communicated to O'Meara 
 by Mr. Finlaison in a letter written on the 3d of July, and 
 conveyed to St. Helena by the Eurydice. In this letter Mr. 
 Finlaison said — 
 
 " Your letters of the 16th of March and 22d of April came 
 duly to hand, and furnished a real feast to some very great 
 folks here. I also received a letter from you on your first 
 arrival, which was considered very interesting ; not a line of 
 any thing you have written to me since you sailed was ever 
 made public. The moment your letters came they were given 
 to Mr. Croker, who considered them extremely interesting, 
 
 1 Where the prefix of Dr. is given to O'Meara in any letter or docu- 
 ment quoted, it has been thought proper to retain it ; but he had no 
 right to the title of M.D. 
 
2fi CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON Chap. VII. 
 
 and circulated copies among the Cabinet Ministers ; and he 
 desires me to assure you that they never have been, nor shall 
 they ever hereafter be, seen by any other person. I conject- 
 ure also that your letters have even amused his Royal High- 
 ness the Prince Regent : they are written with that dis- 
 crimination, good sense, and naivete, that they could not fail 
 to be acceptable ; and I am quite sure that they have done 
 you a great deal of good at the Board, a proof of which is, 
 that the other day Captain Hamilton of the Havannah, and 
 Sir E. Thornbrough, reported in a public letter that, a few 
 hours after the ship's arrival, a letter was inserted in the 
 Portsmouth paper about Bonaparte, and that it had been 
 traced that you were the author of it. Mr. Croker sent for 
 me, and desired me to request you to be careful in respect to 
 your private letters to any other person, as every thing nowa- 
 days gets into the papers ; but to me he repeated his hopes 
 that you would write in full confidence, and in the utmost 
 possible detail, all the anecdotes you can pick up, resting as- 
 sured that none but the Government ever will see them, and 
 to them they are and must be extremely interesting, as show- 
 ing the personal feelings of your great state prisoner." 
 
 To prevent any misapprehension it is right to state, that 
 Lord Bathurst was not ignorant of this correspondence be- 
 tween O'Meara and Mr. Finlaison, which it seems was cir- 
 culated " among the Cabinet Ministers." But it is evident 
 from what follows that he had not communicated the fact to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, who at this time had no suspicion whatever 
 of its existence. And when on the 12th of July Earl Bath- 
 urst wrote to him, inclosing an extract from Captain Ham- 
 ilton's note, and also the letter that had been published in 
 the Portsmouth newspaper, his expressions would seem to 
 imply that ho was not aware, although he might have sus- 
 picions, that letters of O'Meara were conveyed to England 
 through other channels than that of the Governor. He said — 
 
 "It is impossible to misunderstand the spirit in which this 
 publication was written ; but it does not appear whether it 
 was written by Dr. O'Meara himself or by some other person 
 
Oct. 1816. O'MEABA'S EXPLANATION. 261 
 
 at St. Helena — very possibly by one of General Bonaparte's 
 attendants. At any rate the letter was clandestinely convey- 
 ed to England by Dr. O'Meara's interference, and he may 
 very probably have conveyed other letters of more importance 
 by similar channels. It appears therefore that it will not be 
 prudent to place any confidence in Dr. O'Meara ; and unless 
 his explanations are more satisfactory than I expect they 
 will be, it will, I am afraid, be impossible not in prudence to 
 remove him from the island, although I fully enter into the 
 difficulty you may have in supplying his place near General 
 Bonaparte's person." 
 
 The receipt of this letter by Sir Hudson Lowe led as he 
 expressed it to Lord Bathurst in a letter written on the 12th 
 of October, 1816, " to some curious developments." He call- 
 ed upon O'Meara for an explanation, who on the 5th of Oc- 
 tober addressed a long letter to the Governor, in which he de- 
 clared that he had never written an anonymous letter in his 
 life, and said that this was not the first time that public opin- 
 ion had most unjustly attributed to him the authorship of let- 
 ters which had appeared in the newspapers. He then said : 
 
 " Previous to the present occurrences I have never received 
 any prohibition or even caution as to free communication, 
 and my conduct has been solely guided by my own sense of 
 the impropriety of indiscriminately making public such oc- 
 currences as might take place relative to him (Bonaparte), and 
 which I judged that his Majesty's Government might not, 
 perhaps, wish to be published without their previous sanc- 
 tion ; and now that I have received such caution, my com- 
 munication will be of course more circumscribed and reserved 
 than before." 
 
 After this Sir Hudson Lowe had some conversation with 
 O'Meara on the subject, and the latter mentioned one or two 
 persons (among them was Mr. Warden, the surgeon of the 
 Northumberland) with whom Bonaparte had had private con- 
 ferences, and whom O'Meara suspected with reference to the 
 letter in question. Shortly afterward he informed Sir Hud- 
 son that Count Montholon had offered him a copy of his letter 
 
262 OA.PTIV1TY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 of the 23d of August, 1 and wished him to send it to England 
 for publication in the " Morning Chronicle," hut that he had 
 refused. 2 It appeared, however, from his own account, that 
 this proposal has been made to him five or six days before, 
 and he had allowed Count Montholon to leave the letter with 
 him during that period without communicating the fact to 
 the Governor. These circumstances were detailed by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe to Lord Bathurst in his dispatch of the 12th of 
 October and he then went on to say — 
 
 " I did not fail immediately to point out to Dr. O'Meara 
 all the impropriety of his conduct, and even the danger as 
 affecting his life, by meddling in such matters. He said 
 Count Montholon had left the letter in his room without his 
 giving his consent to it — that a motive of curiosity had led 
 him not to return it — that he had no intention to give it pub- 
 licity, 3 but that he should probably have given extracts of it 
 in his letters to Mr. Croker ; 4 and he here produced to me a 
 
 1 Vide p. 223, 231, ante. 
 
 2 O'Meara, however, did send a copy of Montholon's letter to Mr. 
 Finlaison on the 10th of October. 
 
 3 The following extract from the postscript to a letter from O'Meara 
 to Mr. Finlaison, written on the 14th of October this year, will show 
 the persevering efforts made to send this letter clandestinely to En- 
 gland, and also the necessity for the closest vigilance on the part of the 
 Governor. It proves also that, after all, O'Meara did send to England 
 a copy of Montholon's letter. 
 
 " This letter De Las Cases and Montholon have been endeavoring by 
 all means in their power to send to England. De Las Cases showed 
 it and explained it to Captain Shaw of the Termagant, and I believe, 
 offered a copy to Captain Gray of the Artillery, and Lieutenant Louis 
 of the Northumberland, to whom also a copy was offered, which he re- 
 fused taking, as Sir Hudson expressed his earnest wish to me that it 
 should not be sent even to the Admiralty ; as he said he had not given 
 the Admiral a copy of it, perhaps it would be as well not to allow it to 
 come to his knowledge that I had sent it, though I conceive it a duty 
 incumbent on me to furnish Mr. Croker with all the intelligence possi- 
 ble through you, and which I shall not fail to do in every one of my 
 letters." 
 
 4 It was a mistake of Sir Hudson Lowe to suppose that O'Meara cor- 
 responded with Mr. Croker, then the Secretary of the Admiralty. The 
 latter merely received and communicated to the Cabinet the letters 
 which Mr. Finlaison put into his hands. 
 
Oct. 1816. LETTER FROM MR. FINLAISON. 263 
 
 letter he had received from a Mr. Finlaison, who holds some 
 office in the Admiralty, marked ' Confidential and secret,' 
 and therefore, perhaps not furnishing a fit matter for reference, 
 in which he is most particularly requested to give all the de- 
 tails possible to Mr. Croker of every thing interesting he can 
 collect respecting General Bonaparte, and made acquainted 
 that the letters he may write will not pass beyond the peru- 
 sal of the Cabinet Ministers. Mr. Finlaison tells him of the 
 pleasure the perusal of many of them have afforded to 
 a Royal Personage; and Dr. O'Meara is encouraged by 
 every species of praise to continue his communications both to 
 Mr. Croker and Mr. Finlaison, the official situation of the 
 former of whom may perhaps afford some grounds for the re- 
 quest, but certainly not that of the latter. The letter from 
 Mr. Finlaison concludes with requesting Dr. O'Meara to pro- 
 cure him a scrap of Bonaparte's handwriting for Mr. Croker, 
 and on the whole, manifests a kind of interest in every thing 
 relating to the extraordinary personage referred to, which if 
 communicated to him could not fail, I think, of proving in a 
 certain degree flattering to him, and with a person of his ar- 
 tifice lead, through Dr. O'Meara to communications for the 
 
 ear and observation of the Prince Regent himself. He 
 
 founds his vindication principally on the strict injunctions he 
 has received from persons in public situations to send home 
 accounts of what is passing here, and the approbation given 
 to his letters at the Board as confidentially communicated 
 to him by Mr. Finlaison." 
 
 O'Meara's version of this interview, and his comments upon 
 the conversation, are contained in the following extract from 
 a letter written by him to his friend Mr. Finlaison on the 
 10th of October : 
 
 " Some days back Montholon came to me, and after re- 
 questing secrecy if I did not comply with his demand, told me 
 that a letter had been written by him to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 containing a statement of supposed grievances ; that he was 
 very anxious to get the letter known, and that he would wish 
 me to read it. Being anxious to obtain all the information 
 
264 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 possible to communicate to you, I naturally was very glad of 
 the opportunity, and accepted it. Montholon then asked me 
 to send it to England in order to have it put in the ' Morn- 
 ing Chronicle,' which 1 refused to do directly (as I had done 
 once before, when he asked me to send to England his decla- 
 ration), and only kept the letter for the purpose of taking a 
 copy to send to you. I told Sir Hudson, this day, that 
 Montholon had done so, and that he had given me the letter. 
 He was very much displeased at the idea of its being made 
 known, and also with me for having read it, so that I was 
 obliged in my own defense to make known to him that I was 
 authorized to make communications respecting Bonaparte to 
 the Admiralty. He appeared surprised and annoyed at this, 
 and said that it was not proper ; that the Admiralty had no- 
 thing to do with what took place respecting him ; that he 
 did not communicate it to the Duke of York ; that it ought 
 not even to be made known to any of the Cabinet Ministers, 
 except the Secretary of State, with whom he corresponded 
 himself, and that he would make some arrangements accord- 
 ingly. He added, that my correspondence ought to go through 
 him. I replied very respectfully, that, as I had been in the 
 habit of obeying those received from the Board of Admiralty 
 under whose orders I naturally was, I had not thought it im- 
 proper to communicate to them such information and anec- 
 dotes as I thought they might be pleased with, and concluded 
 with submitting to him that it would be much better for me 
 to resign the situation, which I was ready to do. To this ho 
 replied, he was far from desiring such a step, and said that 
 the subject altogether required some deliberation, and thus 
 the matter rests. Until, however, I have received directions 
 from you not to correspond, I will continue to do so, or will, 
 as I told him, resign a situation always delicate, and now pe- 
 culiarly and embarrassingly so." 
 
 Few, I think, will be disposed to deny that Sir Hudson 
 Lowe was right in the view that he took of this matter. It 
 is, perhaps, not difficult to understand why these communica- 
 tions were received by the Cabinet without his knowledge, 
 
Oct. 1816. WARNINGS AS TO ESCAPE. 265 
 
 for the Ministry might think that if he were made acquainted 
 with the fact it would be difficult, if not impossible, for O'Meara 
 to continue the correspondence, of which secrecy seemed an 
 essential condition, and they would thus lose the advantage 
 of this private channel of information. But it was hardly 
 fair toward a public servant in such a situation to keep him 
 in ignorance of what was going on, and this was keenly felt 
 by the Governor after his discovery of the circumstance. 
 
 In a letter published in the ' Morning Chronicle' of the 3d 
 of March, 1823, Mr. Finlaison, speaking of a letter which he 
 had received from O'Meara in July, 1815, said, " some expres- 
 sions in this letter led me to doubt the propriety of entertain- 
 ing a correspondence of the nature offered to me by Mr. O'Meara 
 without the authority of my official superiors. I therefore 
 thought proper to communicate the letter to Mr. Croker, who 
 declined authorizing such a correspondence without consulting 
 Lord Melville. His Lordship, on being referred to, said that 
 he saw no reason why I should not receive the letters which 
 Mr. O'Meara might choose to write to me, and that it might 
 even be advantageous to hear from an impartial and near 
 observer the situation of Bonaparte and his suite. But in 
 order that no duplicity should be practiced on Mr. O'Meara, I 
 was desired to apprise him that his letters would be seen by 
 the Ministers." 
 
 The Eurydice brought also for the Governor the following 
 letter from Mr. Goulburn, the Under Secretary at War : 
 
 " Downing-street, July 20, 1816. 
 " Si R — Lord Bathurst has this day received your letter of 
 the 4th ultimo, stating the dislike evinced by General Bona- 
 parte to being accompanied by a British officer in the excur- 
 sions which he may make beyond the limits assigned to him, 
 and the reasons which induce you to consider a compliance 
 with his wishes on this subject as of very doubtful propriety. 
 His Lordship has directed me to acquaint you, without loss of 
 time, that he considers it on every account most important 
 not to deviate from the rule which has been heretofore adhered 
 to in this respect, and that the disposition which General Bona- 
 Vol. I— M 
 
266 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 parte has shown to converse with, and give money to, the 
 lower classes of the inhabitants, renders it, in his Lordship's 
 opinion, highly necessary not only that he should be constantly 
 accompanied by a British officer when beyond his limits, but 
 that the officer should be instructed to prevent, as far as pos- 
 sible, all that intercourse with the inhabitants which General 
 Bonaparte seems so disposed to cultivate. 
 
 "I have, &c. Henry Goulburn." 
 
 That there was some reason for increased vigilance is appar- 
 ent from an accompanying dispatch from Earl Bathurst, dated 
 July 25th, which inclosed copies of two letters received by 
 Messrs. Menet, merchants in the city of London, and which 
 they lost no time in communicating to the Government. The 
 inclosure No. 1 was received by them on the 21st of May, and, 
 although the communication was anonymous. Messrs. Menet 
 had some reason for attributing it to a correspondent of theirs 
 at Milan ; and, in conformity with instructions which they 
 received from Government to that effect, they applied to the 
 supposed writer for further information. The inclosure No. 2 
 was the reply to that application. 
 
 The letters were the following : 
 
 "No. 1. — Your Government is deceived. Napoleon has 
 already gained over a person at St. Helena. If you a.re a true 
 Englishman, profit by this information, which is given you 
 by a sincere countryman, and advise your Government to be 
 upon its guard." 
 
 " No. 2. — Perfect confirmation. We can not give the de- 
 tails, but the fact is positive. Keep your eyes well open ; 
 watch the slightest movement, and take away certain power- 
 ful means that always succeed in corrupting (gold.) Burn 
 this." 
 
 In transmitting these inclosures Lord Bathurst pointed out 
 the necessity of still further precautions, and added— 
 
 " As it appears both from these letters and from your dis- 
 patches that General Bonaparte has money at command, which 
 he disposes of at his own pleasure, I have to express my earn* 
 est desire that you would adopt some means of ascertaining 
 
Oct. 1816. WARNINGS AS TO ESCAPE. 267 
 
 the nature and amount of the funds at his disposal, and of pre- 
 venting his receiving any further pecuniary supply without 
 your perfect knowledge and acquiescence." 
 
 On the 27th of May, 1816, Sir Charles Stuart, our embas- 
 sador at Paris (afterward Lord Stuart de Rothesay), wrote to 
 Viscount Castlereagh, and, after mentioning a suspicious cir- 
 cumstance, said — 
 
 "The Austrian Minister at this Court, at the same moment, 
 communicated a letter to this Government which has been 
 intercepted by the police of Vienna, and is addressed to Gen- 
 eral Morand at Cracow. This letter contains an obscure 
 allusion to St. Helena, Ascension, and Philadelphia ; and a 
 reference to future communications in cipher, which General 
 Morand is to receive from General Eilly, explaining several 
 circumstances of material importance respecting the present 
 situation of Bonaparte." 
 
 And on the 8th of July Sir Charles informed Lord Castle- 
 reagh — 
 
 " The French Government have received intelligence that 
 a person named Carpenter, who is a citizen of the United 
 States of America, is equipping a fast-sailing vessel, in the 
 Hudson River, for the express purpose of facilitating the es- 
 cape of Bonaparte from the island of St. Helena. The state- 
 ment I have received from the Duke de Richelieu upon this 
 subject does not enable me to point out the precise period 
 when this vessel may be expected to sail. The fact is, how- 
 ever sufficiently credited by M. de Richelieu to induce his 
 Excellency to recommend that apparent security should not 
 lead to a relaxation of the vigilant system adopted on the ar- 
 rival of Bonaparte at his present residence, and of which his 
 Excellency considers the necessity is fully proved by the intel- 
 ligence which is daily received of the projects contemplated 
 by his adherents in France and the Netherlands." 
 
 On the 17th of July Lord Bathurst wrote in a private let- 
 ter to Sir Hudson Lowe, " You had better impose some restric- 
 tion on the visits of those who are on their return to England. 
 It would be hard, and would indeed be considered suspicious. 
 
266 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 if you were not to gratify the curiosity which naturally exists 
 to see so extraordinary a man ; but all previons and subse- 
 quent intercourse with his followers should be strictly prohib- 
 ited, and the interviews with Bonaparte should not be allowed 
 to any passenger more than once, and to some, I think, might 
 be denied. No intercourse with his followers, except in the 
 presence of a British officer. When you do not allow, or he 
 himself refuses, a personal interview, a sight of him at a dis- 
 tance would satisfy many. You should also make those to 
 whom you give the permission of a presentation give a promise 
 that they will refuse to be the channel of clandestine commu- 
 nications. 
 
 " You will also impress strongly (you can not too strongly 
 do so) on Bonaparte's followers that they are there only on 
 good behavior, and that their situation on being sent out of 
 the island will be very different from what it would be on 
 their applying for leave to depart — that in the latter plan 
 facilities will be given them to return to Europe ; that in the > 
 former, none whatever will be given. With the fear of being 
 thus dismissed without any provision whatever constantly 
 before them, they will not be so much inclined to hazard 
 clandestine communications in future. But to counteract the 
 impression which such reports as shall have reached England 
 will possibly make, I have to beg you will collect together as 
 many instances as possible of the many gross falsehoods which 
 I know they utter ; and I am sorry to say that General Ber- 
 trand is as guilty of this as any of the rest." 
 
 He also said in another private letter to the Governor — 
 "As upon reflection you may perhaps consider that my 
 advice to you that General Bonaparte's temper should be 
 borne with is to recommend you to subject yourself to his in- 
 sulting language, I can not help adding that I would by no 
 means wish you to continue the same personal attentions to 
 him which you may be inclined to show him otherwise, if he 
 makes so ill a return ; and your communications must be 
 through other channels, and in a way to show that he is de- 
 grading himself by such misconduct. You will, however, be 
 
Oct. 1816. INSTRUCTIONS FROM LORD BATHURST. 21=9 
 
 always willing to overlook it when he expresses himself sorry 
 for his having forgotten himself. I have only to add, that 
 we consider it a very essential point, particularly until the 
 iron railing shall arrive, to ascertain late in the evening and 
 early in the morning, that he is safe." 
 
 On the 1st of October the Governor 1 proceeded to Long- 
 wood, accompanied by the officers of his staff for the purpose 
 of acquainting Bonaparte with the purport of the instructions 
 which he had received from England ; hut Napoleon said he 
 was suffering from toothache, and could not receive him. 
 O'Meara however, saw Bonaparte twice on that day, and he 
 gives us in his book 2 the following account of the second in- 
 terview : 
 
 " At four p.m. Napoleon sent for me, and desired me to look 
 at one of the dentes sapientice, which was carious and loose. 
 
 1 It may be worth while to refute, in a note, a calumny against Sir 
 H. Lowe arising out of the arrival of the Eurydice. By that vessel a 
 letter came for Napoleon, the contents of which Sir Hudson Lowe has 
 been accused, in opprobrious terms, of having published ; whereas he 
 took every precaution to prevent its being seen by any person except 
 Bonaparte himself, but the outer envelope was accidentally opened by 
 Captain Poppleton, the orderley officer at Longwood (through whom all 
 letters for the French were transmitted), in his eagerness to see if it 
 contained any letters for himself. He wrote the following note of ex- 
 planation to Major Gorrequer : — 
 
 " My dear Gorrequer : — I write to you from Sir George's [Major- 
 General Sir G. Bingham], as the governor had a few minutes only quit- 
 ted Plantation House. I came over to explain this mistake, which I 
 am sorry for. I opened the packet, and saw no other than one inclo- 
 sure ; and, to tell the truth, I thought there ought to have been some- 
 thing for me ; but, not seeing any thing I immediately opened the sec 
 ond and began counting the letters, when I understood the orderly, who 
 was standing at my elbow, said, ' There's another letter, and you'll 
 please to give me a receipt.' I then took up the Governor's note, but 
 it was easy for me to make a mistake. I did not see the note till the 
 orderly asked me for a receipt for the letters, and I thought he said, 
 ' There's a letter and I will thank you for a receipt.' Have the good- 
 ness to explain this to the Governor, and say I am sorry for the mis- 
 take, but that no notice was taken of it. Madame Bertrand came out 
 immediately, and told me the contents of the letter to Napoleon Bona- 
 parte. Yours most truly, " T. Poppleton." 
 
 2 "Voice," vol. i pp. 129, 130. 
 
270 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 He asked hie if I knew what the Governor wanted, or why 
 he wished to see him ? I replied that perhaps he had some 
 communication from Lord Bathurst, which he did not like to 
 deliver to any other person. ' It will he hetter for us not to 
 meet,' said Napoleon: 'it is probably some betise of Lord 
 Bathurst, which he will make worse by his ungracious man- 
 ner of communicating it ; I am sure it is nothing that is good, 
 
 or he would not be so anxious to deliver it himself. Lord 
 
 is a bad man, his communications are bad, and he is worse 
 than all. Nothing good can arise from an interview. The last 
 time I saw him he laid his hand upon his sabre two or three 
 times in a violent manner. Therefore, go to him, or to Sir 
 T. Reade, to-morrow, and tell him that if he has any thing 
 to communicate he had better send it to Bertrand, or Bertrand 
 will go to his house : assure him that he may rely upon Ber- 
 trand's making a faithful report. Or let him send Colonel 
 Beade to me to explain what he has to say ; I will receive 
 and hear him, because he will be only the bearer of orders, 
 and not the giver of them ; therefore, if he comes upon a bad 
 mission I shall not be angry, as he will only obey the orders 
 of a superior.' " 
 
 On the next day O'Meara again saw Bonaparte, who, with 
 some additional offensive expressions, repeated his wish not 
 to see the Governor, and desired the doctor to communicate 
 his sentiments to him. O'Meara then went to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, and reported Bonaparte's message, " suppressing," as 
 he says, "the offensive parts." This he was required to 
 give to him in writing ; and afterward Sir Hudson Lowe dic- 
 tated the following notes for the reply which O'Meara was 
 to make to Bonaparte, and of which he has printed only an 
 abstract in his work, although he calls it a copy. 1 
 
 " 1. To say that the principle object of the Governor in de- 
 siring to see General Bonaparte himself, arose from a sense of 
 attention to him, in making him acquainted with any instruc- 
 tions received respecting either himself or any officers of his 
 suite before communicating the subject to them. That the in- 
 
 1 "Voice,'' vol. i. pp. 133, 134. 
 
Oct. 1816. REFUSAL TO SEE THE GOVERNOR. 271 
 
 structions principally regarded the latter, but there were points 
 even regarding them upon which he was the properest person 
 to decide. 
 
 " 2. That, besides, the state of the Governor's relations both 
 with General Bertrand and with General Montholon prevent- 
 ed him from attempting to make either of them the channel, 
 the former having declined any communication, and the lat- 
 ter having latterly addressed him in a style which would pre- 
 vent his ever applying through him on any matter connect- 
 ed with General Bonaparte's establishment, unless in reply 
 to General Bonaparte's own communications, if he thought 
 proper to make use of Count Montholon for the purpose. The 
 Governor had therefore no other channel than General Bona- 
 parte himself, not being willing to have recourse to persons 
 who had never been authorized by him. 
 
 "3. The mode in which the Governor would have desired 
 to make his communication would have been in the presence 
 of Sir Thomas Reade, or some other officer of his personal staff, 
 General Bonaparte himself having any officer of his suite also 
 present. This he conceives the proper mode on the occasion 
 of any interview, whether official or otherwise ; and to this 
 he would still desire to have recourse at present. Firm him- 
 self in the intention never to say any thing which might of- 
 fend or displease ; acting always in compliance with his in- 
 structions ; and his object having been, on the occasion of 
 the interviews with Count Bertrand and General Bonaparte 
 (which were productive of the most violent and offensive lan- 
 guage to him), to modify and conciliate the strict letter of his 
 instructions with every possible degree of regard and attention 
 to General Bonaparte himself, he can not comprehend the mo- 
 tives of resentment which could operate with such force against 
 him. 
 
 " 4. That if, however, an interview with other persons pres- 
 ent is still resisted, the Governor would have no objection to 
 send an officer to communicate in general the purport of what 
 he wants to say, and leave the details to be settled afterward. 
 
 " 5. That if General Bonaparte wishes to send Count Ber- 
 trand, the Governor will have no objection to receive him, 
 
272 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 but he will expect, in such case, that a regret and concern is 
 distinctly expressed at the language and conduct to which he 
 was exposed on the occasion of his last interview with that 
 officer, when he went to communicate with him by General 
 Bonaparte's own desire. He conceives the same expressions 
 of concern are also due to him for the manner in which he 
 was received and spoken to by General Bonaparte himself 
 when he went to complain of Count Bertrand's conduct ; and, 
 on being so made acquainted, he shall not have the slightest 
 hesitation to express his own concern at any thing in his man- 
 ner or expressions which may have been thought unpleasant, 
 which as there was no previous design or intention on his part 
 of saying any thing offensive, and his words merely repelling 
 what he considered an unprovoked attack on him, is more than 
 what he would consent to do to a person in any other situation. 
 " 6. So long, however, as General Bonaparte is resolved to 
 dispute with the Governor for endeavoring to execute his or- 
 ders, he sees little chance that any arrangements, even of this 
 nature, could have a proper effect." 
 
 O'Meara tells us that on receiving this communication 
 " Napoleon smiled contemptuously at the idea of his apolo- 
 gizing to Sir Hudson Lowe ;" and on the 3d he had a long 
 conversation with Napoleon, who indulged in gross abuse of 
 the Governor, calling him a geolier and galeriano. "Ac- 
 cording to his desire," says O'Meara, " I wrote an account of 
 what he had said to Sir Hudson Lowe, avoiding, however, to 
 repeat the strongest of his expressions." This account agrees 
 substantially with that which O'Meara has printed, 1 and there- 
 fore need not be here repeated. The concluding paragraphs, 
 however, deserve attention : 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. i. pp. 129-132, 135-138. One instance, however, 
 of O'Meara's unfairness merits notice. In the " Voice" (vol. i. p. 132) 
 he tells us that Bonaparte said of the Governor, " He came up here 
 yesterday, surrounded by his staff, as if he were going in state to as- 
 sist at an execution instead of asking privately to see me." But he 
 does not publish in his book what he added to this passage when he 
 quoted it to his friend Mr. Finlaison in a letter of the 10th of October, 
 1816, " This I suppose was invented and told him by Montholon, to 
 whom Sir Hudson had addressed himself on his arrival." 
 
Oct. 1816. 0'MEA.RA'S REPORT. 273 
 
 " It is a very unpleasant office, Sir, for me to hear such ex- 
 pressions as he makes use of, and still more so to be under 
 the necessity of repeating any part of them to you ; but I trust 
 that you will consider that I have hitherto been very cautious 
 in ever repeating to you any of his offensive language, and 
 that it is now in consequence of the desire which you ex- 
 pressed yesterday that I have done so, and consequently hope 
 that you will not feel any displeasure toward me for a disclo- 
 sure which I have for a long time endeavored to avoid mak- 
 ing. Also, I beg to request that no intimation may be given 
 to him that I have made you acquainted with any part of the 
 foregoing, unless that which he desired me to make known." 
 
 In his letter to the Governor, O'Meara states that Bona- 
 parte said that, the last time he and the Governor were to- 
 gether, the latter had put his hand two or three times on his 
 sabre. This drew from Sir Hudson Lowe an instant and in- 
 dignant denial in the following letter, marked " Private," 
 which was the first he ever wrote to O'Meara : 
 
 "Plantation House, October 3, 1816. 
 "Dear Sir — I am much obliged for the information you 
 have given me. I have done every thing in my power, after 
 your communication to me, to prove there was no personal 
 vindictive feeling on my part. Not having been met, I am 
 the better pleased to leave matters to their natural course and 
 to the judgment of the authority to which they have been 
 reported. You may most distinctly contradict to General 
 Bonaparte tliat I ever laid my hand on my sivord ; wit- 
 nesses can prove it ; none but a confirmed villain could think 
 of doing so against an unarmed person. With respect to the 
 instructions I have received and my manner of making them 
 known, never having regarded General Bonaparte's opinions 
 in any point, whether as to matter or manner, as an oracle 
 or criterion by which to regulate my own judgment, I am 
 not disposed to think the less favorably of the instructions, or 
 my mode of executing them ; on the contrary, he is, I fear, in- 
 sensible to any true delicacy of proceeding. To treat with him 
 one must be either a blind admirer of his faculties, or a yield- 
 
274 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 ing instrument to work with — a mere slave in thought to him j 1 
 otherwise he who has business which opposes his views must 
 make up his mind to every species of obloquy. I send Sir 
 Thomas Reade to him with my communications. 
 
 "I remain, &c, H. Lowe. 
 
 " P.S. Before General Bonaparte proposes any other style 
 of appellation, he should himself drop the title of Emperor. 
 If he wishes to assume a feigned name, why does he not pro- 
 pose one 1" 
 
 As Bonaparte was resolved not to see Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 the latter sent Sir Thomas Reade to him on the 4th of Octo- 
 ber, who wrote a minute of what took place. Having found 
 Napoleon in the garden at Longwood, he delivered to him a 
 paper containing some extracts from Lord Bathurst's dis- 
 patches, which Las Cases translated to him. Sir Thomas 
 Reade then proceeds : 
 
 " He asked what four persons were to leave him, remarking 
 at the same time there were but four ; to which I answered 
 I could not tell. He then asked if they were officers ; to 
 which I made the same answer as before. He desired Count 
 Las Cases to read the paper again, which he did. When he 
 came to that part which mentioned about the four people 
 leaving him, he looked at Count Las Cases, and said in 
 Italian, ' Fra poco tempo me se leveranno tutti gli altri, e 
 qualche matina m' amazzeranno." During our walk he 
 made the following expressions, but did not address them par- 
 ticularly to me : ' Che rabbia di persecuzione — poi me se 
 perseguitera meglio andra e mostrera almondo.' This he re- 
 peated twice. He again asked if I knew what persons were 
 
 1 In the margin of the volume into which this letter is copied, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe has written opposite to this passage, " Meant for Mr. 
 O'Meara himself." And, writing to Earl Bathurst on the 10th of Oc- 
 tober, he explained his object thus : " Some parts of Dr. O'Meara's 
 letter appearing to me to require comment, I addressed a few private 
 lines to him in reply (of which a copy is inclosed), wherein I endeavor- 
 ed principally to strike at the impression he might himself receive from 
 the boldness of General Bonaparte's assertions, and the air of infalli- 
 bility with which he always utters them." 
 
Oct. 1816. SIR T. READE'S INTERVIEW. 275 
 
 to go : I answered as I had done before. ' As to Captain 
 Piontkowski,' he said, ' I do not even know who he is ; they 
 tell me he was a soldier in my guards at Elba, and that is 
 all I know about him.' " 
 
 Sir Thomas Reade on leaving Bonaparte went immediately 
 to General Bertrand, whom also he found walking in his gar- 
 den with Madame Bertrand. He showed him the paper and 
 told him that the Governor wished to see him and the other 
 officers of General Bonaparte's suite, either collectively or in 
 any other manner which might best suit their convenience. 
 Bertrand replied that he would wait upon the Governor at 
 any time he would appoint, and said he was very sorry that 
 the Governor and himself had not been on good terms, but 
 that he thought it better that the communications between 
 them should cease, as the letters which had been written by 
 him to the Governor were of such an unpleasant nature, but 
 they were not his own ; he was compelled to write what he 
 had been directed to do. " Madame Bertrand," says Sir 
 Thomas Reade, " repeated this several times to me." He 
 then took leave, and next day General Bertrand called upon 
 Sir Hudson Lowe by appointment. A full account of the 
 interview is contained in the Governor's dispatch to Earl 
 Bathurst on the 10th, but it will be only necessary to quote 
 the following : 
 
 " He asked me whom I intended to send away? I replied 
 it had been my wish to concert this point with General Bona- 
 parte himself; that I had no desire to remove those whose 
 society might be supposed to give him the greatest consola- 
 tion, or who might be of the most use to him in his present 
 situation ; that at all events I wished to wait and see who 
 were the persons that signed the declaration, and would then 
 best determine who were to go away. Judging from my 
 opinion of the persons who had shown the most disposition to 
 quarrel with the proceedings of the British Government, and 
 who were most active in keeping up the irritation of General 
 Bonaparte's mind, I should without hesitation name Count 
 Las Cases General Bertrand asked if they would be 
 
276 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VII. 
 
 exposed to any further restrictions than those now in force ? 
 I told him him I had been instructed to use additional pre- 
 cautions for the security of General Bonaparte, and some 
 alterations would be made in the existing regulations, but 
 that I would inform him of them before the declarations were 
 presented* for signature." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OBJECTIONS OP THE FRENCH TO SIGNING THE DECLARATION 
 
 ALTERATIONS MADE BY SIR HUDSON LOWE IN THE REGULA- 
 TIONS PROPOSAL OP BONAPARTE TO ASSUME ANOTHER NAME 
 
 INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR AND COUNT BER- 
 
 TRAND ON THE SUBJECT NSPOLEON ON THE NEW TESTA- 
 MENT HIS CRITICISM ON THE BATTLE OP WATERLOO LET- 
 TER FROM O'MEARA TO MR. FINLAISON, AND HIS DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE STYLE OF LIVING AT LONGWOOD MORE PLATE 
 
 BROKEN UP, AND MONTHOLON's ACCOUNT OF THE STRATAGEM 
 CALUMNY OF O'MEARA. 
 
 On the 8th of October Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Bertrand, 
 and inclosed a copy of the declaration to be signed by the 
 officers and others who had accompanied Bonaparte to St. 
 Helena. He said — 
 
 " Those who may not be disposed to subscribe to the same 
 I am directed to cause the embarkation of for the Cape of 
 Good Hope. In offering the above declaration for their signa- 
 ture, the officers and other persons will, however, understand, 
 they will not bind themselves irrevocably by it, to remain on 
 the island of St. Helena, as I am authorized to admit their 
 departure within a reasonable time after they may have made 
 any application to me to this effect. They will in such case 
 be sent to the Cape of Good Hope, where they will be under 
 the protection of the Governor of that colony. They will be 
 furnished, at the time of their departure, with what may be 
 necessary for their voyage. 
 
 "I am further instructed to acquaint those to whom the 
 declaration may be presented for signature, that, while re- 
 maining on the island of St. Helena, they, and all individuals 
 of their family who are resident on the island, will bo subject 
 to the provisions of the Act of Parliament, 56 Geo. III. chap. 
 22 (copy of which is inclosed), by which all persons who are 
 
278 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 subjects of his Majesty, or owing allegiance to him, ivhich 
 allegiance they do oive while they are permitted to reside in 
 his dominions, assisting in or privy to the escape of General 
 Bonaparte, are considered guilty of felony ; and it is to be 
 clearly understood that, should any of them be convicted of 
 such offense, the law will be rigidly enforced against them. 
 To this law, whether the declarations are signed or other- 
 wise, every individual becomes, from the date of this com- 
 munication, immediately subject." 
 
 The inclosed form of declaration was as follows : 
 
 If a married person. 
 " I, the undersigned, do hereby declare that it is my desire 
 to remain with my wife and family on the island of St. Helena, 
 and to participate in the restrictions imposed upon Napoleon 
 Bonaparte personally." 
 
 If an unmarried person. 
 " I, the undersigned, do hereby declare that it is my desire 
 to remain on the island of St. Helena, and to participate in the 
 restrictions imposed upon Napoleon Bonaparte personally." 
 
 In a letter of the 10th of October to Sir Thomas Reade, 
 O'Meara said — 
 
 " Gourgaud and Montholon went this morning to Bertrand's, 
 in order either to sign or consider on the new declarations. 
 Las Cases sent for me this morning, and complained of ill 
 health ; said that his life was daily extinguishing. I could 
 not, however, discover any alteration in his appearance more 
 than common, neither did he complain of any particular 
 symptoms. Bonaparte told me this morning that he had 
 recommended strongly to the French officers to go away, that 
 he would be more independent without them." 
 
 On the 14th the French officers signed the declarations ; 
 but as they had substituted the words " l'Empereur Napoleon" 
 for "Napoleon Bonaparte,' 1 the paper was returned by Sir 
 
 1 Count Montholon says : " 14th October. — This morning the Grand 
 Marshal, by the Emperor's order, made each of us sign the following 
 declaration, which he sent to the Governor : ' I. the undersigned, declare 
 
Oct. 1816. DIFFICULTY WITH THE OFFICERS. 279 
 
 Hudson Lowe with a letter to Count Bertrand, in which he 
 said — 
 
 " I can receive no declaration which gives to General Bo- 
 naparte the title of ' l'Empereur Napoleon,' that of ' Napoleon 
 Bonaparte,' as expressed in the copy of the declaration, being 
 the proper name, and to which there ought to he no reasona- 
 hle objection to sign." 
 
 " In the evening of the 14th," says Count Montholon, " Sir 
 Hudson Lowe sent hack to the grand Marshal the declara- 
 tions and the letter which contained them. I have little 
 doubt that the Emperor expected it ; hut during dinner he 
 exclaimed against the indignity of Sir Hudson Lowe's de- 
 mands, and forbad us to sign any thing except the declaration 
 which he had himself dictated to the' Grand Marshal. On 
 returning to his room he dictated to me the answer which he 
 wished Bertrand to make to the Governor." Next day Sir 
 Hudson Lowe arrived at Longwood with his staff just when 
 the letter had been written, and it was placed in his hands. 
 It was as follows : 
 
 "Longwood, October 15, 1816. 
 
 " Sir — The officers and other persons who have signed the 
 declarations which I have had the honor to address to you 
 consent to submit to the unexampled restrictions which 
 are imposed upon them. But they can sign nothing which 
 in its forms can alter the respect they bear to the Emperor, 
 for whom they are ready to make any sacrifice, even of their 
 lives. I have the honor, &c. 
 
 " Le Comte Bertuand." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's object in going to Longwood was to 
 have an interview with Bertrand and his companions respecting 
 their declarations. He was attended by Lieutenant-Colonels 
 Wynyard and Sir Thomas Reade, and by Major Gorrequer, 
 and a long discussion took place between him and each of the 
 French officers, who came separately and at intervals into 
 
 that it is my desire to remain in the island of St. Helena, and to share 
 the restrictions imposed upon the Emperor Napoleon personally." 
 — Recits, vol. i. p. 417. 
 
280 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. CiiAr. VIII. 
 
 the room. It related entirely to the question of Napoleon's 
 right to the title of Emperor, and is now wholly uninteresting. 
 But Sir Hudson Lowe's account of the demeanor of the differ- 
 ent generals is graphic and characteristic : 
 
 *' Count Bertrand appeared exceedingly agitated while he 
 was delivering himself, and struggling, as it were (by the 
 feelings he showed), to make an impression on me. Count 
 Las Cases' appeared quite a studied oration. The strain of 
 adulation with which he expressed himself respecting the 
 ' Emperor' appeared to have very little of sincerity in it ; 
 and he latterly seemed quite to lose himself in a labyrinth of 
 thought and perplexity in attempting to convey to me the 
 profound sentiments with which he felt himself inspired. 
 Count Montholon spoke with great plausibility and modera- 
 tion, but it was evidently a mere repetition of the lesson he 
 had received. General Gourgaud commanded attention to 
 every thing he said by his candor and sincerity. He is the 
 only person of the four who saved their [his ?] honor on the 
 occasion, as he said he had no objection to sign the declara- 
 tion in the form it was offered, but that the commands of the 
 ' Emperor' forbad it." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe now resolved to be no longer trifled with, 
 and in the evening of the same day he wrote to Bertrand and 
 told him that those who refused to sign the declaration would 
 be immediately embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, with 
 the exception only of himself and Countess Bertrand with 
 their children and female domestics, Bonaparte's maitre- 
 d'hotel, cook, and valet-de-chambre, and one other domestic. 
 He said — 
 
 " I have been induced, Sir, to make an exception in favor 
 of your family at the present moment in consequence of the 
 situation of the Countess Bertrand,' but feel it my particular 
 duty to acquaint you I can henceforward receive no com- 
 munication which has relation to the affairs of General 
 Bonaparte in which any other title is given to him than 
 that by which he is called in the Convention signed at 
 
 1 Madame Bertrand was then near her confinement. 
 
Oct. 1816. MONTHOLON'S ACCOUNT. 281 
 
 Paris "by the Allied Powers, and in the Acts of the British 
 Parliament." 
 
 Count Montholon gives the following dramatic account of 
 the reception of this letter, and of the effect which it pro- 
 duced in the circle round Napoleon : 
 
 "In the evening he read 'Don Quixote.' While he was 
 reading, the Grand Marshal showed him the letter which he 
 had just received from the Governor, transmitting to us the 
 order to hold ourselves ready to depart the next morning, the 
 16th, at eight o'clock, 1 for the Cape of Good Hope, General 
 Bertrand only, for the time, excepted, on account of the preg- 
 nancy of the Countess Bertrand. The Emperor affected a 
 calm which he did not feel. But soon afterward, laying the 
 book on the table, he said, 'One ought to have more courage 
 than I have, to laugh at such trifles in such circumstances.' 
 A profound silence followed these few words. Neither he nor 
 we could restrain our emotion. General Gourgaud arose, as 
 if from a convulsive movement, crying, ' I am going to sign.' 
 I followed his example. The Emperor did not stop us — far 
 from it, his look thanked us. A quarter of an hour- afterward 
 our declarations would have been in the hands of Captain 
 Poppleton, if, at the moment we were leaving the dining- 
 room, the Emperor had not called us back to dictate to me 
 the letter which he thought it proper that the Grand Marshal 
 should write to Sir Hudson Lowe to explain to him the cause 
 of our determination ; but when the Emperor had made me 
 read to him what he had dictated, he changed his intention, 
 and caused us to write a letter to Bertrand, which he was to 
 transmit to the Governor as the expression of the sentiments 
 which had induced Gourgaud and me to disobey him. Las 
 Cases on his part did so likewise. At midnight all was finish- 
 ed, and Captain Poppleton had our signatures in his hand." 2 
 
 1 The letter says nothing about "the next morning at eight o'clock." 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's exact words were, " I shall make an immediate ap- 
 plication to the commanding officer of the Navy to furnish the means 
 of embarkation for the Cape of Good Hope." 
 
 2 Recits, vol. i. pp. 419-420. Las Cases's account is quite different 
 from Montholon's (see Journal, Oct. 15, 1816). 
 
282 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 And now what does O'Meara say of the scene ? In his 
 printed narrative he merely tells us ' that — 
 
 "The prospect of separation from the Emperor caused great 
 grief and consternation among the inmates of Longwood, who, 
 without the knowledge of Napoleon, waited upon Captain 
 Poppleton after midnight and signed the obnoxious paper 
 (with the exception of Santini, who refused to sign to any in 
 which he was not styled ' l'Empereur'), which was transmitted 
 to the Governor." 
 
 But a much more amusing though less complimentary ac- 
 count was given by the doctor to his friend Mr. Finlaison, in 
 a letter dated the 23d of December, 1816. Speaking of Sir 
 Hudson Lowe's note to Bertrand, he says — 
 
 " This threw them into the greatest consternation ; and, 
 notwithstanding all the vaporing of the morning and asser- 
 tions of ' honor before life,' accompanied with gestures such 
 as baring their bosoms, and protesting that a dagger should 
 be passed through hearts faithful even in death, and which 
 even in the last agonies would vibrate only for the Emperor, 
 ere they would sign his degradation, Montholon, Las Cases, 
 and Gourgaud came into Captain Poppleton's room in the 
 dead of the night, with crest-fallen countenances, streaming 
 eyes, and the declarations signed in their hands, imploring of 
 him to send them at that unseasonable hour of the night to 
 the Governor : 3 so much had the fear of being sent away be- 
 
 1 Voice, vol. i. p. 155. 
 
 3 This picture of weeping distress is maliciously drawn by O'Meara. 
 It does not seem to have had any foundation in fact. Captain Popple- 
 ton merely says, " Between eleven and twelve o'clock on the night of 
 the 15th of October, General Montholon, General Gourgaud, and Count 
 Las Cases came to my room, with four sheets of paper, which they told 
 me were the declarations required of them (three of them were signed 
 by the above-named officers, and the other by all the domestics except 
 one — Santini), requesting of me to forward them to the Governor. I 
 was addressed by Count Las Cases, who said they were determined, if 
 possible not to quit Bonaparte ; that they had signed these papers out 
 of regard to him ; that it was an act of their own, and not by the direc- 
 tion of Bonaparte ; that he was unacquainted with it. I remarked that 
 Count Bertrand's declaration was not among them. I was told General 
 Dertrand's would be ready in the morning." 
 
Oct. 1816. THE DECLARATIONS SIGNED. 283 
 
 wildered their intellects that they imagined themselves al- 
 ready on board the ship destined to convey them away. The 
 next morning also Montholon went into Poppleton again at 
 five o'clock, begging of him to hurry the documents away, 
 fancying every moment that he saw an officer and party in 
 the road to bundle them on board of the ship. Bertram] 
 was much more consistent, as his protestations against signing 
 were not so violent." And in the same letter O'Meara says 
 that, when Bonaparte observed to him that the French Gen- 
 erals had shown great devotion in signing the declaration, 
 preferring to remain with him under all the restrictions, and 
 against his own will and command, to going to Europe, " I 
 replied, that I thought, if they were permitted to return to 
 Europe directly instead of going to the Cape, in all probabil- 
 ity they would not have been so ready to stay." 
 
 Count Bertrand signed his declaration the next morning, 
 and thus all farther difficulty on that subject was removed. 
 
 In the mean time, acting in conformity with the instruc- 
 tions he had received from England, which so strongly en- 
 forced the necessity of the additional precaution, Sir Hudson 
 Lowe framed a set of regulations, which were arranged al- 
 phabetically as follows : 
 
 " Heads of proposed Alterations in the Regulations 
 for the Persons at Longwood. 
 
 " A. Longwood, with the road along the ridge by Hutt's 
 Gate to the signal-gun near the Alarm-house, will be estab- 
 lished as the limits. Sentries will designate the external 
 boundary as well as that beyond which no person can ap- 
 proach Longwood House and garden without the Governor's 
 permission. 
 
 " B. The road to the left of Hutt's Gate, and returning by 
 Woody Ridge to Longwood, never having been frequented by 
 General Bonaparte since the Governor's arrival, the posts 
 which observed it, will for the greater part, be withdrawn. 
 Should he, however, wish at any time to ride in that direc- 
 tion, by giving the orderly officer timely notice of it he will 
 meet with no impediment. 
 
284 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 " C. If he is desirous to extend his ride in any other direc- 
 tion, an officer of the Governor's personal staff will always 
 (on being informed in sufficient time) be prepared to attend 
 him ; and, should time not admit, the orderly officer at Long- 
 wood. The officer who attends him will be instructed not 
 to approach toward him, unless so requested, nor to interfere 
 in any respect with him during his ride, except so far as duty 
 may require on observing any departure from the established 
 rules, when he will ride up and respectfully inform him of it. 
 
 " D. The regulations already in force for preventing com- 
 munication with any person without the Governor's permis- 
 sion will be required to be strictly adhered to ; it is requested, 
 therefore, General Bonaparte will abstain from entering any 
 houses, or engaging in conversation with the persons he may 
 meet 1 (except so far as the ordinary salutations of politeness, 
 with which every one will be instructed to treat him, may ap- 
 pear to require), unless in the presence of a British officer. 
 
 " E. Persons who, with General Bonaparte's acquiescence 
 may at any time receive passes from the Governor to visit 
 him, can not use such passes to communicate with the other 
 persons of his family, unless it is so specifically expressed in 
 them. 
 
 " F. At sunset the garden inclosure round Longwood House 
 will be regarded as the limits. Sentries will be placed round 
 it at that hour, but will be posted in such a manner as not 
 to incommode General Bonaparte with their personal observ- 
 ation of him, should he continue his walks in the garden after 
 that time. They will be drawn round the house as hereto- 
 fore during the night, and the limits will remain closed until 
 the sentries are withdrawn entirely from the house and garden 
 in the morning. 
 
 " G. All letters for Longwood will be put up by the Gov- 
 ernor under a sealed envelope, and the packet sent to the 
 orderly officer, to be delivered sealed to any officer in attend- 
 ance upon General Bonaparte, who will be thus assured that 
 the contents will have been made known to no other person 
 
 1 See Lord Bathurst's instructions on this point in Mr. Goulbum's 
 letter of the 20th of July, 1816, p. 266, ante. 
 
Oct. 1816. ALTERED REGULATIONS. 285 
 
 than the Governor. In the same manner, all letters from 
 persons at Longwood must be delivered to the orderly officer, 
 put up under an outer envelope sealed to the address of the 
 Governor, which will assure that no other person than him- 
 self will be, acquainted with their contents. 
 
 " H. No letters are to be received or sent, or written com- 
 munications of any kind pass or be made known, except in 
 the above manner ; nor can any correspondence be permitted 
 within the island, except such communications as it may be 
 indispensable to make to the purveyor, the notes containing 
 which must be delivered open to the orderly officer, who will 
 be charged to forward them. 
 
 " The above alterations will commence on the 10th instant. 
 
 " H. Lowe. 
 
 " St. Helena, October 9, 1816." 
 
 On the 11th Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Earl Bathurst, and 
 explained at length his reasons for the alterations he had 
 made in the Regulations. He said — 
 
 "The first alteration is that with respect to his limits, a 
 part of which, never having once been used by him since my 
 arrival here, has, on account of the numerous posts and sen- 
 tries which were uselessly employed in guarding it, been 
 struck off. He is, however, still at full liberty to proceed 
 there when he gives notice of it to the orderly officer in wait- 
 ing, who is directed either to follow him, or to send out parties 
 for the day to the posts which were before occupied ; and the 
 principal advantage, therefore, of the change is, that the actual 
 limits are much more precisely defined than before, and that 
 the officers and persons of his suite have no longer the same 
 pretext for ranging about a part of the country where there 
 are a greater number of inhabitants' houses than in any other, 
 and with some of whose proprietors attempts have been made 
 to tamper or to communicate more freely than I think it ad- 
 visable to permit, and who have been thus drawn into a 
 greater degree of familiarity with General Bonaparte him- 
 self than strict prudence should allow. 
 
 " Another point on which alteration has ensued is that of 
 
286 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 the sentries mounting guard over Longwood at sunset, instead 
 of nine o'clock at night as before. "With that deference, how- 
 ever, to General Bonaparte's feelings which I have under all 
 circumstances endeavored to evince, I have abstained from 
 directing them to be posted round the house until the former 
 hour, and only placed them round the garden, in such situa- 
 tion as least exposes to their incommoding him by their obser- 
 vation if walking in the garden after sunset, while they must 
 see him, or any other person, should an attempt be made to 
 pass beyond the limit of the garden after that hour. By his 
 own desire, and even upon some complaints being made that 
 it was not more speedily done, an inclosure has been recently 
 thrown round the garden to prevent cattle and sheep from 
 entering it ; and it has been constructed in such a manner as 
 to yield to the above arrangement, though, from the scattered 
 style in which the buildings at Longwood were commenced, 
 and partly finished, before my assuming the government here, 
 the inclosure is still far from being so defined and complete 
 as I should desire. A plan which I shall transmit to your 
 Lordship will point out the nature of its localities. 
 
 " The alterations in other points it is unnecessary to com- 
 ment upon. There is still a considerable period of the day 
 (from the time the sentries are withdrawn in the morning 
 until sunset) in which it is by no means difficult for General 
 Bonaparte to effect his escape from the boundaries assigned 
 as his limits during the day. Longwood, with the road to 
 the Alarm-house, contains a circuit of about eight miles. It 
 is impossible so effectually to watch all their extent by sen- 
 tries as to prevent his passing unpereeived through some part 
 of the line, particularly in rainy and foggy weather. The 
 principal security, therefore, during the day, rests in his being- 
 seen, or its being ascertained by some other nearly certain 
 means that he is in the house in the morning and at the close 
 of the day 
 
 " When I waited on Sir Samuel Shepherd 1 I expressed my 
 desire the law should extend if possible to the prevention of 
 any correspondence or communication (the same as with an 
 ' Solicitor-General. Vide pp 110, 111, ante. 
 
Oct. 1816. NATURE OF ALTERATIONS. 287 
 
 enemy), unless with the express authority of Government. 
 At present no penalty attaches to the receipt or delivery of a 
 letter or written communication, except its evident design is 
 to facilitate evasion from this island. How far General Mon- 
 tholon's letter (without date), received on the 24th of August, 1 
 comes under such a construction, I am unable from my own 
 legal knowledge to form any opinion upon. The object in 
 writing it is not concealment, but publicity ; its matter per- 
 haps much worse than any mere project to facilitate escape. 
 "Whether it comes under the provision of the Act I am unable 
 to determine ; but I should be happy to have legal opinion 
 whether the calumnies which are leveled in it against me 
 are not actionable at common law, both in respect to the 
 writer (whether the letter becomes printed or not) or in re- 
 spect to those who have endeavored to circulate its contents ; 
 and whether, particularly in the event of its publication, I 
 shall be authorized to carry on any action against the writers 
 and circulators of it in this place, or in any other where they 
 may happen to be, both for the defamation as affecting my 
 public situation, as well as against my private character ?" 
 
 The Regulations thus altered are those which O'Meara calls 
 " the infamous, the nation-degrading Restrictions ;" after 
 which, he says, " I determined to abjure Sir Hudson Lowe 
 and his gang as soon as my appointment had been confirmed 
 in writing." 2 We shall soon see how much truth there is in 
 this assertion. 
 
 In order, however, that this question may be properly un- 
 derstood, and because it is one of the most important con- 
 nected with Napoleon's captivity, and in relation to the con- 
 duct of the Governor, it is essential to explain more at length 
 what was the exact nature and amount of the alterations 
 made by Sir Hudson Lowe in the Regulations as they existed 
 at the time of his arrival at St. Helena, and his reasons for 
 the change. For this purpose we shall quote a dispatch which 
 
 1 Vide p. 223, ante. 
 
 2 Vide pp. 77, 78, ante. See Napoleon's Observations on the altered 
 Regulations, and the Governor's Notes on those Observations, among 
 the Letters and Documents at the end of the work. 
 
288 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Yin. 
 
 lie wrote to Earl Bathurst on the 30th of December, 1817, 
 and in which he went fully into the subject : 
 
 " For the better understanding of the motives and principle 
 of any regulations established by me which may be regarded 
 as differing from those of my predecessor, I shall briefly state 
 the manner in which I found things regulated at the time of 
 my arrival here and the cause of any alterations which after- 
 ward followed. Napoleon Bonaparte, with all his followers 
 and attendants (the Count and Countess Bertrand excepted), 
 was established at Longwood, with a limit of twelve miles 
 round the place of his residence, within which he and all in- 
 dividuals of his family were permitted to take exercise, on foot 
 or on horseback, at any time during the day and until nine 
 o'clock at night, unaccompanied by a British officer or any 
 person in authority whatever. At nine o'clock sentries were 
 posted round the house, and no person was permitted In quit 
 it until after daylight. An officer of the rank of Captain was 
 stationed at Longwood House, who had orders to attend Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte if he wished to ride in any other part, of the 
 island beyond his limits. This officer had directions to report 
 twice a day, morning and afternoon, Napoleon Bonaparte's 
 actual presence at Longwood, the knowledge of which he was 
 to endeavor-to obtain, when he could not satisfy himself on 
 the point by his own personal observation, from Mr. O'Meara, 
 or by any other means which might occur to him. As the 
 signal was made before sunset, the hour of which varies dur- 
 ing the year from half past five until half past six, when the 
 shortness of the twilight renders it dark almost immediately 
 after, the period consequently between the time when the sig- 
 nal was made and nine o'clock at night, when the sentries 
 were posted round the house, remained exposed to great uncer- 
 tainty. No person could traverse any part of the island after 
 nine o'clock without the countersign ; but until that hour a 
 free passage was permitted to every one. Thus nearly three 
 hours of dark were left during almost the whole of the year, 
 during which no kind of internal restraint whatever could be 
 considered as operating either on Napoleon Bonaparte himself 
 or on the persons of his suite, and it tvas particularly during 
 
Oct. 1816. REASONS FOE, ALTERED REGULATIONS. 289 
 
 this period, opportunities of clandestine communication, if such 
 were sought after, could he most readily availed of. A house 
 was constructing for Count Bertrand within the precincts of 
 Longwood, hut in the mean time he resided at Hutt's Gate (a 
 mile or thereabouts from Longwood), at which place was a post 
 with orders to prevent any person not military from passing 
 to the eastward in the direction of Longwood, except such as 
 had the Governor's permission, provision-carriers to the camp 
 and Longwood, and other persons having business at one or 
 the other place. It was, as I believe, originally intended that 
 the house in which Count Bertrand lived should be included 
 in that part to which no person should be permitted to pass 
 without the Governor's permission, but this state of things did 
 not exist at the time of my arrival. A guard was placed at 
 the entrance of Longwood grounds, with orders to prevent any 
 person whatever from visiting at Longwood House without a 
 pass from the Governor, the Admiral, Brigadier-General Sir 
 George Bingham, or an invitation to serve as a pass from 
 Count Bertrand. The house in which Count Bertrand lived 
 at Hutt's Gate being without the precincts of Longwood, no 
 restraint whatever scarcely eould be considered as existing 
 upon communication with him. A caution once given to the 
 sentry to refer any inhabitants who might wish to visit there 
 to an officer who lived close to the spot, in order to pass them 
 in, gave the greatest offense, being, considered to be entirely 
 repugnant to the state of things that existed before I arrived 
 here. Strangers and passengers arriving by the East India 
 Company's vessels rarely, it is true, went up to visit Count 
 Bertrand without obtaining a permission to go beyond Hutt's 
 Gate, as their ulterior object was always to visit Napoleon 
 Bonaparte ; but having once the permission to pass Hutt's 
 Gate, no restraint whatever existed upon their communication 
 as often as they pleased with Count Bertrand, and visits, in 
 conjunction either with the inhabitants or the officers of the 
 island, were so frequent that the house might be literally said 
 to be almost always full. Sir George Cockburn himself saw 
 the inconvenience resulting from this, and told me, had he 
 foreseen Count Bertrand's house at Longwood would have 
 Vol.. I.— N 
 
290 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 been so long constructing, he should not have given him the 
 latitude he then possessed, and said he thought I ought to put 
 some restraint upon the communication with him. Though 
 the guard at Hutt's Gate had orders to prevent all persons 
 not military, with the exceptions as above stated, from pass- 
 ing in the direction of Longwood, yet, as the road between 
 Hutt's Gate and the Alarm-house and that to the southward 
 of Hutt's Gate, with the valleys and houses on either side, 
 were within the limits, and [there were] no restraints upon 
 any individual whatever, even strangers who might arrive, 
 in communicating with them, it is evident that all the checks 
 imposed were partial, and might be rendered inoperative by 
 the most moderate invention, in arranging meetings with any 
 person at any place and at any time until nine at night, 
 without any infraction even of any existing rule, either on the 
 part of Napoleon Bonaparte or any of his followers, and that 
 the only check consequently was on the discretion of the indi- 
 viduals at Longwood, or in the force of the proclamations 
 issued against unauthorized correspondence or communica- 
 tion, which, where accidental rencontres or those which might 
 be represented as such occurred, would always find an excuse 
 on the score of accident for their infraction. The instructions 
 of Government in respect to open correspondence I found in full 
 force, so far as related to letters destined for or received from 
 Europe. I was never informed that any correspondence, wheth- 
 er by letter, notes, or otherwise, was permitted within the isl- 
 and. Sir George Cockburn acquainted me he had acceded to 
 their desires at Longwood in making an arrangement by which, 
 if an invitation was sent by Count Bertrand to any person who 
 had been presented to Napoleon Bonaparte to dine with him, it 
 was to be received at the guard as a pass without any reference 
 to him. This was the only point of view in which Count Ber- 
 trand's passes were spoken of to me ; but as invitations or 
 passes might be sent under sealed envelopes through any hand, 
 it was thus easy by such means to commence a species of cor- 
 respondence which, by degrees, would draw into precedent for 
 notes or letters on other subjects, as experience proved it did. 
 It is obvious while such a liberty existed I was dependent 
 
Oct. 1816. REASONS FOR ALTERED REGULATIONS. 291 
 
 wholly on the discretion of the persons at Longwood, or those 
 whom they might address, and that all the rules with respect 
 to correspondence in general might be rendered entirely nuga- 
 tory, even under the cover of an authority from me, where 
 there was permission to send sealed notes through uncertain 
 hands without their being shown to me. Count Bertrand 
 has said Sir George Cockbum authorized a sealed correspond- 
 ence. I have stated it was only a toleration arising out of the 
 cause above mentioned ; but from whatever cause springing, 
 it is certain notes did pass, and the first example I had that 
 no bounds of proper discretion were likely to be followed was 
 by having a sealed note brought to me by an inhabitant of 
 the island, which he had received at Count Bertrand's, with 
 a request to deliver it to the French Commissioner, whom 
 Napoleon Bonaparte had refused to receive the visit of, but 
 with whom an attempt was then made to correspond and 
 communicate in a private manner at Count Bertrand's house 
 by the persons of his suite almost immediately after his arrival. 
 I have thus touched upon the leading regulations in force at 
 my arrival, and stated in a general manner some of the in- 
 conveniences against which they did not appear to me suffi- 
 ciently to guard. My instructions were the same as those of 
 Sir George Cockbum, with the sole addition (which, though 
 not contained in his instructions, had been acted up to nearly 
 in the same manner as if it had been expressed in them) that 
 Napoleon Bonaparte was not to communicate with any per- 
 son whatever excepting through my agency. My instructions, 
 however, contained a communication of which Sir George 
 Cockburn could not have been well apprised at the time of 
 his establishing the first regulations on this island, viz. that 
 regarding the appointment of the Commissioners of the Allied 
 Powers, who, with their respective families or foreign attend- 
 ants, soon after arrived at the island, and for my guidance in 
 respect to whom I had no other instruction than that con- 
 tained in the Convention at Paris. However I might have 
 thought some points not sufficiently considered with respect 
 to permanent arrangement, I forbore making any change until 
 circumstances proved to me that inconveniences were likely 
 
292 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 to follow. One of the first points of duty to which my atten- 
 tion was required after my arrival here was to obtain from 
 the persons who followed Napoleon Bonaparte to this island, 
 a declaration of their voluntary residence upon it. The papers 
 given in by them severally on this occasion spoke only of the 
 rank and title of Emperor, and evinced that they all consid- 
 ered themselves, or wished to have themselves considered, as 
 political characters, bound only by their allegiance to him, 
 and that under the assumption of such a character it was per- 
 mitted to utter language of the most marked disrespect toward 
 the Government through whose consideration they had been 
 permitted to attend him to this island, and against the author- 
 ity under whom they were placed. This spirit and feeling was 
 in full operation at the time of my receiving instructions from 
 Government to demand fresh declarations from the officers 
 who had accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte hither. It was a 
 particular request of Count Bertrand to me that I would give 
 him in writing an abstract of the several regulations to which 
 he and the other persons who might subscribe to the declara- 
 tions would be subject. This leading principle of the declar- 
 ation was that the followers of Napoleon Bonaparte were to 
 be subject while they remained on this island to precisely the 
 same restrictions as himself, but they were at liberty to quit 
 the island on giving timely notice thereof. I framed in con- 
 sequence the Regulations of the 9th of October, the article 
 most complained of in which is that wherein Napoleon Bona- 
 parte, and consequently all his followers, are requested not to 
 engage in prolonged conversations with the persons they may 
 meet unless in the presence of a British officer. My original 
 instructions prescribed that Napoleon Bonaparte should always 
 be attended by a British officer, who, when he passed beyond 
 the limits where the sentries might be placed, should have 
 one orderly at least, attendant upon him. The arrangement 
 made by my predecessor had, however, given him an extent 
 of twelve miles, within which he as well as all the persons 
 of his suite might take exercise unaccompanied by any person. 
 Within this range there were several inhabitants' houses as 
 wi'U as houses of free blacks and of slaves. The limit of 
 
Oct. 1816. REASONS FOR ALTERED REGULATIONS. 293 
 
 twelve miles was (except in the immediate precinct of about 
 four miles round his house) open for the greater part to all the 
 inhabitants of the island, strangers, to the foreign Commis- 
 sioners, and, in fact, to every person who had any business 
 whatever either with the troops or inhabitants of the island 
 residing in the district where his limits were placed. The 
 attempts to elude the spirit of the established rules in respect 
 to external communication had been particularly obvious. No 
 sooner had Count Montholon addressed his remarkable letter 
 without date to me, than passengers and strangers who had 
 obtained my passes to Longwood were closeted by him 'or 
 Count Las Cases, and had this letter shown to them, in order 
 that they might disseminate its contents. They had also copies 
 offered to them to take home. One gentleman in particular 
 who suffered the letter to be read to him repeated its contents 
 at the mess of the 53d regiment only two days after I myself 
 had received it. An officer of the 53d regiment who was go- 
 ing to England was accosted by Captain Piontkowski with a 
 request to allow him to show him the letter, in order that he 
 might make its contents known in England ; he was at the 
 same time offered letters of recommendation from Captain 
 Piontkowski in the name of Count Bertrand if he should go 
 to Paris, and had flattering hopes held out to him of the re- 
 ception he would in such case experience. One English per- 
 son alone received a copy of this letter. 1 It remained in his 
 possession for some days, and he confessed the intention of 
 making extracts from it to send to England, but circumstances 
 induced the disclosure that the letter had been received by 
 him, and it was delivered up to me. I have it now in my 
 possession in Count Montholon's own handwriting. These 
 circumstances certainly presented a sufficient motive for lay- 
 ing some restrictions upon the intercourse with the followers 
 of Napoleon Bonaparte, except in the presence of a British 
 officer, not merely of such strangers or other persons who 
 might be permitted to visit him, but even with such as might 
 be casually met with, particularly as the regulation to be es- 
 tablished had regard to the permanent residence on the island 
 1 The person here alluded to was O'Meara. 
 
294 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 of the persons for whom it was intended, and it would have 
 been hardly just to them to have obtained their declarations 
 and to have imposed fresh restrictions upon them immediately 
 afterward. It was soon discovered that the suggestion for the 
 prevention of conversations except in the presence of a British 
 officer had excited great anger and jealousy. The departure 
 of Captain Piontkowski in the first instance, and afterward 
 that of Count Las Cases, appeared to render the enforcement 
 of these rules less necessary, and I therefore rescinded them in 
 a letter addressed to Count Bertrand, dated December 26. 
 This letter, however, did not prove satisfactory, and I had 
 several observations to answer in a paper sent to me the day 
 after by Count Bertrand, with the signature of Napoleon to it. 
 It is my reply to these observations which is designated under 
 the title of the Restrictions of the 14th of March. 1 The lead- 
 ing article complained of in this paper is that wherein Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte and his officers are requested, if they ride in a 
 particular direction, not to deviate from the principal road." 
 
 It appears then that, supposing the effect of the new regu- 
 lations was to out off from the original limits the road along 
 Woody Ridge and the intervening valley or ravine, the space 
 within which Napoleon might take exercise unattended by a 
 British officer and free from interruption or observation had an 
 ambit of eight miles. It was in the form of an irregular tri- 
 angle, the apex of which was Hutt's Gate, and to obtain access 
 to Longwood from James Town it was necessary to pass that 
 point which may be called the key of the position. Through 
 the whole of this portion of the island Napoleon might range 
 at will in the daytime in as much privacy as is enjoyed by 
 any gentleman in his park in England. The reasons why he 
 was not allowed free access to the ravine are sufficiently ex- 
 plained by Sir Hudson Lowe in his letter. For the purpose 
 of exercise on horseback it would have added little to his con- 
 venience, and in it were scattered a number of cottages of 
 
 1 i. c. 14th of March, 1817. It must be remembered that the letter 
 quoted in the text, which alludes to the so-called Restrictions of that 
 date, was written in December, 1817. 
 
Oct. 1816. EXTENT AND NATURE OF LIMITS. 295 
 
 native blacks into which it was not thought expedient that 
 he should enter without some surveillance being kept over 
 him. But it must be specially noticed that if Bonaparte at 
 any time wished to make use of the road along Woody Ridge, 
 which was reached by crossing the ravine, he had only to 
 give notice to the orderly officer, and he might then ride there 
 as free from control as if it were within the actual limits. The 
 only restriction imposed upon him was a request that he would 
 confine himself to the road itself, and not deviate in a lateral 
 direction. And in fact the requirement as to notice to the or- 
 derly officer was never acted on, and Napoleon was allowed 
 to use the road as part of his limits. 1 
 
 When the nature and extent of the space thus afforded are 
 thoroughly understood it is worse than idle to pretend that 
 Napoleon was unnecessarily cramped in the enjoyment of per- 
 sonal liberty. In no other part of the island could he have 
 had so wide a range allowed him, and nowhere else could he 
 have had such facilities for exercise on horseback or in a car- 
 riage. Except in the camp at Deadwood and at the outposts 
 where picquets were stationed, not a soldier was to be seen 
 keeping watch and ward over the captive in the daytime, but 
 at night a cordon of sentries was drawn round the house, a 
 measure of precaution to which it seems difficult for the most 
 determined opponent of the regulations to object. 
 
 While on the subject of Napoleon's limits and the restric- 
 tions generally, we may mention that, on the 9th of October, 
 1817, the Governor transmitted to Count Bertrand a memo- 
 randum which stated that the "limits for exercise are at pre- 
 sent the same, or nearly so, as were at first established. The 
 Governor has no objection to extend them by the road round 
 the Alarm House as far as Mr. Brooke's grounds, in which, 
 as well as in those of Miss Mason, are both trees and shade, as 
 much as can be found in almost any part of the island." And 
 he added, with respect to Visits, "the only real difference 
 which exists in the Regulations at this moment and those 
 established by Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn is, that 
 
 1 See Sir Hudson Lowe's observations in No. 45, among the Letters 
 and Documents at the end of the work. 
 
296 CAPTIVITY' OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 Count Bertrand's invitations to Longwood must pass through 
 the orderly officer. 
 
 "The Governor has no objection whatever against an open 
 card or invitation being sent through the orderly officer to any 
 of those persons under his authority who may have been once 
 presented, or to any stranger passing by the island who may 
 apply at Longwood to be introduced there ; cards or invita- 
 tions, when so sent, will be regarded as passes." 
 
 Also with regard to Night Sentries ; " The sentries before 
 the Governor's arrival were not posted until 9 o'clock at night ; 
 at present they are placed round the garden after sunset, and 
 are brought close to the house. 
 
 "The pointed instruction of the British Government on this 
 head has already been made known. The matter has been 
 also discussed in Parliament : the Governor therefore can not 
 alter the rule. He. will not object to extend the circle after 
 sunset, so as to place the sentries more out of view from the 
 garden (during the summer months), in order that exercise 
 may be taken more free from any observation. 
 
 " These points being understood, and the rules which pre- 
 scribe that no letter can be received or sent through any other 
 channel than the Governor, or written communications of any 
 kind pass except through the orderly officer, remaining in force, 
 there will be no objection on his part to consider the Regula- 
 tions of the 9th of October, 1816, and the modifications also 
 of the 14th of March, 1817, as rescinded, leaving all other 
 General Regulations established as heretofore." 
 
 On the 16th of October O'Meara wrote to the Governor and 
 gave him an account of a conversation he had with Bonaparte 
 that morning. The latter told him that he had sent for him 
 in order that he might acquaint the Governor with his real 
 sentiments, which he had dictated to St. Denis for that pur- 
 pose. " 'Here,' continued he, ' is what I intend to send to 
 the Governor, which I have written myself, and of which 
 he is now taking a copy.' While saying this, he took up a 
 piece of paper, on which were written (I observed in his own 
 handwriting) words and meaning similar to those in the paper 
 
Oct. 1816. PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME. 297 
 
 afterward given by him to me to be delivered to you, Sir. He 
 read aloud the entire of it, every now and then stopping, and 
 asking me if I perfectly understood it. After having finished 
 reading it, he said, ' Take the copy of this as soon as St. Denis 
 has finished it, and give it to the Governor, and acquaint him 
 that such are my intentions. If he asks you why I did not 
 sign it, tell him that I said it was unnecessary, as I had read 
 it out to you myself, and explained it to you in order that you 
 might testify to it.' He then said that he had retained the 
 title of 'Emperor Napoleon' in opposition to that of General 
 Bonaparte, which last the English Ministry wished to give 
 him, because, he said, he felt, as it were a slap in the face 
 whenever he was addressed General Bonaparte, because, if the 
 French nation had a right to give him one title they had an 
 equal right to give him another. He said ' They may call me 
 Monsieur Napoleon ; but as that is a name too well known, 
 and might perhaps, recall recollections which it might be de- 
 sirable should be forgotten, and, besides, as it is a name not 
 consonant to the forms of society, it v/ould perhaps be better 
 to drop it. I would therefore (in that case) wish to be call- 
 ed either Colonel Meuron or Baron Duroc.' Here he asked 
 me if I knew who Duroc was ; to which I replied in the 
 affirmative. He then said he had been his Grand Marechal, 
 and was killed at Bautzen, I think it was. He continued, 
 ' As Colonel is a title denoting military rank, perhaps it might 
 give umbrage, and therefore probably it would be better to 
 adopt that of Baron Duroc, which is the lowest feudal rank. 
 Tell the Governor then,' continued he, ' that if he receives 
 this communication and writes, or causes to be written, to 
 Bertrand, that he acquiesces in either of them, such will be 
 adopted. It will remove many difficulties which this title 
 has thrown in the way, and will facilitate communication : it 
 will be the first step, as to the propriety of which both of us 
 agree ; it will, perhaps, smooth the way. I caused this to 
 be mentioned before to Admiral Cockburn by Montholon, who 
 promised that he would acquaint the English Government 
 with it, and I have since heard no more about it.' I asked 
 him here whether the communication made by Montholon to 
 
298 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 Sir George Cockburn was a written or a verbal one ? He look- 
 ed at me earnestly, and said,' What, I suppose that you think 
 Montholon has been telling me lies !' I smiled at this, and 
 probably looked as if I thought so ; and he continued, ' No ; 
 it is not so. I assure you that such a communication was 
 made to him while I was at tK4 Briars, one or two days be- 
 fore I left it.' 1 He then rang the bell and called St. Denis, 
 asked him if he had copied the paper, to which the other re- 
 plied in the affirmative. He desired him to bring it to him, 
 which he did accordingly. He (General Bonaparte) then took 
 the paper which I have given to you, Sir, this morning, and 
 made me read it out aloud, asked me if I perfectly compre- 
 hended it, and explained to me some parts of the writing which 
 was not very plain, underlined some part of it himself, gave 
 it to me himself, and desired me to go directly to the Gov- 
 ernor and give it to him, and to acquaint him that that paper 
 contained his sentiments." 
 
 The following is a translation of the paper received by 
 O'Meara from Bonaparte on the 16th of October : 
 
 " It occurs to me that, in the conversation which has taken 
 place between General Lowe and several of these gentlemen, 
 things were said in reference to my position which are not in 
 conformity with my ideas. I placed my abdication in the 
 hands of the representatives of the nation, in favor of my son. 
 I removed to England with confidence, either to reside there 
 or in America, in the strictest retirement, and under the name 
 of a Colonel who fell at my side ; resolved to remain a stran- 
 ger to all political affairs of ivhatsoever nature they might 
 be. Arrived on board the Northumberland, I was told that 
 I was a prisoner of war, that I should be transported beyond 
 the line, and that I was General Bonaparte. I was necessi- 
 tated to retain ostensibly my title of Emperor Napoleon in 
 opposition to the title of General Bonaparte, which they de- 
 sired to impose upon me. Seven or eight months ago Count 
 
 1 It is almost nceedless to mention that this allusion to Count Mon- 
 tholon is omitted in O'Meara's printed work. See " Voice," vol, i. pp. 
 156, 157. 
 
Oct. 1816. PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME. 299 
 
 Montholon proposed, as a means of removing the little incon- 
 veniences which were ever recurring, the adoption of an 
 ordinary name; the Admiral deemed it expedient to write 
 to London on the subject, and there the affair dropped. At 
 present I am addressed by a name which has at least this 
 advantage — that it does not prejudice the past, but which 
 is not in conformity with the rules of society. I am quite 
 ready to take any ordinary name, and 1 repeat that, when it 
 may be deemed proper to release me from this cruel abode, lam 
 resolved to remain a stranger to ■politics, whatever may be pass- 
 ing in the world. Such is my resolve, and any thing which 
 may have been said different from this would not be the fact." 
 
 O'Meara delivered this paper the same day to the Gov- 
 ernor, who deemed it of so much importance that he required 
 him to authenticate it by an affidavit. But as he thought it 
 would be more satisfactory if the paper had Napoleon's signa- 
 ture, he desired O'Meara to communicate this to him, but at 
 the same time to say that the Governor did not intend to con- 
 vey the slightest imputation on its authenticity, either as to 
 its words or spirit, but simply to obviate any objections that 
 might be raised against it. 
 
 O'Meara immediately went to Bonaparte, who asked him 
 if he had brought the paper back. On being answered in the 
 negative, he said that it waafiot his intention that it should 
 be sent to the British Government ; that he only intended it 
 should be read and shown to the Governor and then returned to 
 himself. As he seemed really anxious to get the paper back, 
 Sir Hudson Lowe allowed him to have it, but first took a copy 
 of it, which as well as the original he caused O'Meara to at- 
 test upon oath. 
 
 Next day O'Meara wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe and told him 
 that he had just had an interview with Bonaparte, and some 
 conversation with him respecting his proposed plan of a change, 
 of name. O'Meara said — "He professed his willingness to 
 adopt one of those mentioned yesterday, and AeclsLve&positively, 
 that if you would take upon yourself to approve of it, and that 
 if you would give to understand to Bertrand, or even to me, 
 
300 OATTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Till. 
 
 that you consented to it, and that you -would address him 
 accordingly, he would write a letter himself and sign it, de- 
 claring that he would adopt one of the names proposed. This 
 he said in a manner which was so clear as to leave no doubt 
 of his meaning. He added also that ' one half of the disgusts I 
 have experienced here (la meta dei disgusti che ho provato qua) 
 arose from that title.' From what he afterward said — as he 
 asked me whether I was going to Plantation House this day, 
 and on my replying in the negative, he said, ' It will be time 
 enough to-morrow' — I am inclined to think that he intends 
 making a communication to you on the subject to-morrow." 
 
 On the 18th Sir Hudson Lowe informed Bertrand by letter 
 that it was his intention to send away Captain Piontkowski, 
 Santini, Rousseau, and one of the Archambaults, or the two 
 Archambaults without Rousseau, and that he wished them 
 to embark before two o'clock in the following afternoon. 
 
 On the same day O'Meara called upon Sir Hudson and 
 told him that Las Cases' son had that morning delivered to 
 him a sealed paper without any address, saying, " the Em- 
 peror had sent it to him." He opened the cover and found 
 that it inclosed the original paper dictated by Bonaparte. 
 He then called on Las Cases to ask what he was to do with 
 the paper, but the Count said he did not know ; the Emper- 
 or had simply told him "to send it to Dr. O'Meara." Sir 
 Hudson Lowe desired O'Meara to keep the paper in his own 
 possession, return to Longwood, and endeavor to ascertain 
 what were Bonaparte's real intentions on the subject. 
 
 In a private letter to Lord Bathurst on the 1 8th Sir Hudson 
 Lowe remarked — 
 
 " Your Lordship will observe the pertinacity with which 
 every one strove to make it appear they were resolved sooner 
 to die than sign a paper which derogated from the respect 
 they owed to the ' Emperor,' and that General Bonaparte him- 
 self would force even his valet-de-chambre to quit him sooner 
 than suffer him to sign such a declaration as that presented : 
 yet on the very next day the whole signed, and General Bona- 
 parte makes known his intention to drop the Imperial title." 
 
Oct. 1816. PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME. 301 
 
 On the following day, the Governor, accompanied by Major 
 Gorrequer, had a long interview with Count Bertrand on the 
 subject of the proposed change of name. 
 
 The Count said, 1 " the Emperor had foreseen how embar- 
 rassing the retention of that title would be to him in various 
 circumstances ; that for his own convenience among a few 
 persons who accompanied him, and to avoid restraint in his 
 relations with them, it was desirable not to continue it ; that 
 he besides knew he could not use it in England, nor was it 
 customary for sovereigns, except when in their capitals, in 
 their courts, or with their armies, &c, to keep up the use of 
 their title ; when they traveled it was generally under an in- 
 cognito name. If it was, therefore, found expedient in such 
 cases, how much more so was it after abdication ; that, if 
 sovereigns divested themselves of their title when traveling 
 among their subjects, it appeared ridiculous to retain it at St. 
 Helena ; that the Emperor had, while residing at the Briars, 
 sent Count Montholon to Sir George Cockburn (with whom 
 the former then happened to be in communication) to propose 
 to him the adoption of the name of Colonel Meuron ; but Sir 
 George remarked that, this name belonging to a family, it did 
 not appear so free from objections as a feudal one would be, 
 which, not being that of any particular person, seemed to him 
 most advisable to take. The Admiral's answer being made 
 known to the Emperor, he remarked, he was a soldier, and a 
 name of that kind became him best ; he had fixed upon that 
 of Colonel Meuron merely because the person who bore it was 
 his aid-de-camp and was killed at his side .... General Ber- 
 trand descanted upon the injustice and the impropriety of the 
 British Government having fixed upon the appelation of Gen- 
 eral, after having treated with him as a Sovereign, and the 
 King of England having styled him ' Monsieur, mon frere,' 
 and had embassadors residing at his court. The Governor 
 here observed he did not recollect any circumstance in which 
 the King could have written to him and addressed him as 
 ' Monsieur, mon frere.' General Bertrand answered, it was 
 
 1 The passages quoted in the text are taken from Major Gorrequer's 
 minutes. 
 
302 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 when he was First Consul, and Lord Whitworth was sent to 
 France, and afterward on the occasion of Lord Lauderdale's 
 going ; for that no embassador was ever sent without a letter 
 from his own Sovereign to that near whom [qu. the court at 
 which ?] he was to reside, and such letters always began in 
 those terms .... The Governor remarked, there appeared to 
 have been a great misconception as to the title by which the 
 British Government had directed General Bonaparte to be 
 called ; that though he might have been treated with as Con- 
 sul, that was an elective and not an hereditary title, and pre- 
 sented no proper form of appellation under which General 
 Bonaparte could be designated ; that he had never been ac- 
 knowledged as Emperor, and General, therefore, was the only 
 term which offered ; that there was nothing to mortify or 
 humiliate in it ; on the contrary, it was the only distinctive 
 rank by which they could direct him to be called .... After 
 prolonging the conversation a little longer upon the same 
 subject the Governor said he was very glad he had received 
 this explanation from General Bertrand ; and, at parting, 
 again asked him if the paper brought to him (the Governor) 
 was to be considered as conveying General Bonaparte's real 
 sentiments. He replied, ' Je crois qu'oui certainement.' " 
 
 On the 27th of October Sir Hudson Lowe transmitted to 
 Lord Bathurst three plans of Longwood House, as observed in 
 his dispatch — 
 
 " Many parts of the house are still in an exceeding bad 
 state, particularly the apartments of Las Cases ; and the 
 house, as is evident from the plan, has the disadvantage of 
 being built in a most straggling and disconnected manner. 
 It is almost wholly a ground-floor, so that every window in it 
 may serve also as a door. There is no inclosed area round it 
 except the garden, which, as will be observed, is very exten- 
 sive. Eight sentries mount [guard] round the house, and 
 four in the garden during the night-time." 
 
 In a letter from him to Earl Bathurst on the 30th of October 
 occurs the following anecdote of Bonaparte : 
 
Oct.,,1816. ANECDOTES OF BONAPARTE. 303 
 
 " General Bonaparte continues indisposed with a swelled 
 face and breakings out. He is averse to the use of any ap- 
 plications to it, but has recently asked for a ioa,rming-pan, 
 which as no such thing was to be found in the island, we 
 have been compelled to get made for him. 1 Dr. O'Meara 
 related to me yesterday a very characteristic observation of 
 this remarkable personage. He asked him, on seeing that 
 Dr. O'Meara had taken his oath to the authenticity of the 
 paper he had brought to me, 2 in what manner he had sworn 
 to it. Dr. O'Meara replied ' On the New Testament.' ' Then 
 you are such a fool,' 3 was his reply. The latter is a partic- 
 ularly favorite word of his." 
 
 Another anecdote of the same nature was related by Sir 
 Hudson to Lord Bathurst in a letter of the 3d of November : 
 
 " Cipriani came out one day from General Bonaparte's room 
 to Dr. O'Meara, saying, in a manner indicative of great sur- 
 prise, ' My master is certainly beginning to lose his head. He 
 begins to believe in God, you may think. He said to the 
 servant who was shutting the windows, "Why do you take 
 from us the light which God gives us?" Oh, certainly he 
 loses his head. He began at Waterloo, but now it is certain." 
 Then continuing to speak of himself, Cipriani added, ' I do 
 not believe in God, because, if there were one, he would not 
 have allowed a man who has done so much harm to live so 
 long ; and he does not believe in God, because, if he believed, 
 he would not have caused so many millions of men to be 
 killed in this world, for fear of meeting them in the other.' " 
 
 O'Meara, on the 31st, transmitted to the Governor an ac- 
 count of a very interesting conversation which he had with 
 Bonaparte respecting the battle of Waterloo ; and as it differs 
 in some points, and especially in the expressions used, from 
 the narrative he has published, 4 it is here given at length. 
 
 1 Count Las Cases says in his Journal, " As a substitute for a warm- 
 ing-pan the Emperor has been obliged to have holes bored in one of the 
 larae silver dishes used for keeping the meat warm at table." 
 
 2 Vide p. 299, ante. 3 " Anche voi avete queste coglioneria." 
 4 Vol. i. pp. 173-178. 
 
304 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap.- VIII. 
 
 Longwood, October 31, 1816. 
 " Sir — The following conversation, which took place a 
 few days past between General Bonaparte and myself, may 
 probably not be uninteresting to you, as in it is explained his 
 opinion respecting the great battle which decided the fate 
 of Europe and of him ; though I must think that feelings of 
 jealousy toward the great Commander and the troops by 
 whose united efforts he was foiled must have, in a great 
 measure, formed that opinion : — ' The worst thing,' said he, 
 ' that ever England did was that of endeavoring to make her- 
 self a great military nation. In doing that she must always 
 be the slave of Russia, Prussia, or Austria, or at least in 
 some degree subservient to them, because she has not enough 
 of men to combat on the continent either France or any of 
 the others, and consequently must hire men from some of 
 them ; whereas at sea, you are so superior, your sailors so 
 much better, that you would always be superior, and could 
 command all the others with safety to yourselves and but 
 little comparative expense. Your soldiers, too, have not the 
 qualities for a military nation ; they are not equal in agility, 
 address, or intelligence to the French, and when they meet 
 with a reverse their discipline is very bad. When they get 
 from under the fear of the lash, .you can get them to do no- 
 thing, and in a retreat they can not be managed ; and if they 
 meet with wine or spirits they are so many devils (sono tanti 
 diavoli), and there is no longer any subordination. I saw 
 myself the retreat of Moore, and I never in my life witnessed 
 any thing so bad as the conduct of the soldiers ; it was 
 impossible to collect them or make them do any thing ; 
 nearly all were drunk. The officers, too, depend too much 
 upon interest for promotion. Your army,' continued he, ' is 
 certainly brave, nobody can deny it. If you had lost the 
 battle of Waterloo, what a state would England have been 
 in ! the flower of your army destroyed, for not a man would 
 have escaped, not even Lord Wellington himself!' I told him 
 here that Lord Wellington had determined never to quit the 
 field of battle alive. He replied, ' He could not leave it ; he 
 could not retreat; he would have been destroyed with his 
 
Oct. 1816. HIS OPINION OF ENGLISH SOLDIERS. 305 
 
 whole army; he said so himself to that cavalry officer who 
 was wounded. If Grouchy had come up at that time instead 
 of the Prussians, not a man Avould have escaped.' I now 
 asked him if he had not believed that the Prussians who 
 advanced on his right were Grouehy's division, for a long 
 time ? He replied, ' To he sure I did ; and I can even 
 now scarcely account for the reason why it was not Grouehy's 
 division and not them.' I then asked him what he sup- 
 posed would have been the event if neither Grouchy nor 
 the Prussians had come up that day, whether it would not 
 have been a drawn battle ; whether both armies would not 
 have kept their ground ? He replied, ' No'; the English 
 army would have been destroyed ; they were defeated before 
 mid-day (mezzo giorno). I would have gained every thing ; 
 - I had gained every thing ; I beat the Prussians ; but acci- 
 dent, or more likely destiny, decided that Lord Wellington 
 should gain it, and he did so. He was fortunate ; accident 
 and destiny favored him. I could scarcely have believed he 
 would have given me battle, because, if he had retreated as 
 he ought to have done to Antwerp, I must have been over- 
 whelmed by armies of three or four hundred thousand men, 
 coming against me, and against whom I could not possibly 
 resist. Besides, if they intended to give battle, it was the 
 greatest coglioneria in the world to separate the Prussian and 
 English armies ; they ought to have been united, and I can 
 not conceive the reason of their separation. It was also cog- 
 lioneria in him to hazard a battle in a place where, if de- 
 feated, all must have been lost, for he could not retreat.' 
 (Here he said something about a forest as a reason for Lord 
 "Wellington not having it in his power to retreat, which I 
 did not distinctly hear.) ' He would have been altogether 
 destroyed ; besides, he suffered himself to be surprised by me. 
 He ought to have had all his army encamped from the be- 
 ginning of June, as he must have known that I intended to 
 attack him : he might have lost every thing by it ; it was a 
 great fault on his part ; but he has been fortunate, and every 
 thing he did will meet with applause. My intentions were 
 to destroy the English army ; this I knew would produce 
 
306 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 an immediate change of Ministry. The indignation against 
 the Ministry for having caused the loss of forty thousand of 
 the flower of the English army, of the sons of the first fami- 
 lies, and others who would have perished there, would have 
 excited such a popular commotion that they would have heen 
 turned out : the people would have said, ' What is it to us 
 who is on the throne of France, Louis or Napoleon ? are we 
 to sacrifice all our hlood to place on the throne a detested fam- 
 ily ? No ; we have suffered enough, let them fight itout among 
 them ; it's no affair of ours.' The English would have made 
 peace and withdrawn from the coalition ; the Saxons Bavari- 
 ans, Belgians, Wirtemburghers, and others would have joined 
 me; the Russians would have made peace. I would have 
 been quietly seated on the throne ; I would have made peace 
 with all, which would have been permanent, for what could 
 France do after the treaty of Paris ? What was to be feared 
 from her ? This was my reason for attacking the English. 
 I had succeeded before twelve o'clock ; every thing was mine, 
 I might almost say, but destiny and accident decided it other- 
 wise. The English fought bravely doubtless, nobody can 
 deny it, but they would have been all destroyed ! What 
 would have been the state of the English army after the loss 
 of forty thousand of their best troops ; for I suppose that 
 there were about so many English in the field.' I asked 
 after this if the retaining of Malta by the English was the 
 real cause of the war ? He replied at first it was, but after- 
 ward seemed to say that the war would have broken out even 
 if that pretext had not been in the way. He added, ' Two 
 days before the departure of Lord Whitworth from Paris, he 
 offered to the Ministers and others about me thirty millions 
 of francs if I would consent that Malta should belong to the 
 English, and also to acknowledge me King of France.' Such 
 Sir, was the conversation, which I took down in writing di- 
 rectly after leaving him, and the correctness of which I can 
 assert ; and have the honor to remain, &c. 
 
 " Barry E. O'Meara." 
 
 Before quitting the month of October it will be interesting 
 
Oct. 1816. NAPOLEON AND THE "TIMES." 307 
 
 to give some quotations from a long letter written by O'Meara 
 to Mr. Finlaison, from which one or two extracts have been 
 already taken. The letter is dated the 10th of October : 
 
 " I forgot to mention that he made to me one day a long 
 complaint about ' The Times' newspaper being the one sent 
 to him. He said, ' They send me " The Times," that infa- 
 mous paper — the journal of the Bourbons. When I returned 
 from Elba I found among the papers of the Bourbons an ac- 
 count of a sum of 6000 francs monthly paid by them to the 
 editors of " The Times," with a hundred copies of the paper 
 monthly ; also I found the receipt of the editors, acknowledg- 
 ing it, signed by them.' He also said that he had received 
 several offers from the editors of London papers, and among 
 others ' The Times,' to write for him for payment even before 
 he went to Elba. He added, 'I am sorry I did not accept 
 of their offers, as my name would not have been so hated by 
 the English if I had done so : the papers in England form the 
 public opinion.' 
 
 " I beg you not to imagine that I participate in Bonaparte's 
 sentiments because I record his words, or that I by any means 
 vouch for the truth of his assertions ; on the contrary, several 
 of them I know to be incorrect (such as Sir Hudson's putting 
 his hand upon his sword, and all that coarse personal abuse 
 and obloquy vented by him, &c.) ; but as you have said in 
 your confidential letter that Mr. Croker wishes to hear every- 
 thing that I can pick up concerning him, I have thought it 
 right that Ministers should be in possession of his real mode 
 of speaking and thinking. You must be well aware that I 
 could not make a practice of communicating Bonaparte's lan- 
 guage to Sir Hudson Lowe, as it could not produce any good 
 purpose ; on the contrary, could not fail to aggravate and 
 render ten times worse the bad understanding which already 
 prevails between them ; and my situation would be convert- 
 ed into that of an incendiary ; neither am I placed about 
 him as a spy. Doubtless I would think it my duty, and would 
 instantly communicate to Sir Hudson any suspicions I might 
 have of a plan for taking him off the island, or if I saw any 
 
308 CAFTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 improper communication ; or, as I have already done, endea- 
 vor to accommodate matters between them. Sir Hudson 
 wishes that I should tell him every thing. I am convinced 
 that on the perusal of the above pages, Ministers will be of 
 the same opinion with me, viz. that the disclosure of them in- 
 discriminately could produce no good and could not fail to do 
 mischief. I would wish, consistent with Bonaparte's person- 
 al security, to ameliorate his situation as much as lay in my 
 power, instead of irritating against him the only person in the 
 island who has it in his power to fulfill that object, by indiscreet 
 communications of, I may say, confidential conversations." 
 
 The following is O'Meara's description of the style of living 
 of the French exiles, and serves to explain the immense ex- 
 penditure incurred for their table. We shall look in vain 
 through his printed pages for a passage in which he calls 
 them, " except one or two, the greatest gluttons and epicures 
 he ever saw :" 
 
 " With respect to the allowance within which all the ex- 
 penses were directed to be comprised, viz. £8000 sterling per 
 annum, to which Sir Hudson Lowe has, on his own responsi- 
 bility, since added £4000 yearly, in my opinion a due regard 
 has not been paid to circumstances, and I do not think even 
 this latter sum will be sufficient. The Ministers, when they 
 fixed £8000 as the maximum of expenses, doubtless thought 
 that almost all the Generals and their families would embrace 
 the opportunity offered them of leaving him, which, however, 
 has not been the case, and in consequence Sir Hudson increased 
 the sum to £12,000. Perhaps it may be thought presump- 
 tion in me to offer an opinion about a matter which doubtless, 
 abler heads than mine have maturely discussed ; but never- 
 theless I will venture to suggest something which might per- 
 haps explain why it is not sufficient. You perhaps are not 
 aware of the French mode of living and their cookery ; they 
 have in fact two dinners every day — one at eleven or twelve 
 o'clock, to which joints, roast and boiled, with all their vari- 
 ous hashes, ragouts, fricasees, &c, are served up, with wine 
 and liqueurs, and another at eight p.m., which only differs from 
 
Oct. 1816. STYLE OF LIVING AT LONG WOOD. 309 
 
 the first in being supplied with more dishes. Besides these 
 two meals, they all have (except Bonaparte himself, who only 
 eats twice a day, certainly very heartily) something like an 
 English breakfast in bed, at between eight and nine o'clock 
 in the morning, and a luncheon with wine at four or five in 
 the afternoon. The common notion of the English eating 
 more animal food than the French is most incorrect ; I am 
 convinced that between their two dinners and luncheon they 
 consume three or four times as much as any English family 
 composed of a similar number of persons. These two din- 
 ners then, the first of which they have separately in their re- 
 spective rooms, cause a great consumption of meat and wine, 
 which, together with their mode of cookery, require a great 
 quantity of either oil or butter — both of which are excessively 
 dear in this place (and you may as well attempt to deprive an 
 Irishman of potatoes as a Frenchman of his oil, or some sub- 
 stitute for it). Their ' soupes consomm'ees' (for they are, ex- 
 cept one or two, the greatest gluttons and epicures I ever saw), 
 producing great waste of meat in a place where the neces- 
 saries of life are so dear, altogether render necessary a very 
 great expenditure of money daily. 
 
 " In my opinion one of the following measures must be 
 adopted, viz., to send away some of the Generals and their 
 families ; to increase the allowance granted by Government 
 on the plan pointed out above, or some one resembling it. By 
 the last orders he [Bonaparte] has been restricted from speak- 
 ing to any inhabitant or other person, except in the presence 
 of a British officer, which has annoyed him greatly ; and he 
 declared to me yesterday that he would endeavor to get a 
 letter to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent himself com- 
 plaining of it. I inclose you the famous letter dictated by 
 Bonaparte containing a list of their supposed grievances. 1 The 
 rest of this communication I will forward in the course of a 
 few hours, if the Revolutionnaire does not sail. I must beg 
 of you to bear in mind that I am only the reporter and not 
 the participator of the greatest part of the conversation in- 
 
 1 Namely Count Montholon's letter of the 23d of August, so often 
 referred to. 
 
31 " CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. VIII. 
 
 closed. I must also beg that the abusive part of it may not 
 be made known to the Governor, who does not wish me to 
 communicate even with Mr. Croker." 
 
 On the 1st and 5th of November more plate was broken 
 up for sale ; but we may quote even Count Montholon's work 
 to show that the scheme was an experiment to try and im- 
 pose upon the Governor, and excite sympathy in Europe for 
 the condition of Napoleon, by creating a belief that he had 
 no funds and was not sufficiently supplied with the necessa- 
 ries or comforts of life. Speaking of the second sale of plate, 
 Montholon says — 
 
 " This time the blow was again violent to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe ; but he made no alteration in our position ; and when 
 the produce of the sale was exhausted, he again demanded 
 that I should provide for the expenses, under pain of a pro- 
 portionate reduction in the provisions. 
 
 " The Emperor, on his side, remained firm. I was to per- 
 sist in saying that his plate was his only resource at St. Helena ; 
 and I received, for the third time, the order to have all the 
 plate broken up, with the exception of twelve covers. Fresh 
 remarks, on my part, would have been useless and unbecom- 
 ing ; I refrained from them, and the Emperor believed him- 
 self obeyed. Four baskets of broken plate, weighing alto- 
 gether 490 lbs. 12 oz., were conveyed from Longwood on the 
 25th of December, 1816, and dinner was served on bad china, 
 brought by Cipriani from James Town. When Sir Hudson 
 Lowe was made acquainted with this third and last dispatch, 
 and the purchase of the china, he acknowledged himself con- 
 quered ; he came to express to me his lively regret, and plainly 
 showed how much afraid he ivas of blame from his Govern- 
 ment. He told me that he only acted on the conviction that 
 we had much gold at Longwood ; that he had been assured 
 so ; and that he would never have, allowed a single piece of 
 plate to be broken, could he have supposed that matters would 
 go so far as to reduce General Bonaparte to eat off dishes like 
 those of the lowest colonist in the island ; that he would send 
 the next day to the Cape of Good Hope and procure a suita- 
 
Nov. 1816. FURTHER SALE OF PLATE. 311 
 
 bio service, until he could receive one from England. The 
 Emperor was enchanted with the account which I gave him 
 of this communication ; but his joy was changed into perfect 
 disgust when he sat down to his dinner served on the china 
 brought by Cipriani. The physical effect was such that he 
 ate nothing, and said to me, on rising from table, ' It must be 
 allowed, my son, that we are all great children. Can you 
 conceive that I could not conquer my disgust at this badly- 
 served dinner — I, who, when I was young ate from black 
 pottery ? In truth I am ashamed of myself to-day.' ' Let the 
 shame be of short duration,' replied I, 'for to-morrow your 
 Majesty will dine with appetite.' ' I hope so,' answered he, 
 ' for this would be too foolish.' His joy was childish when, 
 next morning, M. Marchand brought to him in the bath his 
 soupe a la reine as usual in the little silver bowl which he 
 had been accustomed for many years to see. He could not 
 help thanking me with a smile for my disobedience, and I had 
 great difficulty to keep my secret till dinner-time ; but I re- 
 mained firm, so great was my hope of giving him a few mo- 
 ments' agreeable impression when he saw his dinner served 
 as usual. I was right ; for when we entered the dining-room 
 he took me by the ear, saying to me, in his joyous tone, ' Ha, 
 ha ! Mr. Rogue, you took upon yourself yesterday to make 
 me pass an uncomfortable quarter of an hour ; it is my turn 
 to-day.' I confessed to him that, not being able to resolve to 
 take from him his last luxury, I had put aside what was nec- 
 essary for his personal use ; but that, to make up for this, I had 
 been obliged to take away all the plate in use at the Grand 
 Marshal's. He laughed heartily at the fraud which my solic- 
 itude for his comfort had suggested to me, and said, ' Upon 
 my faith you have done well ! and so much the better, that you 
 have succeeded with this bandit Lowe as well as if I had not 
 a single silver dish left. As to Bertrand, I am sorry that he 
 has only crockery ; it was his advice which I followed.' " 
 
 In his "Voice from St. Helena," under date November 5, 
 1816, O'Meara says, 1 "Sir Hudson desired me to write him 
 1 " Voice," vol. i. pp. 189, 190. 
 
312 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Till. 
 
 a statement of my opinion of the health of General Bonaparte ; 
 cautioning me that in writing it 1 must bear in mind that the 
 life of one man was not to he put in competition with the 
 mischief he might cause where he to get loose, and that I 
 must recollect General Bonaparte had been a curse to the 
 world, and had caused the loss of many thousands of lives. 
 That my situation was very peculiar, and one of great polit- 
 ical importance." 
 
 We may entirely disbelieve that Sir Hudson Lowe ever gave 
 any such caution, or made any such remarks. No hint or 
 trace of any thing that can justify the supposition occurs in 
 O'Meara's private letters, or in any of the papers of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, and it rests entirely on the unsupported assertion of 
 the former in a work written many years afterward, when his 
 object was to vilify as much as possible the character of the 
 Governor. And, indeed, the statement is on the face of it 
 absurd, for the expression of O'Meara's opinion as to the state 
 of Bonaparte's health could have no connection with the al- 
 leged caution, unless indeed the writer means to insinuate that 
 Sir Hudson Lowe intended to suggest that Napoleon's death 
 might be ensured by medical treatment, and that O'Meara 
 might prepare the world for such an event by representing be- 
 forehand that his health was giving way — in other words, that 
 the Governor wished his captive to be murdered, but in such 
 a way as to make it appear that he died from natural causes ! 
 
 On the 10th of November O'Meara wrote his report, which 
 he thus describes in his book : ] 
 
 " 10th. Wrote a statement to Sir Hudson Lowe, purport- 
 ing it to be my opinion that a further confinement and want 
 of exeToise would be productive of some serious complaint to 
 Napoleon, which in all probability would prove fatal to him." 
 
 This is substantially correct ; but the surgeon ought to 
 have had the candor to state that the continuance of confine- 
 ment which he deprecates was Napoleon's own voluntary act ; 
 as he mentions in the report itself, in which, after giving some 
 
 medical details, he says — __ 
 
 1 "Voice," p. 213. 
 
Nov. 1816. REPORT OT" HIS HEALTH. 313 
 
 "The above-mentioned appearances have been evidently 
 occasioned by the mode of life he has adopted for some months 
 past — viz. an almost total want of exercise, as he has not been 
 on horseback more than once for near six months, and latterly 
 scarcely ever even in the carriage, or out walking in the gar- 
 den ; confinement to his room for a succession of days, with- 
 out even going out of it to dinner, being entirely occupied in 
 such sedentary pursuits as reading or writing, in a room with 
 the doors and windows so carefully closed as to impede the 
 ingress of fresh air ; to which may be added the probable 
 state of his mind. I have frequently strongly endeavored to 
 inculcate to him the absolute necessity of taking some exer- 
 cise, either on horseback or otherwise, with the daily use of 
 the flesh-brush, but my recommendations have not as yet had 
 any effect in inducing him to put in practice the first and 
 
 most necessary part — viz. the exercise By a timely 
 
 adoption of the measures recommended to him, I have no 
 doubt, Sir, that he would in a short time be restored to a per- 
 fect state of health." 
 Vol. I.— 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DISCOVERY OP CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE AND ARREST 
 OF LAS CASES. 
 
 "We now turn to an event which led to consequences of some 
 importance, and has been the subject of much misrepresenta- 
 tion. 
 
 In the middle of November, Sir Hudson Lowe having re- 
 ceived an intimation that a mulatto of the name of James 
 Scott, who had been employed as a servant by Count Las 
 Cases, was a person of suspicious character, and having heard 
 that the Count had, in defiance of the established rules, made 
 him the bearer of an important message to Baroness Sturmer, 
 the wife of the Austrian Commissioner (which was immedi- 
 ately afterward communicated by her husband to the Gov- 
 ernor) ; finding also that the man had been taken as a servant 
 by Count Las Cases without the sanction of Sir George Cock- 
 burn, he resolved to remove him from attendance on the Count. 
 He, however, at the same time, gave him the choice of an- 
 other servant. Las Cases declined to receive one, and con- 
 tented himself with the assistance of one of the other servants 
 of the establishment at Longwood. James Scott, the man 
 who had been discharged, was ordered to call upon the Gov- 
 ernor a day or two afterward, and was interrogated by him 
 as to any other letters or messages of which he might have 
 been the bearer. He was at the same time particularly warn- 
 ed of the consequences of acting in contravention of the rule 
 laid down on the subject. He denied having ever been the 
 bearer or receiver of any other letter or communication than 
 the one before mentioned, and was sent away with a further 
 caution as to the punishment which would ensue if any thing 
 of the kind in future was discovered. Some days afterward, 
 on the morning of the 25th of November, Sir Hudson Lowe 
 
Nov. J816. AUREST OF SCOTT. 315 
 
 was informed that a man of the name of John Scott was in 
 waiting, who desired to speak to him on a particular matter. 
 He proved to be the father of the servant who had been dis- 
 charged from attendance on Las Cases ; and he said that his 
 son had been at Longwood the preceding day, and on his re- 
 turn had brought with him a red waistcoat which had been 
 left behind, and had shown him certain papers and writings 
 which he told him were a recommendation that had been 
 given to him by Count Las Cases. The papers were a char- 
 acter as a servant, signed with Las Cases' name and sealed 
 with his arms, and a slip of paper, with the address on it of 
 Lady Clavering, Portland Place (the person to whom he was 
 to present his recommendation). The writings were on two 
 slips, of unequal length and breadth, of white silk taffeta, in 
 the hand of Las Cases' son, of a character so very minute that 
 without the use of a glass it was difficult to decipher the con- 
 tents. One of these was a letter destined for Lady Clavering, 
 and was complete ; the other was the first part of an unfin- 
 ished letter for Lucien Bonaparte, destined to be forwarded by 
 her to Rome. 1 These pieces of silk taffeta had been sewed 
 up in the lining of the waistcoat. 
 
 John Scott said to Sir Hudson Lowe that he had been struck 
 with the danger to his son in becoming the bearer of such 
 communications, and had told him he must forthwith carry 
 the whole of the papers and writings to the Governor ; he 
 however did not bring his son with him, on account of his 
 being so much frightened. The Governor warmly thanked 
 the father for the honest manner in which he had conducted 
 himself, and told him that he had taken the best means that 
 could have been devised for lessening the magnitude of his 
 son's offense. He immediately directed Lieutenant Pritchard 
 to proceed and arrest James Scott, and in the mean time give 
 the pieces of silk taffeta to Major Gorrequer to make a com- 
 plete transcript of the writing in a legible hand, so that no part 
 of the sense might remain undiscovered. While awaiting the 
 arrest of Scott, and the copying of the letters, Sir Hudson went 
 
 1 These letters will be found among the Letters and Documents at 
 the end of the work. 
 
316 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 from his own residence in the country to the town, and, on 
 his arrival there, found that the information given hy John 
 Scott the father had become public, from the fact of his having 
 first spoken of it to persons whom he met before he had an 
 interview with the Governor. He saw, therefore, that there 
 was no time to be lost in making the arrest. He communi- 
 cated his intentions to Sir Thomas Reade alone, and then re- 
 turned to his own house, where the accused person, James 
 Scott, had in the mean time been brought, and he there ex- 
 amined the contents of the writings which had been discov- 
 ered. He next sent an order back to the town to Mr. Rains- 
 ford, Inspeoter of Police, desiring him to meet him on the road 
 to Longwood. On his way thither he sent a message to Sir 
 George Bingham, begging that he would accompany him. 
 On his arrival at Longwood Sir Hudson Lowe first went to 
 Count Bertrand, to whom he had a letter to deliver of some 
 importance respecting his family ; and he charged Sir Thomas 
 Reade, in the mean time to make inquiry from the orderly 
 officer at Longwood as to how Count Las Cases was at that 
 time employed. When the Governor left Count Bertrand, Sir 
 Thomas Reade acquainted him that the Count was walking 
 in the garden with General Bonaparte, and that his son was 
 in his room writing. As Sir Hudson wished to avoid arrest- 
 ing Las Cases in the presence of Bonaparte, and had deter- 
 mined not to be himself present when his person was secured, 
 he intrusted the conduct of the matter entirely to Sir Thomas 
 Reade and Mr. Rainsford, and left the grounds of Longwood 
 with Sir George Bingham, giving, in his presence, at a short 
 distance outside the barrier-gate, orders to those officers for 
 the purpose. To be prepared in case of attempted resistance, 
 he directed Sir Thomas Reade to take with him the Governor's 
 orderly dragoon, in addition to the one in attendance upon 
 himself, and ordered that a relief of sentries should be in read- 
 iness within call. 
 
 The mode in which the arrest was affected is detailed in 
 the following report of Sir Thomas Reade to the Governor : 
 
 " I proceeded to Longwood in company with Captain Blake- 
 
Nov. 1816. ARREST OF LAS CASES. 317 
 
 ney, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, and Mr. Rainsford, 
 Inspector of Police. Upon my arrival at Longwood I desired 
 Captain Poppleton to accompany me to Count Las Cases' quar- 
 ters, where I found his son alone, to whom I addressed myself, 
 saying that I had a communication to make to his father, and 
 requested to see him. He answered, ' My father is with the 
 Emperor, and I can not send for him ;' upon which I desired 
 Captain Poppleton to send my compliments to Count Las 
 Cases, to say I wished to speak with him. Count Las Cases 
 made his appearance almost immediately. I told him I had 
 received the Governor's orders to arrest him and his son, in 
 consequence of information of an unauthorized correspondence 
 which had heen given by his late servant James Scott. He 
 replied, ' Very well, I will attend you, but I must see the 
 Emperor first.' I said I could not permit that, it being con- 
 trary to my orders, and that he must proceed with me imme- 
 diately. He again said, ' But I must first see the Emperor : 
 can not I go into the other parts of the house ? ' I returned 
 the same answer which I had before given. He replied, 
 ' Very well, I attend you.' I informed him that his son should 
 be left in the room with Captain Blakeney, Captain Popple- 
 ton, and Mr. Rainsford, in order that he might see all the 
 papers packed up and sealed. Count Las Cases and myself 
 then left the quarter. Soon after we had left the house he 
 said (laughing), ' So I am arrested in consequence of Scott's 
 information ? I knew the Governor had sent him to me.' " 
 
 Count Las Cases was taken from Longwood to Hutt's Gate, 
 and Sir Thomas Reade proceeded to report to the Governor 
 what had taken place. In the mean time Mr. Rainsford 
 packed up the papers in presence of Captains Blakeney and 
 Poppleton and Count Las Cases' son, and sealed them with 
 the seal of Sir Thomas Reade (which he had left for that 
 purpose) and that of Count Las Cases. The papers were 
 conveyed to the house at Hutt's Gate where Count Las Cases 
 was, and deposited in a trunk, which was locked and sealed 
 in the presence of Count Las Cases, and then delivered into 
 the charge of the officer of the guard at Hutt's Gate. 
 
318 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when the arrest took place ; 
 and as Sir Hudson Lowe did not think it advisable himself to 
 see Las Cases that evening, he directed Major G-orrequer to 
 wait upon him in his name, and oner him any thing of which 
 he might stand in need from the Governor's own house. 
 
 Major Gorrequer says — 
 
 " AVhen Count Las Cases entered the house occupied by 
 Brigade-Major Harrison at 'the Hutt's Gate,' where he was 
 conducted immediately after his arrest, and where I was 
 desired to await his a-rrival, I informed him that the Governor 
 had desired me to mention to him that, if there was any 
 thing he required to make him comfortable there, on his inti- 
 mating it, it would be provided for him ; and that the Gov- 
 ernor would meantime take care to send from his own house 
 that day dinner for himself and son, though he was afraid, 
 from the distance, it would not be so comfortable as he would 
 wish. He replied, ' Je suis tres reconnaissant de l'extreme 
 honte du Gouverneur, et je vous prie de le remercier de ma 
 part ;' adding that his wants were very few, and would there- 
 fore require very little. He then asked how long he was to 
 remain in that house. I answered I believed only until the 
 following day, or that [until ?] a house more suitable and 
 comfortable than what he was then in could be found. He 
 said he begged the Governor would give himself no trouble on 
 that head, as he was perfectly well where he was ; that, if 
 the Governor spoke from any interest he took in his being 
 more comfortably situated, ' assurez le que je suis infiniment 
 mieux ici que dans la cahute ou il m'a laisse pendant neuf 
 mois, et que je gagne beaucoup au change.' I replied, that 
 house had been fixed upon for his temporary reception from 
 its proximity to Longwood, and the impossibility of procuring 
 a better lodging for him at the moment. He again repeated 
 his request that I would thank the Governor for his extreme 
 courtesy, his great goodness ; ' mais si c'est vraiment par 
 egard, je le puis bien assurer que je suis infiniment mieux 
 loge dans ce moment que je ne l'ai ete pendant les neuf der- 
 niers mois.' Count Las Cases then said he begged I would 
 
Nov. 1816. ARREST OF LAS CASES. 319 
 
 inform the Governor that he held the authorities responsible 
 before the law for the proceeding toward him ; that he had 
 been seized by force ; that Sir T. Reade, with several other 
 officers and two orderlies, had come to arrest him without 
 telling him the reason, or giving him even a moment to seal 
 up his papers. I answered, his papers would be all carefully 
 put up in a box and sealed, and would be taken care of, and 
 I believed they would be brought to Hutt's Gate immedi- 
 ately." 
 
 Some further conversation then took place, chiefly with 
 reference to Las Cases' papers, about which he evinced con- 
 siderable anxiety ; and when Major Gorrequer took leave, the 
 Count said — " Pardon me, sir, if I have said any thing which 
 I ought not ; but excuse must be made for the first impulses 
 one feels in such circumstances." 1 
 
 Such are the simple facts relating to an affair which cre- 
 ated much noise at the time, and, like almost every thing 
 else, was used for the purpose of traducing the character of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 Count Las Cases' own account of the transaction in all the 
 material parts shall now be given, from which it will be seen 
 that, notwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken 
 to prevent persons from having access to Longwood without 
 the Governor's permission, means were found of attaining that 
 object. It will be seen also that he ventured to insinuate, 
 without a shadow of proof, that the servant was sent to him 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe for the purpose of entrapping him into 
 the offense, so as to afford a pretext for removing him from 
 Longwood : 2 
 
 " From 21st to 24th. — I had remained with the Emperor 
 the preceding day as late as one or two o'clock in the morning ; 
 on returning to my own apartment I found that I had had a 
 visit paid to me during my absence by a person who had be- 
 
 1 " Pardon, Monsieur, si j'ai dit quelque chose que je n'aurais pas 
 du ; mais il faut excuser les premiers mouvemens qu'on ressent dans 
 de pareilles circonstances." 
 
 2 Journal, Nov. 21-24, 1816. See also R'ecits, vol. i. pp. 399, 438, 
 et seq. 
 
320 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX 
 
 come tired of waiting for me. That visit, which my son had 
 received, and which prudence obliged me to insert in my 
 Journal at the time under the veil of mystery, may and shall 
 now he fully explained. That visit was neither more nor less 
 than the clandestine reappearance of the servant whom Sir 
 Hudson Lowe had taken from me, and who, favored by the 
 darkness of the night and his knowledge of the localities, had 
 surmounted every obstacle, avoided sentinels, and scaled pre- 
 cipices, to come and see me, in order to tell me that, having 
 got a situation with a person who was going to set off for Lon- 
 don in a very few days, he came to offer to execute my com- 
 missions in all things. He had waited for me in my own 
 apartment for a considerable time, and, seeing that I did not 
 return from the Emperor's, he had gone away, fearing lest he 
 should be caught ; but he promised to return, either under 
 pretense of visiting his sister, who was employed in our house- 
 hold, or by the same means he had just resorted to. The next 
 day I immediately communicated my good fortune to the Em- 
 peror, who appeared to be much pleased at the intelligence, 
 and to attach some value to the circumstance." 
 
 Napoleon, according to Las Cases, at first approved of the 
 plan of sending a communication to Europe by this opportu- 
 nity, but afterward treated the matter with so much indiffer- 
 ence, that Las Cases, supposing that he did not wish to inter- 
 fere, determined to proceed without mentioning the subject 
 to him again. It will be seen, however, from an extract from 
 O'Meara's letter to Mr. Finlaison, given in the next volume, 
 that Bonaparte declared he knew nothing whatever about 
 the project, or he would have immediately stopped it. Which 
 statement are we to believe ? 
 
 Las Cases thus goes on with his narrative : 
 
 " Some months had now elapsed since I had succeeded in 
 forwarding the celebrated letter, in answer to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe concerning the Commissioners from the Allied Powers, 
 and which was the only document that had been sent to 
 Europe up to that period. The person who had kindly taken 
 charge of it had brought me a large piece of satin on which 
 
Nov. 1816. LAS CASES' ACCOUNT OF HIS ARREST. 321 
 
 the -letter had been written ; some was still left ; and that 
 was precisely what I wanted. Thus every thing combined to 
 urge me toward the precipice down which I was about to 
 fall. As soon as daylight appeared I gave the remainder of 
 the satin to my son, on whose discretion I could rely ; and 
 he spent the whole of the day in tracing upon it my letter to 
 Prince Lucien. Night came, and, faithful to his word, my 
 young mulatto appeared. He had some knowledge of the 
 business of a tailor ; he sewed with his own hands the satin 
 into his clothes, and took his leave of me. I promised to give 
 him some other things if he came to see me again before his 
 departure, and wished him a pleasant voyage in case I should 
 not see him again : afterward I went to bed with a light 
 heart, and a feeling of satisfaction arising from the contem- 
 plation of a day well employed, and happily employed. I 
 was far from thinking at that moment that 1 had just cut 
 with my own hands the thread of my destiny at Longwood ! 
 Alas ! it will soon be seen that twenty-four hours had hot 
 elapsed when, under pretense of my having written that let- 
 ter, I was removed from Longwood, and my person and 
 papers were in the power, and at the entire disposal of the 
 Governor. And if I should now be asked how I could be so 
 little on my guard, and not suspect that possibly a snare 
 might be laid for me, I should say that my servant had ap- 
 peared to me honest, that I believed him to be faithful, and 
 that I was still a stranger to all idea of instigating spies, a 
 new invention, the honor of which the English ministers of 
 that period may claim as their own, and which has since 
 thriven so well on the continent !" 
 
 Count Las Cases afterward relates the circumstances at- 
 tending his arrest. He was talking to ISTapoleon in the bill- 
 iard-room, when he says, "a message was brought to me in- 
 forming me that the English Colonel, the creature of Sir 
 Hudson Lowe was waiting for me in my own apartment. I 
 made a sign that I was with the Emperor, who, a few min- 
 utes after, said to me, ' Go and see, mon cher, what that an- 
 imal wants of you.' And, as I was going, he added, ' and. 
 
322 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 above all, come back soon.'' These were for me the last words 
 of Napoleon. Alas ! 1 have never seen him since ; but his 
 
 accent, the tone of his voice, still sounds in my ears 
 
 The Colonel who wished to see me was a man entirely devo- 
 ted to the Governor's wishes, his factotum, and with whom I 
 had frequently to communicate as interpreter. I had no 
 sooner entered the room than, with an expression of benevo- 
 lence and kindness both in his voice and countenance, he in- 
 quired after my health with a tender interest. This was the 
 kiss of Judas ; for, having made a sign to him with my hand 
 to sit down on the sofa, and having also taken a seat on it 
 myself, he seized this opportunity to place himself between 
 me and the door ; and, altering at once his look and expres- 
 sion, he informed me that he arrested me in the name of the 
 Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, on the denunciation of my serv- 
 ant, for having carried on a secret correspondence. My room 
 was already guarded by dragoons, all representations on my 
 part became useless, I was obliged to yield to violence, and 
 was carried away under a numerous escort. The Emperor 
 has since written, as it will be seen hereafter, that on see- 
 ing me from his window hurried along through the plain, 
 surrounded by armed men, the alacrity of the numerous stafl 
 prancing about me, and the quick undulation of their high 
 feathers, had put him in mind of the ferocious joy of the sav- 
 age inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean, dancing round the pris- 
 oner whom they are about to devour. I had been separated 
 from my son, who had been detained prisoner in my apart- 
 ment ; but he soon joined me, also under escort ; so that the 
 sudden interruption and final termination of our communica- 
 tions from Longwood date from that moment. "We were both 
 shut up in a wretched hovel ' near the former habitation of 
 the Bertrand family : I was obliged to sleep on a miserable 
 pallet, my poor son by my side, lest he should have to lie on 
 the floor. I considered his life to be at this moment in dan- 
 ger ; he was threatened with an aneurism, and had been on 
 the point of expiring in my arms a few days before. We 
 
 1 "Miserable cahute." This "wretched hovel" was the residence 
 of a Brigade-Major in the army. See p. 318, ante. 
 
Nov. 1816. O'MEARA'S ACCOUNT OF THE ARRESTS. 323 
 
 were kept until eleven o'clock without food ; and when, in 
 order to supply the wants of my son, I asked d, piece of bread 
 from the men who surrounded us, and went to the door and to 
 each of the windows, they answered me immediately by so 
 many bayonets." 1 
 
 Let us now see O'Meara's version of what had happened. In 
 his ' Voice from St. Helena' 2 he devotes only two or three 
 lines to the cause of Las Oases' arrest. He there says, " It 
 appeared that the Count had given a letter written upon silk 
 to Scott, his servant, with which he was to proceed to En- 
 gland. Scott told this to his father, who had him brought to 
 a Mr. Barker, and from thence to the Governor, by whom he 
 was committed to prison, after undergoing an examination." 
 But in a long letter to his friend and correspondent Mr. Fin- 
 laison, dated the 29th of December, 1816, which has not 
 hitherto been published, he enters much more fully into de- 
 tail, and gives the following account of the affair : 
 
 " Some months past Sir Hudson considered with a very 
 suspicious eye a mulatto servant of Las Cases'. This fellow, 
 aged about twenty had been pointed out by Mr. Doveton 
 (one of the Members of Council) as being a most active char- 
 acter, well acquainted with the island and the coast, having 
 been accustomed to fishing, and he was in several respects a 
 very improper man to be a servant to any of the French 
 people, and probably would assist them in their views : in 
 consequence, Sir Hudson, about five weeks back, ordered a 
 soldier to be sent in his place, and that he should be sent 
 away. (I ought to mention that a short time before this he 
 ordered that he should be sent away, but the man who was 
 to have replaced him being a bad character, and young Las 
 Cases being ill, he was suffered to remain for some time 
 
 1 The utter falsehood of this statement will be seen by contrasting it 
 with the report of Major Gorrequer given above at p. 372. It is re- 
 peated in the l Recueil de Pieces Authentiques sur le Captif de Sainte 
 Helene,' chez Correard, Paris, 1821, vol. xii. pp. 37, 38 ; where it is 
 said that " the barbarous Governor threw Las Cases and his son into a 
 miserable cottage — a dark and infected place — a suddenly devised dun- 
 geon." J Vol. i. p. 822. 
 
324 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 longer.) Las Cases refused to receive the soldier sent in place 
 of him, and he was sent away. The Sunday after his conge 
 he came up to Longwood under pretense of being paid his 
 wages. In the interim Las Cases had caused his son to write 
 upon a piece of white satin some letters, which he gave to 
 him, and caused him to sew one of them inside of his 
 waistcoat between the lining, and the other he was to 
 secrete in some other part of his dress, and was to return in 
 a day or two for some more letters, with which he was to 
 proceed to England by the first favorable opportunity. This 
 fellow, as soon as he got home, showed one of the letters to 
 his father, a man named Scott (whose slave he also is, being 
 sprung from a black wench), and asked him if he ever saw 
 such curious writing as that. It does not appear that he 
 showed- it to the father with an intention that it should be 
 made known to the Governor ; rather on the contrary. How- 
 ever, the father took him immediately to a farmer named 
 Barker, who insisted upon taking him before Sir Hudson, where 
 he was examined. The same day I met Sir Hudson near Plan- 
 tation House, who told me that there was some examination of 
 this servant taking place, and desired me when I went back to 
 Longwood to say nothing whatsoever about it to any person." 1 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's first care was to make Napoleon ac- 
 quainted with these events. As soon as he had given orders 
 for the arrest of Count Las Cases, and while he was on his 
 way from Longwood to Hutt's Gate, he sent Major Gorre- 
 quer back to report the fact to Count Montholon for the infor- 
 mation of Napoleon. 
 
 " Having found him in the garden," says Major Gorrequer, 
 " I said to him, ' Monsieur le Comte, I come by desire of the 
 Governor to beg of you to do me the favor of announcing to 
 General Bonaparte that he has just given orders to arrest the 
 Count Las Cases, in consequence of his having induced an 
 inhabitant of St. Helena to swerve from his fidelity, to infringe 
 
 1 In the " Voice," vol. i. p. 221, we have it thus : — " When I came 
 near to his Excellency he observed, with an air of triumph, ' You will 
 meet your friend Las Cases in custody.' " 
 
Nov. 1816. O'MEAfiA'S OPINION OF LAS CASES. 325 
 
 the laws, and to violate the Act of Parliament proclaimed in 
 this island, by inducing him to receive letters for Europe, con- 
 cealed in the lining of his waistcoat. This man is James 
 Scott, formerly servant to Count Las Cases. This fact was 
 discovered last night or this morning, and he is just imprisoned. 
 The Governor has felt himself compelled to resort to this meas- 
 ure with great regret, from respect to General Bonaparte, and 
 he prays you to assure him of it, but it is too serious and im- 
 portant a dereliction from duty to leave any other course open 
 to him.' Count Montholon replied, ' I can not comprehend 
 what you tell me. It has struck me like a thunderclap. I 
 go this instant to communicate it to the Emperor. The cir- 
 cumstance will affect him sensibly.' I again requested he 
 would not omit to state to General Bonaparte that the Gov- 
 ernor felt regret, from regard to his feelings, to have been 
 under the necessity of having recourse to the measure of ar- 
 rest ; but could not avoid it, the nature of Count Las Cases' 
 proceeding leaving him no alternative." 
 
 In reality Bonaparte was an eye-witness of the removal of 
 Las Cases. O'Meara, in his " Voice," tells us that he said 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe, "while surrounding the house with 
 his staff, reminded him of the savages of the South Sea Islands 
 dancing round the prisoners whom they were going to devour;" 1 
 and we need not doubt that these expressions are faithfully 
 reported, for they also occur in his private letter to Mr. Fin- 
 laison, already quoted. 2 
 
 We have seen that Las Cases, in his narrative of his arrest, 
 affects to believe that the mulatto, Scott, was in reality a spy 
 of the Governor, and employed by him to entrap the unwary 
 Count into the snare laid for him. But the reader will per- 
 haps be surprised to learn that, notwithstanding the total 
 silence of O'Meara on this point in his book, and his affected 
 sympathy with Las Cases, his own opinion was that that in- 
 jured person had planned the whole scheme on purpose to be 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. i. p. 229. 
 
 3 The words there given are, " II me parut voir les Anthropophages 
 des lies de la Mer de Midi, qui dansent autour de les victimes avant de 
 les devorer." , 
 
326 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 detected, in order that he might get away from St. Helena, 
 being heartily tired of his residence in the island. To prove 
 this we must again have recourse to his correspondence with 
 Mr. Finlaison, where alone we are likely to find his real sen- 
 timents on the subject. He says, in his letter of the 29th of 
 December — 
 
 " We all know that there was nothing in any of the letters 
 that would hang Las Cases, as since his examination of his 
 papers he was offered by Sir Hudson his choice of returning 
 back to LoHgivood until the decision of the British Govern- 
 ment respecting him should be known, or to go to the Cape, 
 there to await it, which latter, after a great deal of shuffling, 
 he embraced — which, when connected with other circum- 
 stances, leads me to imagine that he formed the plan of the 
 letters and gave them to the slave purposely to be discovered, 
 in order that he might be sent off the island, not being able, 
 after all his professions of eternal and unalterable fidelity a 
 I ' Empereur — to whom he declared so often his life was de- 
 voted, who he said was his God — with any decency to ask 
 permission to go away ; whereas by doing something which 
 would cause his being ordered off the island he would have 
 the opportunity of availing himself of the pretext ' that he 
 wns forced to leave him.' " 
 
 It has been mentioned that the letter to Lucien Bonaparte 
 found upon Scott was incomplete. The rest of it had been 
 hidden by him under a stone on the day he was arrested, but 
 he afterward gave information of this, and it was recovered. 
 What purports to be a copy of it has already been published ; l 
 but the printed version differs widely from the original, and 
 in many parts bears no resemblance whatever to it ; and as 
 there may be some curiosity to read the genuine contents of 
 the letter, it is given at length at the end of the work. 2 
 
 In a private letter to Earl Bathurst, 3 dated December 3, 
 
 1 Recueil, torn. ii. p. 33. 
 
 2 See No. 46 among the Letters and Documents. 
 
 3 The Governor told Lord Bathurst he had marked his letter private 
 because he wished him to suspend his judgment until the whole of the 
 documents were transmitted to England. 
 
Nov. 1816. LAS CASES' PAPERS. 327 
 
 1816, Sir Hudson Lowe gave the following account of all 
 these proceedings ; and his remarks on the mode in which 
 Count Las Cases had made up his Journal well deserve at- 
 tention : 
 
 " Information was given to me a few days since by the father 
 of a young man who had been the servant of Count Las Cases, 
 and whom I had, on causes of suspicion, removed from his 
 attendance, that Count Las Cases had delivered to him a re- 
 commendation and two letters for England. The father at 
 the same time produced to me the recommendation, which 
 was simply a character of the servant, with an address bear- 
 ing the name of Lady Clavering. The letters were written 
 in an extraordinary minute character on silk taffeta, and had 
 been sewn up by Count Las Cases in the lining of a waist- 
 coat, which he desired his servant to leave behind when he 
 was discharged, and call for again. The servant was desired 
 not to open the lining until he should arrive in England. One 
 of the letters was to Lady Clavering j 1 the other to Lucien 
 Bonaparte at Rome, destined, as it appears, to be forwarded 
 by her. Only the first part of the letter to Lucien was dis- 
 covered the first day : it was not until three days afterward 
 the servant discovered where the second part lay concealed. 
 On the same day the information was given and proof pro- 
 duced of the fact I caused Count Las Cases with his son to 
 be arrested, and all 'their papers secured. The papers were 
 put up without examination in the presence of Count Las 
 Cases' son, sealed with his father's seal and that of Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel Sir Thomas Reade, by whom the arrest had been 
 conducted, and removed to the place where Count Las Cases 
 himself had been confined. I have since run over the whole 
 of the papers in Count Las Cases' presence, and with his own 
 acquiescence. There was a trunk and portfolio full of them 
 — the rough and fair copies of Bonaparte's campaigns in Italy, 
 dictated by himself, with the notes and documents regarding 
 them ; his official correspondence with Sir George Cockburn 
 and me. The first of these collections I made it a law to my- 
 1 See No. 48 among the Letters and Documents. 
 
328 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 self not to look into, except so far as to satisfy myself they 
 were really the papers specified. They have heen returned 
 to General Bonaparte with Count Las Cases' seal affixed to 
 them : the same has been done with the official correspond- 
 ence. The collection of most importance remains, claimed 
 equally by General Bonaparte and by Count Las Cases. It 
 is a Journal 1 of a very voluminous nature, which was kept 
 by Count Las Cases, of every thing that had occurred to Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte from the time he quitted Paris to the day on 
 which the arrest had taken place. His acts, his conversations, 
 his remarks, copies of all his remonstrances, including Count 
 Montholon's letters — even his gestures are noted ; — the whole 
 kept with the minuteness of Boswell's Life of Johnson, with 
 the force of General Bonaparte's own language and the em- 
 bellishment of Count Las Cases' : even this collection I ob- 
 tained Count Las Cases' own consent to look over. Every 
 thing is sacrificed in it to the great object of presenting to pos- 
 terity, in the person of General Bonaparte, a model of excel- 
 lence and virtue. Facts are altered, conversations only given 
 by half, his own expressions repeated, the replies omitted ; 
 such I have observed to be particularly the case in conver- 
 sations I have myself had with him, even where witnesses have 
 been present. General Bonaparte has asked that this docu- 
 ment should be returned to him, saying it is a Journal which 
 was kept by his express orders, and is the only memorandum he 
 has had of what has been occurring to him. Count Las Cases, 
 on the contrary, claims the paper as entirely his own ; calls it 
 ' ses pensees ;' will not allow that General Bonaparte has any 
 knowledge of it. There may be some truth on both sides ; 
 General Bonaparte may have directed Count Las Cases to 
 take occasional notes of what passed, and may have been 
 happy at the same time to have had a biographer so partial 
 
 1 Afterward published under the title of " Memorial de Sainte Helene, 
 ou Journal ou se trouve consigne jour par jour ce qu'a dit et fait Napo- 
 leon durant dix-huit mois. Par le Comte de Las Cases." The title of 
 another edition was " Memorial de Sainte Helene — Journal de la Vie 
 privee et des Conversations de 1'Empereur Napoleon a Sainte Helene." 
 An English translation was printed in 1823. 
 
Nov. 1816. LAS CASES' PAPERS. 329 
 
 and so eloquent, who would save him the vanity of reading 
 [recording ?] his own praises. They are as yet each ignorant 
 of the other's claims. The wisest course I apprehend to pur- 
 sue will be to keep the Journal sealed up with Count Las 
 Cases' seal and my own, until your Lordship's instructions 
 can be received regarding it." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe has in this extract concisely stated the 
 general nature of the papers found in possession of Las Cases. 
 In an official letter to Lord Bathurst, dated December 13, 
 1816, he goes more fully into detail, and mentions that, be- 
 sides the documents alluded to above, there was the rough 
 draft of a second letter to Lucien Bonaparte, which Las Cases 
 told Sir Hudson Lowe he had intended to give to Scott to take 
 to England. Of this draft Sir Hudson took a copy, but at the 
 same time told Las Cases that he should consider it as a paper 
 "rum execute." 1 
 
 The only other papers of interest, according to the Gov- 
 ernor's statement, were " a loose bundle, marked ' Prqjets, 
 doubles copies,' in which was contained the rough draft of the 
 letter to Lucien Bonaparte ; some heads of reflections on Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte's situation in this island, intended apparently 
 to be introduced into a protest against the Act of Parliament ; 
 and a collection of various scraps of General Bonaparte's writ- 
 ing — rough sketches of works in his hand, and several scratch- 
 ings of his pen, to which it was difficult to attach any partic- 
 ular plan or design. Among the great mass of papers which 
 was looked over, there were only two of them found sealed — 
 one a packet marked on the outside ' Lettres de ma mere,' and 
 another without superscription, which Count Las Cases said 
 was his will. The outer envelopes being broken more for 
 form's sake than from doubt, and the external appearance in- 
 dicating them to be what they were described, they were sealed 
 up again by Count Las Cases' son, without their contents 
 being looked into. During the whole time the papers were 
 examining, Count Las Cases and his son were in the room, and 
 
 1 This letter will be found at the end of the work. (No 47.) 
 
330 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 assisting in their assortment and in the explanations regarding 
 them ; and the whole was done with their acquiescence." 
 
 On the 28th of November Las Cases and his son were re- 
 moved to a cottage helonging to Mr. Balcombe, and known 
 by the name of Ross Cottage, where they had the same ac- 
 commodation in every respect as when they were at Long- 
 wood, and were allowed to walk about the grounds within 
 the inclosure, and in sight of the officer of the guard, but 
 were not permitted to communicate with any persons except 
 those who were authorized by the Governor. 1 Both of them 
 were at this time in a weak state of health ; but when Las 
 Cases speaks of his son as having been " on the point of ex- 
 piring in his arms a few days before," 2 it is an obvious exag- 
 geration, for we have seen that he had been at that very time 
 busily employed in preparing the secret communications des- 
 tined to be conveyed by Scott. 
 
 Count Bertrand called at Plantation House the day after 
 the arrest, and had an interview with the Governor. Major 
 Gorrequer was present, and he afterward made a minute of 
 the conversation which took place. It was not, however, 
 important. Bertrand expressed great surprise at what he 
 called the ridiculous folly of Las Cases, but dwelt upon his 
 mildness of character and goodness of temper, attributing his 
 act of "folie" to his not being well. He said he was a very 
 inoffensive man, much valued by the Emperor for his literary 
 qualifications, and was indeed by far the most useful person 
 
 1 Las Cases' apartments of course became vacant, and the following 
 note written about this time by Captain Poppleton, the orderly officer at 
 Longwood, to Major Gorrequer, shows his opinion of Count Montholon : 
 
 " November 30, 1816. 
 
 Dear Gorrequer. — I inclose you a list of furniture in Las Cases' 
 room ; every thing in statu quo. General Montholon (that never-to-be- 
 satisfied man), seeing me come out of the room, said he would be glad 
 to get these rooms for his children. I told him I meant to apply for 
 them myself, having but one room, which he knew well. He then said 
 he only wanted them for a few days, while his rooms were painting. I 
 really believe if he had the whole premises he'd ask for part of Planta- 
 tion House. Give the inclosed note to the Governor. Yours, &c. 
 
 "T. Poppleton." 
 
 1 See p. 323, ante. 
 
Nov. 1816. LAS CASES IN CUSTODV. 331 
 
 to him at St. Helena. Major Gorrequer says, he " censured 
 the absurdity of thus committing himself, and said the circum- 
 stance of the letters being thus sent, was unknown to them 
 at Longwood ; that probably it was some insignificant matter 
 to Lady Clavering, which he might have sent in the usual 
 way ; and that he hoped the Governor would send him back 
 to them. I remarked that besides Lady Clavering's there 
 were other letters. Count Bertrand seemed surprised at this. 
 He soon after took his leave." 1 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe had many interviews with Las Cases 
 while the latter remained in custody, until he sailed from the 
 island, and at these Major Gorrequer was present, whose re- 
 ports furnish long and copious details of all that passed. It 
 would, however, be uninteresting and tedious to give them at 
 any length. They related chiefly to the possession and disposal 
 of the papers which had been seized. Count Las Cases fre- 
 quently protested against any examination of those which he 
 considered private, and represented his Journal to be of that 
 nature, containing only his own thoughts, which he had never 
 any intention of publishing. To this Major Gorrequer says, 
 the Governor replied — 
 
 " That he could not consider the Journal as merely contain- 
 ing his thoughts and opinions ; that he had found very serious 
 things in it, even in the hurried way he had looked through 
 it the preceding day — for instance, his own conversations ' de- 
 natures,' and copies of official papers ; that he might call 
 this a Journal, but the conversations of others and relation of 
 official circumstances could not come under the denomination 
 of his thoughts ; that these papers though he might not in- 
 tend them to see the light during his life, yet might be left as 
 a legacy to his family and become public, and thus present to 
 the world a relation ' denaturee' of every thing that had oc- 
 curred ; that he himself (the Governor) had given him a much 
 
 1 At this interview Count Bertrand pointed out how useful Count Las 
 Cases was to his master, but said nothing about the cruelty of remov- 
 ing him ; and he neither protested against his arrest, nor demanded his 
 restoration, though Count Montholon says he was specially charged by 
 Napoleon on the preceding evening, to do both See Recits, vol. i, p. 443. 
 
332 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 more faithful account of the conversations, because he had 
 thought it his duty to repeat what was said on both sides. . . 
 . . . That he had given a proof of his delicacy in not even look- 
 ing into the papers that belonged to the work which General 
 Bonaparte was preparing, and, notwithstanding, the curiosity 
 which he had in common with every one to see the relation 
 of those interesting events, yet he would never allow his cu- 
 riosity to get the better of his delicacy on that point ; that, 
 although he did not aspire to celebrity, he did, however, to 
 the character of an honest man, and would be ashamed, in 
 the relation of any circumstance that had occurred, to give 
 only one side of the question ; that, in relating his proceed- 
 ings on the subject of the expenses of the establishment at 
 Longwood, every odium was thrown on him for the reduction 
 of them, while the resolution he had taken on his own respons- 
 ibility to increase the sum fixed upon by Government one- 
 half, in order to render their situation less irksome and to 
 meet their exigencies, passed wholly unacknowledged ; that, 
 having seen in the Journal what he had, it was necessary he 
 should see more before he could form a correct judgment of 
 the nature of its contents. . . . The Governor remarked that 
 had always been the way in which things were misrepresented 
 — adverting to a part of the letter to Lucien Bonaparte, where 
 complaint was made of the reduction of the expense — while 
 no acknowledgment was made for the sum he had added on 
 his own responsibility, though he had reason to suppose the 
 Parliament had fixed the amount of the expenses to be in- 
 curred for General Bonaparte's establishment. Count L.'s 
 Cases replied that it only required an explanation to effect 
 ' un rapprochement,' that it might easily be brought abou! ; 
 if any of his letters had contributed to cause any irritation 1 a 
 was very ready to acknowledge himself in the wrong, ' et de 
 se sacrifier pour un raccommodement.' He then said to the 
 Governor that he hoped he considered the letter to ' Prince 
 Lucien' as containing what ought to be kept secret by him. 
 The Governor answered he would, as he told him at the last 
 interview, respect any thing which did not require to be made 
 known to Ministers." 
 
Deo. 1816. LAS CASES' JOURNAL. 333 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe delivered to Count Bertrand for Napoleon 
 the two parcels, one of which was endorsed " Pieces ojji- 
 ciettes," and the other "Campagnes d'ltalie;" and, calling 
 his attention to the fact that they were both sealed with Las 
 Cases' own seal, said, " I beg of you, M. le Comte, to make 
 known in the most formal manner possible that I have not 
 read a single word of their contents." 
 
 "On the 1st of December," says Major Gorrequer, "the 
 Governor, accompanied by him and Sir Thomas Reade, went 
 to Ross Cottage, and inquired after the health of Count Las 
 Cases and of his son, and if the medical officer he had sent to 
 him the day before had been with them, and begged to know 
 whether they were in need of any thing for their accommoda- 
 tion ; adding, he hoped they were now more comfortable than 
 they had been ; and having been satisfactorily answered on 
 all these points by Count Las Cases, who said they were per- 
 fectly well and desired nothing, the Governor informed Count 
 Las Cases he had delivered over to Count Bertrand the papers 
 containing the ' Campaigns of Italy,' and the ' Pieces Offi- 
 cielles,' in the same state he had received them." 
 
 At the interview Las Cases asked whether he might have 
 permission to write an official letter to the Governor respect- 
 ing the situation in which he was placed, and said that he 
 proposed to do so that evening or the following day. To this 
 Sir Hudson Lowe replied, "Yes, certainly." It appears, how- 
 ever, that in reality the letter was then already in existence, for 
 it bears date " Balcombe Cottage, 30t?i November, 1816," 
 although it was not until the following day that Las Cases 
 asked to be allowed to write it. It is already in print, 1 and 
 need not be introduced here ; but one remarkable variation 
 between the copy, as published in Las Cases' Journal, and 
 that which has been found among Sir Hudson Lowe's papers, 
 deserves to be noticed. In the latter it commences thus : "In 
 consequence of a snare, according to all appearances, laid by 
 my servant, I was on the 25th instant removed from Long- 
 
 1 "Journal," Dec. 1, 1816; "Recueil," vol. i. p. 375. 
 
334 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. IX. 
 
 wood, and all my papers were seized -," 1 but in. the former 
 the words "according to all appearances, (selon toiites les ap- 
 parences)" are omitted. And that this was done with a de- 
 liberate purpose of falsehood is capable of proof. For after 
 Sir Hudson Lowe had received the letter, he called on Las 
 Cases on the 4th of December, and strongly remonstrated 
 with him upon the impropriety of making such a charge as 
 the first paragraph implied. Major Gorrequer was present, 
 and in his minute of the conversation he says, that "the Gov- 
 ernor observed, that to accuse the servant was making him 
 (the Governor) a party in it, as the servant could not have 
 run the risk of carrying into effect such a design without his 
 (the Governor's) knowledge ; he was not versed in the prac- 
 tice of the continental police, but conceived that ' en tendant 
 un piege a quelqu'un,' the agent who was employed in execu- 
 ting it always did it with the privity of his superior ; that the 
 English laws would not tolerate such a proceeding — it was 
 against both the spirit and morality of English customs ; that, 
 could he have been guilty of such a proceeding as that of em- 
 ploying a servant to entrap his own master and in such a man- 
 ner, he must have considered himself a dishonest man iriial- 
 honnete homme)." He then explained the manner in which 
 the discovery had been made ; "when," says Major Gorrequer, 
 " Las Cases answered that he certainly had considered it as 
 a snare laid for him, that it had all the appearance of it, but 
 he had been very careful in the wording of that paragraph of 
 the letter, and had made use of the words ' selon toutes les 
 apparences :' that it only implicated the servant, and would 
 not be considered as alluding to the Governor's being privy 
 to such a design ; but now that the Governor assured him it 
 was not a plot, he believed it, and was happy to be unde- 
 ceived." 
 
 In another part of the letter the words occurred " le piege 
 qu'on m'a tendu." And Sir Hudson pointed out that in this 
 sentence the writer spoke of the snare as having been actually 
 
 2 " Par suite (Tun piege, selon toutes les apparences, tendu par mon 
 valet, j'ai ete enleve de Longwood le 25 du courant, et tous mes papiers 
 saisis." 
 
Dec. 1816. LAS CASES' UNFAIRNESS. 335 
 
 laid. Las Cases answered, " that he thought the expression 
 could only be read as having reference to the first paragraph 
 (qualified by the words ' selon toutes les apparences') ; he had 
 used it in that sense ; and the Governor had seen with how 
 much facility and good faith he admitted the error of his in- 
 ference the moment he had told him that no snare was laid 
 for him." 
 
 And yet, after all, Las Cases, when publishing his letter to 
 the world, suppressed the qualifying words, which alone could 
 prevent a misconception of the meaning which he professed to 
 the Governor it was his intention to convey ! Such conduct 
 requires no comment. 
 
 At the same interview the Governor said that he consider- 
 ed one of the most objectionable parts of the Journal was the 
 insertion of the letter from Count Montholon, wherein a num- 
 berof gross misstatements were made in regard to him (although 
 this was but a trifle when compared with the more serious 
 matter it contained), and in which he was accused of retain- 
 ing letters. He showed Las Cases a copy of a letter he had 
 sent to General Montholon, which had never been answered, 
 requesting some explanation on certain parts of the one writ- 
 ten by the General, which referred to the detention of some 
 letters received through him, and of others returned to Europe 
 after arriving at St. Helena. Las Cases read it and said that, 
 with regard to one of his letters stated to have been detained 
 thirty-five days after its arrival here before he received it, that 
 was true ; and he had also been informed that another letter 
 was received to his address that had never been transmitted 
 to him. The Governor replied, that he felt he was exposed 
 by his situation to misstatements ; that he could have easily 
 repelled all these attacks by immediately producing proof to 
 the contrary, but did not think they merited it ; that, however, 
 in the instance of the letter addressed to Las Cases which had 
 been so long detained, he would refer him to Major Gorrequer, 
 who knew how it occurred ; that the letter had been left at the 
 Governor's office, and put into a box with other papers with- 
 out his being aware of it ; and that it was afterward observed 
 accidentally by Major Gorrequer and sent to Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
336 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap IX. 
 
 This statement the Major confirmed. Las Cases remarked 
 how easily many misconceptions might be removed by a per- 
 sonal explanation, and a reconciliation effected; how happy 
 he would be to have a " rapprochement," where he even to 
 be the sacrifice — the scapegoat (le bouc d'emission) ; and he 
 said he would most willingly submit to be considered as hav- 
 ing done wrong. The Governor said it was not a reconcilia- 
 tion he desired, but truth. 1 
 
 1 The above account of the conversation is abridged from Major Gor- 
 requer's minutes, which extend to a considerable length. See No. 49 
 among the Letters, and Documents at the end of the volume. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE AND INTERVIEWS BETWEEN LAS CASES 
 
 AND THE GOVERNOR REMOVAL OF LAS CASES PROM SAINT 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 A voluminous correspondence now commenced and many 
 interviews took place between Las Cases and Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. The former says in his Journal, referring to this pe- 
 riod, that a state of inactivity and passiveness did not agree 
 with the nature of his disposition ; and he certainly gave 
 proof of this in the numerous letters which he addressed from 
 Ross Cottage to the Governor, who replied sometimes verb- 
 ally and sometimes in writing. It will only be necessary to 
 notice the chief points of importance or interest. 
 
 Las Cases, in his Journal, conveys the impression that he 
 never received from the Governor the smallest act of accom- 
 modation, nor any return for the efforts which he himself 
 made to conciliate him. The injustice of this statement must 
 be evident from what has been already mentioned in the 
 course of the narrative, and, indeed, it appears from his own 
 work j 1 but to prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt, an ex- 
 tract shall be given from a note written by Dr. Baxter, the 
 Deputy Inspector of Hospitals, to Sir Hudson Lowe, who had 
 desired him to visit Las Cases' son at Ross Cottage, and watch 
 over the state of his health. The note is dated December 12, 
 1816, and in it Dr. Baxter said — 
 
 " It may not be uninteresting for you to know the manner 
 in which old Las Cases expressed himself relative to you in a 
 short conversation which passed between him and me the last 
 visit I paid his son. He said that, however your actions might 
 be influenced by political motives and circumstances, your con- 
 
 1 Journal, Dec. 7-9, 1816. 
 
 Vol. I— P 
 
338 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 duct toward him since his removal from Longwood had been 
 marked with that politeness and attention which was in every 
 way agreeable to his feelings, and that he saw at present your 
 character in a very different light and through quite another 
 medium than when at Longwood." 
 
 On the 11th of December Napoleon wrote a letter to Las 
 Cases, which was delivered sealed to Captain Poppleton, who 
 immediately transmitted it to Sir Hudson Lowe ; but the lat- 
 ter returned it in the same state to Count Bertrand, with a 
 in ite informing him that it was contrary to his duty as 
 Governor to permit any communications between Count Las 
 Cases and Longwood under the circumstances in which that 
 person was at present placed, except such as were transmit- 
 ted open. In his Journal Las Cases says — 
 
 " The Emperor was reclining on his sofa at the moment 
 when the letter was brought back to him with this new ob- 
 stacle. He uttered not a word, but, raising his hand over 
 his head, he took the letter, broke the seal, and immediate- 
 ly returned it without even looking at the person who had 
 presented it." 1 The letter was then forwarded to the Gov- 
 ernor for Las Cases, unsealed, and was as follows : 3 
 
 Longwood, Dec. 11, 1816. 
 
 " My dear Count de Las Cases — My heart is deeply af- 
 fected by what you now experience. Torn from me a fort- 
 night ago, you have been ever since closely confined, without 
 the possibility of my receiving any news from you, or sending 
 you any ; without having had any communication with any 
 person, either French or English ; deprived even of the at- 
 tendance of a servant of your own choice. Your conduct at 
 St. Helena has been, like the whole of your life, honorable 
 and irreproachable ; 1 have pleasure in giving you this testi- 
 mony. Your letter to one of your friends in London contains 
 nothing reprehensible ; you merely unburden your heart in 
 the bosom of friendship. 
 
 1 Journal, Dec. 17-19, 1816. 
 
 2 This letter is printed in the original in Las Cases' "Journal" (Dec. 
 1816), and Correard's " Recueil," vol. i. p. 115. And see the Letters 
 and Documents at the end of the work. 
 
Dec. 1816. HIS LETTER TO LAS CASES. 339 
 
 " This letter is similar to eight or ten others which you 
 have written to the same person, and which you have sent 
 unsealed. The Governor, having had the indelicacy to pry 
 into the expressions which you confide to friendship, has lat- 
 terly reproached you with them, threatening to send you out 
 of the island if your letters continued to be the bearers of 
 complaints against him. He has thus violated the first duty 
 of his situation, the first article of his instructions, the first 
 sentiment of honor ; he has thus authorized you to seek for 
 means to open your heart to your friends, and inform them 
 of the guilty conduct of this Governor. But you have been 
 very simple, your confidence has been easily beguiled ! A 
 pretext was wanting to seize upon your papers : but your let- 
 ter to your friend in London could not authorize a visit from 
 the police to you ; since it contained no plot, no mystery ; 
 since it was only the expression of a heart noble and sincere. 
 The illegal and precipitate conduct observed on this occasion 
 bears the stamp of a base feeling of personal animosity. In 
 countries the least civilized, exiles, prisoners, and even crim- 
 inals, are under the protection of the laws and of the magis- 
 trates ; those persons who are intrusted with the keeping of 
 them have superior officers in the administration who watch 
 over them. On this rock, the man who makes the most absurd 
 regulations executes them with violence, and transgresses all 
 laws ; there is nobody to check the outrages of his passions. 
 The Prince Regent can never be informed of the acts carried 
 on under his name ; they have refused to forward my let- 
 ters to him ; they have, in a violent manner, sent back the 
 complaints made by Count Montholon ; and Count Ber- 
 trand has since been informed that no letters would be re- 
 ceived if they continued to be libelous as they had hitherto 
 been. Longwood is surrounded by a mystery which it is 
 sought to render impenetrable^ in order to conceal a guilty 
 line of conduct which is calculated to create a suspicion of 
 the most criminal intentions ! ! ! By reports insidiously cir- 
 culated it is endeavored to deceive the officers, the travelers, 
 the inhabitants of this island, and even the agents which, it 
 is said, Austria and Russia have sent here. No doubt the 
 
340 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 English Government is deceived, in like manner, by artful 
 and false representations. They have seized your papers, 
 among which they know there were some belonging to me, 
 without the least formality, in the room next to mine, with 
 a ferocious eclat and manifestation of joy. I was informed of 
 it a few moments afterward, and looked from the window, 
 when I saw that they were hurrying you away. A numer- 
 ous staff was prancing round the house ; methought I saw 
 the inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean dancing round the pris- 
 oner they are about to devour. Your company was necessary 
 to me. You are the only one that can read, speak, and un- 
 derstand English. How many nights you have watched over 
 me during my illnesses ! However, I advise you, and if neces- 
 sary I order you, to demand of the Governor of this country 
 to send you to the Continent ; ] he can not refuse, since he 
 has no power over you, but by virtue of the act which you 
 have voluntarily signed. It will be a great source of conso- 
 lation to me to know that you are on your way to more fa- 
 vored climes. Once in Europe, whether you proceed to En- 
 gland or return home, endeavor to forget the evils which you 
 have been made to suffer ; and boast of the fidelity which 
 you have shown toward me, and of all the affection I feel 
 for you. If you should, some day or other see my wife and 
 son, embrace them for me ; for the last two years I have had 
 no news from them, either directly or indirectly. There is 
 in this country a German botanist, who has been here for 
 the last six months, and who saw them in the gardens of 
 Schoenbrun a few months before his departure. The barba- 
 rians have carefully prevented him from coming to give me 
 any news respecting them. In the mean time be comforted, 
 and console my friends. My body, it is true, is exposed to 
 the hatred of my enemies ; they omit nothing that can con- 
 tribute to satisfy their vengeance ; they make me suffer the 
 protracted tortures of a slow death ; but Providence is too 
 
 1 O'Meara in his letter to Mr. Finlaison of the 29th of December, 1816, 
 says, that Napoleon wrote this not knowing that Las Cases would be 
 allowed to return to Longwood, and thinking that he would be kept au 
 secret. 
 
Dec. 1816. THE LETTER A MERE RUSE. 341 
 
 just to allow these sufferings to last much longer. 1 The in- 
 salubrity of this dreadful climate, the want of every thing 
 that tends to support life, will soon, I feel, put an end to my 
 existence — the last moments of which will be an opprobrium 
 to the English name ; and Europe will one day stigmatize 
 with horror that perfidious and wicked man ; all true En- 
 glishmen will disown him as a Briton. As there is every 
 reason to suppose that you will not be allowed to come and 
 see me before your departure, receive my embrace and the 
 assurances of my friendship. May you be happy ! 
 
 "Yours, Napoleon.". 
 
 It must not, however, be imagined that this letter express- 
 ed the genuine sentiments of Napoleon, or that he was care- 
 ful that the statements which it contained were true. It was 
 a mere ruse to frighten the Governor and procure the libera- 
 tion of Las Cases. Count Montholon tells us 2 that on the 3d 
 of December Napoleon spoke to him of a project by which he 
 would himself attempt to bring Las Cases back to Longwood, 
 and he says — "I approved of his idea, and he dictated to me 
 the draught of a letter which he would write to Las Cases with 
 the hope that the Governor, on reading it, would become fright- 
 ened and yield." And, hearing the next day, the 4th, that 
 Count Las Cases was better treated, Napoleon exclaimed — 
 "You see I was right. M. Lowe is frightened. My system 
 is good. He will end by giving him up to me." Montholon 
 continues, " A message was brought in the evening of the 
 5th secretly from Count Las Cases : he has the diamond 
 necklace. Sir Hudson Lowe treats him admirably (a mer- 
 veille) ; he is almost free. He believes, if the Emperor would 
 authorize him, he could easily effect a reconciliation on the 
 
 1 In a conversation which Las Cases had with Sir Hudson Lowe on 
 the 17th of December, he spoke of the Emperor as rapidly approaching 
 the grave, and said that " he had used a phrase in his letter which an- 
 nounced the state of his mind, viz. ' la Providence est trop juste ;' that 
 it was one which he never would have allowed any of them to use ; he 
 never suffered them to speak in that style, nor was he himself in the 
 habit of using such expressions." — Major Gorrequer's Minutes in MS. 
 So that Las Cases thought that a recognition of Providence by Bona- 
 parte was a symptom that his mind was failing ! 
 
 2 " Recits," vol. i. pp. 449-450. 
 
342 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. , Chap. X. 
 
 basis of restoring all things as they were in the time of Sir 
 George Cookburn. ' Ha ! ha !' said the Emperor, ' I gain 
 ground. Decidedly Sir Hudson Lowe is afraid.' " And again, 
 on the 12th of December, in the course of a conversation be- 
 tween Bonaparte and his officers — " This Monsieur Lowe," 
 cried the Emperor, "is a cunning wretch; but I have just 
 dictated to Marchand a fine letter for Las Cases ; it will 
 terribly embarrass the Governor. Gourgaud go and fetch it 
 — you will find it on the inkstand — and read it to us." 
 
 On that day Sir Hudson Lowe penned a dispatch, " private 
 and secret," to Lord Bathurst, in which he said, respecting 
 this letter — " That it should contain an explosion of vehe- 
 ment abuse against myself I was fully prepared for, and was 
 predetermined no consideration of this kind should prevent my 
 delivering it to Count Las Cases, if it was calculated to ad- 
 minister any consolation to him under the state of separation 
 he was then living in from a person to whom he had been so 
 closely attached. The untruths it contains respecting myself 
 are so blended with matter of a public nature, and cover such 
 deeply-hidden calumnies, and such ignoble, dark insinuations, 
 that I can not, however, think it right to leave such a docu- 
 ment in Count Las Cases' possession, and my present inten- 
 tion is therefore to show him the contents of it, and to deposit 
 it afterward in the trunk where his other papers are sealed 
 up, and await your Lordship's instructions on the subject of 
 its further disposal." 
 
 He then assured Lord Bathurst that the assertion contained 
 in Bonaparte's letter, that Las Cases had been prevented from 
 communicating tidings of himself, was untrue. He said, 
 with reference to the conversation which had taken place be- 
 tween himself and the Count on the subject — "At this con- 
 versation either Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Thomas Reade or 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard were [was ?] present during the 
 whole of the time, and they can assert the veracity of my re- 
 lation of it. No prohibition whatever was made of any per- 
 sons writing. My observation went no further than to notice 
 the different style in which Count Las Cases wrote to that of 
 the other officers. The latter confined their communications 
 to their family concerns or topics of little moment, whereas 
 
Dec. 1816. THE DIAMOND NECKLACE. 343 
 
 Count Las Cases' letters always covered some insidious com- 
 munication regarding their situation in this island, evidently- 
 meant to convey false notions regarding it ; your Lordship 
 could not fail to have ohserved this in one of his letters to 
 Lady Clavering, where he speaks of ' instructions cruelles et 
 cruellement executees,' and enters at large into their griev- 
 ances, for the greater part inseparable from their situation in 
 this island, and of which, as being a voluntary resident here, 
 it was not his business to make a subject of public complaint : 
 yet this letter I forwarded, unmoved by the extreme indeli- 
 cacy of the attempt to make me the instrument of conveying 
 abuse against myself from the desire of not withholding from 
 your Lordship's knowledge any accusations against me, from 
 whatever source they might spring. It was to this style of 
 communication I naturally adverted when speaking of Count 
 Las Cases' positive infraction of the rules in other respects, 
 but there was not a single word of prohibition or penalty at- 
 tached to the continuance of his writing in any way he pleas- 
 ed." And, alluding to the way in which his civilities had 
 been met, he said, " It is the return, however, I have always 
 received where my desire has been to show attention." 
 
 It will have been noticed that Napoleon, speaking of Count 
 Las Cases, on the 4th of December, made use of the expres- 
 sion, " He has the diamond necklace." This was a neck- 
 lace which, he tells us, the Emperor placed in his hands on 
 board the Bellerophon that he might take care of it, and 
 which he constantly wore in a kind of girdle. It had belong- 
 ed to Hortense, the ex-&ueen of Holland. After his arrest he 
 became anxious to restore it to Bonaparte, and, by an adroit 
 trick, which, he tells us, was the only one he ever played the 
 Governor, he contrived to make Sir Hudson Lowe the medi- 
 um of communication with Longwood respecting it. In a 
 letter to Count Bertrand, 1 written on the 6th of December, 
 but not given to Sir Hudson Lowe to forward until many 
 
 1 In a postscript added to this letter on the 16th of Decernber Las 
 Cases says, " P.S. Dec. 16. — This letter has been ready for you some 
 time ; it was written at the time I thought I was going to bo removed 
 hence." It was, however, not sent until after the 16th. See 0"Meara's 
 conversation with Bonaparte, post, pp 355-358. 
 
344 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 days after, he said — " In the unfortunate state of penury to 
 which you are all reduced, I should have most ardently wish- 
 ed to leave behind me some of my wife's diamonds — a neck- 
 lace — the widow's mite ! Bu^ how shall I venture to offer 
 it?" This letter, Las Cases says, the Governor promised to 
 deliver in person, and it excited the Emperor's attention; so 
 that, as Count Montholon relates, Las Cases contrived to slip 
 the necklace into Bertrand's hands at their interview previous 
 to his embarkation on the 30th of December. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe visited Las Cases on the 16th of Decem- 
 ber, and took with him Napoleon's letter. He told him that 
 on reading it he found it to contain the grossest personal cal- 
 umnies against himself, blended with violent and unfounded 
 reflections upon the English Government ; that if he had 
 been the greatest scoundrel in the world he could not have 
 been treated worse than in the letter ; and that, considering 
 its nature, and the caution he had given in his correspondence 
 with General Bertrand, he was perfectly justified in with- 
 holding it from him ; but he had, notwithstanding, determin- 
 ed on allowing him to peruse it. He said, however, that as 
 it contained violent attacks upon Government, which render- 
 ed it an improper letter to leave in the possession of any indi- 
 vidual, it was his intention to transmit a copy of it to England, 
 and await the decision of Ministers upon it. The Governor 
 then handed the letter to Count Las Cases, who read it with 
 emotion, and, having finished its perusal, thanked the Govern- 
 or for the pleasure he had afforded him, and expressed the 
 sense he felt of this mark of attention. He then requested 
 permission to copy certain passages of it, which were, he said, 
 highly gratifying to his feelings, and would afford him the 
 greatest consolation during the rest of his life. They were 
 those which expressed the sentiments of Napoleon toward 
 him, and Count Las Cases pointed them out to the Governor, 
 who said he had no objection, and desired he would mark 
 them with his pencil. He did so, and handed over the letter 
 to his son to take extracts from it. 
 
 Major Gorrequer, who was present, has left minutes of the 
 conversation, and from them the following further account is 
 taken : 
 
Deo. 1816. HIS CHARACTER BY LAS CASES. 345 
 
 " Count Las Cases resumed, saying, he hoped that, since 
 he was placed in the situation he was then in, from the fre- 
 quent opportunities it had afforded him (the Governor), of 
 personal communication with him, he had found him reason- 
 ahle and frank in all his proceedings ; that, on his part, he 
 felt pleasure in saying he now saw things in a very different 
 light ; ' at Longwood one sees things through a vail of blood 
 (a Longwood on voit les choses a travers un voile de sang) ; n 
 this vail had been withdrawn from before his eyes, and he 
 now spoke as a stranger to Longwood, and with all frankness 
 natural to him. He then proceeded with observations on 
 General Bonaparte's state of mind : ' C'est un vrai malade ;' 
 that one irritation had been followed by another, till it had 
 brought him ' au dernier degout de la vie.' ' He must be 
 looked upon as a sick man, and great allowances must be 
 made for him ; he expresses himself with warmth ; he is 
 naturally quick ; he has the proudest spirit ; we must remem- 
 ber how many years he has been a sovereign, and that he has 
 not been much checked in the use of language ; however, he 
 weighs things well, and is very slow in forming a judgment. 
 Be persuaded, M. le Gouverneur, that if you know him, he 
 is a man of the best natural disposition.' 2 The Governor 
 thereupon remarked that on the only two occasions where 
 General Bonaparte had been at all calm in conversation with 
 him he had found him much more reasonable than the offi- 
 cers of his suite. Count Las Cases said, 'I admit it; we 
 were all more easily irritated, more ready to believe evil, than 
 
 1 See "Voice from St. Helena," vol. i. p. 241, where O'Meara gives 
 this remarkable expression, but represents it as having been quoted by 
 Sir Hudson Lowe on the 4th of December, twelve days before it was 
 uttered by Las Cases. 
 
 2 The exact words of Las Cases are given by Major Gorrequer in 
 French, and are here subjoined : " II faudrait le considerer comme un 
 malade ; on devrait lui passer beaucoup de choses ; il s'exprime avec 
 chaleur; il est naturellement vif : c'est Tame la plus fiere ; il faut se 
 souvenir combien d'annees il a ete souverain, et qu'iln'a pas ete beau- ■ 
 coup gene du cote des paroles ; cependant il pese bien les choses, et 
 est tres lent a former un jugement : il n'y a personne qui ecoute mieux 
 raison que lui, mais on l'a denature. Soyez persuade, Monsieur 1b 
 Gouverneur, si vous le connaissiez, c'est 1'homme du meilleur naturel ' 
 
 v* 
 
346 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Cuaf. X. 
 
 he was ; but he is not of a character to allow himself to be led 
 
 by others; he judges for himself.' 1 The Governor said 
 
 he was disposed to do every thing for the amelioration of Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte's situation, and to confine the restrictions to as 
 few points as possible ; but must observe that there were some 
 points that could not be touched upon, and those were — 
 measures to insure his personal security, and no communica- 
 tion except authorized by him ; and invited Count Las Cases 
 to draw out some memoranda of the amendments he might 
 be able to suggest, and he would consider of them. The 
 Count appeared to assent to this, and agree that the personal 
 security was the first and great object, and that the Governor 
 was right to have recourse to all necessary measures to insure 
 it, but was at a loss as to what was meant by authorized 
 communication. The Governor therefore said he would give 
 him an instance of what he considered an unauthorized com- 
 munication : for example, when officers obtained a pass to go 
 to Longwood for the purpose of visiting General Bonaparte, he 
 little expected Count Las Cases would have taken advantage 
 of that opportunity to show them Count Montholon's letter ; 
 that such communication was wholly unauthorized, even 
 though the officers had permission to visit Longwood; and 
 that it had become necessary, even from this circumstance, 
 to establish strict rules in regard to visits and communications, 
 the control of which must rest with the Governor. Count 
 Las Cases acknowledged the truth of the Governor's observa- 
 tion in regard to his communication having been wholly un- 
 authorized. He then asked where was the necessity of with- 
 drawing the permission which Sir George Cockburn had 
 granted for Count Bertrand's passes being admitted to visit 
 the ' Emperor' ? The Governor replied, that while General 
 Bertrand was living at Hutt's Gate every person might visit 
 him, and obtain passes, without his knowledge, to go to Long- 
 wood House ; but that now, as he inhabited a house within 
 'the inner cordon, he might permit it, because nobody could 
 
 1 " Je l'avoue, nous etions tous beaucoup plus faciles a irriter, plus 
 prompts a croire Ie raal, que lui ; mais il n'est pas d'un caractere a so 
 Iaisser mener; il juge pour lui-mcme." 
 
Dec. 1816. HEALTH OF YOUNG LAS CASES. 347 
 
 go to General Bertrand's House without his pass, and no im- 
 proper person could therefore obtain them The Gov- 
 ernor expressed how sensible he was of the disagreeable situ- 
 ation they were in, but they made it worse than it really was, 
 and when he wished to make it better they opposed it ; and, 
 to prove this last remark, said he would advert to a letter of 
 Count Las Cases, written to Lady Clavering, in which he 
 complained of want of furniture, though at the very time this 
 letter was sent to him to forward to her he was actually 
 crowding furniture of all sorts into Longwood House ; and 
 was the facility he afforded them to correspond with their 
 friends to be thus made the instrument of unjust reflections 
 upon himself? Count Las Cases replied, this letter must 
 have been written before the furniture was sent up ; the Gov- 
 ernor contradicted this, and said it was precisely at the time 
 the furniture was carrying up the complaint was made. The 
 Count said, that as for his rooms, they had never been fur- 
 nished. The Governor answered that this was because he 
 had always rejected all offers of the kind ; but Count Las 
 Cases asserted he had never refused receiving furniture, though 
 he had made it a rule to himself never to ask for any." 1 
 
 On the following day, the 17th, Las Cases wrote to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, and informed him of the alarming illness of 
 his son, saying that at Longwood a medical officer would be 
 found on the spot to have recourse to. The Governor in con- 
 sequence immediately paid him a visit, accompanied by Ma- 
 jor Gorrequer. He told Las Cases that he had directed a 
 medical officer forthwith to call and see his son, 2 and ex- 
 
 1 Of course it did not suit Las Cases' purpose to give a fair and full 
 account of this conversation, and he merely mentions that Napoleon's 
 letter was communicated to him, and that he was allowed to make some 
 extracts from it. 
 
 3 With respect to the health of Count Las Cases and his son, con- 
 sidering the remarks that have been made to the prejudice of Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe, it is important to observe what Dr. Baxter and O'Meara re- 
 ported to him about this time on the subject. The former says, " The 
 Count, about ten days ago, complained to me of a slight bowel com- 
 plaint, which went off in a day or two ; being of so trifling a nature, 
 that I did not deem it necessary to give him any medicine. To-day he 
 complains of indigestion, giddiness, and occasional acid eructations 
 
348 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 pressed his great concern that he had not another house ready 
 for his reception, hut said that one was preparing as fast as 
 possible. To this Las Cases answered that he was sensible 
 
 These are complaints which he informs me he was subject to both in 
 England and at Longwood. The influence of an agitated state of mind 
 upon a feeble and irritable habit will readily account for the present ac- 
 cession of a complaint to which he has been long subject, and under all 
 circumstances. His abode at Ross Cottage, since his removal from 
 Longwood, taken unconnected with his mental feelings, has had no share 
 in this slight indisposition, nor do I think this climate unfavorable to his 
 health. His son, who is about fifteen years of age, has for the last 
 twelve months been subject to attacks of disease of a very alarming 
 nature, arising, to all appearance, from an organic affection of the heart, 
 or large blood-vessel in its vicinity. The attacks are sudden, and gen- 
 erally continue from half an hour to two hours ; and upon one occasion, 
 
 his father informs me, the fit lasted the greater part of a night 
 
 The appearance of this boy is florid and remarkably healthy ; and, with 
 the exception of these attacks, he is, generally speaking, free from in- 
 convenience, unless he attempts to ascend a declivity or to run, when 
 he is seized with a sensation as if something was about to burst. This 
 complaint is in no way connected with this climate, and would have been 
 produced equally in the most temperate ; nor is he likely to derive any 
 benefit from a change." 
 
 On the 24th of December, O'Meara made a long medical report on 
 the nature of young Las Cases 1 complaint, and said that the formidable 
 appearances might possibly arise merely from a nervous affection, but 
 very probably their cause was organic disease of the heart. In the 
 latter case, he said, "life may be prolonged for some time, by great reg- 
 ularity of living, abstinence, and quiet; to which may be added, avoid- 
 ing any causes which might ruffle or disturb the mind ; toward the ob- 
 taining of which last object, a removal to another part of the globe — 
 Europe, for example — would perhaps be serviceable ; but nothing more 
 than palliations can be employed for a disease which necessarily term- 
 inates fatally, and which is not the production of any particular climate, 
 but originates in malconformation prior to birth. Upon a review of the 
 whole, as there is a possibility of the complaint being a nervous one, I 
 would recommend the removal of the young gentleman to Europe." 
 O'Meara afterward added, I think it necessary to state also that I have 
 no sort of doubt the sedentary occupations of reading and writing, in 
 which the young gentleman was almost constantly occupied at Long- 
 wood by his father's direction, notwithstanding the highly injurious 
 tendency of them had been frequently pointed out to him, and their re- 
 petition positively prohibited, and particularly the anxiety and dread in- 
 separable from the nature of the epistolary correspondence in which he 
 was latterly engaged, must have most considerably aggravated his son's 
 complaint." 
 
 Count Emmanuel de Las Cases, the son, is still living. When the 
 
Deo. 1816. ALTERNATIVES OFFERED TO LAS CASES. 349 
 
 of Sir Hudson's attention, and had no complaint to make on 
 that point. The Governor then told him that, in consequence 
 of his last letter, taking into account the state of his own and 
 his son's health, and under the impression that such a step 
 would be gratifying to General Bonaparte, he would allow 
 them both to go back to Longwood until final instructions 
 were received from England, provided the Count would write 
 him a letter on the subject.' To this, says Major Gorrequer, 
 " Count Las Cases replied, the Governor had misunderstood 
 him if he conceived he meant by his letter to solicit for his 
 return to Longwood. With regard to the expression that at 
 Longwood a medical person would be found upon the spot, he 
 only meant to show the difference of his present situation, 
 where he was at so great a distance from any assistance of 
 that kind, and the length of time it would take to procure it. 
 Could not he be removed to some other place where it could 
 be immediately obtained ? However, in answer to the Gov- 
 ernor's offer, he would frankly say, his first determination was 
 not to return to Longwood ; that the impression upon his 
 mind was, he ought not to go back ; that he was still in- 
 fluenced by the same feelings, and thought he would continue 
 in the same disposition ; that it was, however, a subject that 
 required consideration, and he would not at that moment pos- 
 itively say what would be his final determination ; that if 
 the Emperor made known to him the slightest wish for his 
 return, he would immediately go back ; his will was his law, 
 and he would waive all personal considerations ; that, if the 
 Governor permitted him, he would address a letter to the 
 Emperor stating to him his reasons for thinking he ought not 
 to return to Longwood, and conclude it by requesting to know 
 his wishes, which he would conform to without comment." 
 
 This, however, Sir Hudson Lowe at first refused to allow 
 on the ground that it was making him the channel of the 
 
 author was in Paris, at the beginning of the present year, he read in the 
 " Constitutionnel," of Jan. 3, 1853, the following paragraph : — L'Em- 
 pereur a nomme trente-sept senateurs — M. de las Cases — dont le nom 
 rappelle un si admirable devouemcnt, a cote du Prince Lucien Bona- 
 parte " ' Major Gorrequer's MS. Minutes. 
 
350 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 vilest calumnies against himself, as appeared from the letter 
 written by Bonaparte to the Count. The latter expressed a 
 strong desire to be sent to England, 1 but Major Grorrequer 
 says, " The Governor replied, that to permit him to return 
 direct to England was entirely against his instructions, and it 
 was therefore useless to talk about it ; that under any circum- 
 stance his orders were to send them to the Cape of Good Hope, 
 even in the instance of any of them having chosen to leave 
 the island when it was left to their choice ; that in keeping 
 him, at St. Helena after his separation from the person at 
 Longwood, he thought he had adopted that course which 
 would prove the most agreeable to him, for that he had no 
 alternative than that of sending him to the Cape without his 
 papers, for the latter could not be sent from hence without 
 directions from Government ; therefore, in sending him to the 
 Cape without them, he conceived it would have been making 
 his situation more disagreeable. The Governor then asked 
 whether in so doing he had correctly judged what would 
 have been his choice of the two offers, for if he had not he 
 was at liberty to go there still. Count Las Cases answered, 
 that he certainly preferred awaiting at St. Helena the decision 
 of Ministers, with his papers, than going to the Cape, leaving 
 
 the papers at St. Helena The Count spoke again upon 
 
 the advantage of a mutual explanation between the Governor 
 and General Bonaparte, adding, how much would be gained 
 by it on both sides, and, if he should ever return to Longwood, 
 he would be found any thing else than a cause of irritation ; 
 that he now spoke and saw things as a stranger to Longwood ; 
 that many circumstances appeared to him in a very different 
 light than while he was there ; that the same good might re- 
 sult to others by proper explanation, and the ' crepe sanglant qui 
 est etendu sur Longwood' (bloody vail which is extended over 
 Longwood), might thus be removed. He then said he ac- 
 
 1 On the 4th of December the Count wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe, and 
 said, " As the laws authorize me to do so, in order that I may obtain 
 their full and entire protection, I demand of you, officially and formally 
 to remove me from St. Helena, and restore me to liberty." — RecueiL 
 vol i p 383 
 
Deo. 1816. LAS CASES' INCONSISTENCY. 351 
 
 knowledged with pleasure the attention he had experienced 
 from the Governor since he was in his present situation." 
 
 After quitting Ross Cottage, and proceeding some distance, 
 the Governor, having further considered the subject of per- 
 mitting Las Cases to write to Bonaparte respecting his going 
 back to Longwood, returned to Ross Cottage, and told the 
 Count that, although the permission he had given for a com- 
 munication with General Bonaparte had been most grossly 
 abused, and the letter sent had been made the vehicle of the 
 most opprobrious expressions against himself, he had neverthe- 
 less ridden back to inform him he might write to General Bona- 
 parte as he had proposed, but he requested he would avoid 
 every subject that might promote discussion or prolong com- 
 munication, and simply confine himself to the question of 
 his return to Longwood. Count Las Cases replied, that he 
 would candidly say he remained in the same way of think- 
 ing, and that the argument of his letter would be against 
 going back to Longwood ; he would, however, submit all 
 his reasons against it to the Emperor, and act as he appeared 
 to wish. The Governor answered, as he had made him the 
 offer of returning to Longwood, partly on account of his son's 
 health, and his own, any evil consequences, that might ensue 
 from his rejection of it would be entirely attributable to him- 
 self, and that he would wash his hands of every ill that 
 might follow from his non-acceptance of it. He then returned 
 to Plantation House. 1 
 
 The obvious reluctance of Las Cases to return to Longwood 
 could not but excite surprise. In a postscript to his letter to 
 Count Bertrand on the 16th of December, 3 from which an 
 extract relative to the diamond necklace has been already 
 quoted, he had said, " To-day the Governor, in giving me 
 permission to send it to you, informs me that I am to wait 
 here until answers shall have arrived from England. Thus 
 I shall be for months together at St. Helena, and Longwood 
 will not exist for me ; a new species of torment which I had 
 not thought of!" This letter, with its postscript, was not 
 sent until after he knew that it was in his own option to re- 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer's MS Minutes 2 Vide p. 343, ante. 
 
352 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 turn to Longwood. And when Sir Hudson Lowe reached 
 home he wrote to him, and reminded him of this expression, 
 pointing out that now, when offered to be allowed to return, 
 he expressed strong disinclination to do so. 
 
 Las Cases, however, evaded any explanation of this incon- 
 sistency. 1 On the following day he sent a letter to the Gov- 
 ernor, which related chiefly to the claim made by Napoleon 
 to the possession of his Journal. He said — 
 
 " You are exercising over me an arbitrary act. I call 
 upon you to observe the laws. If I am not guilty, send me 
 away. If I am, deliver me up to justice, and let me take 
 my trial. But you mention papers which you have in your 
 possession. If these papers are unconnected with the matter 
 in question, restore them to me ; if they are connected with 
 it, consign them to my judges and me along with them. 
 But these papers, you tell me, are claimed by another indi- 
 vidual. I shall renounce them whenever you may make me 
 acquainted with his wish ; or probably that individual will 
 relinquish his claim whenever you make him acquainted with 
 
 1 In Napoleon's letter to Las Cases he had said, " However, I ad- 
 vise you, and, in case of necessity, I order you, to demand of the Gov- 
 ernor of this country to send you to the Continent ;" and Las Cases 
 tells us in his Journal that the chief satisfaction he derived from this 
 letter was that it pointed out the course which he had previously de- 
 termined on adopting. He continues, "' I entreat you, and in ease of 
 urgency, I command you, to quit this island,' said the Emperor ; and 
 this was exactly what I had resolved to do during the first days of my 
 seclusion, while separated from all, and having no counselor but my- 
 self." He also says, with reference to the conversation on the 17th 
 detailed above — " In the course of a long conversation I could very 
 well discern that Sir Hudson Lowe had now some secret object in view 
 with respect to me. We reciprocally sounded each other on various 
 points, and the Governor concluded by observing that he could not 
 send me back to England, because I insisted on carrying my Journal 
 along with me, while on the other hand it was claimed by the Em- 
 peror, as it had been written by his order. The cunning and absurdity 
 of this reasoning were sufficiently obvious. Then, as if seized by a sud- 
 den thought and a momentary feeling of condescension, he added that, 
 if I wished to return to Longwood, he would very willingly agree to it. 
 I trembled to hear this." Why did he tremble 1 
 
Dec. 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S DECISION. 353 
 
 mine. The whole business is reduced to these simple ques- 
 tions. However, the great object of my letter is to request 
 that you will be pleased to convey to Longwood a new proof 
 of my respect for the Emperor. As to writing to Longwood 
 myself respecting the favor of returning thither as you sug- 
 gested, I shall wait until I have the honor of seeing you 
 again before I make up my mind on the subject." 
 
 Finding that Las Cases was not willing to return to Long- 
 wood to await the decision of the English Government re- 
 specting him, Sir Hudson Lowe determined to send him to 
 the Cape of Good Hope, and communicated this resolution to 
 him in the following notice : 
 
 Plantation Hodse, December 20, 1816. 
 " The Governor, having taken into full consideration all 
 the circumstances in the case of Count Las Cases, has adopt- 
 ed the following decision: — Count Las Cases, having com- 
 mitted a direct and premeditated violation of the rules estab- 
 lished by the authority of the British Government on this isl- 
 and respecting General Bonaparte, by seducing the fidelity of 
 an inhabitant of the island, so far as to render him the bearer, 
 in a culpable and disguised manner, of secret and clandestine 
 communications to Europe, and having thus broken through 
 one of the indispensable conditions on which he signed his vol- 
 untary declaration to be permitted to reside at St. Helena, 
 has in consequence thereof been separated from the person of 
 General Bonaparte, and, in conformity to the instructions of 
 the British Government, will be embarked for the Cape of Good 
 Hope. Count Las Cases will be permitted to take with him 
 all his effects and papers, with the exception of such of the 
 latter as may relate to General Bonaparte since he has been 
 under the authority of the British Government, and of such 
 correspondence as may not have been passed through the 
 regular channel of British authorities. Any papers of a dis- 
 puted nature will await here the directions of the British 
 Government regarding them. H. Lowe." 
 
 At the same time, however, he wrote and sent to Las Cases 
 the following letter : 
 
354 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 Plantation House, December 20, 1816. 
 " In communicating to you the decision contained in the 
 inclosed paper, I beg leave at the same time to acquaint you 
 that I shall have no objection, as already verbally communi- 
 cated to you, to your remaining on this island, if you should 
 prefer remaining here to proceeding to the Cape of Good 
 Hope, until I may receive instructions from the British Gov- 
 ernment respecting you. I shall feel it necessary, however, 
 in such case, to request a written declaration of your desire 
 to me to that effect, pledging yourself to the observance of 
 the same restrictions under which you have been hitherto 
 permitted to reside here. It will thus, Sir, remain entirely 
 at your own option to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope, or 
 to remain here, with your papers under seal, until the in- 
 structions of Government may arrive. 
 
 " I have the honor, &c. H. Lowe." 
 
 Las Cases answered this letter, and wrote also a letter to 
 Bertrand which he sent to the Governor, that he might pe- 
 ruse and forward it, but Sir Hudson Lowe refused to commu- 
 nicate it in its original state, and returned it to Las Cases 
 with the objectionable passages underlined in pencil. He at 
 the same time wrote to the Count and told him that the 
 state of his son's health and his own, and a wish to pay at- 
 tention to Bonaparte, had induced him to make the offer of al- 
 lowing his return to Longwood. "I can not, however," said 
 Sir Hudson, " consent to be the medium of any discussion or 
 negotiation whatever between you and Longwood regarding 
 it. The only communication I can suffer is to ascertain 
 whether your presence back on the footing attached to your 
 further residence on this island, as expressed in my letter of 
 yesterday, is desired. A communication on this point, with 
 a short summary of the question in general, is all I can un- 
 dertake to forward. The permission to return implies a 
 free explanation on all points. If you do not return, I see 
 onljr irritation and inconvenience as likely to result to all 
 parties by making myself the channel of lengthened commu- 
 nications on the subject." 
 
Dec. 1816. CONVERSATION REGARDING LAS CASES. 355 
 
 It will be interesting now to see what was going on at 
 Longwood at this time, and the view which Napoleon took of 
 the question of Las Cases' return. An account of this will 
 be found in the following letter addressed by O'Meara to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, and dated Longwood, December 21, 1816 : 
 
 "Dear Sir — I have the honor of informing you of the con- 
 versation which took place between General Bonaparte and 
 myself respecting the permission which had been granted to 
 Count de Las Cases to return to Longwood provided it was 
 his (Las Cases') wish to do so. When I told him that you 
 had given permission to Count Las Cases to return to Long- 
 wood, if he thought proper until an answer would be received 
 from England respecting his fate, he appeared very much 
 astonished, looked at me with an air evidently denoting in- 
 credulity, and said, ' It is impossible (caro questo e impossi- 
 ble), for I have, not many hours back, received a letter of his 
 addressed to Bertrand, in which he states that he has been 
 refused that, and complains of it as a hardship ; you must be 
 mistaken.' I replied that I was not ; that I was certain of 
 it, as Las Cases himself had said so. He appeared still sur- 
 prised and incredulous, and would not believe it for some 
 time, made me repeat my words several times, got up off of 
 his sofa, walked about, asked me if I was sure that Las Cases 
 had said so, if I had heard him myself, and finally appeared 
 with great difficulty convinced of it. He then said that in 
 consequence of Las Cases' letter he had ordered Bertrand to 
 write a very strong letter of complaints, and in it to demand 
 that all the French Generals should be sent off the island, as 
 there was no security or guarantee for their persons or prop- 
 erty, as the Governor whenever he liked might order them to 
 be arrested, seize upon their papers, and keep them in con- 
 finement as long as he liked without giving them a trial. He 
 was at first very well pleased that Las Cases was allowed to 
 come back, and said that it was just and right ; that in this 
 there was no reason to complain (in questo non c'e niente a 
 lamentarsi) ; that he would be very glad to see him back 
 again ; would have great pleasure in receiving him ; that he 
 
356 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 thought it -would he much hetter fov him to return to Long- 
 wood than to go to the Cape to wait for the decision of the 
 British Government, unless, said he, that he would he permit- 
 ted to go to Europe direct ; if not, it would he much hetter to 
 remain here among his friends than to go to the Cape among 
 strangers. He continued his walk, mused for some time, and 
 said, ' I do not know how I can advise him to return when 
 1 have given just now directions to Bertrand to write a letter 
 to the Governor demanding permission for all of them to go 
 away, for when they are gone I will be more independent ; I 
 will not be any longer apprehensive of vengeance being wreak- 
 ed upon them for what I say ; those people are all afraid of 
 being sent off the island. /,' continued he, with a smile, 
 ' am not afraid of that. They are all trembling with fear of 
 this Governor, one for his wife, another for his family, another 
 for himself.' Here he sent for Bertrand, and told him what 
 I had informed him about Las Cases ; informed him that he 
 need not go on with the letter for the present, and took from 
 him what he had already written. After this he walked 
 about for a considerable time and got rather warm, repeating 
 all the circumstances that had occurred since Las Cases' ar- 
 rest, and concluded with saying that he would give no opinion 
 about it ; that if Las Cases returned he would receive him 
 with pleasure ; if he went away he would also view that 
 with pleasure, hut would wish to see him before he went. He 
 desired me to come in the morning to hear his opinion after 
 he had slept upon it. The following morning he expressed 
 himself in a similar manner that he would leave Las Cases 
 entirely to his own decision. After I left Plantation House 
 yesterday, and copied the words expressed in your letter to 
 Las Cases, I waited upon him, and informed him that Las 
 Cases, notwithstanding his having been informed by you that 
 he was at liberty to return again to Longwood, there to await 
 the final decision of the Government on his case, previous to 
 sending the letter to Count Bertrand two or three days past, 
 in which he complained that such liberty had been denied 
 him, and called it ' supplice nouveau,' which he had not calcu- 
 lated upon, and notwithstanding your having sent an orderly 
 
Dec. 1816. CONVERSATION REGARDING LAS CASES. 357 
 
 to him with his own letter, and another from you, in which you 
 pointed out the propriety of altering that phrase, as it would be 
 the means of producing an accession of irritation without cause, 
 had still persisted in sending the letter containing such a state- 
 ment, though he knew that what he complained of as being 
 a new punishment would not exist any longer than he (Las 
 Cases) thought proper himself to allow, and that by speaking 
 a word he could remove it, and that you thought Las Cases 
 had used you very unfairly and unhandsomely in persisting in 
 such a statement. I then showed him the copy of what you 
 had written to Las Cases on the occasion, which he took and 
 read himself. He appeared surprised at this, and said that 
 Las Cases had written the letter prior to being informed that he 
 might return. I replied that he had certainly, but that after- 
 ward he had been informed of it, and ought to have altered 
 it. He answered that you informed me that he had liberty 
 to return. He admitted, however, that Las Cases ought to 
 have made an alteration in it. He then said that he had 
 not received any official intelligence that Las Cases had re- 
 ceived such permission to return ; indeed, on the contrary, that 
 the only letter received on the subject said that he had not ; 
 ' and,' continued he, ' if you had not told me that you had 
 heard Las Cases himself say so, I should not believe it. If 
 he has leave, why does he not come here to speak to us ? If 
 he gives him leave to return, of course he has no fear of what- 
 ever correspondence he may have with us, and why not let 
 him come, or let Bertrand go and see him, instead of keeping 
 him " au secret"? I would like to see a letter from Las 
 Cases himself, stating that he had leave to return.' He de- 
 sired me to mention this to you, and that he wished either to 
 see Las Cases, or that Bertrand might be allowed to go to 
 him. Shortly after he spoke about Archambaud's having 
 been refused leave to see his brother, who, probably, he would 
 never have another opportunity of embracing, which, he 
 said, was a refinement in cruelty unknown in condemned 
 cells ; that if there was any apprehension of correspondence 
 it would be easy to send somebody with him who spoke French, 
 which would prevent such taking place, and added that he 
 
358 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 intended making this one of the subjects of complaint in his 
 letter to the Prince Regent. I have the honor, &c. 
 
 "B. E. O'Meara." 
 
 On the 22d the Governor visited Las Cases, who gives us 
 the following account of what occurred I 1 — He says, " I coolly 
 informed him that, since he had taken upon himself to dictate 
 to me, I would not write at all. At this he appeared greatly 
 surprised and much disconcerted ; and after some reflection 
 he went so far as to inquire whether the corrections he had 
 made were the only obstacles that deterred me. This un- 
 usual condescension on his part was a sufficient guide for me ; 
 I therefore continued firm, and cut the matter short by observ- 
 ing that in the evening he should receive from me my irrevo- 
 cable determination, and the reasons on which it was ground- 
 ed, together with my remarks on the different letters which 
 he had addressed to me." 
 
 Major Gorrequer, however, was as usual present at the con- 
 versation ; and he has left in his minutes a full account of 
 what passed. He says that the Governor inquired of Las 
 Cases " what would be his decision as to returning to Long- 
 wood ; he answered, he had determined upon not writing 
 there on the subject of it. The Governor asked what his 
 motives might be for not writing — was it in consequence of 
 his having refused to transmit his letters to Longwood ? Count 
 Las Cases, on first replying to this question, seemed to found 
 his objection upon that ground ; but on the Governor's re- 
 questing further explanation (of the answer he had given) he 
 withdrew from that, turning it off by saying that the letter 
 which he was preparing for the Governor would explain his 
 reasons ; that he recurred to the motives he had detailed in 
 his first letter. The Governor then explained why he had 
 not sent Count Las Cases' letters to Longwood; by so doing it 
 would have been making himself the instrument of a negotia- 
 tion on the subject. The Count said he himself saw it was 
 a measure likely to be attended with great difficulty, and did 
 not expect it would be acquiesced in. The Governor then 
 
 1 "Journal," Dec. 22, 1816. 
 
Deo. 1816. LAS CASES" DESIRE TO LEAVE. 359 
 
 observed, that if he had in the course of their communication 
 made use of any expression which could have hurt his feel- 
 ings, it was not intentionally, it was very far from his wish to 
 say any thing that might wound them. The word " seduc- 
 ing," which he had used in his declaration, was adopted hy 
 him in its legal sense, and he thought was the least likely to 
 hurt him of any other he could have found to convey his mean- 
 ing — conceiving that to corrupt or bribe (the only other ex- 
 pressions he could adopt) were more likely to wound ; and to 
 show him how much he wished to avoid it, he had in my 
 presence, and that of Colonel Wynyard, erased some words 
 which he thought might, perhaps, be offensive to his feelings, 
 and had substituted others in his opinion less so. Count Las 
 Cases answered, he certainly had felt much hurt at the term ; 
 for to constitute seduction it was necessary to use persuasion 
 — to overcome repugnance — even perhaps to bribe to the com- 
 mission of the act ; but in this case he had recourse to no 
 argument whatever — offered no bribe ; that the man had 
 tendered his services ; he never made an effort to gain him, 
 and never in his life had attempted to seduce any body ; ' Je 
 suis vierge dans ces affaires ;' that he was, however, much 
 satisfied at the Governor's explanation of the word, and in 
 consequence of it would erase a part of the letter he was 
 writing to him, in which he commented upon that expression. 
 Count Las Cases again repeated the man offered his services, 
 adding, he told him that on the delivery of the letters he 
 would get five louis, and had he succeeded he would have 
 given him much more. The Governor replied, Scott denied 
 having offered his services to him ; on which the Count re- 
 tracted the word offered, and explained he meant to say the 
 man had made no difficulty or opposition. It was not his inten- 
 tion or wish by saying this to justify himself, for he conceived 
 any prisoner had a right to employ all the means in his power 
 to communicate, or even to effect his escape. Count Las Cases 
 then begged that the moment the Governor had decided on 
 his case he would inform him, and remove him from where 
 he was, for every minute he remained became years of mise- 
 ry. The Governor said he had done every thing in his power 
 
360 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 to get him another house, but he found it impossible sooner to 
 procure one ; now, however, workmen were employed in pre- 
 paring one ; that he wished to have had him in the neighbor- 
 hood of Plantation House, where he would be near to all kind 
 of assistance. The Count answered, the Governor was mis- 
 taken if he thought he complained on that account ; on the 
 contrary, he did him every justice on that head, and was 
 very sensible of his personal attention to him, but that the 
 
 removal he solicited was from the island Whether he 
 
 sent him to the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, or any 
 other place, he begged it might be soon ; that to quit this 
 island was what he demanded ; ' les hommes aiment a chan- 
 ger de demeure ;' it was necessary besides for his son's health 
 and his own ; dwelt upon the bad state of the former, who 
 was obliged to pass his nights in an upright posture, feeling 
 nearly suffocated when he laid down, and said he himself 
 was sinking under the weakly state of his own ; ' a chaque 
 moment je me sens eteindre ;' staying here was only living 
 in the midst of torments. Where was the object of his re- 
 maining here now that he was not to go back to Longwood ? 
 ' n'etant plus la, je ne suis d'aucun usage dans cette lie.' 
 He then launched out into some reflections on the ' horrible 
 rock ;' that living here was torment enough for any body 
 without being a prisoner ; not even the Governor's situation 
 could be an agreeable one Count Las Cases then re- 
 quested an inventory to be taken of all his papers, and that 
 they might be all arranged and put under seal. The Gov- 
 ernor acquiesced with respect to the inventory being taken, 
 but made him no reply as to the papers being sealed. Count 
 Las Cases observed the papers would then remain sealed, and 
 could not be opened again without his being present. The 
 Governor said he did not know that — he could not answer 
 for that. The Count replied, that papers once sealed were 
 never opened again, except in the presence of those whose 
 
 seals were affixed to them The Governor said that the 
 
 Count had frequently reflected upon him for retaining the 
 Journal, as if it was ill consequence of those parts in it which 
 were personal to him ; but if that really was the case, would 
 
Deo. 1816. SIR HUDSON'S INTERVIEW WITH BERTRAND. 361 
 
 he not have availed himself of his offer of correcting whatever 
 he could convince him was erroneous — which he might easily 
 have proved to him, and thus removed what might be offensive 
 to him ? He would add that he certainly did not feel indiffer- 
 ent about statements which were so unfounded and injurious 
 to his character, but that, however, was not the cause for re- 
 taining it ; in so doing he acted upon public grounds." 
 
 Las Cases the same day addressed and sent to the Governor 
 the letter which he had promised, and which will be found at 
 the end of the volume. 1 Sir Hudson Lowe now determined to 
 call upon Count Bertrand and inform him of what had taken 
 place respecting Count Las Cases, and he went on the 23d 
 to Longwood, accompanied by Major Gorrequer and Colonel 
 Wynyard. He entered into a full explanation of the propo- 
 sal he had made to Las Cases, and said that his refusal to 
 forward to Longwood letters which that person had written 
 " was not from any disinclination to their seeing them, but 
 because he did not wish to become the instrument of irrita- 
 tion and interminable discussion ; that he would have no ob- 
 jection to showing Count Bertrand the whole of Count Las 
 Cases' letters, accompanied by his own arguments (which he 
 however had not yet found time to write out), but that by 
 sending them without it would be giving countenance and 
 sanction to his representations, the greater part of which was 
 totally unfounded ; it would in fact be offering himself to the 
 judgment of others with only one side of the question before 
 them. After he had made his own remarks in refutation of 
 Count lias Cases' he would willingly show the whole of the 
 letters and observations upon them at Longwood, when a fair 
 view of both sides of the subject would be thus exhibited; 
 that was the course he intended to follow in rendering an ac- 
 count of it to Government The Governor added, he 
 
 had a great many conferences with Count Las Cases, and in 
 other respects had found him reasonable ; and, again advert- 
 ing to Count Las Cases' refusing to return to Longwood, said 
 to Count Bertrand, ' Q,u'en pensez-vous vous-meme ?' that, to 
 
 1 See the Letters and Documents. 
 Vol. L— a 
 
362 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 convince him of his sincerity in making: the offer, he was ready 
 to allow him to come back immediately if he desired it, and that 
 General Bonaparte expressed his wish to the same effect ; that 
 he had reason to think it would be agreeable to the latter, and 
 it appeared nothing but the expression of his wish for the re- 
 turn of Count Las Cases was wanting to call him back ; it 
 therefore could not be said the Governor had prevented it, 
 but, on the contrary, it must be owned he afforded every 
 facility. Count Bertrand replied, he would make a faithful 
 report of what the Governor had stated to him to the Emper- 
 or, but did not give any opinion upon it ; he merely said he 
 could not anticipate what the Emperor's sentiments might 
 be ; that he could easily conceive Count Las Cases desirous 
 of making him acquainted with his arguments and anxious 
 for his opinion, so that it might not appear his refusal to re- 
 turn to Longwood proceeded from caprice when left to his 
 own choice, though he could not conceive why he should not 
 himself have exposed -his reasons ; he concurred with the 
 Governor that he could not be expected to become the ' inter- 
 mediaire' of Count Las Cases' arguments, unaccompanied by 
 his own observations ; and fully acknowledged his belief of 
 the Governor's sincerity on the occasion. The Governor ex- 
 pressed his hope that General Bertrand would do him the 
 justice to state, if any irritation or unpleasant circumstance 
 took place in consequence, that he had anticipated it and 
 wished to avoid the cause. Count Bertrand soon after broke 
 out into a very warm and vehement declamation on the po- 
 sition of Count Las Cases The Governor turned off the 
 
 conversation to another topic, saying, that whenever he had 
 heard of any change which might he made for the ameliora- 
 tion of General Bonaparte's situation it had always been his 
 wish to adopt it if it was in his power ; that he had long 
 since written to Government on the subject of an extension 
 of the limits for his rides ; and having understood some of 
 the sentries posted round the grounds caused him some in- 
 convenience, he would in consequence remove them to some 
 other post; that he would always continue to address persons 
 desiring to visit at Longwood, in the first instance, to General 
 
Dec. 1816. DISCUSSION ON THE REGULATIONS. 363 
 
 Bertrand. The regulations respecting visitors not communi- 
 cating with persons of General Bonaparte's family appearing 
 not to be clearly understood, he would explain that there was 
 no objection to any or the whole of them being present on the 
 occasion of visitors being presented to him ; but the object was 
 to prevent communication of a nature which ought not to take 
 place before or after presentation to General Bonaparte — for in- 
 stance, such as had been the case when Count Las Cases took 
 some officers who had gone up to Longwood to pay their respects 
 to General Bonaparte into his rooms, and read them Count Mon- 
 tholon's letters. But in the instance of Sir Thomas and Lady 
 Strange, they had called both on Count and Countess Bertrand 
 as well as on Count and Countess Montholon, and that through 
 both a desire of paying their respects to General Bonaparte had 
 been expressed, but no answer was returned. To these ob- 
 servations Count Bertrand made no reply, preserving the cool- 
 est silence. The Governor offered to insert in the margin of 
 the regulations an explanation respecting visitors not commu- 
 nicating with the persons of General Bonaparte's family be- 
 fore or after presentation." 1 
 
 After leaving Longwood Sir Hudson Lowe visited Las Cases, 
 and said that he called upon him " for the purpose of inform- 
 ing him that he was perfectly ready to send not only the let- 
 ter he had written to Count Bertrand, but the whole of the 
 letters he had written to himself also. Count Las Cases thank- 
 ed the Governor for the offer he made him, 'But it is use- 
 less. I have cast the die of my own lot. I have pronounced 
 sentence upon myself; destiny has closed her shears ; your 
 offer can in no respect change my resolution ; as for the rest, 
 I thank you and am infinitely obliged to you ; I have taken 
 my part ; my fate is decreed ; it is a sentence which I have 
 passed upon myself, and my decision is irrevocable.' He then 
 adverted to the state of his health and that of his son,, that a 
 change was necessary. ' I grow weaker every moment ; my 
 hours glide away ; I can not exist here ; I even think that 
 my life must end in a few days.' The Governor said, 'Mon- 
 
 Major Gorrequcr's MS. Minutes. 
 
364 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 sieur le Comte, you will do me the justice to write to Long- 
 wood the proposal which I make you.' He answered, 'Yes, 
 certainly ; I acknowledge it as an act of the greatest sinceri- 
 ty. You will permit me also, I hope, to write a letter to 
 Longwood to make my adieus,' 1 to which the Governor as- 
 sented. Count Las Cases then asked when it was likely 
 there would be a ship ready to sail for the Cape. The Gov- 
 ernor answered he believed there would be one soon ; there 
 was a transport in the roads ; and again stated there had 
 been no opportunity for that place since his removal from 
 Longwood. The Count inquired if there would be a medical 
 man on board ; the Governor said there was none on board 
 the transport. Count Las Cases concluded by saying, 'What- 
 ever is your decision, M. le Gouverneur, I earnestly pray of 
 you to remove me from this island as speedily as possible.' " 2 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer has reported in French the words actually used 
 by the Count. They are as follows : "Mais c'est inutile ; j'ai jete 
 mon sort; j'ai prononce mon propre jugement ; la Parque a ferme ses 
 ciseaux ; votre offre ne peut en rien changer ma resolution ; au reste, je 
 vous remercie et vous en suis infiniment oblige ; j'ai pris mon parti ; 
 mon sort est arrete ; c'est un jugement que j'ai porte sur moi-meme, 
 et ma decision est irrevocable. Je m'affaible a chaque instant ; mes 
 heures s'ecoulent ; je ne peux pas exister ici ; il me semble meme que 
 9a doit finir sous peu de jours." The Governor said, 'Monsieur le 
 Comte, vous me ferez la justice d'ecrire a Longwood l'offre que jo vous 
 fais." He answered, " Oui, certainement ; je la reconnais comme un 
 acte de la plus grande sincerite : vous me permettrez aussi, j'espere, 
 d'ecrire une lettre a Longwood pour faire mes adieux." 
 
 3 With this minute of Major Gorrequer compare Las Cases' narrative 
 of the same conversation : " The Governor was very much vexed by 
 my determination of not returning to Longwood, though I could not 
 exactly guess the motive. However, my resolution was fully confirm- 
 ed on the following day, when he came to me, and, after a long and 
 very obscure preamble respecting his sincerity and good intentions, he 
 told me that, to give me a proof of them, and to facilitate my commu- 
 nication with Longwood, he would consent to forward my first letter 
 to Count Bertrand in the form in which I had myself written it, and, 
 moreover, to send along with it a copy of all my correspondence — a 
 thing which he had hitherto constantly refused to do. But the more 
 he made concessions the more I remained firm. ' 'Tis too late,' said 
 I ; ' the die is cast. I have pronounced sentence upon myself. I will 
 not write to Longwood, and I demand for the hundreth time that you 
 will remove me from hence without delay.' ' At least, then,' said the 
 
Dec. 1816. LAS CASES' FINAL DECISION. 365 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe immediately wrote to Count Bertrand 
 and informed him of Las Cases' final decision. Next day 
 the latter represented to the Governor his own indisposition, 
 and the dangerous illness of his son, and entreated that they 
 might be removed into James Town, which request was at 
 once complied with. 
 
 On the 26th Sir Hudson Lowe received a long letter from 
 Count Bertrand, remonstrating against his sending Las Cases 
 to the Cape instead of to England, and intimating a desire on 
 the part of Bonaparte to see him before he quitted the island. 
 To this he replied next day that the request caused him con- 
 siderable embarrassment, "being compelled (such is the very 
 pointed nature of my instructions in regard to communication) 
 to decline giving my acquiescence to the proposed interview ; 
 or requesting that General Bonaparte would condescend to suf- 
 fer an officer to be present when it takes place. 1 I have men- 
 tioned to Count Las Cases the desire that has been expressed 
 to see him. He manifested a correspondent feeling, but ap- 
 peared fully sensible of the obstacles opposed by his actual 
 situation, and did not urge me on the subject." 
 
 Before writing this letter the Governor had seen Las Cases 
 on the 27th, and had a long conversation with him, when Las 
 Cases said that he thought the voyage (to the Cape) might be 
 serviceable to him, as he was subject to sea-sickness, which 
 might relieve him. He therefore begged that he might be 
 removed from the island with the least possible delay, and, 
 on being told that the ship in which he was to embark for 
 the Cape would be ready to sail in two days, he said, "Would 
 it not be possible to go sooner ? " Sir Hudson Lowe then ac- 
 
 Governor, ' will you communicate to Longwood my offers and your re- 
 fusal!' 'Yes, I will do so.' He then departed very much disconcert- 
 ed, mentioning as a last inducement that he could only send us away 
 on board a transport ; that he did not know when the vessel might sail, 
 and that there was no medical man on board, which might be a serious 
 inconvenience, considering the state of my son's health." — Journal, 
 Dec. 23, 1816. 
 
 1 In Count Montholon's " Recits," vol. i. p. 468, no notice whatever 
 is taken of this conditional consent. The reader is left to infer that 
 the Governor's refusal to permit the interview was absolute 
 
366 CAPTmTY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 quainted him with Bertrand's letter, and informed him "that 
 General Bonaparte had expressed his wish through General 
 Bertrand of seeing him before he embarked. The Count, 
 much agitated, exclaimed, 'Ah! que je le desirerais bien 
 aussi.' The Governor added, it was too great a responsibili- 
 ty, and he could not charge himself with it. Count Las 
 Cases bowed as if convinced, and did not urge the matter, or 
 indeed say any thing more on the subject." 1 
 
 On the 29th the Governor informed Bertrand that Las 
 Cases would embark on that day, and he received from him in 
 reply a letter full, as usual, of complaints. 2 It referred to the 
 regulations of the 9 th of October, and inclosed some remarks 
 upon them dictated by Napoleon. 3 The Count said, "It can 
 only reflect dishonor upon your nation and yourself to oppress a 
 great man whose sufferings are shared by so many thousands." 
 He concluded by reiterating the demand (la de?nande) that 
 Las Cases should be allowed to take leave of the Emperor. 
 
 Sir Hudson wrote in answer — 
 
 " In reply to the letter which you have addressed to me 
 this day, so far as relates to the demand it contains of Count 
 Las Cases being permitted to take leave of General Bona- 
 parte, I beg to acquaint you that I have not the most distant 
 objection to Count Las Cases proceeding immediately to Long- 
 wood for the purpose above mentioned, a British officer being 
 present, as expressed in my letter of the 27th instant. As 
 an act of personal attention to General Bonaparte, I should 
 be most happy to allow the interview to take place in any 
 other manner that might be more gratifying to him ; but I 
 have too high a sense of the moral responsibility of my office 
 to incur the risk of sacrificing public duty to any private con- 
 sideration whatever. The circumstance under which Count 
 Las Cases was separated from Longwood is entirely different 
 from that of a voluntary departure." 
 
 In the evening Count Bertrand called on the Governor, and, 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer's MS. Minutes. 
 
 2 The letter is given at length at the end of the work. 
 
 3 See these remarks and the Governor's observations, pp. 288—297. 
 
Deo. 1816. LAS CASES' FAREWELL. 367 
 
 after some conversation — in which the. Count said, that as to 
 Las Cases taking leave of the Emperor in presence of a British 
 officer, it was a thing to which he would not consent, even if 
 it was for the sake of seeing his wife or child — he accompa- 
 nied the Governor, Sir Thomas Reade, and Major Gorrequer 
 to the Government House in the town (the Castle) where Las 
 Cases and his son then were. Major Gorrequer has given in 
 his Minutes an account of the interview : 
 
 " Count Bertrand embraced both the Las Cases on their 
 entrance ; and taking the father's hand, which he continued 
 pressing in his own for some time without speaking, he broke 
 silence by saying, ' Eh bien, Las Cases, vous allez done par- 
 tir?' The other replied, he had expected to have been on 
 board before, but was happy the delay had afforded him an 
 opportunity of seeing him previous to his embarking. He 
 then asked how the Emperor was — 'GLuelles nouvelles m'en 
 apportez-vous?' Count Bertrand answered he had been very 
 unwell, but was better that day ; that he had left him just 
 going into the bath ; that at parting he had charged him to 
 express all his affection and good wishes for him, and assure 
 him he might always reckon on the same feelings wherever 
 he went." 
 
 In the letter which Las Cases had written to Bertrand on 
 the 6th of December he had said — 
 
 " I have often made the offer of the 4000 louis which I 
 possess in England at my disposal ; that offer I now again 
 renew ; my position, whatever it be, can not produce any al- 
 teration in my intention. I shall henceforward be proud to 
 be in want !" 
 
 Count Bertrand did not forget the proposal at this juncture, 
 and said, " Las Cases, you have offered the Emperor in one 
 of your letters 4000 louis; tell me frankly, can you spare 
 them ? would it be any inconvenience to you to part with so 
 much money ?" He answered, on the contrary it was render- 
 ing him happy by accepting it ; he had always wished to de- 
 vote it thus ; he had ventured to make the offer in the hope 
 that it would be accepted. The money was in England, and 
 
368 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 they could draw upon him for it. Count Bertrand said, since 
 he put it at their disposition, he begged of him to let him have 
 thirteen bills of exchange of 300 louis each, the first to be made 
 payable in March next, and the last in April 1818, and begged 
 he would get some merchant (Mr. Balcombe, for instance) to 
 have them drawn out regularly and in sets ; that they were 
 to be made payable to him (Count Bertrand) or his order. 
 This money would serve them to pay salaries and for various 
 other expenses. 1 
 
 Las Cases afterward took a letter from his pocket, and put 
 it into the hands of Major Gorrequer, saying it was for the 
 Governor, but he had intended not to deliver it till the mo- 
 ment of his departure. Sir Hudson Lowe had in the mean 
 time gone into another room, and the Major took the letter to 
 him. He read it and then returned to Las Cases to ask for 
 an explanation on the subject of some papers referred to in it. 
 Las Cases then delivered a packet of papers to Major Gorre- 
 quer, requesting him to put it into the hands of Sir George 
 Bingham, in order that it might be opened by him, and two 
 copies taken, the one to be sent to the Governor and the other 
 to Longwood ; but he begged that the original might remain 
 in Sir George's hands until he should claim it. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe observed that there might be something in the papers 
 which would lead to discussion or might produce irritation ; 
 to which Las Cases answered there was not, and declared his 
 conviction that it might prove useful to all parties. 
 
 " Soon afterward," says Major Gorrequer, " Count Bertrand 
 retired with the Governor to an adjoining room, where they 
 remained in conversation for some time. When General 
 Bertrand returned to Count Las Cases he took the latter by 
 the hand and continued for some time silent, apparently intent 
 
 1 In an official letter to Earl Bathurst, dated Dec. 30, 1816, Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe said, with reference to this request, " Count Las Cases, to 
 prove the sincerity of his offer, immediately assented ; the demand, 
 however, appeared unexpected." Lord Bathurst was so struck with 
 the impropriety of Napoleon taking this large sum from his devoted 
 follower, that on hearing of the circumstance he wrote to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, and begged him, if possible, to stop the negotiation of the bills. 
 See p. 483, post. 
 
Dec. 1816. LAS CASES' FAREWELL. 
 
 369 
 
 on considering of something to say to Count Las Cases. He 
 at last said, ' It is late ; why embark this evening ? It would 
 be better to pass to-night on shore, and I will come and see 
 you to-morrow morning.' Count Las Cases appeared averse 
 to this at first, saying that all his things were sent on board, 
 that there were not even beds left for him to sleep upon, and 
 it would be better for him to go on board then. Count Ber- 
 trand replied, ' Oh, but that may be arranged ; I will go to 
 Longwood and will speak to the Emperor, and will let you 
 know to-morrow what he says to me.' Count Las Cases 
 then said in that case he would with pleasure stay ; the ex- 
 pectation of hearing of the Emperor again would make him 
 pass that night, at all events, agreeably. Count Bertrand 
 now asked him, ' Would you not like to give me for the Em- 
 peror some explanation about your position V to which the 
 Count replied, the details would be too long to enter upon, 
 it would require a long time to put him in possession of them. 
 ' But why go V resumed General Bertrand ; ' where is the 
 difficulty of remaining and returning to Longwood?' Count 
 Las Cases answered, ' There is great difficulty and inconven- 
 ience. I am resolute because I believe it ought to be so, and 
 I believe I have done what I ought.' ' But if, however, the 
 Emperor desired you to stay,' answered Count Bertrand. 'I 
 should stay,' said Count Las Cases, 'because that would be a 
 law to me.' "? 
 
 1 The reader may be curious to see the account which Las Cases 
 gives of the cause of his eagerness to get away. He says, — " It was 
 now late in the evening, and, as our final arrangements were not yet 
 completed, the Governor postponed our departure until the next morn- 
 ing. As he saw that I was vexed at this, to console me he said he 
 would permit the Grand Marshal to visit me again. However happy I 
 might be at the thought of embracing again a companion of Longwood, 
 and receiving -further news of the Emperor, yet I was nevertheless 
 greatly distressed by this delay, which prolonged the conflict of my 
 mind and lacerated my wounds — [' il prolongeait ma tempete interieure 
 et remuait mes plaies']. — There are victories which can only be obtain- 
 ed by flight ; the victory I was pursuing was one of this kind !" — Jour- 
 nal, Dec. 29. 1816. It is difficult to understand to what victories the 
 Count here alludes. The fact is indisputable that he quitted St. Helena 
 in spite of the remonstrance of Count Bertrand, and with the full knowl- 
 edge that his stay would, he gratifying to Napoleon. 
 
370 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 The packet intrusted to Major Gorrequer for Sir George 
 Bingham contained the celebrated letter of Las Cases to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, dated December 19, 1816, which was trans- 
 mitted by the Governor to Lord Bathurst, with numerous re- 
 marks of his own, at the end of February following. 1 In his 
 dispatch of the 26th of that month he said — 
 
 " Your Lordship will possess in this document a complete 
 view of my whole proceedings since first landing on this island, 
 written with perfect freedom by the person at the time of his 
 being here most in 'the confidence of General Bonaparte, 
 viewed through the medium of his or the writer's feelings, 
 and exhibiting, as I think it will appear, under the most un- 
 favorable view that a very high degree of art, eloquence, and 
 plausibility can possibly display, every circumstance that can 
 be brought forward by them against me. I have replied to 
 his remarks with the same freedom that he has addressed me ; 
 but if I think it necessary to send any answer to the individual 
 himself, or to deliver a copy of his letter to me to Count Ber- 
 trand for General Bonaparte's information, I shall probably 
 extend it to greater length by reference to many circumstances 
 not spoken of by them, particularly the rude, repulsive and 
 arrogant conduct I have myself to complain of, but which in 
 communication to your Lordship I have thought it unneces- 
 sary to introduce, as they must have been all known by my 
 previous correspondence. The writer's object at the conclu- 
 sion appears conciliatory, and this justice I wish not to with- 
 hold from him." 
 
 And in another letter, sent at the same time, Sir Hudson 
 Lowe thus spoke of Las Cases and his son : 
 
 " His letters and protests to me have led me to address your 
 Lordship very fully regarding him, considering him to be a 
 person of exceeding insidious character, capable of every fan- 
 atic effort for the furtherance of his views, with depth., talents, 
 or cunning enough to hide the means from almost every eye. 
 His son has nearly recovered. Dr. Barry, a physician who 
 has acquired great celebrity at the Cape, decided that his 
 
 1 See the letter and Sir Hudson Lowe's notes at the end of the work. 
 
Dec. 1816. DEPARTURE OF LAS CASES. 371 
 
 complaint arose from excessive writing and sitting for such 
 long periods in a contracted posture at his table. Of this 
 Count Las Cases had received repeated warnings from Dr. 
 O'Meara. Your Lordship will have observed the obloquy of 
 inhumanity with which Count Las Cases attempted to charge 
 my character by not paying more attention to his representa- 
 tions on account of his son, whom he described to me as 
 almost expiring in his arms, and yet at this moment he was 
 incessantly employing him in the occupation that his medical 
 adviser had so strongly pronounced against. The long letter 
 that goes by this occasion was written by his son, with all 
 the others of which I forwarded copies to your Lordship at 
 the time, while he was at the same moment collecting fresh 
 materials for his Journal." 
 
 The sloop of war the Griffon, which was to convey Las 
 Cases and his son to the Cape, did not sail until the following 
 day, the 30th ; and early in the morning Admiral Sir Pul- 
 teney Malcolm introduced Captain Wright, the commander 
 of the vessel. Count Bertrand also called, and had another 
 iuterview with Las Cases, at which the Governor, Major 
 Gorrequer, and other officers were present. After some con- 
 versation on different matters Bertrand inquired about the 
 bills of exchange (spoken of in the conversation of the preced- 
 ing day), and asked if they were ready, as he had an acquit- 
 tance to give him for them from the Emperor. They were 
 brought in and delivered to Bertrand by young Las Cases. 
 There were thirteen for £300 each, and Bertrand handed over 
 to Las Cases Bonaparte's receipt for the amount. 1 
 
 In his letter to Mr. Finlaison, of the 29th of December, 
 already quoted, O'Meara says — 
 
 " I have little more to say than that Las Cases and son 
 embarked on board the Griffon sloop for the Cape this day, 
 notwithstanding every offer was made on the part of Sir Hud- 
 son to allow Las Cases to return to Longwood to await the 
 decision of the English Government respecting his fate, and 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer's MS. Minutes. 
 
372 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. X. 
 
 that Bonaparte himself 1 (notwithstanding a letter which he 
 wrote to him some time before ordering him to demand per- 
 mission to go to England or Europe, not knowing at the mo- 
 ment he wrote it that he would he permitted to return to 
 Longwood, hut thinking that he would he detained au secret 
 in the island) desired me to tell him that he thought it would 
 he hetter for him to return to Longwood among his friends 
 than to go to the Cape among strangers, which I executed 
 with Sir Hudson's permission. Bertrand saw him yesterday 
 (in the presence of a British officer), and again to-day will 
 be permitted to see him. Bonaparte wished to have him 
 allowed to come up to Longwood to take leave, which, how- 
 ever, would not be granted unless he was accompanied by a 
 British officer, which Bonaparte would not consent to." 
 
 Count Las Cases, in his Journal, has described his embark- 
 ation, and it is worth while to notice the way in which he 
 there speaks of acts of attention and kindness, which at the 
 time he was happy to accept : 
 
 "All business being now settled between us, Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, by a characteristic turn of behavior, which he had 
 oftener than once exhibited since I had been his prisoner, 
 either from motives of civility or calculation, immediately 
 wrote for me several letters of introduction to his private 
 friends at the Cape, who he assured me would prove very 
 agreeable to me. 2 I had not the courage to refuse these let- 
 ters, such was the sincerity with which they appeared to be 
 offered. At length the long-looked-for moment of departure 
 arrived. The Governor accompanied me to the gate, and 
 ordered all his officers to attend me to the place of embarka- 
 tion : this, he said, was intended as a mark of respect. I 
 
 1 The words in italics were underlined by O'Meara himself. 
 
 5 This act is thus described in the " Recueil," vol. xii. p. 38 : — " He," 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, " even gave him letters of introduction to influential 
 persons at that place ; but the traitor, we are assured, at the moment 
 when he was showing these apparent marks of interest for M. Las Cases, 
 was making the frightful proposition that, as soon as he arrived in tho 
 colony, he should be thrown into irons, and that he should rot there." 
 
Dec. 1816. CHARACTER OF LAS CASES. 373 
 
 eagerly jumped into the boat which was in readiness to receive 
 me." 1 
 
 It is due to the memory of Sir Hudson Lowe to quote here 
 an extract from the letter which he wrote to Lord Charles 
 Somerset, the Governor of the Cape, when he sent Las Cases 
 to that colony. It will be seen that the provocation he had 
 received did not prevent him from doing justice to the Count's 
 merits, and that he was generous in his praise of the better 
 qualities of one who had spared no abuse and invective against 
 himself. He said — 
 
 "I should not omit to add, Count Las Cases is a man of 
 considerable talents, of high literary attainments — exceed- 
 ingly specious, eloquent, and insinuating — is, or affects to be, 
 a fanatic admirer, or rather adorer, of Bonaparte — has lived 
 in closer habits of intimacy with him since his arrival on this 
 island than any other person who accompanied him, and has 
 been certainly the most active in keeping up the irritation 
 of his mind against all the measures of the British Govern- 
 ment, even repelling ameliorations of his own situation when 
 offered. He had besides infringed the regulations, in different 
 instances, before his last separation. In other respects he is 
 a person of highly polite and gentle manners, and merits the 
 consideration due to him on such account. His most j udicious 
 plan, I conceive, would be to remain quiet until Government 
 sends its answers regarding him, and your Lordship's sug- 
 gestions on this point might, perhaps, have some weight with 
 him." 
 
 On the same day on which Las Cases sailed, Sir Hudson 
 Lowe made an official report to Earl Bathurst of these pro- 
 ceedings ; but as it would involve a repetition of what has 
 been already narrated, it need not be inserted either here or 
 at the end of the work. 
 
 1 " Journal," Dec. 30, 1816. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 NAPOLEON RECEIVES A LOCK OF HIS SON'S HAIR. FRUSTRA- 
 TION OF ATTEMPT TO EFFECT AN ACCOMMODATION BE- 
 TWEEN HIM AND THE GOVERNOR OBSERVATIONS BY BONA- 
 PARTE ON THE REGULATIONS, AND SIP. HUDSON LOWE'S 
 
 REMARKS REFUSAL TO TAKE EXERCISE LETTER FROM 
 
 O'MEARA TO MR. FINLAISON. 
 
 In order to give a continuous account of all that related 
 to the removal of Las Cases from St. Helena, and to avoid in- 
 terruption in the course of the narrative, we have deferred 
 mention of several incidents and conversations with Napoleon 
 which occurred in the interval to which we must now revert. 
 
 On the 3d of December Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Earl 
 Bathurst in the private letter already quoted — 
 
 " Another matter has occurred which has attracted my 
 attention almost in an equal degree with the affair of Count 
 Las Cases. The Baron Sturmer, Commissioner of the Em- 
 peror of Austria, has addressed a letter to me, inclosing a dec- 
 laration on the part of a Mr. Welle, who arrived here in his 
 suite, and was presented to me as a botanist traveling by 
 order of his Emperor, with the concurrence of our Govern- 
 ment, avowing himself to have been the bearer of a small 
 packet containing a lock of hair, which he received at Vienna, 
 and delivered to Marchand, valet-de-chambre of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, soon after his arrival here. The declaration does 
 not, however, state two particulars of importance to be known, 
 viz. that the person from whom the lock of hair came was 
 nurse to the so-called King of Rome, and that the look of hair 
 was his. The latter circumstance I have been enabled to 
 ascertain, through a second person, from the authority of Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte himself. It is, perhaps, of little importance 
 that a father should receive a lock of hair from his child — and 
 
Dec. 1816. THE LOCK OF HAIR. 375 
 
 few would dispute, oven to Napoleon Bonaparte, this consola- 
 tion — it is but the indirect mode in which it was brought that 
 excites remark. I can myself regard it in no other light than 
 as an attempt to open an unauthorized channel for confidential 
 and secret communication. I have not yet replied to Baron 
 Sturmer, who has not avowed his previous knowledge of the 
 matter, and affects to treat it with great lightness, but I shall 
 be enabled to transmit the whole correspondence to your Lord- 
 ship by the next occasion, as well as that which led to it. 
 Your Lordship will judge from this circumstance of the real 
 obstacles to the granting General Bonaparte a greater degree 
 of personal liberty and more freedom of communication than 
 he at present possesses, and I can not avoid considering the 
 residence of the Commissioners as the principal hinderance to 
 the enlargement of either. Hitherto they have not seen him, 
 but it is the difficulties he has thrown in their way they have 
 to complain of, and of none on my side." 
 
 No doubt every mind that possesses a spark of right feeling 
 would revolt at the idea of Napoleon being debarred from re- 
 ceiving a lock of his child's hair, or any message relative to 
 one who must have been so dear to him. It is, indeed, one 
 of the most affecting incidents of his captivity, that he was 
 necessarily separated for ever from that son of such proud and 
 lofty hopes ; but it is remarkable how seldom he alluded to 
 the subject. We need not, however, suppose that this arose 
 from insensibility. He must have felt more than he ever ex- 
 pressed ; but the natural reserve of his character prevented 
 him from betraying emotions which were not called forth by 
 some immediately exciting cause. Nor, on the other hand, 
 can we blame Sir Hudson Lowe for censuring the want of 
 candor and openness in Mr. Welle, who ought to have in- 
 formed him from whom the packet came, although it is diffi- 
 cult to see any reason why he should have mentioned whose 
 hair it was that he was commissioned to deliver to Napoleon, 
 or why the Governor should have attached any importance 
 to the circumstance. 
 
 In the above letter Sir Hudson Lowe alludes to the presence 
 
376 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 of the Foreign Commissioners as an obstacle in the way of 
 his wish to enlarge the restrictions to which Bonaparte was 
 subjected, and on the 13th of December he again addressed 
 Earl Bathurst on the subject saying, 
 
 " The point which it would be most difficult to concede to 
 him would be that of withdrawing the sentries from between 
 the hours of sunset and nine o'clock. It appears to me that 
 leaving his residence without observation between two or 
 three hours that it is perfectly dark, at the commencement of 
 the night, may render nugatory in a great degree the pre- 
 cautions taken for the remaining hours ; however, I wish to 
 submit the point to your Lordship's consideration. It is im- 
 possible in all cases to combine the perfect security of his 
 person that is enjoined with the regards he looks to. He has 
 very rarely of late stirred out of his room, and the orderly 
 officer has been compelled to put up with the reports of 
 servants, not to incommode him with a personal visit. I 
 strive in this way to be as little troublesome to him as possi- 
 ble, but wherever I deviate from the letter of my instructions I 
 feel my responsibility to be a very painful one. Much of in- 
 dulgence, I think, might be shown to him, and without greatly 
 increasing the risk of his evasion, if the Commissioners were 
 not here." 1 
 
 About this time an overture was made by Napoleon for an 
 accommodation with the Governor. On the 7th of December 
 Sir Hudson Lowe received a letter from O'Meara, in which 
 he said — 
 
 " Since you were here last 2 I have had a good deal of con- 
 versation with the General. I mentioned to him what you 
 
 1 Speaking of the foreign Commissioners, the " Edinburgh Review" 
 for December, 1816, p. 464, observed — " The foreign Commissioners 
 had not yet reached St. Helena, whose presence in the island may justly 
 have alarmed Sir Hudson, in more ways than one, for the safety of his 
 prisoner." 
 
 2 O'Meara (Voice, vol. i. p. 241) relates a conversation which he had 
 with the Governor on the 4th, and his conversations with Napoleon 
 afterward (ibid. p. 244, et seq.) ; but these reports differ much from his 
 reports of them in his letter. 
 
Dec. 1816. THE RESTRICTIONS. 377 
 
 desired me respecting your having increased the allowance 
 one half, upon your own responsibility, without having had 
 any specific authority for doing so, as it appeared that Min- 
 isters were responsible to Parliament that the yearly expen- 
 diture should not exceed £8000, and that possibly you might 
 be obliged to refund the sum so increased out of your own 
 pocket. I also told him what you had said about the anthro- 
 pophagi, and that you were not present at the arrest, and 
 that you were concerned that such a circumstance had taken 
 place, instead of exulting at it as he had supposed. 1 I men- 
 tioned also what you had said respecting the French people 
 here wishing to aggrandize themselves at his expense ; and 
 that their object was to make use of him as an instrument to 
 exalt them from their present insignificance, and to get him 
 off the island by any means. I also said that malicious con- 
 structions had frequently been put upon your actions, and that 
 I thought you were desirous to accommodate and settle mat- 
 ters upon an amicable footing if possible. He replied, ' It is 
 easy for him to do so if he likes — he has the power. I am not 
 Governor. I have no places in my power to grant or favors 
 to give. It is easy for a person who has every thing in his 
 power to accommodate matters. A few words will explain 
 it : Che si comporti bene verso de me ; or, in other words, let 
 him put things upon the footing they were in the Admiral's 
 time. Let him remove his sentinels until nine o'clock ; let 
 him take off his prohibitions not to go off the high road or to 
 enter a house, or to speak to a lady if I meet her. How if I 
 meet Mrs. Wilton? 2 If she says more to me than "How do 
 you do ?" I must give her a slap (uno schiaffo sul add) and 
 tell her to be off. Let him allow no person to be admitted to 
 Longwood without a permission from Bertrand ; if he does 
 not like to permit Bertrand to pass every one in, let him make 
 out a list of such persons of the island as he will permit to 
 enter to Bertrand, and let him have permission to pass them 
 in, and to write to such persons as are on the list. In like 
 manner, when strangers come, let him make out a list of such 
 
 1 See ante, p. 325, and " Voice," vol. i. p. 229. 
 s Wife of one of the officers of the 53d regiment. 
 
378 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 persons as he will permit to enter, and send it to Bertrand, 
 and let him have permission to pass any of them in. Probably 
 I would see very few of them, but still I would wish to have 
 the privilege of doing so if I wished, for it is difficult to dis- 
 tinguish those who come to look at me as they would at an 
 elephant or some other wild beast from those who come with 
 other motives. Let him do this, and put the other restric- 
 tions upon the same footing they were in the Admiral's time.' 
 With respect to the limited quantity of articles of food, &c., 
 for the establishment, he said he did not so much care about 
 that, as that might be remedied as long as the plate lasted, and 
 perhaps by some other means. ' If he does not choose to treat 
 me like a man che ha giuocato un ruolo nel mondo come ho 
 giucato io (who has played a game in the world such as I 
 have), at least let me be treated like a man, and not worse 
 than a galley-slave or a criminal condemned to death, for even 
 these are not prohibited to speak to the people they see. Let 
 him do this,' said he, ' and I will say that I have been wrong ; 
 that I have formed a hasty opinion ; that he had acted with- 
 out consideration through fear of my escaping, but that, when 
 he saw it was not possible, he altered his plans. This is still 
 possible : in a week it might easily be settled.' He spoke a 
 great deal about the restrictions and about the sentinels, about 
 his suite being prohibited to go out after six o'clock. He said 
 that he expected in a short time sentinels would be placed at 
 the doors of the house constantly, and that he was preparing 
 himself for it by not stirring out of his room. He also spoke 
 a great deal about De Las Cases, whom he appeared to wish 
 back again very much, though he always qualified it by say- 
 ing, ' Provided he was not to be sent away from the island in 
 a few months.' The above is only a very small portion of his 
 conversations, of which I have not altered a word so as either 
 to increase or diminish any acrimonious part of it, as I thought 
 it would most accord with your wishes to give you his words 
 as near as I could recollect them." 
 
 On the 23d Sir Hudson Lowe acquainted Count Bertrand 
 with his intention to alter those parts of the Regulations re- 
 
Dec. 1816. DESIRE FOR AN ACCOMMODATION. 379 
 
 lating to passes and to sentinels being posted round Long 
 wood House after sunset, which had been most complained 
 of. This was done on the 26th ; and the Governor at the 
 same time expressed to Count Bertrand his ready willingness 
 to afford an explanation on any other point. The next day 
 O'Meara called at Plantation House with a verbal message 
 from Bonaparte, which, at Sir Hudson Lowe's request, he 
 committed to writing in a letter, in which he said that, in 
 answer to his communication to Bonaparte of the Governor's 
 intention to remove such parts of the restrictions as related to 
 his being interdicted entering into conversation with such 
 persons as he might meet in his limits unless in the presence 
 of a British officer, and also of the Governor's desire to have 
 matters further accommodated as far as was permitted by 
 the nature of his instructions, Napoleon replied, " That he 
 would be very glad to have an accommodation effected ; that 
 he desired nothing more than to have matters put on the 
 same footing they were some months past, or nearly equiva- 
 lent to it, and that he conceived the best method to accom- 
 plish the business would be for you to authorize the Admiral 
 to act as an intermediator or negotiator ; that by so doing 
 he thought it would be easy to come to a right understanding, 
 and he had but little doubt such might be effected, provided 
 such a preliminary course was adopted ; that the Admiral 
 and himself would talk over and reason coolly upon the dif- 
 ferent matters in question." 
 
 O'Meara also added in a postscript, that General Bonaparte 
 desired him to acquaint the Governor that, in consequence of 
 O'Meara having said that he thought Sir Hudson Lowe was 
 very well disposed to have matters further accommodated, 
 and on account of the suggestion of a mediator, he had 
 ordered General Bertrand not to proceed any further with a 
 letter of complaints which he had previously directed him to 
 write for the purpose of being forwarded to England. 1 
 
 1 In the " Voice" (i. 290) CMeara represents Napoleon to have said on 
 that occasion, " that he did not like to complain. All he wanted was to 
 live ; or, in other words, that the restrictions should not be of such a na- 
 ture as to induce a person to wish for death;" but there is not a word 
 of the kind in the letter from *vhich the extract in the text is taken. 
 
380 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 On receiving this letter, Sir Hudson Lowe charged O'Meara 
 to give the following memorandum to Bonaparte : 
 
 " The Governor is not conscious of having ever willfully 
 given to General Bonaparte any just cause of offense or dis- 
 agreement. He has seen with pain misunderstandings arise 
 on points where his duty would not allow him to pursue any 
 other course, and which might have been frequently re- 
 moved by a single word of explanation. Any channel by 
 which he may think such misunderstandings may be removed 
 the Governor is perfectly ready and willing to avail himself 
 of." 
 
 On the 28th O'Meara wrote to the Governor and informed 
 him of the manner in which Napoleon had received this 
 communication. He said — 
 
 " I have not had an opportunity of seeing General Bona- 
 parte until about an hour past, as he had a severe headache, 
 which prevented him from sleeping all night. He was 
 then, and is at present, in bed, and is still incommoded by 
 headache. I was apprehensive at first that the opportunity 
 was unfavorable, particularly as he had ordered a warm bath, 
 in which, however, he could not be gratified, as there is no 
 water at Longwood to prepare one, which, of course, did not 
 contribute to put him in a good humor. However, he seem- 
 ed very well satisfied when I explained to him what you 
 had directed me to say respecting the proposed interview. 
 He said that he feared his indisposition would render him 
 unfit to speak to Sir Pulteney if he came up this day, and de- 
 sired me to tell General Bertrand to receive and speak to him 
 concerning the proposed alterations ; adding, however, that 
 perhaps in the evening he would be better, and would be able 
 to enter into discussion with him, or, if not, that he would 
 receive him any other day he thought proper to come up." 
 
 Almost immediately afterward Sir Pulteney Malcolm ar- 
 rived, and went to General Bertrand's, but did not then see 
 Napoleon. 
 
 The negotiation was, however, broken off by Sir Hudson 
 
Dec. 1816. FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS. 381 
 
 Lowe's refusal to allow Count Las Cases to have an inter- 
 view with Napoleon before his departure, except in the pres- 
 ence of a British officer. Bonaparte was made acquainted 
 with that circumstance by Count Bertrand in the afternoon 
 of the 28th ; and in the evening, he sent for O'Meara, who, 
 the next day, the 29th thus related to the Governor what 
 took place : 
 
 " Longwood, December 29, 1816. 
 " Dear Sir — When I spoke to the General yesterday 
 about the Admiral's intermediation, he had not been ac- 
 quainted with your decision respecting the manner in which 
 Las Cases would be permitted to come to Longwood. He 
 sent for me about six o'clock, and I found him in his room 
 along with General Bertrand, looking over the papers which 
 I had brought the night before from you. He was in a great 
 passion, and walked up and down the room very much agi- 
 tated, and exclaiming against what he called the barbarity 
 of the conduct practiced toward him in refusing to allow him 
 to receive Las Cases' adienx. He appeared almost to doubt 
 that you had signified your readiness to consent to Sir Pul- 
 teney's intermediation, as he said he could not reconcile it 
 with the conduct pursued with respect to Las Cases. I 
 translated into French the Memorandum which 1 had copied 
 at Plantation House, and read it to him. When he heard 
 'duty would not allow,' he repeated ' Tracasseries — Tar- 
 occhevie,' and said that, when a rope was put about a man's 
 neck to execute him, he that did it performed his duty, but 
 that was no reason that the man who suffered it was to be 
 obliged to him for so doing. He then dictated a short let- 
 ter to Bertrand, complaining of the impediment thrown in 
 his way of Las Cases' taking leave of him, and saying that it 
 was of a piece with the rest of the conduct pursued toward 
 him, and desiring that his representation on the subject 
 should be made known to the Prince Regent. The letter 
 did not consist of more than four or five lines, but was rather 
 violent. 1 It appears to me very possible that the fears you 
 expressed as to the effect which the circumstance alluded to 
 
 1 This letter was not forwarded 
 
382 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 above might produce are well founded, as there was a great 
 and marked difference in his manner after the business had 
 been communicated to him to what he had manifested before. 
 " I have &c, Barry E. O'Meara." 
 
 It will be observed from this letter that Napoleon knew 
 on the 2Sth of Sir Hudson Lowe's determination not to allow 
 Las Cases to see him before he quitted St. Helena except in 
 the presence of a British officer; but on the following day 
 Count Bertrand wrote to the Governor a letter, in which he 
 pretended that the Emperor was then ignorant of this cir- 
 cumstance. 
 
 It seems that O'Meara was made acquainted with the pur- 
 port of this letter, and, as in his own note written on the 
 morning of the 29th he -had informed Sir Hudson Lowe how 
 the fact really was, he became anxious lest a discovery of Ber- 
 trand's suppression of the truth should compromise Napoleon 
 as being a party to the deception. Accordingly, when in the 
 afternoon of the same day Bonaparte sent for O'Meara and 
 gave him back the memorandum he had brought from Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, with his own remarks written upon it, the doc- 
 tor immediately wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe and begged him 
 not to give Count Bertrand any hint that he was aware of 
 his misstatement respecting the facts. He said, " I must beg 
 leave to put you in mind not to give Marshal Bertrand, who 
 I believe purports paying you a visit, any hint whatsoever of 
 such part of the contents of my letter this morning as are 
 opposite to one which you received from him ; as I find that 
 it has been stated to you that the refusal of allowing Lr,j 
 Cases to come here, unless accompanied, was not commur i- 
 cated yesterday to General Bonaparte, and that General Ber- 
 trand either has applied, or will do so, for that purpose." 
 
 The observations upon Sir Hudson Lowe's memorandum, 
 dictated by Napoleon, were the following : 
 
 " 1. The conduct which has been adopted for six months 
 can not be justified by a few phrases in the correspondence of 
 a Minister. A long and voluminous ministerial correspond- 
 ence is an arsenal where there are two-edged weapons. 
 
Dec. 1816. THE GOVERNOR'S MEMORANDUM. 383 
 
 " 2. The last regulations would be considered at Botany 
 Bay as injurious and oppressive. They must, whatever may 
 be said of them, be contrary to the wish of the English Gov- 
 ernment, which has approved of the regulations which have 
 been in force up to the month of August last. 
 
 "3. All the observations which have been made by Count 
 Bertrand and Count Montholon have been of no avail. A 
 free discussion has been interdicted them by threats." 
 
 Upon these observations Sir Hudson Lowe made the follow- 
 ing remarks, which, together with his own memorandum and 
 Bonaparte's observations, he communicated to Earl Bathurst 
 in a dispatch dated December 30, 1816 :' 
 
 " Nos. 1 and 2. — General Bonaparte's object in these two 
 remarks seems to be to place Sir Hudson Lowe's conduct in 
 opposition to the instructions he had received, or to make it 
 appear he had gone beyond their letter in the regulations 
 framed upon them. He has only to refer to his letter to 
 Count Bertrand of the 8th of October, and to request it may 
 be compared with the verbal communication he had caused 
 to be made to General Bonaparte through Sir Thomas Reade, 
 and translated by Count Las Cases, as per memorandum 
 transmitted with his letter to Earl Bathurst of the 10th of 
 October. It will be perceived that, in making a w»tten com- 
 munication, which would be naturally regarded as the rule, 
 he was cautious to keep well within the limits of the verbal 
 one, which, notwithstanding, was a faithful abstract of the 
 instructions he received ; and the necessity of which, particu- 
 larly in regard to the persons who had followed General Bon- 
 aparte to this island, his own observation and experience of 
 their general conduct had fully confirmed : it is they who 
 have proved the greatest obstacle to any amelioration of Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte's own situation. The arrival of the Commis- 
 sioners, who were not here in Sir George Cockburn's time, has 
 
 1 O'Meara ( Voice, i. 296, 297) took care not to publish the caution 
 which he besought Sir Hudson Lowe to observe about Count Bertrand. 
 He has printed Napoleon's remarks (i. 296), but omitted the Governor's 
 
384 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 thrown still greater embarrassment in the way. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe is uninformed of any approbation, tacit or direct, having 
 been given by the British Government as to Count Bertrand's 
 passes, or his being permitted to send notes to whom he 
 pleased, and especially to the Commissioners. This and the 
 reduction of the expenses were the principal stumbling-blocks 
 in August — add General Bonaparte's own violent behavior, 
 and the letter he caused to be written by Count Montholon. 
 
 "No. 3. — General Bonaparte here artfully eludes the inter- 
 mediation of a British officer, though proposed by himself, the 
 moment he finds Sir Hudson Lowe accedes to it. His propo- 
 sition, it is evident, was only a trap to produce acquiescence 
 on the part of Sir Hudson Lowe to his interview with Count 
 Las Cases. All that has passed in letters and communications 
 with the Counts Bertrand and Montholon has been faithfully 
 reported, and witnesses have been always present during con- 
 versations." 
 
 In the same dispatch Sir Hudson said — 
 
 "I told Dr. O'Meara at the time my refusal to admit an 
 interview between General Bonaparte and Count Las Cases 
 except in the presence of an officer would infallibly destroy 
 the effect of any intermediation, and render his own negotia- 
 tion entirely fruitless. I did not expect, however, so violent 
 a breakirfg off from the proposition Dr. O'Meara had brought 
 as was contained in a letter I received from Count Bertrand 
 the second day after, dated the 29th of December. I had 
 declined giving my assent to the interview except accompa- 
 nied, and Count Bertrand addressed to me in consequence the 
 very paper of complaints with which he had been directed (as 
 will appear by Dr. O'Meara's communication) not to proceed. 
 I received on the same day a French translation of the verbal 
 reply I had authorized Dr. O'Meara to give General Bonaparte 
 to his own proposal, with marginal notes made on it by his 
 directions. The whole of these papers are inclosed, with my 
 own observations upon them." 
 
 The Orontes frigate brought back from the Cape of Good 
 Hope, on their passage to Europe, Captain Piontkowski, and 
 
Dec. 1816. HIS STATE OF HEALTH. 385 
 
 Santini, Archambaud, and Rousseau, the three servants who 
 had been dismissed from the Longwood establishment. As 
 some importance has been attached to Piontkowski, the fol- 
 lowing passage from Sir Hudson Lowe's dispatch of the 30th 
 of December, acquainting Lord Bathurst with his return to 
 St. Helena, deserves attention : 
 
 " I will not do General Bonaparte or the officers of his suite 
 the injustice to suppose Captain Piontkowski's falsehoods and 
 impertinences are in any respect countenanced by them ; and 
 it will be recollected General Bonaparte himself told Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel Sir Thomas Reade that Piontkowski was merely 
 a soldier of his guard at Elba, and that he knew nothing 
 further of him. He was not admitted to his table or society 
 during his stay here. These particulars may serve for refuta- 
 tion of any importance he may think fit to assume on his ar- 
 rival in Europe." 
 
 And in his private letter to Mr. Finlaison, on the 29th of 
 December, O'Meara, speaking of the proposed reduction of 
 Napoleon's suite, thus expressed himself: 
 
 " Reade also told me that Bertrand was to go to Plantation 
 House to arrange matters with the Governor, and that he had 
 no doubt that, if he was silent and managed matters well, 
 none but domestics would be sent away, except Piontkowski, 
 whose doom was fixed, and ivhom, to tell the truth, nobody 
 was displeased to see sent away." 
 
 Between the 4th and 31st of December O'Meara wrote to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe several letters, which contain information 
 respecting Bonaparte's health, situation, and feelings ; but as 
 a great part of what he communicated in them occurs in his 
 printed volume, it will be only necessary to give a few extracts. 
 
 On the 4th of December, after explaining the medical treat- 
 ment which he had prescribed for Napoleon, who had " con- 
 fined himself very much to his room for several days past, so 
 much so, indeed, that he had not shaved' himself for six days," 
 and " complained of having had severe headache during the 
 night, accompanied with a little feverish sensation and want 
 Vol. I— R 
 
386 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 of sleep," he said — " I also told him that, if he did not alter 
 his mode of living, and take a little exercise instead of shut- 
 ting himself up in a close unventilated room, he would inevi- 
 tably have some alarming fit of illness, and that probably very 
 soon. I made use of several strong arguments to induce him to 
 agree to my advice, but, though he acknowledged the justice 
 of what I said, he did not appear in the least inclined to put 
 in practice the exercise I recommended, observing (when I 
 said that he would, in all human probability, have some for- 
 midable attack of disease) ' Tanto meglio, piu presto si finira, 
 (so much the better, the sooner it will end). He was extremely 
 melancholy during the time that I saw him, and he has not 
 been out of his room since." 1 
 
 On the 29th of December O'Meara wrote to his friend Mr. 
 Finlaison the long letter which has been so frequently alluded 
 to, and from which extracts have been already given. In in- 
 serting it here, those parts will be omitted which have been pre- 
 viously quoted, and also those which are of no particular inter- 
 est or do not throw light upon incidents which have been 
 hitherto misunderstood : 
 
 " Longwood, December, 29, 1816. 
 " My dear Sir — I believe that in my last I mentioned to 
 you that instructions had been sent out to the end that such 
 of Bonaparte's suite as were desirous of remaining with him 
 should sign a paper purporting their willingness to submit to 
 such restrictions as it might be thought necessary to impose 
 upon Napoleon Bonaparte, and that such consent on their 
 part should be drawn out according to a certain written form 
 transmitted to them, and that moreover it should not be 
 accompanied with any comment or remark of theirs. This 
 was accordingly signed by them, with this alteration, namely, 
 that instead of ' Napoleon Banaparte' they substituted ' l'Em- 
 pereur Napoleon.' Sir Hudson, however, not acquiescing in 
 
 1 A long letter from O'Meara to Sir Hudson Lowe, dated December 
 16, 1816, will be found at the end of the work. It contains substanti- 
 ally what has already appeared in O'Meara's " Voice from St. Helena," 
 but it may be interesting to compare the two versions of the same con- 
 versations and incidents. 
 
Dec. 1816. HIS DESIRE TO LIVE IN ENGLAND. 387 
 
 this their adherence to the Imperial title, returned the papers, 
 informing them that they must sign according to the form de- 
 livered unto them for that purpose, and not otherwise. The 
 following day also he came up to Longwood and had an in- 
 terview with each of them individually, during which he en- 
 deavored to persuade them to sign the paper as it was, and 
 to inculcate to them the futility and childishness of still keep- 
 ing up such a title under the existing circumstances. Not- 
 withstanding this they all refused doing so — I believe, accord- 
 ing to directions from Bonaparte himself, who a little before 
 Sir Hudson's arrival at Longwood had sent for me and told 
 me that he had desired them not to sign such a paper ; that 
 he knew they would be taken away from him in a few months, 
 and that they might as well go now as then. 
 
 " I beg to mention to you that, a few weeks before this, 
 Bonaparte asked me if I thought there was any probability 
 of his being allowed to go to England to reside. To which I 
 replied that I thought he took very bad measures to effect it ; 
 that the only way which he could ever hope to accomplish 
 such an object would be dropping the title of Emperor alto- 
 gether, and renouncing all appearances and pretensions to 
 Majesty ; that, by doing so, and appearing content with the 
 lot of a private person, and forgetting that he ever had been 
 a crowned head, and remaining quietly for some years, per- 
 haps he might be allowed to go to England, there to live 
 under surveillance. He looked very serious at this, and said 
 that it had been his intention to have done so ; that it was 
 the fault of the English Government, by sending him to such 
 a miserable place as St. Helena, and ill treating him in the 
 manner they had, which made him retain the title of Empe- 
 ror in opposition to one they wanted to force upon him. ' It 
 is true,' continued he, ' that I have no reason to be ashamed 
 of the title of General Bonaparte, but I will not receive it from 
 them. If the republic had not legal existence, it had no more 
 right to constitute me General than First Consul, or any thing 
 else. The more they want to debase and degrade me, the 
 more I will hold my head up and exalt myself. It was my 
 intention when I went to England to have assumed the name 
 
388 CAPTIVITY" OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 of Colonel Meuron, who was my aid-de-camp, and was killed 
 by my side at the battle of Areola, and to live as a private 
 person. I did not wish to call myself Bonaparte, Emperor, 
 Napoleon, Duke, Count, or any thing else, but plain Colonel 
 Meuron. I have made noise enough in the world already — 
 perhaps more than any other man ever will do — perhaps too 
 much. I am getting old, and only want retirement.' 
 
 " The next morning (that is to say, the morning after 
 Montholon's dismay) Bonaparte sent for me about half-past 
 six o'clock, and after a little desultory conversation said that 
 the Governor had some conversation yesterday with Bertrand, 
 had said something about the King of France, about who was 
 the rightful heir to the throne of France, about who was his 
 King, and such other coglionerie : in fact, said he, that what- 
 ever Bertrand had said on the subject, he had nothing to say 
 to ; that it might be thought that Bertrand had expressed his 
 (Bonaparte's) sentiments, but that he offered no opinion about 
 it ; that he never would meddle with politics again ; that he 
 had thought proper to send for me in order to acquaint the 
 Governor with his real sentiments, which he had dictated to 
 St. Denis to write down for that purpose. ' And here,' said 
 he (taking up a piece of paper on which, in his own hand- 
 writing, were contained words and meaning similar to one 
 which he afterward gave me), ' here is what I intend to 
 send, which I have written myself, and of which he is now 
 taking a copy.' He now read every word of it out aloud, 
 asking me frequently if I perfectly understood him. ' Now,' 
 said he ' you will take a copy of this, written by St. Denis, to 
 the Governor : give it to him, and inform him that such are 
 my intentions. If he asks you why I have not signed it, you 
 should say that that was unnecessary, because I read it out 
 for you myself from my own handwriting, and explained it, 
 in order that you might testify to it.' He then said, ' They 
 may call me Monsieur Napoleon, but, as that is a name too 
 well known, and might recall recollections which perhaps it 
 might be wished should be dropped, he would wish to take 
 one which had no relation with the past ; therefore he would 
 like to be called either Colonel Meuron or Baron Duroc' 
 
Dec. 1816. PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME. 389 
 
 (He here told me who they were, though I told him I knew 
 well who Duroc was.) ' As Colonel,' continued he, ' is a 
 title denoting military rank, it might give umbrage, and 
 therefore probably it would be better to adopt that of Baron 
 Duroc, which is the lowest feudal title. If the Governor con- 
 sents to this, let him write or cause to be written to Bertrand 
 that he acquiesces in either of them, and such will be adopted. 
 This will prevent many difficulties, and perhaps smooth the 
 way.' He then said that several 'months back he had sent 
 Montholon to the Admiral to propose it to him, and that he 
 had promised to write to his Government about it ; since 
 which he had heard no more about it. I asked him whether 
 the communication made by Montholon was a verbal or a 
 written one. He replied, stopping and looking at me earn- 
 estly, ' What, I suppose you think that Montholon has been 
 telling me lies !' I smiled, and I believe looked as if I 
 thought so. He then said, ' No, no ; I assure you it is not 
 the case. He did propose it ; it was one or two days before I 
 left the Briars.' He then called St. Denis, asked him if he had 
 finished the paper, took it from him, made me read it aloud to 
 him, explained some parts which were not very plainly writ- 
 ten, underlined some others with his own hand, gave it to me, 
 desired me to go and give it to the Governor, and tell him that 
 such were his intentions. He then said, ' You will not forget 
 the names ?' I repeated 'Baron Duroc and Colonel Meuron.' 
 ' Right,' said he ; ' or Monsieur Napoleon.' The paper was 
 as follows. 1 .... 
 
 " The parts underlined as above were, in the paper given 
 by me to the Governor, traced by Bonaparte himself. I 
 proceeded to the Governor with this paper and presented it. 
 He appeared very much surprised, said that it was a very 
 important communication, and required consideration. He 
 afterward said that he would write home about it, and re- 
 commend the adoption of it in the strongest manner; that 
 he would consider attentively whether the tenor of his in- 
 structions would permit him to sanction the adoption of 
 
 -_ — 
 1 See ante, pp. 298, 299. 
 
390 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 either of the names in question ; that he would naturally he 
 desirous of deferring the use of either of them in any public 
 communication until he obtained the sanction of his Govern- 
 ment for that purpose ; and that he would be ready to com- 
 municate with Bertrand on the subject at any time. He ob- 
 served, however, that it would be more satisfactory if it had 
 been signed by him; though, he said, he did not mean to 
 convey the slightest doubt of its authenticity, either as to 
 words or spirit. He gave me a paper containing the sub- 
 stance of this his answer, and desired me to show it to Bona- 
 parte. After this (at my own offer) he made me swear to 
 the paper, a copy of it, and a duplicate of a statement I made 
 out of what Bonaparte had said to me when giving me the 
 paper. He then said that it would be very advisable to get 
 Bonaparte to sign the paper, and asked me if I thought it 
 likely that he would do so. I replied that I thought he 
 would, if Sir Hudson would authorize him to sign his name 
 as he wished. This, however, Sir Hudson did not fmd him- 
 self yet authorized to decide upon. 
 
 " I proceeded back with all haste to Longwood, and, after 
 having made a translation into Italian of the principal points 
 of Sir Hudson's note, I waited upon Bonaparte with it. As 
 soon as he came to the first part of it — viz. that the Gov- 
 ernor would lose no time in forwarding to England the paper 
 brought by me — he asked me if I had brought it back. I re- 
 plied ' No.' He then said that it was not his intention that the 
 paper I had taken should be sent to the British Government ; 
 that he only intended it should be read and shown to the 
 Governor, and then returned, as had occurred once before 
 when I brought on a piece of paper some sentiments of the 
 Governor's which I had taken down myself, and which were 
 afterward returned. I told him that I had conceived and 
 understood that I was to leave the paper, and accordingly 
 had done so. He acknowledged that he had said nothing 
 about bringing it back, but said that he had intended it so ; 
 that it would be an insult to the Government to send them a 
 paper unsigned ; that he wanted to know whether, the Gov- 
 ernor was inclined to meet him. After a good deal of discus- 
 
Dec. 1816. PROPOSED CHANGE OF NAME. 391 
 
 sion he desired me to go to the Governor and get it back 
 from him, and kept the Governor's paper as a hostage, I 
 suppose, for its return. I accordingly went back to Planta- 
 tion House and communicated my business to the Governor, 
 who was naturally much surprised at it, and did not know 
 whether to attribute it to want of sincerity in his professions 
 or otherwise. He desired me to write out a statement of it, 
 which I did, and got the paper back which I delivered back 
 to Bonaparte, the next day, my return to Longwood being at 
 too late an hour to communicate. After delivering it I told 
 him that Sir Hudson was of opinion that any paper profess- 
 ing his wish to adopt a name should be signed by himself. 
 He replied, ' If he takes upon himself to approve of it, and 
 makes the same known to Bertrand, or even to you, and that 
 he will address me accordingly, I will write a letter and sign 
 it myself, declaring that I will adopt one of the names in 
 question, and send it to him. He added, ' Le meta del dis- 
 gusti che ho provato (one half of the disgusts I have experi- 
 enced) arose from that title.' I told him that I thought he 
 was very right ; that people were astonished at his still re- 
 taining it after his abdication. He replied, 'I abdicated the 
 throne of France, but not the title of Emperor : I do not 
 call myself Emperor of the French, but the Emperor Napo- 
 leon.' Here I mentioned to him that Louis the Eighteenth, 
 when he was hi England and other places, did not call him- 
 self King ; and also that Gustavus King of Sweden, after his 
 abdication, called himself Count Gottorp. He replied, ' I 
 would not call myself Emperor if it was not in opposition to the 
 other title which they want to force upon me : to such it ap- 
 pears that I never was Emperor — as if the French nation 
 had not as much right to make me one as the other. A 
 man, when he is at the head of a few during a disturbance 
 of a country, is called a chief of rebels, a chief of banditti ; 
 but when that man succeeds, does great actions, and exalts 
 his country, then from being called a leader of rebels, he is 
 called general, chief of the nation, or any other title the na- 
 tion choose to give him. It is only success which makes him 
 so : had he been unfoa^unate he would have been still called 
 
392 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 chief of rebels, and perhaps perished on a scaffold. Your 
 nation would not acknowledge Washington for a length of 
 time, but called him a leader of rebels, until his successes 
 obliged you at last both to acknowledge him as a general, 
 and the country he belonged to. So it is every where. It 
 would,' continued he, ' appear truly ridiculous in me calling 
 myself Emperor here, circumstanced as I am, and would put 
 one in mind of one in Bethlem, in London, who fancy them- 
 selves kings in the midst of their straw and irons, if it was 
 not done in opposition to your Government, who in a manner 
 force me to it. They wish to call me what they like them- 
 selves, in order to annoy me, and to make it appear that I 
 have never been any thing else than General.' He then said 
 the French generals had shown great devotion in signing 
 such a declaration as they had done, preferring to remain 
 with him under all the restrictions, and against his own 
 will, and also command, to going to Europe, where the most 
 of them could live in splendor. 'They would,' continued he, 
 ' have signed me Boja Bonaparte, or the Tiranno Bona- 
 parte, or many other opprobrious names, sooner than aban- 
 don me.' I replied that I thought, if they were permitted to 
 return to Europe directly, instead of going to the Cape, in 
 all probability they would not have been so ready to stay. 
 He said that in two or three months they would probably go 
 
 to Europe 
 
 "... The next morning, while walking down in the wood 
 cogitating upon the occurrences of the preceding day, I heard 
 somebody call me. Turning about, I was surprised to see 
 Bonaparte beckoning to and calling me. After he had asked 
 how I was, he said, ' Ebbene bugiardo sempre questo Gover- 
 natore. He makes a great noise about this news, which he 
 said he could communicate to nobody else but me, and after 
 all, there is nothing more than he might have communicated 
 to Bertrand or any body else as well as me. No, no ; he 
 thought he had an opportunity of insulting and grieving me, 
 which ho eagerly embraced. He came up with six of his 
 staff, with exultation and joy in his countenance, just as if he 
 was going to announce a wedding of*if he was going to a 
 
Dec. 1816. THE DECLARATIONS. 393 
 
 comedy, rejoicing in the idea of having it in his power to 
 communicate news which he thought must afflict me ; he 
 thought to plant a " stilo" in my heart, and could not deny 
 himself personally the pleasure of witnessing and .enjoying 
 the affliction which he was preparing to impart to me — un 
 cattivo uomo. Never has he given a greater proof of a bad 
 heart, wishing to afflict and stab me to the heart — a poor 
 man whom misfortunes have placed in his power. I am 
 very glad I did not see him, for there would have been an- 
 other scena, worse than any of the preceding ones.' I 
 
 advised him strongly to accommodate matters as much as 
 possible, adding that I believed the Governor was inclined to 
 grant that domestics should be sent away instead of the Gen- 
 erals, but that if he was irritated or abused perhaps he might 
 do the contrary. I said as much as I could possibly think 
 would induce him to do so, but in vain. He replied, ' Non 
 c'e rimedio ; we are in the power of a boja (hangman). I 
 know very well that they will send away the rest by little 
 and little in a short time, and it is just as well for them to go 
 away now as afterward. What object could they have in 
 sending away that Pole and three servants ? bah ! they want 
 to leave me without any body : let them do it ; I would 
 rather that they were all sent away at once than to have 
 four or five slaves trembling about me, having constantly 
 hanging over their heads, in termrem, the dread of being 
 forced on board of a ship and sent off to the cape, or God 
 knows where, at the discretion of that boja. Let him do 
 what he likes, send every body away, plant sentinels at every 
 door and window, send up nothing but bread and water : I 
 regard it not ; I will be and am now just as independent as 
 when I was at the head of 600,000 men, as I told him the 
 other day ; this heart is just as free as when I gave laws to 
 Europe. If he sends away "those Generals to prevent my 
 complaints from being written, I will write myself, which 
 will have much more effect. He wants those people to sign 
 new restrictions without even knowing what they are. No 
 honest man ought to sign any obligation without first know- 
 ing what was contained in it ; but this boja wants them to 
 
 R* 
 
39 4 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 sign whatever he chooses to impose hereafter, and there as 
 usual, always with lies at command, he will assert that he 
 has changed nothing, as he has already done ; truly, he is a 
 disgrace to the human race ; c'est un triste animal ; his con- 
 duct, c'cst Ic comble de la mauvaise foi.' After a great deal 
 of communication to and from Plantation House the aflaiv 
 was terminated by Piontkowski, Santini, Rousseau, and 
 Archambaud, junior, being sent off to the Cape. The loss of 
 three of those people was not unproductive of inconvenience 
 to him, as Santini was his tailor and hair-cutter and game- 
 keeper, Rousseau a most ingenious artificer, and Archambaud 
 one of his postillions. They were, however, those who could 
 be best spared, and two of them, Rousseau and Santini, he 
 had chosen himself to go when he found that the departure 
 of three was indispensable. 
 
 " The new restrictions were as follows. [Here follow the 
 altered regulations already given.] 1 
 
 " The day these restrictions were delivered Bertrand came 
 to me in order to explain to him what was meant by the road 
 leading along the ridge ; whether it was meant that they 
 should confine themselves altogether to the road, and not go 
 off it, or whether they had liberty to go down in the valleys, 
 as in Sir George Cockburn's time ? I replied that I under- 
 stood it to mean that they were to keep to the road, and not 
 to separate from it, or to descend into the valley either to right 
 or left. On inquiry the next day from Sir Hudson Lowe, I 
 found that my conception of it was correct, and that they 
 were not to go off the road, or go into any houses of the in- 
 habitants. 
 
 " Since these new restrictions have been put in force, Bona- 
 parte has never been out on horseback, and not more than 
 two or three times in the carriage. For the last six weeks he 
 has not stirred out of the house, except one evening for about 
 ten minutes, and rarely quits his room, or dines at table with 
 the rest. This confinement has had a visible effect upon his 
 health and appearance ; and I have no doubt that if he per- 
 sists in it his existence will be closed in a few months either 
 
 1 See aide, p. 283 
 
Dec 1816. REMARKS ON LAS CASES' ARREST. 395 
 
 by hydrotliorax or apoplexy. He has had latterly every ap- 
 pearance of a diminished action in the absorbent system, such 
 as occasional swelling and coldness of the extremities, enlarge- 
 ment of the lymphatic glands in the groin and fore part of the 
 thigh, respiration a little hurried, and a general leucophleg- 
 matic appearance. He experienced also a good deal of des- 
 pondency and drowsiness at one time ; since, however, he 
 complied with my prescription of lessening materially the 
 quantity of animal food consumed by him, and increasing pro- 
 portionably the vegetable (for he will take no medicine, in- 
 ternally at least ; as yet he has never taken any thing medical 
 beyond a gargarium, though he had a very severe inflam- 
 matory affection of his gums and cheeks), these symptoms 
 have ameliorated, and could he be persuaded to take exercise 
 he would do very well. Whenever I endeavor to induce him 
 to ride out, he always answers me by observing that the pro- 
 hibition to speak to any person he may meet entirely precludes 
 the possibility of doing so, though he did not acknowledge the 
 right or authority of the Governor in giving such orders, un- 
 known, he says, and unpracticed in the dungeons of the In- 
 quisition, or even to criminals under sentence of death, yet still, 
 if he met with and spoke to any person, or they to him, they 
 
 would be subject to some arbitrary punishment 
 
 " Bonaparte was greatly astonished at his (Las Cases') 
 arrest, and in the evening sent for me and asked what I knew 
 about it, which was very little. He professed ignorance, how- 
 ever, of it, and said that he could scarce have conceived a 
 man like Las Cases capable of a plot cosi coglione as to trust 
 a slave, an ignorant wretch without information or honor, to 
 go on an embassy to England. ' He was ashamed of himself,' 
 continued he, ' or he would have made me acquainted with 
 it.' I asked him if he had not known of it. He replied, ' I 
 knew nothing whatever about it, or I would have immediately 
 stopped it. I recollect, indeed, that, eight days back, Las 
 Cases said to me, speaking about his servant, that he was 
 going to England ; I recollect laughing at him, and saying 
 that, if the Governor hears he intends going there, he will 
 send him to Ceylon ; he will be much more likely to go there 
 
396 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 than to England.' He then asked me again if I knew what 
 the suhject of the letter or letters was. I replied in the nega- 
 tive. He then said (it was well known at this time that 
 Scott was to have gone to England, or at least that he was 
 destined for it by Las Cases), ' I think it must be some letter 
 to Miledi,' 1 containing complaints and satires of the Governor, 
 containing probably an account of how we are treated and of 
 all the vexations we labor [under], or perhaps one to his 
 banker ; for Las Cases has four or five thousand pounds in a 
 banker's hands in London, a part or the whole of which I 
 was to have had, was to pay him hereafter, as I do not know 
 where my own money is. In all probability there was a let- 
 ter to his banker, and that he did not like to let it go through 
 this Governor's hands, for none of us like to trust him. I am 
 sure there is nothing of consequence, as Las Cases is too much 
 attached to me to undertake any thing of moment without 
 consulting me. I entirely disapprove of the manner, cosi 
 coglione, that he has made use of, and can only account for 
 it by supposing that Las Cases as he has lost his eyesight 
 nearly and can scarcely read or write, and since his son's ill- 
 ness, the latter having been prohibited reading and writing, 
 the poor man is wholly without employment or amusement, 
 and this, together with reflection upon the melancholy situa- 
 tion of his son, condemned, I may say, to die of an incurable 
 malady, with his own confinement and sad reflection upon 
 the state we are in, together with the badness of the accom- 
 modation, for you know he was very badly lodged' (this was 
 his own fault, however, on being offered to have a new house 
 built for him, he refused), ' has turned his head and rendered 
 him mad, or else he would not have been guilty of such an 
 act of folly. For a man of some talent like him to make an 
 embassador of a slave, who could neither read nor write, to 
 go on a six months' embassy to England, where he never had 
 been or knew nobody, and, who, in fact, unless the Governor 
 was a coglione and scioccone, would never be permitted to 
 leave the island, is to me wholly incomprehensible, unless a 
 man had lost his senses. I am sorry for it, because people 
 1 Lady Clavering. See ante, p. 327. 
 
Dec. 1816. HIS PAPERS. 397 
 
 will accuse mc of being privy to it, and must have a mean 
 opinion of my understanding, supposing me to have concerted 
 a plan cosi coglione e semplice. . . . What guarantee have I,' 
 continued he, ' that he (the Governor) will not come up when 
 I have nearly finished my History, and seize upon the whole 
 of it ? 1 must burn all I have written. It served as an 
 amusement in this dismal abode, and might perhaps have 
 been interesting ; but now I will burn the whole, for with 
 this boja there is no security or guarantee. He surrounded 
 the house with his staff quite happy at the idea of torment- 
 ing us. II me parut voir les Anthropophages des iles de la 
 Mer de Midi, qui dansent autour de leurs victimes avant de 
 les devorer. Tell him this,' said he, ' tell him these words.' 
 I used every persuasion in my power to induce him to refrain 
 from destroying his papers, and also went to Sir Hudson, 
 whom I informed of Bonaparte's intention, and suggested the 
 propriety of returning his papers as speedily as possible. Sir 
 Hudson, assured me that not a single paper belonging to him 
 had been read by any person ; that as soon as Las Cases de- 
 clared such or such a paper belongs to him (General Bona- 
 parte) it was immediately put by and respected ; that after 
 each examination the whole of the papers were sealed up by 
 Las Cases himself, put in a trunk, which was also sealed up 
 by him, and not opened again unless in his (Las Cases') pres- 
 ence. He also made me observe myself Las Cases' sealing 
 up the papers, that I might testify to Bonaparte that I had 
 personally inspected it. He desired me to tell him that all 
 his own papers should be kept sacred ; that he conceived the 
 work he was engaged in of too great importance to posterity 
 to permit his being disturbed in the execution of it by any part 
 of it being seized. I returned back and told Bonaparte what 
 I had seen, which gave him a considerable degree of satisfac- 
 tion, but which did not last for many days, as, the papers hav- 
 ing been returned to him by degrees, he immediately took it 
 into his head again that they were returned according as they 
 were copied. I had again great difficulty in persuading him 
 to the contrary, and of convincing him that they were all de- 
 posited in a trunk sealed up by Las Cases after examination, 
 
398 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XI. 
 
 and not opened again unless in his presence. A letter also 
 from young Las Cases, containing an assurance that the pa- 
 pers hid would be respected, contributed to pacify him a little 
 upon this score. The fact really was so that his papers had 
 not been examined, but it would have been better and would 
 have prevented a great deal of irritation on his part if they 
 had been returned during the first two or three days ; but the 
 anxiety in which Sir Hudson was constantly immersed pre- 
 vented his attending to what he considered as of no conse- 
 quence, to wit, the papers belonging to him being searched 
 for and returned. 
 
 " As the Orontes is reported to sail in a few hours, I fear I 
 will not be able to give you any more minute details upon this 
 subject; suffice it, then, to say that the letters given to the 
 slave consisted of one to Lucien Bonaparte, giving a highly 
 colored detail of every thing which had occurred since they 
 had embarked on board of the Bellerophon, divers complaints 
 of the miseries of their situation and of the rigorous treatment 
 they suffered from Sir Hudson ; and the other a letter to Lady 
 Clavering in London, with a request, I believe, to forward the 
 other. Among his papers also were found two or three others, 
 the nature of which I know no more of than that I believe 
 they were intended to open and carry on some correspondence 
 between the French people and some persons in London ; 
 that in them there were the means provided for making things 
 known to them by certain paragraphs inserted in the news- 
 papers, if they could not be able to effect sending letters. . . . 
 
 " I have been for a considerable time endeavoring to effect an 
 accommodation between him and Sir Hudson Lowe, and have 
 so far succeeded as to obtain both their consents to allow Sir 
 Pulteney to act as an intermediator, though I confess that 
 I have not very sanguine hopes of his succeeding. I must 
 confess that I am one of those who think that a great deal 
 of unnecessary rigor has been practiced toward him, as you 
 may yourself conceive from the nature of the restrictions, and 
 I know that such is the opinion of every officer on the island 
 except Sir Hudson's personal staff. Sir Hudson himself, 
 indeed, appears to be conscious of it. as within a few days he 
 
Dkc. 1816. ATTEMPTS AT ACCOMMODATION. 399 
 
 has taken away his prohibition against speaking, removed 
 some of the sentinels, and rescinded his order about persons 
 not being able to make use of the same pass to speak to any 
 of his staff, and allow them to hold converse with him. Bo- 
 naparte asks that things should be put on the same footing 
 they were in Sir George Cockburn's time. Few, I believe, 
 will doubt Sir George Cockburn's capacity and capability of 
 placing him in as secure a position as any Governor woidd 
 desire. In fact he was then just as secure as he is now, and 
 was not tormented with unnecessary, frivolous, and annoying 
 restrictions. 
 
 " Sir Hudson has repeated again to me his prohibition of 
 communication, doing which he observed that none of the 
 Ministers had any business to know what was going on about 
 Bonaparte, except the one with whom he corresponded, and 
 that such correspondence should go through him and him 
 alone, adding that he had written to Lord Bathurst to acquaint 
 him that I had heen in the habit of corresponding with you, 
 and that I had furnished you with every information respect- 
 ing Bonaparte, in order that he might take steps to prevent 
 the same, adjoining [adding?], however, that he had done it 
 in such a manner as not to do me any mischief. 
 
 " By this you will be able to judge how requisite it must 
 be not to make known to his Lordship that I still am a chan- 
 nel of communication ; though it appears a little strange and 
 unaccountable to me that Sir Hudson should be so dreadfully 
 alarmed at the idea of His Majesty's Ministers being made 
 acquainted with the truth of what occurs with respect to a 
 man who has made so much noise in the world, while at the 
 same time he sends Piontkowski and three others to dissemin- 
 ate not only the truth, but gross exaggerations blended with 
 it, through all Europe. Until I came to Saint Helena I never 
 was aware that the Ministers were not to be put in possession 
 of whatever might regard state prisoners." 
 
 It will be perceived that in the latter part of this letter 
 O'Meara says that he is one of those who think that " a great 
 deal of unnecessary rigor" had been practiced toward Napo- 
 
400 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Xf. 
 
 leon. This is, I believe, the first time in which, in any part 
 of his correspondence, he speaks unfavorably of the measures 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe and the dale is important when we recol- 
 lect that in his published work he describes the conduct of 
 the Governor as having been almost from the first moment of 
 his arrival, tyrannical and oppressive. And in support of the 
 charge of" unnecessary rigor" he relies wholly upon the na- 
 ture of the restrictions to which he refers his correspondent, 
 Mr. Finlaison, and which he describes as frivolous and annoy- 
 ing. No other ground of complaint is even hinted at, and we 
 may therefore fairly conclude that in O'Meara's opinion none 
 such at that time existed. Whether or not the restrictions as 
 framed by Sir Hudson Lowe were unnecessarily severe is a 
 matter on which we are competent to form our own judgment, 
 and it is satisfactory to find that this is the only point on 
 which, up to this period, the man who showed himself after- 
 ward the bitterest enemy of the Governor expresses any thing- 
 like censure. Nor must it be lost sight of that the passage 
 occurs in that part of his letter where the writer displays some 
 feeling of irritation against Sir Hudson Lowe on a personal 
 ground, because the latter had very properly cautioned him 
 against carrying on a clandestine correspondence, not only 
 without, but against, his consent. 
 
 But it was idle in O'Meara to represent Sir Hudson Lowe 
 as alarmed at the idea of Ministers knowing all that related 
 to his illustrious prisoner, inasmuch as he regularly transmit- 
 ted to the Colonial Secretary, Earl Bathurst, every conversa- 
 tion and incident respecting him that was communicated 
 either by O'Meara or any other person. This appears to 
 have been always done with the most scrupulous fidelity. 
 But what the Governor did object to was, that secret inform- 
 ation, of which he was kept ignorant, should be forwarded 
 by a person in the confidential position of O'Meara, for the 
 use of Ministers. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CONVERSATION BETWEEN SIR FULTENEY MALCOLM AND NAPO- 
 LEON COMPLAINTS OF THE QUALITY OF THE PROVISIONS 
 
 AT LONGWOOD NAPOLEON'S PLAN FOR A FRENCH INVASION 
 
 OF ENGLAND LETTERS OF SIR HUDSON LOWE TO EARL 
 
 BATHURST HIS COMMENTS ON LAS CASES' PROTEST CON- 
 VERSATIONS BETWEEN NAPOLEON AND o'MEARA. 
 
 On the first of January, 1817, Sir Hudson Lowe transmit- 
 ted to Earl Bathurst O'Meara's communications of the pre- 
 ceding month, and at the same time wrote to his Lordship a 
 private letter, in which he said — 
 
 " As Dr. O'Meara, in his conferences with General Bona- 
 parte, will be found to speak very frequently in my name, it 
 may be necessary to acquaint your Lordship it is wholly in 
 an unofficial way, and generally even without any other au- 
 thority than what desultory conversation with me may have 
 afforded him. My language has been always the same to 
 him as to Count Las Cases — not so much accommodation as 
 
 truth My duties are of a very delicate nature — my 
 
 situation highly responsible. If I have erred, it has been by 
 following the dictates of my own judgment ; and that I may 
 not continue in error, I have earnestly to pray your Lord- 
 ship's consideration, free from indulgence, to all matters I 
 have by this occasion reported 
 
 " I should not close this private communication without men- 
 tioning to your Lordship a circumstance which Dr. O'Meara 
 told me when he brought the proposal for the intermediation 
 of Sir Pulteney Malcolm — that General Bonaparte observed to 
 him at the time he had been so much struck with the frank- 
 ness, candor, and openness of the Admiral's countenance and 
 manner, that he felt disposed to make a full disclosure to him 
 of every thing relating to his pecuniary affairs, giving him a 
 
402 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 paper with a declaration on every point regarding them. As 
 General Bonaparte did not see the Admiral, he has as yet 
 heard nothing of this intended proposal to him." 
 
 Sir Pulteney Malcolm saw Bonaparte on the 11th of Janu- 
 ary, and he acquainted the Governor with the principal sub- 
 jects of their conversation in the following note : 
 
 " I had a long tctc-a-tcte with Bonaparte yesterday ; he is 
 certainly thinner than when I last saw him, and his eyes ap- 
 pear a little sunk ; but he was in excellent spirits, and on the 
 whole looking well. He did not advert in the slightest man- 
 ner to any occurrence that has taken place since he quitted 
 France. We talked of the expedition to Egypt, of Corsica, 
 and of events that happened on his landing from Elba. I 
 have not seen him in better spirits. Madame Bertrand is 
 still on her legs, and in good spirits ; x the Count, as usual, 
 melancholy. I had not any particular conversation with him." 
 
 O'Meara's letters to Sir Hudson Lowe this month represent 
 Napoleon as enjoying good health and spirits. 
 
 Some complaints were made to the doctor about the quality of 
 the provisions served at Longwood, and he wrote to Sir Thomas 
 Reade on the 21st of January on the subject. He said — 
 
 " Cipriani yesterday came to me and complained that for 
 two days the mutton had been so bad that even the servants 
 would not eat it, and that the fish which came up yesterday 
 had been caught on Saturday ; that they had not sent any 
 cabbages the day before, and that the onions they sent are of 
 bad quality ; that he had seen himself in the town excellent 
 cabbages, and at Balcombe's house some excellent mutton ; 
 
 1 The Countess Bertrand was not confined until the 17th {Voice, vol. 
 i. p. 314) ; and on the 26th, when Bonaparte paid her a visit, she wit- 
 ily observed, " Sir, I have the honor to present to your Majesty le pre- 
 mier Francais who, since your arrival, has entered Longwood without 
 Lord Bathurst's permission." — Ibid. p. 338. The child was named 
 after the Emperors of Austria and Russia and the Duke of Wellington. 
 Count Montholon asserts (Recits, vol. ii. p. 59) that the restrictions up- 
 on their communications with the town delayed the arrival of the ac- 
 coucheur for four hours. Had this been true, the circumstance would 
 assuredly have been mentioned by O'Meara, and it would also have 
 been used by Bonaparte as evidence of the cruelty of the Regulations. 
 
Jan. 1817. PRESENT OF COFFEE. 403 
 
 that no oranges or apples had heen sent up to them, though 
 he was informed by several in the town that provision of 
 such had arrived from the Cape in abundance ; and that, in 
 expectation of their sending some up, he had not bought any 
 himself. .... This day the mutton has been sent back, and 
 a request made to Mr. Fowler to send (whenever the mutton 
 is not of a tolerable quality) fresh pork in lieu. It appears 
 that the mutton sent up has been got from the Company's 
 farm, and therefore that they are not to blame for it, as the 
 sheep were delivered to them by Mr. Porteous." 
 
 It appears also that sufficient attention was not paid to 
 cleanliness in some points, for next day O'Meara writes to 
 Sir Thomas — 
 
 " The curtains at present hung are extremely dirty ; and 
 B. [Bonaparte] himself on a former occasion made a com- 
 plaint to me that he was obliged to have sheets hung up as 
 curtains to his bedroom in consequence of the dirtiness of 
 these curtains, and no others to replace them while washing 
 having been then sent up. To avoid, therefore, any handle 
 for a similar complaint, I have thought it best to make you 
 acquainted with this." 
 
 About this time Sir Hudson Lowe sent some excellent coffee 
 to Longwood, thinking it would be an acceptable present. And 
 so it was considered by Bonaparte, but Count Montholon calls 
 it "an inexplicable idea of performing an act of politeness ;" 
 and he adds that he hesitated to convey to Bonaparte the polite 
 message which accompanied the coffee, addressed to General 
 Bonaparte, " so much was he convinced that the answer 
 would be throwing oil'upon the fire, when, to his great as- 
 tonishment, Napoleon said, ' Cause the case to be carried to 
 the pantry ; good coffee is a precious thing in this horrible 
 place.' " The Count intimates that Cipriani, the niaitre- 
 a" hotel, suspected that the coffee might be poisoned.' " Ci- 
 priani," he says, "thought me mad when I put the case into 
 his charge, to be used by tho chief cook. I was obliged to 
 repeat the Emperor's orders before he would consent to obey, 
 declaring to me over and over again that he would first of 
 
404 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap XII. 
 
 all submit it to a variety of trials before he allowed it to be 
 served up to his master. In fact, the coffee was excellent." 1 
 
 This little incident shows how perverted were the minds 
 of the French at St. Helena, and how difficult it was to 
 please persons so disposed to misconstrue the commonest act 
 of politeness. 
 
 O'Meara mentions, in a note to Sir Hudson Lowe on the 
 22d of January, that he was convinced the coffee would be 
 acceptable, as it appeared to be of very superior quality ; and 
 he says, " I gave the General his ' Secret Amours,' during the 
 reading of which he laughed very heartily." 2 
 
 In his printed journal of the 27th of January he relates a 
 long conversation with Bonaparte respecting the various at- 
 tempts that had been made to assassinate him. 3 He then 
 gives an interesting narrative of Napoleon's plan of invasion 
 of this country, 4 which, with slight variations, is contained 
 in the following letter to Sir Hudson Lowe. But it will be 
 seen that O'Meara did not report to the Governor any part 
 of the conversation which in his book he represents to have 
 taken place relative to the attempts at assassination. 
 
 (Private.) 
 
 "Longwood, Jan. 28, 1817. 
 " Hear Sir — The following conversation, which took place 
 yesterday between General Bonaparte and myself, may prob- 
 ably not be uninteresting to you. Finding him in a tolerable 
 good-humor, and apparently ready to communicate, I took an 
 opportunity of asking him whether he ever had really intend- 
 ed to invade England ? — and, if so, what were his plans ? — 
 and also whether he thought he would be successful ? He 
 replied without hesitation, ' It was my firm intention to in- 
 vade England, and to head the expedition myself. My plan 
 was to dispatch two squadrons to the West Indies (he did not 
 
 1 " Recits," vol. ii. p. 51. 
 
 2 Bonaparte said that there was not a single word of truth in the 
 anecdotes contained in this work, and that even the names of the great- 
 er number of females mentioned were unknown to him. — "Voice," vol. i 
 
 3 "Voice," vol. i. p. 338-348. See also vol. ii. p. 378. 
 
 4 " Ibid." pp. 349-353. 
 
Jan. 1817. HIS PROPOSED INVASION OF ENGLAND. 405 
 
 say from what ports) ; there they were to meet and unite at 
 a specified place, and, instead of waiting there, after showing 
 themselves among the islands they were to proceed hack again 
 to Europe with all dispatch ; they were to raise the block- 
 ade of Ferrol, and take the fleet out of it. They were then 
 to proceed to Brest, and in like manner to release and join 
 the squadron there. By these means I would have had a 
 squadron of about seventy sail-of-the-line, besides frigates, &c. 
 They were to proceed directly to, and sweep the English 
 Channel, where they would meet with nothing strong enough 
 to oppose them : for, by means of false intelligence, adroit- 
 ly managed, I would have induced your Ministers to send 
 squadrons to the Mediterranean and East and West Indies in 
 search of mine. I intended then to push over, under their 
 protection, the Boulogne flotilla, with 200,000 men, to land 
 near Sheerness and Chatham, and to push direct for London, 
 where I calculated to arrive in four days. During the march 
 I would have made my army observe the most exemplary 
 discipline ; marauding, or otherwise injuring or insulting the 
 inhabitants, would have been punished with instant death. 
 I would have published proclamations (which I would have 
 had ready) declaring that we were only come as friends to 
 the English nation, to render them free, and to relieve them 
 from an obnoxious and despotical aristocracy, whose object 
 was to keep them eternally at war in order to enrich them- 
 selves and their families at the expense of the blood of the 
 people. Arrived at London, I would have proclaimed a re- 
 public (I was first Consul then,' said he) — 'Liberty, equality, 
 sovereignty of the people — abolished the monarchical govern- 
 ment, the nobility, and the House of Peers. The House of 
 Commons I would have retained, with a great reform ; the 
 property of the nobles I would have declared to be forfeited, 
 and to be divided among the people, among the partisans of 
 the revolution — a general equality and division of property. 
 By these means I hoped to gain a formidable party — to be 
 joined by all the canaglie in such a great city as London, by 
 all the idle and disaffected in the kingdom — and that, perhaps, 
 I might" ultimately succeed.' 
 
406 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 " I replied that perhaps, if he effected a landing with 
 200,000 men, he might succeed in taking London, hut that 
 I was convinced his army would be ultimately destroyed ; 
 that such was the national spirit of the English — their jeal- 
 ousy and hatred of the French yoke — that it would operate 
 like an electric shock among all ranks ; that, however, some 
 might be discontended or in opposition to the Government, 
 yet still that all parties would unite in expelling or annihi- 
 lating the French ; that the fear of being made a French 
 province, or even indeed of being humbled by France, would 
 have been sufficient to induce every Englishman to arm and 
 rally round the constitution ; that in a few weeks he would 
 have had 500,000 infantry and 50,000 or 60,000 cavalry to 
 oppose him ; that perhaps at first he would have been suc- 
 cessful in two or three pitched battles, if the English generals 
 had been foolish enough to meet him ; but that his army 
 would have been destroyed piecemeal, and finally annihi- 
 lated. He replied, ' it is more than you or I or Pitt could 
 say, whether I would have been successful or not. I con- 
 sidered all you have said ; hut I calculated also the effect the 
 possession of a great and rich capital, of the Bank and all the 
 money, the ships in the river, Chatham, and perhaps Ports- 
 mouth, would have had, together with the effect also the pro- 
 clamations which I would have published to coglionare il 
 popolo 1 would have had : for I would cautiously have avoided 
 saying any thing about annexing England to France ; on the 
 contrary, I would have declared that we came only as friends, 
 to expel a flagitious and tyrannical aristocracy, and to restore 
 the rights of the people ; that when we had done that we 
 would depart as friends. The hope of a change for the better 
 — of a division of property — would have operated wonderfully 
 among the canaglie, especially of London : the canaglie of all 
 nations are nearly alike. There are traitors to be found 
 among all nations. I would have made such promises as 
 would have had a great effect to coglionare them all. What 
 could an undisciplined army do in a country abounding in 
 
 1 " Befool the people." 
 
Jan. 1817. HIS PROPOSED INVASION OF ENGLAND. 407 
 
 plains, like England, against mine ? Besides, I calculated upon 
 having the sovereignty of the seas for two or three months, hy 
 which means I would have had supplies of troops. "When 
 your fleets did return they would find their capital in the 
 hands of an enemy — the country overwhelmed with my 
 armies. This might have had a great effect upon the sailors, 
 together with my promises : I would have aholished flogging, 
 and promised them every thing. But even if they did remain 
 faithful, which is doubtful, some vessels of those nightly dis- 
 patched from France with troops, whenever the wind was 
 fair, would succeed in landing. I would also have stirred up 
 an insurrection in Ireland at the same time, in order to divide 
 and distract your Government's exertions. Afterward I would 
 have acted according to circumstances, according to my 
 strength. If I found myself strong enough, I ivould have 
 annexed England to France; if not — and it is probably 
 doubtful whether I would have been able to do it or not — I 
 would have established such a government as would be most 
 consonant to my views. There is no knowing what might 
 have happened, ' Signore Dottore,' continued he. I replied, 
 that the inhabitants would have burnt London sooner than 
 have let him take it. He answered, ' No, no, I do not believe 
 that ; you are too rich — London is too rich — and you are too 
 fond of money to do that. A nation does not so easily burn 
 a capital. Look at the French : how often have the Parisians 
 sworn to bury themselves under the ruins of the capital sooner 
 than let it fall into the hands of the enemies of France ; and 
 yet twice they have let it be taken quietly !' I here mentioned 
 Moscow to him ; and also said that Paris and London were 
 quite different — that in Paris there was a difference of opinion 
 — that France having been lately revolutionized, half of its 
 inhabitants were of one opinion, and half another — that they 
 had not the national spirit of the English, and, having been 
 lately accustomed to changes viewed them with less concern 
 than the English would ; that, besides, pr6bably the inhab- 
 itants of London would have defended the city street by street ; 
 and that in such a case his army would meet with a similar 
 fate as ours did at Rosetla and Buenos Ayres. He said, ' I 
 
408 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 believe that there is a great deal more national spirit in En- 
 gland than in France, but still I do not believe that you would 
 have burnt the capital. If, indeed, you had had some weeks to 
 remove your riches, then indeed it might have been possible; 
 but consider that you would not have had time to organize 
 any plan of doing so — I would have been at the gates in a 
 few days. Besides, Moscow was of wood ; and moreover it 
 was not the inhabitants who set it on fire ; on the contrary, 
 they were very sorry for it, and did every thing in their power 
 to put it out. It was the Cossacks and some condemned 
 criminals who where the incendiaries. They had also time 
 to take their measures as to defending the town. I would 
 not have been foolish enough to have entered the streets under 
 such circumstances : I would have coglionato you with treaties 
 and other means. Besides, you would not have had time to 
 arrange a plan for a defense before I would have been at your 
 doors, and the terror of sueh an army would have paralyzed 
 your exertions. I tell you, Mr. Doctor,' continued he, ' that 
 there is a great deal to be said on both sides, and I do not 
 know but I might have succeeded. Having the capital — the 
 capital,' repeated he — ' in my hands would have had a won- 
 derful effect.' 
 
 " Such, Sir, was the conversation which I have thought 
 sufficiently interesting to communicate to you, and which I 
 hope will not prove unacceptable. 
 
 "I have, &c. Barry E. O'Meara. 
 
 " P.S. He observed also, after stating that he would prom- 
 ise that his army only came to restore the rights of the people, 
 that after they had done that they would depart as friends. 
 ' The exact discipline I would have forced my army to ob- 
 serve would have confirmed this opinion.' " 
 
 To show the systematic attempts at misrepresentation re- 
 sorted to by O'Meara, a trifling circumstance may be mention- 
 ed which occurred at this time. Count Bertrand had, con- 
 trary to the regulations, sent a seeded letter to Sir Thomas 
 Reade, which contained an open letter to M. H. Bertrand, 
 the Count's father, announcing the Countess Bertrand's con- 
 
Jan. 1817." O'MEARA'S MISREPRESENTATIONS. 409 
 
 finement. " In the letter," says O'Meara, " were the words, 
 ' nous, ecrivons a M. de la Touche,' &c, to give further in- 
 formation, &c. Sir Hudson Lowe conceived that this meant 
 that they had written, and immediately wrote a letter of 
 reprimand to Count Bertrand, which was dispatched in haste 
 by an orderly dragoon." 1 Nothing could be more natural 
 than that Sir Hudson Lowe should so understand the words, 
 and his object in writing to Count Bertrand was to prevent 
 the possibility of its being suspected that he had withheld the 
 letters which he supposed the Count to have written. His 
 note was as follows : .. 
 
 " Plantation House, Jan. 28, 1817. 
 " Monsieur le Comte — In a letter sent by you under a 
 sealed envelope to Sir Thomas, Reade, and addressed to 
 Monsieur H. Bertrand, there is the following passage : ' "We 
 write to Monsieur La Touche and to Lady Jerningham,' 
 &c. As these letters are not sent under the same envelope, 
 I beg you will let me know whether you have sent them by 
 any other channel, or if you have only the intention of send- 
 ing them ? I take the liberty of making this inquiry, be- 
 cause, if Monsieur H. Bertrand were to make known to Mon- 
 sieur la Touche or to Lady Jerningham the passage in the 
 letter to him which I have quoted, they might very naturally 
 be led to believe that I had kept back the letters addressed to 
 them. I must, on this occasion, Monsieur le Comte, beg to 
 call your attention to the regulations respecting the^node of 
 sending your letters. I have, &c. « T-T T m " 
 
 A more courteous communication than this could hardly 
 have been sent, and the " reprimand," which, according to 
 O'Meara, was all that the letter conveyed, merely called 
 Count Bertrand's attention to the established rules for trans- 
 mitting his correspondence. And yet it is actually pretended 
 by O'Meara that Bonaparte felt convinced from this note that 
 Sir Hudson was " composed of imbecility, incapacity, and a 
 little cunning, but that incapacity prevails !" 3 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe wrote on the 23d of January to Earl 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. i. p. 365. - " Voice," vol. i, pp. 366, 367. 
 Vol. I.— S 
 
410 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 Bathurst and mentioned that O'Meara had informed him in 
 conversation that Bonaparte did not intend the observations 
 he had made on the memorandum relative to the restrictions 
 as a complaint ; and that they had been merely sent to the 
 Governor as grounds on which to offer explanation. The 
 letter then proceeded — " I told Dr. O'Meara I considered this 
 paper, with the remarks General Bonaparte had made on my 
 verbal answer to his proposal for an intermediation, as setting 
 aside both the proposal and the intermediation. This was 
 repeated to General Bonaparte, who said he did not mean it 
 in that light, and he expected I might have sent the Admiral 
 to him. A hint was given to Dr. O'Meara that he would 
 then be able to come to a right understanding with me. I 
 have not, however, acted upon this communication. I point- 
 ed out to Dr. O'Meara the injurious nature of his accusations. 
 Having altered the 5th and Gth articles of the regulations 
 complained of (providing through other means that the checks 
 imposed by them should not be weakened) — having removed 
 the sentries (whose appearance in new situations had furnish- 
 ed a pretext for not taking his usual exercise) to places where 
 they could observe as well without being seen by him — there 
 remains little for me to do, in respect to removal of restric- 
 tions, except that of giving a greater latitude for exercise 
 during the day time, and this I shall now be unwilling to ad- 
 mit until I may receive some communications from England 
 — being* without intelligence of any later date than the 
 month of July. I shall not be found, however, repugnant to 
 grant any relaxation which may not be at variance with the 
 two leading points of my instruction — personal security and 
 the prevention of unauthorized communication, in which re- 
 spects I am now as I always have been, ready to pay every 
 attention to his desires." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's other dispatches to Earl Bathurst of the 
 same date contain only a few passages of interest. In addi- 
 tion to the money expended by Government on the Longwood 
 establishment during the quarter ending on the 31st of De- 
 cember, 1816, Sir Hudson informed Lord Bathurst that Bona^ 
 parte had himself caused plate to be sent to the purveyor to 
 
Jaw. 1817. CONDUCT OF LAS CASES. 411 
 
 the value of £1065 14s. 10|d., all of which remained in de- 
 posit, the money having been advanced upon it until instruc- 
 tions from England should arrive respecting it. He added — 
 
 " General Bonaparte, since Count Las Cases' departure, 
 has been unusually tranquil ; he has not quitted his apart- 
 ments at Longwood these two months past, but he mixes 
 more in society with the persons of his family, is more cheer- 
 ful, enjoys better health, and pays more attention to the 
 preservation of it, so far as relates to the regulation of his 
 diet, than he has done for some time past. Rear-Admiral 
 Sir Pulteney Malcolm had a very long private interview 
 with him, but had no conversation, as he acquaints me, on 
 recent matters. I inclose a note the Admiral wrote immedi- 
 ately after seeing him. Sir George Bingham also saw Gene- 
 ral Bonaparte a few days before the the Admiral : no conver- 
 sation of any moment occurred between them. Since Count 
 Las Cases' departure I have derived a fresh proof of his ex- 
 ceedingly mischievous disposition. It is contained in the ac- 
 companying extract of a private letter from Mr. Urmston, 1 
 one of the East India Company's Committee of Supercargoes 
 at Canton in China. This gentleman was resident here, liv- 
 ing with Sir George Cockburn, at the time of my arrival. I 
 feel myself much indebted to him for his evident pains to 
 counteract the effects of the poison which Count Las Cases 
 had been so assiduous in his endeavors to instill into the minds 
 of the commanders of the Company's vessels. He was more 
 active in this respect, and from his pretended knowledge of 
 English laws, manners, customs, government, &c. (on all 
 which points General Bonaparte looked up to him alone for 
 information), did more to lead astray his mind from any 
 thing like a conciliatory view of the British Government's pro- 
 ceedings toward him, than the whole of his other attendants 
 
 1 Mr. Urmston's letter stated that " some of the commanders and offi- 
 cers of the Company's ships who had arrived in China from St. Helena 
 had fabricated a number of lies respecting the treatment which Napo- 
 leon and his friends received at St. Helena ; and that it seemed that Las 
 Cases, &c, had made out some pitiful stories when strangers were 
 there about their c-rovisions, &c." 
 
412 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 together. The nature of the talents he possessed for this ob- 
 ject can not be better designated than under the appellation 
 by which he was always spoken of among the French attend- 
 ants at Longwood, 'The Jesuit.' As no arrangement 
 
 has hitherto been made for sending General Bonaparte any 
 newspapers or new publications of any kind, I would beg 
 leave to submit this point to your Lordship's consideration. I 
 occasionally send him such as I myself receive, but his ex- 
 pectations I believe go beyond this. I do not, however, like 
 to offer him my services in sending to England for papers or 
 new publications, and believe your Lordship will approve the 
 selection should be made at home." 
 
 On the 28th of January Sir Hudson Lowe forwarded to 
 Lord Bathurst O'Meara's report of Bonaparte's plan for the 
 invasion of England ; and added — 
 
 "Dr. O'Meara had a very particular conversation with 
 him some days before, when he undertook a justification of 
 his conduct at the massacre of Jaffa, concluding his remarks 
 with saying that he was the only man who had ever risen to 
 so highly exalted a station as that he had filled loithout hav- 
 ing ever committed a single crime. To use Dr. O'Meara's 
 own expression to me, he stared at him, with surprise on 
 hearing the observation.' His defense was on the same 
 grounds as he has frequently before spoken of the matter — mil- 
 itary expediency, and his having found in the army against 
 him at Jaffa about a thousand Turks whom he had made 
 prisoners and released on their parole a short time before. 
 Upon a former occasion he boasted to Dr. O'Meara of the ex- 
 act information he was enabled to obtain from England ; that 
 the emigrants were on all occasions his best informers, but 
 that he paid at times as large a sum as £2000 and £3000 
 per month to a lady of high rank, who sent him regular ac- 
 counts of all he desired to know. He did not mention her 
 
 1 O'Meara says in the " Voice," vol. i. p. 333, " ' I never,' contin- 
 ued Napoleon, ' committed a crime in all my political career ; at my last 
 hour I can assert that,' &c." He does not there add that " he stared 
 with surprise" at the declaration. 
 
Feb. 1817. CONDUCT OF LAS CASES. 413 
 
 We have mentioned the scrupulous fidelity with which the 
 Governor transmitted to England copies of the reports of all 
 conversations with Napoleon furnished to him by O'Meara. 
 In a private letter of the 2d of February to Earl Bathurst, 
 Sir Hudson said — 
 
 "Without considering the remarks of General Bonaparte 
 in these papers as any way oracular, or even in some respects 
 very novel, they will be found notwithstanding very descrip- 
 tive of his resent temper and disposition, and form a strong 
 contrast by their spirit and gayety with the gloomy picture, 
 which Count Las Cases was accustomed to draw of his state 
 of mind, and with the mock grandeur and solemnity with 
 which he always portrayed his sayings. He had, perhaps, a 
 different mode of talking to Dr. O'Meara and to Count Las 
 Cases, for nothing can be more opposite than the style of his 
 conversation as repeated by each of them separately. In ad- 
 dition to what Dr. O'Meara has written of his last conversa- 
 tion, he acquaints me that General Bonaparte observed that 
 England was like a man who had been under the influence 
 of intoxication, who by swallowing large draughts of spirit- 
 uous liquors had wound himself up to an extraordinary de- 
 gree of vigor and energy, but, now that the effects were pass- 
 ed, had sunk into a state of comparative debility and exhaus- 
 tion ; that an extensive and flourishing commerce or war was 
 necessary for her very existence. By following his sugges- 
 tions, one or other of these alternatives would certainly very 
 soon ensue. Dr. O'Meara has mentioned several particulars 
 of his conversations also to Sir Pulteney Malcolm. He has 
 been frequently backward and forward between Longwood 
 and my house on the subject of General Bonaparte's expecta- 
 tions of some alteration in his restrictions, and of thence 
 coming to a better understanding with me — General Bona- 
 parte having gone so far as to say that he thought a person 
 like him was worth knowing something more of, as one might 
 learn some ideas from him." 
 
 In a letter of the 10th Sir Hudson Lowe mentioned that — 
 " Baron Sturmer, the Austrian Commissioner, rode round 
 
414 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 Longwood House and garden a few days since with the hope 
 of being enabled to see General Bonaparte. The latter heard 
 of it, and was much hurt at the circumstance; remarking, he 
 might have rode there two months before meeting the oppor- 
 tunity he wanted. He has said that, if apprehension of his 
 visiting the Commissioners forms any obstacle to his enjoying 
 a greater degree of personal liberly and more freedom of com- 
 munication than he has hitherto had, he is willing to give 
 assurances he will not go near any of them. I made no re- 
 mark to Dr. O'Meara when he made this communication to 
 me, and from what he said was glad to hear he had heard it 
 without observation." 
 
 About this time Sir Hudson Lowe received from Count Las 
 Cases, at the Cape of Good Hope, a long and formal protest 
 against the whole of his proceedings toward him ; and on the 
 25th of February he transmitted it to Earl Bathurst, with a 
 full explanation upon each of the four articles of charge 
 brought against him by the Count. It will be only necessary 
 to give the material parts of his letter, which was of consider- 
 able length. He said — 
 
 " Firstly. He protests against a separation of his person 
 from his papers, in retaining the latter at St. Helena and 
 sending him to the Cape. Count Las Cases was permitted 
 to carry with him all the papers he brought with him to St. 
 Helena, all his correspondence, since his arrival here which 
 had passed through the regular channels of authority, and 
 every paper whatever in his possession of indifferent or unim- 
 portant matter. The only papers kept back from him were 
 those which bore a direct personal reference in almost every 
 line and every page to General Bonaparte ; the whole more 
 or less relative to his situation as a prisoner of war, detained 
 in this island under the authority of the British Government, 
 whose proceedings toward him Count Las Cases had no 
 authority whatever to narrate or intermeddle with. These 
 papers have been equally claimed by General Bonaparte him- 
 self. Count Las Cases had been left at liberty to remain on 
 the island of St. Helena with the papers under seal until a 
 
Feb. 1817. LAS CASES' PROTEST. 415 
 
 reply had been received from Government to my report re- 
 garding him and them. He adopted of his free choice tho 
 alternative of proceeding to the Cape of Good Hope, leaving 
 the disputed papers behind him, without any assurance of 
 their being placed under seal. 
 
 " Secondly. He protests against my refusal to allow his seal 
 to be affixed, unless he would consent to its being removed in 
 his absence, under circumstances which were stated to him 
 at the moment. The deliberation which I communicated to 
 Count Las Cases at the time of his departure explains the 
 principle upon which the particular indulgence of affixing his 
 seal was offered to him. I pretend not to discuss the expe- 
 diency of Count Las Cases' decision in declining to affix his 
 seal under the circumstances above referred to ; but the offer 
 I made went to the utmost extent of delicacy and considera- 
 tion that I conceive it was possible for me to go. To have 
 granted more must, I conceive, have been a dereliction of my 
 public duty. The reflection which comes most home to my 
 mind is, that in this deliberation I granted too much. The 
 motives, however, will hereafter find their explanation. 
 
 " Thirdly. He protests against my taking off the Govern- 
 ment and Island seals which I affixed to the papers at the 
 time of his departure. On this subject it is, of course, to your 
 Lordship alone I hold myself responsible. The affixion of 
 these seals was a voluntary precaution taken by myself for 
 the more formal preservation and security of papers of such 
 importance, and to guard at the same time against any accu- 
 sations to which private malignity might expose me, of alter- 
 ing or removing any part of them, if left without any form in 
 my own possession. 
 
 " The fourth protest which Count Las Cases makes is in all 
 respects the most remarkable. He acquaints me that he has 
 addressed his Royal Highness the Prince Regent and his Min- 
 isters to obtain that his Journal (which he now calls his ' Re- 
 cueil Historique') shall be delivered back to him ' intact ;' and 
 that in all cases it shall not be opened far from him. He 
 gives me notice of this to create a new responsibility for me — 
 by surmising it is possible I may receive an authorization to 
 
416 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII 
 
 open the papers in the first instance, and that a counter order 
 may afterward follow on his application not to do so ; ending 
 with a solemn declaration that this collection is entirely foreign 
 to all my principal duties, and contains no indication, light, or 
 relation whatever, with the surveillance that I am charged to ex- 
 ercise. I feel persuaded it is quite unnecessary for me to enter 
 into a formal refutation of the declaration here presented. 
 
 " Count Las Cases' letters and conversations, copies and 
 minutes of the whole of which were forwarded to your Lord- 
 ship, will hest explain the nature of this document. That 
 Count Las Cases should not be at liberty to carry away with 
 him from this island an historical and political Journal — kept, 
 as General Bonaparte has himself said, by his orders — relat- 
 ing every event which had occurred to him since he delivered 
 himself up to the authority of the British Government, can not, 
 I conceive, admit of any argument ; but when it is considered, 
 at the same time, that it contains the grossest misrepresenta- 
 tions throughout of the proceedings of the British authorities 
 toward him — repetitions from his mouth of the most envenom- 
 ed and calumniating abuse, caught up by Count Las Cases as 
 he has dropped it under moments of irritation without perhaps 
 the intention or idea of its ever appearing in any historical re- 
 cord — I am fully persuaded it must appear to your Lordship 
 that those who are thus misrepresented and abused shall, now 
 that chance has brought to light the dark designs of the writers, 
 have the opportunity of knowing and defendingthemselvesfrom 
 every paragraph of so libelous a production. The title of ' Ke- 
 cueil Historique.'now given for the first time to this document, 
 and which varies so much from the terms in which Count Las 
 Cases first spoke of it, furnishes an additional motive for this 
 expectation. Among the persons who are most injured by the 
 misrepresentations and reflections contained in this document 
 are Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn and myself. The cur- 
 sory view I took of it in Count Las Cases' own presence did 
 not enable me to peruse with the same attention the part pre- 
 ceding as that since my arrival in this island. My eye only 
 caught one paragraph, and that since my arrival, where Sir 
 George Cockburn's name and proceedings were most malici- 
 
Feb. 1817. LAS CASES' JOURNAL. 417 
 
 ously spoken of. Every transaction of mine, every letter I wrote 
 or expression I uttered, met its full comment ; and this always 
 in the most unfavorable light that malevolence could devise. 
 In the conscientious discharge of a public duty, which I have 
 endeavored to execute according to the spirit as well as the let- 
 ter of my instructions, and with always the most sincere in- 
 tention to conciliate what was in its nature unavoidably harsh 
 or unpleasant with every regard to General Bonaparte's per- 
 sonal feeling and comfort, bearing in mind his Royal High- 
 ness the Prince Regent's particular instruction on this point, I 
 thus found myself, nevertheless, exposed (while debarred from 
 almost all opportunity of personal communication with the 
 individual under my charge, as well by the insulting rude- 
 ness of his own manner as by insidious arts and misrepresent- 
 ations of those around him) to all the contumely which great 
 talents combined with deep malice can invent to brand my 
 name to posterity in the most odious colors, and that in an 
 historical production which is calculated to blazon forth the 
 character of the individual (who has been, I believe, in many 
 cases unknowingly made to speak of me) as the model of every 
 virtue under heaven, while the complier of these calumnies 
 and misrepresentations offers me at the same time in his pro- 
 test a solemn declaration that the work contains nothing 
 which has any relation whatever to the charge with which I 
 am intrusted — ' n'a aucun rapport avec la surveillance dont 
 je suis charge.' Count Las Cases, on his separation from 
 Longwood, became sensible of the injustice he had done, and 
 expressed his readiness to alter any offensive passage. Giving 
 to him the credit of sincerity in this offer, it is still not so 
 much in his power to make the atonement as in that of the 
 person whose name he has so freely used. It is impossible 
 for me, however, to possess much confidence in either ; and 
 my principal reliance, therefore, must rest on your Lordship's 
 determination as to the mode in which the papers in question 
 are to be finally disposed of. In addressing your Lordship 
 thus fully on the share I bear in Count Las Cases' historical 
 Journal, I suppose myself under a certain kind of interdict 
 with regard to its perusal ; it is an interdict, however, solely 
 
418 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 imposed by my own delicacy on account of the numerous per- 
 sonal references it bears to myself. If it is thought I 
 
 yielded too much in the deliberation I afterward presented to 
 him by offering to permit him to affix his own seal, I should 
 desire it to be observed it was solely, as expressed in the de- 
 liberation, from motives of personal delicacy — protesting at 
 the same time against this being drawn forth into any thing 
 like a legal bar to the seal being taken off when the circum- 
 stances adverted to in the paper might call for it. Exclusive 
 of the above motives, springing from the so frequent detractive 
 mention in his Journal of my own name, I would desire that 
 the state of health of body and mind, as well of General Bo- 
 naparte himself as of Count Las Cases, and the fever of irri- 
 tation and disappointment in which both were, so as not en- 
 tirely to leave me free of doubt that some fatal effect or violent 
 injury might be sustained by one or both of them, may also 
 be considered. The consequences in such case would have 
 been attributed entirely to my conduct, whereas the line of 
 proceeding I adopted, leaving as little reason as possible for 
 complaint, yielded up, as I hope it will appear, no essential 
 point to either of them. In concluding these remarks on 
 Count Las Cases' protests, I think I can not more strongly 
 point out the exceeding presumption of them in expecting that 
 what he now calls his ' Recueil Historique' should be again 
 restored to him, than by referring to the claim that Count 
 Bertrand made for the same document in General Bonaparte's 
 name ; and I am induced to lay a greater stress on this claim, 
 from the full conviction that General Bonaparte would disa- 
 vow and condemn many of the opinions and expressions Count 
 Las Cases has attributed to him, as conveyed through the too 
 exclusive medium of French national vanity, and would not 
 authorize any publicity to be given to several parts of it dur- 
 ing his lifetime. As yet, I think it right to add, no person 
 whatever has seen any part of the Journal since its separation 
 from Longwood, except myself, and that only on the cursory 
 occasion when Count Las Cases himself was present." 
 
 On the 24th of February O'Meara addressed a letter to the 
 
Feb. 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 419 
 
 Governor, in which he detailed a conversation he had had 
 with Bonaparte on the subject of the Restrictions. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 " Longwood, February 24, 1817. 
 " General Bonaparte having some days past entered into 
 conversation with me respecting the extent of limits at present 
 allowed to him for the purpose of exercise (without being 
 accompanied by a British officer), I took an opportunity, in 
 answer to his remarks, to observe that I believed you were 
 inclined to grant him as much liberty as possible consistent 
 with your instructions, 1 which, I observed, were (I believed) 
 very positive with respect to not allowing any communication 
 or correspondence without your knowledge and permission ; 
 that I believed you did not find yourself at liberty to grant him 
 permission to enter freely or hold long conversation in such 
 houses as might be within the limits allowed him to ride 
 about ; that his making a practice of doing so would render 
 it necessary for a British officer to be present ; but that I be- 
 lieved if he would abstain from entering into houses that the 
 business might be arranged. At first he said that this would 
 never answer, and that he would not agree to make any such 
 promise ; but, after some more conversation on the subject, 
 and after musing for a few minutes, he said, ' I can not con- 
 ceive what he is afraid of — perhaps the Commissioners ! Per- 
 haps he may have some fear of them. There may be some 
 political reason with which I am unacquainted which may 
 render it necessary. Policy justifies every thing! If he means 
 that, I am willing to consent not to go into their houses.' I 
 replied that I did not know any thing about the Commis- 
 sioners ; that I had heard nothing about them ; but that I 
 believed your instructions interdicted him from going into any 
 other houses except such as you might think proper ; and con- 
 cluded by asking him if he would agree that it should be 
 
 1 This passage is omitted in the " Voice" (see vol. i. pp. 364, 367, 
 372, 376). It is in striking contrast with the previous assertion by 
 O'Meara of his belief that the Governor's conduct with respect to the 
 Restrictions showed unnecessary rigor. — See p. 398, ante. But incon- 
 sistency is ever the companion of untruth. 
 
420 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 settled in the following manner, to wit — that you should send 
 to Longwood a list of such houses as you would allow him to 
 enter into and visit : that, if he consented to that, I thought 
 that a greater extent of limits might he allowed unto him. 
 After some conversation, and after having reflected for some 
 time, he said, ' If he sends a list, or tells Bertrand that within 
 such and such limits there are one or two houses (or more) 
 which he suspects, or into which he does not wish me to go 
 or visit, I will not either enter them nor that of the Commis- 
 sioners. If he does it in this manner it will be understood ; 
 hut if he sent a list of all the houses in the island except one, 
 and specified that I might enter every one of those houses 
 except that one, I would not accept of it : whereas, if he made 
 a list of every house in the island except one, and said that 
 he did not wish me to go into any of such houses, and said 
 nothing about the one remaining, I would sooner accept of it 
 than the first, though by doing so I could only go into one 
 house, whereas by accepting the first I could go into every 
 house on the island except one. For by this last method of 
 visiting houses mentioned in a list, it would look like visiting 
 with leave — going in by his permission ; whereas the other 
 would appear like a freewill, as, in consequence of nothing 
 being said about it, it would he left to my option whether to 
 visit or not. It would not appear like begging permission to 
 visit such and such a person.' 1 In a conversation which I 
 had with him a day or two posterior to this, he repeated the 
 same ; but added that he would not enter into any agreement 
 to be debarred speaking to such people as he might meet in 
 the course of his rides if he chose to do so. This he said with- 
 out my having made any observation that such would he re- 
 quired or desirable." 
 
 In forwarding this letter to Earl Bathurst, Sir Hudson Lowe 
 wrote — - 
 
 " It will be observed a great deal is prepared to be yielded 
 
 1 To this is added in the " Voice" (vol. i. p. 373), " 'Tell him this,' 
 continued he, ' though I am sure that it is merely some shuffling trick 
 on his part, and will come to nothing.' " 
 
Feb. 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEAftA. 421 
 
 by him (Bonaparte), but he still holds to the privilege of eon- 
 versing with whomsoever he pleases, whether a British officer 
 is present or not, and thus throws a real bar in the way of any 
 extension of his present riding limits ; for the attendance of an 
 officer close to his person might in many parts be dispensed 
 with, if there was a security by any other way to be obtain- 
 ed against his communication with unauthorized persons." 
 
 O'Meara's letters to Sir Hudson Lowe in February this 
 year contain a fuller account of many of Bonaparte's conversa- 
 tions than he afterward printed ; but no allusion occurs in 
 them to some other conversations which in the 'Voice' he 
 states himself to have had with Napoleon about the same 
 time. The undying interest which attaches to all that fell 
 from the lips of this remarkable man will justify the insertion 
 of these conversations here, although part of them are already 
 known to the public. On the 1st of February O'Meara wrote : 
 
 " A conversation took place between General Bonaparte 
 and myself a short time since 1 touching the present state of 
 distress among the lower class in England, and the stagnation 
 of commerce, which perhaps may not be uninteresting to you. 
 He observed that he thought a great deal of blame was to be 
 attached to the English Ministers at the time of the general 
 peace, or shortly afterward, or even very lately, in not having 
 made certain stipulations for the benefit of their own country. 
 ' Had they attended to this latter point,' continued he, 'instead 
 of minding nothing but schemes to keep that poor " coglione," 
 Louis upon the throne, your country would have been in a 
 very different state at present to what it actually is. You 
 ought to have said to the Court of Spain, "We have expended 
 so many millions of money and so many thousands of lives on 
 your account, in order to prevent your country, which you 
 were not able to defend yourselves, from falling a prey to France 
 
 we have impoverished ourselves, and increased our national 
 
 debt so many millions, solely on your account — we are over- 
 burdened with taxes, and unable to pay the debt ourselves : 
 
 1 On the 8th of December (Voice, vol. i. p. 264). This report of 
 Napoleon's observations is much fuller than in the "Voice.'' 
 
422 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. C H Ar. XII. 
 
 we demand, then, and insist upon it, that you, in order to re- 
 imburse us, grant that we shall be the only foreign nation 
 allowed to trade to the Spanish colonies in South America for 
 ten or twenty years, and that we may have the same privileges 
 there as Spanish vessels." In like manner you would have 
 said to the Court of Portugal, " We have expended so many 
 millions of money in your defense — we have sacrificed thou- 
 sands of lives in order to prevent you from becoming a province 
 of France — to us you owe your political existence as a nation 
 — we, and we only, have saved your kingdom — in conse- 
 quence we have contracted a debt of so many millions on your 
 account — we are unable to repay this money expended for 
 you — we are overburdened with debt on your account — you 
 are unable to pay us : we therefore require, and insist upon 
 it, that we shall be the only foreign nation allowed to trade 
 to the Brazils for twenty years, 1 and that our ships may have 
 the same privileges as your own." ' Nobody,' continued he, 
 ' could deny the justness of your demand ; for really it was by 
 you, and you only, and by the energy you displayed, that both 
 Spain and Portugal were saved from falling into my hands. 
 You could have asked them who saved Lisbon at such a time? 
 — who saved Spain ? — who alone assisted you when all the 
 powers of Europe were against you ? The Congress them- 
 selves could not have said nay ; for they must have acknowl- 
 edged that your demand was only right and just, and founded 
 upon equity. Besides, nobody could oppose you. France is 
 nothing. If they refused to accede to your wishes, you had 
 only to insist upon the immediate payment of the whole of 
 the money expended for every thing connected with them 
 during the Peninsular war, and tell them plainly that until 
 that was paid no nation should trade with them. You should 
 say, " If you do not give the trade to us, nobody else shall 
 have it." They could not oppose you either by force or by 
 
 1 It is no part of the plan of this work to criticise the opinions of 
 Napoleon on questions of policy or finance, but without considering the 
 practicability of his suggestion, or its selfishness, if practicable, we may 
 appeal to it as the testimony of a great authority to the disinterested 
 conduct of Britain at the close of the war. 
 
Feb. 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MKARA. 423 
 
 right. In this manner your commerce would have flourished, 
 the seas would have been covered with your ships, and your 
 seamen, instead of flying to Russia and America, would have 
 been employed in your own ships. Your manufacturers would 
 have been rich and thriving, instead of having subscriptions 
 opened for them to rescue them from starvation. Besides, in 
 a short time the French will have the Brazil trade ; for you, 
 having already more than enough of coffee, sugar, and cotton' 
 (I think he said) ' in your West and East India colonies, con- 
 sequently will not take any of those articles, which are the 
 principal produce of the Brazils, in exchange for your manu- 
 factured goods. Now the French, not having enough of these 
 colonial productions from Martinique for their own use, will 
 exchange their wines, brandies, furniture, and manufactures 
 for them with the Portuguese, and consequently in a short 
 time will engross the whole of the trade. Besides, religion 
 will have a great effect in inducing both them and the Span- 
 iards to trade with them in preference to you ; and the jeal- 
 ousy which every nation has of you, in consequence of your 
 being masters of the seas, will make every power lend a hand 
 to humble and lessen you, the most effectual way of doing 
 which is to lessen your commerce. The greatest piece of 
 commercial coglioneria (folly) also,' said he, ' which you have 
 been guilty of was giving back those islands to the Dutch. 
 You should never have allowed a Dutch vessel, or any other 
 nation to go beyond the Cape of Good Hope. Perhaps you 
 do it to keep that weak coglione the Prince of Orange upon 
 the throne, to ingratiate him with the Dutch, by making 
 them believe that it is through regard for him that you have 
 granted it, to get yourselves a claim to Dutch gratitude. You 
 are mistaken; because the Dutch will, from national jealousy, 
 be the first who will join the French against you, if the latter 
 are able in ten or twenty years more to wage a war against 
 you.' ' I observed,' said he to me, two or three days back, 
 ' a circumstance in the papers, which I can hardly believe, 
 that there is a project (with the approbation of the Bourbons) 
 to make a contract with an English company to furnish iron 
 pipes to supply Paris with water in the same manner as Lon- 
 
424 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 don is. Cogiwne and imbecile as I well know the Bourbons 
 to be, I can scarcely give any credit to a project so unpopular, 
 and of so destructive a tendency to themselves, which none 
 but insane persons would consent to. It will excite the anger, 
 jealousy, and rage of the whole nation more against them 
 than any plan their greatest enemies could suggest to them 
 to execute in order to ruin themselves, and cause their third 
 expulsion from France. If the English Ministers really wish 
 to keep them upon the throne, they ought to advise them 
 against it, and not even allow an English company to avail 
 themselves of their offer. If it takes place, and is not attended 
 with some terrible consequences to them,' continued he, getting 
 up, in a very significant manner, ' I am a coglione, and will 
 declare that I have always been one.' 
 
 " P.S. Since copying the above from the letter which I had 
 the honor of writing to you this day, I find, by a further refer- 
 ence, that he said we should have said (speaking of the pow- 
 ers of Spain and Portugal), ' In this manner we will reim- 
 burse ourselves without distressing you ;' as he observed that 
 it would not injure either Spain or Portugal granting us an 
 exclusive commerce, as we could supply them with articles 
 as cheap as the other powers at least, except by barter ; that 
 it would only injure France and some of the others, by depriv- 
 ing them of a lucrative commerce. He also added that, if we 
 had made all those demands, the Allied Powers would not 
 have been a whit more jealous of us than they are now, and 
 always will be, as long as we have absolute power over the 
 seas, and insist upon our right of searching vessels, and the 
 other articles of our maritime code. 'You would then,' con- 
 tinued he, 'have the means of keeping up your maritime em- 
 pire, which must decay if you have not more commerce than 
 all the rest of the world. But your Ministers have had false 
 ideas of things : they have imagined that they could inundate 
 the Continent with their merchandise, and that they would 
 find a ready sale for it. No, no ; the world is now more illu- 
 minated : they will say — even the Russians will say, " "Why 
 should we enrich this nation to enable her to keep up a mon- 
 
Feb. 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 425 
 
 opoly and tyrannize over the seas, while our own manufac- 
 tures are numerous and skillful ? No, no ; we will have no 
 more of their goods." Every nation will be jealous of you so 
 long as you have the sovereignty of the seas. You will find 
 that in a short time, little [i. e. few] English manufactures 
 will be sold on the Continent, there were so many thousand 
 manufactories established by me. The French excel you now 
 in cloth, and several others, the Hollanders in cambric. 1 
 gave a new era to manufactories : I established the Ecole 
 Polytechnique, from whence hundreds of able chemists and 
 others went out to different manufactories. I caused a per- 
 son from this school, well skilled in chemistry, to be attached 
 to every manufactory. In consequence every thing was pro- 
 ceeded upon on certain and unerring principles, and they had 
 a reason to give for every part of their operations, instead of 
 proceeding in the old uncertain way. I suppose that there 
 are 10,000 able chemists in France, and perhaps not 200 in 
 England. Times are changed, and you must look for some 
 other place than the Continent of Europe to dispose of your 
 merchandise. America, and the Spanish and Portuguese col- 
 onies, will be the only vent for them. Recollect what I say 
 to you now. Your people in another year or two, if some 
 step is not taken to relieve them, will call out for another 
 war. They will say, " We have gained ever)' thing, and yet 
 we are starving — we are worse than we were in the war — 
 we must have another war." England ha giucato per tutte 
 o niente (has played for all or nothing) : she has gained all, 
 effected impossibilities, yet has nothing, and her people are 
 starving, and worse than they were in the midst of wars ; 
 while France, who has lost every tiling, is doing well, and her 
 people are abundantly provided with every thing. France 
 has got fat, notwithstanding the liberal bleedings, she has 
 had ; while England is like a man who has had a false mo- 
 mentary strength given to him by intoxicating liquors, and 
 who, after the effect of them is over, sinks into a debilitated 
 state.' " 
 
 The only allusion to Catholic Emancipation in O'Meara's 
 
426 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XII. 
 
 notes of Bonaparte's conversation at this period is stated to 
 have occurred on the 27th of January ;" and though differ- 
 ently related in his work, they nevertheless appear to have 
 been the same remarks he communicated to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 in the following letter, dated February 2, 1817 : 
 
 " "With respect to the Catholics, General Bonaparte said* 
 that, at the time the Catholic business was first discussed 
 seriously, he would have given fifty millions to be certain that 
 the emancipation would not have been granted to them, as it 
 would have effectually prevented any plan of his upon Ireland 
 ever succeeding, by rendering the Catholics as loyal as the 
 Protestants : he added, that he could not conceive the policy 
 of the Ministers' refusing to grant a measure which would 
 have so highly benefited England, whose present method of 
 proceeding with the Catholics was only worthy of two or three 
 centuries back when the penal laws were enacted, and not 
 of such an enlightened nation as they were at present : he 
 added, that the Pope was a good old man, and would grant 
 any thing the British Ministers would ask. This conversa- 
 tion was brought on by his saying that, if he had any thing 
 to do with the management of affairs in England, he would 
 contrive to pay a great deal of the national debt by appropri- 
 ating all the Church livings, where they exceed a certain 
 amount, except a te?ith (so that the income of any of the cler- 
 gymen of the highest rank should never exceed £800 or £1000 
 a year), toward liquidating it. These clergymen, he said, 
 ought to set that example of moderation themselves which 
 Jesus Christ taught them was so necessary to pastors, instead 
 of merely preaching it up, and at the same time wallowing in 
 sloth and riches. The same thing he would do with the sin- 
 ecures, except to persons who had rendered the most eminent 
 services to the state. The Catholics, he said, would no doubt 
 be willing to pay an immense sum of money toward dimin- 
 ishing the national debt, provided their emancipation was 
 secured to them." 
 
 1 Voice, vol. i. pp. 355, 356. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 QUALITY OF PROVISIONS SUPPLIED AT LONGWOOD LETTER 
 
 PROM o'mEARA TO SIR. HUDSON LOWE NAPOLEON'S HEALTH 
 
 DISPATCHES FROM EARL EATHURST SIR PULTENEY MAL- 
 
 COLM's INTERVIEW AND CONVERSATION WITH NAPOLEON 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SIR PULTENEY MALCOLM AND 
 SIR HUDSON LOWE MR. WARDEN'S BOOK : ' LETTERS PROM 
 
 ST. Helena' — napoleon's remarks on lord amherst's 
 
 EMBASSY TO CHINA LORD BATHURST's SPEECH IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF LORDS. 
 
 One of the grievances prominently put forward by those 
 writers who have shown themselves so skillful in finding 
 fault with every part of the arrangements at St. Helena is 
 the alleged had quality of the provisions supplied at Long- 
 wood ; and that there was sometimes ground for complaint 
 may be freely admitted. Thus from a report of the orderly 
 officer, Captain Poppleton, on the 11th of February, it ap- 
 pears that the mutton which had been sent there lately had 
 been " very indifferent." He added, " One of the English 
 servants bought a sheep in the valley, which is very good;" 
 and said that he understood that Bonaparte had desired him 
 (Captain Poppleton) to be asked whether Cipriani might not 
 go down there accompanied by a soldier. Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 being apprehensive that such permission might be abused, re- 
 plied that he did not seethe least necessity for sending Cipri- 
 ani to the different houses for the purchase of meat and veg- 
 etables, and Captain Poppleton next day wrote and told him 
 that he did not doubt that this would be construed into a re- 
 fusal to allow Cipriani to pass the line of sentinel's accom- 
 panied by a soldier. 
 
 But that the best of every thing which the island could 
 
428 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 supply was as a general rule appropriated to the consump- 
 tion at Longwood was made matter of complaint by others ; 
 and about this very time, Mr. Baxter, the Deputy Inspector 
 of Hospitals at St. Helena, wrote to Major Gorrequer, and 
 said, " I beg to trouble you so far as to lay the inclosed be- 
 fore His Excellency for consideration, and to request his in- 
 terference in this universal and sweeping monopoly of the 
 contractors for Longwood. I think it but fair that a suffi- 
 cient quantity of milk for the use of the sick of the Fifty-third 
 regiment should be supplied by the same farmer who before 
 furnished it, provided the surgeon of the regiment pays the 
 same price as the contractors." 
 
 It may be interesting to peruse the following letter ad- 
 dressed to Sir Hudson Lowe by O'Meara on the 5th of March, 
 although the conversation with Napoleon which he reports 
 has with some slight variations been published by him in his 
 work i 1 
 
 "Longwood, March 5, 1817. 
 " Dear Sir — General Bonaparte was in extreme good spirits 
 yesterday, and looked better than I have observed him for seve- 
 ral weeks. In the course of conversation I asked him his opin- 
 ion about Peltier. He said that the Journal was not a bad one 
 altogether, though there were many sottises in it, but that Pel- 
 tier was a polisson, a briccone — a man who would write any 
 thing for money and for any body. ' He offered me,' continued 
 he, ' a hundred times to change his style and write for me, 
 for payment, and to do it in such a manner as that the Brit- 
 ish Government would not be aware that he was employed 
 by me. One time in particular he sent a copy of a book 
 written against me to the police, with an offer of not printing 
 it, provided a certain sum of money was given him. This 
 was made known to me, and I ordered them to answer that 
 if he paid the expenses the work should be printed in Paris 
 for him. He was not, however, the only one who made offers 
 of the kind to me. Several of the editors of the English 
 newspapers made similar offers to his, and declared that they 
 
 1 Voice, vol. i. pp. 407-409. 
 
March, 1817. CONVERSATIONS "WITH O'MEARA. 429 
 
 would render me essential services by doing so ; but I did not 
 then attach sufficient importance to it. Not so the Bourbons. 
 In 1814 the editor of the " Times" 1 wrote for them, and was 
 paid about £3000 annually 2 of your money for so doing, be- 
 sides taking a great number of copies. I told you before,' con- 
 tinued he, ' that a receipt from the editor for a certain sum 
 monthly had been found among the papers of the Bourbons 3 
 on my return from Elba. I do not know whether they con- 
 tinue to pay him now or not. In that year also a great num- 
 ber of pamphlets against the Bourbons were written in Lon- 
 don, a copy printed and sent to them with a threat to publish 
 the same unless they were paid. The Bourbons were great- 
 ly afraid of these publications, and greedily bought them up. 
 One in particular, a terrible libel against the Gtueen of France, 
 cost them a great deal of money to suppress.' He had had, 
 he added, thirty clerks in Paris constantly employed in an 
 office translating the English newspapers and such English 
 works of merit, whether political or otherwise, as appear- 
 ed. Extracts of any matters which appeared to be of 
 any importance were daily made and submitted to him, 
 but he did not, he said, as had been asserted, cause them 
 to be translated in his presence, or endeavor to accompany 
 the translator in his progress ; he did not then, he said, know 
 even the English article ' the.' ' Indeed, I did not,' contin- 
 ued he, ' esteem them of sufficient importance to learn the lan- 
 guage purposely, especially as I had letters and intelligence 
 constantly from the spies in England. The papers, however 
 served to confirm their information by the accounts they gave 
 of the movements of troops, sailing and assembling of ships, 
 and other measures of Government.' He added, however, 
 that he lamented his not having known English himself 
 since, in order that he might have been able himself to com- 
 prehend the right meaning of the English without having re- 
 course to another person. 
 
 " I have the honor, &c. Barry E. O'Meara." 
 
 1 The name of the paper is suppressed in the " Voice" vol. i. p. 408. 
 
 2 " A nnnollfl" ic nrnittpil in thp " VniPP." 
 
430 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe transmitted this letter to Lord Bathurst 
 with the following remarks : 
 
 " The subject of the editor of the ' Times' newspaper hav- 
 ing been kept in pay by the Bourbon family has been fre- 
 quently mentioned by General Bonaparte, and he appears to 
 have recurred to it on the present occasion for the express 
 purpose of having it repeated. The ' Times' is the only 
 newspaper he regularly receives, and this he has from me. 
 He is very desirous of having some other papers, and partic- 
 ularly, I believe, the ' Morning Chronicle :' he would wish 
 also to receive some of the foreign journals. I have recently 
 sent him a whole series of the 'Ambigu,' with which, not- 
 withstanding its being in so opposite an interest to his, he 
 has been on the whole much gratified." 
 
 It is almost needless to arrest the course of the narrative 
 for the purpose of exposing a misrepresentation by Count Mon- 
 tholon, especially in a matter where even O'Meara has con- 
 tradicted him ; but it may be worth while to mention that 
 the Count speaks of Napoleon as suffering at this time under 
 alarming illness, which existed only in his own imagination. 
 He says, " Symptoms of dysentery showed themselves, and we 
 knew too well by experience what were the dangers of this 
 malady under the burning climate of St. Helena. For three 
 days our anxiety was extreme, though the disorder did not 
 make any progress, but there was danger until the calomel 
 had taken what the doctors call its effect. At length on the 
 fifth day he was much better : on the eighth day the Empe- 
 ror found himself well enough to take the air in the garden, 
 but, perceiving Sir Hudson Lowe and two or three officers 
 approaching, he returned immediately." . . . . " This attack 
 of dysentery becoming known in the island, notwithstanding 
 the care which Sir Hudson Lowe took to envelope Longwood 
 in an impenetrable vail, the Commissioners were excited ; they 
 required official communications respecting the Emperor's 
 health, and renewed their applications to see him. The Gov- 
 ernor would not yield the question of free communications with 
 Longwood, but consented to give them copies of the bulletins 
 
March, 1817. HIS HEALTH. 431 
 
 which he received from the surgeon. This circumstance was 
 the beginning of a serious and personal quarrel with Dr. 
 O'Meara." 1 All these assertions are untrue. Napoleon's 
 illness, instead of exciting extreme anxiety for three days, was 
 very slight : he only complained on the 2d, and was perfectly 
 well on the 3d. He took no calomel, nor any other medicine. 
 No discussion occurred with the Foreign Commissioners ; and 
 the quarrel about bulletins did not arise until many months 
 afterward. 
 
 The account which O'Meara gives of Napoleon's health at 
 this period in his " Voice from St. Helena," 2 under date the 
 2d of March, is the following : — " Saw Napoleon in his dress- 
 ing-room, lying on his sofa. He was rather low-spirited, looked 
 pale, and complained of diarrhoea .... 3d March : Saw Na- 
 poleon dressing. Free from any complaint. In very high 
 spirits. Laughed and quizzed me about some young ladies, 
 and asked me to give him all the little news of the town." 
 And he wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe a letter., dated Longwood, 
 March 5th, 1817, in which speaking of Bonaparte, he says, 
 " He had on the 2d of this month a slight diarrhoea, which, 
 however, had a salutary tendency, and has since ceased with- 
 out any medicine having been used, or any necessity for it. 
 Yesterday he was very cheerful, and in better spirits than I 
 have, I think, ever seen him before." 
 
 The Tortoise store-ship, which left England on the 1 8th of 
 December arrived at St. Helena on the 5th of March, and 
 brought the Governor several dispatches from Earl Bathurst. 
 In the midst of his harassing and anxious duties, it was grati- 
 fying to Sir Hudson Lowe to find that his conduct was warmly 
 approved of by the English Government. In a letter dated 
 October, 1816, Lord Bathurst said — 
 
 "lam commanded to convey to you his Royal Highness's 
 entire approbation of your conduct under the difficult circum- 
 stances in which you have been recently placed, in consequence 
 of the intemperance of General Bonaparte, the general insubor- 
 dination of his attendants, and the insolence of General Ber- 
 
 1 Ricits, vol. ii. pp. 92-94. 2 Vol. i. p. 399. 
 
432 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 trand in his late communications with you. 1 I have much 
 satisfaction in helieving that whatever doubts you may have 
 felt as to the mode in which you were required to conduct 
 yourself toward the attendants of General Bonaparte under 
 similar circumstances will have been effectually removed by 
 my dispatch of the 17th of July, and I have little doubt but 
 that upon its receipt (unless, indeed, the subsequent conduct 
 of General Bertrand should have been such as to atone for 
 the impn-priety of that which forms the subject of your dis- 
 patch) you will have at once removed him from St. Helena. 
 I have, indeed, reason to believe that it is the wish of Gene- 
 ral Bertrand to leave the island, and that the real object of 
 his late conduct has been to provoke a compulsory removal, 
 and thus to reconcile his present abandonment of General 
 Bonaparte with his former professions of devotion and attach- 
 ment. "With respect to General Bonaparte himself, I deem 
 it unnecessary to give any further instruction. I am confident 
 that your own disposition will prompt you to anticipate the 
 wishes of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and make 
 every allowance which the effect of so sudden a change of 
 situation can not fail to produce on a person of his irritable 
 temper. You will, however, not permit your forbearance or 
 generosity toward him to interfere with any regulations which 
 may have been established for preventing his escape, or which 
 you may hereafter consider necessary for the better security 
 of his person. With respect to the expenditure of General 
 Bonaparte's household, you are correct in supposing that the 
 estimate £8000 a year was made with reference to a proba- 
 
 1 The French officers had flattered themselves that Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 conduct was condemned by Ministers. Under the date of the 21st of 
 February, 1817, Count Montholon says, " O'Meara told us that there 
 was a report in the town that the Governor had received dispatches of 
 high importance for us, and that he was strongly blamed by his Gov- 
 ernment for having given cause for our complaints, which had excited 
 public opinion in our favor.'' And again, on the 7th of March, "The 
 Commissioners whom General Gourgaud met in his walk said that the 
 English Ministers had censured Sir Hudson Lowe, and that there was 
 a question of sending back Sir George Cockburn to St. Helena. The 
 Emperor rejoiced at this news." — Rccits vol. ii. pp. 87, 95. 
 
March, 1817. LONGWOOD EXPENSES. 4S3 
 
 ble reduction of the numbers originally attached to it ; as the 
 contemplated reduction may not have taken place, I am aware 
 that an increased expenditure is required, and I therefore see 
 no objection to authorizing such additional expense as you 
 may deem necessary, but on no account exceeding £4000. 
 Should it not be in your power otherwise to bring the expenses 
 within this limit, and should General Bonaparte still decline 
 bearing, as originally proposed, the excess above that sum, 
 there will remain no other alternative than that of putting the 
 establishment upon fixed allowances, so as to bring the charge 
 within the specified limits." 
 
 In another dispatch, dated November 22, 1816, which ar- 
 rived at the same time, Lord Bathurst said that, in prescrib- 
 ing first the sum of £8000 a year, and afterward that of 
 £12,000, as the limit within which it would be proper to con- 
 fine the annua] charge of Bonaparte's establishment, he had 
 acted under an impression that those sums would, under the 
 arrangements then in contemplation, be adequate to provide 
 for him every comfort and convenience which could be sug- 
 gested by a liberal consideration of his present as compared 
 with his former situation. He then added — " The papers 
 inclosed in your dispatch appeared satisfactorily to prove the 
 present inadequacy even of the augmented allowance of 
 £12,000, and I have therefore no difficulty in authorizing 
 you to incur on General Bonaparte's account such additional 
 charge as may be necessary to provide against any reduction 
 in the expenditure of which he can reasonably complain. In 
 giving you, however, this discretionary power, I must beg you 
 to pay the utmost attention to an economical administration 
 of the expense, and to use your constant endeavor to make 
 such arrangements for reducing as far as may be practicable 
 the present high price of provisions, which, while it increases 
 the demand upon this country, presses with no less severity 
 upon the inhabitants of the island. Should General Bona- 
 parte require any additional articles of luxury, the expense 
 will of course have to be defrayed from such funds as he may 
 himself have the means of providing. But you will take care 
 so to regulate these expenses that they may not interfere with 
 Vol. I.— T 
 
434 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. Xlll. 
 
 a due regard to your authority, nor in any manner endanger 
 the safe custody of General Bonaparte's person." 
 
 At the same time Lord Bathurst, in a separate dispatch, 
 adverted to the proposition made hy Bonaparte to procure 
 remittances on his own account for defraying the expenses of 
 his establishment, provided he might have the liberty of car- 
 rying on the correspondence necessary for that purpose uncon- 
 trolled by any examination of his letters. Lord Bathurst said — 
 
 " If he can establish a correspondence in Europe by which 
 he may obtain an uncontrolled command of the vast funds 
 which there is every reason to believe might be thus placed 
 at his disposal, it would be useless to persist in requiring an 
 examination of his correspondence on other subjects, as it 
 would be at once in his power to select whatever it was es- 
 sential for his own purposes to withhold. Unless, therefore, 
 you can so qualify the condition as not to be exposed to such 
 an abuse of the indulgence, it will be fit to persist in the re- 
 fusal of it ; and I have the less reluctance in directing you 
 not to accede to it, as, under the instructions which accom- 
 pany this dispatch, it will not be necessary for General Buo- 
 naparte to come upon his own funds to supply himself with 
 what he can reasonably demand " 
 
 But in a private letter to Sir Hudson Lowe of the same 
 date his Lordship told him, if it should appear to him advisa- 
 ble to give a modified consent to Bonaparte's request, "you 
 may consider yourself at liberty to inform General Buona- 
 parte that you will undertake to transmit one sealed letter 
 without examination to this country, in order to be forwarded to 
 the mercantile house in England to which it maybe address- 
 ed, provided that your remission in this case be not consider- 
 ed as authorizing a general permission to carry on such corre- 
 spondence, and that the sum drawn for be intimated to you at 
 the time, and that its disposal in the island be subjected to 
 your approbation." 
 
 And in another private letter, dated the 14th of December, 
 Lord Bathurst observed, with reference to Napoleon's propo- 
 sition to adopt another name — 
 
March, 1817. CONVERSATION WITH SIR P. MALCOLM. 435 
 
 " On the subject of General Buonaparte's proposition I 
 probably shall not give you any instruction. It appears 
 harsh to refuse it, and there may arise much embarrassment 
 in formally acquiescing in it. You will not, therefore, en- 
 courage any renewal of the conversation. As the proposition 
 was not made by authority, no official answer need be given. 
 I can not conclude without assuring you that the zeal and 
 activity which you show in the discharge of a most invidious 
 and highly responsible duty meets with the approbation of the 
 Government, and of none more belonging to it than, dear Sir, 
 yours very sincerely, Bathurst." 
 
 The embarrassment here alluded to by Lord Bathurst seems 
 to have been that which might arise from a recognition of 
 Bonaparte's right to assume an incognito, which is the priv- 
 ilege of monarchs ; for, as the British Government firmly re- 
 fused to acknowledge him as Emperor, they did not wish to 
 sanction what appeared to be claimed as an incident of sov- 
 ereignty. This may explain what at first sight looks like in- 
 difference on the part of the Ministry to Napoleon's wishes in 
 a matter of no political importance. 
 
 By the same vessel a dispatch arrived from Mr. Goulburn, 
 the Under Secretary of State, who informed Sir Hudson Lowe 
 that Lord Bathurst entirely approved of his having, under the 
 circumstances stated in the Governor's letter, detained the 
 book sent to St. Helena by Mr. Hobhouse. 
 
 Sir Pulteney Malcolm had a long interview with Napoleon 
 on the 7th of March, and his account of what took place is 
 very interesting. 1 It is, therefore, here introduced at length. 
 
 "To Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 " St. Helena, March 8, 1817. 
 " My dear Sir — Yesterday I had an interview with Bona- 
 parte. He had beeen reading the English papers that you 
 had sent him, and was in good spirits. We conversed on 
 
 1 O'Meara does not notice the Admiral's visit. Count Montholon 
 (Recits, vol. ii. p, 96) says they talked a long time in the garden on the 
 state of France, and he gives part of Napoleon's conversation on that 
 subject 
 
436 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 various subjects arising from them. He inquired if the Com- 
 missioners had received any letters by the store-ship. I re- 
 plied in the affirmative. ' Will they, then, see me as individ- 
 uals ?' I did not know, nor did 1 believe that they had ever 
 expressed a desire to see him as such. He said that the 
 Russian had not any objections : ' his expressions in the re- 
 quest that was made to me to see them as Commissioners was 
 different from the others.' He then complained of the late 
 restrictions much in the same terms as he had stated to you 
 in writing, except that he added that the people who are 
 with him had agreed to conform to the restrictions imposed 
 on himself, but they were now subject to some from which 
 he was exempt, alluding to the ride by Miss Mason's. He 
 also said that by the Bill of Parliament the Ministers were 
 empowered to confine him under certain restrictions ; it was 
 for them to say what they should be ; but they could not give 
 that power to others. I answered, they certainly could to the 
 Governor. He contended that, if they gave it to the Governor, 
 he could also to his aid-de-camp. This I would not allow. 
 He said you had refused to permit Count Las Cases to see him 
 before his departure unless in the presence of an officer ; he 
 allowed that there might be consequences in granting this 
 permission, but not so great as the indecorum of refusing it. 
 I replied that Las Cases had the option to remain at St. 
 Helena. He answered that he could not accept of it, as he 
 had been humbled by the conduct that had been observed to- 
 ward him. I said that Las Cases had offended against the 
 laws, and therefore that there was not any hardship in his 
 case. He then said that he was prevented from seeing the 
 Austrian botanist 1 before he quitted the island. ' This man,' 
 he added, ' came from, and was going to, the place where my 
 wife and child resided.' 1 answered, that person had also 
 acted contrary to the law, and could not be permitted to see 
 him. Bonaparte then apologized to me for speaking on these 
 subjects, as he knew that they were not agreeable, but that he 
 had been inadvertently led on to do so. I said that the restric- 
 tion had been modified to please him, and that I was certain 
 
 1 Mr. Welle. See p. 374, ante. 
 
March, 1817. CONVERSATION WITH SIR P. MALCOLM. 437 
 
 that you had every desire to render his situation as pleasant as 
 circumstances would admit. He replied that he could not 
 think so ; for before the sailing of the Orontes he was prepar- 
 ing a letter to be sent to the English Ministers for the Regent, 
 when a proposition was made, through Dr. O'Meara, that I 
 should mediate an arrangement of the differences that sub- 
 sisted between you and him, in consequence of which he did 
 not send the letter ; and yet nothing has been done. I an- 
 swered, this circumstance was unknown to me ; but, as ships 
 were at that time expected from England, I supposed that 
 you had delayed speaking of it till you could learn the senti- 
 ments of Ministers on the events that were the cause of the 
 restrictions being put on. I then observed that, in my opin- 
 ion, most of the misunderstandings that had arisen were from 
 misrepresentations and misconceptions, from the want of a 
 free personal communication. Bonaparte replied, ' Perhaps it 
 was so. The Governor does not understand my character : 
 he has never seen me but when I was irritated, and when I 
 spoke folly.' I replied that I thought he also misunderstood 
 yours ; that, if he had an amicable conversation with you, he 
 would find you possessed considerable talents, had great at- 
 tainments, and a particular knowledge of the events of the 
 period in which he had been so conspicuous. Perhaps you 
 were at first a little quick ; but from all I heard and knew, 
 that you possessed a kind heart. You will forgive me for 
 having been so particular on this point. He spoke of Lord 
 Bathurst's hate toward him, and said he believed he was a 
 bad man. I told him he was in an error as to his Lordship's 
 private character, for he was esteemed and beloved by those 
 who knew him. I referred him to Archdeacon Bathurst's 
 letter, and the reply (which were in the newspapers on his 
 table), for a true account of his Lordship. He said he had 
 read them. He remarked that for several months very few 
 persons visited Longwood, not even to see Madame Bertrand ; 
 the reason was, that they were questioned as to their conver 
 sations, which gentlemen did not like. Sir George Bingham 
 was accustomed to visit at Longwood once a week : they had 
 not seen him for months till the other day. I replied that he 
 
438 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 himself had precluded visitors from Longwood by his letter to 
 the Governor requesting him not to grant passports. He made 
 no answer, but again apologized for the conversation. I never 
 saw him so moderate ; and I think, judging from his manner, 
 that any indulgence that you may show him will be well re- 
 ceived. As far as I can recollect this is the substance of all 
 that passed that had the smallest relation to Bonaparte's situ- 
 ation at St. Helena. On this, and every other occasion, I 
 have always made it a duty to inform you of his sentiments 
 on that subject, as expressed to me in our conversations. I 
 have the honor, ice. Pulteney Malcolm. 
 
 " I have omitted to state that, in speaking of the letters 
 written by Counts Bertrand and Montholon, I said that neither 
 you nor Sir George Cockburn, in my opinion, had taken suf- 
 ficient notice of such improper letters. I was satisfied that, 
 when he was in power, he would have been very angry with 
 any of his governors who had conducted themselves in so 
 lenient a manner as you had done toward those who, by their 
 indecorous language, had insulted Government. He replied 
 that allowances should be made for their particular situations. 1 
 I answered that it was not difficult to be civil when writing 
 from the closet." 
 
 To this letter Sir Hudson Lowe replied a few days after- 
 ward ; and, after thanking Sir Pulteney for the favorable man- 
 ner in which he had spoken of him to Napoleon, he said — 
 
 " In ascribing, however, to me a certain quickness of tem- 
 per, I am willing to suppose you did not refer to any circum- 
 stance of my personal communications with him. It would, 
 I think, have been failing greatly toward a person in his sit- 
 uation to show it. I dare appeal to your own recollection of 
 the only conversation you witnessed between us, whether, in 
 the opening of it, the progress, or the close, any thing of this 
 manner was apparent in me. If I gave way to the expres- 
 sion of indignant feeling at the extraordinary language and 
 
 1 Napoleon, however, did not state that he himself was in fact the 
 author of the letters alluded to, they having been written from his dic- 
 tation. 
 
March, 1817. THE GOVERNOR'S DEFENSE. 439 
 
 accusations with which he attacked me, it was, to the best 
 of my own judgment, neither too unprovokedly nor quickly 
 uttered. I am the more particular on this point, as it is the 
 only time you saw us together. I come now to a further part, 
 where Bonaparte observed few persons visited Longwood not 
 even to see Madame Bertrand — ' the reason ivas they ivere 
 questioned as to the conversation, which gentlemen did not 
 like.' He has himself, as you very justly observed, excluded 
 all visits to Longwood for these six months past by the letter 
 he caused to be addressed to me ; and since that period you 
 are almost the only English person who has had any long 
 conversations with him. But when visitors did go I was 
 not in the habit of troubling them with interrogations, and 
 can boldly appeal to every person who has been admitted to 
 visit at Longwood, or the Bertrands, for the delicacy I have 
 observed on this point. I should not, however, the less ex- 
 pect, if any thing important for me to learn was said, that it 
 should be made known to me. If I thought reserve practiced, 
 I -would not hesitate to question — considering any conversa- 
 tion had with General Bonaparte, or the persons of his suite, 
 which has relation to my duties on this island, or embraces 
 any subject of political interest, ought, as a matter of course, 
 to be communicated to me, as well from regard to the situa- 
 tion I fill here, as to the confidence which Government has 
 reposed in me, being at the same time rendered by their in- 
 structions the responsible person for all conversations with 
 him. I am perhaps the more particular on this point on ac- 
 count of the difficulty his conduct has thrown in the way of 
 my own relations with him. Sir George Bingham visited 
 Longwood, even after the letter requesting me to give no 
 further passports. He did not repeat his visits, because Bo- 
 naparte held an improper style of communication before him ; 
 and I feel infinitely obliged to him for marking his sense of it 
 in so proper a manner. The manner in which you expressed 
 your opinion to General Bonaparte of the notice taken by Sir 
 George Cockburn and myself of the letters addressed to us by 
 Counts Bertrand and Montholon will have impressed him 
 with your disapprobation of their conduct, and perhaps in 
 
440 CAPTIVITY" OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 this way may have some good effect. I have not hefore me 
 the letters of Sir George Cockburn, nor do I know the motives 
 that dictated his reply. The only letter of any significance 
 which I received from Count Bertrand was not, as well as I 
 recollect, shown to you, nor my reply. I shall have much 
 pleasure in showing them. You will, I think, say I could 
 not go much further. Supposing I had resolved on sending 
 Count Bertrand away, what was to be done with his wife 
 and children — she on the point of lying in, and unable to 
 move ? The letter you saw with me from Count Montholon 
 was written by the express commands and dictation of Gene- 
 ral Bonaparte. The Count, however, by no means escaped 
 notice for it ; but until I received instructions on such a point 
 I was careful it should not be of such a nature as to forward 
 and assist the particular object for which General Bonaparte 
 made him write it. Besides, if I had sent him away, what 
 was to be done with the Countess, in the same situation as 
 Madame Bertrand? Count Las Cases' case was very differ- 
 ent : acts in direct violation of the law, clandestine and in- 
 sidious, were those which he attempted, and the example 
 properly fell on him who was working most in the dark. 
 "Whatever was the system pursued with the others, they have 
 evidently both amended it. On the whole, Sir, I beg leave 
 to express my best acknowledgments for the obligingness and 
 interest of your communication to me. I can not be more 
 desirous than I always have been to yield every indulgence 
 to General Bonaparte that my instructions can possibly ad- 
 mit. I have modified some of the restrictions, and have 
 tried, as you know, to do the same with others, but the prin- 
 ciple of the Regulations must remain the same. What is 
 really irksome in them arises, you must be sensible more from 
 his own manner of viewing and acting upon them than from 
 any positive restraint the Rules themselves impose. It rests, 
 therefore, in a great measure, upon himself to render them 
 easy. He will never find me backward in assisting him to 
 lighten them where an ulterior object is not in view." 
 
 It is, I think, impossible not to admire the tone of this let- 
 
March, 1817. THE GOVERNOR'S DEFENSE. 441 
 
 ter, and the generous anxiety of Sir Hudson Lowe to vindi- 
 cate himself from the imputation of having shown temper in 
 dealing with one who stood toward him in the peculiar rela- 
 tion of Napoleon. Sir Pulteney Malcolm's reply was very 
 satisfactory. He said — 
 
 " I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this 
 day's date, and beg to assure you that my remark on the 
 quickness of your temper did not refer to any circumstance 
 that occurred at your personal conversations with Bonaparte, 
 for both the times that I was present I admired the coolness 
 and the readiness of your replies. In speaking my sentiments 
 of your general character I made use of the expression that I 
 stated to you in my letter of the 8th instant, and, as I had 
 done so, I would not conceal it from you, as it is my maxim 
 in life to be open and candid on all subjects." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe thanked the Admiral for his explanation 
 of the remark made to Bonaparte about his temper, and 
 added — 
 
 " So long as he did not regard it in the light of an ac- 
 knowledgment made to him I am quite at ease about it, 
 otherwise as it stood it might have favored one of the most 
 unfounded accusations he has attempted to bring against me." 
 
 The Governor did not fail to send a copy of Sir Pulteney 
 Malcolm's letter to Earl Bathurst, and pointed out that, if he 
 hati acted toward Count Bertrand and Count Montholon in 
 the stringent manner suggested by the Admiral, he would 
 have fallen under the species of reproach and attack which 
 Sir Pulteney himself seemed solicitous for him on other occa- 
 sions to avoid. He added, in a spirit of fairness and candor — 
 
 " Whatever may have been the system pursued, nothing 
 can possibly be more quiet and orderly than they all now 
 seem to be ; and I wish to acknowledge particularly the right 
 and correct line of conduct that the Countess Bertrand, as well 
 indeed as Countess Montholon, have invariably maintained, 
 and which has been, indeed, such as would have justly ex- 
 posed me to the reproach of inhumanity and want of atten- 
 
442 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 tion-to female delicacy had I separated their husbands from 
 them in the comfortless situation they would have been left, 
 both at the time at the point of lying-in, and literally unable 
 to move." 
 
 On the 14th of this month Sir Hudson wrote to Count Ber- 
 trand a note, inclosing his observations in answer to Napo- 
 leon's remarks on the regulations as altered in October, 1816. 
 These observations were afterward constantly spoken of by 
 the French exiles as restrictions, although that name is wholly 
 inappropriate. They were rather a relaxation of restrictions, 
 but their chief object was explanation. 1 
 
 In the early part of the year 1816 a book had appeared 
 in England, 2 written by Mr. Warden, surgeon on board the 
 Northumberland, who having, while at St. Helena, been called 
 in to attend General Gourgaud during an attack of illness, 
 thus obtained access to Longwood, and afterward published 
 an account of its inmates, and of conversations which he pro- 
 fessed to have had with Napoleon. The work, however, was 
 utterly undeserving of credit. General Gourgaud, in a letter 
 to his mother, dated the 17th of March, 1816, called it a 
 "mere tissue of falsehoods" (tin vrai tissu de menso?iges), and 
 Count Las Cases described it as " very erroneous." 3 Two 
 copies were sent to the Governor of St. Helena, which he re- 
 ceived in the month of March, 1817, and, as several extracts 
 from the book had appeared in the newspapers, which he 
 thought would excite the curiosity of Bonaparte, he forwarded 
 one of them to him. "Writing to Lord Bathurst, on the 29th 
 of that month, he mentioned that he had on the preceding 
 day called on Madame Bertrand at Longwood, when she en- 
 tered fully on the subject of Dr. Warden's publication, and he 
 said, " Nothing can exceed the ridicule and contemptuous in- 
 dignation with which the work is treated." And in a. letter 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe, on the 10th of March, O'Meara thus 
 describes Bonaparte's opinion of it : 
 
 1 They will be found in No. 45 of the Letters and Documents at the 
 end of the work. 
 
 2 " Letters written on board H.M.S. the Northumberland at St. 
 Helena, &c. London." (No date.) 3 "Journal," April, 1817. 
 
March, 1817. MR. WARDEN'S BOOK. 443 
 
 " I then asked him what he thought of Warden's hook. He 
 replied, ' The foundation of it is true ; hut in it there are cento 
 coglionerie e cento bugie (a hundred absurdities and a hun- 
 dred lies). He has badly understood Las Cases, who I see 
 now does not understand English. I see that he can not trans- 
 late the meaning of French words into English ; for in that 
 work there are several misrepresentations, which no doubt 
 arose from his having badly explained himself, because the 
 other could not speak French. He has put down a hundred 
 things a torto eel a traverso. He has acted wrong also in 
 making me speak ; for he puts down almost every thing as 
 if I had been speaking all the time, or as if he could have 
 understood me. He has put into my mouth expressions un- 
 worthy of me, and not at all in my style. Any person who 
 knows me will easily see that it is not mj style. Three-fourths 
 of what he [represents he] has heard me say never came out 
 of my mouth." 1 
 
 And yet in England this worthless book was relied on as 
 an authority. It went through several editions, and the " Ed- 
 inburgh Review" said it was a book which " we can safely 
 recommend to our readers as one of the few works on Napo- 
 leon that is neither sullied by adulation nor disgraced by scur- 
 rility." 2 The " Quarterly," however, denounced the work as 
 founded in falsehood ; described the author as a "blundering, 
 presumptuous, and falsifying scribbler ;" and exposed his nu- 
 merous errors and misrepresentations with acuteness and abil- 
 ity. 3 That he deserved the severe criticism with which he 
 is there handled, there can now be no doubt, but it is melan- 
 choly to think that such catchpenny publications should have 
 been palmed off upon the world as authentic records of Na- 
 poleon's captivity, and that this kind of evidence should still 
 
 1 See also the "Voice," vol. i. pp. 415, 416. In a private letter to 
 Lord Bathurst, on the 3d of April, 1817, Sir Hudson Lowe said, " Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte has not ceased to talk of Mr. Warden's book. He says 
 one can not read ten pages in it without saying, " Voila un fat !" 
 
 2 No. LIV. Dec. 1816. 
 
 3 No. XXXI. Oct. 1816; and see No. XXXII. Jan. 1817, pp. 486, 
 487. 
 
444 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 influence men's minds in judging of the conduct of the British 
 Government and Sir Hudson Lowe toward him. 
 
 In a dispatch of the 18th of March to Earl Bathurst, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, after commenting at considerable length upon 
 the surgeon's misstatements, said — 
 
 " The object for which Mr. "Warden's book has been ushered 
 to the world is sufficiently obvious. In the preface he says 
 it has owed its publicity to the persecutions of his friends at 
 home. It may be of some importance to your Lordship to be 
 informed his intention of publishing something was known 
 before he left St. Helena; and to one gentleman in particular 
 he said that the reason why he supposed General Bonaparte 
 communicated with him so fully on certain points of his life 
 was because he considered him as the channel through which 
 favorable accounts might reach the British public. In the 
 pursuit of such an object, avowed by the individual who lent 
 himself to it, any reflection by which discredit might be cast 
 upon the officer under whose particular custody the person to 
 be thus favored was placed presented itself as a natural means 
 to be availed of, and General Bonaparte seems to have found 
 in Mr. Warden an instrument even outstepping his own im- 
 mediate views. This person was at the time in the service 
 of Government, and had obtained access to Longwood only 
 through the ostensible pretext of his professional duties." 
 
 In a letter of the 23d of March Sir Hudson Lowe again 
 thus alluded to Mr. Warden's publication : 
 
 "Your Lordship can not avoid being struck with the pro- 
 digious effrontery of Mr. Warden's attempt to impose upon 
 the credulity of the British public with the relation of long 
 conversations that never occurred between two persons that 
 had no knowledge of each other's language — it appearing the 
 book is almost wholly made up of stories collected at his secret 
 meetings with Las Cases, or of garbled interpretations on the 
 part of the latter of what General Bonaparte said ; while Mr. 
 Warden's relation of his own part of the long conversations 
 he had bears evident internal marks of after composition." 
 
 During; the month of March O'Meara made several written 
 
March, 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 445 
 
 communications to the Governor of conversations which he 
 had with Bonaparte, and with a few variations and additions 
 they correspond with those he has published in his work. 
 They are, however, of sufficient interest to bear repetition. 
 On the 15th of March O'Meara wrote — 
 
 " In the course of a conversation 1 which took place between 
 General Bonaparte and myself touching the famous inscrip- 
 tion upon General Gourgaud's sword, purporting that he had 
 on a certain day and place saved General Bonaparte from 
 being killed by a Cossack (a circumstance which General Bo- 
 naparte positively contradicts, and declares never occurred), I 
 took an opportunity of asking him if he had ever been really in 
 danger of being either killed or taken by the Cossacks. His 
 reply was, ' At the battle of Brienne.' ' Brienne !' I repeated, 
 with some surprise. ' Yes, Brienne, in France,' said he. ' I re- 
 collect that about twenty or twenty-five Uhlans, not Cossacks, 
 got round one of the wings of my army, and there endeavored 
 to fall upon some of the artillery. It was at the close of day, 
 and just commencing to be dark. They stumbled some how 
 or another upon me and some of my etat-majeur. When they 
 saw us they were quite lost, and did not know what to do. 
 They did not, however, know that they were so near to me, 
 nor, indeed who I was ; neither did I myself, for some time, 
 know who they wore. I thought they were some of my own 
 troops. Caulincourt, however, perceived who they were, and 
 called out to me, " Sire, we are among enemies." Just at 
 this moment these Uhlans, frightened, and not knowing where 
 they were, began to fly and endeavored to escape in all direc- 
 tions, and my staff began to fire upon them here and there. 
 One of them galloped so close to me, without knowing me 
 however, as to touch my knee violently with his hand. At 
 first I thought that he was one of my own staff who was 
 riding roughly by me, and actually raised my hand with an 
 intention of giving him a slap in the face ; but, looking round, 
 
 1 This conversation is given in nearly the same words in the " Voice," 
 vol. i. pp. 427—430 ; but O'Meara Joes not there say that it commenced 
 on the subject of the inscription on General Gourgaud's sword, to which 
 he does not allude. 
 
446 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 I perceived he was an enemy. I then put my hand down to 
 draw one of my pistols from the holsters in order to fire at 
 him ; but the moment was past — he was gone. He had a 
 spear in his hand at the charge ; but it was with the other 
 hand he touched me in brushing violently past me. Whether 
 he was killed or not I do not know. This day I drew my 
 sword, which was a circumstance that very seldom occurred, 
 as I gained battles, you know, by my eye, and not by my arm. 
 These Uhlans were, I believe, entirely, or nearly so, cut to 
 pieces afterward.' I then asked him if he thought that he 
 had been in any very great peril that day. He replied, ' No, 
 not at all — it was an accident entirely. My cavalry was in 
 another part of the field at the time ; it was entirely an acci- 
 dent. It is possible, certainly, that I might have been killed ; 
 but they thought more of running away themselves than of 
 killing any of us.' I then asked him if he had ever been 
 really in danger of being either taken or killed by the Cossacks 
 during his retreat from Russia. He replied, ' No, I never 
 was. I had always with me a guard sufficiently strong to 
 repel any attack from them, or to admit of any apprehension 
 as to the result in case of an attack being made by them.' " 
 
 In his Journal of the 24th of March, O'Meara says that 
 " Napoleon complained of swellings in his legs," for which he 
 recommended some simple remedies. In his letter to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe on the 25th his account is this : 
 
 " He yesterday complained of a papillose eruption of a tri- 
 fling nature in his legs, which, however, did not affect his 
 general health or spirits. He was in very good humor, and 
 laughed very heartily 1 on reading the ' Secret Memoirs' of 
 
 1 In the " Voice' 5 (vol. i. p. 456) nothing is said of Napoleon being 
 then in "good humor," or "laughing heartily;" but on the next day, 
 the 25th, O'Meara says Napoleon's legs were " much better : in very 
 good spirits" (ibid. p. 457). We may here notice another discrepancy 
 in the accounts of Napoleon's health and spirits in March, 1817. On 
 the 16th, says Count Montholon (" Recits," vol. ii. p. 98), " the Emperor 
 has passed a bad night, and is suffering much (' tres souffrant') ; however 
 the news of the arrival of the fleet from China makes him resolve to 
 dress himself," &c. On the 16th says O'Meara (" Voice," vol. i. p. 434), 
 " Saw the Emperor in the drawing-room : he was in extremely good 
 spirits, laughed repeatedly, joked me," &c. 
 
Majich, 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 447 
 
 himself, written by a person who had been fifteen years about 
 him. On seeing a book entitled ' The State of France under 
 Napoleon Bonaparte,' he observed that the author of it, M. 
 Pichon, had been Consul in America, and had been disgraced 
 by him for having defrauded him of three millions, a part of 
 which he was obliged to refund ; ' for,' continued he, ' I was 
 extremely particular with the consuls and other commercial 
 agents with respect to their accounts, which I caused them 
 to furnish to myself, and always examined them most minutely 
 myself. This Pichon, after my return from Elba (after he 
 had published this libel), was sent by me to London as a spy 
 — at least he was so far sent by me as that I suffered and even 
 recommended it, as, though he was a rascal (coquin), yet he 
 had some esprit. He was sent in order to report about the 
 state of affairs and public opinion in London, the plans of the 
 Ministers, and to pick up all the information he could about 
 the state, numbers, &c, of Wellington's army in Belgium — in 
 fact, to collect all the information he could, as he, from his 
 writings, would be less suspected than others n He walked 
 out yesterday beyond the stables into the park for some time, 
 and was in very good spirits." 
 
 On the 28th of March O'Meara wrote — 
 
 " In the course of a conversation, a few days back, 2 with 
 General Bonaparte respecting our late embassy to China, on 
 being informed by me that Lord Amherst had refused to 
 comply with some humiliating ceremonies required of him 
 (the nature of which I explained to him), he observed, ' that 
 he thought the English Ministers had acted wrong in not 
 having ordered Lord Amherst to comply with the custom of 
 the place he was sent to, or that they ought not to have 
 sent him at all.' I replied, that I thought the English would 
 have considered it as debasing the nation if Lord Amherst 
 had consented to prostrate himself in the humiliating manner 
 required ; that, if such a point had been conceded to the 
 
 1 The particular objects of Pichon's espionage are omitted in the 
 "Voice" (vol i. p. 457.) 
 a This conversation is abridged in the "Voice," vol. i. pp. 469-473. 
 
448 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 Chinese, in all probability they would not have been content- 
 ed there, but would subsequently require similar ceremonies 
 to those insisted upon by the Japanese, and complied with so 
 disgracefully by the Dutch ; that, besides, Lord Amherst had of- 
 fered to render the same obeisance to the Emperor as he would 
 have done to his own King. He replied, ' It is quite a differ- 
 ent thing. One is a mere ceremony performed by all the great 
 men of the nation to their chief, and the other was a national 
 degradation required of strangers, and of strangers only. It 
 is my opinion that whatever is the custom of a nation, and is 
 practiced by the first characters of that nation toward their chief 
 can not degrade strangers who perform the same. Different 
 nations have different customs. In England, at Court, you 
 kiss the King's hand. Such a thing in France would be con- 
 sidered ridiculous, and the persons who did it held up to 
 public scorn ; but still the French embassador who did so in 
 England would not be considered as having degraded himself 
 by so doing. In England, some hundred years back, the 
 King was served kneeling ; the same ceremony now takes 
 place in Spain. In Italy you kiss the Pope's toe ; yet no per- 
 son is considered degraded by having done so. A man going 
 into a country must comply with the ceremonies in use there ; 
 and it would have been no degradation whatever for Lord Am- 
 herst to have submitted to such ceremonies before the Emperor 
 of China as are performed by the first mandarin of that empire. 
 You say that he was willing to render such respect as that 
 paid to your own King. You have no right to send a man 
 to China, to tell them that they must perform such and such 
 ceremonies because such are practiced in England. Suppose 
 now, for example's sake, that it was the custom in England, 
 
 instead of kissing the King's hand, that he should ! 
 
 Why, then, the Emperor of China, forsooth, must 
 
 because it was the' practice in England ! If I,' continued 
 he, ' had sent an embassador to China, I would have ordered 
 him to make himself acquainted with the ceremonies per- 
 formed before the Emperor by the first mandarin, and to do 
 the same himself, if required. I would either have done this, 
 or not sent one at all. Now, perhaps, through this piece of 
 
March, 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 449 
 
 " coglioneria," you will lose the friendship of a flourishing 
 nation, and great commercial advantages.' I said that we 
 could easily compel the Chinese to good terms hy means of a 
 few ships of war ; that, for example, we could deprive them 
 altogether of salt by two or three cruizers properly stationed. 
 He replied, ' To go to war with an immense empire like 
 China, possessing so many resources and so distant from you, 
 would he the worst thing you have done for a series of years. 
 They would be compelled to adopt measures to defend them- 
 selves against you, and you would teach them their own 
 strength. They would get artificers and shipbuilders, and 
 every thing else necessary, from France, America, and even 
 from London, and in the course of time defeat you. 1 If I,' 
 continued he, ' had any thing to do with your Cabinet, I 
 would strongly oppose such a ruinous measure.' Shortly 
 afterward I entered upon the subject of universal dominion 
 with him and his meditated views upon England. I said 
 that we had thought for a length of time that nothing short 
 of universal dominion would have satisfied his ambition, and 
 that it was his positive intention to have united England to 
 France as a province. He replied, ' As to universal dominion, 
 I certainly aimed at rendering France the most powerful of 
 all ; but so far from desiring more, it was my intention to 
 have formed Italy into an independent kingdom, and to have 
 given it to my second son, as I had hopes of having another. 
 There are natural bounds to France which I did not intend 
 to pass. With respect to uniting England to France, I had 
 no idea of the kind.' Here I observed that he had said to me 
 that perhaps he might have done so if he had succeeded in 
 his invasion. He replied, 'No, no; you must have misun- 
 derstood me. I intended, if I had succeeded in my pro- 
 jected descent, to have abolished the monarchy, and to have 
 established a republic. I would have separated Ireland, from 
 England, and made her an independent republic. I would 
 have made them both republics, and independent of each 
 other. I would have sown the seeds of republicanism in 
 
 1 The remainder of the conversation given in the text is omitted in 
 the "Voice." 
 
450 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIII. 
 
 their " morale," and then left them to themselves to manage 
 things between them as well as they could. As to annexing 
 England to France, upon mature deliberation I conceived 
 that it would have been impossible to have united two na- 
 tions so dissimilar in ideas, and that it would have been as 
 difficult to effect as tohave brought together India and Europe.' 
 He also said that, after Amiens, he would have concluded a 
 good peace with England — that is to say, a peace which 
 would establish the commercial relations of the two countries 
 upon a similar and equal footing : for example, that, if a 
 million in value of English colonial or other goods was taken 
 by France, the value of a million in French products should 
 in like manner be taken by England." 
 
 On sending the preceding letter to Earl Bathurst, Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe remarked — 
 
 " Though the accompanying letter contains some expres- 
 sions that, under any other possible circumstances, I could 
 never presume to present to your Lordship's perusal, yet the 
 fidelity with which they are given, and their great original- 
 ity, will, I hope, plead my excuse for the transmission. Dr. 
 O'Meara had informed me of the conversations that had oc- 
 curred ; and, with that readiness he always manifests on 
 such occasions, immediately wrote them down for me." 
 
 The reports of the orderly officer during this month show 
 that Bonaparte at this time did not neglect walking exercise, 
 and that his health was good. Thus : 
 
 " March 5. General Bonaparte was in the garden for some 
 time yesterday evening : appeared to be in very good spirits. 
 Madame Bertrand is much pleased with the piano. 26th. 
 General Bonaparte was out for an hour and a half yesterday 
 evenin"-. Walked .in the woods with the two ladies, and 
 afterward sat in the front of the house until after sunset." 
 
 To the transactions in March must be added three in- 
 stances of gross misconduct on the part of British subjects, 
 which have been recently brought to light by the revelations of 
 Count Montholon. He says that, when Napoleon wished to 
 
March, 1817. DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 451 
 
 send some notes to Europe which he had written on Mr. 
 Warden's book, he took advantage of the offer of an officer of 
 the garrison who was returning to England j 1 and that on 
 another occasion the captain of an East-Indiaman, who had 
 been presented at Longwood, proposed to place his ship at 
 Bonaparte's disposal for his escape. About the same time an 
 officer of the garrison suggested a plan for Napoleon's evasion, 
 the success of which, according to Montholon, was certain, 
 and the details are given. 3 And yet the historians of the 
 Captivity complain of the needless severity of the Regula- 
 tions ! 
 
 On the 17th of March an important debate took place in the 
 House of Lords respecting the treatment of Bonaparte. The 
 newspapers containing the speeches of Lord Holland and Lord 
 Bathurst, on that occasion, reached St. Helena in June ; and 
 Napoleon dictated some severe remarks upon the speech of 
 the latter, which were afterward published, and are given at 
 the end of the work, together with Sir Hudson Lowe's com- 
 ments upon them. 
 
 1 " Recits," vol. ii. p. 97. - Ibid. p. 100. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 STORY OF THE BUST OF NAPOLEON'S SON MR. ELPHINSTONe's 
 
 PRESENT, AND CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING IT SANTINl's 
 
 PAMPHLET, " APPEAL TO THE BRITISH NATION" NEWSPA- 
 PERS AT LONGWOOD PROPOSAL THAT ADMIRAL SIR PUL- 
 
 TENEY MALCOLM SHOULD MEDIATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 
 
 NAPOLEON AND THE GOVERNOR ARRIVAL OF ADMIRAL 
 
 PLAMPIN LORD AMHERST'S INTERVIEW WITH BONAPARTE 
 
 INTERROGATORY OF CAPTAIN POPPLETON, THE ORDERLY 
 
 OFFICER. 
 
 Few incidents occurred in April or May this year, and 
 hardly any which would interest the reader. Bonaparte 
 sometimes amused himself with chess, and at the end of March 
 played two games with Lady Malcolm, who had the honor 
 of winning the first from him. He used to walk in the even- 
 ing, and, returning home, sat in front of the house until it 
 was dusk. When the races took place he was a spectator of 
 them through his spy-glass, and, seeing Captain Poppleton 
 pass by, sent Count Montholon to ask him who was the win- 
 ner. On the 11th of May O'Meara writes to Sir Thomas 
 Reade and tells him that the weather is very bad, hut that 
 Bonaparte is in very good humor ; and a day or two after- 
 ward he acknowledges the receipt of some oranges, which he 
 says he has sent in to Napoleon, and knows that nothing can 
 be more acceptable. He adds that General Gourgaud was 
 quite in raptures with a lady who had paid them a visit, and 
 that Madame Bertrand pronounced her to be a perfect French- 
 woman in appearance, " which is the ne plus ultra of com- 
 pliment from a Frenchwoman." 
 
 But these friendly and gossiping communications from 
 O'Meara were soon to come to an end, and the quarrels be- 
 tween him and the Governor were not far distant which con- 
 verted him into an enemy, and in after years produced the 
 
May. 1817. BTTST OF NAPOLEON'S SON. 453 
 
 " Voice from St. Helena," in which he so amply avenged him- 
 self. We must, however, now advert to a circumstance which 
 happened about this time, and which, from the use made of 
 it to damage the character of Sir Hudson Lowe, is of some 
 importance. 
 
 It was one of the cruel misrepresentations to which he was 
 exposed that he had thrown unnecessary and vexatious ob- 
 stacles in the way of Napoleon receiving a marble bust of his 
 son, the young Due de Reichstadt, and had even suggested 
 that it should be destroyed to prevent it from reaching Long- 
 wood. Nothing can be more unfair than the way in which 
 O'Meara insinuates the truth of the former of these charges. 
 After quoting a passionate speech of Napoleon about the statue 
 not having been sent, when he said, " I have been informed 
 that he has been deliberating about it, and also that his Prime 
 Minister Reade ordered it to be broken. I suppose that he 
 has been consulting with that little Major (Gorrequer), who 
 has pointed out to him that it would brand his name with 
 ignominy forever, or that his wife has read him a lecture 
 at night about the atrocity of such a proceeding. He has 
 done enough, however, to dishonor his name by retaining it, 
 and by even allowing a doubt to exist of its being sent up" — 
 O'Meara adds in a note, " The bust had been in the island for 
 fourteen days, during several of which it was at Plantation 
 House," 1 — thus plainly leaving it to be inferred that the 
 alleged delay was attributable to Sir Hudson Lowe. But the 
 statement is simply untrue. The bust was landed on the 
 ldth or 11th of June and sent to Longwood the next day. 
 The following is a narrative of what really happened : 2 
 
 It is not quite clear how the bust was made. One account 
 states that, the ex-Empress Maria Louisa having visited the 
 baths of Leghorn in the summer of 1816, accompanied by her 
 son, a portrait of him was taken, from which two marble 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. ii. p. 100. 
 
 2 As this is just one of those incidents which take hold of the public 
 mind, and it has been made a prominent tropic of reproach against Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, the letters and documents which prove the truth of the 
 narrative in (he text are given at the end of the work 
 
454 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 busts were executed. Prince Esterhazy, however, informed 
 Lord Bathurst that " the likeness of the young prince could 
 not have been taken in Italy, as he never left Vienna since 
 his arrival there." At all events the bust in question was 
 purchased by Messrs. Beaggini in London, in hopes that a 
 favorable opportunity might occur for transmitting it to St. 
 Helena. It happened that a vessel, the Baring, commanded 
 by Captain Lamb, was about to sail there in January, 1817, 
 on board which was a foreign sailor named Rethwick or 
 Radovitch 1 in the capacity of gunner, and to him Messrs. 
 Beaggini confided the bust, with instructions that he was to 
 endeavor to give it to Count Bertrand for Napoleon, and to 
 make no stipulation for any payment, but leave it to the gen- 
 erosity of " the Emperor" to refund their expenses. If, how- 
 ever, Bonaparte wished to know the price, he was to ask 100 
 louis for the bust. Captain Lamb had no knowledge of the 
 matter until shortly before or immediately after the arrival of 
 his ship at St. Helena on the 28th of May. At that time 
 Rethwick was ill from a fit of apoplexy, which was succeeded 
 by delirium, so that it was for sevei'al days impossible to speak 
 to him on the subject. When Sir Thomas Reade was in- 
 formed that the bust was on board, he immediately went to 
 the Governor and acquainted him with the fact. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe at first hesitated as to the course which his duty re- 
 quired him to take — considering the clandestine manner in 
 which an attempt was thus made to communicate with Napo- 
 leon — and he was inclined not to allow the bust to be for- 
 warded until he had communicated with Lord Bathurst on 
 the subject. Sir Thomas Reade, however, suggested that, us 
 the bust was made of marble and not plaster, so that it con 1. 1 
 not possibly contain any thing improper, it might be forwarded 
 to Longwood at once, and, as its arrival had already become 
 known, Sir Hudson assented to the proposal. Before, how- 
 ever, ordering it to be sent on shore, he went on the 10th of 
 June to Longwood to communicate with Count Bertrand and 
 
 1 The name is written both ways, and it occurs also as " Retherwick" 
 and " Radovick. 1 ' The man himself was unable to write, and put his 
 mark to tho documents he signed. 
 
Jdme, 1817. THE BUST. 455 
 
 ascertain Napoleon's wishes. Major Gorrequer accompanied 
 him, and he gives in his Minutes the following account of the 
 interview : 
 
 The Governor called on Count Bertrand (whither I attend- 
 ed him), and informed him that in the storeship (the Baring) 
 recently arrived there was a marble bust said to be that of 
 the young Napoleon ; that it appeared it was brought out by 
 an under officer of the ship ; that, although it had come in 
 a very irregular manner, yet, under the impression that it 
 might be a thing acceptable 'a celui qui residait a Longwood,' 
 he would take upon himself the responsibility of landing it, if 
 such was his wish ; that he requested Count Bertrand would 
 make it known, and inform him if he wished to have it, and 
 it would be brought on shore. He answered, ' Oh ! sans 
 doute que ca lui fera plaisir ; envoyez le toujours.' The 
 Governor added, the man in whose charge it came was ill, in 
 fact delirious, and it was impossible to speak to him on the 
 subject. All he knew about it would be found in the two 
 papers (one a letter, the other a memorandum) which he 
 handed over to the Count, who read them (they were in Ital- 
 ian) and returned them. After leaving the house, the Gov- 
 ernor went back (I following), and again gave the two papers to 
 the Count, that he might show them to General Bonaparte, 
 begging he afterward would return them to him, and told 
 Count Bertrand he would have the bust landed the following 
 day." 
 
 The next day the bust was landed and sent up to Long- 
 wood, where Bonaparte received it with evident satisfaction 
 and delight. He, had, however been informed of its arrival 
 (how it does not appear) some days previously. On the 10th 
 he had said to O'Meara, " I have known of it for several 
 days. I intended, if it had not been given, to have made 
 such a complaint as would have caused every Englishman's 
 hair to stand on end with horror (cdzdre i capelli). I would 
 have told a tale which would have made the mothers of En- 
 gland execrate him as a monster in human shape." 1 No 
 
 1 Voice, vol ii. p 99. 
 
456 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap XIV. 
 
 one can doubt this — for there was no lack of willingness or 
 of ability for the purpose ; but unfortunately for the well-con- 
 ceived plan of the story, the Governor did not give him the 
 opportunity. But Napoleon persisted in believing, or affecting 
 to believe, that the latter had originally given orders for the 
 destruction of the bust, telling O'Meara, who endeavored to 
 convince him of the contrary, " that it was in vain to attempt 
 to deny a known fact ;" and upon this imaginary hypothesis 
 he broke out into a violent tirade against Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 calling him barbarous and atrocious. " That countenance," 
 he exclaimed, gazing at the marble image of his son, " would 
 melt the heart of the most ferocious wild beast. The man 
 who gave orders to break that image would plunge a knife 
 into the heart of the original if it were in his power." 1 
 
 On the 16th Bertrand wrote to thank Captain Lamb, in 
 the name of Napoleon, for bringing out the bust, and requested 
 him to call at Longwood. The Governor informed him that 
 the captain (who was a half-pay lieutenant in the navy) knew 
 nothing about the bust having been introduced on board his 
 ship, but Bertrand still begged that his note might be sent to 
 him. This was done, and Captain Lamb went to Longwood 
 and had an interview with Bertrand, without seeing Bona- 
 parte. He was asked whether the Governor had not intended 
 to keep back the bust altogether, and whether he had not 
 spoken of breaking it to pieces. To this Captain Lamb prop- 
 erly replied, that if Sir Hudson Lowe had intended to keep it 
 back he need only have mentioned his wish to him, when of 
 course it would not have been landed. 2 Bertrand then ex- 
 
 1 Voice, vol. ii. pp. 102, 103. 
 
 2 The exact answer of Captain Lamb is given in the text, but he after- 
 ward, on the 24th of July, explicitly denied upon oath that he knew 
 of any direction, or intimation of any design or intention, to break the 
 bust. And yet O'Meara, writing to Mr. Finlaison on the 18th of Au- 
 gust, said — " Although, to tell you the. truth, J did then, and do now, be- 
 lieve that such counsel was really given — though I acquitted Sir Hudson 
 himself of knowing any thing about it — yet still/ was extremely anxious, 
 from obvious reasons, to convince Bonaparte that it was false." So that, 
 according to this lover of veracity, he believed a report which he labored 
 to convince another was false 
 
June, 1817. THE BUST. 457 
 
 pressed a desire to see the man who brought the bust, but was 
 told by Captain Lamb that he was sick. 
 
 Shortly afterward Rethwick, who had been ill for three 
 weeks, recovered, and on the 23d he wrote to the Governor, 
 inquiring about the bust, and asking permission to go on shore 
 for the purpose of disposing of a few things which he had 
 brought out with him for sale. It happened that Lord Amherst 
 arrived at St. Helena on the 27th, and, when Sir Hudson 
 Lowe knew that Count Bertrand was coming to Plantation 
 House to call upon him, he desired Rethwick to be in attend- 
 ance, that Bertrand might see and speak to him. This, how- 
 ever, the latter declined to do, but begged that the man might 
 be sent to Longwood. He went there on the 30th, and was 
 accompanied to Bertrand's house by Captain Poppleton, who 
 shall tell what followed in 'he words of his own report to the 
 Governor : 
 
 " On my arrival at Longwood yesterday evening, I found 
 there the man you had mentioned to me that was to be con- 
 ducted to Count Bertrand. After having perused the letter 
 containing the instructions relative to him I went with him 
 to Count Bertrand's, who at that moment was quitting the 
 house. I told him the man sent by the Governor was there 
 to speak to him ; he requested he might wait, as he was then 
 going to General Bonaparte. I sat down with the Countess, 
 and desired the man to remain in the adjoining room. The 
 Countess then said her husband had desired her to ask him 
 some questions. I went into the next room with her, and 
 after asking him where he came from, and in what manner 
 he obtained the bust, we left him. In a few minutes after 
 the Countess was sent for, and on her return she said she was 
 desired to ask me if they could speak to the man alone. I 
 told her whatever they had to say must be in my presence. 
 The Countess then quitted the room. Shortly after another 
 message was delivered to her, when she told me that, as they 
 could not speak to this man alone, they had nothing further 
 to say to him. I gave the man some refreshment and sent 
 him away. On entering my own apartment Count Montho- 
 Vol. I.— U 
 
458 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIT. 
 
 Ion came to me and asked me if they could speak to this man 
 alone. I told him whatever conversation passed must be in 
 my presence (he was sent by General Bonaparte). He then 
 said, ' Can General Bonaparte speak to him without you being 
 present ?' I told him General Bonaparte could most undoubt- 
 edly speak to him, but that it must be in my presence. Count 
 Montholon carried this answer to the General, and returned 
 again, requesting I would give him my answer in writing. I 
 told him I could not do that without the consent of the Gov- 
 ernor. He still pressed me to give this answer in writing, 
 which I refused, saying I would represent what had passed to 
 the Governor, and should then be able to give him an answer 
 to his request." 
 
 Now it would really seem to be difficult to extract from 
 these facts matter of blame or censure against Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, whose duty imperatively required him not to allow a 
 private interview between any of the French at Longwood 
 and a foreign sailor who had been employed on a clandestine 
 commission. And yet O'Meara contrives in his account to 
 throw odium upon the Governor. He says that Napoleon 
 " directed Count Bertrand to apply for permission to be granted 
 to the gunner to come to Longwood. After some delays and 
 assertions that the man was sick, during which time he was 
 examined on oath at Plantation House, and minutely searched, 
 it was signified to Bertrand that leave was granted to him to 
 go to Longwood. A few minutes after his arrival at Count 
 Bertrand's, and while speaking to the Countess, Captain Pop- 
 pleton was sent into the room by the Governor with orders 
 not to allow him to speak to any of the French unless in his 
 presence. This proceeding, combined with the disingenuous 
 manner in which it was executed, was considered as an insult, 
 and the gunner was immediately directed to withdraw." 1 And 
 of course Bertrand pretended to take the same view; but, to 
 give point to the reproach, he did not scruple to tell a direct 
 untruth. He wrote to Rethwick on the 16th, styling him 
 "Mr. Filippo Radovitch, Master Gunner on board the Bar- 
 
 1 Voice, vol. ii. p. 115. 
 
Jvtm, 1817. THE BUST. 459 
 
 ing," and inclosed a bill of exchange for £300, saying "I re- 
 gret that you could not come and see us and give us some 
 details, which could not be otherwise than interesting to a 
 father in the present state of things. From the letters you 
 have sent it would appear that the artist values his work at 
 £100 sterling. The Emperor has ordered me to hand you a 
 check for £300 ; the balance you will consider as an indem- 
 nity for the loss which he knows you have sustained in the 
 sale of your little invoice, in consequence of your not being 
 able to land, and for the vexation you have suffered for an 
 action not only innocent in itself, but which should have en- 
 titled you to the consideration of every man of feeling." 1 
 
 Who, on reading this letter, could believe that Rethwick 
 was allowed to go to Longwood, and that Bonaparte refused 
 to see him, and Bertrand and his wife refused to ask him any 
 questions, because they were told by a British officer on duty 
 that the conversation must take place in his presence ! 
 
 At a later period (the 31st of October) Sir Hudson Lowe 
 received from Lord Bathurst a dispatch, dated 19th August, 
 1817, containing the Prince Regent's approval of his conduct 
 in sending to Bonaparte the bust of his son. But Lord Bath- 
 urst added, " The suspicious circumstances, however, under 
 which it arrived at St. Helena, as detailed in your dispatch, 
 were sufficient to make you pause before you determined to 
 transmit it to the General. Had the package contained any 
 thing less interesting to him in his private character as a 
 father, the clandestine manner with which it appears to have 
 
 1 O'Meara says in his appendix to the " Voice," vol. ii. p. 464 — " By 
 means of some unworthy tricks the poor man did not receive the money 
 for nearly two years." To this it is sufficient to reply, that on the 16th 
 March, 1819 (a yeaT and eight months after the date of Count Bertrand's 
 letter), a letter arrived at St. Helena, from the proprietors of the bust, 
 to Count Bertrand, stating that they thought it their duty to inform the 
 Count of the bad conduct and character of Rethwick, who, on his return 
 to England, had evaded coming to a settlement with them " for the pay- 
 ment he had received for the bust," and for the other articles intrusted 
 to him ; and that he had at last gone from England without rendering 
 any account to them, or reimbursing them for any part of their goods, 
 whereby tney were in great distress ; and they solicited Count Bertrand 
 to give them some remuneration. 
 
460 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV 
 
 been introduced onboard the vessel would have been a sufficient 
 reason for withholding the delivery of it, at least for a much 
 longer period. The French embassador has informed me that 
 he had some intimation of its having been sent, but that he 
 received this intelligence long after the sailing of the vessel. 
 I am not disposed to participate in the apprehensions with 
 which he has been impressed — that letters were conveyed 
 within it. No doubt, however, can be entertained that at- 
 tempts are making at clandestine communications, which will 
 be encouraged if it be once understood that your vigilance 
 abates." 
 
 It will be convenient to mention in this place another in- 
 cident which happened a little later. As a mark of gratitude 
 to Bonaparte for having saved the life of Captain Blphinstone, 
 of the 15th Light Dragoons, who was severely wounded and 
 made prisoner the day before the battle of Waterloo, his brother, 
 the Hon. John Elphinstone, late President of the East India 
 Company's establishment in China, sent Napoleon a beauti- 
 ful set of chessmen, two workboxes, and some other articles 
 of Chinese manufacture. They arrived at St. Helena on the 
 4th of July, and the letter that accompanied them was im- 
 mediately forwarded to Longwood, with an intimation that 
 the articles would follow. On examining them it was discov- 
 ered that the presents were marked with eagles and the initial 
 N., surmounted by an imperial crown, a recognition or allu- 
 sion to his former rank which rendered them under the regu- 
 lations inadmissible. Sir Hudson Lowe, however, did not 
 enforce the rule, and transmitted the articles ; but he thought 
 it right to advert to the irregularity, and wrote to Bertrand 
 on the 10th, saying that if he were to act in strict conformity 
 with the established rules he ought to delay sending them ; 
 but that, as he had promised that the boxes should follow the 
 letter, he had no alternative but to forward them. 1 
 
 1 O'Mearasays (Voice, ii. p. 118) that Captain Heaviside, who brought 
 these presents from China, was ordered by the Governor to maintain a 
 strict silence on the subject to the French at Longwood, which he was 
 permitted to visit. This Captain Heaviside denied. See his letter at 
 the end of the work. 
 
Jtoe, 1817. MR. ELPHINSTONE'S PRESENT. 461 
 
 To this Count Bertrand sent an angry reply. "The Em- 
 peror," he said, ' ; was surprised to find in your letter that you 
 conceived it was your duty not to transmit these objects. ' If 
 I acted,' say you, ' in perfect conformity with the established 
 rules I ought to delay in sending them.' In that case, Sir, 
 you would have done well to withhold them. But to what 
 does this apply ? Is it to those objects not having been sent 
 through the channel of the Ministry ? In the restrictions im- 
 posed by the Minister it is indeed said that letters must be 
 sent through him, but not clothes, busts, furniture, &c. We 
 have constantly received from the Cape many things that 
 have been sent to us ; and besides, Lord Bathurst, in his speech 
 — and you yourself, in one of your letters — expressed your in- 
 dignation against letters that had arrived here by the post 
 being transmitted to London, to be again sent out here. That 
 can not, nor could it ever, authorize you to withhold such 
 objects as busts, furniture, or any other objects which can have 
 nothing to do with the safe custody of the detained. Is it be- 
 cause there is a crown on the counters ? There can be no 
 regulation unknown to us, and we are not aware that we are 
 prohibited from possessing any thing with a crown upon it. 
 If such be the case, new packs of cards must be printed, as 
 there is a crown on those we get. The linen and the little 
 plate we have left are often taken into the town, and are 
 marked with a crown. But from whence has emanated this 
 
 regulation which you say is in force ? The Emperor 
 
 will not accept of favors from any body, nor be indebted for 
 any thing to the caprice of any one ; but he claims to be made 
 acquainted with the restrictions imposed upon him " 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe answered this letter at some length, say- 
 ing, " The only object I had in addressing you on the 8th in- 
 stant was to avoid its being conceived I tacitly participated 
 in or approved the acknowledgment given to the Imperial 
 rank in the crown placed every where over the initial of 
 Napoleon, on presents by a British subject particularly, and 
 coming from a British factory. Had I suffered them to pro- 
 ceed without any remark, the inference would have been ob- 
 vious I saw no impropriety in it. And I am too well aware 
 
462 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 how far this precedent might have been alleged, and what 
 complaints would have sprung up on any future deviation 
 from it, had I not explicitly made known the grounds upon 
 which, in this instance, I had Buffered them to reach you. . . . 
 Presents may be as obnoxious to the security of detention aa 
 a letter, and might require to be examined with a minuteness 
 that would baffle any purposes of ornament or utility to be 
 derived from them. A letter may be concealed under the 
 squares of a chess-board or the folds of a book-cover, as well 
 as in the lining of a waistcoat ; and I am not necessarily 
 called upon to place my trust in any person by whom they 
 
 are sent You add, ' L'Empereur ne veut de grace,' 
 
 &c. I have not the pretension to bestow a favor on General 
 Bonaparte, and still less the arrogance of subjecting him to 
 any act of my caprice. He is under no restriction which my 
 Government does not know, and which all the world may 
 not know " 
 
 At a later period Sir Hudson Lowe received a letter from 
 Lord Bathurst, dated 18th September, 1817, in which, after 
 stating that he entirely approved of his having forwarded 
 Mr. Elphinstone's present to Longwood under the circumstance 
 of his having inadvertently given an assurance that it should 
 be sent, he added — " I am so sensible of the inconvenience 
 which may result from permitting General Bonaparte to re- 
 ceive any thing addressed to him as a sovereign prince, that 
 I deem it necessary to instruct you that, in case of any pres- 
 ent being hereafter forwarded to General Bonaparte to which 
 emblems or titles of sovereignty are annexed, you are to con- 
 sider that circumstance as altogether precluding its delivery 
 if they can not be removed without prejudice to the present 
 itself." 
 
 It has been stated that, among those who were removed 
 from Longwood and sent to Europe, was Santini, who per- 
 formed while at St. Helena, the offices of a domestic and was 
 occasionally employed as a tailor. Shortly after his arrival 
 in England a pamphlet appeared of which he professedly 
 was the author. It bore the sounding title of ' An Appeal 
 to the British Nation on the Treatment experienced by Na- 
 
June, 1817. SANTINI'S PAMPHLET. 463 
 
 poleon Bonaparte in the Island of St. Helena : by M. Santini, 
 Porter of the Emperor's Closet.' That Santini could not have 
 "written it was obvious to all who knew the position and ca- 
 pacity of the man ; but it was not so clear who the real au- 
 thor was. Sir Walter Scott says 1 that, according to General 
 Gourgaud's communication to the British Government, Na- 
 poleon was himself the author of the whole or greater part of 
 the work. This however is entirely a mistake. 
 
 The pamphlet was brought by a vessel to St. Helena early 
 in June this year, and in a dispatch of the 7th of that month 
 Sir Hudson Lowe acquainted Earl Bathurst with the circum- 
 stance, and said that it appeared that the sheets had been 
 given by Piontkowski to the surgeon of the ship ; and an ex- 
 amination of them convinced him that the Pole had correct- 
 ed the proof-sheets ; that the statement which had been pub- 
 lished in Santini's name was " a forgery or fabrication ;" and 
 that he was incompetent to write it. 
 
 All this was no doubt correct, but it is only lately that it has 
 been known who was the compiler of the statement. Colonel 
 Maceroni, an officer who had served under Murat, has avow- 
 ed himself the author, and he gives the following account of 
 its concoction : 2 
 
 " At this time of day it can do no harm for me to confess 
 that the expulsion of Santini was contrived between the 
 Emperor's friends and the man himself, as was in like man- 
 ner that of Captain Piontkowski Santini gave me 
 
 proof of his having been instructed to make search for and 
 communicate with me immediately upon his arrival in Lon- 
 don. The first thing that I thought necessary to be done 
 was to publish in French and English a little pamphlet, to 
 which I gave the title of ' An Appeal to the British Nation 
 on the Treatment of the Emperor Napoleon at St. Helena,' 
 attaching to it the authorship of Santini, as in reality /had 
 only transcribed, in the two languages, the details of the petty 
 mean vexations and even privations to which the worthy 
 
 1 Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, vol. ix. pp 186-7. 
 
 2 Life of Colonel Maceroni, vol. ii. p. 425. 
 
464 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 Governor Lowe subjected his illustrious prisoner. This little 
 tract was published by Ridgway, and such was the interest 
 it excited, that seven editions were sold in less than a fort- 
 night. It was hawked about the streets, stuck on venders' 
 hats, and for some time attracted universal attention. I in- 
 troduced Santini to Lords Holland and Grey, to Sir Robert 
 TA'ilson, and others likely to bring about Parliamentary in- 
 quiry into the numerous alleged grievances. In fact, Lord 
 Holland moved the House of Lords for the production of all 
 the reports, correspondence, or papers which might throw 
 light on the subject." 
 
 Although the public greedily devoured the contents of this 
 brochure, and men who ought to have been more on their 
 guard believed its falsehoods, Bonaparte himself had the can- 
 dor to admit that it was " a foolish production, exaggerated, 
 full of coglioniere and some lies." 1 In a letter fromO'Meara 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe on the 5th of June, he told him that 
 Napoleon had so characterized it, and had gone on to say that 
 " Truths there were in it, but exaggerated ; that there never 
 had existed that actual want described by him ; that there 
 had been enough to eat supplied, though not enough to keep 
 a proper table ; that there had been enough of wine for 
 them, though he conceived it an indignity for himself and the 
 Generals and ladies to be classed and rationed with the do- 
 mestics ; that there certainly had been several times a defi- 
 ciency of necessary articles, but that this might be accounted 
 for by accident ; that he believed frequent purchases had been 
 made at the camp of bread and other provisions, which might 
 also occasionally have arisen from the same cause. He added, 
 that he was convinced it was some Englishman, and not 
 Santini, who had written it (having had, doubtless, some part 
 of his information from Santini) ; that Santini had a Corsi- 
 can head, a ' testa calda,' and would not have praised the 
 Admiral ; that he would, if left to himself, have abused 
 every body." O'Meara in his letter went on to say — " I ex- 
 
 1 " ' Santini,' continued he, ' has published a brochure full of lies.' " 
 — Voice, vol. ii. p. 76. 
 
June, 1817. NEWSPAPERS AT LONGWOOD. 465 
 
 plained to him that I thought and was certain there was no 
 indignity intended to him in the rationing, that it was merely 
 intended to strike an aggregate in the quantities of wine re- 
 quired." 
 
 Here then we have Bonaparte's distinct and unequivocal 
 admission that the idea of want at Longwood, which was so 
 industriously propagated in Europe, was a fiction, and that 
 accident and not design sufficiently accounted for any tempo- 
 rary deficiency. We can not tell what one so long accustomed 
 to be served in magnificent style as Emperor may have deemed 
 " a proper table," and therefore the qualification which ac- 
 companies the admission detracts little from its value. 
 
 It was one of the complaints also of the grievance-mongers 
 of the time that an attempt was made to starve the mind as 
 well as the body of Napoleon, by denying him access to new 
 publications and newspapers. O'Meara asserts in his book 
 that the captive received "but very few newspapers" — that 
 none except some unconnected numbers of the " Times," 
 " Courier," " Observer," &c, with a few straggling French 
 papers of very old date, reached Longwood during his resi- 
 dence there, except in one instance when he was permitted to 
 take the "Morning Chronicle," there for some weeks as a 
 great favor, which was not again repeated." 1 And yet on 
 the 20th of June this year the Doctor thus wrote to Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe : 
 
 " In reply to your inquiries to be informed of the names of 
 such newspapers as General Bonaparte may have received, I 
 have the honor to inform you that the following are the only 
 ones which (to my knowledge) have ever reached him, viz. : 
 London papers — the ' Courier,' ' Times,' ' Star,' ' Observer,' 
 ' Bell's "Weekly Messenger,' and the ' St. James's, or English- 
 man's Chronicle' (a paper published twice a-week). Provin- 
 cial papers — the 'Hampshire Telegraph,' the 'Hampshire 
 Courier,' and the Macclesfield paper. Of the above-mentioned 
 papers by far the greatest number have been the ' Times,' 
 ' Courier,' ' Star,' and the ' Hampshire Telegraph ;' of the 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. ii. p. 397. 
 V* 
 
466 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 ' Observer,' not more than three or four numbers ; probably 
 as many of the ' St. James's Chronicle,' and ' Bell's Messen- 
 ger ;' of the ' Hampshire Courier,' probably eight or nine. 
 On one occasion 1 recollect that among a file of ' Couriers' 
 given by Sir Thomas Reade there was one number of the 
 ' Globe,' and one or two of the ' Traveler.' These, with the 
 usual series of papers sent by yourself, some French papers, 
 and ' Morning Chronicle,' for October, November, and part of 
 December, also sent by yourself, form the whole of the news- 
 papers he has received." 
 
 It would be difficult to believe that these two statements 
 came from the same pen, if the fact were not undeniable, and 
 we had not had ample proof that O'Meara's printed book is 
 often in direct contradiction to his private correspondence. It 
 is hardly necessary to add that in all such cases credence is to 
 be given to the latter and not to the former, for common sense 
 dictates the rule of evidence that, of two opposite statements, 
 we ought to believe that which is made when there is no 
 motive to deceive, rather than that which has the suspicious 
 aspect of being brought forward to serve a particular purpose. 
 
 O'Meara gives in his book an account of a dispute which 
 he had with Sir Hudson Lowe on the 22d or 23d of May this 
 year, respecting some newspapers which he had obtained from 
 the postmaster and lent to Bonaparte, without the sanction 
 or knowledge of the Governor and in violation of the Act of 
 Parliament. O'Meara said that he was not included in the 
 Act, and would not remain an hour in his situation if he were 
 to be subjected to a rule which he tells us Sir Hudson Lowe 
 wished to lay down, by which he was only to communicate 
 such news to Bonaparte as he had received from the Governor. 
 This led Sir Hudson Lowe to advert to O'Meara having, some 
 time before, communicated to Bonaparte the important intel- 
 ligence of the dissolution of the French Chambers before the 
 Governor himself heard of it ; and he pressed him to say 
 whether he gave Bonaparte that information verbally or by 
 means of a newspaper, and, if by the latter, whether the 
 paper had not been lent to him by Sir Pulteney Malcolm. 
 
June, 1817. O'MEARA'S LETTERS. 467 
 
 O'Meara replied that he did not recollect whether the com- 
 munication had heen verbal or by means of a newspaper ; 
 that most probably it had been both ; and that he did not 
 recollect from whom he had received the newspaper. 1 This 
 did not satisfy the Governor, and a correspondence ensued 
 which is not mentioned in the " Voice." In that correspond- 
 ence there was nothing discreditable to O'Meara, who seems 
 to have answered the questions put to him with candor and 
 fairness. He told Sir Hudson that " he had been invariably 
 actuated by a desire of being explicit, and of giving eveiy full 
 knowledge of facts whenever he could do so consistent with 
 truth and his recollection." This statement, though directly 
 at variance with his subsequent account of the nature of his 
 communications, is no doubt the truth, for up to this time 
 they had been frequent, spontaneous, and unreserved. The 
 pertinacity, however, with which the Governor made these 
 inquiries seems to have irritated him, and he was also an- 
 noyed that his correspondence with Mr. Finlaison should have 
 been censured and, in fact, forbidden. The prohibition, how- 
 ever, was of no avail, for he continued to write to his friend, 
 and on the 29th of June began a letter of enormous length, 
 which contains the chief part of what he afterward printed as 
 his Journal between the beginning of January and end of 
 May, 1817. There is a perceptible difference between it and 
 his former letters to the same person, as regards the tone in 
 which he speaks of Sir Hudson Lowe and his conduct : and, 
 as may be expected, a much nearer agreement between it and 
 his printed work. Indeed, so much of the latter as embraces 
 the period above mentioned is evidently copied, with some 
 suppressions and additions, from the same memoranda, and 
 the letter, therefore, need not be here quoted at length, but 
 we will notice a few variations and passages of importance re- 
 ferring the reader to the " Voice from St. Helena," for a full 
 account of its contents. 2 
 
 Speaking of a conversation between himself and Sir Hudson 
 Lowe on the subject of Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm being 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. ii. pp. 362, 363. 
 
 * See " Voice," vol. i. p. 302 ; vol. ii. pp. 1-35, 
 
468 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 employed as a mediator between him and Bonaparte, he says 
 that Sir Hudson asked, " ' What can he want a mediator for ? 
 What necessity is there for one ? Answer me. Do you not 
 think that he has asked the Admiral for a mediator because 
 he thinks to humbug him, which he can not do to me ?' I 
 replied that I did not by any means think so ; that Bonaparte 
 himself had already given a reason, viz. that he could talk 
 over and reason calmly with the Admiral upon the matter, 
 without flying into a passion, which would invariably be the 
 case if he entered into discussions with him (Sir Hudson) ; 
 that he knew he could not speak to him without getting into 
 a passion (you will observe that I could not with propriety 
 have given Bonaparte's other reasons). Upon hearing this 
 Sir Hudson replied that probably that might be his reason, 
 that it was very likely. He, however, then got up and went 
 into another room, from whence he brought out a volume of 
 the ' Quarterly Review,' in which was contained the review 
 of ' Miot's Expedition to Egypt ;' read observations upon the 
 character of Bonaparte to the following effect, which he point- 
 ed out to me and made me read out . viz. ' He understands 
 enough of mankind to dazzle the weak, to dupe the vain, to 
 overcome the timid, and to make the wicked his instruments.' 
 This proceeding of his showing me the ' Review,' Sec., was 
 not thrown away upon me. I understood the allusion in its 
 utmost malignancy, without, however, acknowledging that it 
 was justly applied. I conceived it to be a dirty stab in the 
 dark against the character of a man who is infinitely superior 
 to the author of so unworthy an attack. 1 After this he said 
 that he did not exactly like to employ the Admiral ; that he 
 did not think that he was a fit man for it ; that he was too 
 open and too likely to enter into his views. Here he said that 
 Bonaparte ought to send the Admiral to him. I replied, that 
 the Admiral would not, or could not, undertake any business 
 
 1 It is clear that O'Meara means that the quotation was applied to the 
 Admiral, but there is little doubt that Sir Hudson Lowe intended it as 
 a hint to himself. In the '*. Voice," vol. i. p. 319, he says, " During the 
 time I was reading this his Excellency indulged in bursts of laughter." 
 
June, 1817. CONVERSATIONS WITH O'MEARA. 469 
 
 of the kind without being first authorized by him (Sir Hudson), 
 and either requested, or at least authorized, to undertake the 
 business by him. He said that his sending the Admiral 
 would look as if he pledged himself to perform every thing 
 which the Admiral might think proper to agree to with Bo- 
 naparte." 
 
 O'Meara afterward relates a conversation he had with Bo- 
 naparte on the 30th of January, 1817, when the latter said, 
 " I wish you to go to this Governor and tell him that, in con- 
 sequence of his conduct about the Admiral accepting the 
 mediation, and saying that he would charge the Admiral with 
 it, and afterward doing nothing, I conceive him to be un uomo 
 senza parola e senza J'ede ; he only wanted to gain that frigate 
 [i. e. to prevent complaints being sent to England by a par- 
 ticular vessel] ; he thought that a complaint going home that 
 time with the affair of Las Cases might be of injury to him, 
 and that he would gain something by putting it off, because 
 in five or six months Las Cases' affair would be forgotten. 
 He has behaved in such a manner as to make me despise him 
 more than ever I did, for he has broken his word ; he has not 
 what even the brigands have, or the Bedouin Arabs, for these, 
 when they promise a thing or make an agreement, always 
 keep their word. He has not even the honor of a robber. 
 What the lowest of society possess he is deficient of. Tell 
 him the first time you see him that, by his conduct concerning 
 the Admiral, I consider him as a man ' senza fede e senza 
 parola ;' that he has broken a compact, broken his word, 
 which is held sacred by robbers and wild Arabs, but not by 
 the agents of the British Grovernment ; that, when a man has 
 lost his word, he has lost every thing ; that it is the principal 
 thing which distinguishes man from a brute, and that he has 
 forfeited that distinction uselessly, for when a man does break 
 his word he ought at least to have some great object in view. 1 
 Tell him that I hold him to be inferior to the robbers of the 
 desert and to savages. Tell him what I have said to you, I 
 desire you, for it will be a subject of complaint hereafter." 
 
 1 Are we to take this as a maxim of Napoleon's moral code — that the 
 end justifies the means ? 
 
470 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 O'Meara says, however, that he considerably modified this 
 message when he delivered it, and suggested (what he does 
 not mention in the. "Voice" 1 ) that the Governor should say 
 that the reason of his not having acted upon his original pro- 
 posal was, that he daily expected an arrival from England 
 with fresh instructions, that perhaps the regulations he might 
 make would he contrary to those ordered by Government, and 
 that therefore he had thought it best to wait. 2 
 
 It is I think much to be regretted that Sir Hudson Lowe 
 did not take advantage of the Admiral's willingness to act as 
 mediator between him and Bonaparte. It is probable that 
 the attempt would have failed, owing to the deep-rooted aver- 
 sion which the latter entertained toward the Governor, and 
 indeed all who assumed the attitude of authority over him. 
 But the experiment was at least worth trying, and, even if 
 unsuccessful, it would have deprived Napoleon of the sem- 
 blance of a complaint on the subject. And few were more 
 likely to succeed in such a mission than Sir Pulteney Malcolm, 
 whose countenance irresistibly inspired confidence, and whose 
 manner won respect from all who knew him. But unfortun- 
 ately before this time a coolness had arisen between him and 
 the Governor, the precise origin of which it is difficult to dis- 
 
 1 See " Voice," vol. i. p. 360. 
 
 3 The answer which Sir Hudson Lowe ultimately authorized O'Meara 
 to communicate to Bonaparte was the following : — " The Governor is 
 employed in writing an answer to the observations of Count Bertram! 
 and to the paper containing the remarks on his answer to the proposi- 
 tion for the intervention of the Admiral, and also in arranging how far 
 his instructions will permit him to accede to General Bonaparte's wishes. 
 When these are finished he will send them to Count Bertrand, and then, 
 if any other arrangement is deemed necessary, the Governor will have 
 no objection to authorize the Admiral, or any other person General Bo- 
 naparte may think proper, to act as an intermediator, though the inter- 
 mediation of any person will have no influence whatever in inducing 
 the Governor to grant more or less than he would do of his own free 
 will and judgment. This, with the alterations already made in the re- 
 strictions, and the general tenor of the observations and remarks received 
 from Longwood since the Governor expressed his readiness to employ 
 an intermediator, and the expectation of an arrival from England, has 
 been the cause of the delay in authorizing the Admiral to undertake the 
 office." 
 
June, 1817. PROPOSED MEDIATION. 471 
 
 cover. It seems, however, that Sir Hudson Lowe thought 
 that the abuse which Bonaparte always lavished upon his 
 name was not sufficiently checked by the Admiral, and that 
 he was too passive a listener to calumnies of which another, 
 and not himself, was the object. And we can easily conceive 
 that he may have felt some little jealousy at finding Sir Pul- 
 teney admitted to easy and familiar intercourse with Napo- 
 leon, while he himself was treated with contumely and insult, 
 and denied even an interview. For it was part of the policy 
 at Longwood to play off the Admiral against the Governor, 
 and by acts of courtesy toward the former make it appear 
 that a different line of conduct toward the latter was caused 
 by his own ungracious performance of his duties. Sir Pul- 
 teney had no authority over the exiles — he had to enforce no 
 disagreeable rules, and with him there could be no collision. 
 He was met therefore with smiles and sunshine, while sullen- 
 ness and complaint were reserved for Sir Hudson Lowe ; and 
 as nothing could exceed the fascination of Bonaparte's manner 
 when he chose to make himself agreeable, it is not unlikely 
 that the Admiral may have in Sir Hudson's opinion surren- 
 dered himself too readily to its influence. 1 It must not how- 
 ever be supposed that an actual quarrel took place. The 
 misunderstanding merely led to an interruption of the cordial 
 relations which ought to have subsisted between them, and 
 which were always maintained between Sir Hudson Lowe and 
 Admiral Plampin, who succeeded Sir Pulteney Malcolm in 
 the command of the St. Helena station. 
 
 It is curious to see the way in which Bonaparte interpreted 
 in his own favor the legal maxim that delegatus nan potest 
 delegare. O'Meara mentions in his letter that in the course 
 of conversation on the 3d of February Napoleon said " that he 
 would give two millions (of francs) that the restrictions were 
 signed by the English ministry, in order, he said, to show to 
 Europe what base, dishonorable, and tyrannical acts they were 
 capable of, and that thus they had fulfilled their promises. 
 
 1 That this is not an incorrect view to take may be gathered from a 
 "etter of Sir Hudson Lowe to Lord Bathurst, dated May 13, 1817, 
 which, for that reason, is given at the end of the work. 
 
472 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 ■ According to law,' said he, ' this Governor has no right to 
 impose any restrictions upon me ; the bill, however illegal and 
 iniquitous it is, says that I shall be subjected to such restric- 
 tions as the Ministers shall think fit, but it does not say that 
 any such Ministers shall have the power of delegating that 
 authority to any other person : therefore every restriction upon 
 me ought to be signed, properly speaking, by the Privy Coun- 
 cil, by all the Ministers assembled. There is no mention 
 made in the bill that they shall have the power of delegating 
 the power given to them by the bill to any person. As well 
 might this Governor delegate the power he says he has to the 
 orderly officer here, and the orderly officer to his corporal or 
 to his servant. Tell him this,' continued he, ' the next time 
 you see him. I give the Ministers, however, so much credit 
 as to think that they have not, at least all of them, given 
 orders for such unheard-of barbarity, unparalleled in Botany 
 Bay, for even there the liberty of speaking is not interdicted ; 
 I believe that they have merely ordered him to take care that 
 I do not escape from the island, but otherwise to treat me 
 well. I can not conceive that the English Ministers could be 
 capable of promising me that the reason of their sending me 
 here was in order to be able to allow me more liberty than 
 they could venture to do in England, and afterward, when 
 they got me here, prohibit me to speak. During the time of 
 the revolutionary tribunal in France, even in those times of 
 horror, this was not practiced. What makes this man's con- 
 duct worse is, that it is useless and has no object in view, 
 tends to no end, whether political or otherwise ; la politica 
 giustifica tutto (policy justifies every thing), but here there is 
 
 none. 
 
 »i 
 
 Another instance of his legal criticism, which would not 
 have disgraced the acumen of a special pleader, occurs in the 
 same letter. The Governor had given orders that Bonaparte 
 himself should be allowed to ride round by Woody Ridge, 
 alone or in company with his suite, unattended by an officer, 
 but that the French Generals were not to pass there without 
 him. When O'Meara informed Bonaparte of this regulation, 
 
 1 Compare " Voice," vol. i. p. 368. 
 
June, 1817. HIS LEGAL ACUMEN. 473 
 
 he considered a moment, and replied, " Then it is an unjust 
 order, and beyond his power to give ; for by the paper these 
 Generals have signed, he can not do it — by the paper ordered 
 by his Government ; for it specifies particularly therein that 
 they bind themselves to undergo such restrictions as it may 
 be thought necessary to impose upon Napoleon Bonaparte, and 
 not any more. Now, this is a restriction not imposed upon 
 me, and consequently can not be upon them, and therefore it 
 is illegal and beyond his power." 
 
 We will quote one or two more passages. Napoleon said — 
 
 " ' I think also that your nation will be very little obliged 
 to this Governor for conferring upon it a dishonor which will 
 be recorded in history, by obliging me to sell my plate. You 
 English, though you are parsimonious in some things, yet are 
 proud and have the honor of your nation at heart more than 
 even your money — witness the thousands that your milords 
 throw away in France, Italy, and other countries, in order to 
 exalt and raise the English name ; but this Governor has 
 nothing English about him either in appearance or spirit. 11 
 ria rien d' Anglais — yjas du tout, du tout, du tout. E un 
 uomo Siciliano. I will lay a wager that there are hundreds 
 of your English nobility and others who would have subscribed 
 thousands in order to have prevented the stigma on their na- 
 tion happening which this imbecile has brought upon them. 
 If indeed it was to gratify boundless extravagance, to send to 
 India and Europe for luxuries, to lavish it away upon women, 
 that I had done it, then indeed some excuse might be offered ; 
 but, on the contrary, it has been really done in order to pro- 
 cure the common necessaries of life — bread, meat, salt, and 
 wood and candles to burn J 1 and this Governor, his usual 
 scaltrezza forsaking him, has been imbecile enough to write 
 to us that he knows the allowance is not sufficient. If indeed 
 he had written to his Government stating that it was enough 
 — alia buona — but he confesses that it is not, and yet allows 
 
 1 And yet Bonaparte had a short time previously admitted, when 
 criticizing Santini's pamphlet, that there had been no want of necessa- 
 ries, but only not enough "to keep a good table." Vide p. 464, ante. 
 
474 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 the plate to be sold to purchase eatables.' .... He observed, 
 ' that he considered it necessary not to yield too much to the 
 people, nor as if it had been done by fear ; that a parlia- 
 mentary reform he thought one of the most dangerous things 
 that could be consented to. Once grant that, and God knows 
 how far things may go on — perhaps even to a revolution. 
 Perhaps it was necessary that the Habeas Corpus Suspension 
 Bill might be required for a time, and also that an army 
 should be kept up for some time in order to intimidate the 
 canaille ; but that he considered that suspension as only a 
 topical remedy, and one which, if used without general reme- 
 dies, would act upon the constitutional disease, might prove 
 repellant and dangerous, and throw the complaint upon nobler 
 parts : that the only radical remedy would be one which 
 would afFect the constitution — that is to say, to relieve the 
 misery which existed. This could only be effected by getting 
 a vent for our manufactures, and by those who held sinecures 
 giving them up. This would contribute essentially to calm 
 the public agitation. Had they came forward like men at the 
 opening of Parliament, and followed the example of the Prince 
 Regent giving up so large a portion of his income, this would 
 have quieted all tumults ; the people, in the expectation of 
 some radical reliefs taking place from so good a beginning, 
 would have waited, and time would have been granted to 
 adopt measures for relieving the general distress.' " 
 
 As Sir Pulteney Malcolm was going to sail from St. Hele- 
 na on the 3d of July, and intended before he left to call at 
 Longwood and pay his parting respects to Napoleon, the 
 Governor thought that this would be a good opportunity for 
 his successor, Rear-Admiral Plampin, to be introduced. He 
 therefore wrote a courteous note to Count Bertrand on the 
 2d, in which he said — 
 
 " Monsieur le Comte — Rear-Admiral Plampin, who is 
 about to assume the command of the naval force in these 
 seas, has expressed to me his wish to be presented at Long- 
 wood. I have the honor to inform you of this, and also to 
 let you know that Sir Pulteney Malcolm takes leave to mor- 
 
July, 1817. THE GOVERNOR AND BERTRAND. 475 
 
 row. I have suggested to Admiral Plampin to profit by this 
 opportunity to present himself at the same time. If I do not 
 propose to accompany him myself, as I did on the arrival of 
 Admiral Malcolm, I beg of you, Monsieur le Comte, to make 
 it known that it is not from any want of the courtesy which 
 it is my duty to show toward all parties, but from the idea 
 that the presentation of Admiral Plampin in the way I have 
 indicated, and to which he has no objection, would, in every 
 other respect, be the most agreeable. Should I, however, be 
 mistaken in this idea, I have only to beg you will let me 
 know, in order that I may act accordingly. 
 
 " I have the honor, &c, H. Lowe." 
 
 Count Bertrand's reply was laconic, and took no notice of 
 Sir Hudson's allusion to himself: 
 
 " Longwood, July 3, 1817. 
 
 " Count Bertrand has the honor to present his compliments 
 to Monsieur le Gouverneur ; he has received his letter of last 
 evening. The Emperor will receive Sir Pulteney Malcolm 
 and Admiral Plampin to-day." 
 
 Notwithstanding the marked incivility, not to say rudeness, 
 with which Count Bertrand received all overtures on the part 
 of the Governor, the latter evinced no animosity or ill-will 
 toward him, and an occasion occurred at the latter end of this 
 month on which he showed kind consideration for his feelings. 
 A newspaper, which had just arrived, contained^an announce- 
 ment that Bertrand had been condemned par contumace for 
 high treason. As soon as Sir Hudson Lowe was aware of the 
 fact he caused this paper to be sent separately to the Count, 
 with a private note, in which he said — 
 
 " I consider it a precautionary duty to send you the in- 
 closed Gazette separate from the rest, lest it might first meet 
 the eye of the Countess Bertrand. A mind steeled against 
 every event may see the article it contains with composure, 
 and, as it must come to your knowledge at last, I have 
 thought it better to send it to you without delay in order to 
 diminish as much as possible the grief which the sudden 
 information of the decree of the French Government might 
 
476 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 cause in your family. It is with infinite pain that I am the 
 organ of this communication in regard both to yourself and 
 your family." 
 
 We have mentioned that Lord Amherst, our embassador to 
 China, arrived at St. Helena on the 27th of June. Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe thought he was likely to have one or more inter- 
 views with Bonaparte, and, as his public situation appeared 
 to render him in a peculiar degree fitted to receive any com- 
 munication which Bonaparte might feel averse to make to or 
 through himself respecting his situation in the island, he told 
 his Lordship, immediately after his arrival, that in his partic- 
 ular case he should be most happy to dispense with the gen- 
 eral rule of not allowing any complaint or representation 
 whatever to be made known except through the Governor. 
 He also said that he should be glad to avail himself of his 
 presence to introduce any amelioration into the situation of 
 Bonaparte which, upon conversation with him, might appear 
 advisable to allow, due regard being had to the measures 
 necessary for the security of his person and the prevention of 
 unauthorized communication with him. Napoleon, however, 
 at this time was said to be suffering from a swelled face, and 
 Lord Amherst did not obtain an interview with him until 
 the 1st of July, the evening before his departure from St. 
 Helena. When Sir Hudson Lowe communicated this to Earl 
 Bathurst he said — 
 
 " General Bonaparte protracted, upon various grounds, any 
 occasion of a meeting with his Lordship until the evening 
 before his departure, when he entered most fully at length 
 into every subject past and present respecting his situation 
 on the island : not, apparently, with any view whatever of 
 amelioration to be produced here, hut solely to prefer com- 
 plaints and represent his situation in the worst light possible 
 at home, on all which Lord Amherst was specially requested 
 to communicate with his Royal Highness the Prince Regent 
 himself. His Lordship having made known to me the heads 
 of the conversation General Bonaparte addressed to him, and 
 asked my opinion as to any steps he might take on his arri- 
 
July, 1817. LORD AMHERST. 477 
 
 val at home, I have taken the liberty to refer him to your 
 Lordship, and wish to leave the detail of every circumstance 
 stated in conversation by General Bonaparte, with any ob- 
 servations I have made upon them, entirely to him." 
 
 It would be impossible for any one to have adopted a fairer 
 or more honorable course than this, and the Governor must 
 have had the strongest conviction of the rectitude and propri- 
 ety of his own conduct thus unreservedly to refer Ministers 
 to Lord Amherst for an account of his proceedings. 
 
 Lord Amherst told Sir Hudson Lowe that Napoleon had 
 made bitter complaints, and he asked him whether he ought 
 to make them known to the Prince Regent and Ministers on 
 his arrival in England. Sir Hudson said that he wished 
 him to make known all that Bonaparte had mentioned, upon 
 which Lord Amherst replied, " In such a case, Sir, I shall 
 think it my duty as an honest man to say, at the same time, 
 I consider them unfounded." O'Meara tells us in his work 
 that Bonaparte informed him in conversation that he " asked 
 the Embassador, 'Would you, my Lord go out under the re- 
 striction of not speaking more to any person you met, than, 
 How do you do ? unless in the presence of a British officer ? 
 (It is true that he has taken this off; but he may put it on 
 again, according to his caprice) "Would you go out under the 
 restriction of not being able to move to the right or to the 
 left of the road ? Would you stir out under the obligation of 
 coming in again at six o'clock in the evening, or otherwise 
 run the risk of being stopped by sentinels at the gates ?' He 
 instantly replied, ' Nbn, je ferais comme votes ; je resterais 
 dans ma chambre.' "' 
 
 Soon after the " Voice from St. Helena" appeared, in 1 822, 
 Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Lord Amherst and called his at- 
 tention to this among other passages in the book ; upon which 
 Lord Amherst, who was then at Montreal, replied that he did 
 not use the expression, nor any thing like the expression, at- 
 tributed to him in the above conversation. 2 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. ii. p. 239. 
 
 - Lord Amherst's letter, which was dated October 2, 1822, will bo 
 found at the end of the work. 
 
478 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 Early in June some books and other articles were brought 
 out to St. Helena from Lady Holland for the family of Count 
 Bertrand, and not long afterward another box arrived con- 
 taining books and sweetmeats, and a letter from Lady Hol- 
 land, inclosing a note to her from the Duke of Bedford, beg- 
 ging her to forward some books from him destined for Bona- 
 parte. Lord Holland also sent some books from himself. The 
 books from the Duke of Bedford were an edition of Robert- 
 son's works, with the following words simply written within 
 the cover of each volume : " From the Duke of Bedford." 
 The books sent by Lord Holland were the two volumes of the 
 " Life of Lopez de Vega," written by himself, with an inscrip- 
 tion in the first volume as follows : " H. V. Holland. Hoc 
 Napoleonis fortitudini et ingenio, non fortune, munusculum 
 mittit, 1817." The only book from Lady Holland was Legh's 
 :l Travels in Egypt" for Count Bertrand. The sweetmeats, 
 she informed Sir Hudson Lowe in a letter, were intended for 
 Bonaparte himself, being of a kind of which she understood 
 he was fond. There were besides some papers and caricatures. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe forwarded to Longwood the books and 
 sweetmeats, but detained the papers and caricatures, which 
 he showed to Lord Amherst in order that he might be able to 
 inform Lord Bathurst about them, and also explain to Lord 
 and Lady Holland the difficulty and embarrassment which 
 such presents occasioned to him in the performance of his duty. 
 
 On the 14th of July the officers of the 53d regiment were 
 introduced to Bonaparte to take leave previous to their return 
 to England. They went to Longwood in the afternoon, and 
 were shown by General Bertrand into the drawing-room, in 
 which they found Bonaparte walking backward and forward. 
 He bowed to each as they entered, and thanked them all Li- 
 the manner in which they had performed the duties assigned 
 to them, wishing them prosperity wherever they went. Hav- 
 ing said this, he continued to go round the circle, asking- 
 trivial questions of several officers, such as the time they had 
 served, and what country they belonged to. He remarked to 
 Sir George Bingham, " You must be sorry to lose a regiment 
 you have served with so long ; they have been your family, 
 
Jely, 1817. QUESTIONS TO ORDERLY OFFICER. 479 
 
 your children:" this last word he pronounced in English. 
 He next asked several questions relative to the first battalion 
 of the 66th regiment, which had succeeded the 53d, such as 
 whether they would not feel the climate of Deadwood cold 
 after India, and then bowed to the officers, who left the room. 
 Captain Poppleton, the orderly officer at Longwood, being 
 about to return to England with his regiment, he was suc- 
 ceeded by Captain Blakeney, of the 66th. Before he sailed, 
 Sir Hudson Lowe put the following questions to him respect- 
 ing his past duties, and his answers give some interesting in- 
 formation about Bonaparte : 
 
 " When did you take charge as orderly officer in attend- 
 ance on General Bonaparte ? — In the month of December, 
 1815, at the Briars, a day or two before he went up to Long- 
 wood. 
 
 " Did he avail himself of the permission to ride about the 
 island, accompanied by a British officer, any time after his 
 being established at Longwood ? — "With me he rode out once 
 in the direction of Arno's Vale ; with Sir George Cockburn 
 and Sir George Bingham once each, I believe, only, after I 
 was with him. 
 
 "Did he stop any where when he rode out with you? — 
 He dismounted for a few minutes at a cottage in Arno's Vale, 
 to ask the road across the valley to the next hill. This was 
 a black man's cottage. Upon the occasion of General Bona- 
 parte's riding out with me, General Bertrand desired me not 
 to ride so near him ; which having done, he got out of my 
 sight, and I did not overtake him again, but went down to 
 dine with Sir George Cockburn, leaving word with the officer 
 of the guard to come down and report when he returned, be- 
 ing satisfied he must return by the same road. I reported 
 the circumstance to Sir George Cockburn, who desired me in 
 future not to stand upon any ceremony, but keep close up to 
 him. 1 
 
 1 This shows how determined Sir George Cockburn was to perform 
 his duty, and how little disposed he was to relax a rule which was of 
 all the regulations the one most disliked by Napoleon. 
 
480 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIV. 
 
 " Have you ever known him to go beyond his limits unac- 
 companied ? — To my own knowledge, never ; hut on the day 
 that I rode out with General Bonaparte, having missed him, 
 I questioned a slave on the top of the hill if he had seen him. 
 The answer he gave was, that he had seen him. I asked 
 him if he knew him : he said, Yes ; for he often came that 
 way. At this time, the posts not being established so near to 
 one another, General Bonaparte might perhaps have passed 
 through his limits without being seen by the pickets. 
 
 "Was he in the habit of conversing with the persons he 
 met on the road ? — I do not know that he ever did, except to 
 [with?] Mr. Legge and Mr. Robinson (whose houses I know, 
 pretty nearly to a certainty, he has entered); and the day I 
 rode out with him he conversed with the black people at the 
 cottage before mentioned. 
 
 " Have you ever known him give money to any of the lower 
 classes of inhabitants he has met with ? — To my own knowl- 
 edge, mice — to a slave who brought him a pocket-telescope he 
 had lost, to whom he gave two napoleons. I did hear, I be- 
 lieve, from Sir George Cockburn, that in the course of some 
 of his rides he had given some black people money for some 
 trifling services rendered him on the road, such as opening 
 gates, answering perhaps to his questions about the road, 
 clearing the road for him, which they did at one time by pull- 
 ing down a wall which lay in his direction. All this time he 
 was endeavoring to have the necessity of an officer accom- 
 panying him done away with, and getting the liberty of going 
 about the island, avoiding the sea-coast, without such attend- 
 ance. At this time he was also in the habit of receiving a 
 number of visitors. 
 
 " What was the particular occasion of his ceasing to ride 
 out accompanied by you ? — My intimating to Count Las Cases 
 that I should for the future he under the necessity of riding 
 nearer to General Bonaparte than I had previously done ; that 
 I should not molest him in any way ; that I would not ride 
 so near him as to be within hearing of any thing he said ; that 
 I did not wish to be noticed by any of them ; and that, if he 
 wished to be left alone for any particular time, by intimating 
 
July, 1817. QUESTIONS TO ORDERLY OFFICER. 481 
 
 his wish it should he immediately complied with ; and that I 
 would not make my appearance till then. I have no confi- 
 dence that Count Las Cases did deliver my message in the 
 words I used, because there appeared an evident design mi 
 the part of the people about him to make him dissatisfied 
 with the English, and making him believe every thing was 
 done to annoy him ; and from that day he declined riding out 
 with me. I delivered this message to Count Las Cases in 
 consequence of the orders I had received from Sir George 
 Cockburn ; and I mentioned to Count Las Cases that I did it 
 in consequence of what had happened in the last ride. 
 
 '" Have you ever known of any letters, newspapers, or mes- 
 sages of any kind being delivered at Longwood, except those 
 coming direct from me, and delivered through you ? — No let- 
 ters to my knowledge, except those delivered by you or by 
 myself ; except the circumstance which became afterward so 
 fully known, viz. the letters delivered to Marchand. News- 
 papers I know of none, except those sent by Sir P. Malcolm 
 through Dr. O'Meara. 
 
 " Have any complaints been made to you respecting provi- 
 sions ? — Complaints that the provisions were bad I have fre- 
 quently heard, most particularly before you came here ; since 
 your arrival not so frequent as before ; and they always have 
 been made known, and as far as appeared possible instantly 
 remedied. 
 
 " Has any complaint ever been made to you of shortness of 
 provisions ? — It never was brought forward to me as a com- 
 plaint ; but I have heard that there had been several conver- 
 sations on the subject with Dr. O'Meara, to whom they have 
 said they were short. The provisions were reduced in quan- 
 tity after the time of Sir George Cockburn's departure, and 
 gave rise to these remarks. 
 
 " Was there ever any complaint about the quantity of wine ? 
 — No ; I always understood they fixed the quantity themselves. 
 "What was the reason you did not mention to me when 
 you heard these observations made ? — I thought Dr. O'Meara 
 had mentioned it ; and as there was no complaint officially 
 made to me, I, of course made none to you." 
 Vol. I.— X 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LOKD BATHUB.ST's DISPATCHES DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE 
 
 GOVERNOR AND o'MEARA DISSENSIONS AMONG THE FRENCH 
 
 AT LONGWOOD THE STYLE AND EXPENSE OF LP7ING THERE 
 
 GROUNDS OF SIR HUDSON LOWe's DISSATISFACTION WITH 
 
 o'MEARA RECEPTION OF THE GOVERNOR'S ATTEMPTS TO 
 
 PROMOTE THE CONVENIENCE OF BONAPARTE DIFFICULTY OF 
 
 THE GOVERNOR'S POSITION COMPLAINTS OF A DEFICIENCY 
 
 OF FUEL EXAMINED. 
 
 In the course of this month the Governor received some 
 dispatches from the Colonial Secretary, in which Lord Bath- 
 urst expressed the Prince Regent's and his own entire appro- 
 val of his conduct toward Count Las Cases, in giving him the 
 option of returning to Longwood while he remained in St. 
 Helena, or of continuing separate from Bonaparte until in- 
 structions arrived from the English Government, or of pro- 
 ceeding at once to the Cape. Lord Bathurst said — 
 
 " It must, however, be admitted, that, although there is 
 the strongest presumption that Count Las Cases was determ- 
 ined at any rate not to return to Longwood, yet no direct 
 request to that effect was ever made to him by General Bona- 
 parte, not even on the morning of Count Las Cases' depart- 
 ure, which seems to have been postponed over night, at the 
 desire of General Bertrand, for the express purpose of giving 
 him time to be furnished with such an instruction. On the 
 contrary, the message which General Bertrand then brought 
 back from Longwood only showed that General Bonaparte 
 preferred accepting the offer of Count Las Cases' money to 
 that of his society ; and he obtained from the unhappy man 
 an order for all that he had left in England, without giving 
 him any real security, or even parting with a single article 
 of those valuable personals of which it is known the General 
 is possessed in St. Helena. There is something so much of 
 
July, 1817. ABUSE OF THE GOVERNOR. 483 
 
 injustice in this transaction that you are authorized to stop 
 the negotiation of the hills, if this dispatch should arrive in 
 time to do so, at least until you can ascertain whether Gene- 
 ral Bonaparte will consent to some arrangement which may 
 protect Count Las Cases from ruin. I have the less difficulty 
 in making this recommendation from the consideration of the 
 permission which has heen given to General Bonaparte to 
 draw on the ample funds which he states himself to possess in 
 Europe, and of the authority which you have received to ex- 
 ceed the limited sum of £12,000 a year for his maintenance, 
 if you should conceive that such an addition to his income 
 was really necessary for his comfort or convenience. Regard 
 however must always be had, in the execution of this part 
 of the dispatch, to the state of General Bonaparte's health at 
 the time, and the effect which such an interference may 
 have upon it. It only remains for me to express, on this 
 subject, my confident hope that you have not left General 
 Bonaparte in the uncontrolled possession of this money." 
 
 On the 18th of July, according to O'Meara, he had a con- 
 versation with Bonaparte, and told him that the Governor 
 had desired him to mention that he had been inquiring of 
 him (O'Meara) who was the author of the false report that 
 Rethwick had been prevented from selling his goods on shore, 
 and thereby sustained loss, and had suffered bad treatment. 1 
 Bonaparte answered that the gunner had said before Madame 
 Bertrand that he had been prevented from going on shore, 
 and had consequently been obliged to sell his little venture to 
 Solomon, or some other shopkeeper, for half-price and had 
 thereby sustained a great loss. O'Meara remarked, that 
 " probably the fellow had merely said that to excite pity, to 
 work upon their compassion, and to induce them to give him 
 a large sum of money." 2 To this Bonaparte replied, " I have 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. ii. p. 130. 
 
 2 This remark of O'Meara is, as we may expect, omitted in the 
 " Voice ;" but I have supplied it from a letter of O'Meara to Finlaison, 
 dated August 18, 1817. In the " Voice," vol. ii. pp. 130, 131, O'Meara 
 says that it was an unquestionable fact, and notorious on the island, 
 that the gunner " had been obliged to sell his little venture to Solomon 
 or some other shopkeeper for half-price." 
 
484 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 been informed that he was prevented from coming on shore 
 for several days on account of his having brought out the bust ; 
 and I believe it. I also believe that he was ill-treated — for 
 that is ill-treatment." 
 
 He then became very abusive against the Governor, and 
 after some sarcastic remarks desired O'Meara to deliver the 
 following answer, which was committed to writing : — " Tell 
 him that I am not obliged to render any account to my exe- 
 cutioner. You address insinuations to me : this was the prac- 
 tice of the petty tyrants of Italy. This man seems to have no 
 other object in view than to kill me by degrees, either mor- 
 ally or physically. An executioner would finish me at a 
 blow. His conduct is tortuous and surrounded with mystery. 
 It is only crime that walks in darkness. Some day or other 
 his Prince and his nation will be informed of his doings, and 
 his wicked conduct will be known ; and if he escape the just- 
 ice of the laws which he violates, he will not escape that of 
 the opinion of enlightened and feeling men. He is an un- 
 faithful commissioner ; he deceives his Government, as is evi- 
 dent from the twenty falsehoods and calumnies in the speech 
 of Lord Bathurst. His conduct in regard to the bust of my 
 son — which is proved — is abominable, and of a piece with 
 all his actions for the last twelve months. Till the end of 
 December his conduct has been that of a man who would 
 assassinate me ; since then he has been somewhat more tran- 
 quil. I judge of men by their conduct; I do not read the 
 hearts of men ; God alone reads their hearts. Leave me 
 alone. Do your duty as a doctor, do not stick pins into me. 
 Let us speak of medicine, and do not torment me with these 
 insinuations." 1 w 
 
 O'Meara calls his conversation with the Governor on the 
 21st " a long and very disagreeable discussion," nearly simi- 
 lar to that on the day before, with which, he says, " I shall 
 not fatigue the reader further than by stating that I request- 
 ed of him to remove me from my situation." 2 Some part ot 
 that discussion, however, ought to be recorded. It commenced 
 by the Governor's asking O'Meara if he could explain what 
 1 Voice, vol. ii. p. 132. " Ibid., p. 137. 
 
July, 1817. O'MEARA'S SUGGESTIONS. 485 
 
 Bonaparte meant by the offensive expressions which he had 
 used in the paper he (O'Meara) had received from him on the 
 1 8th ; and after adverting to the report about destroying the 
 bust, to Mr. Elphinstone's present, to the restrictions (which 
 the Governor endeavored, though without success, to convince 
 him had been relaxed since Sir George Cockburn's departure), 
 and to an application which O'Meara said he had been inform- 
 ed Sir Hudson had made to have him removed, the Governor 
 said that no such application had been made, nor was it 
 necessary, because he himself had full power to remove him 
 if he thought proper to do so. He afterward asked O'Meara 
 (we quote Major Gorrequer's minutes, who was present), 
 " What alterations in the regulations in force would, he con- 
 ceived, satisfy them at Longwood, and such as he could 
 allow of? Mr. O'Meara said, he was of opinion that every 
 thing being again put on the same footing it was during Sir 
 George Cockburn's time — allowing them to leave the road 1 — 
 to communicate within the island under certain modifications 
 by sealed letters — to make out a list of the persons the Gov- 
 ernor would permit General Bonaparte to see when he thought 
 proper to send for them. 3 The Governor asked what modifi- 
 cations he proposed in the correspondence within the island. 
 He answered, that they should not be allowed to communi- 
 cate with the commissioners, nor with any other person who 
 was not included in the list of names as above ; that letters, 
 sealed, should be sent to the orderly officer, who would inclose 
 them to the Governor ; that he would then open them, and 
 if they contained nothing improper they should be forwarded. 
 ' But,' observed the Governor, ' would they not expect those 
 letters to be answered ? and if they contained any thing im- 
 proper and that I retained them, what would be said ?' 'In 
 
 1 This restriction was made in the form of a request (" on est invite 
 de se borner a la route principale." See end of work) ; and the reason 
 for it was the danger of clandestine communication with the natives or 
 strangers. 
 
 12 This was the very thing that Bonaparte objected to. He said he 
 would accept no list specifying the persons he might visit. What he 
 wanted was that the Governor should make out a list of those whom 
 he might not visit. See p. 120, ante. 
 
486 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 that case,' replied Mr. O'Meara, ' you might send for the 
 persons to whom they were addressed, and read only such 
 part as you thought proper they should know, and which they 
 might answer.' The Governor asked what would be the use 
 of sending the letters sealed, if he was to open them. Mr. 
 O'Meara answered, there was no necessity for their knowing 
 it; at all events the appearance of freedom would reconcile 
 them to it ; as he had before mentioned to the Governor had 
 been remarked by General Bonaparte, that even ' l'aria della 
 liberta' would be something, though without the substance ; 
 conceding these points to them, he thought, from what he 
 could understand, would satisfy them. The Governor ex- 
 pressed his surprise at hearing such propositions from an En- 
 glishman ; it could only proceed from his siding with them 
 on all points, or his not having given the subject the consid- 
 eration it required. What would be the consequences of con- 
 ceding them the liberty of written communication ? would it 
 not be a subject of daily complaint and daily correspondence 
 with Bertrand ? would it not be giving them the opportunity 
 of venting their abuse and calumnies against him to every 
 body on the island? Mr. O'Meara said, as they would only 
 be allowed to write to the persons named in the list, it 
 would be the respectable inhabitants only of course. The 
 Governor asked, how could he draw that distinction between 
 the inhabitants of St. Helena ; why were the Commissioners 
 not to be regarded as such ? would it not be highly improper 
 that any of them should see such letters as that lately sent to 
 an illiterate man, Radovick the sailor, who could scarcely 
 read or write, containing nothing but the most scandalous in- 
 ventions and abuse against him ? and was he to submit to 
 be made the vehicle of such calumnies against himself?" 
 
 It appears then, from this conversation, that the high- 
 minded O'Meara proposed that the Governor should adopt 
 the mean and unworthy course of reading letters which were 
 sent through his hands sealed on the faith that they would 
 not be opened by him, but forwarded to their respective ad- 
 dresses unread. A more discreditable suggestion can hardly 
 be conceived. 
 
Jdly, 1817. DISPATCH TO EARL BATHURST. 487 
 
 On the 27th Sir Hudson Lowe wrote a private letter to 
 Earl Bathurst, and stated his opinion as to the causes of Bo- 
 naparte's increased exasperation against him at that moment. 
 He said — 
 
 "Many circumstances have conspired of late to- inflame 
 General Bonaparte's mind against me — your Lordship's 
 speech in Parliament, the stings of which he ascribes in a 
 great degree to my reports ; the communication which I be- 
 lieve Sir Pulteney Malcolm made to Count Bertrand on the 
 day of his departure, that he could not charge himself with 
 messages to the Duke of Bedford and Lord Holland, and 
 which would be of course attributed to me ; and latterly the 
 disappointment which General Bonaparte and all the Long- 
 wood establishment feel that I have not been willing to lend 
 myself to their views and those of the Commissioners for pri- 
 vate and unrestrained communication — motives it is true of 
 a sufficiently vexatious nature, but which they ought not on 
 reflection to ascribe to any other principle than that of my 
 duty. To give satisfaction to all parties is in fact a task 
 entirely above my power. Admiral Plampin does not seem 
 disposed to interfere in any shape, but where he does it is to 
 
 give support Of General Bonaparte himself, attacked 
 
 as I am by him, I wish to say little. Count Bertrand's let- 
 ters, which I believe are of his dictation, the message sent by 
 Dr. O'Meara, and the use he made of his interview with 
 Lord Amherst, show the disposition with which he is actua- 
 ted ; while his conduct in regard to the bust and the presents 
 sent by Mr. Elphinstone shows that no act of attention proves 
 satisfactory unless made with the sacrifice of some essential 
 principle or precaution in the discharge of the duties I have 
 to perform toward him. Much, however, of this arises from 
 mistrust — total want of personal communication — and having 
 no one near his person on whose statements and representa- 
 tions to him a full reliance can be placed." 
 
 But Sir Hudson Lowe was not the only object of Bona- 
 parte's resentment, nor were his regulations the only source 
 of discontent at Longwood. Dissensions of which no mention 
 
488 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 occurs in O'Meara's volumes not unfrequently happened be- 
 tweon the French officers, and between Bonaparte and some 
 of his suite. 1 Toward the end of July Napoleon quarreled 
 with General Gourgaud ; and the circumstance is thus stated 
 in a private letter to Earl Bathurst from Sir Hudson, dated 
 the 5 th of August : 
 
 " General Bonaparte and one of his officers, Baron Gour- 
 gaud, are at present on very bad terms. They have not seen 
 or spoken to each other this fortnight. General Gourgaud 
 had addressed a letter to me, requesting to be sent to the 
 Cape, but was advised by the Bertrands to recall it. General 
 Bonaparte has said he should rot be surprised that Gourgaud 
 put an end to himself. The latter has been long profoundly 
 discontented with his situation in General Bonaparte's family, 
 and is at the same time distracted at the thought of the dis- 
 grace which would attend, as he conceives, his abandonment 
 of him. He is jealous of the influence exercised over General 
 Bonaparte by Count Montholon, and which has been always 
 used to his prejudice. General Gourgaud, who is accustomed 
 to express his sentiments with more independence than any 
 other member of General Bonaparte's family, disapproved 
 very much of the letter written by General Bonaparte to 
 Count Las Cases, saying the latter was not deserving of the 
 notice taken of him. Count Montholon, who was on worse 
 terms with Count Las Cases than even General Gourgaud, 
 repeated these remarks to General Bonaparte, and, as I am 
 told, added also something more of his own. The irritation 
 produced by this and other causes has been excessive, and 
 Gourgaud has said he will not leave the island without meas- 
 uring swords with Count Montholon or slapping him in the 
 face. If Santini should be still in England, he can, 1 believe, 
 give some account of the quarrels among the officers of Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte's family. He wrote a letter when he was 
 passing here to Cipriani, the maitre-d'hotel (both Corsicans), 
 saying General Bonaparte would never be at ease while these 
 Frenchmen were quarreling among themselves about him. 
 
 1 See note at p. 201, ante. 
 
Acts. 1817. QUARREL WITH GENERAL GOURGAUD. 489 
 
 The cause of the present alienation of General Bonaparte from 
 General Gourgaud I have not been able precisely to learn. 
 The latter was disputing with him about the Russian cam- 
 paign, and [also] telling him he ought to have put himself at 
 the head of the army of the Loire instead of giving himself up 
 to the English, which irritated General Bonaparte exceed- 
 ingly. This is all I know, but it seems to me as not improb- 
 able General Bonaparte may have been dissatisfied at some- 
 thing he may have said or done, or something he may not 
 have been willing to say or do, to the Commissioners, as he 
 has been reproaching him with want of moral courage. Some 
 
 scene will ensue or time will develop 
 
 " P.S. I have just received a note from Longwood, men- 
 tioning that General Bonaparte met General Gourgaud at 
 dinner again yesterday, and it is supposed matters are made 
 up between them." 
 
 This was, however, only a temporary reconciliation. At 
 all events, Baron Gourgaud found his position by no means 
 comfortable, and, as will be seen hereafter, he at least determ- 
 ined not to remain where he was exposed to the ill-temper 
 of his companions in exile. He was at least complaining of 
 all the French officers, and did not agree with them in pre- 
 tending that the conduct of the Governor was harsh or un- 
 kind. About this very time he expressed himself strongly to 
 Count Balmain, the Russian Commissioner, in disapprobation 
 of the mode in which Bonaparte had conducted himself to- 
 ward Sir Hudson Lowe personally, and said that if he had 
 been in the Governor's situation he would have acted with 
 more rigor; making use of the expression, " Je les aurais 
 bloques plus itroitement : il a cause de se plaindreT "I 
 would have confined them more closely ; he (i. e. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe) has a good right to complain." This coming from a 
 person in Gourgaud's situation, who must have known the 
 exact state of facts which have been made the subject of so 
 much animadversion, is valuable testimony, as showing that, 
 in the opinion of one at least of the party at Longwood, Bona- 
 parte and not the Governor was in the wrong. 
 
 x* 
 
490 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 On the 18th of August O'Meara wrote a long letter to Mr. 
 Finlaison, containing a narrative of the incidents relating to 
 the bust and Mr. Elphinstone's present of chessmen. He also 
 detailed the particulars of a conversation he had with the 
 Governor on the 17th of July, which nearly correspond with 
 what he has printed in his book i 1 and after mentioning that 
 Bonaparte had told him on the 20th that he had found Sir 
 Pulteney Malcolm one of the most zealous defenders of the Gov- 
 ernor, and that he supported him in every measure, O'Meara 
 adds, " To my knowledge the Admiral endeavored to justify 
 him with Bonaparte in some things in which he really thought 
 he had gone too far, but in which still he thought it advisable 
 to appear to support him, in order not to manifest to Bona- 
 parte that any difference of opinion with respect to his treat- 
 ment existed between the heads of the military and the naval 
 department. In my humble opinion Sir Hudson has badly 
 fulfilled the intentions of Government : for by his harsh treat- 
 ment of Bonaparte, especially by stinting him in the necessa- 
 ries of life, he had made even those who were his greatest ene- 
 mies pity him — and pity is nearly akin to liking ; independ- 
 ent of his having caused a subject to be agitated and discussed 
 which it were to be wished should as much as possible sink 
 into oblivion." 
 
 It will be observed that O'Meara here asserts in his letter 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe stinted Bonaparte in the necessaries of 
 life. If this charge were true, nothing more need be said by 
 his enemies, for the public would be readily disposed to imag- 
 ine the worst misconduct on the part of an officer who could 
 behave with such miserable meanness toward those committed 
 to his charge. But let us see what O'Meara means by the 
 term "necessaries of life." On the very next day, the 19th 
 of August, he had a long conversation with the Governor, at 
 which Major Gorrequer was present, when the reduction 
 which had taken place in the expenses of the establishment 
 at Longwood was discussed, and Sir Hudson remarked that 
 both Sir Pulteney Malcolm and himself were always of opin- 
 ion that £12,000, a year ought to be amply sufficient. Major 
 1 See "Voice,' - vol. ii. pp. 129, 130. 
 
Atjg. 1817. EXPENSIVE STYLE OF LIVING. 491 
 
 Gorrequer tells us that then " O'Meara answered it would 
 have been quite sufficient ivith English people, but tvas of 
 opinion it was not sufficient for French; that they used 
 30lbs. of beef in soup every day, which was boiled down to 
 rags and not fit for any thing else aftencard ; their consom- 
 mes required a great deal of meat, and they ate two dinners 
 in the day. The Governor said if they chose to make use of 
 their meat in that kind of way there was no saying what 
 would be enough ; a couple of hams or lOOlbs. of meat would 
 go little way in consommes, hut had there ever been a want ? 
 Mr. O'Meara said he did not mean to say there had been a 
 want, but there certainly wus not enough to keep a good table." 
 
 It appears, therefore, that what O'Meara in his letter called 
 " stinting Bonaparte in the necessaries of life," was a check 
 put to what Englishmen would describe as extravagant waste, 
 and it was surely his duty not to sanction expenditure on a 
 scale which permitted thirty pounds of meat daily to be boiled 
 down for soup alone. But without this explanation, all who 
 put credence in his first statement would have imagined that 
 the French were reduced to little short of absolute want. 1 
 
 In the course of the same conversation, according to Major 
 Gorrequer, " the Governor asked Mr. O'Meara since what 
 period these violent attacks had been made on him by General 
 Bonaparte. He answered, since the speech of Lord Bathurst ; 
 he had never expressed himself in so violent a manner before, 
 and for a good while previous to his reading the speech he 
 had not shown any feeling of that sort. The Governor said 
 it was all feigned, all acting ; he really did not believe it pro- 
 ceeded from personal dislike alone, though he was endeavor- 
 ing to have it so believed in Europe, and by that means try 
 and have him recalled from this government ; the fact was, 
 General Bonaparte found him in his way. He (the Governor) 
 was, however, merely an instrument here to execute the in- 
 
 1 AVhile on the subject of provisions we may mention that, on the 2d 
 of September, O'Meara stated in conversation to the Governor that he 
 had in three or four instances sent back meat which was fly-blown, but 
 that the meat sent up for a long time past had been extremely good. 
 In the case of the meat sent back the Governor was not informed of the 
 circumstance at the time. 
 
492 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 structions of his Government. It could not, therefore, he a, 
 dislike to his person, but because he did his duty and he stood 
 in the way of their communication. Mr. O'Meara said he 
 had no doubt General Bonaparte would be glad of the Gov- 
 ernor's recall ; he did not think one man could have more dis- 
 like for another than he had for the Governor ; that the Gov- 
 ernor should not be surprised at his disliking him, as it was 
 on his arrival the alterations had been made in Sir George 
 
 Cockburn's regulations Mr. O'Meara afterward, when 
 
 on the subject of the complaints at Longwood, remarked that 
 it was very unfortunate there had been any reduction in the 
 allowance for the expenditure of the establishment, for it was 
 one of those things which Englishmen would cry out most 
 against. The Governor said that was a subject which, at all 
 events, they could not bring against him as a personal one, for 
 that he had taken upon his own responsibility to add one-half 
 more than the sum directed by Government, and that General 
 Montholon had told Major Gorrequer that what was said in 
 his letter to the Governor was not intended to apply to him, 
 but to the Government ; that besides, complaints had never 
 been made to him of deficiencies, but what had been imme- 
 diately attended to The Governor asked, "Are they 
 
 now sufficiently supplied, or are there any complaints ?" He 
 answered, "They are now amply supplied, certainly;" that 
 there was no complaint. Mr. O'Meara also spoke about the 
 plate, and the effect this and the want of a sufficient allow- 
 ance for the supply of provisions had produced — that it was 
 a subject of common conversation." 
 
 A few days afterward, however, in another conversation, 
 Sir Hudson Lowe having observed that, at the very time 
 when the plate was broken up on pretense of a want of 
 money, Bonaparte offered to give Mr. Balcombe a bill for 
 £30,000, " Mr. O'Meara," says Major Gorrequer, "here fully 
 acknowledged he thought the breaking up of the plate had 
 been for the purpose of producing an efFect." 
 
 At the former interview Sir Hudson commented on the fact 
 of O'Meara having permitted General Montholon to leave his 
 letter to the Governor in O'Meara's room, upon his having 
 
Aug. 1817. STATE OF HIS HEALTH. 493 
 
 repeated at Sir Pulteney Malcolm's the observations made by 
 Bonaparte on Lord Bathurst's speech, and of having been the 
 medium of delivering newspapers at Longwood without his 
 authority ; and he said that, previous to these occurrences, 
 he knew of no reason to be dissatisfied with O'Meara's con- 
 duct, but these were circumstances to shake his confidence, 
 and he certainly had not had the same confidence in him 
 since. O'Meara justified himself about the delivery of the 
 newspapers by saying that the Governor had known in several 
 instances of his having done so, and mentioned the case of 
 the newspaper which contained an account of the dissolution 
 of the Chamber of Deputies, when Sir Hudson did not express 
 any disapprobation. He added that after all these were not 
 very high crimes and misdemeanors. The Governor, how- 
 ever, said that they were not matters to be treated with 
 levity, and that he considered them of a much more import- 
 ant nature than O'Meara seemed to be aware of. He also 
 mentioned " that he had not forgotten he had told him he 
 would give him some written instructions, but it was difficult 
 to make them out. If there was confidence on both sides 
 they were unnecessary ; if there was not, they were useless." 1 
 The obstinate refusal of Bonaparte to take exercise, so long 
 as the regulation was in force requiring him to be attended 
 by a British officer if he rode beyond his limits, was begin- 
 ning to tell seriously upon his health, and on the 27th of Sep- 
 tember O'Meara informed the Governor that a swelling of the 
 lower extremities had taken place and was increasing. His 
 appetite also was not so good as formerly, and he complained 
 of want of rest at night. For these symptoms O'Meara said 
 that he had recommended some medical remedies, and above 
 all, exercise on horseback. In consequence of this report Sir 
 Hudson went the next day to Longwood, attended by Sir 
 Thomas Ueade and Major Gorrequer, and had a long inter- 
 view with Count Bertrand, expressing his solicitude about 
 Napoleon's health, and suggesting that Mr. Baxter should be 
 called in and consulted. Bertrand spoke with much bitter- 
 ness and warmth on the subject of the restrictions, which he 
 1 Major Gorrequer's Minutes. 
 
494 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 said were the reason why the Emperor did not take exercise, 
 and this was the sole cause of his malady. After consider- 
 ahle discussion on this point, the Governor said, it was best 
 to come at once to the object which had brought him there, 
 which was, that, as the tent which had been last year con- 
 structed in consequence of Bonaparte's wish to have a shel- 
 tered place in the garden near the house, where he might not 
 be exposed to the sun, now no longer existed, it had occurred 
 to him that something more durable and of greater extent 
 might be substituted. " He would therefore beg Count Ber- 
 trand to propose the erection of a wooden barrack, such as 
 those used by the regiment at Deadwood, which, being in 
 pieces ready to put together, might be got up before the great 
 summer heats began. If General Bonaparte approved of it, 
 it would be erected in such part of the garden as he himself 
 might cause to be pointed out, and with some decoration in- 
 side. A large saloon would thus be formed which would 
 afford him a space of sixty or eighty feet in length to walk 
 in. Count Bertrand remained for some time silent, appa- 
 rently absorbed in what he had himself been speaking of, or 
 disconcerted at the different turn given to the conversation, 
 when the Governor said, ' Est-ce que vous ne m'entendez 
 pas, Monsieur?' He replied, ' Oui ;' then observed, that the 
 ' Emperor' had expressed a dislike to having workmen em- 
 ployed near the house. The Governor explained that the 
 building was of such a nature that it would require few men 
 to put it up, and but a very short time to finish it — it was 
 only a temporary erection, by no means such as he would 
 wish to build for General Bonaparte, nor was it ' convenable' 
 for any other purpose than to procure in the quickest possible 
 way a space for him to walk in where he would find shade 
 from the sun when the summer heat commenced. Nor, in- 
 deed, had he ever considered Longwood House as a suitable 
 residence for him ; rooms might have been added, it is true, 
 but General Bonaparte did not appear to wish it, and had 
 objected to workmen being employed there ; it was at all 
 events only joining new parts to old without durability or 
 solidity. He had represented the state of the building to 
 
Sept. 1817. PROPOSAL TO BUILD A SALOON. 495 
 
 Government between two and three months since, and ap- 
 plied for instructions about it ; meantime this wooden build- 
 ing might be found useful, at all events for the purposes he 
 then proposed it, even better than the tent, and more durable. 
 Count Bertrand said he would inform the ' Emperor.' The 
 Governor then rose and took his leave, saying, as he was 
 going out of the room, ' La seide restriction qu'il y a est la 
 presence d'un qfficier Anglais. The Count shrugged up his 
 shoulders and made no reply." 1 
 
 Bertrand communicated to Bonaparte the purport of the 
 Governor's visit, and, on the 30th of September, addressed a 
 letter to him, in which he gave a deplorable account of Bona- 
 parte's health, saying that his very existence during the last 
 six weeks had been extremely painful, that the doctors, who 
 attributed it all to the want of exercise, would tell him that 
 there was no time to be lost, and that in three or four weeks 
 perhaps it would be too late. 2 Bertrand complained bitterly 
 of the restrictions, and said, " The question may be put in two 
 words : Do you wish to kill the Emperor ? If you persist in 
 your conduct you will yourself have declared in the affirm- 
 ative, and, unhappily, the object will probably be attained 
 after a few months' suffering." But not the slightest notice 
 was taken in the letter of Sir Hudson Lowe's offer to send Mr. 
 Baxter. Count Bertrand told him that he had mentioned to 
 Bonaparte his proposal " to set up a soldiers' wooden barrack 
 near the house, where the Emperor might walk," which he, 
 however, regarded as a mockery and of a piece with the man- 
 ner in which he had been treated for the last two years. Ber- 
 trand added, " Allow me to observe, Sir, that unless you sup- 
 press the restrictions of the 9th of October, 1816, and 14th 
 of March, 1817, and if you do not re-establish things, at least, 
 as they were in the time of the Admiral, the Emperor can 
 not go out." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe commented fully on the contents of this 
 letter in a dispatch which he forwarded to Earl Bathurst at 
 the end of the year, and from which extracts have already 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer's Minutes. 
 
 2 See this letter at the end of the work. 
 
496 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 been given when we considered the question of the altered 
 regulations. 1 We will add here a few more quotations. 2 Sir 
 Hudson said — 
 
 " If Napoleon Bonaparte has not thought fit to take exer- 
 cise, it is entirely his own fault. His limits altogether com- 
 prehended a space of about twelve miles ; he had within this 
 a space of four miles to walk or ride about in absolute privacy, 
 unseen by any individual except those of his own family, and 
 such very few persons having business on the spot as can 
 areate no impediment or intrusion whatever ; within this 
 space no sentries are placed. He had further an extent of 
 about eight miles within the same limits where he was liable 
 to meet different persons, but none who were likely to inter- 
 fere with or intrude upon him. If he desired to take the whole 
 circuit of his limits, viz. about twelve miles, there was until 
 recently a space of about four, intervening between the road 
 which formed the boundary to the southward and Longwood, 
 consisting of ravines, which would be usually considered as 
 impracticable ; but at the top and in the hollows of which 
 there were several inhabitants' houses as well as habitations 
 of free blacks and of slaves. This part he was requested not 
 to traverse ; he had revolted at the idea of being requested 
 not to enter houses except in the presence of a British officer, 
 and these were therefore not placed within his limits — a re- 
 serve being held on this point until some guarantee could be 
 obtained, and which I had reason given me to suppose he was 
 not on the whole adverse to affording. Previous, however, to 
 receiving Count Bertrand's letter, the whole of the space had 
 been laid open to him. It has been since laid open to the 
 whole of his officers and domestics. 
 
 " The proposal of building another house for him could only 
 spring from a desire to add to his comforts or to evince atten- 
 tion to his former situation ; but it met one of those disgust- 
 ing repulses with which almost every such offer of attention 
 
 1 See pp. 287-294, ante. 
 
 2 The rest of the letter not given in the text here and previously will 
 be found at the end of the work. 
 
Sept. 1817. THE SALOON AND LIMITS. 497 
 
 has been received. This 'baraque de soldats,' as it is called, 
 is a temporary wooden building of about seventy feet long and 
 twenty wide, which I offered to have fitted up, painted, and 
 decorated in a handsome manner as a kind of saloon or sum- 
 mer-house (like one of the Knightsbridge houses), to be put 
 up in any part of his garden which Napoleon Bonaparte might 
 choose, in the place of a tent which had before existed. It 
 was so constructed that it required only a fortnight or three 
 weeks to put it up, and it would have added more to his com- 
 fort and accommodation within a short space of time than 
 any thing else I could have possibly done for him, except giv- 
 ing him up the Plantation House, which the orders of the 
 East India Company forbade. It was further distinctly ex- 
 plained to Count Bertrand, at the time the offer was made, 
 that it was merely as a temporary building — a substitute for 
 a tent. The reply, however, was precisely what I foretold it 
 would be when I made the offer. I know of no house which 
 offers the advantages thus spoken of, Plantation House ex- 
 cepted. Longwood House is the next best house in the coun- 
 try : there is none else which can in any way compare with 
 it. In fact, the best house after Longwood may be considered 
 to be that built close to it for Count Bertrand. Within his 
 present limits there is a house the most agreeably situated 
 perhaps on the island, and with the most trees about it, known 
 to every person who has ever visited St. Helena under the 
 name of Miss Mason's. This house and garden I have offered 
 to hire for his use during the summer, or until instructions 
 may arrive respecting the new house for him, but no acknowl- 
 edgment has been made for it. I have offered also a greater 
 extension of limits, under certain precautions of the least pos- 
 sible restraint upon him : it remains equally without acknowl- 
 edgment. Nothing has ever impeded his taking exercise on 
 horseback, for whatever restraints he might have imagined 
 in the Regulation of the 9th of October while it lasted, or in 
 that of the 14th of March, which only applied to a particular 
 part of his limits, there has been nothing to prevent his taking 
 as much exercise as he pleased, either in a carriage, on foot, 
 or on horseback, within his own grounds at Longwood. The 
 
498 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 real fact is, that, from whatever cause proceeding, he has for 
 a long time past left off taking any exercise on horseback, and 
 he can not with any show of justice ascribe it to the restric- 
 tions alone, for during several months after my arrival he went 
 out almost daily in his carriage round the grounds of Long- 
 wood, and never during that time mounted a horse. This can 
 be regarded in no other light than as a menace he would put 
 himself to death unless I comply with his demands, and then 
 accuse me as his assassin. This is a base defamatory insinu- 
 ation which it is beneath me to reply to." 
 
 Let every candid reader fairly consider the contents of this 
 letter, and then ask himself whether there was any thing in 
 the restrictions, properly understood, to justify the language 
 of abuse which has been bestowed upon them, and upon the 
 Governor for enforcing them ; and whether it was not a wicked 
 perversion of truth to describe his offer to minister to Napo- 
 leon's comfort by the erection of a wooden saloon as a mock- 
 ery arid an insult. 
 
 About this time dispatches from Lord Bathurst were re- 
 ceived by the Governor in which the question was discussed 
 how far the regulations in force could be fairly considered to 
 interfere with the exercise which a due regard to the preser- 
 vation of Bonaparte's health required. The Colonial Secre- 
 tary expressed his full approval of all the measures adopted 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe, and said that Bonaparte imposed upon 
 himself restraints which did not necessarily grow out of the 
 restrictions themselves. But he added — 
 
 " Nevertheless, if it shall appear that his having the per- 
 mission to go over the whole range of the inclosure, twelve 
 miles in circumference, without the attendance of an officer 
 would reconcile him to a freer use of exercise in the air, it 
 may be advisable for you to consider whether, if the state of 
 his health shall really render that indulgence necessary, you 
 can not make such arrangements as may enable you to con- 
 sult his feelings in this particular, although it does not appear 
 that he has ever availed himself of the liberty when it was 
 in his power to do so. But some allowance may reasonably 
 
Sept. 1817. ALLEGED GRIEVANCES. 499 
 
 be made for the caprice which ill-health, sorrow, and disap- 
 pointment are apt to excite even in minds under better dis- 
 cipline and of a happier disposition. There is not, however, 
 any reason for extending this indulgence to his followers, ex- 
 cept when in immediate attendance on him." 
 
 It was no doubt an anxious office which Sir Hudson Lowe 
 had to perform. It is hardly possible to exaggerate the diffi- 
 culty of his position. To mark the precise line between re- 
 striction and indulgence — to reconcile his duty as Governor, 
 responsible for the safe custody of Napoleon, with a desire 
 to alleviate as much as possible the irksome restraint of his 
 captivity, required the union of firmness and gentleness, kind- 
 ness and tact, and a degree of discretion rarely to be met with. 
 And yet this was what the instructions from the English 
 Government properly required. While they insisted upon the 
 fortiter in re, they did not wish Sir Hudson Lowe to forget 
 the suaviter in modo, although every attempt on his part to 
 conciliate had been rejected with contumely and rude repulse. 
 Lord Bathurst had thus written to him in the early part of 
 the year : 
 
 " I have only therefore to express my satisfaction that you 
 have already anticipated that part of my instructions which 
 relates to allowing General Bonaparte every relaxation and 
 indulgence in any degree conducive to his health or comfort, 
 so long as they are not incompatible with the security of his 
 person ; for as, on the one hand, it is the earnest wish of the 
 Prince Regent that there should be no restraints placed on 
 General Bonaparte beyond what the safe custody of his person 
 requires, so, on the other hand, it would be unwarrantable to 
 remove any which are necessary for the due execution of this 
 important trust." 
 
 It would be a disagreeable and fatiguing task to pursue at 
 any length the petty details of alleged grievances connected 
 with the supply of articles at Longwood, the sum total of 
 which amounts to this, that now and then accidental defi- 
 ciencies occurred, such as could not but sometimes happen in 
 furnishing so large an establishment in an island so little 
 favored by nature as St. Helena. It would rather disgust than 
 
500 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 interest the reader to chronicle with accuracy every complaint, 
 if the beef chanced to be fly-blown or the mutton indifferent, 
 or there was not enough water to fill the baths, which were 
 in such constant requisition by Napoleon. All these matters 
 of temporary inconvenience have been already made known 
 to the world, and form no inconsiderable items in the cata- 
 logue of offenses with which Sir Hudson Lowe has been 
 charged. Every mistake or neglect of the purveyor has been 
 visited on his head, as though he personally superintended 
 and was responsible for all the arrangements for the supply 
 of the kitchen and larder at Longwood. But what is of im- 
 portance to be known is, that from time to time, as soon as 
 he was informed that any complaint of this kind existed, im- 
 mediate steps were taken to remedy what was amiss, so far 
 as means for that purpose were in his power. It is not too 
 much to say that Sir Hudson Lowe, throughout the whole of 
 his correspondence, displays an almost nervous anxiety to fur- 
 nish every thing on the most liberal scale that could contrib- 
 ute to the material comforts of Napoleon and his suite. And 
 it must be remembered that many things which might have 
 been put right in a moment, if Napoleon had not resolutely 
 determined to have no personal intercourse with the Governor, 
 assumed the appearance of a much greater degree of magni- 
 tude and importance than they deserved, when they were 
 allowed to accumulate for the purpose of being set forth as 
 grievances in diplomatic style by Las Cases, Bertrand, or 
 Montholon. When, under the date of the 11th of May, 1817, 
 O'Meara tells us 1 that the quantity of wood and coals allowed 
 were not nearly sufficient, and that he, at Count Montholon's 
 request, represented this to the Governor, who, after some 
 discussion, said that he would give orders for an additional 
 supply, it might be inferred that the French were improperly 
 stinted in the use of these necessary articles ; that from par- 
 simony, or a worse motive, Sir Hudson Lowe was reluctant 
 to allow them more. But what were the facts ? On the 
 9th of May Major Gorrequer thus wrote to O'Meara from 
 Plantation House, addressing him as "Dear Doctor :" 
 
 "Voice," vol. ii. p. 31. 
 
Sept. 1817. THE FUEL GRIEVANCE. 501 
 
 " The moment you left me yesterday I wrote to Mr. 
 Fowler, desiring that he would dispatch an additional supply 
 of wood and coals to Longwood as soon as he possibly could 
 this morning. I have since received the Governor's instruc- 
 tions to order that the future quantity of coals should be 
 doubled, making ten bags a-day instead of five (the present 
 quantity furnished), and the supply of wood to remain the 
 same as now. This arrangement is made in consequence of 
 the urgent necessity which exists to avoid as much as possible 
 the destruction of wood in the island — an article so scarce 
 here as to afford very little resource, and the use of which it 
 is consequently most important to economize. At Plantation 
 House (an establishment not less numerous than that of 
 Longwood), where two kitchen fires are constantly kept, and 
 a laundry besides, which requires more fuel than the cooking, 
 only five bags of coals are used daily and no wood. The 
 present arrangement would, therefore, appear to offer an 
 ample supply, for though warm baths are used at Longwood 
 there is no laundry." 
 
 While anxious, however, not to weary the reader with a 
 minute account and refutation of every complaint made by 
 the French exiles, I do not forget that an aggregate of small 
 discomforts might materially affect their position at Longwood, 
 and if these were caused by the willful conduct of the Gov- 
 ernor abusing his power they would be acts of vexatious tyr- 
 anny : and of such conduct he has been from first to last 
 accused. It is therefore indispensable that we should ex- 
 amine generally the alleged facts, and see whether they bear 
 the interpretation which has been put upon them. For this 
 reason it is proper to say a few more words respecting the 
 fuel grievance. 
 
 The intimation contained in Major Gorrequer's letter of the 
 9th of May was construed by the French into a refusal to 
 furnish more wood than a certain stated allowance, even 
 although the stock was exhausted ; and accordingly, when 
 this happened to occur on the 4th of September, instead of 
 applying for an increase, the servants broke up a bedstead and 
 some shelves to replenish the fires at Longwood O'Meara 
 
502 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 saw this, and spoke to Montholon on the subject, who merely 
 referred to the letter of the 9th of May, and said that if an 
 application had heen made the same answer would have been 
 returned. Next day O'Meara had a conversation with Sir 
 Hudson Lowe on what had happened, and stated, in the 
 words of Major Gorrequer, who was present, "that General 
 Bonaparte did not like coals, and that he had been obliged at 
 times to leave Madame Montholon's room from his dislike to 
 them ; that wood was used in warming their baths, as it was 
 more expeditiously done than with coals. He further declared 
 he had himself told General Bonaparte that a supply of wood 
 had been sent by the Governor's orders the day before, as soon 
 as he was informed of its being wanted, and that it was a pity 
 an application was not made to the Governor for an increase. 
 General Bonaparte answered he did not wish to have any 
 thing asked for when he could pay for it himself. The Gov- 
 ernor observed this was always the way : they never would 
 tell what they required, and then complained of the want 
 of it ; that he had ever desired a list might be given in of 
 what they wished for from England, in order that it should be 
 indented for [i. e. put into the indent or list sent to England], 
 but could not obtain it. Mr. O'Meara said he had himself 
 asked General Bertrand for a list of what articles they would 
 require from England, as above mentioned, who answered 
 ' Qu'il ne se melait pas de ces choses-la.' " 
 
 O'Meara afterward, on the 14th, wrote to Major Gorrequer, 
 and told him that he had, according to the directions of Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, explained to Bonaparte that the Governor had 
 made a calculation of the quantity of fuel which would be 
 necessary for Longwood, not by a comparison with a small 
 establishment, but with the largest on the island, Plantation 
 House ; and that he had thought allowing twice as much 
 coals as were consumed there, together with three hundred- 
 weight of wood daily over and above, would have proved 
 sufficient ; that, besides, no complaints had been made ; that 
 if any representations had been laid before him he would have 
 increased the quantity, and that he had now given orders for 
 an immediate increase in the quantity of wood. Bonaparte 
 replied that they did not choose to expose themselves to a re- 
 
Sept. 1817. THE FUEL GRIEVANCE. 503 
 
 fusal, or to a similar answer to the one they had already re- 
 ceived, viz. that there was not wood enough in the island ; that 
 there was too much coals furnished, and too little wood ; that, 
 even allowing his preferring wood to coals was a whim, 1 and 
 that he had not that delicacy of smell which he possessed, he 
 saw no reason why he should not indulge it ; that the Gov- 
 ernor caused fuel to he furnished like Dread, a certain quan- 
 tity daily, without paying any attention to the seasons. 2 
 
 When O'Meara spoke to General Montholon, and showed 
 him the letter of the 9th of May, that officer replied that they 
 were not obliged to regulate their conduct by what was done 
 at Plantation House ; that because the Governor did not choose 
 to burn fires they were not obliged to follow his example ; 
 that, moreover, there were only three or four fireplaces at Plan- 
 tation House, and twenty- three at Longwood ; 3 that also they 
 were natives of a more southern climate than the English, 
 and stood in need of fires ; that Longwood was so damp that 
 even with fires constantly burning in the rooms Madame Mon- 
 tholon's clothes were spoiled by the humidity ; that fires were 
 absolutely necessary for the preservation of their health ; that 
 he did not like to beg for a few pounds of wood and receive 
 the same answer as they had before — that there was not 
 enough of wood on the island. He also added that he did not 
 intend to ask for any thing more ; that he had gone to town 
 and paid £35 for a carpet for his wife's room, for which he 
 asked before repeatedly in vain. 4 
 
 In the same letter to Major Gorrequer O'Meara said, " I in- 
 
 1 " The wood was allowed expressly for the fires in his rooms." — 
 Note by Sir Hudson Loioe. See the Governor's account of this incident 
 in a letter to Earl Bathurst at the end of the work. 
 
 3 " It was at the change of season the quantity was increased " — 
 Note by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 3 " The number of fires at Plantation House daily in winter are from 
 nine to eleven ; at Longwood, when the calculation was made, in May, 
 fourteen. They must burn a fire in every room to make up the rest, 
 while the English living in the same house, and the officers with their 
 families at the camp, use no fires at all." — Note by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 4 " A carpet was sent up but rejected, as not being sufficiently good 
 for Madame Montholon's drawing-room." — Note by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
50-1 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV. 
 
 formed General Bonaparte that some months past the quan- 
 tity of wood had been fixed at three hundred weight daily, 
 which, together with ten bags of coals daily, was considered 
 sufficient ; that, however, I was convinced, had an application 
 been made to the Governor stating that it was not enough, it 
 would have been remedied." And he adds that he observed 
 to Bonaparte " that there certainly was a scarcity of wood on 
 the island, which rendered the consumption of coals desirable. 
 He replied, ' If the Governor says any thing to you about it, 
 you may tell him that 1 said every thing ought to be cheap 
 here, and that were it not for the monopoly of the East India 
 Company it would be so ; that where the sea is open every 
 thing ought to be cheap. However,' continued he, ' to do him 
 justice, I believe he would if he could effect it, and that he 
 has tried to do so.' " x 
 
 Alas ! who can read the narrative of these undignified dis- 
 putes without calling to mind the lines of Byron ? — 
 
 " Yes ! where is he, the champion and the child 
 Of all that's great or little, wise or wild 1 
 Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were thrones — 
 Whose table earth — whose dice were human bones 1 
 Behold the grand result in yon lone isle, 
 And, as thy nature urges, weep or smile, 
 Sigh to behold the eagle's lofty rage 
 Reduced to nibble at his narrow cage ; 
 Smile to survey the queller of the nations 
 Now daily squabbling o'er disputed rations ; 
 Weep to perceive him mourning as he dines 
 O'er curtail'd dishes and o'er stinted wines ; 
 O'er petty quarrels upon petty things : 
 Is this the man who scourged or feasted kings'! 
 Behold the scales on which his fortune hangs — 
 A surgeon's statement and an earl's harangues ; 
 A bust delayed, a book refused, can shake 
 The sleep of him who kept the world awake !" 
 
 1 Let the reader compare the above statement of facts, taken from 
 Major Gorrequer's Minutes and O'Meara's own letter with the account 
 given by the latter in his book (" Voice," vol. ii. pp. 195, 196), and he 
 will see what an adept the writer was in the art of misrepresentation. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 proposal for the extension op napoleon's limits cor- 
 respondence between sir hudson lowe and count 
 
 bertrand observations by napoleon on lord bath- 
 
 urst's speech, addressed to lord liverpool napo- 
 leon and the officers of the fifty-third regiment 
 
 regulations at this time in force letters on the 
 
 subject between count bertrand and the governor 
 
 " apostille" written by bonaparte, and sir hudson 
 
 lowe's remarks. 
 
 As O'Meara, on the 1st of October, gave an unfavorable 
 report of Bonaparte's health, and said that he apprehended his 
 patient might be suffering under an attack of chronic hepatitis, 
 Sir Hudson Lowe wrote the next day, to Bertrand, as follows : 
 
 " Having taken into consideration the objections which so 
 strongly disincline General Bonaparte from taking any exercise 
 on horseback within his present limits, I have the honor to sig- 
 nify to you for his information, that, although for nearly six 
 months after my arrival in this island, when the whole of the 
 space in the ravines between Longwood and the new road by 
 Woody Ridge lay open to him, he never once rode in that 
 direction ; that he then only took exercise either within the 
 grounds of Longwood or in the road to Hutt's Gate ; that the 
 now road by "Woody Ridge, which embraces the whole circuit 
 of his first limits, gives the same extent of riding ground of 
 nearly twelve miles as before, in the only part of the space 
 which would be usually considered as practicable for horse 
 exercise, unaccompanied by an officer ; and finally, that the 
 only real restraint which General Bonaparte is under from 
 ridin ' or walking over any other part of the island arises from 
 his own predominant objection against permitting an English 
 officer to accompany or be near him, I shall notwithstanding, 
 Vol. I.— Y 
 
506 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 in deference to the perseverance of his opinion on a point 
 where he exposes his own health so much by it, make such 
 an arrangement as will throw open to him the whole of the 
 space between Longwood and the new road, thus enabling 
 him to traverse it on foot or on horseback in any direction he 
 may choose. 
 
 " The same latitude, however, I do not feel myself war- 
 ranted in extending to the officers and other persons of his 
 family (as the same motives do not apply to them), except at 
 the time they may be in immediate personal attendance upon 
 him." 
 
 This offer was not only refused, but the proposed arrange- 
 ment was declared by Bonaparte to be more arbitrary and 
 unjust than the former. According to O'Meara he character- 
 ized it as "mere tracasserie," 1 and the objection was made 
 that the posting of the sentries rendered it impossible for him 
 to take exercise on horseback as his health required. In con- 
 sequence of this the Governor again wrote to Count Bertrand 
 stating that he had removed the obnoxious sentries ; 2 and he 
 added — " I have, to give a still further proof of my desire to 
 meet his view, where an objection may be still supposed to 
 exist against his taking the horse exercise which is represented 
 as so necessary to his health, resolved not to insist upon the 
 exclusion of the officers and other persons of his suite from the 
 use of the space of ground designated in my letter of the 2d, 
 when they are not in attendance upon him, but that the whole 
 of the space shall be thrown open equally to them as to him, 
 so that there can in such case be no mistake of persons, or 
 any likelihood of interruption proceeding from such cause." 
 
 At the same time, however, Sir Hudson Lowe informed 
 Count Bertrand, in a letter dated the 6th of October, that no 
 consideration whatever would induce him to relinquish the 
 regulation which prescribed that sentries should be placed 
 round the garden at Longwood House after sunset, unless 
 
 1 "Voice," vol. ii. p. 258. 
 
 2 It will hardly be believed that, although O'Meara states at length 
 Bonaparte's objection to the sentries ("Voice," vol. ii. p. SJ58), he sup- 
 presses all mention of their removal ! 
 
Oct. 1817. CHANGE OF APPELLATION. 507 
 
 Bonaparte would consent to be accompanied by a British of- 
 ficer if he wished to take exercise outside the garden after 
 that hour. He added, with reference to an intimation from 
 Bertrand on the subject of Bonaparte's appellation — 
 
 "I shall, Sir, with great pleasure accede to your suggestion 
 of not again using the name of General Bonaparte, and adopt- 
 ing that of Napoleon Bonaparte. I have been accustomed 
 to use the former, under the impression it was of the two the 
 most respectful, and consequently the least likely to create 
 offense. I forbear to make any comments, under the circum- 
 stances in which you are at present addressing me, on your 
 own constant use of the title of Emperor, and the command- 
 ing tone of the demands which follow after it ; but I can not 
 pass in total silence the general perversion or misrepresenta- 
 tion of every act and principle of my conduct, so apparent in 
 your several letters, regretting to view so long as this predom- 
 inates the impossibility which thus seems purposely placed in 
 the way of any proper explanation or understanding." 
 
 To this letter Bertrand sent a reply, in which he said — 
 " I have laid your letter of the 6th October before the Em- 
 peror. He answered me in these words : ' I am two thousand 
 leagues from Europe, on a rock, at the mercy of my most im- 
 placable enemy, who, for the last eighteen months that he has 
 been in this country, has not allowed a week to pass by with- 
 out insulting and wounding me. This has obliged me to shut 
 myself up in my apartment. Finding no guarantee in the 
 rights of man, I must henceforth seek it only in the strict ex- 
 ecution of the Act of Parliament of the 11th April, which 
 limits the right of imposing restrictions to the Government, 
 and does not give it to any individual. The absurd restric- 
 tions of the 9th October, 1816, and 14th March, 1.817, are null ; 
 and I can not go out till things are established on the same 
 footing they were before these regulations ; a state of things 
 approved by the English Government, and which lasted for 
 nine months without change, and which was itself very in- 
 tolerable — which was a violation of all rights, but which, 
 nevertheless enabled me to go out. My health will be still more 
 
508 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 injured by the insults I must bear every moment from the 
 wicked man who commands in this country.' Such, Sir, are 
 the expressions of the Emperor. I have neither added nor 
 omitted a single word; the Emperor desiring that I should 
 write them from his dictation." 
 
 Surely we may ask how it was possible to deal with such a 
 spirit of perversion , such resolved determination to be dissatisfied 
 with every attempt to mitigate the inconveniences of captivity, 
 and such systematic return of insult for proffered kindness ? 
 
 It has been stated that in the month of March this year a 
 debate took place in the House of Lords respecting the treat- 
 ment of Napoleon at St. Helena. The newspapers contain- 
 ing a report of the discussion reached St. Helena in June, and 
 Bonaparte, who was naturally much disappointed at the result 
 of Lord Holland's exertions on his behalf, denied the accuracy 
 of Lord Bathurst's statements in the strongest language. 1 He 
 also dictated a reply, which was not completed until the 5th 
 of October. On the 7th of that month Sir Hudson Lowe re- 
 ceived it from Count Bertrand, in a sealed packet addressed 
 to Lord Liverpool. 
 
 This packet, when forwarded to its destination, was found 
 to contain several sheets of observations upon Lord Bathurst's 
 speech, having this memorandum prefixed to them : 2 
 
 " J'approuve ces observations. Je desire qu'elles soient 
 mises sous les yeux du Souverain et des peuples d'Angleterre. 
 
 " Napoleon. 
 " Longwood, ce 5 Octobre, 1817." 
 
 Though it was, strictly speaking, the duty of the Governor 
 to open this packet before transmitting it to England, 3 and 
 
 1 He said, "The reign of lies will not last forever (il regno di bugie 
 non durerd per sempre)." See " Voice," vol. ii. p. 75. 
 
 2 The " Observations," with some notes upon them by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, are printed at the end of the work. 
 
 3 Extract from Instructions given to Sir Hudson Lowe by Lord Bath- 
 urst respecting the transmission to England of letters from the French 
 at Longwood. 
 
 " Whatever he or they may think fit to address either directly to the 
 Prince Regent or to mo, or to any member of His Majesty's Government, 
 
Oct. 1817. THE OFFICERS OF THE FIFTT-THIED. 509 
 
 though he had no doubt it contained charges against himself, 
 he determined to send it in the state in which he received it, 
 with the seals unbroken. 
 
 But very different was the conduct of his accusers. Although 
 they desired to conceal the contents of the letter as long as 
 possible from him whom it attacked and whom it most con- 
 cerned, a copy of it was sent at the same time with the orig- 
 inal through a secret channel to England for publication, and 
 another copy was also clandestinely forwarded by O'Meara to 
 his correspondent at the Admiralty, Mr. Finlaison. Thus the 
 poison of calumny was disseminated abroad long before Sir 
 Hudson Lowe even knew, much less could reply to, the charges 
 that were brought against him. 
 
 On the 10th of October Major Gorrequer had a long inter- 
 view with Count Bertrand, and, according to O'Meara, 1 the 
 latter then told the Major that the officers of the 53d regi- 
 ment, conceiving that there might be criminal intentions in 
 the " mystery and obscurity" of the Governor's proceedings, 
 had intimated to the French that they need not be afraid, for 
 that in the 53d there were "neither assassins nor executioners 
 to be found." According to Major Gorrequer's report of the 
 conversation, what Bertrand really did say to him was simply 
 that the officers of the 53d had expressed to the Emperor their 
 surprise at seeing the French excluded from all society. 2 This, 
 
 your Excellency is aware, must be transmitted home, provided it has 
 been previously submitted to your perusal. In this particular you are left 
 without any discretion. Your knowledge of the contents affords you 
 an opportunity of immediately vindicating yourself if the letter should 
 contain matter of charge against you, and the assurance that whatever 
 complaints they may make must be laid before the Prince Regent secures 
 to them the best protection against any oppression." 
 
 1 Voice, vol. ii. p. 273. 
 
 2 It was the habit of Napoleon's partisans to represent Longwood as 
 shrouded in mystery and gloom, and its inmates as secluded from vis- 
 itors. The following note from the orderly officer, which is otherwise 
 unimportant, may be quoted to show how little truth there was in the 
 assertion : 
 
 " To Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 " Longwood House, September 29, 1817. 
 " Sir — Nothing extraordinary has taken place at Longwood. Mr. 
 Barker, Mr. Porteous, and Brevet-Major Harrison, visited Longwood on 
 
510 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 however, was sufficient to require some explanation, and Sir 
 George Bingham, the Colonel of the 53d, accompanied by- 
 Colonel Wynyard, called upon Count Bertrand for the purpose 
 of having the matter cleared up. Bertrand at once admitted 
 that he had made the remark which Major Gorrequer had 
 reported, but said, " It is the Emperor's affair not mine ;" and 
 this was the only answer they could obtain from him. In 
 reporting this interview to the Governor, Sir George Bingham 
 said — 
 
 " Did the 2d battalion of the 53d regiment any longer exist 
 as a corps, I am certain the officers would immediately come 
 forward and refute an assertion which I can affirm has no 
 foundation. They know that ever since Napoleon Bonaparte 
 has been established at Longwood no person has ever been 
 admitted to visit him without a pass, and they could have 
 known of no period when this regulation was altered, or when 
 passes were refused ; but the fact speaks for itself : if the in- 
 tercourse had been entirely suspended, what opportunity could 
 the officers have had of expressing these sentiments which 
 are attributed to them ?" 
 
 In order to promote Napoleon's comfort and secure him a 
 more agreeable residence than Longwood during the summer 
 months, Sir Hudson Lowe applied to Miss Mason, who resided 
 at a house called Pleasant Mount, which was situated in one 
 of the best parts of the island in respect of the shade of trees 
 and water, the absence of which Bonaparte chiefly complained 
 of at Longwood, and inquired on what terms she would part 
 
 Thursday. Lieut. -Colonel Wynyard called upon General Montholon. 
 Lieut.-Colonel and Mrs. Dodgin, and Lieutenant Jackson called upon 
 Count Bertrand. General Bonaparte walked out for about a quarter of 
 an hour. On Friday Mr. Balcombe called upon Count Bertrand, where 
 he met General Bonaparte. Major Scale, Mr. Porteous, and Mr. Bayley 
 passed into the grounds on Saturday ; Mr. Cole visited Longwood ; Mr. 
 A. Scale and Mr. Wells passed into the grounds. On Sunday Baron 
 and Baroness Sturmer, and Count Balmain, passed the outer gate and 
 had interviews with General Montholon, Count and Countess Bertrand. 
 I accompanied General Montholon to James Town on Thursday, and 
 General Gourgaud on Saturday. Mr. Pain has been at work here daily. 
 " I remain, &c. H. Blakeney." 
 
Oct. 1817. REGULATIONS IN FORCE. 511 
 
 with it. Miss Mason signified her readiness to let the house 
 at £100 a month, and the next day Sir Hudson wrote to 
 Count Bertrand, stating the advantages of the situation, and 
 telling him that if Napoleon would accept the house it was 
 at his disposal for the summer months. To this letter no 
 answer was ever returned. 
 
 It will he useful to see exactly what were the Regulations 
 now in force, and we therefore subjoin a list of them as sent 
 to Count Bertrand on the 26th of October, with an assurance 
 from the Governor that it was not his intention to make any 
 alteration, unless under circumstances altogether unforeseen. 
 
 " Limits. 
 
 " Longwood and the plain of Deadwood, with all the space 
 lying between Longwood and the new road by Woody Ridge, 
 the road by Hutt's Gate in front of the Alarm-house, as far as 
 Mr. Brooke's, and returning from thence to Longwood, either 
 by the same road or the upper footpath that leads through the 
 grounds of Dr. Kay and Mr. Torbett, are established as the 
 limits during the day. 1 
 
 " After sunset sentries will be placed round the garden 
 inclosure of Longwood House, extending as far as the lodge 
 at the entrance of the grounds. 
 
 " The limits will be considered as closed when the sentries 
 are posted, which will be, usually, at about a quarter of an 
 hour after the evening-gun has fired, and before it begins to 
 grow dark. 
 
 " Should Napoleon Bonaparte be desirous of extending his 
 ride beyond the limits during the day-time, or desire to re- 
 main out after the evening sentries are placed, an English 
 officer will be constantly in waiting to attend upon him. 
 
 " At nine o'clock sentries will be placed round the house 
 as heretofore. 
 
 1 It will thus be seen that the limits, now embraced more space than 
 had been conceded by Sir George Cockbum, for in his time the road by 
 Hutt's Gate to the Alarm-house and Mr. Brooke's grounds were not in- 
 cluded in them. 
 
612 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 " Visits. 
 
 "Officers of the Army and Navy, respectable inhabitants 
 of the island, and strangers touching at it, whose names may 
 have been sent to or left at Longwood, will be permitted to 
 visit there as heretofore, upon application to the Governor, or 
 to their respective authorities, with the concurrence of Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte himself, or upon an invitation from him. 
 
 " Correspondence. 
 
 " It is enjoined to the Governor, by his instructions, that all 
 letters addressed to Napoleon Bonaparte or his attendants 
 must be first read by him before they are delivered to the 
 persons to whom they are addressed, and that all letters 
 written by him or them must be subject to the same regula- 
 tion. (He is further instructed not to allow of any commu- 
 nication excepting through his agency.) 
 
 " Pursuant to the above instructions, no correspondence by 
 letter, note, or otherwise, can be allowed to take place with- 
 out his knowledge or assent. To facilitate, however, the 
 transmission of cards of invitation, or any open note or paper, 
 on urgent and indispensable business within the island, where 
 an inconvenient delay might arise in sending it to the Gov- 
 ernor, the orderly officer stationed at Longwood is instructed 
 to receive and transmit it at once to its address, informing the 
 Governor, when required, of the same. All other letters and 
 papers whatever it is requested may be delivered to the 
 orderly officer, under a sealed envelope, to the address of the 
 Governor, who will use the same method for those which he 
 may transmit through the orderly officer to them. All Regu- 
 lations not expressed under any of the above heads will re- 
 main in force as heretofore established." 
 
 In the hope of inducing Bonaparte to see Mr. Baxter, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe sent a memorandum to Count Bertrand, in 
 which he said — 
 
 " The Governor desires to make known that, although his 
 instructions require he should be furnished with reports during 
 
Nov. 1817". CORRESPONDENCE ON THE REGULATIONS. 513 
 
 indisposition, he does not attach particular importance to re- 
 ceiving them in writing, nor does he know if such reports 
 should be delivered that there is any intention of rendering 
 them public. He therefore begs leave to propose that Mr. Bax- 
 ter's visits may be admitted on the two following grounds : 
 
 " 1st. That Napoleon Bonaparte may receive the first 
 medical advice which the island can afford. 
 
 " 2d. That information respecting the state of health of a 
 person who has filled so large a space in the eyes of the world, 
 and who must always engage so much of the public attention, 
 may not, where it is required to be afforded, depend upon the 
 report of one medical person alone, particularly where the 
 reports he presents may be, as they have been, at variance 
 with reports received from other persons of Napoleon Bona- 
 parte's confidence living in the same family." 
 
 On the 30th of September Count Bertrand wrote the letter 
 to the Governor before alluded to, 1 which consisted of a 
 tedious reiteration of complaints against the " restrictions of 
 the 9th of October, 1816, and 14th of March, 1817." Its 
 fairness may be judged of from the following extract : — "The 
 new restrictions imposed by you on the 14th of March, 1817, 
 direct that the Emperor is not to go beyond the limits of a 
 road twelve feet wide : whence it follows that, if the Emperor 
 should quit that road, or enter into any house, the sentinels 
 might fire upon him. The Emperor can not submit to be 
 treated with this indignity." A good deal of correspondence 
 ensued on the subject ; and, departing here from the plan 
 which we have hitherto pursued of giving in general in the 
 narrative only material extracts, we shall insert, in externa, 
 two or three letters which passed about this time between 
 Bertrand and the Governor ; for it would be unjust to the 
 memory of the latter not to give at length his reply, dated 
 the 18th of November, 1817. Let the public carefully read 
 that letter, and then determine whether language could have 
 been used more moderate and dignified, and whether indigna- 
 tion ought not to rise at the manner in which his conduct 
 
 1 Vide p. 495, ante. The letter is printed at the end of the work. 
 
514 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 was met at the time, and has been misrepresented since. It 
 would, perhaps, have been difficult to find in the army an 
 officer, or in the service of the state a civilian, who would 
 have written a more unobjectionable letter under circum- 
 stances of grievous provocation. 
 
 " To Sir Hudson Lmvc. 
 
 " Longwood, Oct. 27, 1817. 
 " Monsieur le Gouveeneur — I reply to your letters of 
 the 9th and 14th October. I can only refer you to mine of 
 the 30th September. During the month that has elapsed 
 since I wrote it the health of the Emperor has become much 
 worse. If you were to adopt the principle that all things 
 should be re-established as they were on your arrival, a state 
 of things (etat de choscs) approved of by your Government, it 
 would be easy to ascertain in a single quarter of an hour, 
 from twenty written documents and as many witnesses, what 
 that state of things was. Yours of the 21st of this month 
 relates to the letter I sent you on the 7th of October for Lord 
 Liverpool ; that letter has now been in your hands twenty 
 days ; it is the property of your Prime Minister. 
 
 "I have the honor to be, &c 
 
 "Le Comte Bertrand." 
 
 "Longwood, Nov. 13, 1817. 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur — I reply to the letters you 
 did me the honor to write to me, dated respectively the 26th, 
 27th, and 28th October, all of which I received at the same 
 time on the evening of the 28th. You have received mine 
 of the 26th, which contains a sufficient answer to these. 
 Allow me to refer to it, as also to my letter of the 30th Sep- 
 tember. The health of the Emperor continues in a bad state. 
 " I have the honor to be, &c. 
 
 " Le Comte Bertrand." 
 
 " St. Helena, Nov. 18, 1817. 
 " Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter of the 13th inst, referring me again to that of the 
 
Nov. 1817. CORRESPONDENCE ON THE REGULATIONS. 515 
 
 30th September and 27th October. I had hoped mine of the 
 26th and 28th October would have rendered any further im- 
 mediate notice of those letters unnecessary, but the references 
 you have made compel me to again address you. As in the 
 letter you addressed to me on the 27th, and in that of the 
 13th instant, you advert to the bad state of Napoleon Bona- 
 parte's health, I can not avoid expressing my surprise that 
 you should not have transmitted any answer to my letter of 
 the 6th of October, or that no effect should have followed 
 from its transmission to you. I have certainly not drawn, 
 nor shall I draw, any motive whatever from this omission, 
 for withholding any act of attention or consideration which 
 my means of information and the obstacles I have to en- 
 counter through my channels of communication with him 
 will admit, for alleviating the effects of any malady with 
 which he may be affected. It forms a specific part of my 
 instructions from Earl Bathurst to afford every attention and 
 indulgence which in sickness can be required, not incompati- 
 ble with the due discharge of the trust reposed in me. I 
 may execute, therefore, his Lordship's instructions on this 
 head without the pretension to confer a favor or derive a 
 personal merit by it. 
 
 " No misrepresentation of any act of mine, nor provocation 
 of language, will make me deviate from this rule ; but I feel 
 it my duty at the same time to inform you that I can not 
 consider a representation from you alone of the state of Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte's health as demanding official attention, 
 unless the regulation which I transmitted to you with my 
 letter of the 6th October is at the same time complied with. 
 As an instance how little reliance I should be justified in 
 placing on such communication, unsupported by medical au- 
 thority, I beg leave to observe that in your letter of the 27th 
 ultimo you inform me that the state of Napoleon Bonaparte's 
 health was ' deteriore' since you had begun first to address 
 me. Having interrogated Mr. O'Meara the only medical per- 
 son he allows to approach him, I have been informed that 
 since the 13th ult, the day on which Mr. O'Meara was 
 placed under an interdict of transmitting to me any written 
 
516 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 reports of Napoleon Bonaparte's health, unless with the con- 
 dition of giving to him the imperial title in them, until the 
 last day of the same month, on which you addressed me, his 
 health had heen ' ameliorating.' In reply to another pas- 
 sage of your letter to me of the 13th instant, wherein you 
 say that yours of the 27th had replied sufficiently (' repond 
 suffisamment') to mine of the 26th and 27th, I. am to remark 
 that I do not consider it presents any answer at all to mine 
 of the 27th, but, on the contrary, that it avoids any direct 
 reply to the matter of that letter, or of my note of the 21st 
 on the same subject, and I am persuaded there is not a truly 
 candid and impartial mind any where which (if the letter 
 you inclosed to me on the 7th covers any complaint against 
 me) will not view the silence observed as to its contents in 
 the same light. 
 
 "In respect to the ' etat de choses' which you desire, Sir, 
 to have re-established, I must beg leave to observe, that I 
 know not in what any real difference exists between the 
 Regulations as they at present stand and those I found estab- 
 lished on my arrival here, except in the following instances : 
 
 " lstly. The limits are confirmed to a greater extent than 
 they were at the time of my first arrival, and a facility is 
 granted of taking exercise beyond them which did not before 
 exist : herein the difference is in favor, as well as in the 
 offer of a more shaded place of residence for the summer 
 months. 
 
 " 2dly. The sentries are mounted round the garden after 
 sunset, instead of being placed round the house nearly three 
 hours after dark. 
 
 " This arrangement my Government has ordered. If it is 
 necessary to place sentries at all, they can be least dispensed 
 with during that time at night when persons are more liable 
 than at any other to pass without observation. Sir George 
 Cockburn had contemplated a similar arrangement, and was 
 only prevented from carrying it into execution by the number 
 of sentries it would employ. At all events this difference 
 exists, and must continue to do so, but the extent of nearly a 
 mile and a half, round which the sentries are placed, and 
 
Nov. 1817. CORRESPONDENCE ON THE REGULATIONS. 517 
 
 the orders given for their being kept out of view from the 
 garden, certainly tends as much as possible to diminish the 
 restraint -which the situation they are placed in may other- 
 wise impose. 
 
 " 3dly. It was permitted to you during the time of Sir 
 George Cockburn to send invitations to, and grant passes for, 
 persons to visit Napoleon Bonaparte ; and such notes of invi- 
 tation or passes (as I understand the custom was), through 
 whatever person sent, whether under a sealed envelope or 
 otherwise, were permitted to be received at the guard in the 
 same manner as the pass of a British authority. 
 
 " As the rule stands at present you have the permission to 
 send an invitation from Napoleon Bonaparte, but it is to be 
 transmitted through the orderly officer at Longwood : the only 
 difference is, that it can not be sent under a sealed envelope, 
 or a note delivered in such state to any one unknown to me. 
 
 " You have stated to me Sir George Cockburn allowed of 
 a sealed correspondence within the island, and I have said he 
 never acquainted me of any other note being allowed to be 
 sent except an invitation to dinner. It is possible he may 
 have allowed notes on trivial matters (arising probably out of 
 the permission for notes of invitation) to pass unregarded. I 
 have done the same myself. But, viewing the attempt to 
 draw a precedent from a mere act of toleration, and to estab- 
 lish the same as a right or an indulgence of general admis- 
 sion, in contradiction of one of the most direct rules which the 
 instructions of my Government have prescribed, I must only 
 feel the more strongly opposed to such expectation. 
 
 " Lieut. -Colonel Wynyard remarked to you, if the permis- 
 sion you sought after was obtained it would be of no use to 
 Napoleon Bonaparte himself, who never wrote to any one. 
 Your reply was, it was because the rule existed, but if it was 
 done away with he might have occasion to write as to-mor- 
 row. This marks the extent, Sir, to which, had I acceded to 
 the representations you urged on the ground of domestic con- 
 venience, the authorization might have been availed of. 
 
 "I pretend not to impute to any one a design to abuse the 
 permission if granted, but I can not on such account relinquish 
 
518 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 the rule which stands opposed to it, nor sanction, by an act 
 of my own authority, the means by which all its objects 
 might be so readily eluded. I forbear, Sir, to draw any ar- 
 gument on this occasion from the style of correspondence I 
 have occasionally observed to be used. 
 
 " In all other respects the state of things depends mostly 
 upon Napoleon Bonaparte himself, for there is no reasonable 
 degree of freedom or indulgence within the island of St. He- 
 lena which he can not enjoy, on the simple condition of his 
 being attended by an English officer ; but by what you have 
 yourself said to me, it was upon your own responsibility you 
 advocated the insurmountable prejudices and prepossessions 
 stated to be existing on his mind upon this head as a ground 
 for every exemption claimed, though such prejudices were 
 known not to exist, or at least not to operate, on his first 
 arrival here. It is thus all those relaxations which might 
 have so naturally flowed from an easy and unforced compli- 
 ance with the presence of a British officer, and with the mere 
 forms of prescribed regulations on other points, have been so 
 little enjoyed by him ; and because I have not been willing 
 to admit the force of every argument you offer, nor surrender 
 up both my judgment and my duty to be guided by you on 
 such points, I am to be slandered with every species of ob- 
 loquy. 
 
 " You may derive a gratification, Sir, to your own mind 
 from the idea that you are supporting Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 and upholding him against the persecutions of the Govern- 
 ment upon whom the charge of his custody has devolved, or of 
 the officer who has the personal responsibility of that charge ; 
 — that you are administering consolation to him in his ad- 
 versity and a screen against any supposed ills he may still 
 have to endure ; — but you have formed in fact, by the dicta- 
 torial and insulting tone of your communications (specifically 
 that of the 30th September), the unprovoked and uncalled-for 
 irritation of your manner and expressions when you personally 
 address me (so apparent in your conversation on the 28th of 
 September), by the mistaken notions you have conceived of 
 the principles which actuate the British Government toward 
 
Nov. 1817. CORRESPONDENCE ON THE REGULATIONS. 519 
 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, and of the system upon which I have 
 strove [striven ?] to regulate my own conduct toward him, 
 and by the causes before spoken of, a real impediment, so far 
 as has rested upon your mode of intervention, to every proper 
 understanding. 
 
 "You have referred to some observations of Sir P. Malcolm 
 and their supposed effect upon me. I can refer with more 
 justice to the opinion expressed by that officer to Napoleon 
 Bonaparte himself of the line of conduct he conceived I ought 
 to have observed toward you. 1 I mean not, Sir, to accuse 
 either your intentions or your sincerity ; I speak only of effects 
 and consequences as I have observed them. 
 
 " It was a remark to me of the Count Las Cases, ' 11 fiot- 
 tait encore lorsque nous avions deja tranche sever ement.' 
 He of whom Count Las Cases spoke has probably had to en- 
 dure more from the indiscretion of his friends than the malice 
 of his enemies. 
 
 " I have to observe in your letter of the 13th instant the 
 little effect which has been produced by the concluding para- 
 graph of my first letter to you of the 26th October. I must 
 repeat, it is contrary to the spirit of your written declaration 
 to use the word ' Empereur' in any communication to me. 
 
 " I do not mean this letter, Sir, as a reply to the numerous 
 misrepresentations of my acts and conduct contained in your 
 letter of the 30th September, nor to the arguments, subversive 
 of all due authority, which you attempt to deduce from them. 
 I shall never condescend to vindicate myself to a person who 
 addresses me as you have done, nor, still less, admit you to 
 the privilege of discussing with me any question of right or 
 principle as to the exercise of my authority here. The de- 
 famatory matter in that letter may require more distinct notice. 
 This, and the indecorous manner in which you took the liberty 
 to express yourself respecting me toward an officer of my own 
 staff, Lieutenant-Colonel Wynyard, forms a breach of that re- 
 spect which you owe to my authority, and consequently of 
 
 1 The Admiral told Napoleon that the Governor ought not to have 
 tolerated the language used toward him by Bertrand and Montholon in 
 their letters. See p. 438, ante. 
 
520 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 one of the conditions under which your residence on this island 
 is permitted ; but whether it is an object or not to urge me 
 to remove you from it (for which the orders of my Govern- 
 ment, hitherto refrained from being acted upon, have been 
 long since possessed), I shall still continue, though I may 
 expose myself to censure by it, to exercise that forbearance on 
 this point for which the peculiar situation of Napoleon Bona- 
 parte can alone serve as my justification, without prejudice, 
 however, to such future measures as the instructions of my 
 Government may admit and circumstances appear to require. 
 " I have the honor, &c. H. Lowe, Lieut-General." 
 
 The Governor wrote again on the 28th of the month to 
 Bertrand, on the subject of the objection to his receiving from 
 O'Meara bulletins of Bonaparte's health which had not been 
 previously shown to the latter. 
 
 To this Count Bertrand sent the following reply, together 
 with an " apostille" or endorsement made by Bonaparte him- 
 self on Sir Hudson's letter of the 18th : 
 
 " Longwood, Nov. 29, 1817. 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur — I have received the letter 
 you did me the honor to write to me under d ate of yesterday . 
 I have not made the observations you attribute to me, for the 
 Emperor has never objected to bulletins of the state of his 
 health being made public. He is ill, and feels the double 
 want of mental repose and bodily exercise. All these annoy- 
 ances are painful to him, as you will see on the back of your 
 letter of the 18th instant, which I did not receive till the 22d, 
 which I could not communicate to him till the 23d, and which 
 I have delayed sending to you in the hope that all this writing 
 was at an end. I have the honor to be, &c. 
 
 " Le Comte Bertrand." 
 
 Note written by the Emperor on the back of the Letter of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, of the 18th of November, 1817. 
 
 " Long-wood, Nov. 23, 1817. 
 " This letter, and those of the 26th July and 26th October 
 last are full of falsehoods I have confined myself to my 
 
Dec. 1817. THE ,: APOSTILLE." 521 
 
 room for eighteen months in order to secure myself against 
 the insults. of this officer. At present my health is impaired ; 
 it no longer admits of my reading such disgusting writings ; 
 send me no more of them. "Whether this officer thinks him- 
 self authorized by the verbal and secret instructions of his 
 Minister as he gives out, or he acts on his own impulse, which 
 appears probable from the pains he takes to fret himself, I can 
 only treat him as my assassin. If they had sent here a man 
 of honor I should certainly have some torments the less, but 
 they would have spared themselves the reproaches of Europe 
 and of history, which the trashy writings of this crafty man 
 can not deceive." 1 
 
 On the 8th of December Sir Hudson Lowe transmitted his 
 remarks on this " Apostille" to Count Bertrand inclosed in the 
 following letter : 
 
 " St. Helena, December 8, 1817. 
 
 " Sir — I beg leave to inclose a copy of some remarks I have 
 made on the ' Apostille' of which you transmitted the copy 
 with your letter of the 29th of November. The insults con- 
 veyed in that paper I can view in no other light than as a 
 sequel of your correspondence, and as a natural consequence 
 of the mode of intervention you have employed. I wish to 
 excite no additional disquiet or offense, but, attacked person- 
 ally by Napoleon Bonaparte, he places me under the necessity 
 
 1 " Apostille ecrite par l'Empereur au dos de la lettre de Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, datee du 18 Novembre, 1817 : 
 
 " Cette lettre, celles des 26 Juillet et 26 Octobre dernier, sont pleines 
 de mensonges. Je me suis renferme dans mon appartement depuis 18 
 mois, pour me mettre a Pabri des outrages de cet officier. Aujourd'hui 
 ma sante est affaiblie ; elle ne me permet plus de lire de si degoutants 
 eerits ; ne m'en remettez plus. 
 
 " Soit que cet officier se croie autorise par des instructions verbales et 
 secretes de son ministre, comme il le fait entendre, soit qu'il agisse de 
 son propre mouvement, ce qu'on pourrait arguer du soin qu'il prend a 
 se depiter, je ne puis le traiter que comme mon assassin. 
 
 " Si on eut envoye dans ce pays un homme d'honneur, j'aurais quel- 
 ques tourments de moins sans doute, mais on se fut epargne bien des 
 reproches de l'Europe et de l'histoire, que le fatras d'ecrits de cet homme 
 astucieux ne saurait tromper. Napoleon. 
 
 "Lonqwood, ce 23 Novembre, 1817." 
 
522 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 of defending myself, for I can not, by permitting such language 
 to pass wholly unregarded, render myself the voluntary in- 
 strument of my own defamation. The assertions contained 
 in the last paragraph of a former paper you transmitted to me 
 with the same signature, dated 15th December, 1816, were 
 not more injuriously meant or more unfounded. 
 
 " Mr. Baxter has confirmed to me the observations repeated 
 in my letter of the 28th of November. I considered them 
 as relative to what Mr. O'Meara had before acquainted me 
 with. The substance of what I was informed of by him is as 
 follows : 
 
 " That you informed him it was the desire of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte all bulletins regarding his health should be previ- 
 ously shown to him ; and that he should not be styled other- 
 wise in them than the ' Emperor Napoleon ;' that, unless he 
 complied with these conditions or did not write any, Napoleon 
 Bonaparte would never see him more. Mr. O'Meara offered 
 to write ' Napoleon,' or ' Napoleon Bonaparte,' but you told 
 him this would not suffice. The title of ' Emperor' must be 
 made use of. Napoleon Bonaparte afterward himself required 
 the same conditions from Mr. O'Meara, and further, that the 
 bulletins must meet his approval ; that Mr. O'Meara was not 
 to be influenced to put down any thing he liked ; if any obser- 
 vation made appeared to him untrue, he was not to insert it, 
 but he was to render no account of any symptom which either 
 delicacy or other motives might induce Napoleon Bonaparte 
 to wish to be kept secret. The original reports were then to 
 be left in his hands or in yours. Either these conditions were 
 to be complied with, or no written reports were to be presented. 
 Mr. O'Meara was then required to give his word of honor 
 that he would deliver none without submitting them to his 
 perusal, and unless he consented to this Napoleon Bonaparte 
 would never again see and consult him as a physician. That 
 the reason he did not see Mr. Baxter was in order to avoid 
 having bulletins made, and that whenever he did see him 
 he would first require him to pledge his word of honor to make 
 no written reports of his health without obtaining his permis- 
 sion, and first showing them to him for approval. 
 
Dec. 1817. REMARKS ON THE " APOSTILLE." 523 
 
 " Mr. O'Meara had decided the first point for himself, by 
 saying he could not give the imperial title, and while await- 
 ing my determination on the others, Napoleon Bonaparte (as 
 Mr. O'Meara acquainted me) refused to take his medical 
 advice or give any account of his symptoms, ascribing at the 
 same time to my supposed expectation of still receiving writ- 
 ten reports a design by it to deprive him of medical aid, in 
 order to hasten more speedily his end. Not attaching any 
 importance to receiving Mr. O'Meara's written reports so long 
 as he was not restricted (as he told me he was not) from giv- 
 ing me or Mr. Baxter such verbal information as it might be 
 desired to obtain, I readily gave up the point on this head, 
 and have since done the same with respect to Mr. Baxter. 
 
 " I am thus particular in recapitulating what passed in 
 order that, if any misconception prevails, it may be rectified. 
 Further, I beg leave to renew the offer of Mr. Baxter's advice, 
 whether on the condition of not making written reports, except 
 in the forms as above, or not writing any until the instructions 
 of my Government are received. I have the honor, &c. 
 
 " H. Lowe." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's Remarks on the " Apostille" written 
 on his Letter of the 18th of November, 1817, and signed 
 " Napoleon." 
 
 " 1. These letters are all addressed to Count Bertrand. 
 Why does he not specify the passages, and refute the assertions 
 they contain ? for it is upon the ground of these letters and 
 those they reply to he will be acted toward. 
 
 " 2. What are the outrages complained of ? Are they per- 
 sonal, written, verbal, or committed by those under me ? 
 
 " Are the officers of Napoleon Bonaparte to write insulting 
 and defamatory letters to me, and is my reply to be termed 
 an outrage to him ? 
 
 " Truths when made known to repel attack, and in the 
 discharge of my duty, can not be qualified as such, to whom- 
 ever addressed. 
 
 " If I offer medical assistance to a person who has attribu- 
 
524 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 ted to me a design to deprive him of it, in order to hasten 
 more speedily his end, this is not an outrage ! 
 
 " Why did Count Bertrand not send this ' apostille' until 
 after the offer was made ? 
 
 " 3. The ' ne m'en remettez plus' does not justify its non- 
 acknowledgment. 
 
 "4. Here it is not merely insinuation ; but an assertion is 
 made in a form that admits refutation. Whoever has said I 
 gave him to understand I had received verbal and secret in- 
 structions from my minister, has uttered what I never said to 
 him or allowed him to understand ; he has been a false and 
 mischievous reporter. 
 
 " Napoleon Bonaparte being so grossly misled in this in- 
 stance accounts for the deception practiced on, or encouraged 
 by his mind in respect to others. 
 
 " I have no instructions from my Government which do not 
 enjoin a considerable attention toward him ; and 1 have en- 
 deavored, so far as my means of communication have admitted, 
 to evince it. 
 
 " 5. He may take advantage of his position to use degrading 
 and abusive epithets in return. I shall not, however, lose 
 the sense of what I owe to myself, or to a person in his situa- 
 tion, by replying to them. 
 
 "6. ' Vous etes un homme d'honneur ! Voulez-vous vous 
 charger de cette commission ou de cette lettre ? — si vous avez 
 peur, ne le faites point ; si vous voulez me servir, chargez- 
 vous en.' 1 Any person visiting at Longwood, and bound to 
 the observance of the rules on which his visit was allowed 
 there, would naturally startle at the words ' man of honor' if 
 thus addressed to him ; yet in this manner it has been at- 
 tempted to show how some of the established rules might be 
 eluded, and how unnecessary therefore the measures taken for 
 enforcing them. 
 
 " I sought not the charge of Napoleon Bonaparte's person, 
 
 1 The Governor here describes the mode in which he supposes the in- 
 mates of Longwood to address a visitor appealing to his honor to induce 
 him to carry letters clandestinely for them. His object is to show what 
 Napoleon's idea of a " man of honor" was. 
 
Dec. 1817. REMARKS ON THE "APOSTILLE." 525 
 
 but, having been appointed to the office, I will, to the best of 
 my abilities, perform its duties, unmoved by every obloquy 
 which he may endeavor to cast upon me at present, or men- 
 ace me with hereafter. 
 
 " He has no reason to reproach me with pains he inflicts 
 upon himself; those which are inseparable from his state of 
 confinement he knows I can not relieve him from, and the 
 relaxations of which he might avail himself he rejects. He 
 is perfectly aware it forms part of my instructions to admit of 
 such as may not be incompatible with the due discharge of 
 the trust reposed in me ; but it appears as if it had been re- 
 solved to render these two points irreconcileable with each 
 other. Hence acts of attention, which it has been attempted 
 to show, unless bent into that precise form in which it was de- 
 sired to receive them (generally that which offered the least 
 guarantee), have been either received with disdain, drawn 
 forth some injurious reproach, or the acknowledgment (where- 
 ever it has been expressed) made to others. 
 
 " Hence irritating and provoking language, to force me out 
 of the line which the instructions of my Government and my 
 own desires would have urged me the most to follow, and to 
 drive me to some extreme whence change might arise or 
 matter of complaint be afforded. Hence attempts to mislead 
 opinion with so many nameless individuals (sufficiently avow- 
 ed in Count Bertrand's letters), and hence (as there is good 
 reason to suppose) private accusations against me through 
 channels that have afforded no means to reply. If I have in 
 any case misunderstood matters or formed wrong judgments, 
 the fault must lie in a great measure with those who have 
 gone between. It is now near fifteen months that, from a 
 desire to avoid the appearance of any species of official in- 
 trusion whatever, not merely the Governor himself, but no 
 officer whatever having authority to speak to or address Na- 
 poleon Bonaparte in the name of the British Government or 
 on the part of the Governor, has approached him, while 
 access has been allowed to him by almost every other person 
 who has applied for it. During this period every communi- 
 cation from Napoleon Bonaparte has passed through persons 
 
526 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVI. 
 
 of his selection and his confidence, while the replies, in defer- 
 ence to him, have heen trusted to the same channels ; in no 
 case those where the Governor's reliance has been placed for a 
 perfectly clear and right understanding of any thing that has 
 occurred. Herein the will and desire of Napoleon Bonaparte 
 have entirely governed, and not mine. I can only protest 
 against all effects whatever that have resulted from it. The 
 existence, however, of such a state of things proves the real 
 position in which Napoleon Bonaparte has stood, and the 
 exemption in particular from that system of ' outrages' of 
 which the ' Apostille' complains. He will not, however, ex- 
 perience a different treatment from it, but he can not escape 
 the observations that will flow from the perverted statement 
 of the general line of conduct held toward him, the means 
 employed to defame and injure, and the terms he has descend- 
 ed to use. 
 
 " H. Lowe, Lieut-General. 
 
 "St. Helena, Dec. 8, 1817." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 sir Hudson lowe's dissatisfaction with o'meara — reports 
 of Bonaparte's health — o'meara's pledge to napoleon 
 not to reveal conversations — his letter to the gov- 
 ernor on the subject. 
 
 O'Meara alludes in his " Voice" to a conversation which 
 he had with the Governor on the 25th of November, when 
 he excited Sir Hudson's anger by saying', that if he was to 
 repeat what was said in conversation between him and Bona- 
 parte, as the Governor wished him to do, he would be acting 
 the part of a spy and a " Mouton." 1 
 
 The Governor in reality had asked him whether " there 
 was no subject spoken of between him and Bonaparte fit for 
 him (the Governor) to hear ? — whether there was nothing of 
 sufficient importance for him to be informed of?" And the 
 following account of what passed afterward is taken from 
 Major Gorrequer's minute of the interview : 
 
 " The Governor said, the expressions then used by Mr. 
 O'Meara were the greatest insult and disrespect that could 
 be offered to him as Governor of this island, and asked Mr. 
 O'Meara what he meant by the word ' Mouton ;' he answer- 
 ed, ' Mouton' meant a person who insinuates himself in the 
 confidence of others, for the purpose of extracting information 
 or secrets from them, and then repeats what he heard. 
 
 " The Governor said, that he could not suffer a person to 
 sit down in the same room with him who had treated him in 
 so insulting and disrespectful a manner as Mr. O'Meara had 
 just done, and desired him therefore to rise and quit it ; and 
 if it was not for consideration to the feelings of General Bona- 
 parte, he should not stay another hour in the island. ' I 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. ii. p. 298-300. 
 
528 . CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVII. 
 
 should not be sorry for that,' answered Mr. O'Meara ; but, in- 
 stead of leaving the room, he remained inside of the door, and 
 began saying he would leave it to any body, whether, if he 
 acted in the way he had mentioned, he would not be consid- 
 ered as a spy and a mouto?i. The Governor thereupon again 
 desired him to quit the room, and to come only when he was 
 sent for. 
 
 On the 18th of November Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Lord 
 Bathurst respecting O'Meara, whose conduct, he said, had 
 given him so much dissatisfaction, that he should not have 
 hesitated, on his own responsibility, instantly to remove him, 
 if he had not known the handle that would be made of it by 
 Napoleon, as well as those who espoused his cause. 
 
 " He conducted himself," the letter continued, " for a long 
 time in such a manner as, though not to excite confidence, to 
 steer clear of any particular remark or censure ; his errors 
 however became more prominent a short time before the de- 
 parture of the late Admiral, who, by employing him in 
 carrying newspapers to Napoleon Bonaparte, gave me the 
 first direct cause of dissatisfaction with him, as he knew my 
 objection to any being delivered unknown to me ; from that 
 moment his conduct underwent a change." 
 
 As Bonaparte obstinately persisted in refusing to see Mr. 
 Baxter, all that that medical officer could do was to hear 
 from O'Meara his reports of his patient's health from time to 
 time, and communicate the information thus obtained to the 
 Governor. According to O'Meara Bonaparte was far from 
 well at this period, and on the 15th of December he told Mr. 
 Baxter that his nights were so sleepless that he sometimes 
 passed them entirely in moving from one bed into another, 
 and that the exhaustion occasioned by this want of sleep fre- 
 quently obliged him to go to bed again after breakfast, when 
 he generally slept soundly for several hours. 
 
 Considering the mode of life led by Napoleon, this account 
 would in no degree surprise us, but Cipriani, the maitre- 
 d'hotel, accounted for his master's going to bed in the day- 
 time very differently from O'Meara ; for on the 14th Sir Hud- 
 
Nov. 1817. STATE OF HEALTH. 529 
 
 son Lowe and Major Gorrequer accidentally overtook him 
 near Longwood, when the Governor asked him, " How is his 
 health?" (meaning Bonaparte). He answered, "Pretty good 
 (cosi cost) — he has made a good breakfast this morning." 
 " But I have heard that he has just gone to bed," replied the 
 Governor. Cipriani answered, "Yes ! he rises early, and sets 
 himself at work ; it is necessary for him to take repose in the 
 daytime." The Governor said, " Then he is not worse ?" on 
 which Cipriani observed, " No, Sir ! so far as I can say, I do 
 not believe he is worse." 1 
 
 On the 22d Captain Blakeney, the orderly officer, informed 
 Sir Hudson Lowe that that morning O'Meara told him that 
 Bonaparte was better than he had been, and in better spirits; 
 and he added, that he was also informed by one of the serv- 
 ants that Bonaparte dined with the family on the previous 
 evening, when "he ate heartily, laughed, and appeared to 
 enjoy himself." 
 
 On the 31st however (if we may believe O'Meara) a change 
 took place ; for on that day Mr. Baxter, relying entirely upon, 
 and in fact merely repeating, O'Meara's statement, reported 
 respecting Napoleon — "His appetite is worse, and he has still 
 sleepless nights. He does not look so well, his complexion 
 being more sallow. His spirits are low, and the want of sleep 
 produces much languor. He took some exercise in the grounds 
 on the 29th instant." 
 
 We must now advert to a matter which O'Meara took good 
 care to pass over in silence. In his work, under date the 18th 
 of December, the following passage occurs : 2 
 
 " Summoned to attend at Plantation House by letter from 
 Major Gorrequer. As the reader must be already disgusted 
 with the details of the manner in which the Governor took 
 advantage of his situation to insult and oppress an officer in- 
 ferior in rank, because the latter refused to be his spy, I shall 
 not fatigue him with any further account of the conduct prac- 
 ticed toward me on this day, than that my replies and refusals 
 to disclose Napoleon's conversations caused me to be treated 
 
 1 Minute by Major Gorrequer. - Voice, vol. ii. pp. 340, 341. 
 
 Vol. I.— Z 
 
530 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVII. 
 
 in a more outrageous manner than on the 18th of last month. 
 The Governor followed me out of the room, vociferating after 
 me in a frantic manner, and carried his gestures so far as to 
 menace me with personal violence. After this, orders again 
 given me to attend Plantation House twice a week." 
 
 The interview thus "briefly alluded to and summarily dis- 
 missed deserves a fuller notice. It was not to be expected 
 that O'Meara would give a, faithful account of it. He might, 
 indeed, with no greater dishonesty than he has exhibited 
 throughout his book, have garbled it to suit his purpose ; but 
 it was more convenient not to attempt any detail of a con- 
 versation which covered him with disgrace. For he confessed 
 to the Governor on that occasion, after much hesitation and 
 with great reluctance, that, notwithstanding his frequent spon- 
 taneous communications to himself, and his series of gossiping 
 and garrulous letters to Mr. Finlaison, from May, 1816, to 
 December, 1817, a period of nearly twenty months, he was 
 during the xvhole of that period under a pledge to Napoleon 
 not to reveal the conversations that passed between them, un- 
 less they related to his escape ." 
 
 Major Gorrequer was desired by the Governor to take a 
 note of the expressions used by O'Meara, and he put them 
 down in the following words : 
 
 " Mr. O'Meara says, he pledged his word to Napoleon Bo- 
 naparte not to reveal the conversations that passed between 
 themselves, except they had a tendency to his (Napoleon Bo- 
 naparte's) escape, last May was a twelvemonth." 
 
 He then showed O'Meara what he had written, who read 
 it, and said it was what he had expressed, and, if required, 
 he would give it in his own handwriting. The Governor then 
 said, " What, Sir ! and you have thus pledged yourself with- 
 
 1 In his report of a conversation with the Governor on the 17th of 
 February, 1818 (Voice, vol. ii. p. 376), O'Meara tells us that, when Sir 
 Hudson Lowe said to him he did " not think a person under a pledge to 
 Napoleon Bonaparte ought to be received into company," he replied, 
 " I was under no other pledge to Napoleon than one which was tacitly 
 understood in every society of gentlemen." 
 
Dec. 1817. O'MEARA'S PLEDGE. 531 
 
 out consulting me about it, or even thinking proper to apprise 
 me of it until now, and you do not blush to avow it !" 
 O'Meara answered, "I beg your pardon, Sir, I told you of it." 
 This the Governor immediately denied, and O'Meara did not 
 persist in the assertion. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe afterward asked — " If you engaged your 
 promise not to reveal any thing that passed in conversation 
 between Napoleon Bonaparte and yourself, except what had 
 a tendency to his escape, how came you to repeat to me all 
 that you have mentioned of those conversations which had no 
 tendency whatever to escape?" He answered, "Because you 
 had asked me, and I thought they might be interesting to 
 Government ; but, though I told you some parts I did not tell 
 you all ; besides, I thought I might in some things depart 
 from it [i. e. the promise] without impropriety." 
 
 The Governor said, that a person who had made such a 
 promise was not fit to remain in such a situation ; and, after 
 in warm language pointing out the impropriety of his con- 
 duct, which he characterized as dishonorable and uncandid 
 toward Government and himself, he told him he did not wish 
 him to remain in the house any longer, and desired him to 
 quit it. 1 It will, however, I think be generally felt that 
 O'Meara was more to blame for systematically violating his 
 promise when once made, than for making it in the first in- 
 stance. The promise might be an error of judgment ; the 
 breaking it was the deliberate breach of a solemn engagement. 
 
 On the 23d O'Meara wrote a long letter to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, which is nowhere noticed in his printed works. The 
 reason of this no doubt was, that it would have been very dif- 
 ficult to do so without revealing to the world that he had 
 given the pledge of secrecy to Napoleon, which he so repeat- 
 edly violated. After saying that his principle was " to forget 
 the conversations he held with his patients on leaving the 
 room, unless as far as regarded his allegiance as a British 
 officer to his sovereign and country," and that, if he had con- 
 sented to report to the Governor verbatim his conversations 
 with Bonaparte, he would have acted " a most base and dis- 
 1 Major Gorrequer's Minutes. 
 
532 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVII. 
 
 honorable part," and in fact been a "spy" and a " mouton," 
 and that " such conduct would cover his name with well-mer- 
 ited infamy, and render him unfit for the society of any man 
 of honor," he thus proceeded to develop his conception of the 
 duties of his office : l 
 
 " He who, clothed with the specious garb of a physician, 
 insinuates himself into the confidence of his patient, and avails 
 himself of the frequent opportunities and facilities which his 
 situation necessarily presents of being near his person, to 
 wring, under the pretense of curing or alleviating his infirm- 
 ities, and in that confidence which has been from time imme- 
 morial reposed by the sick in persons professing the healing 
 art, disclosures of his patients' sentiments for the purpose of 
 afterward betraying them, deserves most justly to be branded 
 with the appellation of ' Mouton.' " 
 
 To this sentence of condemnation upon the physician who 
 violates his trust no exception can be taken ; and out of his 
 own mouth shall O'Meara be judged. We are lost in amaze- 
 ment at the effrontery of a man who could so write after he 
 had deliberately, during the whole period of his residence at 
 St. Helena, broken, not merely the implied agreement which 
 according to himself tacitly subsists between the physician 
 and his patient, but his express promise to Napoleon. So far 
 from " forgetting conversations with his patients on leaving 
 the room," he used to hurry to his apartments, where he was 
 seen noting down in his journal all that had occurred. 2 More- 
 over, he did not scruple afterward to publish to the world the 
 sayings of Napoleon which he had heard from him solely 
 through means of the access which he had to his privacy in 
 the character of physician. And from time to time he sent 
 off his narrative of conversations with the Exile of the most 
 confidential kind to his friend at the Admiralty, to be by that 
 friend communicated to the ministers of the Crown. So that 
 
 1 That no injustice may be done to O'Meara, the letter is printed 
 at length at the end of the work. 
 
 2 See the statement made by Count Montholon on this subject in the 
 next volume, 
 
Jan. 1818. O'MEARA'S COMMUNICATIONS. 533 
 
 it was clear to demonstration that either he had given no such 
 pledge as he asserted, or he had constantly and deliberately 
 been in the habit of violating it. 
 
 And here it may be convenient to mention that not long- 
 afterward Sir Hudson Lowe was officially made acquainted 
 with the fact that O'Meara continued to forward his letters to 
 Mr. Finlaison, for on the 23d of January, 1818, Mr. Goulbum 
 wrote thus to Sir Hudson Lowe : — " Lord Bathurst thinks it 
 proper that you should be informed that this correspondence 
 is still kept up, and that it is so with his Lordship's knowl- 
 edge ; for, as the letters received from Dr. O'Meara are regu- 
 larly submitted to Lord Bathurst' s perusal, he has thought it 
 advisable not to do any thing which, by driving Dr. O'Meara 
 to seek another channel of correspondence, might deprive Lord 
 Bathurst of the knowledge of its contents, and of the objects 
 with which it is evident that his communications are made." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 QUESTION OF THE TITLE OP EMPEROR THE FOREIGN COM 
 
 MISSIONERS CONVERSATIONS WITH o'MEARA RESPECTING 
 
 THE REGULATIONS CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH TIM 
 
 DEPARTURE OF GENERAL GOURGAUD o'mEARa's CHARGE 
 
 AS TO FICTITIOUS BULLETINS RESPECTING NAPOLEON'S 
 HEALTH CONSIDERED — DEATH OF CIPRIANI. 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1818 Sir Hudson Lowe re- 
 ceived some dispatches from England, in one of which Lord 
 Bathurst said that, although he could not but applaud the 
 delicacy which had influenced the Governor in allowing the 
 French at Longwood to give to Bonaparte the title of Em- 
 peror, in their official communications with himself, while by 
 addressing Count Bertrand, who assumed the title of Grand 
 Marshal, instead of writing direct to " the General," he had 
 in fact treated the latter with all the circumstances of respect 
 which are considered due to sovereign princes, yet, considering 
 the tone of overbearing authority adopted by Bertrand in his 
 letters, it was necessary to instruct Sir Hudson in future, in 
 any communications which he might find it necessary to make 
 direct to Bonaparte, to do so in person or by letter written by 
 himself; but in addressing any of the suite he was to leave it to 
 one of his staff to write the letters by his command. He was 
 also instructed to notify the followers of Bonaparte that he 
 would not receive any letter or any communication from them 
 in which the title of Emperor should be given to the former, 
 and that if any such letter or communication were transmitted 
 to him it would be returned forthwith. 1 At the same time 
 
 1 Sir Hudson Lowe himself, at a subsequent period, attributed few of 
 his difficulties to the vexed question of the imperial title. In a manu- 
 script found among the papers he says, " This question, it is said, raised 
 difficulties on every side and embittered all the communications be- 
 tween the persons at Longwood and all those who held official appoint- 
 
Jan. 1818. THE FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS. 535 
 
 Mr. Goulburn wrote and informed Sir Hudson Lowe that Lord 
 Bathurst did not mean that he should correspond directly with 
 Bonaparte, as nothing could be further from his wish than to 
 promote or encourage such a correspondence, " which," he 
 said, " from their heing a strong feeling of generosity on one 
 side and nothing equivalent to it on the other, must always be 
 carried on on unequal terms." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe had written to the Colonial Office re- 
 questing instructions as to a wish expressed by certain of the 
 Commissioners of the Allied Powers at St. Helena to be per- 
 mitted to visit Bonaparte as private individuals, and upon this 
 subject Lord Bathurst wrote as follows : 
 
 . " As on the first arrival of the Commissioners in the island 
 General Bonaparte refused to admit them to an interview, on 
 the principle that they had arrived and were acting under a 
 treaty which the contracting parties had no right to make, 
 inasmuch as they had no right to detain him, His Royal High- 
 ness (the Prince Regent) considers that, if any of the Com- 
 missioners were now to be presented to him otherwise than in 
 their official character, it would be an admission of the prin- 
 ciple which General Bonaparte is on many accounts so de- 
 sirous of establishing; and the communications which have 
 taken place between the Russian Commissioner and General 
 Gourgaud, as they afford an additional ground for miscon- 
 struction, make an acquiescence in any wish of this nature ad- 
 ditionally objectionable. 
 
 "His Royal Highness therefore has commanded me to in- 
 struct you not to allow any of the Commissioners to be pre- 
 
 ments at St. Helena. This is quite a mistake. All misunderstanding 
 arising out of the title of Emperor was very soon and very easily re- 
 moved ; it subsequently caused no embarrassment I used in Ital- 
 ian the terms ' Wssignoria' and ' Lei,' and in French the "word ' Mon- 
 sieur,' which may be addressed to a royal personage. In conversation 
 with him I never called him ' General,' which would have been offen- 
 sively familiar and vulgar, whether he accepted the title or not as a 
 proper designation of his rank." This, however, was written many 
 years after he had quitted St. Helena, when the trouble which this sub- 
 ject caused had perhaps faded from his memory. It is impossible not 
 to see that it ims the occasion of embarrassment and difficulty. 
 
536 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 eented to General Bonaparte except as a Commissioner of one 
 of the Allied Powers introduced by you in your official char- 
 acter as Governor of St. Helena." 
 
 On the 7th of January the Governor had a conversation 
 with O'Meara, in the course of which he asked him if he 
 thought Napoleon Bonaparte expected that any change would 
 take place in the regulations respecting him. O'Meava an- 
 swered that he could not tell — that the last time he said any 
 thing to him on the subject was about ten days before, when 
 he stated that he would not go out until every thing was again 
 put upon the same footing as under Sir George Cockburn. 
 The Governor observed that every thing was on the same 
 footing except with regard to written communications in the 
 island ; but that, should Napoleon even be worse than he 
 was, no change would take place in respect of that regulation, 
 unless it was ordered by Government — that he ought there- 
 fore to undeceive himself about that matter, and should not 
 be encouraged in any such expectation. 
 
 O'Meara asked the Governor whether he wished him to 
 repeat this to Napoleon Bonaparte. The Governor said he 
 did not ask him to do it, as General Bonaparte had already 
 been informed of it sufficiently in writing, but if he entertain- 
 ed other hopes it was better he should know it ; and if 
 O'Meara had not endeavored to remove any such expectation 
 he should consider it a great neglect of duty. O'Meara an- 
 swered that he had never encouraged him in any such idea, 
 but had recommended him a hundred times to go out and take 
 exercise. 
 
 We now come to an incident which led to some import- 
 ant consequences. On the 6th of February O'Meara inform- 
 ed the Governor that General Gourgaud had told him the 
 preceding day that he meant to apply for permission to leave 
 the island. On being asked as to his motive, O'Meara said 
 that he believed it was in consequence of misunderstandings 
 with Count Montholon, which had put him out of favor with 
 Napoleon ; that, besides, he had been for some time past in a 
 bad state of health, had lost his appetite, was becoming ema- 
 
Feb. 1818. GENERAL GOTJRGAUD. 537 
 
 ciated, and was apprehensive of another attack of dysentery. 
 O'Meara added that the tears were in his eyes when he told 
 him, and he was in extremely low spirits. He had been for a 
 long time extremely unhappy, and was in a state of despond- 
 ency. O'Meara said that he himself thought that if in his 
 present state the General had a severe attack of dysentery or 
 other disorder it probably would carry him ofF. The Govern- 
 or observed that General Gourgaud and Count Montholon had 
 been long on bad terms, but it would seem that this was 
 more in consequence of a misunderstanding with Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, who had taken the part of Montholon against him. 
 O'Meara replied that he believed this might be the case, and 
 remarked that General Gourgaud lived miserably, and was 
 almost always by himself; he seldom saw Bonaparte, and 
 only dined with him now and then on a Sunday, when in- 
 vited, but not by any means so often as the Montholons or 
 Bertrands. 1 
 
 On the 7th General Gourgaud himself called upon Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe at Plantation House, and asked him to remove him as 
 soon as possible from Longwood. He said, " I can no longer 
 live there without dishonor. I have been treated like a dog. 
 I would rather die in a prison in France than live here, act- 
 ing the part of a chamberlain, with the total loss of my inde- 
 pendence. He (Napoleon) has wished me to do things con- 
 trary to my honor, or force me by bad treatment to leave 
 him. I have told the Marshal that I would say nothing 
 against the Emperor because that would do harm to myself; 
 but let them not attack me." 
 
 The Governor remarked that the departure of the General 
 from Longwood might subject him to misconstruction : either 
 he might be regarded as a person charged with a secret com- 
 mission from Bonaparte, or he would be reproached, for hav- 
 ing abandoned him. As to the first point, Gourgaud said he 
 was well aware that he was liable to suspicion on that 
 ground, and he therefore desired to be treated with every 
 rigor. He added that he should therefore be perfectly satis- 
 
 1 Major Gorrequer's Minutes. Not a word of this conversation is 
 noticed in O'Meara's " Voice " 
 
538 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 fied when he returned to England to be sent as prisoner to 
 France. "With respect to the latter imputation, he said, " As 
 to that I am quite indifferent. Let them attack me — I will 
 answer. I would rather be in prison than live in the man- 
 ner we "o on here — que de vivre de la maniere dont nous 
 vivons." 
 
 It is well worthy of notice, although by no means surpris- 
 ing, that O'Meara has in his ' Voice' preserved a total silence 
 respecting the departure of General Gourgaud from Longwood ; 
 indeed he never once mentions his name after the date of the 
 28th of September, 1817. But Count Montholon's account 
 is worse than O'Meara's silence. Notwithstanding the no- 
 torious enmity between Gourgaud and himself, and the real 
 facts of the case, of which the reader is now in possession, he 
 has the hardihood to say in his recent publication, 1 " The 
 bad tratment which poor O'Meara daily received from the 
 restless and uneasy disposition of Sir Hudson Lowe was not 
 our only source of regret. The departure of General Gour- 
 gaud had become necessary in consequence of the failure of 
 health, and the Emperor had availed himself of this opportu- 
 nity to have the real truth concerning his sufferings made 
 known in Europe." The " regret" felt by Count Montholon 
 for General Gourgaud's departure was about equal to the 
 spirit of veracity in which his work has been composed. An 
 angry correspondence had taken place between those two offi- 
 cers before the latter applied for permission to leave Longwood, 
 and he had distinctly challenged Montholon to fight with 
 him. 2 Indeed so apprehensive was Sir Hudson Lowe of their 
 quarrel resulting in a duel that he gave a particular caution 
 to the orderly officer to be on the watch to prevent it. 
 
 On the 8th of February Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Gour- 
 gaud and told him that he should be happy to facilitate the 
 object of his request, as to his being permitted to return to 
 Europe, as early as the nature of his instructions allowed ; 
 and that in the mean time he would direct an apartment to 
 
 1 Eecits, vol. iii. p. 3. 
 
 2 The letters that passed between them are given at the end of the 
 work. 
 
Feb. 1818. GOURGAUD QUITS LONGWOOD. 539 
 
 be allotted for his residence until an opportunity occurred for 
 his departure from the island. 
 
 On the 16th Mr. Baxter called on General Gourgaud at 
 the house of Mr. Beale, where he was then residing, and 
 made the following memorandum of the conversation that took 
 place between them : 
 
 " I called on General Gourgaud to-day, to inquire after his 
 health, and found him perfectly well. 1 Among other things, 
 in a long conversation we had relative to the ill-treatment he 
 had received from Bonaparte and the influence this had in 
 deciding him to quit Longwood, he mentioned that Bertrand 
 had earnestly endeavored to persuade him to state, in his let- 
 ter to Bonaparte announcing his intention of leaving him, that 
 ill health alone obliged him to leave him. This he peremp- 
 torily refused, and , as a proof to me thereof, showed and de- 
 sired me to read the letter he had addressed to Bonaparte in- 
 timating his wish to leave him, and in which there is not a 
 syllable mentioned of his ill health." 
 
 The letter will be found at the end of the work ; and what 
 Mr. Baxter here says respecting the absence of any allusion 
 in it to ill health, as the cause of Gourgaud's departure, is 
 quite true ; but it is right to mention that, in a formal note 
 written by him a few days before, he distinctly intimated this 
 as a reason for quitting St. Helena. He said that for the last 
 two years his health had been unsatisfactory : he had been 
 frequently attacked by dysentery and liver complaint, and now 
 to his physical sufferings were added those of a moral nature. 
 He continued, " I have experienced great annoyances {j'ai 
 eprouve cle grands chagrins) ; their influence has been fatal 
 to me ; it has destroyed the little health I had left, so that I am 
 forced to beg of you to facilitate my return to Europe, where 
 the climate of my country and the cares of my family will 
 assuage all my sufferings." And Napoleon, in his answer to 
 the letter which Gourgaud had addressed to him, took care 
 to attribute the desire of the latter to go away to ill health 
 
 1 Contrast this with the statement of O'Meara to the Governor, 
 ante, pp. f)36-537. 
 
540 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 alone. He said, " I regret that the liver complaint, which ia 
 bo fatal in this climate has compelled your departure (je re- 
 grette que le mal du foie, qui est si funeste dans ce climat, 
 ait nccessite votre depart ) ;" hut he did not make the slight- 
 est allusion to the moral sufferings and chagrins of which 
 his follower complained. 1 
 
 In conformity with the regulations all General Gourgaud's 
 papers were examined by Major Gorrequer, and while this 
 took place the General conversed freely, and some of his 
 remarks, of which Major Gorrequer made a minute for the 
 Governor, will be found extremely interesting. 2 The Major 
 says that among General Gourgaud's papers he found the 
 rough draft of his account of the events that occurred during 
 the year 1815. The General told him that, as the battle of 
 Waterloo was a subject on which the feelings of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte were extremely sore, and one upon which the ex- 
 Emperor himself could not write, he had directed Gourgaud 
 to prepare the account of it, and, when it was ready, Bona- 
 parte desired him to keep it, as the publication of it in his 
 own name would be the means of obtaining him a reputation 
 in the world. In consequence of this General Gourgaud had 
 determined to send it to England for publication ; but he 
 was afterward called upon to act in some manner (which he 
 did not explain to Major Gorrequer) that would have com- 
 promised him, and he cut up the fair copy of the work into 
 several portions, and put them up into glass bottles, intend- 
 ing to bury them in the garden at Longwood. He at the 
 time apprised General Montholon of this, and, as he after- 
 ward refused to perform what was required of him, Montho- 
 lon told Bonaparte of the circumstance of the bottles, who 
 sent for him, and desired him to deliver up the portions of 
 the account of the battle of Waterloo to him. General Gour- 
 gaud expostulated, saying that Napoleon himself had wished 
 him to keep it and publish it in his own name, it being in 
 
 1 The letters are given at length at the end of the work. 
 
 = Lieutenant (now Lieutenant-Colonel) Jackson was present at the 
 commencement of the examination of the papers, but did not remain 
 the whole time. 
 
Feb. 1818. GOURGAUD'S PAPERS. 541 
 
 fact his own composition ; but Bonaparte insisted upon hav- 
 ing it ; and he was compelled to give it up. General Gour- 
 gaud at the same time told Major G-orrequer that he had in 
 his possession the identical map of Belgium used by Bonaparte 
 at the battle of Waterloo, with several marks of the positions 
 of the troops penciled upon it by Napoleon himself on the eve 
 of the battle. He said that since the departure of Las Cases 
 all the Italian campaigns had been revised and enlarged by 
 Bonaparte, and the papers on Egypt particularly, which last 
 he said "il caresse beaitcoup" as his favorite work. From a 
 number of loose sheets and rough drafts of notes, it appeared 
 that Napoleon had written some tracts respecting the politi- 
 cal relations between England and America, the expedition 
 to Copenhagen, and other subjects. There were also nu- 
 merous notes on the subject of the Russian invasion ; but 
 nothing was in Bonaparte's handwriting that related to the 
 events at Moscow or the subsequent history of that cam- 
 paign ; for General Gourgaud said he left that part to him 
 to prepare, as he could not himself enter upon a subject so 
 unpleasant to him. 
 
 The greater part of the notes and drafts were scarcely 
 legible, particularly those written under the dictation of Bo- 
 naparte, owing to its rapidity. Those in Napoleon's own 
 handwriting were almost wholly illegible to a person unac- 
 quainted with it. General Gourgaud said, they all thought 
 at Longwood that the Governor had opened the packet ad- 
 dressed to Lord Liverpool, which, however, Major Gorrequer 
 pointedly denied ; and the General then assured him that, 
 before ever the letter was sent to Sir Hudson Lowe to be for- 
 warded to England, more than one copy of it had already 
 been transmitted there for publication. They expected at 
 Longwood to see it printed in the last newspapers which had 
 arrived, and wished General Gourgaud to take a copy of it 
 to England, which he had refused to do. He added that 
 o-reat effect was expected from it, and used the expression, 
 " c'est une piece de 48 pour Longwood (it is a forty-eight 
 pounder for Longwood.) He said it was certainly very well 
 written the best thing of the kind Napoleon had composed 
 
542 CAPTIVITY uJ' AAJ'OLEON. Chap. XV111 
 
 since he came there. He afterward lifted up in his hands 
 several bundles of papers off the table, and said, " I might, if 
 I wished, have sent every -week a packet to England as large 
 as these," and declared that there was no difficulty whatever 
 at Longwood in sending letters through other channels than 
 that of the Governor, adding that he himself had never sent 
 but one, which was to his mother ; but he might have sent 
 thirty if he had liked. He then showed Major Gorrequer a 
 handkerchief and a letter, and said, laughing, " Void la.let- 
 tre et le mouchoir qui ont fait tant de bruit." The letter 
 was a joint one from his mother and sister, and the hand- 
 kerchief was of cambric worked in white silk by the latter. 
 In the course of the conversation General Gourgaud observed, 
 " I have been treated like a dog. They [i. e. the French at 
 Longwood] wished me to compromise myself in order that I 
 might be obliged to remain all my life here." 
 
 Among other letters was a copy of one from Captain Ayl- 
 mer, R.N., to Captain Maitland, at the time he commanded 
 the Bellerophon off Rochefort, wherein was described a small 
 Dutch vessel then lying in the port alongside of some frigates, 
 which had been hired by an American, and fitted up with 
 casks provided with air-holes, which were intended to conceal 
 Bonaparte and his suite. Major Gorrequer appeared to dis- 
 credit this statement, on which General Gourgaud assured 
 him that such was the fact, and that he himself went on 
 board the vessel the day before and saw the casks, but it was 
 then too late to try the experiment, as too much time had been 
 lost ; and he said that they were astonished to find that such 
 good information on the subject could have been obtained by 
 the English cruisers. Among the papers was also a list of 
 the intended " officers of the palace," made out at Bochefort 
 by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, settling their different posts 
 if they should succeed in getting to America. Las Cases was 
 to have been " Premier Ministre du Conseil." General 
 Gourgaud asked Major Gorrequer what size Las Cases' Jour- 
 nal was, and said that it ivas more a composition than a real 
 journal, and written with the intention of being published. 
 He also informed him that a great deal had been written re- 
 
Feb. 1818. GOURGAUD'S STATEMENTS. 543 
 
 specting the bust of Napoleon's son, for the purpose of being 
 inserted in the letter to Lord Liverpool ; but that after Cap- 
 tain Lamb's visit to Longwood, who (Gourgaud said) did not 
 appear to be in favor of " V Empereur" it fell to the ground, 
 — " V echafaudage tomba par terre." 
 
 The only other point of interest that need be mentioned is 
 that General Gourgaud told Major Gorrequer that Captain 
 Poppleton, who was formerly the orderly officer at Longwood, 
 received a gold snuff-box as a present from Napoleon Bona- 
 parte on his departure, and that he saw it himself. 
 
 The next day General Gourgaud told the Governor that he 
 himself was perfectly satisfied the letter to Lord' Liverpool 
 had been sent to England without being opened, but that it 
 never would be believed at Longwood. He said he knew 
 very well what the answer would be if it was so stated there, 
 and he could even anticipate the very words which would be 
 used (begging his pardon), viz. " voila un nouveau ?nensonge 
 du Gouverneur ;" but had even an angel been sent to St. 
 Helena as Governor it would have been all the same ; com- 
 plaints would still have been made continually ; it was a con 
 sequence inseparable from the situation, and to give satisfac- 
 tion was out of the question. Had the " Emperor" been al- 
 lowed the whole extent of the island he would have been 
 equally dissatisfied ; it was not merely Longwood and the 
 restrictions, but St. Helena altogether. Enfm, il a ei'e Em~ 
 pereur; K il ne Vest plus, et voila ce que c'est." 
 
 General Gourgaud added, " He wishes to be always Empe 
 ror : if there were only two persons in the house with him he 
 would not be less Emperor. He wishes to be so always at 
 home (chez lui). He seems to have been born (if I may so 
 speak) with those imperial or regal ideas, which he can never 
 abandon." The General also said that the best mode of pay- 
 ing court to Bonaparte was to speak ill of the Governor ; but 
 the abuse in which Napoleon indulged against the latter was 
 not meant pensonally, but was "par politique:" he hoped 
 always to obtain something " a force de plaintes." Gourgaud 
 declared that the reason why Napoleon would not return any 
 answer about building a house was because as long as he re- 
 
544 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 mained in his present abode it flattered the idea of his being 
 at St. Helena only temporarily ; whereas the construction of 
 a new house would seem to imply that his residence there 
 was to be permanent. 1 
 
 One day, at the house of Baron Sturmer, Gourgaud said 
 that Napoleon had once strongly advised him to put an end 
 to his life, giving as a reason the insupportable existence he 
 led there, and that Bertrand had used arguments to the same 
 effect. He declared also that he himself (by way, it seems, 
 of reciprocating the kindness) had proposed to Napoleon that 
 they should both destroy themselves by shutting themselves 
 up in a room with charcoal. He said that Bonaparte could 
 make Bertrand believe that night was clear day. He also 
 asserted that Warden's book was written under Bonaparte's 
 inspection, and that he had seen some of the letters at Long- 
 wood. He accounted for anachronisms in the book by say- 
 ing they were introduced on purpose to make the work appear 
 as the compilation of Warden. It is very difficult to believe 
 this, and it is only fair to state that Count Balmain, the Rus- 
 sian Commissioner, had a poor opinion of Gourgaud's veracity. 
 He regarded him as a vain boaster, and it must be admitted 
 that this seems to have been a prominent weakness in his 
 character. 
 
 1 It has been asserted that Napoleon Bonaparte settled a pension of 
 12,000 francs on Gourgaud's mother, but this the General denied. He 
 told Sir Hudson Lowe that no pension was granted to his mother, but 
 that Napoleon had given an order for one payment of 12,000 francs to 
 her. He said, that some time before the month of July, 1817, Bona- 
 parte offered to send Madame Gourgaud an order for money, which 
 proposal her son, the General, after some hesitation, accepted, and Na- 
 poleon dictated an order to Prince Eugene, to be inclosed in a letter to 
 his mother. He took the paper (which had been dictated in pencil) to 
 his room to copy ; but, on leaving the copy with Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 and returning afterward to receive it back again, he found an addition 
 made, ordering some money to be lodged in London on Napoleon Bona- 
 parte's own account. Observing this, General Gourgaud declined to 
 have any thing further to do with the matter; and he declared that for 
 two mouths afterward he was exposed to every kind of indignity and 
 ill-treatment on the part of Bonaparte himself, and was finally informed 
 that, unless he consented to send the letter, the Emperor would not 
 suffer him to remain any longer with him. He at last yielded, and the 
 letter was sent to Europe 
 
March, 1818. COLONEL JACKSON'S STATEMENT. 545 
 
 In a conversation between Count Balmain and Major Gor- 
 requer at dinner at Plantation House, on the 26th of March, 
 the former told the latter that Gourgaud was always fond of 
 talking to him about his duels, and boasting of himself; and 
 the Count mentioned that he had told him that he had quarrel- 
 ed with Montholon on one occasion at St. Helena because the 
 latter had been in the habit of sitting at dinner nearer to Bo- 
 naparte than himself ; upon which he told Montholon that if 
 he again took precedence of him at table he must fight him. 
 Count Balmain added that General Gourgaud had behaved 
 very ridiculously since he quitted Longwood ; he talked at 
 random, nor could much ■ reliance be placed on what he said. 
 
 It will be not uninteresting to quote here a few extracts 
 from a letter written by Lieut. -Colonel Jackson to Mr. Henry, 
 the author of the work to which reference has already more 
 then once been made. 1 It will serve to complete our narra- 
 tive respecting this period. Colonel Jackson says, — " So much 
 nonsense has been written about General Gourgaud that I feel 
 induced to tell you shortly what were the circumstances at- 
 tending his quitting Napoleon. At Longwood, as well as on 
 the throne, the Machiavelian policy, ' Divide et impera,' was 
 the ex-Emperor's rule ; the result of which was injurious to 
 him in the extreme : for, imbued with jealousy, distrust, and 
 enmity among themselves, his little band of followers soon 
 found their position any thing but agreeable. I fancy the 
 Count de Las Cases was very glad to get out of the mess, and 
 General Gourgaud at length found his isolated situation so 
 irksome as to be no longer bearable. An active and intelli- 
 gent Officier d'Ordonnance, he had been rapidly promoted 
 about the time of Napoleon's struggles in Germany prior to 
 the battle of Leipsig (he is mentioned very favorably in Cau- 
 laincourt's Memoirs), and I believe followed his master into 
 exile from attachment to his person. I do not know precisely 
 the origin of his disagreement with Bonaparte at Longwood, 
 but have some reason to think they were not cordial for any 
 length of time after reaching St. Helena. At the period when 
 
 1 This letter is printed in Henry's " Events of a Military Life," vol. 
 ii pp. 47-50 (2d edit.). 
 
546 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XV11I. 
 
 Gourgaud applied for permission to leave the island, Counts 
 Bertrand and Montholon, with himself, formed the whole 
 suite. The two first were hut just upon speaking terms, 
 while Montholon and Gourgaud were at open enmity, as was 
 often avowed by the latter. Bertrand and Montholon had 
 their separate establishments, and were living comfortably 
 with their families, while Gourgaud remained in solitude. I 
 used frequently to call and chat with him, when he would 
 often lament his hard fate, and sigh for la belle France, for 
 Paris, and les Boulevards. At length maladie de pays got 
 the better of him, and he determined to leave Longwood. Sir 
 Hudson Lowe sent for me, aifu having mentioned Gourgaud's 
 wish, asked whether it would be agreeable for me to reside 
 with him until an opportunity should offer for his quitting 
 St. Helena. ' I propose this to you,' added the Governor, 
 ' from thinking such an arrangement would be acceptable to 
 General Gourgaud, and in consequence of his conduct having 
 been quite unexceptionable, as far as our regulations have 
 affected him ; I therefore shall be glad to please him in this 
 matter.' Accordingly General Gourgaud and myself were 
 installed in a comfortable house, in which servants and a table 
 were provided for us at the expense of Government. We lived 
 near the residences of the Austrian and Russian Commission- 
 ers, whom we occasionally visited, and nothing could exceed 
 the attention and hospitality of Sir Hudson Lowe to General 
 Gourgaud. If the latter be still alive, I feel certain he must 
 retain a pleasing recollection of the treatment he then met 
 with. 
 
 " In justice to that excellent and grossly maligned individ- 
 ual, Sir Hudson Lowe, I shall now relate a circumstance 
 which I am sure General Gourgaud will be ready to confirm. 
 When the latter removed from Longwood, I accompanied him 
 to the Governor's residence, where I took an opportunity to 
 leave him and Sir Hudson tete-a-tete. Immediately on our 
 riding from Plantation House together the General broke out 
 into strong exclamations of surprise that Sir Hudson should 
 simply have received his visit as the call of one gentleman 
 upon another, without even alluding to Longwood during their 
 
March, 1818. PECUNIARY RESOURCES. 547 
 
 conversation. 'I expected,' added he, 'that the Governor 
 would have seized with avidity so favorable an occasion as 
 my excited state offered to gather from me some information 
 about the goings on at Longwood. Je ne reviens pas de mon 
 etonnement, non,je rien reviens pas.' These expressions of 
 surprise he repeated over and over again during our short ride. 
 I may add that I had many opportunities of remarking the 
 really chivalrous delicacy of Sir Hudson in reference to Gen- 
 eral Gourgaud." 1 
 
 To this must be added the fact, which Colonel Jackson also 
 mentions, that General Gourgaud, having at first declined to 
 receive a considerable sum (12.000 francs) from Napoleon on 
 quitting Longwood, and having afterward, when about to em- 
 bark, applied to Count Bertrand for a loan of two or three 
 hundred pounds, was met by a refusal, on the ground that he 
 had declined the Emperor's offer, which was a most disre- 
 spectful act. Bertrand, however, said that he was willing to 
 lend the money if Gourgaud would accept the Emperor's gift. 
 He still refused to place himself under a pecuniary obligation 
 to Napoleon, and as he was quite penniless Sir Hudson Lowe 
 sent him an order on his own banker in London for one hun- 
 dred pounds. 
 
 We have only to add the particulars of a remarkable con- 
 versation which the Governor had with General Gourgaud 
 on the 14th of March, the day on which he embarked for 
 England. It is contained in two letters from the former to 
 Lord Bathurst, dated respectively the 14th and 15th of March, 
 1818. Sir Hudson says that Gourgaud told him they received 
 at Longwood a large swm of money in gold at the time the 
 
 1 This statement is fully confirmed by the Lowe papers. In a letter 
 from Sir Hudson Lowe to Lord Bathurst, February 21, 1818, he said, 
 speaking of a conversation with General Gourgaud, "He spoke with 
 great rapidity, and a strong feeling of irritation against those whom he 
 was about to quit ; but, as he migbt consider I took an undue advantage 
 of the situation he was then in, to excite him to disclosures which, in 
 cooler moments, he would have been more cautious in making, I did not 
 encourage him to proceed in this strain, and he expressed himself after- 
 ward to the officer I had appointed to attend him very sensible of the 
 delicacy which I had observed in my conversation with him." 
 
548 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 plate teas broken up. He spoke of this as a most unworthy 
 trick, saying that they had abundance of money, and did not 
 want resources of any kind. The Governor, wishing to ascer- 
 tain how they had obtained it, remarked that they got a large 
 sum from Count Las Cases about the time the plate was 
 broken up, and perhaps this might have served them. " Oh ! 
 no," was General Gourgaud's reply; "before that they had 
 240,000 francs in gold, a large part of it in Spanish doub- 
 loons. 1 Oh ! they have no want of money." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe said in one of his letters, " He acquainted 
 me that Prince Eugene is the person who has lodged money 
 in the hands of Messrs. Andrew Street and Parker, for the use 
 of Napoleon Bonaparte ; and he told Baron Sturmer Count 
 Las Cases had received an order for 200,000 livres, so that the 
 £4000 will have been more than repaid. ... He (Gourgaud) 
 is greatly enraged at some traits of Count Bertrand's conduct, 
 and repeated to me a remark made to him by Napoleon Bona- 
 parte, on the justice of an observation made to the latter by 
 Talleyrand, ' que e'etait Vhonvme le plus faux et le plus dis- 
 simule de la France.' In short, the brouillerie is complete, 
 and will, I should conceive, lead to some results on public 
 opinion in Europe. 
 
 " General Gourgaud spoke to me with indignation of the 
 shifts used in breaking up the plate, at a time when they had 
 abundance of money in their possession — of designs to form a 
 ' noyau' (nucleus) in France or in England, in which it was 
 proposed he should take a part, but he spoke with such rapid- 
 ity, and at times in so ambiguous a manner (rather as wishing 
 to avoid any matter of direct reference), that I could not well 
 gather his meaning in every point, but believe all I have said 
 will be more clearly obtained from him, if he does not fall too 
 soon into wrong hands, on his arrival in England." 
 
 1 It is, perhaps, right to mention that Lieut. -Colonel Jackson, whose 
 authority has been frequently quoted in the course of this work, has 
 expressed to the author his entire disbelief of this statement. He was 
 on intimate terms with Count Montholon after they both left St. Helena, 
 and, if the fact had been as Gourgaud represented, he thinks he must 
 have heard of it from Montholon, who never mentioned any tiling of the 
 kind. 
 
March, 1818. QUESTION OF FICTITIOUS BULLETINS. 549 
 
 During the month of Fehruary Mr. Baxter made several 
 reports to the Governor on the state of Bonaparte's health, in 
 which, however, he was, as hefore obliged to rely solely on 
 the information supplied by O'Meara, as he had no opportu- 
 nity himself of seeing Napoleon. These are the " surrepti- 
 tious and fictitious bulletins" spoken of by O'Meara in his 
 book. 1 Nothing could be more proper than that the Governor 
 should endeavor to obtain a second opinion as to the health 
 and medical treatment of Napoleon from a skillful profes- 
 sional person who was competent to form a judgment upon 
 O'Meara's medical details. In reality, however, the so-called 
 " fictitious bulletins" were merely repetitions of the informa- 
 tion given by O'Meara to Mr. Baxter, and the writer rarely 
 expressed any opinion of his own. But it will be satisfac- 
 tory to hear Mr. Baxter's own account of the matter. He 
 says — 
 
 " In October, 1817, I was directed by Sir Hudson Lowe to 
 examine Mr. O'Meara twice a week relative to the state of 
 health of Napoleon Bonaparte, and to report the result to 
 him. This was done accordingly, and the information thus 
 received committed to writing immediately after. The ex- 
 pressions of Mr. O'Meara were scrupulously attended to in 
 making the report to the Governor, and for the truth of the 
 statements made by me to the Governor from these ex- 
 aminations I pledge myself as a man of honor. In the 
 preamble to the report it is explicitly stated to be the sub- 
 stance of an examination of Mr. O'Meara, touching the state 
 of health of Napoleon Bonaparte, and does in no way imply 
 that I was in attendance upon him." 
 
 On the 20th Baxter wrote and said that he had remarked 
 to O'Meara that it was something uncommon that a com- 
 plaint of the nature which he (O'Meara) supposed Bonaparte's 
 to be (namely, hepatitis, or disease of the liver) should con- 
 tinue stationary for so long a period, particularly as he had 
 never taken any thing to arrest its progress, or with a view 
 
 i " "Voice," vol. ii. p. 398. They are also denounced by Count Mon- 
 tholon in his "Recits." 
 
550 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XVIII. 
 
 of removing the disease. To this O'Meara answered, that it 
 appeared equally so to him. 
 
 At this time, according to O'Meara's account, Napoleon 
 suffered severely from palpitations, and was in consequence 
 ohliged frequently to get out of bed at night, and remain in 
 an erect posture, by which he obtained relief. He also had 
 more pain in the right side than formerly ; his countenance 
 was more sallow, and his eyes more sunk. His appetite 
 was represented to be by no means good, and his spirits rather 
 low. 
 
 An event now occurred at Longwood which excited regret 
 in the island generally. Cipriani, the maitre d'hbtel of the 
 establishment, was seized on the 23d of February with in- 
 ternal inflammation, and, although he was attended by 
 Messrs. Baxter and Henry, as well as by O'Meara, he died on 
 the 28th, after much suffering. He was buried in the country 
 church-yard by a Protestant clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Boys, 
 and was followed to the grave by Counts Bertrand and Mon- 
 tholon, Sir Thomas Reade, Mr. O'Meara, several officers of 
 the 66th Regiment, and many of the inhabitants. 1 " Had he 
 been buried ivithiti the limits," says O'Meara, " Napoleon 
 himself would have attended." 
 
 We may charitably hope that this might have been so ; but 
 truth obliges us to state that Bonaparte did not once see his 
 humble follower throughout his fatal sickness. We quote 
 Mr. Henry's account of the matter : 2 " In the course of my 
 attendance at Longwood I was not a little surprised to learn 
 accidentally that Napoleon had never visited his faithful 
 servant during his last illness. No doubt this mark of respect 
 would have been highly gratifying to the patient, yet it is a 
 fact that no visit ever took place, although the sick man's 
 chamber was under the Emperor's roof, and not twenty feet 
 distant from his bath. I have reason to believe, however, 
 from the assertion of Mr. O'Meara, that during the last 
 evening of Cipriani's malady, and when he was in a state of 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. ii. p. 389. O'Meara omits, however, to state that Sir 
 Thomas Reade showed this mark of respect to Cipriani's remains. 
 a " Events of a Military Eife," vol. ii. p. 37. 
 
March, 1818. DEATH OF CIPRIANI. 551 
 
 delirious insensibility, his master proposed to see him, but 
 was dissuaded by Mr. O'Meara, on the ground that the patient 
 was not then in a state to recognize the Emperor. According 
 to O'Meara, Napoleon then talked a little extravagantly of the 
 effect his presence might produce, even in these desperate cir- 
 cumstances. It might reanimate the expiring efforts of na- 
 ture, as it had retrieved the fatal disorder of his army at Ar- 
 eola and Marengo. Notwithstanding this flourish, the man 
 died unvisited by his master ; and I confess, when I have 
 read the affecting circumstances of the death of Duroc and 
 other Generals, whose dying hours the Emperor's presence 
 and sympathy soothed and comforted, no slight degree of in- 
 credulity has arisen in my mind in contrasting his deportment 
 then and now. The key may be — it behooved him to as- 
 sume grief, if he did not feel it, at the bedside of the dying 
 Marshal. In the case of the devoted servant no object of 
 consequence was to be attained." 1 
 
 It is however gratifying to be able to mention that Napo- 
 leon expressed himself much pleased with the attention shown 
 to Cipriani's remains ; and to mark his sense of it, he caused 
 a request to be made to the clergyman who performed the 
 burial service, that he would receive £25 for distribution 
 among the poor. And, when he was informed that there 
 were no persons in the island who properly came under that 
 denomination, he acquiesced in the money being paid to a be- 
 nevolent society — an institution by which persons in distress 
 at St. Helena were relieved — and his donation was given to 
 it. 
 
 1 Mr. Henry says — " Although Bonaparte's devoted servant, he 
 ^Cipriani) was one of the most violent republican Jacobins I ever met." 
 — " Events of a Military Life," vol. ii. p. 36. As to his contempt for re- 
 ligion, see p. 303, ante, and note post, p. 554. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 COMPLAINTS AT LONGWOOD AGAINST THE PURVEYOR COM- 
 MAND OF FUNDS BY NAPOLEON CONSIDERATE CONDUCT OF 
 
 LORD BATHURST CHANGE IN THE PURVEYORSHIP o'MEARA 
 
 AND THE AFFAIR OF THE SNUFF-BOX HE IS SUBJECTED 
 
 TO THE SAME RESTRICTIONS AS THE FRENCH AT LONG- 
 WOOD SECOND " APOSTILLE" WRITTEN BY BONAPARTE 
 
 O'MEARA'S MISSTATEMENTS. 
 
 Early in March this year Major Gorrequer had some long 
 conversations with Count Montholon on the subject of the 
 expenses of the table at Longwood, and found him reasonable 
 and accommodating. He blamed Cipriani for having been 
 rather extravagant in the wine, and said that the Emperor 
 had desired them all, not only to observe the strictest economy, 
 but to do with the smallest quantity possible of necessaries, 
 and had observed to him that, because they thought proper to 
 keep separate tables that was no reason why they should 
 burden the British Government with a greater expense. 
 Major Gorrequer remarked that it was and always would be 
 the Governor's wish that their wants should be amply supplied 
 in every respect ; all that he desired was to avoid waste : upon 
 which Montholon acknowledged the care the Governor had 
 taken that they should be well provided. 
 
 In the course of the same conversation the Count said that 
 the oil, Cape butter, lard, cheese, hams, vinegar, rice, and 
 flour were frequently so much damaged they could not make 
 use of them, but gave them to the servants ; eggs also were 
 frequently rotten. He then pointed out among the articles 
 charged in the bills a quantity which they had been obliged 
 to buy in consequence of the bad quality of these sent by the 
 purveyors, and these came to a high amount. He observed 
 that if they were furnished with all the articles of a good 
 quality they would now have little to buy ; and he more than 
 
March, 1818. STATEMENTS CONCERNING GOUB.GAUD. 553 
 
 once assured Major Gorrequer that it was not his intention 
 to cast any reproaches or to find fault with any thing ; they 
 knew the difficulty which existed in procuring things of a good 
 quality, and they were all aware it was not the Governor's 
 fault if they did not get them good. 
 
 In a dispatch from the Governor to Earl Bathurst, dated 
 the 31st of March, 1818, he said that O'Meara had /been re- 
 peating in public, and enforcing himself, the remarks made 
 hy Count Bertrand in disparagement of General Gourgaud, 
 and that the two points on which unfavorable observations 
 were made were the pension alleged to have been granted to 
 General Gourgaud, and his demand for money from Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, after having before refused to accept it. Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe said, " General Gourgaud himself can best explain 
 the affair of the pension j 1 but, with respect to the demand 
 for money, it is right to observe, none was made by General 
 Gourgaud to Napoleon Bonaparte ; for the sum forwarded 
 since his departure was obtained from Count Bertrand upon 
 an application from Mr. Cole in the name of the purveyor, 
 in order to enable him to execute an order before given, and 
 was not applied for by General Gourgaud himself." Sir Hud- 
 son added — " Subsequently to being made acquainted Mr. 
 O'Meara had held the conversations above referred to, I in- 
 terrogated him as to the line of conduct which had been ob- 
 served by General Gourgaud during the whole time he had 
 been at Longwood, and was told, as will appear by an accom- 
 panying memorandum of a conversation with him, he had not, 
 to Mr. O'Meara's knowledge, committed any act of impropri- 
 ety, been guilty of any breach of regulation, or done any thing 
 whatever to draw forth an inj urious comment upon him ; so 
 that it is only in consequence of and since his rupture with 
 the persons at Longwood these reflections have been endeav- 
 ored to be cast upon him, in precise conformity to the obvious 
 views and designs which General Gourgaud anticipated on 
 the part of Napoleon Bonaparte, and the persons acting under 
 his influence at Longwood, when he separated from them." 
 
 . ' See p. 544, ante. 
 
 Vol. I.— A a 
 
554 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLKU.V. Chap. XIX. 
 
 About this time Count Bertrand wrote to Cardinal Fesch, 
 Napoleon's uncle, and informed him of Cipriani's death. He 
 said that the Emperor's health was very unsatisfactory, and 
 mentioned that a child of one of Count Montholon's servants 
 and also a femme-de-chambre, had recently died of the same 
 complaint as Cipriani, which he attributed to the evil effect 
 of the climate at St. Helena, "where," he said, "very few 
 men grow old." He requested that a minister of religion 
 might be sent out to them, 1 and also another rnaltre-dlwlel 
 and a cook. In consequence of this letter the Governor inter- 
 rogated O'Meara, who said that if he were called upon to give 
 an opinion as to the nature of the malady with which Napo- 
 leon was affected, he would call it an i?icipie?it hepatitis. Ad- 
 verting to Bertrand's letter, Sir Hudson Lowe, when he wrote 
 to Lord Bathurst, said that he should prefer having foreign 
 domestics, of good character, and unacquainted with the En- 
 glish language, at Longwood, so long as Bertrand and Mon- 
 tholon, with their families, remain near Bonaparte, rather 
 than English servants, not subject to the rules of military dis- 
 cipline or the same regulations as the French persons then 
 there were under. He added — " These opinions are solely 
 the result of the inconvenience I have experienced from Mr. 
 O'Meara's line of proceeding ; conceiving the attendance near 
 the person of Napoleon Bonaparte of a man of his doubtful 
 character a greater evil than that of any foreigner whatever, 
 on the ground that a person suspected or capable of acting a 
 treacherous part is more dangerous than a declared enemy, 
 and that more is to be apprehended from the effects of con- 
 versation and example among those around." 
 
 That the English Government, or rather Lord Bathurst and 
 Mr. Goulburn, were not wanting in attention and delicacy 
 
 1 See a translation of this letter printed in O'Meara's " Voice," vol. 
 ii. p. 478. Speaking of Cipriani's death and the absence of a Roman 
 Catholic priest, Bertrand said in this letter, " il a paru ne pas se soucier 
 d'un ministre d'une autre religion ;" upon which passage Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, writing to Lord Bathurst, remarked, " It is only for the sake of 
 truth I feel it necessary to mention that the person in question was 
 noted for his infidelity, and manifested no change in these sentiments 
 to the last ; expressions of impiety and blasphemy were familiar to him." 
 
March, 1818. CONSIDERATENESS OF GOVERNMENT. 555 
 
 toward the exiles at Longwood, whenever they could so act 
 consistently with their duty, must have been already appa- 
 rent. And in this spirit were written by Mr. Goulburn some 
 private letters to Sir Hndson Lowe, which he received at the 
 end of this month, two of which are here given at length : 
 
 "(Private). 
 
 " Downing Street, Nov. 4, 1817. 
 " My dear Sir — I inclose you two letters from the father 
 of General Bertrand to his son. The one inclosed in the let- 
 ter to you announces the death of Madame Dillon, the mother 
 of Madame Bertrand. I know that you will be desirous to 
 do all in your power to prevent any aggravation of the dis- 
 tress which this event will occasion in the family of General 
 Bertrand, and I am sure therefore that it will be a relief to you 
 to know that Lord Bathurst entirely approves of your exercising 
 your own discretion as to forbearing to act upon the instruc- 
 tions with reference to General Bertrand which are conveyed 
 to you by the present opportunity. I have the honor to 
 be, &c. Henry Goulburn. 
 
 " P. S. Among the letters for General Bonaparte sent by 
 the present conveyance is one from Cardinal Fesch, offering 
 him money. Lord Bathurst is not aware of any objection to 
 his receiving the money, drawing for it under the established 
 regulations. H. G." 
 
 " (Private). 
 
 " My dear Sir — I send you by the present opportunity a 
 number of French publications, which I have just received 
 from Paris. They were ordered as part of those which it was 
 Lord Bathurst's intention to provide for General Bertrand, but 
 as, on looking them over, it appears to me that some of them 
 are of a nature to give offense to General Bonaparte, and that 
 he may construe sending them to Longwood as intended to 
 insult him, I have to request that you would in the first in- 
 stance look them over, and use your own discretion as to 
 sending or retaining them. 1 would not have imposed this 
 
556 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX. 
 
 task upon you had the time between their arrival and the 
 dispatch of the ship for St. Helena admitted of my doing it 
 myself. 
 
 " I will take care that you shall receive by the next the 
 books which you requested me to procure from the French 
 booksellers in Marlborough Street. I ought to add that I 
 should be obliged to you to send me a list of the books which 
 you may ultimately send to General Bertrand, in order that 
 a memorandum may be kept of their value. 
 
 " Yours, &c. Henry Goulburn. 
 
 "Downing Street, Nov. 17, 1817." 
 
 In another letter Mr. Goulburn said, " I send at Lord Bath- 
 urst's directions a file of the ' Morning Chronicle,' in order 
 that you may send it to Longwood for the information and 
 amusement of the residents there." 
 
 At the same time that General Gourgaud left St. Helena, 
 Mr. Balcombe, who had been the purveyor for the establish- 
 ment at Longwood ever since the arrival of the French, 
 sailed for England. Although Sir Hudson Lowe had no tan- 
 gible cause of complaint against him, he was not without 
 strong suspicion that his relations with Longwood were not 
 limited to the ostensible duties of his office, and the sequel 
 showed that this idea was by no means at variance with the 
 fact. His close intimacy with O'Meara, with whose conduct 
 the Governor was becoming daily more dissatisfied, of itself 
 justified some jealousy of his actions. When, therefore, he 
 quitted the island, Sir Hudson determined not to continue the 
 purveyorship in the hands of his firm, but appointed Mr. 
 Ibbetson to act in his stead. And in order that some vouch- 
 ers might be forthcoming to show the expenditure, and he 
 might be able to give to his Government an accurate account 
 of the sums actually spent upon the maintenance of the 
 French at Longwood, he proposed that in future, instead of a 
 certain amount of cash being placed in their hands monthly 
 for disbursement, the payments that were required should be 
 made by checks or " dons" drawn on Mr. Ibbetson. This 
 irritated Bonaparte extremely, and Count Bertrand declared 
 that the Emperor said that, rather than submit to such a 
 
March, 1818. HIS COMMAND OF FUNDS. 557 
 
 change, he would receive nothing, and would prefer wearing 
 his shirt as long as it would last without washing (il aimera 
 mieux porter sachemise tant qu'elledurera, sans blanchissage). 
 All these details were gone into at great length in some con- 
 versations between Major Gorrequer and Bertrand, with 
 which we shall not weary the reader, for nothing can be more 
 uninteresting than the minutiae of petty household details, and 
 they are only alluded to here for the sake of mentioning a re- 
 mark of Bertrand's when he ridiculed the notion of any im- 
 proper use being made by Bonaparte of any money which 
 might come into his hands for the expenses of the table. 
 " The Emperor," he exclaimed, " has only to speak to have 
 millions. He has only to give a bit of paper of the size of 
 this," showing a scrap of paper of the size of an inch, " which 
 would be worth a million." If this assertion on the part of 
 Bertrand was true, we require no stronger proof of the neces- 
 sity there existed for not allowing sealed communications to 
 pass between Longwood and Europe. 
 
 But we now turn to a matter of more importance, and have 
 to mention an instance of O'Meara's misconduct, which, 
 coming to Sir Hudson Lowe's knowledge, induced him to 
 adopt toward the offender the strongest measure in his power, 
 short of placing him under arrest, or sending him off the isl- 
 and. For obvious reasons, there was no act more strictly for- 
 bidden than the giving or receiving presents from Napoleon 
 without the Governor's permission. In defiance of this well- 
 known rule, O'Meara informed the Rev. Mr. Vernon and the 
 Rev. Mr. Boys, two clergymen at St. Helena, that Bonaparte 
 intended to give each of them a snuff-box, in acknowledgment 
 of their services to Cipriani. Mr. Boys was then about to 
 proceed to England, and on the 2d of April, the day before he 
 embarked, O'Meara brought him a silver snuff-box from Na- 
 poleon, which Mr. Boys at first accepted, but being convinced 
 by Mr. Vernon of the impropriety of the act, he caused it 
 to be returned to O'Meara after he had sailed, accompanied 
 by a note, in which he said that he should be very happy to 
 have it transmitted to him through the proper channel. 
 
 In consequence of this direct violation of the rules, the 
 
558 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX. 
 
 Governor determined to subject O'Meara to the same restric- 
 tions as were imposed upon the French, and on the 10th of 
 April Sir Thomas Reade wrote to him and informed him 
 that, except in the event of any thing extraordinary occur- 
 ring, which he might feel it his duty to report immediately 
 in person to the Governor, or in case of being summoned to 
 give medical aid where other medical attendance could not 
 be procured, he was not to quit Longwood without permis- 
 sion of the Governor. In his " Voice" O'Meara says that in 
 this letter 1 no reasons were assigned for the order, and he tries 
 to make it appear that it was an expedient of the Governor 
 to induce him if possible to disobey the commands of the lat- 
 ter, and thus afford a pretext for removing him from St. He- 
 lena. It is quite true that the letter contains no allusion to 
 the present of the snuff-box, nor can I explain the reason. 
 Probably Sir Hudson thought that O'Meara must be sufficiently 
 conscious of his own improper act, and did not require to be 
 told why he was thus openly mistrusted. 
 
 Before replying to Sir Thomas Reade's letter, O'Meara 
 wrote to Count Bertrand, and informed him that, as it was 
 impossible for him to sacrifice his character and his rights as 
 a British subject to the desire he had of being of service to 
 " the chief personage at Longwood, he had formed the resolu- 
 tion to quit the island. He then dispatched a letter to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, in which he tendered his resignation, and 
 demanded permission to return to England. Although the 
 order against his quitting Longwood without leave was posi- 
 tive, he immediately disobeyed it by going to the Briars, where 
 Admiral Plampin was residing, for the purpose of having an 
 interview with him ; but the Admiral desired his secretary 
 to acquaint him that he could not sanction his disobedience 
 bv receiving him ; but that, if he had any communication to 
 make, he must write and obtain his (the Admiral's) direction 
 
 1 This letter was inserted in the "Morning Chronicle" after O'Meara's 
 letter to Sir Hudson Lowe of the 23d of December, 1817, as if it were 
 the answer to it, instead of the actual reply to that letter, which was 
 dated the 19th of January, 1818. See the letters and documents at 
 the end of the work, No. 1 14. 
 
April, 1818. ANOTHER "APOSTILLE." 559 
 
 to wait upon him. O'Meara's answer to this was, that he 
 considered himself a naval officeT, and not amenable to the 
 orders of the Governor, much less obliged to obey an illegal one. 
 On the same day Bertrand sent for Major G-orrequer, and 
 in the course of conversation bitterly complained of the act 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe. He said that in driving away the phy- 
 sician of the Emperor might be recognized the design which 
 the Governor had long manifested of assassinating him. On 
 hearing these words Major Gorrequer rose from his seat, say- 
 ing that he could not tolerate such language ; and Bertrand 
 added, " at all events you will repeat to the Governor what 
 I have just said :" on which the Major at once withdrew. 
 Count Bertrand then addressed a letter to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 in which he made the same insinuation ; and on the 21st the 
 latter replied with calmness and dignity, saying that O'Meara 
 had tendered his resignation, and if his removal had not al- 
 ready taken place it had been solely out of consideration for 
 the arguments employed by Bertrand, and owing to the diffi- 
 culty of supplying his place by any other person on the island 
 not objectionable to Napoleon himself. 
 
 With reference to the question of providing another medi- 
 cal attendant for Napoleon, it is right here to mention that 
 some time previous to this Count Bertrand informed Mr. 
 Baxter that Bonaparte had formed a favorable opinion of him, 
 and said he was an honorable and enlightened man, and 
 that there was no one there in whom he should have more 
 confidence, but that he would not then see him, as he was 
 certain tnat bulletins of his health would be shown to the 
 Governor, to which he was averse. There is no doubt, how- 
 ever, that afterward he took a dislike to Mr. Baxter, simply 
 because he was the medical officer recommended and confided 
 in by the Governor. 
 
 On the 27th Bertrand transmitted to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 another " apostille," written by Napoleon, which the latter 
 called upon him to forward to the Prince Regent, using the 
 expression, " If he does not do so I leave the opprobrium of 
 my death as a legacy to the reigning House of England (je 
 legue l'opprobre de ma mort a, la maison regnante d' Angle- 
 
560 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX. 
 
 terre." (It is needless to give the contents of this document, 
 or Sir Hudson Lowe's remarks upon it, for it would he only 
 goino- over the same ground of complaint and justification 
 which we have already so often traveled. It will be suffi- 
 cient to say that in it Napoleon called the Governor his as- 
 sassin (mon, assassin), and desired that what he then wrote 
 might be communicated to the Prince Regent, in order that 
 public punishment might fall on Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 The Governor formally accepted O'Meara's resignation, and 
 informed him, through Sir Thomas Ueade, that if Bonaparte 
 was willing to receive advice from any other medical person 
 in the island he would consent to his (O'Meara's) quitting 
 Longwood immediately, but if Bonaparte refused to consent 
 to this he said it would be proper that O'Meara should remain 
 in his present situation until his resignation had been received 
 in England, or some arrangement could be made for supplying 
 his place. At the same time Sir Hudson Lowe instructed Sir 
 Thomas Reade to write to Bertrand and acquaint him again 
 officially (as had become necessary in consequence of his per- 
 tinacious violation of the rule) that he would not thencefor- 
 ward receive any letter or any communication whatever from 
 any person in attendance upon Bonaparte where the title of 
 " Emperor" should be given to him, and that if any such 
 letter or communication were sent it would be returned, in 
 conformity with Lord Bathurst's instructions. 
 
 It would uselessly weary the reader to give the tedious cor- 
 respondence that ensued between O'Meara and the Governor 
 this month, in which, however, it is very remarkable that no 
 allusion whatever is made on either side to the affair of the 
 snuff-box, about which Sir Hudson Lowe wrote fully to Lord 
 Bathurst on the 9th of April. And in another letter on the 
 19th he said, speaking of Bonaparte, " The mortification has 
 been the greater because neither he nor Mr. O'Meara himself 
 can controvert the fact of the present, though they are both 
 ready to defend it, on the ground of the Act of Parliament 
 not granting any authority to prevent it." 1 
 
 1 Sir Hudson Lowe means that the Act gave the Governor no author- 
 ity to prevent presents being made. 
 
May, 1818. THE SNUFF-BOX. 561 
 
 In one of O'Meava's letters, however, addressed at this period 
 to Major Gorrequer, he relates a conversation which he had 
 with Napoleon, and which is interesting enough to quote. He 
 says, 1 " I asked him how his health was, and, according to 
 my general custom, attempted to take his arm in order to feel 
 his pulse. He, however, drew back his hand, and, without 
 answering my question, said, ' Well, Doctor, you are going to 
 quit us. The world will scarcely believe that la lachete d'at- 
 tenler at my physician has been put in practice. Yon have 
 no longer the independence necessary to render your services 
 useful to me. Q-uit this abode of darkness and crime as soon 
 as you can. I will expire upon a grabat, gnawed by disease 
 and without any assistance.' He then took me by the hand, 
 which he squeezed, and appeared to experience some emotion. 
 I took advantage of this in order to again ask him about the 
 state of his health ; but he replied by sending me away, say- 
 ing, ' Farewell forever, Doctor !' Since that time he has not 
 again sent for me, and I have not spoken to him." 
 
 The first intimation of the charge respecting the snuff-box 
 seems to have been conveyed to O'Meara in a letter from 
 Colonel Wynyard on the 3d of May, written by the command 
 of the Governor, in which he spoke of him as having rendered 
 himself " a channel for presents, and the bearer of private and 
 unauthorized communications in regard to them." 
 
 To this letter O'Meara replied on the 14th, and gave his 
 version of the story of the snuff-box. It is well worthy of our 
 attention as an instance of the deliberate falsehoods to which 
 the writer did not scruple to resort when he saw no other mode 
 of justifying his conduct. Happily in this case detection and 
 confutation both followed close at hand, and his exposure may 
 be of use in diminishing the credit that has been given to some 
 of his other statements not so capable of direct and positive 
 disproof. He said, "You assert that I have served as a distrib- 
 utor of presents. If you allude to what took place with the 
 Keverend Mr. Boys as having given umbrage to the Governor, 
 why has it not been communicated to me until the 3d of May, 
 
 1 See " Voice," vol. ii. p. 399. 
 AA* 
 
562 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX 
 
 twenty-three days after the order of the 10th of April? 1 
 Mr. Cipriani, maitre-d 'hotel, died on the 27th of February 
 last. The Reverend Messrs. Boys and Vernon attended his 
 funeral, and, although he died in the Roman Catholic persua- 
 sion, buried his corpse in consecrated ground, and read the 
 funeral service over it according to the rites of the Protestant 
 Church. This conduct appeared liberal and noble ; and Gen- 
 eral Montholon asked Mr. Boys in what manner he could 
 manifest to the clergymen the satisfaction which their conduct 
 had given ; to which a reply was made refusing any retribu- 
 tion [recompense ?] for them, and observing that a donation 
 for the poor would be acceptable. This decided General Mon- 
 tholon to give to each of these gentlemen a Chinese snuff-box 
 of trifling value, and £25 for the poor. Some days after, 
 Mr. Boys, having breakfasted with General Montholon, re- 
 ceived £25 and the box ; and a few days subsequent, depart- 
 ing for England, he sent the box to me, asking me to beg of 
 General Montholon to send it to him through the channel of 
 the Governor, in order that he might be able, without any 
 scruple, to show it in England. When I received the letter 
 and the box Mr. Boys was gone, which obliged me to return 
 the box on the spot to General Montholon, to whom I made 
 known Mr. Boys's desires. This, Sir, is the history of my 
 conduct ; — and I have reason to believe that the £25 was 
 deposited in the hands of Mr. Boys for the use of the poor. 
 There is no man whose actions, even praiseworthy, are not 
 liable to be denigrated and perverted by the breath of calumny, 
 which, however, is easily confounded among just and sagac- 
 ious persons." 
 
 Here then we find O'Meara asserting that Mr. Boys received 
 the snuff-box at the breakfast-table direct from Count Mon- 
 tholon, and that all he himself had to do with the matter was 
 that he innocently received it with the accompanying note 
 
 1 There certainly seems to be some reasonableness in this complaint 
 of O'Meara. Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Lord Bathurst on the 19(A of 
 April, and said that neither Bonaparte nor O'Meara could controvert 
 the fact of the present of the snuff-box, though they were both ready to 
 defend it. But it does not appear that O'Meara had at that time been 
 taxed "with the offense, or that Bonaparte knew the cause of his disgrace. 
 
May, 1818. THE SNUFF-BOX. 563 
 
 from Mr. Boys, and returned it as requested to the Count. 
 Now let the reader contrast this statement with the account 
 of the transaction given by the Rev. Mr. Vernon, every par- 
 ticular of which is confirmed by the testimony of Mr. Boys. 
 The former made a deposition on oath, on the 28th of April, 
 relative to the facts of the case, and declared the snuff-box 
 was given by O'Meara, as has been already related : and, sub- 
 sequently, on the 19th of May, in answer to further inquiries, 
 he wrote the subjoined letter to the Military Secretary. No 
 contradiction can be more complete, and no conduct could be 
 more mean and miserable than the attempt of O'Meara to 
 shift the blame from himself, and induce Mr. Vernon to be his 
 accomplice in a falsehood. 
 The letter was as follows : 
 
 " Sik — Having been desired by the Governor to give him 
 the copy of the letter addressed by Mr. Boys to Mr. O'Meara, 1 
 which he (Mr. Boys) had left on the morning of his departure 
 for England, I proceeded with the said copy in my pocket to 
 James Town. Before an opportunity occurred, however, of 
 giving the paper to the Governor, I was accosted by Mr. 
 O'Meara. After the usual salutations I asked him if the Gov- 
 ernor had said any thing to him concerning the snuff-box 
 which he had given to Mr. Boys ? He answered, ' No ; does 
 he know it ?' I replied in the affirmative, adding that I had 
 been interrogated by the Governor and had related all that I 
 knew of the transaction. Moreover, I told him (Mr. O'Meara) 
 that a copy of Mr. Boys's letter to him had been left with me ; 
 
 1 The letter was as follows : 
 
 Mr. O'Meara, Longwood. 
 
 " My dear Sir — I find by a reference to the laws that I may subject 
 myself to very heavy penalties and troubles by receiving through your 
 hands alone the box so handsomely presented, and which on all ac- 
 counts I should most highly value. I have therefore deemed it prudent 
 and safe, both on your account and my own, to request you will take 
 charge of it through L. Solomon [the shopkeeper from whom it was 
 originally bought],°in whose care I leave it, and endeavor to secure it 
 to me by sending it with Mr. Vernon's through the unobjectionable chan- 
 nel I have not the slightest doubt of the entire concurrence of Sir. H., 
 nor that you will endeavor to accomplish the cordial wishes of 
 
 " Yours very faithfully, R. Boys." 
 
564 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX. 
 
 whereupon he said, ' Do not let the Governor know that.' I 
 replied, that the Governor was aware of it, and had desired to 
 see it ; that I had it then in ray pocket, having brought it for the 
 purpose of giving it to the Governor as I had promised. Mr. 
 O'Meara exclaimed, ' Boys could not have taken a more effect- 
 ual method to ruin me.' He (Mr. O'Meara) also said, ' You 
 have no idea what serious consequences may result from this : 
 I am not a man likely to be frightened at trifles neither.' " 
 
 " I expressed my regret that I should be at all concerned 
 in an affair which threatened to bring him into so serious a 
 scrape. ' If so,' said he ' give me that paper,' pointing to the 
 copy of Mr. Boys's letter to him which I held in my hand ; 
 and remarking the expression contained in it, ' by receiving 
 through your hands alone,' observed that those words com- 
 pletely implicated him. I answered, ' I can not give you the 
 paper, having passed my word to Sir H. Lowe that I would 
 bring it to him : however,' I continued, ' if you can point out 
 any line of conduct consistent with my duty which may be of 
 service to you, I shall be happy to follow it.' ' No,' said he, 
 ' you can do no good unless by giving me that letter.' I re- 
 plied, that I could not see how that would serve him, having 
 already told the Governor the contents of it. He continued, 
 ' Never mind that ; I do not care for what is said, but what 
 is written remains against me. If you give me that letter I 
 will destroy it before your face.' I answered, ' "What could I 
 then say to the Governor?' 'Why,' said he, 'tell him that 
 it has been destroyed.' I replied, ' That would be a lie, and 
 I can not tell a lie.' ' No,' said he, ' it would not : you shall 
 see me do it before your face.' I argued that it would be a 
 gross prevarication, that my honor was concerned, and that I 
 could not do it. I also added that I could not understand 
 how the destruction of the paper in question would clear him 
 from the charge of having been the bearer of the snuff-box to 
 Mr. Boys ; asking at the same time what he (Mr. O'Meara) 
 would do if it were destroyed. He replied, he would then 
 assert that he had nothing to do in the business, that Mr. 
 Boys had received the box from General Montholon, and, 
 being afraid to retain it, had returned it through his (Mr. 
 
May, 1818. THE SNUFF-BOX. 565 
 
 O'Meara's) hands, as the only means of getting it back to 
 Longwood. 
 
 " In the course of the conversation Mr. O'Meara repeatedly 
 expressed his disapprobation of Mr. Boys' s conduct in having re- 
 turned the box, adding that he (Mr. Boys) had expressed him- 
 self in his letter as if the matter was the most heinous crime 
 possible — that he (Mr. O'Meara) had met with a pretty return 
 for his endeavors to serve Mr. Boys — that he had procured the 
 box for him at his earnest and repeated request. 
 
 " To the best of my recollection, knowledge, and belief, the 
 above is a faithful repetition of the conversation which took 
 place between Mr. O'Meara and myself upon this affair. 
 
 " Bowatek. James Vernon." 
 
 The truth of this account as to O'Meara being the party 
 who handed over the snuff-box was fully confirmed by Mr. 
 Boys himself, who wrote to Mr. Vernon on the 6th of August, 
 and said that his statements were perfectly correct, and ex- 
 actly what he must have made himself had he been on the 
 spot. He added, " But although not the less obliged to you, 
 yet you will allow me to say, that, excepting the dishonor 
 which O'Meara's erroneous statements have done to him, when 
 so ably and correctly refuted by you, tho whole business from 
 beginning to end will be deemed by every body in England a 
 complete bagatelle." 
 
 In his "Voice from St. Helena" O'Meara has represented 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe, of his own accord, released him from 
 the restrictions which had been imposed, because Napoleon 
 refused to see another surgeon, and on account of the remon- 
 strances of the foreign Commissioners. 1 This is as usual un- 
 true. It was O'Meara himself who suggested the removal 
 of the restrictions on account of what he called " the appalling 
 state" of Napoleon's health ; and the Commissioners did not 
 interfere in the matter in the slightest degree. 2 On the 5th 
 of May he thus wrote to the Governor : 
 
 1 Voice, vol. ii. p. 401. 
 
 2 O'Meara says in his "Voice," vol. ii. p. 401, that he had been in- 
 formed that during an animated discussion on the subject the Governor, 
 while debating with Baron Stunner, burst forth into a paroxysm of 
 
566 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XIX. 
 
 " As Napoleon Bonaparte has declined seeing me since the 
 14th of. April last, and I fear that some dangerous effects may 
 follow, I beg leave to propose putting matters upon the foot- 
 ing they formerly were until the arrival of an answer from 
 England. I am inclined to think that if he was informed 
 that His Excellency considered me as his surgeon, as holding 
 the place of a French surgeon not being subordinate to mili- 
 tary discipline, but to civil obedience, that things were put 
 upon the footing they were since my arrival, at least until the 
 receipt of an answer from Government, that he would renew 
 the confidence he formerly manifested. The actual state of 
 matters now is appalling, and will probably produce very un- 
 pleasant sensations both in England and Europe. His Excel- 
 lency may perhaps reflect upon the terrible responsibility which 
 weighs upon him if (as is possible and very probable) Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte, deprived of assistance, was to die before the 
 expiration of the five or six months required to obtain an an- 
 swer from England." 
 
 In consequence of this application, the Governor determined 
 not to enforce his order of the 10th of April, and caused 
 O'Meara to be informed that he would be permitted to exer- 
 cise his medical duties in the same manner as he had hitherto 
 performed them until the instructions of Government were re- 
 ceived respecting him ; continuing, however, to be considered 
 as an officer employed and paid by the British Government, 
 and subject to the Governor's authority and control. But in 
 the mean time, while he remained in the island, or until the 
 orders of Government were received, he might consider him- 
 self as a surgeon attached solely to the person and family of 
 Bonaparte, and " in fact as his domestic surgeon." 
 
 anger, and the Baron " very coolly made his Excellency stop opposite 
 to a large looking-glass, in which he begged of him to contemplate his 
 own features." Upon this Sir Hudson Lowe has written the following 
 note : " There was no looking-glass in the room. — H. L." The dis- 
 cussion alluded to had reference entirely to the unauthorised communi- 
 cations which the Commissioners kept up with the French, and, accord- 
 ing to Major Gorrequer, " the Governor spoke with perfect coolness 
 during the time that the Baron expressed himself with great irritation 
 and in a loud tone of voice. 1 ' 
 
Mat, 1818. DISMISSAL OF SERVANTS. 567 
 
 On the 10th of May, after O'Meara had resumed his duties 
 as usual at Longwood, he made a report of Bonaparte's health, 
 which was far from favorable. He said, "The complaint is 
 evidently hepatitis in a chronic and insidious form." That he 
 was mistaken in this opinion was proved by the autopsy of 
 Napoleon's body after his death. His liver in fact was healthy, 
 and it was his stomach which was diseased. And though Bo- 
 naparte's health was represented by O'Meara at this time to 
 be in so unsatisfactory a state, this account by no means tal- 
 lied with the observation of others. On the 17th the orderly 
 officer reported, " I saw General Bonaparte in the garden on 
 the evening of the 15th instant, walking about as usual. I 
 have been also informed by the English gardener, who sees 
 him oftener and nearer than I do, that he does not observe 
 any alteration in the appearance of General Bonaparte since 
 first he was employed at Longwood, and which is now a period 
 of nearly nine months." 
 
 In the latter part of the month of May Bonaparte caused 
 the whole of the English servants at Longwood to be dis- 
 charged, because the orderly officer had by the directions of 
 Sir Thomas Reade read to them a public notice issued by the 
 Governor respecting communications from or to the persons 
 detained there, instead of allowing the contents to be made 
 known to them by him, their master, and they were replaced 
 by two Chinese. On the same day he dismissed Le Page the 
 cook, and his wife Jeannette, as the former had expressed a 
 wish to leave Longwood some time before. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 O'MEARA INTERROGATED BY THE GOVERNOR ALLEGED DAMP- 
 NESS OF NAPOLEON'S APARTMENTS EXPULSION OF o'MEARA 
 
 FROM THE MESS OF THE 66tH REGIMENT DEPARTURE OF 
 
 THE AUSTRIAN COMMISSIONER COUNT BERTRAND CHAL- 
 LENGED BY COLONEL LYSTER DISPATCHES FROM THE COLO- 
 
 s 
 NIAL OFFICE RELATIVE TO INFORMATION GIVEN BY GENERAL 
 
 GOURGAUD CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE CARRIED ON 
 
 AT LONGWOOD. 
 
 On the 12th of June the Governor had a long conversation 
 with O'Meara, at which Major Gorrequer was present, and 
 which affords another proof, if proof were wanting, of the 
 surgeon's reckless disregard of truth, and his readiness to 
 screen himself by falsehood whenever he dared not to avow 
 and justify his acts. Sir Hudson, having called his attention 
 to the fact of a sealed letter from Napoleon to the Earl of 
 Liverpool having been sent to him which he forwarded to 
 England unopened, said, that a copy of this letter had been 
 conveyed to England in a clandestine manner, and published 
 in the newspapers ; and he then addressed O'Meara as fol- 
 lows : — " I, as the person charged with the custody of Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte's person, ask of you, as a British officer paid 
 and employed by the British Government, on duty near him, 
 if you know any thing respecting the mode of its transmission, 
 or by whom this letter was conveyed to England?" " No, 
 Sir," was the answer, " / know nothing whatever about it." 
 " Do you know any means or channel by which it might 
 have been thus sent ?" " No, I do not, I can suspect no 
 one." " Then you mean to say, you do not know to whom 
 this letter was given to be conveyed out of the island, by 
 what mode or through what channel it was thus clandestinely 
 transmitted to England, and that you do not know any per- 
 son by whom it was likely to have been sent ; in fact, that 
 
June, 1818. O'MEARA INTERROGATED. 569 
 
 you know nothing about it?" " Yes, Sir, I do mean to say 
 so : I know nothing about it." " Will you state this 
 upon your oath ?" " It is an insult," replied Mr. O'Meara, 
 after a short hesitation, "to ask me to take my oath, after 
 what I have just answered ; a person whose word is not 
 worthy of belief does not deserve to have more credit given to 
 his oath. You have no right to examine me upon oath 
 on this business ; and besides, it would be establishing a pre- 
 cedent I do not wish to do [make]." The Governor after- 
 ward asked him if he knew of any paper having been sent 
 home clandestinely in June last year. "No," he answered, 
 " I do not ; this is the first I hear of any being sent then." 
 " Have you any knowledge of any other paper having been 
 thus sent home ?" " No, I have not — none whatever." 
 Changing the subject, Sir Hudson Lowe now asked O'Meara 
 whether Napoleon Bonaparte was in want of any personal 
 comforts which might be afforded him ? He replied, that the 
 room he slept in was very small, sometimes damp, and had 
 no chimney in it, which latter was necessary in so small a 
 room, and besides which, it was low ; and he added, that the 
 billiard-room was the only good sized one in the house. The 
 Governor said the drawing-room was a very good one also, 
 and so was the library. But if Bonaparte had not a new 
 house built, it was entirely his own fault, for whon it was 
 proposed to build him one, he would not give an answer. He 
 then inquired whether there was any thing that could be 
 done for his comfort with regard to diet ? O'Meara replied 
 that he believed there was no want in that respect ; he had 
 not heard that any thing was required beyond what was fur- 
 nished. 
 
 And now, after this deliberate denial of all knowledge of 
 any copy of the letter to Lord Liverpool having been sent clan- 
 destinely to England, what will the reader think of the credit 
 due to the assertions in his book, when we quote the first 
 paragraph of his letter written and sent to Mr. Finlaison at 
 the Admiralty in the month of November 1817, six months 
 before ? He there said, " Unclose you a correct copy of Bo- 
 naparte's answer to Lord Bathurst's speech, the original of 
 
570 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 which was delivered to Sir Hudson Lowe on the 1th of Oc- 
 tober, sealed and directed to the Right Honorable Lord Liv- 
 erpool.'' And as to his positive statement that he had never 
 heard of any paper having been clandestinely sent home in 
 June of the preceding year, he himself secretly inclosed a copy 
 of Bonaparte's observations on the restrictions in a letter to 
 Mr. Finlaison on the 29th of that month ! 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe lost no time in inquiring as to the damp- 
 ness of Bonaparte's bedroom, and having called before him 
 Mr. Darling, an upholsterer charged with the repairs and fur- 
 nishing of the interior of Longwood House, put the fol- 
 lowing questions to him : 
 
 " Have you been lately in Napoleon Bonaparte's bed- 
 room ?" " About five weeks since I went there to put up 
 some curtains?" 
 
 " Did you observe if there was any dampness in the room ?" 
 " None at all that I could see." 
 
 " How are the walls covered ?" " They are covered with 
 nankeen in folds." 
 
 " Do you think you would have observed any dampness, if 
 any existed there?" "Yes. I think I should; and I think 
 that Marchand, his valet-de-chambre, if any thing of that 
 kind had existed, would have informed me of it, as he always 
 does of every thing that is wanting for his master." 
 
 " Is there any fireplace in the room ?" " Not in the bed- 
 room, but one in the room through which one passes to go 
 into the bedroom, the door of which is almost constantly left 
 open. I put carpets in both these rooms latterly." 
 
 " Is there not a fireplace at the back of the apartments 
 also ?" " Not immediately at the back. The bath-room 
 lies at the back, and the fireplace at which the water is heated 
 is on the outside." 
 
 " Did you ever observe any dampness in the house, or any 
 thing wanting on the roof?" " I observed the roof of the 
 billiard-room to be out of repair at one time, but it has been 
 repaired. There are servants' rooms above the lower apart- 
 ments, and, if any wet was to get in, it would naturally be 
 
June, 1818. ALLEGED DAMPNESS OF HIS BEDROOM. 571 
 
 perceived there first. General Bonaparte has two beds in 
 his bed-room, one of which was sent out here for him, and 
 the other he brought with him. The large one he fixed at 
 first in his drawing-room, but only slept there one night." 
 
 Colonel Wynyard was however sent to Count Montholon for 
 the purpose of seeing whether by building a chimney or other- 
 wise the alleged dampness might be remedied, and the Count's 
 statement was at striking variance with that of Darling the 
 upholsterer. He said that, the room being built on the 
 ground there was no circulation of air beneath the floor ; that 
 the whole house was the same in this respect (except the bil- 
 liard room, the floor of which being raised was less damp 
 than any other), and the rafters and floor were in some 
 places rotting, in consequence of resting on the ground, that 
 the bedroom in particular being immediately at the back of 
 the bath-room, with a cistern at the outside behind it, the 
 water soaked through underneath it, and, unless the windows 
 were open and large fires kept in the adjoining rooms, it was 
 like entering the vaults beneath a church, the damp was so 
 striking on entering the room. 
 
 Between these conflicting assertions the reader must decide 
 for himself, according to the credit he thinks due to Count 
 Montholon or Mr. Darling. 1 But it may assist him in com- 
 ing to a right conclusion to be told that Colonel Wynyard, in 
 his report to the Governor of Count Montholon's remarks, 
 stated, that having been since his arrival at St. Helena charged 
 with the superintendence of the repairs at Longwood, he 
 thought it right to mention, that, although Count Montholon 
 had been in the habit of making known to him complaints, 
 and applying for any repairs or alterations that were required, 
 this was the first time he had heard a complaint from himself 
 or any individual of the dampness of Napoleon Bonaparte's 
 bedroom. 
 
 •• In a report of O'Meara respecting Bonaparte's health, dated the 
 29th of June this year, he said he had been obliged to discontinue the 
 use of mercurial preparations in consequence of a severe catarrhal af- 
 fection of his patient, caused by the extreme humidity of his rooms 
 He stated also that the progress of hepatitis had increased. 
 
572 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 On the 23d of June O'Meara received a note from Colonel 
 Lascelles, the commanding officer of the 66th regiment, shortly 
 telling him that he could no longer allow him to he an hon- 
 orary member of their mess. In his book O'Meara attributes 
 this to Sir Hudson Lowe having employed Sir Thomas Reade 
 to fill the mind of Colonel Lascelles with the most insidious 
 calumnies against him, and to insinuate that his expulsion 
 would be very agreeable to the Governor. These alleged 
 calumnies were the simple statement of proved facts, and his 
 conduct had been such as fully to justify Sir Hudson Lowe in 
 suggesting that he should not be allowed to continue a mem- 
 ber of the mess. O'Meara wrote to the officers of the regi- 
 ment, thanking them for their past friendship and kindness, 
 and on the. following day he received the following reply, 1 
 which in justness and fairness to him is here given at length : 
 
 " Deadwood, June 26, 1818. 
 " Dear Sir — As president last night I had the honor of 
 communicating to the mess the contents of your letter of the 
 25th instant, and am directed by the commanding officer and 
 officers composing it to say, it is with much regret they hear 
 of your departure as an honorary member of the mess, and to 
 assure you they always conceived your conduct while with 
 them to be perfectly consistent in every respect with that of a 
 gentleman. I am also directed to say, the mess feel much 
 indebted for the very flattering expressions of esteem contained 
 in your letter, and have the honor, &c. 
 
 " Chas. M'Carthy, 
 
 " Lieut. 66th Regiment." 
 
 That O'Meara possessed many agreeable social qualities 
 there is no reason to doubt, and very probably he was a pop- 
 ular member of the mess ; but it is not to be supposed that 
 the gallant officers of the 66th would have sanctioned such a 
 letter as the above if they had known, as we noiv knoiv, the 
 willful and deliberate falsehoods of which the subject of it was 
 guilty. 
 
 Let us, however, hear the account given by an officer who 
 
 1 See " Voice," vol. ii. p. 411, where the letter is printed. 
 
June, lSlii. THE OFFICERS OF THE SIXTY-SIXTH. 573 
 
 was at the time assistant-surgeon of the 66th, and well ac- 
 quainted with the facts I 1 
 
 " About this time, Mr. O'Meara having been discovered tam- 
 pering with two or three individuals resident in the island, 
 with the object of prevailing on them to accept presents clan- 
 destinely from Napoleon, in violation of the regulations in 
 force ; and being also accused of repeating the confidential 
 conversation of our mess — of which he was an honorary mem- 
 ber — at Longwood ; the Governor stated the facts of the case 
 to Sir George Bingham and the commanding officer of the 
 66th, intimating to the latter his opinion that Mr. O'Meara 
 should not be permitted to continue a member of the mess, 
 he having abused the privileges his position gave him. At 
 this time Colonel Nieol had gone to England, and another 
 officer whose name I do not mention, commanded the regi- 
 ment. Without consulting the officers of the mess, or sub- 
 mitting for their consideration the facts communicated to him 
 by the Governor, he sent a written intimation to Mr. O'Meara 
 that his society was no longer desired by the regiment, which 
 pretty strong hint the Doctor disregarded, came to dinner the 
 same day, and afterward appealed to the officers of the mess 
 as to the propriety of his conduct while mixing with them. 
 Having been kept in the dark as to the real culpability of 
 O'Meara, and being, perhaps, a little piqued at the proceed- 
 ings of their commanding officer, they readily certified to the 
 gentlemanly deportment of Mr. O'Meara while he was a mem- 
 ber of the mess 
 
 " It is, I think, much to be regretted that the officers of the 
 66th mess should have given Mr. O'Meara any written certi- 
 ficate of good character while a member of their mess. How- 
 ever correct his behavior might have been before, the gross 
 insult to our commanding officer, and indirectly to ourselves, 
 of sitting down to dinner after the prohibitory note he had 
 received, ought to have prevented any verbal or written tes- 
 timony being given a man who could act with such effrontery. 
 As it turned out, our certificate eventually became one chief 
 prop to the credibility of O'Meara's ' Voice from St. Helena,' 
 1 Henry's " Events of a Military Life," vol. ii. pp. 39-41 
 
574 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 a specious but sophistical book full of misrepresentations, yet 
 more remarkable for the siqppressio veri than the assertio 
 falsi." 
 
 That this statement is true to the letter is fully proved by 
 the papers in the possession of the family of Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 The conduct of Colonel Lascelles and Lieutenant Reardon 
 with respect to O'Meara, and the correspondence between the 
 two latter, were deemed by the Governor, when he heard of 
 it in October, so unsatisfactory, that he directed Brigadier- 
 General Sir George Bingham to investigate the matter, and 
 he accordingly examined both the officers, but nothing ma- 
 terial was elicited beyond what has been already stated. 
 Considering, however, that Lieutenant Reardon was the pro- 
 fessed friend of O'Meara, and that he afterward, in 1823, came 
 forward as his supporter and made an affidavit on his behalf, it 
 is very remarkable that in reply to some interrogatories put to 
 him by Sir George Bingham during the inquiry he spoke of 
 him as " that villain O'Meara," and said that he (Lieuten- 
 ant Reardon) had told the Bertrands that what O'Meara had 
 done at St. Helena could hang him, and that he himself would 
 be a ruined man for having been his friend. Sir Hudson 
 Lowe determined to remove both Colonel Lascelles and Lieu- 
 tenant Reardon from the island, and the former was succeeded 
 in the command of the corps of the 06th regiment by Major Dod- 
 gin. The new Lieutenant-Colonel assembled a general meeting 
 of the officers early in November, and they agreed upon the 
 following letter, which was addressed and forwarded to Sir 
 George Bingham : 
 
 " St. Helena, November 6, 1818. 
 " Sir — Lieut. -Colonel Dodgin having called a meeting uf 
 the officers of the regiment relative to a letter some time ago 
 written to Mr. O'Meara, the late medical attendant at Long- 
 wood, in the name of the commanding officer and officers com- 
 posing the 66th mess, as this letter was written without our 
 knowledge, advice, or consent, we, the undersigned officers of 
 the 66th regiment, beg leave to declare to you, and request 
 you will please to make known the same to his Excellency 
 
July, 1818. THE OFFICERS OF THE SIXTY-SIXTH. 575 
 
 the Governor, that none of us were ever consulted on the 
 writing of any letter to Mr. O'Meara ; on the contrary, it was 
 not till some time after the writing of the above-mentioned 
 letter that it came to our knowledge that any correspondence 
 whatever had taken place between the officers at Deadwood 
 and Mr. O'Meara. 
 
 " "We make this public declaration to you, that, in case Mr. 
 O'Meara should think proper to publish the letter above re- 
 ferred to, his Excellency would be possessed of the means of 
 exculpating the body of the officers of the regiment from any 
 blame that may attach to them in the eyes of His Royal High- 
 ness the Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 " "We beg further to declare that no meeting of the officers 
 of the regiment was ever held to consult on any subject in 
 which Mr. O'Meara was concerned. 
 
 "We have the honor to be, &c." 
 
 [Here follow the signatures of twenty- seven officers.] 
 
 At the same time the following letter was written to Lieut.- 
 Colonel Dodgin : 
 
 " Deadwood, Nov. 6, 1818. 
 " Sir — Understanding that a communication is about to 
 be made to his Excellency the Governor by the majority of 
 the officers of the regiment respecting a letter addressed by 
 Mr. O'Meara to the officers of the Deadwood mess, and the 
 answer thereto — we, who were present at the mess when that 
 letter was received, and who were acquainted with the an- 
 swer, beg leave to state that, at the time when Mr. O'Meara 
 ceased being an honorary member of our mess, we were totally 
 ignorant of any imputation of any improper conduct being 
 attached to his character, and in replying we only acted, as 
 we then judged, under the influence of the common rules of 
 politeness. From circumstances which have since come to 
 our knowledge, we have now to express our regret that an 
 answer should have been sent, and to repeat that we were 
 not then aware of any impropriety being ascribed to it. 
 
 " We have the honor to be, &c." 
 [To this letter were attached seven signatures.] 
 
57ti CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 When in the month of March, 1819, some extracts from 
 O'Meara's letter to the Admiralty, dated the 28th of Octoher, 
 1818 (which will be particularly alluded to hereafter), were 
 made known to the officers of the 66th, they addressed Sir 
 George Bingham, and said, with reference to their own letter 
 to O'Meara signed by Lieutenant M'Carthy, 
 
 " The behavior of Mr. O'Meara while at the mess-table 
 was alone referred to in that letter, a copy of which has been 
 transmitted to the Governor, and nothing in the most remote 
 degree connected with Mr. O'Meara's situation or conduct on 
 the Longwood establishment was therein adverted to. It is 
 then with feelings of the greatest surprise and indignation we 
 have seen the false and scandalous construction put by Mr. 
 O'Meara on a letter intended merely as a mark of common 
 civility ; and we now beg you, Sir, to assure His Excellency 
 Sir Hudson Lowe that the whole of the assertions and impli- 
 cations contained in the latter part of the extracts are wanton 
 and malicious falsehoods ; and that the publication of the 
 letter from whence those extracts have been taken is a vain 
 attempt to traduce the character of the officers of the 66th 
 regiment." 
 
 At the suggestion of the British Government Baron Sturmer, 
 the Austrian Commissioner, was removed from St. Helena at 
 the end of June, in consequence of his persisting in unauthor- 
 ized communications with the French at Longwood ; but the 
 unpleasantness of dismissal was veiled under the guise of an 
 appointment as Consul General for Austria to the United 
 States of America. 
 
 On the 2d of July the Governor had a conversation with 
 O'Meara, and, after suggesting a mode of remedying the damp- 
 ness complained of in Napoleon's bedroom, said that he had 
 frequently offered to build a house for Bonaparte, but had 
 never obtained a decisive answer ; that he had even offered 
 to him the choice of a number of places (in the pleasantest 
 and best situations he could find in the island), but he had 
 not thought proper to fix upon any ; it was not his fault 
 therefore if he was not better lodged. O'Meara answered, he 
 
July, 1818. COL. LYSTER ORDERLY OFFICER. 377 
 
 understood that Napoleon had given an answer long ago, and 
 that he only required a place where there was shade and 
 water. The Governor replied that he had not given any 
 answer which he could act upon. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th Bonaparte was so ill, that 
 O'Meara succeeded in obtaining his consent to consult Mr. 
 Stokoe, the surgeon of H.M.S. Conqueror, who, however, de- 
 clined to attend him unless another professional person were 
 also present, on the ground of the extreme responsibility of the 
 case. O'Meara immediately reported the circumstance to 
 Major Gorrequer for the Governor's information, and explained 
 the symptoms of Napoleon's illness, in a note which would 
 not be worth alluding to except to mention that he there 
 speaks of the " humidity of the season" as one of the causes 
 of his patient's malady, and that in his printed work he makes 
 no allusion to the state of the weather, but attributes a severe 
 catarrhal affection from which Napoleon suffered to the " ex- 
 treme humidity of his roams." 1 Was it fair, was it honest to 
 substitute the one expression for the other for the purpose of 
 giving effect to his picture of discomfort at Longwood ? 
 
 On the 16th Captain Blakeney, after a year's service in that 
 post, was, at his own request, removed from the situation of 
 orderly officer at Longwood, and Lieut.-Colonel Lyster, who 
 fifteen years before had served in a regiment with Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, and was then Inspector of the militia force at St. 
 Helena, with the local rank of Lieut.-Colonel, succeeded him, 
 assisted by Lieutenant (now Lieut.-Colonel) Basil Jackson of 
 the Royal Staff Corps. These appointments were immedi- 
 ately notified to Count Bertrand ; and no objection was made 
 by Napoleon until the 20th, the day on which the two officers 
 came to Longwood ; though the intention to send them was 
 made known to him four days before. As soon as they arrived, 
 however, a strong remonstrance to the Governor was written by 
 Bertrand, at the instigation and by the dictation of Napoleon. 
 
 The chief objections urged in this letter were, that Colonel 
 Lyster had commanded a Corsican regiment at Ajaccio, and 
 
 1 " Voice," vol. ii. p 412. 
 
 Vol. I — B b 
 
578 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 was considered by Napoleon as a personal enemy. 1 It is stated 
 that one of the grievances of which he had a right to com- 
 plain was the appointment of a person like " Mr. Lyster, 
 whom you imposed on us as orderly officer, who is no longer 
 in the service, and who holds no other commission than a com- 
 mand in the militia. A person who forms no part of the En- 
 glish army ; who belongs to no corps ; who has been your creat- 
 ure for many years, and is altogether dependent upon you ; who 
 will sign whatever you dictate, or conceive whatever you re- 
 quire ; will say whatever you please, having no other will, no 
 other conscience, than yours ; that is to say, that of an avowed 
 enemy ; is more convenient to you, no doubt, than the acknowl- 
 edged probity of a captain who belongs to a regular regiment, 
 and who has to lose a reputation and a conscience of his own." 
 The Governor replied, that it was a mistake to suppose that 
 Colonel Lyster had ever commanded at Ajaccio, and that the 
 reasons which induced Bonaparte to consider him as a per- 
 sonal enemy were entirely imaginary. He added, that, as 
 that officer had already entered upon his duties, he could not 
 consent to his removal, however willing he might have been 
 not to appoint him in the first instance, if he had known that 
 there was a prejudice against him. But there was another 
 cause of offense : O'Meara had been in the habit of messing 
 with the orderly officer, not as of right, but as a matter of 
 mutual arrangement and convenience, and for some time past 
 Captain Blakeney had ceased to continue this practice. When 
 Colonel Lyster was appointed to succeed him he did not wish 
 to have the company of O'Meara, and declared his intention 
 not to allow him to mess with himself and Lieutenant Jack- 
 son. O'Meara called on the Colonel and asked him whether 
 it was by the Governor's orders that this was done. He an- 
 swered, No, and that surely he had a right to choose his own 
 society. Almost immediately afterward Count Montholon 
 came and told Colonel Lyster that the Emperor looked upon 
 
 1 "Nous avons reconnu avec surprise que le Lieut. -Colonel Lyster est 
 le meme qui a commande a Ajaccio, ville ou est situee la maison pater- 
 nelle de l'Empereur. II a des raisons pour le considerer comme un en- 
 nemi personnel." 
 
July, 1818. BERTRAND CHALLENGED BY COL. LYSTER. 579 
 
 the exclusion of O'Meara from his table as a marked insult 
 to himself, that gentleman being his own surgeon, and that 
 he had commanded all the French officers at Longwood, under 
 pain of his severest displeasure, never again to receive as a 
 visitor an English officer so long as O'Meara was not allowed 
 to dine at the orderly's mess. Colonel Lyster simply replied 
 " Vous etes le rnaitre, Monsieur ;" and the Count left him. 
 But he had not been gone half an hour before Bertrand came, 
 " looking pale and agitated to a degree," and told the Colonel 
 that the Emperor had commanded him to ask whether he was 
 the officer "who had served several years in a Corsican corps 
 raised by Sir Hudson Lowe," and to say that his residence at 
 Longwood was particularly disagreeable. Colonel Lyster an- 
 swered, that he had never served in any Corsican regiment, 
 and that he greatly regretted the prejudice against him as the 
 Governor's instructions to him were to do every thing in his 
 power to conciliate and add to the comforts of the exiles, which 
 he was most heartily disposed to do, and also to be on the 
 most friendly footing with them if they would allow him; but 
 that as to not establishing himself on the premises, it was en- 
 tirely out of the question, as he could not possibly quit them 
 without the positive orders of the Governor. 
 
 Unfortunately Sir Hudson Lowe showed Bertrand's letter 
 to Colonel Lyster. This was an act both uncalled for and 
 indiscreet, for it could do no good, and the language there 
 used was of a nature greatly to irritate the feelings of a sus- 
 ceptible soldier. The result was even worse than might have 
 been anticipated. Colonel Lyster allowed himself to be hur- 
 ried away by anger, and so far forgot the relative positions of 
 himself and Count Bertrand at St. Helena, that on the morn- 
 ing of the 24th he wrote and sent him, by Lieutenant Jack- 
 son, an indignant challenge, calling upon him, if he had the 
 smallest spark of honor remaining, to give hirn satisfaction. 
 To this no reply was sent, and the Colonel then wrote another 
 letter more offensive in its language than the former, and 
 threatened to horsewhip the Count 1 — that is, the officer on 
 
 1 These letters are printed in O'Meara's " Exposition," p. 86, et seq. 
 (2d edit.) 
 
580 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 guard threatened to castigate his prisoner, unless that prisoner 
 would fight a duel with him ! Bertrand forwarded the letter 
 to the Governor, and, pretending to believe that Colonel Lys- 
 ter was only acting as Sir Hudson Lowe's second in the mat- 
 ter, signified with safe courage his readiness to give the prin- 
 cipal the satisfaction which he refused to the other. The con- 
 sequence was that Colonel Lyster was immediately removed 
 from duty at Longwood, and Captain Blakeney was re-ap- 
 pointed in his place. At the same time the Governor wrote 
 to Count Bertrand, and expressed his concern and extreme dis- 
 pleasure that such a letter should have been addressed to him 
 by the orderly officer. 
 
 The Governor desired O'Meara to attend at Plantation 
 House on the 19th of July, and, after asking him some ques- 
 tions respecting Bonaparte's health, told him that Count Ber- 
 trand had been very busy in endeavoring to impress upon the 
 minds of the foreign Commissioners that he (O'Meara) was 
 an ill-used man, and that he was quite innocent of the deliv- 
 ery of the snuff-box to Mr. Boys, which had in reality been 
 given to him by Count Montholon. Sir Hudson pointed out 
 that this was an indirect and improper mode of exculpation, 
 and expressed his surprise that O'Meara had not thought proper 
 to avail himself of the opportunity offered to him of clearing 
 up the matter, by entering into a full explanation with Ad- 
 miral Plampin. O'Meara answered, that, with regard to 
 what Count Bertrand had mentioned to the Commissioners, 
 he had never heard of it until now ; and that he had called 
 upon the Admiral for the purpose of stating the whole matter 
 to him, but he would not see him, and, as he had refused once 
 to see him, it was not his business to go there a second time. 
 The Governor observed, that this was not a fair way of stating 
 the question, for he ought to have added that he went in op- 
 position to and defiance of a written order from the Governor, 
 of which the Admiral was aware, and it was on that account 
 that he was not received by him. "The order," said Sir 
 Hudson, " was, that you were permitted to leave Longwood 
 to go to the Admiral in case the latter desired to see you." 
 O'Meara's answer was, that he did not acknowledge a passive 
 
July, 1818. GOURGAUD'S REVELATIONS. 581 
 
 obedience to all orders ; and that he had a right to exercise 
 his own judgment with respect to what it was proper for him 
 to obey. 
 
 After some further conversation the Governor said to 
 O'Meara that as he had not thought proper to make the at- 
 tempt to clear up his character before the Admiral, as had 
 been so frequently suggested to him, he must consider him as 
 under a cloud for having betrayed the trust reposed in him as 
 a British officer, and practiced a deception upon his Govern- 
 ment. O'Meara again replied, that, having once called upon 
 the Admiral for that purpose and been refused, he did not 
 think it his business to go a second time. 
 
 About the middle of the month some very important dis- 
 patches for the Governor arrived from England. Early in 
 May General Gourgaud had given to Mr. Goulburn, Un- 
 der Secretary of State, such information as showed that 
 O'Meara's reports of Bonaparte's health were grossly exagger- 
 ated, if not altogether untrue, and that he was so much under 
 his influence as to be no longer worthy of trust. The revela- 
 tions made by General Gourgaud as to the clandestine corres- 
 pondence and receipt of money at Longwood, prove incontest- 
 ably, if proof were wanting, the necessity of the restrictions 
 so much complained of, and the expediency of severer regu- 
 lations than had been imposed upon Napoleon and his suite. 
 A copy of Mr. Goulburn's letter was forwarded by Earl Bath- 
 nrst to Sir Hudson Lowe, and it is so interesting as well as im- 
 portant, that it is here given entire : 
 
 Downing Street, May 10, 1818. 
 
 " My Lord — In obedience to your directions, I have had 
 several conversations with General Gourgaud for the purpose 
 of ascertaining whether he was disposed to afford any further 
 details upon the several points adverted to in Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's more recent dispatches. The information which I 
 have received from him, though given in considerable detail, 
 is in substance as follows : 
 
 " General Gourgaud had no difficulty in avowing that there 
 has always existed a free and uninterrupted communication 
 between the inhabitants of Longwood and this country and 
 
582 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 the Continent, without the knowledge or intervention of the 
 Governor, and that this has been made use of, not only for the 
 purpose of receiving and transmitting letters, but for that of 
 receiving pamphlets, money, and other articles of which the 
 party in Longwood might from time to time be in want ; that 
 the correspondence has for the most part been carried on di- 
 rect with Great Britain, and that the persons employed in it 
 are those Englishmen who from time to time visit St. Hele- 
 na, to all of whom the attendants or servants of Bonaparte 
 have free access, and who, generally speaking, are willing, 
 many without any reward, and others for very small pecuni- 
 ary recompense, to convey to Europe any letter or packet in- 
 trusted to their charge. It would appear also that the cap- 
 tains and others on board the merchant-ships touching at the 
 island, whether belonging to the East India Company or to 
 other persons, are considered at Longwood as being peculiarly 
 open to the seduction of General Bonaparte's talents, so much 
 so indeed, that the inhabitants of Longwood have regarded it 
 as a matter of small difficulty to procure a passage on board 
 one of these ships for General Bonaparte, if escape should 
 at any time be his object. 
 
 " General Gourgaud stated himself to have been aware of 
 General Bonaparte having received a considerable sum of 
 money in Spanish dollars, viz. £10,000 at the very time that 
 he disposed of his plate, but, on being pressed by me as to 
 the persons privy to that transaction, he contented himself 
 with assuring me that the mode of its transmission was one 
 purely accidental, that it could never again occur, and that, 
 such being the case, he trusted that I should not press a dis- 
 covery, which, while it betrayed its author, could have no 
 effect as regarded the punishment of the offenders, or the pre- 
 vention of a similar act in future. The actual possession of 
 money was moreover not likely, in his view of the subject, to 
 afford any additional means of corrupting the fidelity of those 
 whom it 'might be advisable to seduce, as it was well known 
 that any draught, whatever might be its amount, drawn by 
 General Bonaparte on Prince Eugene, or on certain other 
 members of his family, would be scrupulously honored. 
 
July, 1818. GuURGAUD'S REVELATIONS. 583 
 
 " He assured me, however, in answer to my inquiries, that 
 neither Mr. Balcombe nor Mr. O'Meara were injiny degree privy 
 to the above transaction, and that the former, although much 
 dissatisfied with his situation, had never in any money trans- 
 action betrayed the trust reposed in him. He declined, how- 
 ever, most distinctly, giving me the same assurance with re- 
 spect to their not being either or both privy to the transmis- 
 sion of a clandestine correspondence. 
 
 " Upon the subject of General Bonaparte's escape, he confi- 
 dently stated that, although Longwood was from its situation 
 capable of being well protected by sentries, yet he was certain 
 that there was no difficulty in eluding at any time the vigil- 
 ance of the sentries posted round the house and grounds, and 
 in short that escape from the island appeared to him in no 
 degree impracticable. The subject, he confessed, had been 
 discussed at Longwood, and the individuals of the establish- 
 ment separately desire^ to give their plans for effecting it ; 
 but he expressed his belief to be that General Bonaparte was 
 so fully impressed with the opinion that he should be permit- 
 ted to leave St. Helena, either upon a change of ministry in 
 England, or by the unwillingness of the English to bear the 
 expense of detaining him, that he would not at present run 
 the hazard to which an attempt at escape might expose him. 
 It appears, however, from the statement of General Gour- 
 gaud, and from other circumstances stated by him, that Gen- 
 eral Bonaparte has always looked to the period of the removal 
 of the allied armies from France as that most favorable for 
 his return ; and the probability of such a decision, and the 
 consequence which would follow from it, were urged by him 
 as an argument to dissuade General Gourgaud from quitting 
 him until after that period. 
 
 " Upon the subject of General Bonaparte's health, General 
 Gourgaud stated that we were much imposed upon; that 
 General Bonaparte was not, as far as bodily health was con- 
 cerned, in any degree materially altered ; and that the repre- 
 sentations on this subject had little if any truth in them. 
 Dr. O'Meara was certainly the dupe of that influence which 
 General Bonaparte always exercises over those with whom 
 
584 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 he has frequent intercourse; and though he (General Gour- 
 gaud) individually had only reason ' de se louer de Mr. 
 O'Meara,' yet his intimate knowledge of General Bonaparte 
 enabled him confidently to assert that his bodily health was 
 not at all worse than it had been for some time previous to his 
 arrival at St. Helena. I have the honor to be, &c. 
 
 " Henry Goulburn." 
 
 In consequence of the information given by General Gour- 
 gaud, and the strong grounds thereby furnished for suspecting 
 O'Meara's fidelity, Earl Bathurst resolved to remove him from 
 his post of medical attendant upon Bonaparte. And it de- 
 serves to be especially noticed that General Gourgaud, and 
 not Sir Hudson Lowe, was the cause of his dismissal. In a 
 private dispatch to the latter, dated April 29, 1818, Lord 
 Bathurst had declined to comply with the Governor's desire 
 to remove O'Meara from St. Helena, stating as his motive that 
 the reasons which must be assigned for such a step, namely, 
 his unbecoming behavior toward the Governor, and his refusal 
 to reveal his conversations with Bonaparte, were, under the 
 circumstances not sufficiently strong to justify so invidious a 
 measure as the withdrawal of the only doctor whom Bonaparte 
 would consult. 
 
 Now, however, he saw the matter in a different light, and 
 felt that it was dangerous to continue O'Meara any longer in 
 his responsible office. He therefore wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 on the 16th of May, and instructed him forthwith to remove 
 O'Meara, and interdict all further communication between 
 him and the inmates of Longwood. In a private letter of the 
 same date he said — "We must expect that the removal of 
 Mr. O'Meara will occasion a great sensation, and an attempt 
 will be made to give a bad impression on the subject. You 
 had better let the substance of my instruction be generally 
 known as soon as you have executed it, that it may not be 
 represented that Mr. O'Meara has been removed in conse- 
 quence of any quarrel with you, but in consequence of the 
 information furnished by General Gourgaud in England re 
 specting his conduct." 
 
July, 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 585 
 
 In another dispatch Lord Bathurst, adverting to the clan- 
 destine correspondence which was proved hy Gourgaud's tes- 
 timony to be carried on at Longwood, directed Sir Hudson 
 Lowe to "impose such restrictions with respect to the com- 
 munications between General Bonaparte's followers and the 
 inhabitants of St. Helena as might appear to him to be nec- 
 essary to prevent its continuance." At the same time he in- 
 structed Mr. Goulburn to state that it was not his objeet or 
 wish to impose any further restrictions upon Bonaparte him- 
 self, or enforce against his followers when in his company any 
 which might be made by him a pretext for refusing to take 
 exercise, or might be justly represented by him as diminishing 
 the liberty he then enjoyed. 
 
 It was indeed absolutely necessary to exercise the closest 
 vigilance, for it was discovered that secret communications 
 were carried on between Longwood and Bahia in the Brazils 
 by way of thf Cape of Good Hope, and in the month of April 
 a packet of letters from the French at St. Helena was deliv- 
 ered in London by a person who arrived there from Brazil. 
 Lord Bathurst made known this intelligence to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, and in the same dispatch, which reached St. Helena 
 in the middle of July, informed him that there was no doubt 
 that it had been in contemplation that a party of French and 
 other adventurers should proceed from Pernambuco to St. 
 Helena for the purpose of effecting the escape of Bonaparte. 
 It is right to insert Lord Bathurst's letter at length, as it will 
 show what necessity there was imposed upon the Governor 
 to watch his prisoner with the utmost care. The dispatch 
 was as follows : 
 
 To Lieut.- General Sir Hudson Loive, K.C.B. 
 
 " Downing Street, London, 23d April, 1818. 
 
 « s; r I have recently received information that a channel 
 
 of correspondence has been opened between the inhabitants of 
 Longwood and a person resident at Bahia, of which I deem it 
 necessary to put you in possession of the details. 
 
 "That a correspondence has taken place between Long- 
 wood and Bahia by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, with- 
 
 B B* 
 
586 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 out your intervention or knowledge, admits of very little doubt ; 
 and it is only a few days since that a packet of letters from 
 Longwood was delivered to a person in London by another 
 arriving from Brazil. On an examination of this transaction, 
 it was out of my power to discover the name of the person 
 actually engaged in carrying on this correspondence. It ap- 
 peared, however, that the person was an Englishman (possi- 
 bly, however, an American), usually resident at Bahia ; that 
 he had been twice at St. Helena by way of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and that he had had interviews, if not with Bonaparte, 
 at least with some of the inhabitants of Longwood, and had 
 received from them letters for Europe. The ostensible object 
 of some of the letters recently delivered in London was to se- 
 cure the transmission to Longwood of certain political publi- 
 cations. For this purpose it was desired that they should be 
 forwarded in small packets capable of concealment if necessa- 
 ry, and addressed to a merchant there of the name of W. Rose, 
 who was stated to have the means of insuring their delivery 
 at Longwood, and who is represented as the agent and corre- 
 spondent of the person at Bahia. 
 
 " I am aware that the evidence obtained upon this subject 
 is not sufficient to enable you to take any immediate measures 
 beyond those of vigilance or precaution. There can be little 
 doubt, however, that this hitherto successful mode of corre- 
 spondence will be again resorted to ; and I have, therefore, 
 deemed it necessary to communicate the information to Lord 
 Charles Somerset, and to desire that, in the event of any per- 
 son from Bahia attempting to proceed to St. Helena through 
 the intervention of Mr. W. Hose, his Lordship would send in 
 the same ship with the person so proceeding a confidential 
 communication to you by a special messenger. You will, of 
 course, see the advantage of closely watching any person so 
 pointed out to you, and, if circumstances shall appear to you 
 to justify it, to make a seizure of his person and papers. You 
 will be the best judge as to the period at which this seizure 
 may be most usefully carried into effect. I would, however, 
 suggest to you the advantage of deferring it until the person 
 in question should be on his return to the Cape, after having 
 
July, 1818. HIS WARDROBE. 587 
 
 executed his commission at Long-wood, as by this means it 
 appears to me that the real views and objects of the corre- 
 spondence may be best developed. 
 
 " There is no doubt that measures have been in contempla- 
 tion to proceed with a party of French and other adventurers 
 from Pernambuco to St. Helena for the rescue of General 
 Bonaparte ; and as this circumstance was not known to the 
 person who furnished me with the information respecting what 
 was passing at St. Helena, I am the more inclined to give 
 credit to the intelligence he has given me. 
 
 " I have the honor, &c. Bathurst." 
 
 With respect to the question of another residence for Bona- 
 parte, Lord Bathurst wrote strongly dissuading the purchase 
 of Rosemary Hall, which had been contemplated, and he told 
 Sir Hudson Lowe that he wished him to consider himself re- 
 stricted by his instructions to the alternative of either enlarg- 
 ing the existing house at Longwood, or building a new one 
 within the same limits. " Nevertheless," continued Lord 
 Bathurst, " if General Bonaparte shall have expressed a 
 decided wish to have the house built at Rosemary Hall, and 
 you shall have given him reason to consider it as a matter 
 conceded to him, you will in that case not disappoint him, 
 provided, first, that you purchase the place at a reasonable 
 price, and, secondly, that General Bonaparte shall persist in 
 preferring that situation after it shall have been explained to 
 him that no other purchase is to be made, and that his limits, 
 therefore, will be so oonfined." 
 
 In order to heighten his picture of the straits to which he 
 pretends the ex-Emperor was reduced, O'Meara tells us that 
 Napoleon was obliged to have his coat turned, owing to the 
 neglect of Government in sending out a proper supply of green 
 cloth. 1 That Bonaparte's coats were turned is very probable ; 
 but, if so, it is equally probable that this was done for the pur- 
 pose of making out a case of grievance. At all events, the 
 English Government showed every anxiety to keep his ward- 
 
 ' Voice," vol. ii p. 153. 
 
5S8 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XX. 
 
 robe well furnished ; and with the dispatches above quoted a 
 letter arrived from Mr. Goulbum, addressed to the Governor, 
 on that subject, " in order to prevent the possibility of the 
 original stock being exhausted before a fresh supply was 
 placed at his disposal." Few can, I think, doubt that Mr. 
 Goulburn was justified in adding, " From the temper which 
 General Bonaparte has so frequently shown on similar sub- 
 jects, it is not improbable that he might be disposed to con- 
 ceal from you the deficiency of any articles either of necessity 
 or comfort, with a view of making that deficiency hereafter a 
 subject of remonstrance and complaint." 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 removal of o'meara from st. helena plans for the 
 
 construction of a new residence for bonaparte 
 
 unfavorable influence exercised by count bertrand 
 — sir Hudson lowe's measures for the extinction of 
 
 SLAVERY IN THE ISLAND GOOD EFFECTS OF o'mEARa's 
 
 DEPARTURE DISCOVERY OF CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 IMPLICATING o'MEARA, MR. BALCOMBE, AND OTHERS. 
 
 The Governor now proceeded to put in force the instruc- 
 tions he had received with regard to the removal of O'Meara. 
 On the 25th of July a letter was addressed and delivered to 
 that person by Colonel Wynyard, the assistant military secre- 
 tary, informing him that, in consequence of orders received 
 from Earl Bathurst, he must immediately withdraw from 
 Long wood, ivitlwut holding any farther communication 
 whatever with its inmates, and that Admiral Plampin had 
 received directions from the Admiralty as to his destination 
 when he quitted the island. 1 
 
 Notwithstanding the positive injunction contained in this 
 letter, O'Meara, as he himself tells us, " determined to dis- 
 obey it whatever might be the consequences ; 2 and immedi- 
 ately after, ordering his servant to pack up his things, he 
 went to Napoleon, with whom he remained two hours before 
 he came back to his room. On being informed of his return, 
 
 1 It is worth while to notice that O'Meara gives three different ver- 
 sions of the mode in which he was employed when Colonel Wynyard 
 called upon him. First, in a letter to Mr. Finlaison of the 10th of 
 August, 1818, he says, " I was informed by my servant while reading 
 in the library at Longwood House," &c. Secondly, in his " Exposition," 
 published in 1819, " While occupied, on the 25th of July, 1818, in pre- 
 paring the medicines which 1 left with Napoleon's valet-de-chambre," 
 &c. Thirdly, in the " Voice," published in 1822, vol. ii. p. 414, 
 " After having paid a professional visit to Napoleon, whose malady 
 was by no means altered for the better, and while entering my room at 
 about half-past four o'clock," &c. 3 " Voice," vol. ii. p. 415. 
 
590 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 Colonel Wynyard, accompanied by Captain Blakeney, went 
 to him and thus addressed him : " Mr. O'Meara, you have 
 thought proper immediately on the receipt of the instruction 
 I communicated to you to act in direct violation of it, by go- 
 ing in to see General Bonaparte." He answered, " Yes; I 
 don't acknowledge the authority." Colonel Wynyard then 
 said : " Very well, sir ; on the receipt of that letter you cease 
 to belong to the establishment at Longwood ; you will, there- 
 fore, see your things put up as speedily as possible, and quit 
 the premises for James Town." 
 
 This order was at once put in force, and O'Meara left 
 Longwood never to return ; for, in consequence of his contu- 
 macious language and conduct, the Governor directed the 
 marshal of the island (whom O'Meara calls the " Jailer") to 
 inform hitn that he must quit St. Helena forthwith. 
 
 On the day of his removal from Longwood, Dr. Verling, an 
 assistant-surgeon of the Royal Artillery, who was personally 
 known to Bonaparte, having come out to St. Helena with 
 him in the Northumberland, was directed by the Governor 
 immediately to proceed to Longwood and afford his medical 
 services to Bonaparte and the other inmates there. 
 
 It was of course most desirable that Dr. Verling should 
 know the mode of treatment hitherto adopted by O'Meara in 
 the case of Napoleon, and have an accurate account of his 
 constitution and state of health. He therefore applied to 
 O'Meara for permission to inspect his medical journal, "the 
 only document," as Dr. Verling wrote to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 " on which any thoroughly just conception could be formed 
 of his (Bonaparte's) constitution or the nature of his com- 
 plaints, or the propriety of the system which may have been 
 adopted for their cure." This, however, O'Meara positively 
 refused to allow, nor would he consent to furnish any copy. 
 He said that he had not the journal in his possession, 1 and 
 that if he had he would not give it without the previous 
 sanction of Napoleon ; but that he was ready to give the 
 bulletins and a sketch or extract of his treatment from the 
 
 1 The journal, in reality, had been made over to Count Bertram!, but 
 no doubt for the very purpose of enabling O'Meara to make this answer. 
 
July, 1818. REMOVAL OF O'MEARA. 591 
 
 journal. This, however, was clearly insufficient, and, in- 
 deed, useless ; for no reliance could he placed on the hulle- 
 tins without comparing them with the journal ; and this offer 
 was declined. Nothing tends to throw greater suspicion 
 upon his former reports than this extraordinary conduct. 
 Either Napoleon was in good health, and those reports were 
 false ; or he was ili, and O'Meara was content to sacrifice the 
 health of his patient to the gratification of his own private 
 pique. Few will he disposed to deny that, under the circum- 
 stances of the case, the Governor would have heen justified in 
 taking from him his medical journal by force. 
 
 O'Meara was now sent on board H. M. sloop Griffon for a 
 passage to England. He protested against this proceeding in 
 a letter to the Secretary to the Government, on the ground 
 that his baggage, bedding, and money which he had placed 
 in Captain Blakeney's hands, had not reached him, and said 
 that he should hold the " giver of the order" responsible for 
 any consequences to his creditors. On the 30th he com- 
 plained, in an official letter to Rear-Admiral Plampin, that 
 while he was separated from his baggage his " writing-desk 
 had been opened and plundered" of a gold watch-chain, gold 
 seals, an onyx brooch, and other valuable articles, " to a very 
 large amount." Admiral Plampin instantly forwarded the 
 letter to the Governor, who ordered Sir George Bingham, as 
 the sitting magistrate, to institute forthwith a judicial inquiry 
 to ascertain the facts of the case, and discover by whom the 
 articles had been taken. O'Meara was permitted to land for 
 the purpose of making a deposition, and both his servants 
 were examined, but nothing was elicited which could throw 
 light on the alleged theft. 
 
 On the 2d of August O'Meara sailed for England, where 
 we shall find that in his anxiety to calumniate Sir Hudson 
 Lowe he overreached himself, and was dismissed from the 
 service — an affront which he was not likely to forgive, and 
 which prompted him to compile the work of which the mis- 
 statements and misrepresentations have been allowed too long 
 to delude and mislead the public. 1 
 
 1 Count Montholon, in his " Recits," vol. ii. p. 315, relates a fact re- 
 specting O'Meara's " Journal," published in 1822, which is curious if 
 
592 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 On the 30th of July a conversation took place hetween 
 Count Montholon, Dr. Veiling, and Lieutenant Jackson, when 
 the Count spoke of the restrictions, and said, " So long as the 
 present system is adhered to, the Emperor will continue the 
 same conduct. For two months past he has not. been out of 
 doors ; he generally goes to bed about 3 or 4 o'clock, gets up 
 in the night and walks about in his robe-de-chambre ; some- 
 times during the day he walks in the billiard-room dressed, 
 at others in his dressing-grown. He is never seen; and I 
 defy the Governor to say that he knows for certain he is at 
 Lo7igivood, or has known for the last two months. Let the 
 restrictions be removed, and we will then resume our former 
 method of living. The Emperor will take his rides, and the 
 Governor may himself see him, and know from actual obser- 
 vation that he is here." A more striking proof than this of 
 the absolute necessity that the orderly officer should insist 
 upon seeing Napoleon daily could not have been given. And 
 yet there was no point which Bonaparte more pertinaciously 
 resisted. 
 
 On the 15th of August, 1818, Lieut. -Colonel Wynyard called 
 upon Count Montholon by the Governor's desire, with several 
 plans he had directed to be drawn, in consequence of instruc- 
 tions from England to erect a new house ; and he said he 
 had to request that the Count would examine and present 
 them for consideration. He added that the Governor had in 
 these plans endeavored to consult as much as possible their 
 convenience and comfort, and any suggestion that was made 
 in conformity with the general design he would be happy to 
 attend to. Count Montholon said, he would not fail to present 
 them on the first opportunity ; but he afterward added, that 
 he very much disliked having to do so, and wished it over 
 with all his heart. A few days afterward Colonel Wynyard 
 again called upon him with Major Emmett of the Engineers, 
 
 true : — " During the little time that O'Meara remained with the Em- 
 peror [after he was ordered to leave Longwood] I ran to the surgery to 
 take his Journal, which he had hid in case of accident. His conversa- 
 tions were written in Italian. I transmitted this Journal to him to En- 
 gland after having read it to the Emperor, who pointed out many errors 
 in it." 
 
Aug. 1818. INFLUENCE OF BERTRAND. 593 
 
 and submitted some plans, which Montholon fully discussed 
 ■with them, and said that the main considerations were large 
 rooms, plenty of them, and an entire separation of apartments. 
 
 On the 17th Sir Hudson Lowe had a conversation with 
 Count Balmain, the Russian Commissioner, who with Captain 
 De Gors, aid-de-camp to the Marquis de Montohenu, was on 
 the point of proceeding for a short time to Rio de Janeiro. 
 He met him riding in company with the Marquis, and the 
 Count told him that, according to the information given him 
 by Count Montholon, it was a fixed idea in the minds of the 
 French at Longwood that it was the intention of the British 
 Government to assassinate the Emperor, and that the Gov- 
 ernor was the instrument to execute their design. Sir Hudson 
 replied that this was not what they believed themselves, but 
 what they wished to make others believe. Count Balmain 
 then said that Montholon told him " that he had done every 
 thing in his power to remove such ideas from the Emperor's 
 mind ; that he had assured him it was in vain to combat 
 against the evils of his situation by following the course he 
 had pursued ; that the Emperor lent an ear to him, and 
 seemed almost disposed to attend to his suggestions, but that 
 Count Bertrand would then come in and say, " Mais, Sire, 
 votre gloire, voire nom!" and every thing which Montholon 
 said, or the Emperor proposed to do, fell at once to the ground." 
 Count Balmain dwelt much on this effect of Bertrand's in- 
 fluence and interference ; and was supported in his remarks 
 by the Marquis de Montchenu. 
 
 Count Balmain added that he believed there was a great 
 jealousy between Bertrand and Montholon, on account of the 
 Governor having recently addressed the latter instead of the 
 former, and made him the channel of his communications 
 with Bonaparte. 
 
 Although it is no part of the history of the captivity which 
 these volumes profess to record, we must not omit here, in 
 justice to the memory of Sir Hudson Lowe to notice an event 
 which happened about this time, and which stands in refresh- 
 ing contrast to the disputes in which he was, from no fault of 
 
594 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 his own, so constantly involved with the French at Longwood. 
 I allude to the gradual abolition of slavery at St. Helena, in 
 which humane act the Governor took a leading and conspic- 
 uous part. The opinions which he avowed and the exertions 
 which he made with reference to the extinction of slavery, at 
 a time when great names were arrayed on the other side, and 
 many reasoners were found who were not ashamed to argue 
 that, because slavery is not expressly and by name prohibited in 
 the New Testament, it is an institution sanctioned by and con- 
 sistent with the spirit and genius of Christianity, are deserv- 
 ing of all praise. Having carefully considered the matter with 
 the members of his Council, Sir Hudson Lowe, on the 13th 
 of August this year, convened a meeting at the Castle in 
 James Town, of the principal slave-proprietors and other in- 
 habitants of St. Helena, and addressed them in an able and 
 conciliatory speech, with the view of inducing them to consent 
 to a law declaring that all children born of slave parents after 
 a certain date should be free. He said — 
 
 "He had grounds for saying that the subject had attracted 
 the serious attention of the Court of Directors, who most 
 naturally view with regret this island as the only spot under 
 their government where slavery existed under any form or 
 shape whatever. 
 
 " How infinitely preferable it would be to anticipate their 
 desires by a voluntary act of the inhabitants themselves, than 
 to await the dictates of what might be suggested to them ! 
 In no part, he was happy to find, and gratified to express to 
 them, did slavery exist in a milder form than in this island 
 — he ever was ready and willing to do justice to the dispo- 
 sition of the inhabitants in this respect. Still slavery existed, 
 and would remain in perpetuity upon the system which at 
 present prevailed, of every child born of a slave being also a 
 slave. 
 
 " This was the only possession of the East India Company, 
 he repeated, where slavery existed. Beyond the Cape there 
 had been a colony, under the administration of the King's 
 Government, where it recently remained in full force ; the 
 
Aug. 1818. ANTI-SLAVERY MEASURES. 595 
 
 inhabitants of that colony however (the island of Ceylon), had 
 come to a voluntary resolution of declaring that all the chil- 
 dren born of slave parents after a fixed day (that of His Royal 
 Highness the Prince Regent's birthday in the year 1816) 
 should be free, providing, upon certain conditions, for their 
 being maintained until the age of fourteen years. 
 
 " It was an example of this nature he proposed to them to 
 imitate." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe however added, that he left the matter 
 entirely to their own deliberation, and was desirous that no- 
 thing should be resolved upon which did not meet their full 
 concurrence. 
 
 Happily the humane sentiments of the Governor and his 
 Council found an immediate echo in the minds of the inhab- 
 itants of the island. They at once proceeded to elect a com- 
 mittee for drawing up resolutions on the subject, which, being 
 submitted to a general meeting of the whole of the slave pro- 
 prietors on the 17th August, were unanimously approved, and 
 submitted to the Governor and Council to be passed into a law 
 on the same day. 
 
 The first of these resolutions was, " That, from and after 
 the 25th day of December next ensuing, being the anniver- 
 sary of the birth of our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, all chil- 
 dren born of slaves shall be considered free." 
 
 Upon this the Governor immediately issued a proclamation 
 declaring the above resolution to be a law of the island. 
 
 It would be wrong not to mention also the enlightened and 
 generous policy of the East India Company in this matter. 
 In a letter from the Court of Directors to the Governor and 
 Council at St. Helena, dated the 21st of April, 1819, they 
 said — 
 
 " The wise, humane, and liberal measures which we find, 
 by your letters of the 18th August and 11th September last, 
 have been adopted by the inhabitants of St. Helena, for pre- 
 venting the perpetual continuance of slavery in the island, 
 are so much in unison with those feelings and sentiments 
 which we have long entertained, that they can not fail to 
 
596 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 receive, as they have merited, our approbation and applause ; 
 and it reflects the highest credit on the inhabitants that they 
 should have shown, in so unequivocal a manner, a determin- 
 ation to strike at the root of the evil by the adoption of meas- 
 ures tending to general emancipation, with due regard to the 
 circumstances of the island, and the situation of the slaves 
 who at present form a part of its population. But although 
 the resolutions above referred to will gradually lead to the 
 entire abolition of slavery in the island, where the Governor 
 has justly observed it has existed only in a mild form, it is 
 equally evident that a very long period must elapse before this 
 
 most desirable end can be fully accomplished We have 
 
 given particular attention to the arguments of the Committee 
 of Proprietors in the second paragraph of their address to the 
 Governor and Council against a sudden and total abolition of 
 slavery, or a general emancipation of their slaves, and we 
 admit those arguments to have considerable weight, and to 
 show the inexpediency of immediate and universal emanci- 
 pation. We can not, however, suffer them to interfere with 
 our anxious desire for a more general extension of the humane 
 principles which have influenced the decision of the Commit- 
 tee, so far as regards the slaves belonging to the Company. 
 .... The number of slaves the property of the Company ap- 
 pears by the letter above mentioned to be 97 ; viz. 53 males 
 and 44 females : of the males, 28 were between 16 and 60 
 years of age, two above 68, and 23 under 16 years of age ; 
 of the females, 21 were above, and 23 under, 13 years of age. 
 The slaves belonging to the Company were all employed on 
 the Government establishment as house-servants, as cattle- 
 tenders, or in taking care of the Government garden and 
 grounds ; the women in washing and care of the children. 
 
 " We have resolved that all children born after the 25th 
 December, 1818, of slaves the property of the Company at 
 St. Helena, shall be considered free.' 
 
 When O'Meara left Longwood it seemed as if the evil genius 
 of the place had departed : at all events the relations between 
 the Governor and its inhabitants soon became of a more ami- 
 
Sept. 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 597 
 
 cable and satisfactory character. On the 4th of September 
 Sir Hudson Lowe wrote to Earl Bathurst and informed him 
 that Bonaparte had the day before walked out in his garden, 
 dressed in his usual manner, being the first time he had quitted 
 his house for several months past. He mentioned also that, 
 although Bonaparte had not consented to receive any visits 
 from Dr. Verling, there was strong reason to suppose that it 
 did not proceed from any objection to have the advice of any 
 other medical person than the one who had lately quitted him, 
 but that he really did not at the time stand in need of medi- 
 cal aid, as Dr. Verling had been told, both by Count Montho- 
 lon and the Countess Bertrand, that his health was much bet- 
 ter ; and no complaint or indication whatever of his being in 
 a bad or even indifferent state of health had manifested itself 
 since the departure of O'Meara. The foundation for the new 
 house had also been traced without opposition in the precincts 
 of the garden at Longwood, which appeared to be the best 
 situation for it that could be found in that locality. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's letter contained a characteristic anec- 
 dote of Madame Bertrand. She seems to have been a lady 
 by no means deficient in spirit, and one who was properly 
 sensitive as to any imputation on her husband's honor. " The 
 Countess Bertrand," he said, " I understand, is a good deal 
 affected at the affair which occurred between her husband and 
 Lieut.-Colonel Lyster. She has attempted to justify him, 
 firstly, for not attending the summons of Lieut.-Colonel Lyster, 
 that, as a man who has commanded armies, he could not be 
 supposed wanting in courage, nor was she a woman to marry 
 un lache; and, secondly, that General Bonaparte himself dic- 
 tated the whole of the letters written to me, and they were 
 none of them her husband's composition ; that it was unfor- 
 tunate he had not employed Count Montholon to write them 
 instead of him." 
 
 A discovery was now made by the Governor which, al- 
 though it led to no future results of importance, yet threw 
 considerable light upon the conduct of persons both in England 
 and St. Helena, and proved how little O'Meara and Mr. Bal- 
 combe were to be trusted by either Sir Hudson Lowe or the 
 
598 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 British Government, and how little they and others respected 
 the regulations in force in the island. At the time no doubt 
 the matter was of considerahle importance, and justified strict 
 inquiry and minute investigation, as it was impossible to tell 
 how far the ramifications of what looked very like a conspir- 
 acy to defeat the restrictions imposed upon communications 
 with Longwood extended. Now, however, the interest has 
 passed away, and we shall only relate, as clearly and con- 
 cisely as possible, the main facts brought to light on the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 On the 19th of September the Lusitania store-ship arrived 
 at St. Helena from England, and brought out, under the 
 charge of the commander, Captain Brash, a box of books, 
 which had "been sent down to him at Deal, by a person of the 
 name of "William Holmes, residing at Lyons Inn, London. 
 Captain Brash had previously seen Mr. Holmes at his office 
 in town, and was made acquainted that the hooks were for 
 Mr. O'Meara; but in a letter which Captain Brash afterward 
 received from Mr. Holmes, inclosing one to the address of Mr. 
 Fowler, a partner in the house of Balcombe, Cole, and Co., 
 he was informed that they were for Mr. Balcombe's partner. 
 A letter was also received by the same occasion to the ad- 
 dress of" Dr. O'Meara." The box itself bore no other address 
 than that of Captain Brash. Mr. Fowler, the partner of Mr. 
 Balcombe, to whom one of the letters was addressed, showed 
 it immediately to Sir Thomas Reade, who brought it to the 
 Governor. This letter inclosed another to the address of 
 " James Forbes, Esq.," which Mr. Fowler was desired to de- 
 liver. He was also directed to deliver the books, which were 
 stated to he French. Mr. Fowler said that he did not know 
 any such person as Mr. Forbes, neither did he know Mi. 
 Holmes. Mr. Fowler was called hefore the Council, and 
 there formally interrogated as to his knowledge either of Mr. 
 Holmes or Mr. Forbes ; after which the Governor informed 
 him, in the presence of Sir George Bingham and Mr. Brooke, 
 two members of Council, that the box must he opened and 
 examined in his presence before it could be admitted to pass 
 into the town. This was immediately done at the wharf 
 
Sept. 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 599 
 
 where it lay, and it was found to contain French books and 
 a copy of the " Morning Chronicle" of the latest date prior to 
 the sailing of the vessel. It was evident from the nature of 
 the books that they were destined for the inmates of Long- 
 wood, and although there would have been no difficulty in 
 the way of their receiving them if they had been forwarded 
 in the regular manner, this clandestine mode of introduction, 
 in violation of the established rules, naturally excited much 
 suspicion. Sir Hudson Lowe, therefore, after communicating 
 with Sir George Bingham and Mr. Brooke, and finding that 
 they entirely agreed with him as to the propriety of opening 
 the letter addressed to "Mr. Forbes," who was not to be found, 
 and respecting whom no information whatever was to be had, 
 broke the seal in their presence, when the first words that 
 appeared were " Dear O'Meara," and the letter was signed 
 " William Holmes." Its contents have little interest now, but 
 they clearly prove that secret and illicit communications were 
 kept up between London and St. Helena, and that several 
 persons were engaged in these transactions. The only pas- 
 sages which are worth quoting here are the following : 
 
 " I have persuaded Brash to take the French books, and 
 they follow him to Deal to-night to be shipped ; and he has 
 instructions to give them to Fowler. The English books are 
 sent to Stokoe. I intend starting for Paris next week to see 
 Lafitte, and perhaps will see Las Cases, but fear my jour- 
 ney will be useless, from the insufficiency of the documents 
 I hold. Balcombe much regrets that he did not bring me 
 full authority to act ; he does not wish to appear active 
 himself; he nevertheless acts in concert with me on all 
 occasions. 
 
 " I am seriously concerned to hear of Napoleon being so 
 ill ; do advise him to take exercise ; for, if he shortens his 
 life by refusing to do so, he will only the more gratify the 
 savage malignity of his foes : he ought not to despair, for, rest 
 assured, a change for the better will, sooner or later, take 
 place, and his great mind should not at this juncture forsake 
 him. Mills will not answer my letters — what can he mean? 
 
600 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 Seek every opportunity of writing to me, and sending what 
 you can. Street and Parker refused to pay Gourgaud's bill 
 for £500, but they have since heard from Las Cases, and it 
 is settled. I understand the old General does not mean to 
 publish, but, should he, Perry of the " Chronicle" has pro- 
 mised his assistance. 
 
 " I understand you are to draw for £1800 : you shall hear 
 the issue of my visit to Lafitte ; and, if your remittances are 
 paid, trade of that kind can be carried on to any extent." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe now went to Admiral Plampin, and 
 communicated to him the discovery that had been made. 
 The Admiral was of opinion that the reference made to other 
 papers in the letter warranted and required an immediate ex- 
 amination of all other letters or parcels which might have 
 been brought by any person for O'Meara from the same quar- 
 ter. On examination the parcels were found to contain books 
 and two letters for O'Meara — one from Mr. Holmes, and the 
 other, of no importance, from Mrs. Balcombe. There now 
 remained unopened the letter to the address of O'Meara 
 brought by Captain Brash. On this being opened, it was 
 found to contain one to the address of Mr. Stokoe (assistant 
 surgeon on board the Conqueror), who said he had no ac- 
 quaintance whatever with Mr. Holmes, and made no objec- 
 tion to the letter being opened and perused. It was found 
 not to contain a letter from Mr. Holmes to him, but one from 
 Mr. Balcombe to Mr. Stokoe, inclosing another under the 
 address " For our friend Barry O'Meara, St. Helena." It 
 thus appears that this letter was inclosed in three envelopes 
 — the first of which was addressed to O'Meara, the second to 
 Mr. Stokoe, and the third to O'Meara again ! 
 
 The letter from Mr. Balcombe to Mr. Stokoe had nothing 
 in it to commit Mr. Stokoe himself, and consisted only of a 
 few lines, saying, " I am doing all I can for our friend Barry," 
 or words to that effect. That from the same writer to " our 
 friend Barry, which was dated, " Holmes' Office, 24th June, 
 1818," was as follows : 
 
 " My dear Bakky— Every thing has been done that can 
 
Sept. 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 601 
 
 be done ; all your books were sent on board Lucytania, but 
 the captain has just called at our friend Holmes' office, where 
 I am writing this, to say he can't take them (I mean the 
 French books). Holmes is indefatigable in his exertions in 
 your cause, and all my friends, among the rest Sir George 
 and Sir P , are of the same opinion with us. All com- 
 munications whatever must be sent to Holmes, as I mean to 
 leave off any agency business in England except through him. 
 He is more acquainted, and has a very extensive knowledge 
 of what ought to be done for you ; rest perfectly easy that no 
 stone will be left unturned to serve our friends on the island. 
 I have been hard at work for you, and what has been said 
 has been listened to. I am just going to the Secretary of 
 State's office, where I have been twice before on your busi- 
 ness. The election is going on rapidly ; the opposition mem- 
 bers are all coming in, the ministerial going out ; a change 
 in the administration is expected. The Leveret, Sir George 
 
 C has told me, will sail for your island in the course 
 
 of ten days, when you will receive the French books from 
 Holmes. I have delivered all up to Holmes, who is making 
 the best use of them. Pray, burn all my scrawls, as they 
 are not fit to read — written so bad. With best regards to all 
 our friends, I remain,. &c. James Balcombe." 
 
 A letter also came from Mr. Holmes to Mr. Stokoe, begging 
 him to give the following inclosure to Count Bertrand in pri- 
 vate, in case O'Meara had left the island, as he did not wish 
 the Governor to peruse it. 
 
 " Reply to Letter addressed to Paris. 
 
 "London, August 25, 1818. 
 " The 100,000 francs lent in 1816 are paid — likewise the 
 72,000 francs which complete the 395,000 francs mentioned 
 in the note of the 15th March. The 36,000 francs for 1817, 
 and the like sum for 1819, have also been paid by the per- 
 son ordered. Remain quiet as to the funds placed ; the farm- 
 ers are good, and they will pay bills for the amount of the 
 income, which must be calculated at the rate of four per 
 cent., commencing from 1816; that is to say, there will be 
 Vol. I.— Cc 
 
602 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXI. 
 
 three years of the interest due the expiration of the present 
 year — all other tetters have been delivered." 
 
 In detailing these circumstances to Lord Bathurst, Sir Hud- 
 son said in his dispatch that on the day of Mr. Balcombe's 
 departure from St. Helena he required his attendance in 
 James Town, and, in the presence of Sir Thomas Reade and 
 Major Gorrequer, asked him whether he had any other ac- 
 counts or transactions with the persons at Longwood than 
 what were at that moment lying before the Governor at the 
 close of his public and private accounts with the establish- 
 ment there, which were to be left in the hands of his partner, 
 Mr. Cole, to settle. He said that Mr. Balcombe, in the most 
 solemn manner, assured him that he had had no other pecun- 
 iary transactions whatever with them than those of which the 
 Governor was apprised. He was then asked if he had charged 
 himself with or been asked to be the bearer of any communi- 
 cations whatever to Europe, for the persons at Longwood, or 
 if his daughters, who had visited Longwood the day before, 
 had charged themselves with any ; in answer to which he 
 gave the same solemn and distinct assurance in the negative. 
 
 Notwithstanding the improper mode in which the books 
 had been sent, Sir Hudson Lowe forwarded them all to 
 Longwood, and expressed his hope that the irregularity of 
 their conveyance was not owing to any fault of those for 
 whom they were designed. 
 
 Clandestine letters, however, were not the only means 
 whereby the partisans of Napoleon sought to keep up a cor- 
 respondence with him. The use of ciphers in newspapers 
 was resorted to, in hopes that they might meet his eye and 
 arrest his attention. On the 5th of March in the preceding 
 year Lord Bathurst had thus written to the Governor : 
 
 " My dear Sir — The Austrian Embassador has transmit- 
 ted to me the copy of another letter which appeared in the 
 ' Anti-Gallican,' x and which has been deciphered at Vienna. 
 In a conversation which I had with his Excellency this 
 
 1 The " Anti-Gallican" was a newspaper. 
 
Sept. 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 603 
 
 morning, h e showed me the two first letters deciphered, in 
 both of which, if I recollect right — I am sure in one — is the 
 advice given to General Bonaparte not to go to bed in the 
 night. I can not make out the true history of these letters, 
 but I am inclined to suspect that there is not much in them 
 which requires your attention. On the whole, however, I am 
 disposed to think that you had better not let the ' Anti-Galli- 
 can' be communicated to him, and you will, therefore, do 
 nothing on this subject (notwithstanding my late dispatch 
 marked 'confidential') in consequence of this communication, 
 except, perhaps, taking some measure to ascertain whether 
 there appears by his conduct any disposition to regulate his 
 habits with a view to escape. 
 
 " He would, I think, take much more care of his health if 
 he thought an escape probable. We may doubt his being as ill 
 as he at times affects ; but as he might appear as ill, and yet 
 attend more to his health, I think the neglect of it is real, 
 and proceeds from his considering his situation to be hope- 
 less. I am, my dear sir, yours very sincerely, 
 
 " Bathurst. 
 
 " There is reason to suspect that there are communications 
 made to General Bonaparte by the channel of the ' Morning 
 Chronicle' and 'Times.'" 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY BONAPARTE'S REFUSAL TO SHOW HIM- 
 SELF TO THE ORDERLY OFFICER INTERVIEWS AND CONVER- 
 SATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR AND COUNT MONTIIOLON 
 
 ALLEGED GRIEVANCES ORDERLY OFFICER'S REPORTS 
 
 CARDINAL FESCH's APPLICATION CALUMNIOUS REMARKS OF 
 
 o'MEARA AT ASCENSION ISLAND SUSPICIOUS LETTER FROM 
 
 THE CAPE. 
 
 The resolute determination of Bonaparte not to allow him- 
 self to be seen by the orderly officer made it necessary that 
 some decisive steps should be taken. A whole fortnight had 
 elapsed since he had given Captain Nicholls, who had suc- 
 ceeded Captain Blakeney, any opportunity of certifying the 
 fact of his presence at Longwood ; and the instructions to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe from the English Government were precise and 
 positive, that he should assure himself twice every day that 
 Napoleon was actually there. He had strained courtesy and 
 forbearance on this point beyond the limits which his duty 
 warranted ; but the systematic plan now pursued by Bona- 
 parte of withdrawing himself from view rendered further con- 
 nivance at such an evasion of the rule impossible. The 
 Governor, therefore, accompanied by Major Gorrequer, called 
 on Count Montholon on the 3d of October, and, had a long 
 conversation with him on the subject. 
 
 He began by inquiring whether any answer had been re- 
 turned by Bonaparte with reference to their last conversation, 
 on which Montholon replied, " I will tell you candidly that 
 the letter I was made to write the very night after you came 
 here was couched in terms so offensive that I did not think it 
 right to send it to you as I had promised. It would only 
 have been a fresh cause of irritation and bitterness ; and there 
 have been enough of discussions during the last six months 
 without renewing them about a matter of no consequence — a 
 
Oct. 1818. HIS REFUSAL TO SHOW HIMSELF. 605 
 
 piece of folly (ime betise). I therefore thought it better to 
 wait and see you, and speak frankly." The Governor said 
 that he had no wish to know more than simply yes or no, 
 whether Bonaparte still refused to see the orderly officer and the 
 doctor. The Count replied that in that case he must answer 
 in the negative ; and a discussion arose, in which Montholon 
 asserted that the Emperor did afford opportunities for his 
 being seen, by drawing his curtains and coming to his win- 
 dow ; but that he would never submit to show himself like a 
 prisoner : such was his positive resolution. The Governor 
 said that he had that morning received a report from the 
 orderly officer, stating that he had no certainty of the presence 
 of Napoleon Bonaparte at Longwood ; and he added that he 
 (the Governor) had pushed delicacy to the extreme in this 
 respect ; he had always endeavored to satisfy himself that he 
 was at Longwood in a way not disagreeable to his feelings ; 
 and thinking that he might have been reluctant to show him- 
 self on account of the workmen employed on the new build- 
 ing, he had caused a wall of turf to be raised in order that 
 he might not be incommoded by them. Count Montholon 
 denied that the Emperor had any intention of concealing 
 himself from view, and attributed his continued retirement to 
 ill health. He said, " He does not even care to see any of 
 us ; and if we did not go to see him of our own accord he 
 would remain whole days alone. And then he has taken 
 this mania for warm baths, of which he sometimes takes 
 three in a day, remaining in them for hours : his room is so 
 hot as to throw one into a violent perspiration ; there is always 
 a fire there, and the windows are hardly ever open. The 
 temperature there is at least 75 or 76 degrees ; and all this 
 weakens him. It seems even that the more it weakens him 
 the more he perseveres in it." Sir Hudson Lowe replied that 
 his orders were positive, and that it was absolutely necessary 
 that Captain Nicholls should see Napoleon in some way or 
 other. Count Montholon answered — "It is a subject on 
 which I can not touch without putting him out of temper ; it 
 is the topic which irritates him most. The more I should 
 seek to persuade him the more obstinate he would be. He is 
 
606 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 a man who, the more cannon you fire at him, the more he 
 resists ; it is only by gentle means that any thing can be done 
 with him." " But, Monsieur le Comte," said the Governor, 
 " I don't fire any cannon at him ; on the contrary, every one 
 knows how far I have pushed delicacy on this subject, by re- 
 fraining till now from insisting on the point." "I admit it, 
 Monsieur le Gouverneur," replied Montholon, " and I render 
 you full justice in this respect. The Emperor himself said, 
 'Well, he does his duty ;' but as it is a subject on which I 
 know he will become irritated, I had rather you would write 
 to me, and I will send you his answer in like manner." 
 
 Some allusion was then made to O'Meara, and the Governor 
 mentioned that a letter had arrived at St. Helena, after that 
 person's departure, addressed to him under a feigned name, in 
 which he was advised to endeavor to persuade Bonaparte to 
 take exercise, and be careful of his health. The Count ex- 
 claimed, " How, Monsieur le Gouverneur ; a letter addressed 
 to Dr. O'Meara under a false name ! You surprise me ; and 
 why this mystery ?" He then argued against the possibility 
 of any plot or intrigue being carried on at St. Helena without 
 being discovered, saying that he was certain that even if an 
 attempt were made to get the Emperor off- — and he were told 
 that a boat was ready for him to embark in — he would refuse, 
 for he would never go away like an adventurer, but would 
 act as he did at Rochefort when he declined to try and es- 
 cape, and declared that he would not thus tarnish his career. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe made a remark about the false impres- 
 sions which Bonaparte seemed to have on his mind respecting 
 the English, on which Count Montholon shortly observed, " It 
 is Count Las Cases :" and there is no doubt that this person 
 was the author of much mischief, for his previous residence 
 in England, and acquaintance (though imperfect) with the 
 language, had given him an influence with Napoleon which 
 he seems never to have exerted for any good purpose, and his 
 misrepresentations of English customs and modes of acting, , 
 if not willful were ridiculous. He also did considerable harm 
 by misinterpreting expressions in conversation, and even Na- 
 poleon on one occasion declared that he was satisfied that the 
 
Oct. 1818. DIFFICULTY OF SEEING HIM. 607 
 
 Count did not sufficiently understand the language to avoid 
 misleading him. 
 
 With respect to O'Meara, Count Montholon said that he 
 was from the first convinced that the doctor gave an account 
 eto the Governor of all that happened at Longwood. ,; As he 
 lodged close to me, and as I saw him always writing from 
 the moment he entered his room, I strongly suspected what 
 he was about ; and he would have been the very last person 
 to whom I would have confided any thing. I said to myself 
 — ' Well, it is his profession ;'. but I was astonished to see the 
 Emperor place so much confidence in him as to speak to him 
 in the way he did." 
 
 Inquiry had been made about some books which the Gov- 
 ernor had lent for perusal at Longwood, and which were mis- 
 sing. In the course of the conversation Count Montholon 
 declared that they had all been sent to O'Meara for the pur- 
 pose of being forwarded to Plantation House, and that he par- 
 ticularly recollected having seen one of them in his possession 
 after it had been returned to him, as upon the margin of one 
 of the pages " the Emperor" had written some remark, which 
 O'Meara had requested he would read to him, as he could not 
 decipher it himself. This he accordingly did ; " and perhaps 
 he might," added Count Montholon, " have kept it from curi- 
 osity, on account of the note." The Governor observed that 
 was no reason for his purloining the book itself, which be- 
 longed to him. After a few words more of desultory conver- 
 sation he and Major Gorrequer took leave. 
 
 Captain Nicholls still reported his inability to get a sight 
 of Napoleon, and on the 5th Sir Hudson Lowe again visited 
 Count Montholon and told him of this. The Count replied — 
 " I, am astonished ; for the day before yesterday, immediately 
 after your departure, and while I was yet speaking with Major 
 Gorrequer, the Emperor sent for me. We went together into 
 the billiard-room, where we walked for an hour and a half 
 with the windows open, and from which we even saw Dr. 
 Verling go by. The Emperor, on seeing him, asked me 
 whether that was the captain or the doctor ? and I told him it 
 was the latter. I subsequently asked Dr. Verling if he had not 
 
608 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 seen us ; he said No, that he had not looked that way, that 
 he had intentionally turned his head away. I repeated to 
 the Emperor what you told me the other day ; his reply was, 
 ' What would he have ? does he want me to go out when I 
 am ill ? I do not hide myself from any one. I have changed* 
 none of my habits, nor do I mean to change them ; my man- 
 ner of living is always the same. I perceive that for some 
 time past they no longer examine the servants and the work- 
 people, and do not watch me from under my windows. That 
 they should have desisted frpm this gives me pleasure. 
 When the fine weather returns and my health is better, I 
 will go out as usual. Can I go out while I am suffering, and 
 during such bad weather ? It is no'very agreeable thing to 
 deprive myself of fresh air, of the little liberty which is allowed 
 me here, and to shut myself up in my room. I conceal my- 
 self from no one ; I have no intention to do so : what then do 
 they want ? do they wish some catastrophe to happen ? If 
 it be any innovation, any new regulation, let them inform me 
 of it in writing.' " The Governor answered that it was no 
 innovation, but that there now appeared to be a system estab- 
 lished to prevent the orderly officer from seeing Bonaparte ; 
 that Captain Nicholls had only seen him once ; that, whenever 
 the officer was perceived, the blinds were instantly drawn 
 across the windows, and all opportunity of getting a glimpse 
 of him was thus prevented. He added that Captain Nicholls 
 was under the impression, notwithstanding the assurance of 
 Count Montholon to the contrary, that Napoleon strove to 
 conceal himself, and said that Captains Poppleton and Blake- 
 ney had also complained of the difficulty of seeing him. Mon- 
 tholon replied that there was no such design, but that the 
 Emperor was prostrated, in bad health, and in the deepest 
 affliction. He continued — " If I speak to him on this subject 
 it provokes and irritates him, and he then makes use of terms 
 and words that are very disagreeable to me, and would be 
 equally offensive to you were I to repeat them. When I spoke 
 to him about it the other day, he ended with a scene. He 
 exclaimed, ' Well then, they want to assassinate me ! He 
 has always that idea in his head." 
 
Oct. 1S18. HIS SECLUSION. 609 
 
 The Governor said, "These expressions which he so often 
 makes use of go for nothing ; they do him no good ; on the 
 contrary, he does himself harm by them. My character is 
 too well known for any one to imagine that I take delight in 
 persecuting him. It is not possible for me to show greater 
 delicacy and care to avoid any thing that may be disagreeable 
 to him than by coming here to you twice, as I have done, to 
 see if there were any means of coming to an arrangement in- 
 stead of writing to you officially ; and you will perceive that 
 on this point there can not be two opinions. I see no use in 
 writing. What can I say to you beyond this — that the orders 
 of my Government are that I satisfy myself twice a day of 
 his actual presence here, and that it is necessary that I should 
 cause these orders to be punctually executed ? It is for the 
 express purpose of preventing that extremity that I have come 
 to speak with you on the subject, and in order to avoid more 
 extreme measures." After some further discussion the Gov- 
 ernor ended the conversation by saying — " I do not in any 
 way pretend, Monsieur le Comte, to insist upon Napoleon Bo- 
 naparte's receiving visits. He is master in his own interior 
 to receive those only whom he pleases. I do not interfere in 
 the least with this ; but the orderly officer is charged with a 
 duty of great responsibility, and he must have the means of 
 performing it." 
 
 Two days afterward Major Gorrequer, at Count Montholon's 
 request, called upon him, and another long conversation took 
 place between them which led to no result. The Count pro- 
 fessed to be unable to understand the object of the Governor's 
 last two visits. Major Gorrequer replied that it seemed very 
 easy to understand, and the Governor had fully explained him- 
 self on the subject of the orderly officer's report that he could 
 not see Bonaparte, and that it was impossible for him to satisfy 
 himself of his presence at Longwood. He added that Sir 
 Hudson Lowe wished Napoleon to show himself in the way 
 most agreeable to himself, and that he had preferred speaking 
 to writing, as he thought the matter might be thereby more 
 easily arranged. To this Montholon replied, " Yes, Sir, I have 
 seen with pleasure that the Governor has been most consider- 
 
 c c* 
 
610 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 ate in his conversations on this subject ; but when I go to the 
 Emperor and speak to him about it, he puts himself into a 
 passion, and seems to apprehend something disastrous — some- 
 thing dreadful : he exclaims, ' They want then to assassinate 
 me.' I am, in fact, placed between two twenty-four pounders. 
 He was in a passion with me again yesterday, and said very 
 disagreeable things to me when I spoke to him about it. He 
 repeated to me, ' I hide myself from no one. I do not affect 
 to keep my room. I am not acting upon any plan. When I 
 go out I may be seeii ; I do not conceal myself from the sight 
 of any body.' " Count Montholon afterward said — " I en- 
 deavor to make him see things in a better light and get rid of 
 these ideas ; but what would you have me say to a person who 
 speaks to me as he does ? I am very far myself from approving 
 the life he leads — his refusal to take exercise — to ride on horse- 
 back — to see any one, even the doctor — to persist all the more 
 when recommended to change his habits. How, the devil ! not 
 to call in a doctor when one is ill is to punish one's self — it is 
 ridiculous. All these things are childish, pure follies. He is 
 seldom up more than two or three hours a day ; he is so used to 
 this that it has now become a necessity for him to remain long in 
 bed. He becomes weak in body — his blood thickens — he de- 
 clines daily. The habit of remaining in bed becomes an abso- 
 lute necessity. Then he is in a bad humor, sulky ; his temper 
 is soured and irritable. Let the fine weather come, and I don't 
 say that he will not then walk out in his garden as formerly. 
 Would you wish him. to go out in the rain to show himself?" 
 The Count proceeded at some length in this strain, and 
 Major Gorrequer told him that he would have been much 
 better pleased if, on his return to Sir Hudson Lowe, he could 
 have informed him that the orderly officer had seen Bona- 
 parte. After an abortive discussion, in which Count Montho- 
 lon said that the Emperor had received from the Prince Regent 
 the assurance that his privacy should never be violated, the 
 conversation terminated, and the Major took leave. 
 
 The next day the Governor called upon Count Montholon, 
 and said he had done so in consequence of what Major Gor- 
 requer had reported to him of the interview that had taken 
 
Oct. 1818. HIS SECLUSION. 611 
 
 place between them the preceding day. The Governor said 
 he understood that the Count, not having fully comprehended 
 his object in their last conferences, required further explana- 
 tion, -which he was ready to give him. It appeared there was 
 an impression that he was desirous of introducing some inno- 
 vation, but it was not the case ; and, to prove to him it was 
 not a new system he was seeking to establish, but an arrange- 
 ment made before his arrival here, he referred him to two 
 written papers, one of which contained Sir George Cockbum's 
 instructions to the orderly officer on the 10th of November, 
 1815. Count Montholon read them, and expressed himself 
 satisfied that no innovation or change was intended ; that it 
 was only the execution of an arrangement made on their first 
 arrival in the island ; adding, that he perceived the Governor 
 had not acted upon it from motives of delicacy. The latter 
 said that that was not exactly the reason; the fact was that, 
 until now, there had not, in reality, been any immediate necessi- 
 ty for it ; for while O'Meara was at Longwood there was always 
 an opportunity of ascertaining Napoleon Bonaparte's presence 
 there through him, and for a long time also through the per- 
 sons who visited him. Besides, until a short time ago, there 
 were English servants in the house and people employed in 
 the garden ; but since he had dismissed the servants, and the 
 workmen had been removed because he complained of their 
 intrusiveness, there were no means left for ascertaining that 
 he was actually at Longwood. Since that time, therefore, his 
 position had very materially changed. Sir Hudson Lowe add- 
 ed that the orderly officer's last report was the same as before 
 v i z . ; that he had not yet seen Bonaparte. Count Montho- 
 lon replied that it was extraordinary he had not, for that very 
 morning he had been walking up and down with the Em- 
 peror in his room, and Captain Nicholls passed by at that 
 moment, and, having seen him, the Emperor asked him (Mon- 
 tholon) who it was, and, drawing his curtain aside, placed 
 himself opposite the window, where he remained some time. 
 On this the Governor said, "Well, Monsieur le Comte, you will 
 not persuade him that they do not try to prevent him, and I 
 give you my word that I have myself twice observed that, 
 
612 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 when I approached the house, the curtains, which were be- 
 fore open, were immediately closed." Montholon then talked 
 about replacing things upon their original footing, when the 
 Governor begged him to point out wherein they differed, for 
 he himself was not aware of any alteration. " In the mode 
 of persons visiting us," said the Count, "forwarding notes di- 
 rect to their address, and cards of invitation." The Governor 
 observed that, with regard to forwarding notes sealed, it was a 
 point which had been fully discussed, and in that there could 
 be no alteration made; with respect to visitors, he would will- 
 ingly enter into some arrangement with him about it. Count 
 Montholon made light of the importance which had been at- 
 tached on their part to the notes being sent sealed, saying, 
 "In God's name, why attach so much importance to it, when 
 one consents to writing open letters to one's friends and one's 
 family, &c. ? this is mere nonsense (niaiseries)." The Gov- 
 ernor afterward said that, having heard from Major Gorrequer 
 that Count Montholon had mentioned that the Prince Regent 
 had given an assurance that the interior of Napoleon Bona- 
 parte's house should never be violated, he would take the 
 liberty of asking how that assurance was communicated. The 
 Count replied that the Emperor had told him such a promise 
 had been made by the Prince Regent, but he did not name 
 to him the channel — it might have been on board the Bellero- 
 phon, at a time when he did not enter into any of those dis- 
 cussions. The Governor expressed his surprise that such an 
 assurance had been given, and that he should never before 
 have heard it ; it could not have been made known to Sir 
 George Cockburn ; and he had a letter from Earl Bathurst 
 (a copy of which he handed to him), dated the 26th of June, 
 1816, wherein he would find under what rules he was direct- 
 ed to act in that respect. Montholon read the letter and re- 
 turned it, saying, " I see, in fact, that you require only what 
 your instructions prescribe." 
 
 After some discussion about the choice of a medical attend- 
 ant, Count Montholon said he believed one might be found on 
 the island who would prove agreeable, and added, "The basis 
 once established and ourselves agreed, all difficulties, I repeat 
 
Oct. 1818. CONDUCT OF O'MEARA. 613 
 
 it, would vanish ; he would see you himself." " I put my- 
 self quite out of the question," replied the Governor ; " but it 
 is absolutely necessary that I should be enabled to send a re- 
 port to my Government, by the vessel that is about to sail, of 
 his (Napoleon's) actual presence at Longwood, of which I have 
 not received any positive assurance by persons who have seen 
 him." The Count then assured Sir Hudson that Captain 
 Nicholls should see Bonaparte the next day before four o'clock 
 ' in the afternoon, and continued, " The Emperor had cause 
 to be greatly displeased at what was reported to him by Dr. 
 O'Meara, who told him that you had ordered him to repeat 
 every thing he heard, and to give you an account of every 
 thing that happened here ; in fact, that he was to be a 
 spy, and that, because he refused, you had prohibited him 
 from speaking to us on any subject but medicine — that he 
 was merely allowed to feel our pulse ; that if he engaged in 
 any kind of conversation with us it would be at his peril, and 
 that he was obliged to tell you of it." The Governor answered 
 that all that was absolutely false ; and Count Montholon said 
 that he gave the fullest credit to the Governor's assurance. 
 
 The Governor then related the directions he had given to 
 O'Meara, and explained that he had not forbidden him to con- 
 verse on other subjects than professional ones, but had told 
 him that any other conversation was on his own responsibi- 
 lity, as he could not of course authorize what he did not know 
 of; that he had never required him to repeat what passed ; 
 that O'Meara had sometimes repeated things he had heard, 
 but spontaneously ; and that, notwithstanding the anxiety 
 O'Meara showed for a length of time to repeat to him what 
 had been said, he did not particularly encourage it ; but, he 
 asked, what would Count Montholon think of O'Meara after 
 knowing that he acknowledged, after thus coming open-mouth- 
 ed {la bouche ouverte) with his reports, that he had pledged 
 himself to Napoleon Bonaparte not to reveal what passed in 
 conversation between them ? Sir Hudson said that the knowl- 
 edge of this pledge was concealed from him for two years ; 
 and that, after hearing of it, he never asked him a question. 
 It appeared, in fact, that he had formed one contract with his 
 
61-1 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Government, and another with Count Bertrand. "Well, then," 
 answered Count Montholon, " I would say that he was a ras- 
 cal ; that you have acted like a man of honor, and he like a 
 man void of principle ; and that you were perfectly right in 
 saying that all that passed beyond his medical reports was 
 on his own responsibility. But I was never the dupe of Mr. 
 O'Meara. I saw clearly through all his manosuvres. I knew 
 that he often wrote to you the reports of conversations he had 
 had with us." 
 
 The Governor afterward said, that in his opinion it would 
 he better to leave things as they were for the present, and 
 make no change until an answer arrived from the English 
 Government with respect to the application he had made for 
 a French or Italian doctor. He remarked that only two 
 medical persons had been admitted to familiar conversations 
 with Napoleon in the island, and it was very evident the 
 object of both was to publish the information they were thus 
 enabled to collect : one of these was Mr. "Warden, whose book 
 did not contain a word on medical subjects — the other, Mr. 
 O'Meara, who stated, in a letter he had seen, that it was his 
 intention to publish a journal, which he said would be highly 
 useful to the British nation in general. 
 
 After some further conversation, in which the subject of 
 the orderly officer's difficulties was again discussed, Count 
 Montholon gave his assurance that Captain Nicholls should 
 see the Emperor the following day, and the Governor too^c 
 leave. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe called on General Montholon again the 
 next day, and had another long interview with him. Noth- 
 ing could be more plausible than the language and demeanor 
 of the Count during these repeated conversations, and appar- 
 ently there was little real difference of opinion between him- 
 self and the Governor as to the line of conduct which ought 
 to be pursued by the latter. It would be tedious to give a 
 detailed account of all that passed on these occasions, full 
 minutes of which were taken by Major Gorrequer and still 
 exist ; for it is not worth while to record at length conversa- 
 tions on subjects which, though at the time of importance to 
 
Oct. 1818. O'MEARA'S CHARACTER. 615 
 
 the parties concerned, can excite only a faint interest now, 
 and it is better to direct our attention to those parts of them 
 which serve to illustrate the character and conduct of the 
 Governor of St. Helena and his great Captive. 
 
 At this interview Sir Hudson declared, as he had done the 
 preceding day, that the whole of what O'Meara had asserted 
 as to his having been ordered to repeat to the Governor every 
 thing mentioned in conversation was false ; and he said that 
 it was most false that O'Meara had ever been countenanced 
 in any manner as a spy ; that he (Sir Hudson) never had 
 expressed to him any desire to know what was said to him 
 on past events, but, on the contrary, repeatedly told him he 
 did not require to know such matters, however interesting 
 they might have been to him to hear them. He had indeed 
 told O'Meara that he had not his authority for communica- 
 ting upon other subjects than those of a professional nature, 
 as he (the Governor) of course could not give his sanction to 
 conversations of the purport of which he was ignorant, and 
 which might relate to his duties as Governor, or other mat- 
 ters of a nature improper lor discussion unless he were inform- 
 ed of them. Count Montholon fully assented to this ; and 
 the Governor went on to say that O'Meara was a person full 
 of pretensions, who had instilled very false notions, and done 
 a great deal of harm at Longwood, and that it was only out 
 of consideration for the personage residing there that he had 
 not sent the doctor away from the island more than a year 
 ago ; but he wished to avoid depriving Bonaparte of his serv- 
 ices. On this Montholon observed, "As for O'Meara, he is 
 just the man to be always placing himself in a. false position ; 
 he can not help it ; he must be always stirring, always agita- 
 ting, always doing something. He wanted to pick up some 
 anecdotes, some information, some details which were little 
 known, probably to make a book of them, and publish them ; 
 to make some profit by them; to make money." 
 
 The Governor then remarked that Count Las Cases had 
 also caused much irritation, and had done a great deal of 
 harm by representing matters in false points of view. Among 
 other instances he mentioned the sentiment attributed by Las 
 
616 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Cases to Napoleon, when he said, " The Emperor can not 
 bear the sight of a red coat." Count Montholon laughed at 
 this, and pledged himself that an expression of that kind had 
 never been uttered by the Emperor, and that the idea never 
 could have existed but in the mind of Las Cases. He added, 
 " Monsieur le Gouverneur, if you could see what he has dic- 
 tated on the subject of the British soldiers, the justice which 
 he does them, and which he takes pleasure in doing them, 
 his admiration of their valor, you would have a very different 
 idea of this ; could he express himself thus of the soldiers he 
 esteems ?" The conversation then turned on the question of 
 granting passes to persons wishing to visit Longwood, and the 
 Governor said, "I have never refused granting a pass; on the 
 contrary, I have even been too easy on this point, and have 
 granted them to persons who begged earnestly for permission 
 to visit Longwood, and who really were not persons of that 
 rank in society which you could take any pleasure in receiv- 
 ing, and 1 may add what I wrote to Lord Bathurst on this 
 subject : that if the names of all those who had received 
 passes from me to visit Longwood were published in the 
 papers, that would fully justify me." 
 
 Some discussion then took place respecting an extension of 
 the limits within which Bonaparte might ride, after having 
 previously informed the orderly officer of his intention, and 
 then the conversation terminated after Count Montholon had 
 said, "Well, Monsieur le Gouverneur, 1 really hope that all 
 will now be settled to our mutual satisfaction — that all our 
 discussions may end here, and that we may establish a last- 
 ing peace, which is very much desired, I assure you. You 
 will always find me ready to do you justice whenever you 
 may wish to give us the opportunity ; there has never been 
 any thing really serious between us. We have been building 
 up a partition wall between us about trifles. I will give an 
 account to the Emperor of this conversation, and I do not 
 doubt that we shall now come to a perfect understanding on 
 all the points we have discussed." 
 
 After quitting Count Montholon the Governor went to 
 Captain Nicholls, and, having conversed with him, he sent 
 
Oct. 1818. CONTRIVANCE FOR SEEING HIM. 617 
 
 back Major Gorrequer to say that the orderly officer was still 
 unable to see Bonaparte, and that it was absolutely necessary 
 that he should do so before a vessel which was about to sail 
 to-morrow, or the day after, left St. Helena. The Count pro- 
 fessed himself much disappointed that the orderly officer had 
 not seen the Emperor that morning, saying that he had sent 
 his children to play in the small flower-garden before the 
 windows, on purpose to give the officer an opportunity of seeing 
 him, and that the Emperor had placed himself at the window, 
 and spoken to the children. He added, that as soon as dinner 
 was over he would send them again to try and bring Napo- 
 leon to the window, though it was not usual to do it at that 
 hour, and the Emperor therefore might suspect his purpose 
 and be angry with him ; but that every fine day between 1 
 twelve and two o'clock the children would always be playing 
 there, when the orderly officer might try and obtain a sight 
 of Napoleon. 
 
 On the 12th another interview took place at Longwood be- 
 tween the same parties, and Count Montholon stated, that, 
 having rendered an account to the Emperor of the several 
 subjects that had been discussed between them, the latter had 
 said that he desired nothing better than to come to an am- 
 icable understanding (accommodement), and had charged him 
 to ask the Governor in what light he regarded him ? whether 
 as a prisoner of war, or in what character he was to be 
 treated? "These are details," continued the Count, -'which 
 in appearance are of little importance ; but it nevertheless 
 annoys and vexes him, and they are subjects of humiliation 
 to us also." He then explained that, before they could send 
 their linen 1 or any thing else to the wash, they were obliged 
 
 1 " It has been since ascertained that neither Captain Nicholls nor 
 any of his predecessors had exercised any particular inspection oyer the 
 linen, although the trunks (generally very large ones) in which it may 
 have been brought or carried away, like every other article brought by 
 the servants, might be subject to the officer's examination. The com- 
 plaint made does not diminish, in any respect, from the necessity of 
 leavincr such power in his hands, while it may even present a motive for 
 it being more frequently exercised — in the manner, however, least un- 
 pleasant to them. The distance between Longwood and the town being 
 
618 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 to obtain the orderly officer's permission, and the articles were 
 subject to his inspection. He mentioned also other details, 
 which he characterized as a kind of "Inquisition." 
 
 The Governor said, he should continue of course to consider 
 them, as he had always done, prisoners of war ; that with 
 respect to the inspection of any article by the orderly officer 
 at Longwood, he would see if some arrangement could be 
 made to avoid any delay or inconvenience from it ; he had 
 himself given no order about the linen, and the custom had 
 originated, he supposed, with the orderly officer, who had 
 thought it necessary in the execution of his duties. Captain 
 Nicholls had just mentioned to him that he had not been in 
 the habit of examining the linen, though it was true, before 
 the box or bundles containing it were taken away, his per- 
 mission was asked. All these details, however, he said, ap- 
 peared to him to be more questions of form than of principle, 
 and depended a great deal on the mode employed by those 
 charged with the execution. Count Montholon then com- 
 plained of the constant attendance and surveillatice of the 
 orderly officer. The Governor replied that the best course 
 for them to adopt, on those occasions where his presence was 
 necessary, was to consider the orderly officer as a companion, 
 in the same way as General Gourgaud did, who never was 
 quitted by an officer, after leaving Longwood, until he em- 
 barked. Montholon afterward said, " The want of due forms 
 affects the Emperor more than the thing itself — it is every 
 
 five miles, and the road much frequented, particularly while the building 
 is going on, the right of inspection on the spot can not be dispensed 
 with." — Note by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 Captain Blakeney, the orderly officer, says, " All parcels and boxes 
 were brought to me previously to their being sent away from Longwood 
 to the persons to whom they were addressed. The linen sent to the 
 washerwoman was put into the cart that daily attended, sometimes in 
 front of my quarters, and at other times at the houses of the individuals. 
 It was never examined by me or any other person, nor did I receive any 
 orders to that effect from the Governor. The linen, when returned, as 
 soon as reported to me by the carter to have arrived, I desired to be de- 
 livered immediately without examination. General Bonaparte's linen 
 was never even brought to my quarters, but was sent and received by 
 his own servant." 
 
Oct. 1818. POINTS OF FORM. 619 
 
 thing with him ; observe due form, and you may do with him 
 whatever you please. Madame Bertrand wishes to have a 
 cap, a handkerchief: she can not get it as quickly as she 
 would — that puts her into a rage — she excites her husband, 
 who does the same by the Emperor, and he gets into the 
 greatest fury (jusqu'au 36° de furie)." 
 
 Montholon complained of other petty annoyances, and Sir 
 Hudson answered, that the rules had been broken through, 
 and more attention had become necessary in enforcing them, 
 but it was always his wish and desire to adopt the forms which 
 were the least unpleasant to them ; the sentries, who formerly 
 watched the immediate approaches to Longwood, had, to re- 
 move the pretext of their preventing Bonaparte from taking 
 exercise, been withdrawn, and this had led to an inspection 
 of articles when they arrived at the house ; and the orderly 
 officer must necessarily exercise his discretion on such occa- 
 sions. 
 
 Count Montholon next inquired respecting the extent and 
 direction of the space of ground in which by giving previous 
 notice, the Emperor would be permitted to ride unaccom- 
 panied, and asked, how long before he went in that direction 
 it would be necessary to make it known to the orderly officer. 
 The Governor said, he thought the space he should select 
 would be found the pleasantest in the island ; he would, how- 
 ever, ride over it with Count Montholon. He added, that it 
 was ample for exercise, but he requested that, if Napoleon 
 wished at any time to proceed beyond it, in that case he 
 would allow himself to be accompanied by some English 
 officer, and if an hour and a half's notice, or thereabouts, 
 was given to the orderly officer before he went out, it would 
 be enough. 
 
 The Governor then thanked the Count for the attention 
 he had shown the orderly officer in facilitating his seeing 
 Napoleon. 
 
 In the course of conversation, when speaking on the subject 
 of that officer's inspection of things brought to Longwood, the 
 Governor remarked, that it had been his intention to direct 
 the same rule to be observed toward O'Meara ; on which 
 
620 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Count Montholon said, " Ah ! Monsieur le Gouvemeur, I 
 wish much that you had done so, for he almost ruined me. 
 He never went to James Town without "bringing me all sorts 
 of baubles and little ornaments, which I had no need of, and 
 which he bought without my permission, and in that way he 
 spent my money." 
 
 At a subsequent interview the following day (the 15th) 
 Count Montholon made another ineffectual attempt to induce 
 the Governor to relax the rule which prohibited the French 
 at Longwood from sending or receiving sealed letters in their 
 correspondence with persons resident in the island, and he in- 
 sisted that prisoners of war in all countries had the right to 
 do this within the space allotted to them. He said that the 
 Emperor had declared, when he related to him what had 
 passed at their last conversation, that " he could not allow 
 any variation, in his rights as a prisoner of war ; for from the 
 moment he lost one of them he would find himself subjected 
 to arbitrary measures and no longer know where he was. 
 Although he had protested against his detention as a prisoner 
 of war for political reasons, and although he acknowledged 
 no authority over his person, either on the part of England or 
 any other power, nevertheless, as his situation was the result 
 of a battle, and it would have been useless to contend against 
 the decision of the principal powers of Europe, against the 
 opinion of the English Parliament, and by consequence that 
 of the English nation, he had given way to circumstances : he 
 would not give up one of the rights conceded to prisoners of 
 war, but would claim the very least of them. If he were a 
 state prisoner he might very properly be denied all communi- 
 cation ; but he never would consent to be transformed from 
 a prisoner of war into a state prisoner." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe told the Count he was convinced that 
 the suggestion about the sealed correspondence came from 
 Marshal Bertrand, because he had lately ordered a letter to 
 be written to him returning one which had been irregularly 
 and improperly sent sealed by the Marshal direct to Mr. Ib- 
 tietson, who acted as the banker of the Fr.ench at Longwood ; 
 and he said with warmth, " Monsieur le Comte, I must speak 
 
Oct. 1818. THE GOVERNOR'S POSITION. 621 
 
 plainly on this subject. If it had not been entirely out of consid- 
 eration for him (Napoleon), and also consideration for Madame 
 la Comtesse and her family, Count Bertrand would no longer 
 be here ; he would have left the island long since. I will not, 
 therefore, yield on this point to satisfy the pretensions of a 
 person who is only here on sufferance on account of others. 
 The instructions of my Government authorize me to be much 
 more strict toward the persons of the suite than I have yet 
 been. Although I have also had reason sometimes to com- 
 plain of you, still, as you have since shown a desire to concil- 
 iate, and have not persisted like Count Bertrand, I wished to 
 efface all memory of that (passer une eponge sur cela)." 
 
 The conversation then turned on the subject of the exten- 
 sion of the limits allowed to Napoleon, when Count Mon- 
 tholon said that, even if the Emperor did not go out, he could 
 always occupy himself within doors, and he was then employ- 
 ed in making notes on the campaigns of Alexander and Cffisar. 
 
 The next day (the 16th) Count Montholon told Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe that he had given the Emperor an account of their 
 last conversation, who said, " It appears that they desire I 
 should go out, that I should take exercise ; that they take an 
 interest in my adopting my former habits. I desire nothing 
 better myself : I will go out, will walk, will ride on horseback, 
 with pleasure ; I have need of it : and I will recommence the 
 mode of life that I followed the first nine months after my 
 arrival here. But, first of all, confidence must be restored to 
 me. Let me see a fixed system, not subject to arbitrary 
 changes ; that I may say to myself, To-morrow I will do as I 
 did to-day ; that I may regulate my occupations, and that the 
 rule be not changed from day to day ; in a word, that the 
 order once established may be fixed forever. I confided in 
 the arrangements made by Admiral Cockburn because at least 
 I saw stability in them, and I understood them ; restore to me 
 the same confidence." 1 
 
 1 Let the reader, however, refer to the language used by Napoleon, 
 and by Bertrand at his dictation, respecting Sir George Cockburn, be- 
 fore the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe (ante, 64, 68), and he will 6ee 
 what kind of confidence was then placed in the Admiral. 
 
622 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Sir Hudson replied that he was not aware of any wide dif- 
 ference hetween the arrangements made by Sir George Cock- 
 burn and his own, and that the Admiral saw the necessity of 
 some changes before he himself arrived at St. Helena, and 
 told him of his intention to make them, advising him to do so. 
 
 He continued, " If I should be so unfortunate as to be 
 thought more severe than Admiral Cockburn, 1 shall be ever 
 ready to discuss before the whole world the principles that 
 have guided my conduct. If there be a determination to draw 
 a parallel between me and Admiral Cockburn, 1 am not afraid 
 of meeting any question on that subject : there is no difference 
 between our systems ; all that can be said is, perhaps, that I 
 have caused a more strict observance of the regulations. I 
 certainly am interested in the sale custody of the person of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, as much from duty as upon principle. 
 I am also interested in his comfort, and that he enjoy every 
 thing that is compatible with the security of his person ; but 
 I will not sacrifice to this last object any part of my duties, 
 either in principle or in fact. My position is very delicate, it 
 can not be more so. If I be suspected of ill-treating him. or 
 of exercising unnecessary rigor, there are people enough in 
 the world to cry out against me. If I show him indulgence, 
 it will be said, ' He is caught like the rest.' I am therefore 
 resolved to maintain my independence in both respects ; I 
 shall not therefore make any change in the existing regula- 
 tions ; they are the basis on which I found my conduct ; they 
 are my law." 
 
 Count Montholon said, " I confess, Monsieur le Gouverneur, 
 I do not think there is at this moment any person in the world 
 who is placed in a position more delicate than you are." He 
 afterward said, "You will ever find me ready to do you justice; 
 the Emperor also does you justice whenever you offer him the 
 opportunity.- He has seen with pleasure your care and atten- 
 tion toward him in erecting that wall of earth round the new 
 building, that he might not be incommoded by the sight of 
 the men at work ; and he directed me the other day (what I 
 forgot to tell you before) to testify to you, on his part, that he 
 was sensible of this. You have surprised us by the works that 
 
Oct. 1818. MISCONDUCT OF BERTRAND. 623 
 
 are carrying on for some time past. I would never have 
 thought that you could, in so short a time, have done what 
 you Rave, that it was possible at St. Helena, and [I wonder] 
 how you have found the means. As for myself, I have not 
 yet seen how the house gets on, but Count Bertrand and 
 Madame Bertrand, who overlook it from their residence, said 
 it went on very quickly, and that it already began to make 
 an appearance ; but I have observed, and so has the Emperor, 
 all the constructions and preparations you have effected for 
 hastening the work. Indeed you have done great things ; do 
 you think you can provide us with any shade ? but after the 
 extraordinary efforts we have witnessed, I should not be sur- 
 prised to hear that you had brought thither full-grown trees. 1 
 I am pleased also," added the Count, "to do you justice on 
 another subject, that is to say the provisioning of the house, in 
 which you have shown every kind of attention, and which is 
 now effected with a degree of regularity unknown to us before. 
 If I were called upon to express my sentiments on this subject 
 I would say that the service of the house has never been so 
 well managed as it is now, and has been for a long time ; 
 that we were never so abundantly supplied as we are now 
 (not even at first), and have nothing to wish for in this re- 
 spect ; and that since our arrival it was only during a short 
 time, on occasion of the retrenchments which you were obliged 
 to make in consequence of the orders of your Government, 
 that we felt a deficiency of any thing." 
 
 On the 21st the Governor called again on Count Montholon 
 and informed him of an act of Bertrand which had just come 
 to his knowledge, and which he said was by no means in con- 
 formity with the spirit of the communications he had lately 
 
 1 In Las Cases' famous letter of the 19th December, 1816 (see end 
 of work), he calls an expression of the Governor, " on plantera des 
 arbres," a mot affreux, as implying that the confinement of Napoleon 
 would last until the trees grew up and afforded shade. And the same 
 expression has been quoted in this country as a proof of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's heartlessness ; but surely it would be more charitable to suppose 
 (if he ever used the words at all), that no such idea was in his mind at 
 the time, but that he alluded to the transplanting of full-grown trees as 
 Montholon suggests in the text. 
 
624 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 had with Montholon himself. It seems that Count Bertrand, 
 accompanied by the Countess, had a few days before ridden 
 out in the direction of Mason's Stock House (the most remote 
 post of the cordon of sentries), where an officer was on guard. 
 They entered his guard-room, and began immediately to con- 
 verse with him about O'Meara, who was known to be an in- 
 timate friend of the officer. Bertrand said that O'Meara was 
 now in England, where he would meet with justice for the 
 ill-treatment he had experienced here ; adding, that he was 
 an innocent man, and would be supported by ministers on his 
 arrival at home. The officer replied that he himself would 
 suffer from his intimacy with O'Meara ; on which the Count 
 said that no harm would ever result to him from being the 
 friend of that person. Sir Hudson Lowe expressed his strong 
 disapproval of the conduct of Bertrand in thus sounding the 
 dispositions of subaltern officers, and seducing them from their 
 duty by reflections on their superiors. Count Montholon ex- 
 pressed much surprise at this intelligence, and said it would 
 be much better if Bertrand would not walk about and con- 
 verse with the officers as he was in the habit of doing ; and 
 he added, " The Emperor certainly knows nothing about it." 
 The Governor then left, and after an interval of three days 
 returned to Longwood, accompanied by Major Gorrequer, and 
 told Montholon the decision at which he had arrived on the 
 various subjects which had been discussed between them. 
 He said, " Having reflected on the subjects of the various con- 
 versations which have passed between us for some time, I 
 have thought that it would perhaps be expected that I should 
 adopt some other measures, or make some change in conse- 
 quence ; and under this impression I have come to repeat to 
 you, first that I am ready to point out to you the space which 
 I have determined on beyond the boundary for exercise on 
 horseback (by giving previous intimation to the orderly officer), 
 by either accompanying you myself, or sending an officer to 
 show it you. I have also examined my instructions, and, 
 during the summer months, General Bonaparte will he free, 
 should he be beyond the iuclosure, not to return till nine 
 o'clock in the evening, taking care always to come in by the 
 
Oct. 1818. LIST OF VISITORS. 625 
 
 barrier of the Guard-house, in order that he may be seen by 
 the officer. As for the persons admitted to visit, I showed 
 you a list the other day containing more than sixty names, 
 among which you may choose fifty ; they are the principal 
 persons of the island, civil and military ; and you know how 
 limited society is in so small a place (where there is hardly any 
 one beyond the military), the inhabitants associating little 
 among themselves. I would wish, therefore, not to have to 
 determine this list myself; it would seem as if I wished to 
 oblige him (Napoleon) to receive certain persons ; but I can 
 inform those whose names are on the list that they are free to 
 visit at Longwood without being obliged to have a pass for 
 that purpose." Count Montholon said, " I think that will be 
 better. As for myself, I should be very much embarrassed to 
 make out a list. I know what the society of St. Helena is, and 
 the list you showed me would comprise all the persons of note." 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe then expressed a hope that General Bona- 
 parte would no longer hesitate to consult the medical officer in 
 attendance if he required his services ; but Montholon frankly 
 replied that on this point the Emperor had not explained him- 
 self, and that, though he had repeatedly urged him to come 
 to some resolution on the subject, he had no idea yet of the 
 nature of his determination. After some further conversation 
 respecting the conduct of Count Bertrand to Colonel Lystev 
 and other matters of no particular interest. The Governor 
 proposed to have Napoleon's carriage repaired and made 
 serviceable until another arrived from England, and offered 
 in the mean time the use of his own whenever he preferred 
 carriage exercise. Count Montholon, however, said that it 
 was not worth repairing ; and that at all events the Em- 
 peror preferred riding on horseback, to which he always had 
 recourse in France when he felt himself unwell. 
 
 In a private letter to Earl Bathurst dated the 14th of Oc- 
 tober, Sir Hudson Lowe entered into the question of his con- 
 duct toward O'Meara. He said — 
 
 " There are three points upon which I have conceived Mr. 
 O'Meara may endeavor to raise a voice in his favor : 
 
 " Firstly, he may say I wanted to employ him as a spy. 
 Vol. L— Dd 
 
t>26 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 Exclusive of his having acted as a voluntary, and what is 
 worse, as a double spy, it is to be observed I never asked 
 him to give me any other information than what he had been 
 in the habit of carrying to Sir George Cockburn, and this I 
 asked him even in Sir George's presence ; since when even 
 Count Montholon has acknowledged I had a right to expect 
 being informed of any discussions into which he might enter 
 with General Bonaparte respecting my duties or his own, or 
 of any improper communications going on. But even on these 
 points I ceased to question him when I found the pledges he 
 had entered into. 
 
 "Secondly, he may say, [ask?] why, if I had complaints 
 against him, I did not bring them to a hearing? That com- 
 plaints against him were of such a nature as that, if proved, 
 I could not have suffered him to remain on the island with- 
 out the worst effect of example, from a supposed impunity, 
 upon the officers and inhabitants in general ; and having re- 
 ceived his resignation, reporting to Government General Bo- 
 naparte's application for a French or Italian physician to suc- 
 ceed him, I considered it best, unless he should himself apply 
 to the Admiral, to let matters rest until the answer of Gov- 
 ernment should be received, for which the want of Mr. Boys's 
 evidence, as the conclusive one in the case to be most direct- 
 ly brought against him, afforded sufficient ground. 
 
 " Thirdly, he may complain of my general mode of treat- 
 ment toward him. If, through consideration to the very par- 
 ticular circumstances of General Bonaparte's situation, I was 
 induced to act with a moderation and apparent lenity toward 
 Mr. O'Meara which I could not have done toward any other 
 individual, this was no reason I should at the same time con- , 
 tinue to him those personal regards as an officer and a gentle- 
 man, which his conduct and proceedings had appeared to 
 me to destroy all claim to. I never, therefore, suffered him 
 to enter my house, except by the outer door of it which 
 leads to the secretary's office ; and whenever he attempted 
 to manifest any impertinence in his replies to my interroga- 
 tories, dismissed him immediately from my presence. He 
 felt this, but never made any comolaint to the Admiral, to 
 
Oct. 1818. HIS CONTINUED SECLUSION. 627 
 
 whom he was jive times distinctly referred on such and other 
 grounds. 
 
 "The last discoveries will, however, best expose his charac- 
 ter and conduct ; and it is only to preceding circumstances, 
 therefore, if any too hasty opinion should have been formed 
 upon them, the above reasoning applies." 
 
 The seclusion in which Napoleon at this time kept himself, 
 and his refusal to see Dr. Verling or any other medical man, 
 made it difficult to obtain any accurate account of the state 
 of his health and spirits, and the only information we can 
 give respecting them is gleaned from such notices in the or- 
 derly officer's journal as the following: "Oct. 4. To-day Dr. 
 Verling had some conversation with Montholon, who said that 
 Napoleon was grown very peevish, and his faculties (of dic- 
 tating his history) were greatly impaired, and that he was 
 grown very indolent." On the evening of the 7th "Madame 
 Montholon paid a visit to Napoleon, splendidly dressed in full 
 court costume." On the 10th "Bonaparte appeared at his 
 dressing-room window with a red handkerchief round his 
 head. He continued there a considerable time talking to 
 Madame Montholon and the children, who were in the gar- 
 den. His countenance appeared excessively cadaverous and 
 ghastly." 15th, "Napoleon was walking in his garden this 
 afternoon about five o'clock ; he had a handkerchief tied 
 about his head, and was in his dressing-gown. Saw him 
 from Deadwood barracks through a telescope ; he appeared 
 very pale. Sergeant Lacey was very near him, and told me 
 the General came out of his house whistling, and seemed in 
 good spirits." 
 
 During the month of November Napoleon's health and 
 spirits seemed to have varied. But it was impossible to as- 
 certain the fact accurately, as nothing would induce him to 
 admit the visits of Dr. Verling or any other medical man. 
 We must therefore still rely upon the reports and journal 
 of Captain Nicholls, the orderly officer, who described him 
 on several occasions as looking out of his dressing-room 
 window with a countenance very ghastly. At one time he 
 
628 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 was seen in his front veranda for a short time "in excel- 
 lent spirits, whistling;" at another, "whistling and humming 
 a tune." 
 
 In the course of the month Sir Hudson Lowe received a 
 letter from Lord Bathurst, dated the 10th of August, 1818. 
 which mentioned that Cardinal Fesch (Napoleon's uncle) had 
 applied to the Prince Regent for permission to procure and 
 send out to St. Helena a Roman Catholic priest to attend on 
 the exile. Lord Bathurst said that His Royal Highness saw 
 no reason to withhold his assent, and lie instructed Sir Hudson 
 to take an early opportunity of communicating to Bonaparte 
 that, " Cardinal Fesch having represented to the Pope the 
 desire of General Bonaparte to have a priest resident at Long- 
 wood in whom he may confide, the General having stated him- 
 self to be unavoidably prevented from fulfilling the duties im- 
 posed upon him by the religion which he professes, and de- 
 prived of the essential comforts which, according to the tenets 
 of his faith, may be derived from a participation of the sacra- 
 ments, the Prince Regent had signified his consent that Car- 
 dinal Fesch should, agreeably to the wishes of General Bona- 
 parte, Select a priest for that purpose, and that this priest 
 would have permission to reside at Long wood, subject to such 
 conditions as it might be necessary for him previously to sub- 
 scribe." Lord Bathurst added, that as Bonaparte expressed 
 a desire to have a French surgeon of known reputation at- 
 tached to the establishment at Longwood, and to be provided 
 with a cook in whom he might be able to place confidence, 
 he had made known his wishes to Cardinal Fesch, and left 
 it to him to select the proper persons, who would proceed to 
 St. Helena in company with the Roman Catholic priest, and 
 under similar engagements as to the restrictions of their com- 
 munication and intercourse with the inhabitants of the island. 
 
 In the course of a conversation which took place early in 
 December between Count Montholon and Major Gorrequer, 
 respecting some books which were expected at Longwood from 
 England, the Count said that the books which Bonaparte 
 most wanted were those of an historical and military nature, 
 such as related to the French revolution and other political 
 
Dec. 1818. CALUMNY OF O'MEARA. 629 
 
 events, to his own campaigns, the campaigns of Frederick the 
 Great, the histories of Caesar and Alexander, and other similar 
 works. " The Emperor," he added, " always writes his life at 
 intervals, when he finds himself in the humor." When the 
 Governor was informed of the wishes of Napoleon, he immedi- 
 ately sent to Longwood some hooks from his own library of the 
 description required, and desired Major Gorrequer to make it 
 known that he would be happy to attend to any further sug- 
 gestions on the same subject. 
 
 In a note from Rear- Admiral Plampin to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 on the 13 th of December, he mentioned that O'Meara had ac- 
 cused the Governor behind his back of a design to take away 
 Bonaparte's life. The Admiral's opinion of the man's charac- 
 ter and veracity will appear from the following passage in 
 his letter : 
 
 " Young Blackwood, the son of the Admiral Sir Henry, 
 who is a Midshipman of the Favorite, at present at the Briars 
 for two or three days, tells me that that impudent vagabond 
 O'Meara said publicly at Ascension that ' had he obeyed your 
 orders Napoleon Bonaparte would not then have been alive' — 
 a precious rascal this to talk of prosecuting for defamation!" 
 
 The information which Admiral Plampin had thus receiv- 
 ed of O'Meara's remarks while on his passage to England, 
 caused inquiries to be made of other officers of the Favorite ; 
 and Mr. Hall, the surgeon of that ship, stated in writing, on 
 the 25th of December, that in a conversation that took place 
 between himself and O'Meara on board the Griffon, at Ascen- 
 sion Island, the latter stated positively that, had he complied 
 with Sir Hudson Lowe's wishes, he did not think Bonaparte 
 would have been then alive. He also hinted that Mr. Hall 
 perhaps might not find Bonaparte in existence some few 
 months thence. From the expressions used, Mr. Hall drew 
 the inference that O'Meara meant to represent that Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe had wished him to poison Bonaparte, or indirectly 
 put an end to his existence by withholding medical assistance 
 
 from him. 
 
 The following circumstance, though trifling in itself, will 
 
630 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 serve to show how sensitive Napoleon was on the subject of 
 the least intrusion at Longwood, and how little he was dis- 
 posed to show any civility to Mr. Baxter. 
 
 That officer, having been invited to dine at Longwood on 
 the 8th of December with Captain Nicholls and Dr. Verling, 
 went there about six o'clock in the evening, in company 
 with Major Power. They both proceeded to look at the new 
 building that was going on, and on their return observed Bo- 
 naparte standing at his window. At the time they were on 
 the foot-path at the verge of the lawn in front of the house, 
 and continued their walk into the wood behind. They came 
 back by the same path, and saw him still at the window as 
 they passed on to dinner. A few days afterward Count 
 Montholon called on Captain Nicholls, and said that Napo- 
 leon had desired him to deliver the following message: — " Go 
 to the orderly officer and tell him that a few days ago I saw 
 Dr. Baxter walking round my house ; that I conceive his 
 doing so as an indelicate intrusion, after the communication 
 respecting that person, and the protestations I some time since 
 made against receiving him as my medical attendant ; and 
 that I desire the orderly officer will in future prevent Dr. 
 Baxter from walking about my residence ; and further, 
 should Dr. Baxter think fit to make a bulletin of the state 
 of my health in consequence, I protest against such proceed- 
 ings." 
 
 "Whatever might be the Governor's inclination to relax the 
 restrictions and grant indulgence to the exiles, the nature of the 
 communications which he from time to time received, relative 
 to clandestine correspondence being carried on and secret 
 plans being projected, gave him little encouragement, and the 
 public ought to bear this fact constantly in mind when judg- 
 ing his conduct. To show the kind of mysterious agency that 
 was kept up, we may mention that on the 30th of December 
 this year Earl Bathurst wrote to Lord Charles Somerset, the 
 Governor of the Cape, respecting a letter which had been in- 
 tercepted, addressed to " B. O'Meara, Esq.," under cover to 
 " W. Holmes, Esq., Lyon's Inn," and which purported to be 
 written by a person of the name of Franklin, at the Cape of 
 
Dec. 1818. CLANDESTINE CORRESPONDENCE. 631 
 
 Good Hope. The letter was dated October 26th, 1818, and 
 was in the following terms : 
 
 Sir — Every thing which you wished has been done thor- 
 oughly, but nothing has been finally settled upon, and a final 
 decision is waited for and very probably you will soon see 
 your friend. You may rely most implicitly upon every exer- 
 tion being made for you. Three times your friend saw the 
 person, and the idea was much approved, as it will undoubt- 
 edly redound to your advantage and interest. 
 
 " I have the honor, &c. 
 
 "J. E. Franklin. 
 
 "It is very sure that immediately one thing or other will 
 speedily be done." 
 
 It is obvious that this was a letter of the most suspicious na- 
 ture. In his dispatch to Lord Charles Somerset Lord Bath- 
 urst said — " The language adopted by the writer of the in- 
 closed letter is evidently that of concealment, and certain ex- 
 pressions in it have led me to entertain suspicions that it has 
 some connection with the plans which there is ever reason to 
 believe are in agitation for the escape of General Buonaparte." 
 He requested, therefore, the Governor of the Cape to keep a 
 watchful eye on the correspondence and proceedings of Mr. 
 Franklin, and impressed upon him the importance of discover- 
 ing whether the latter was in correspondence with any per- 
 sons in Brazil, " that being the quarter in which those of 
 Buonaparte's adherents who were the most likely to embark 
 in an enterprise to favor his evasion had established them- 
 selves." 
 
 About the close of this year Sir Hudson Lowe received the 
 following important dispatch from Earl Bathurst, containing 
 instructions, which he immediately communicated to Bona- 
 parte : 
 
 "Downing Street, Sept. 28, 1818. 
 
 « Sir I have had the honour of receiving your dispatch 
 
 No. 166, transmitting the memorandum of a conversation 
 which had taken place between Count Montholon and Dr. 
 Verlin" on the 30th of July preceding. I was particularly 
 
632 CAPTIVITY OF NAPOLEON. Chap. XXII. 
 
 struck with that part of the conversation in which Count Mon- 
 tholon states that General Buonaparte is never seen, and that 
 he defies the Governor to say that he knows for certain that 
 General Buonaparte is at Longwood or has been there for the 
 last two months. 
 
 " From this assertion of Count Montholon I am confirmed 
 in what I had been led to apprehend by certain passages in 
 some of your late dispatches, that you have, from a feeling 
 of delicacy toward General Buonaparte, and an unwilling- 
 ness to intrude on his privacy, forborne enforcing the regula- 
 tion mentioned in your dispatch of 12th May, 1816, and ap- 
 proved in mine of the 26th of June following, the purport of 
 which was that it should be distinctly ascertained twice in 
 every day, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that General 
 Buonaparte was actually in Longwood. 
 
 " Although I duly appreciate the motives which have led 
 to this forbearance on your part, and am disposed to intrude 
 as little as possible upon those habits of seclusion which Gen- 
 eral Buonaparte has latterly imposed upon himself, yet I con- 
 fess that it appears to me so essential to the security of his 
 person that the fact of his being actually at Longwood should 
 be regularly and daily ascertained, that, if this were duly en- 
 forced, I should have less objection to dispense with some of 
 the restrictions of which General Buonaparte has complained. 
 " You will, therefore, propose to General Buonaparte the 
 regular admission of the orderly officer to a personal interview 
 between the hours of nine and eleven every morning and even- 
 ing, leaving it to his discretion each day to select within the 
 time limited the precise moment at which he may prefer ad- 
 mitting the officer. You will acquaint him also, that, upon 
 his acquiescence to this arrangement, you are authorized to 
 relax the other restrictions so far as to admit of his taking 
 exercise either on foot, in a carriage, or on horseback, through 
 the greater part of the island, unattended by a British officer 
 (but subject always to the regulations as to hours which are 
 at present in force), and to assure him that in such case the 
 sentries will in future only be posted round Longwood from 
 the time in the evening at which he may have admitted the 
 
Dec. 1818. INSTRUCTIONS FROM ENGLAND. 63S 
 
 orderly officer until the hour at which he may again receive 
 him on the following morning. 
 
 " In order that this proposal may not he subject to future 
 cavil or discussion, you will in making this communication 
 state to him those parts of the island from which it may he 
 proper still to interdict his approach without the attendance 
 of a British officer. 
 
 " I should hope that, with the exception of the immediate 
 neighborhood of James Town and two or three other places, 
 he may be permitted under this regulation to range through 
 the whole island in what manner he may think proper. 
 
 "You will point out to General Buonaparte that, in leav- 
 ing it to him to fix the time within the limit assigned at 
 which he will admit the orderly officer to a personal inter- 
 view, and directing that until such interview the sentries shall 
 not be placed round his house, whatever inconvenience he may 
 have occasionally complained of by the early posting of the 
 sentries wifTin future be entirely removed. 
 
 "As there is not the same reason for extending this indul- 
 gence to the followers of General Buonaparte (and they have 
 shown a great disposition to abuse whatever is granted to 
 them), you will explain that, except at the time when they 
 shall be in personal attendance upon him in these excursions, 
 whatever regulations are now in force with respect to them 
 must be continued. 
 
 " In the event of General Buonaparte's declining to accede 
 to this proposal, you will not make any alteration in the ex- 
 isting relations, and you will adopt such measures as you may 
 think most effectual to prevent your being deceived as to his 
 being actually at Longwood, taking care always that in adopt- 
 ino- these measures you pay all possible consideration to the 
 feelings and habits of General Buonaparte, not inconsistent 
 with the necessary discharge of your painful duty. 
 
 "I have the honor, &c. Bathurst." 
 
 END OF VOL. I.