A gentleman living in the neighbourhood of London bought a table five or
six years ago at Wilkinson's, an old established upholsterer on Ludgate
Hill.
In a concealed part of the leg of the table he found a brass plate, on
which was the following inscription:
"Le Cinq d'Avril, dix-huit cent quatorze, Napoléon Buonaparte signa son
abdication sur cette table dans le cabinet de travail du Roi, le 2me
après la chambre à coucher, à Fontainebleau."
The people at Wilkinson's could give no account of the table: they said it
had been a long time in the shop; they did not remember of whom it had {55}
been bought, and were surprised when the brass plate was pointed out to
them.
The table is a round one, and rather pretty looking, about two feet and a
half in diameter, and supported on one leg. It does not look like a table
used for writing, but rather resembles a lady's work-table. The wood with
which it is veneered has something the appearance of beef wood.
Wilkinson's shop does not now exist: he used to deal in curiosities, and
was employed as an auctioneer.
The gentleman who bought this table is desirous of ascertaining at what
time the table still shown at Fontainebleau, as that on which the
abdication was signed, was first exhibited: whether immediately after the
restoration of the Bourbons, or later, in consequence of a demand for shows
of that sort? Whether it is a fact that the Bourbons turned out the
imperial furniture from Fontainebleau and other palaces after their return?
The date, "cinq d'Avril," is wrong; the abdication was signed on the 4th.
This error, however, leads one to suspect that the table is genuine: as any
one preparing a sham table should have been careful in referring to printed
documents. From the tenor of the inscription, we may infer that it is the
work of a Royalist.
The Marshals present with Napoleon when he signed his abdication were Ney,
Oudinot, and Lefevre; and perhaps Caulincourt.