31st.—Lieutenant-Governor Skelton and his lady, who had always shewn
us great attentions, came to present their respects to the Emperor,
who, after an hour’s conversation, desired me to translate to the
Colonel an invitation to ride out with him on horseback. The
invitation was joyfully accepted, and we set out. We passed through
the valley which separates us from Diana’s Peak, to the great
astonishment of the Colonel, to whom this ride was perfectly new. He
found it fatiguing, and in many parts dangerous. The Emperor detained
Colonel and Mrs. Skelton to dinner, and entertained them in the most
agreeable way.
NEW-YEAR’S DAY.—FOWLING-PIECES, &C.—COLONEL
WILKS’S FAMILY.
January 1st—3rd, 1816. On new-year’s-day we all assembled about ten
o’clock in the morning, to present the compliments of the season to
the Emperor. He received us in a few moments. We had to offer him
wishes rather than congratulations. The Emperor wished that we should
breakfast and spend the whole day together. He observed that we were
but a handful in one corner of the world, and that all our consolation
must be our regard for each other. We all accompanied the Emperor into
the garden, where he walked about until breakfast was ready. At this
moment, his fowling-pieces, which had hitherto been detained by the
Admiral, were sent back to him. This measure, on the part of the
Admiral, was only another proof of the new disposition which he had
assumed towards us. The guns could be of no use to the Emperor; for
the nature of the ground and the total want of game rendered it
impossible that he could enjoy even a shadow of diversion in shooting.
There were no birds except a few pigeons among the gum-trees, and
these were soon killed, or forced to migrate, by the few shots that
Gen Gourgaud and my son amused themselves in firing.
It seemed like a fatality that measures, dictated by the best and
kindest intentions on the part of the Admiral, should still bear an
appearance of restriction and colouring of caprice, which destroyed
their effect. Along with the Emperor’s fowling-pieces were two or
three guns belonging to individuals of his suite. These were delivered
to their owners; but on condition that they should be sent every
evening to the tent of the officer on duty. It may well be supposed
that this proposition induced us, without hesitation, to decline the
favour altogether; and the guns were not surrendered to us
unconditionally, until after a little parleying. And after all what
were the important subjects under discussion? A few fowling-pieces;
and the owners of them were unfortunate men, banished from the rest of
the world, surrounded by sentinels, and guarded by a whole camp. I
mention this circumstance, because, though trifling in itself, it
proves better than many others our real situation and the mode in
which we were treated.
On the 3rd, I breakfasted with Madame Bertrand, whom I was to
accompany to dine at the Governor’s. From Madame Bertrand’s abode to
Plantation-House (the Governor’s residence) is an hour and a half’s
journey in a carriage drawn by six oxen, for the use of horses on this
road would be dangerous. We crossed or turned five or six passes,
flanked with precipices several hundred feet high. Four of the oxen
were taken from the carriage in the rapid descents, and yoked again in
ascending the hills. We stopped when we had got about three parts of
the way, to pay a visit to a good old lady, eighty-three years of age,
who is very fond of Madame Bertrand’s children. Her house is very
pleasantly situated: she had not been out of it for sixteen years,
when, hearing of the Emperor’s arrival, she set out for the town,
declaring that, if it cost her her life, she was resolved to see
him:—she was happy enough to gain her object.
Plantation-House is the best situated, and most agreeable residence in
the whole island. The mansion, the garden, the out-offices, all call
to mind the residence of a family possessing an income of 25 or 30,000
livres in one of the French provinces. The grounds are cultivated with
the greatest attention and taste. A resident at Plantation-House might
imagine himself in Europe, without ever suspecting the desolation that
prevails over every other part of the Island. Plantation-House is
occupied by Colonel Wilks, the Governor, whose authority is now
superseded by the Admiral. He is a man of most polished manners; his
wife is an amiable woman, and his daughter a charming young lady.
The Governor had invited a party of about thirty. The manners and
ceremonies of the company were entirely European. We spent several
hours at Plantation-House; and this, we may truly say, has been the
only interval of oblivion and abstraction that we have enjoyed since
we quitted France. Colonel Wilks evinced particular partiality and
kindness to me. We mutually expressed the compliments and sympathy of
two authors, pleased with each other’s merits. We exchanged our works.
The Colonel overwhelmed _M. le Sage_ with flattering compliments: and
those which I returned to him were of the sincerest kind; for his work
contains a novel and interesting account of Hindostan, where he
resided for a considerable time in a diplomatic capacity. A spirit of
philosophy, a fund of information, joined to singular purity of style,
concur to render it a production of first-rate merit. In his political
opinions, Colonel Wilks is cool and impartial; he judges calmly and
dispassionately of passing events, and is imbued with the sound ideas
and liberal opinions of an intelligent and independent Englishman.
As we were on the point of sitting down to dinner, we were, to our
great surprise, informed that the Emperor, in company with the
Admiral, had just passed very near the gate of Plantation-House; and
one of the guests (Mr. Doveton, of Sandy-Bay) observed, that Napoleon
had, in the morning, honoured him with a visit, and spent three
quarters of an hour at his house.
LIFE AT LONGWOOD.—THE EMPEROR’S RIDE ON HORSEBACK.—OUR
NYMPH.—NICKNAMES.—ON ISLANDS, AND THE DEFENCE OF THEM.—GREAT
FORTRESSES; GIBRALTAR.—CULTIVATION AND LAWS OF THE ISLAND. ENTHUSIASM,
&c.
4th—8th. When I entered the Emperor’s apartments to give him an
account of our excursion on the preceding day, he took hold of my ear,
saying: “Well, you deserted me yesterday: I got through the evening
very well, notwithstanding. Do not suppose that I could not do without
you.” Delightful words! rendered most touching by the tone which
accompanied them, and by the knowledge I now possess of him by whom
they were uttered.
The weather has every day been fine, the temperature dry; the heat
intense, but abating suddenly, as usual, towards five or six o’clock.
The Emperor, since his arrival at Longwood, had left off his usual
dictations: he passed his time in reading in his cabinet, dressed
himself between three and four o’clock, and afterwards went out on
horseback, accompanied by two or three of us. The mornings must have
appeared to him longer; but his health was the better for it. Our
rides were always directed towards the neighbouring valley, of which I
have already spoken; we either passed up it, taking the lower part of
it first, and returning by the Grand Marshal’s house; or, on the
contrary, went up that side first, in order to descend it in
returning: we even went beyond it once or twice, and crossed other
similar valleys. We thus explored the neighbourhood, and visited the
few habitations which it contained; the whole of which were poor and
wretched. The roads were sometimes impassable; we were even
occasionally obliged to get off our horses. We had to clear hedges,
and to scale stone walls, which we met with very frequently; but we
never suffered anything to stop us.
In these our customary rides we had for some days fixed on a regular
resting-place in the middle of the valley. There, surrounded by desert
rocks, an unexpected flower displayed itself: under a humble roof we
discovered a charming young girl, fifteen or sixteen years of age. We
had surprised her the first day in her usual costume: it announced any
thing but affluence. The following morning we found that she had
bestowed the greatest pains on her toilet; but our pretty blossom of
the fields now appeared to us nothing more than a very ordinary
garden-flower. Nevertheless, we henceforth stopped at her dwelling a
few minutes every day; she always approached a few paces to catch the
two or three sentences which the Emperor either addressed, or caused
to be translated, to her, as he passed by, and we continued our route,
discoursing on her charms. From that time she formed an addition to
the particular nomenclature of Longwood: she became _our nymph_. Among
those who were intimate with him, the Emperor used, without
premeditation, to invent new names for every person and object that
attracted his notice. Thus the pass through which we were proceeding,
at the moment of which I am now writing, received the name of the
_Valley of Silence_; our host at Briars was our _Amphitryon_; his
neighbour, the Major, who was six feet high, was our _Hercules_; Sir
George Cockburn was my _Lord Admiral_, as long as we were in good
spirits, but, when ill-humour prevailed, there was no title for him
but such as the _shark_, &c.
Our nymph is the identical heroine of the little pastoral with which
Doctor Warden has been pleased to embellish his Letters; although I
corrected his error, when he gave me the manuscript to read before his
departure for Europe, by telling him: “if it is your intention to form
a tale, it is well; but if you wish to depict the truth, you must
alter this entirely.” It should seem that he thought his tale
possessed far more interest; and he has preserved it accordingly. But
to return to our _nymph_: I have been informed that Napoleon brought
her great good fortune. The celebrity which she acquired through him
attracted the curiosity of travellers, and her own charms effected the
rest; she is become the wife of a very rich merchant, or captain, in
the service of the East-India Company.
On returning from our rides, we used to find assembled the persons
whom the Emperor had invited to dine with him. He had, successively,
the Colonel of the 53rd, several of the officers and their ladies, the
Admiral, the beautiful and amiable Mrs. Hodson, the wife of our
Hercules, whom the Emperor went one day to visit in the valley of
Briars, and of whose children he had taken so much notice, &c.
After dinner, the Emperor joined one party at cards, and the rest of
the company formed another.
The day the Admiral dined at Longwood, the Emperor, whilst taking his
coffee, discoursed for a few minutes upon the affairs of the Island.
The Admiral said that the 66th regiment was coming to reinforce the
53rd. The Emperor laughed at this; and asked him, if he did not think
himself already strong enough. Then, continuing his general
observations, he said that an additional seventy-four would be of more
use than a regiment; that ships of war were the security of an Island;
that fortifications produced nothing but delay; that the landing of a
superior force was a complete success, although its effects might be
deferred for a time; provided, however, the distance did not admit of
succour arriving.
The Admiral having asked him which, in his opinion, was the strongest
place in the world, the Emperor answered, it was impossible to point
it out, because the strength of a place arises partly from its own
means of defence, and partly from extraneous and indeterminate
circumstances. He, however, mentioned Strasburg, Lille, Metz, Mantua,
Antwerp, Malta, and Gibraltar. The Admiral having told him that he had
been suspected in England, for some time, of entertaining a design to
attack Gibraltar: “We knew better than that,” replied the Emperor; “it
was our interest to leave Gibraltar in your possession. It is of no
advantage to you; it neither protects nor intercepts any thing; it is
only an object of national pride, which costs England very dear, and
gives great umbrage to Spain. It would have been very injudicious in
us to destroy such ingenious arrangements.”
On the 6th, I was invited, with Madame Bertrand and my son, to dine at
Briars, where our old host had assembled much company. We returned
very late, and not without having been exposed to danger, from the
difficulties of the road and the darkness of the night, which obliged
us to perform part of the journey on foot, from consideration for
Madame Bertrand.
On the 7th, the Emperor received a visit from the Secretary of the
Government and one of the members of the Council. He asked them a
great many questions, as usual, concerning the cultivation, the
prosperity, and the improvements of which the Island might be capable.
In 1772, a system had been adopted for furnishing meat at half price
to the inhabitants from the magazines of the Company; the consequence
of which was, great idleness, and neglect of agriculture. This system
was altered five years ago; which, added to other circumstances, has
revived emulation, and carried the prosperity of the Island to a pitch
far beyond what it ever enjoyed before. It is to be feared that our
arrival may prove a mortal blow to this growing prosperity.
St. Helena, which is seven or eight leagues in circumference (about
the size of Paris), is subject to the general laws of England and the
local ones of the island: these local laws are drawn up by a Council,
and are sanctioned in England by the Court of Directors of the
East-India Company. The Council is composed of a Governor, of two
civil members, and a Secretary, who keeps the registers; they are all
appointed by the Company, and are subject to be removed at pleasure.
The members of the Council are legislators, administrators, and
magistrates; they decide without appeal, with the aid of a jury, upon
civil and criminal matters. There is neither advocate nor attorney in
the Island; the Secretary of the Council authenticates all acts, and
is a kind of unique notary. The population of the Island amounts at
this moment to about five or six thousand souls, including the blacks
and the garrison.
I was walking one afternoon in the garden with the Emperor, when a
sailor, about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, with a frank
and open countenance, approached us, with gestures expressive of
eagerness and joy, mingled with apprehension of being perceived from
without. He spoke nothing but English, and told me in a hurried
manner, that he had twice braved the obstacle of sentinels and all the
dangers of severe prohibition, to get a close view of the Emperor. He
had obtained this good fortune, he said, looking stedfastly at the
Emperor, and should die content; that he offered up his prayers to
Heaven that Napoleon might enjoy good health, and be one day more
happy. I dismissed him; and, on quitting us, he hid himself again
behind the trees and hedges, in order to have a longer view of us. We
frequently met with such unequivocal proofs of the good-will of these
sailors. Those of the Northumberland, above all, considered themselves
as having formed a friendship with the Emperor. While we were residing
at Briars, where our seclusion was not so close, they often hovered
around us on a Sunday, saying they came to take another look at their
shipmate. The day on which we quitted Briars, I was with the Emperor
in the garden, when one of the sailors appeared at the gate, asking me
if he might step in without giving offence. I asked him of what
country he was, and what religion he professed. He answered by making
various signs of the cross, in token of his having understood me, and
of fraternity. Then looking stedfastly upon the Emperor, before whom
he stood, and, raising his eyes to Heaven, he began to hold a
conversation with himself, by gestures, which his great jovial face
rendered partly grotesque, and partly sentimental. Nevertheless, it
would have been difficult to express, more naturally, admiration,
respect, kind wishes, and sympathy; whilst big tears started in his
eyes. “Tell that dear man,” said he to me, “that I wish him no harm,
but all possible happiness. So do most of us. Long life and health to
him!” He had a nosegay of wild flowers in his hand, which he seemed to
wish to offer to us; but either his attention was taken up, or he felt
restrained by the Emperor’s presence, or his own feelings, and he
stood wavering, as if contending with himself for some time; then
suddenly made us a bow, and disappeared.
The Emperor could not refrain from evincing some emotion at these two
circumstances; so strongly did the countenances, accents, and gestures
of these two men bear the stamp of truth. He then said, “See the
effect of imagination! How powerful is its influence! Here are people
who do not know me—who have never seen me; they have only heard me
spoken of; and what do they not feel! what would they not do to serve
me! And the same caprice is to be found in all countries, in all ages,
and in both sexes! This is fanaticism! Yes, imagination rules the
world!”
VEXATIOUS TREATMENT OF THE EMPEROR.—FRESH
MISUNDERSTANDINGS WITH THE ADMIRAL.
9th.—The grounds round Longwood, within which we have the liberty of
taking the air, admit of only half an hour’s ride on horseback; which
has induced the Emperor, in order to extend his ride, or to occupy
more time, to descend into the ravines by very bad and indeed
dangerous ways.
The Island not being thirty miles in circumference, it would have been
desirable to have the circuit extended to within a mile of the
sea-coast; then we might have had our rides, and even varied them,
within a space of fifteen or eighteen miles. The watching of our
movements would neither have been more troublesome nor less effectual,
had sentinels been placed upon the sea-shore and at the openings of
the valleys; or even had they traced all the Emperor’s steps by
signals. We had been told, it is true, that the Emperor was at liberty
to go over the whole of the Island under the escort of an English
officer; but the Emperor had decided that he would never go out, if
deprived of the privilege of being either entirely by himself, or in
the society of his friends only. The Admiral, in his last interview
with the Emperor, had, with great delicacy, settled that, whenever he
(the Emperor) wished to go beyond the prescribed limits, he was to
inform the English Captain on duty at Longwood of the circumstance;
that the latter should go to his post to open the passage for the
Emperor; and that the observation, if any, should thenceforth be
continued in such a manner that the Emperor, during the remainder of
his excursion, whether he entered any house or took advantage of any
fine situation for proceeding with his works, might perceive nothing
that could for a moment distract his mind from meditation. According
to this arrangement, the Emperor proposed this morning to mount his
horse at seven o’clock: he had ordered a slight breakfast to be
prepared, and intended to go in the direction of Sandy Bay, to see a
spring of water, and to pass the morning amongst some fine vegetation
(an advantage which we did not possess at Longwood); and in this spot
he proposed to dictate for a few hours.
Our horses were ready; at the moment when we were about to mount them,
I went to acquaint the Captain with our intention, who, to my great
astonishment, declared his determination of riding beside us; saying
that the Emperor could not take it ill, after all, that an officer
would not act the part of a servant by remaining behind alone. I
replied that the Emperor doubtless would approve this sentiment; but
that he would immediately give up his party of pleasure. “You must,”
said I, “think it very natural, and by no means a ground of offence,
that he feels a repugnance to the company of a person who is guarding
him.” The officer evinced much concern, and told me that his situation
was extremely embarrassing. “Not at all so,” I observed to him, “if
you only execute your orders. We ask nothing of you; you have nothing
to justify or explain to us. It must be as desirable to you as to us
to get the limits extended towards the sea-shore: you would thereby be
freed from a troublesome duty, and one which can do you no honour. The
end proposed would not be the less effectually accomplished by such an
arrangement. I will venture to say that it would be more so: whenever
we wish to watch a person, we must guard the door of his room, or the
gates of the enclosure which surrounds him; the intermediate doors are
only sources of unavailing trouble. You lose sight of the Emperor
every day when he descends into the deep hollows within the circuit,
and you ascertain his existence only by his return. Well, then, make a
merit of a concession which the nature of things demands. Extend the
limits to within a mile of the sea-shore; you may then also trace the
Emperor constantly by means of your signals from your heights.”
To all this the officer replied only by repeating that he wanted
neither look nor word from the Emperor; that he would be with us, as
if he were not present. He seemed, and indeed he was, unable to
comprehend that the mere sight of him could be offensive to the
Emperor. I told him that there was a scale for the degrees of feeling,
and that the same measure did not apply to all the world. He appeared
to think that we were putting our own interpretations on the Emperor’s
sentiments, and that, if the reasons which he gave me were explained
to him (the Emperor), the latter would accede to them. He was inclined
to write to him. I assured him that, as far as related personally to
himself, he would not be able to say so much to the Emperor as I
myself should: but that I would go and repeat to the Emperor, word for
word, the conversation which had passed between us. I went, and soon
returned, and confirmed to him what I had before advanced. The Emperor
from that moment gave up his intended excursion.
Wishing, however, on my own account, to avoid every misunderstanding
which might add to discussions, at all times disagreeable, I asked him
whether he had any objection to impart to me the account he intended
to give the Admiral. He told me he had none; but that he should only
give a verbal one. Then, resuming our long conversation, I reduced it
in a few words, to two very positive points: on his part, that he had
told me he wished to join the party of the Emperor: and on mine, that
I had replied that the Emperor from that moment gave up his party, and
would not go beyond the limits assigned to him. This statement was
perfectly agreed upon by both of us. The Emperor ordered me to be
called into his room. Brooding in profound silence over the vexation
which he had just experienced, he had undressed again, and was in his
morning-gown. He detained me to breakfast, and observed that the sky
seemed to threaten rain; that we should have had a bad day for our
excursion. But this was a poor consolation for the cruel restraint
which had just deprived him of an innocent pleasure.
The fact is that the officer had received fresh orders; but the
Emperor had only grounded the project of his little excursion upon the
anterior promises of the Admiral, at which the Emperor had felt a
pleasure in expressing his satisfaction to him. The present
alteration, of which nothing had been said to the Emperor, must
necessarily have been extremely unpleasant to him. Either the word
given him was broken, or an attempt had been made to impose on him.
This affront, which he experienced from the Admiral, is one of those
which have considerably hurt the feelings of the Emperor.
The Emperor took a bath, and did not dine with us. At nine o’clock he
ordered me to be called into his room, he was reading Don Quixote,
which turned our conversation upon Spanish literature, the translation
of Le Sage, &c. He was very melancholy, and said little; he sent me
away in about three quarters of an hour.
MARCHAND’S ROOM.—LINEN, GARMENTS, &C. OF THE
EMPEROR,—SPURS OF CHAMPAUBERT, &C.
10th.—About four o’clock the Emperor desired me to be called into his
room: he was dressed, and had his boots on; his intention was either
to get on horseback, or to take a walk in the garden; but a gentle
shower of rain was falling. We walked about in conversation, waiting
for the weather to clear up. He opened the door of his room leading to
the topographical cabinet, in order that we might extend our walk the
whole length of this cabinet. As we approached the bed, he asked me if
I always slept in it. I answered that I had ceased to do so from the
moment that I became acquainted with his wish of going out early in
the morning. “What has that to do with it?” said he: “return to it; I
shall go out when I please, by the back-door.” The drawing-room door
stood half open, and he entered it; Montholon and Gourgaud were there.
They were endeavouring to fix a very pretty lustre, and a small glass
over the chimney-piece: the Emperor desired the latter might be set
straight, as it inclined a little on one side. He was much pleased at
this improvement in the drawing-room furniture; a proof that every
thing is relative! What could these objects have been in the eyes of a
man who, some years ago, had furniture to the value of forty millions
in his palaces?
We returned to the topographical cabinet: the rain continued to fall,
he gave up his promenade; but he regretted that the Grand Marshal had
not arrived; he felt himself this day inclined for work, which he had
discontinued for a fortnight. He endeavoured to kill time, whilst
waiting for Bertrand. “Let us go and see Madame de Montholon,” said he
to me. I announced him; he sat down, made me do the same; and we
talked about furniture and housekeeping. He then began to form an
inventory of the articles in the apartment, piece by piece; and we all
agreed that the furniture was not worth more than thirty Napoleons.
Leaving Madame de Montholon’s, he ran from room to room, and stopped
in front of the staircase in the corridor which leads to the servants’
room above; it is a kind of very steep ladder. “Let us look at
Marchand’s apartment,” said he; “they say that he keeps it like that
of a _petite maîtresse_.” We climbed up; Marchand was there; his
little room is clean; he has pasted paper upon it, which he has
painted himself. His bed was without curtains: Marchand does not sleep
so far from his master’s door; at Briars, he and the two other
valets-de-chambre constantly slept upon the ground, across the
Emperor’s doorway, so close that, whenever I came away late, I was
obliged to step over them. The Emperor ordered the presses to be
opened; they contained nothing but his linen and his clothes; the
whole was not considerable, yet he was astonished to find himself
still so rich. “How many pair of spurs have I?” said he, taking up a
pair. “Four pair,” answered Marchand. “Are any of them more remarkable
than the rest?”—“No, Sire.”—“Well, I will give a pair of them to Las
Cases. Are these old?” “Yes, Sire, they are almost worn out; your
Majesty wore them in the campaign of Dresden, and in that of
Paris.”—“Here,” said he, giving them to me; “these are for you.” I
could have wished that he would have permitted me to receive them on
my knees. I felt that I was really receiving something connected with
the glorious days of Champaubert, Montmirail, Nangis, Montereau! Was
there ever a more appropriate memorial of chivalry, in the times of
Amadis? “Your Majesty is making me a knight,” said I; “but how am I to
win these spurs? I cannot pretend to achieve any feat of arms; and as
to love and devotion, Sire, all I have to bestow has long since been
disposed of.”
Still the Grand Marshal did not arrive, and the Emperor wished to set
to work. “You cannot write any longer then?” he said to me. “Your
eyesight is quite gone.” Ever since we had been here I had given up
work entirely; my eyesight failed me, which made me extremely
melancholy. “Yes, sire,” I replied, “it is entirely gone; and I am
grieved that I lost it in the Campaign of Italy, without enjoying the
happiness and glory of having served in it.”—He endeavoured to console
me, by telling me that I should recover my eyesight, beyond a doubt,
by repose, adding, “Oh why did they not leave us Planat! that good
young man would now be of great service to me.” And he desired General
Gourgaud to come, that he might dictate to him.