11th.—At four o’clock I attended the Emperor. The Grand Marshal entered
the room, and gave him a note. The Emperor, after glancing it over,
returned it, shrugging up his shoulders and saying: “This is too absurd!
There is no answer; give it to Las Cases.”
Will it be credited? This was a note from the Governor to the Grand
Marshal, inviting _General Bonaparte_ to dine at Plantation House to
meet Lady Loudon, the wife of Lord Moria. I blushed at the indecorum.
Could any thing be more ridiculous. Sir Hudson Lowe doubtless thought
the thing perfectly natural; and yet he had resided for a long time at
the head-quarters of armies on the Continent; and taken part in the
diplomatic transactions of the time!!...
Mr. Skelton, the Deputy-Governor of the island, who was about to depart
for Europe, came accompanied by his wife, to take leave of the Emperor.
They staid to dine at Longwood.
This worthy family, whom, contrary to our inclination, we had removed
from Longwood, whose prospects we had overthrown by the suppression of
the post of Deputy-Governor on our arrival—this excellent family, to
whom we had been the occasion of real personal injury, is, however, the
only one in the island from whom we have experienced invariable respect
and politeness. We therefore bade them adieu with sincere wishes for
their welfare. We shall always remember them with sentiments of the
deepest interest.
NAPOLEON AT THE INSTITUTE.—AT THE COUNCIL OF STATE.—THE CIVIL
CODE.—MESSAGE TO LORD ST. VINCENT.—ON THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA.—THE
MARINE DEPARTMENT.—DECRÉS.
12th.—The Emperor, while walking in the garden and discoursing on
various subjects, spoke of the Institute, the manner in which it was
composed, the spirit of its members, &c. When he took his place in the
Institute, on his return from the army of Italy, he said that he might
consider himself as the tenth member in his class, which consisted of
about fifty.
Lagrange, Laplace, and Monge, were at the head of this class. It was
rather a remarkable circumstance, and one which attracted considerable
notice at the time, to see the young General of the army of Italy take
his place in the Institute, and publicly discuss profound metaphysical
subjects with his colleagues. He was then called the _Geometrician_ of
battles, and _Mechanician_ of victory, &c.
On becoming First Consul, Napoleon caused no less sensation in the
Council of State. He constantly presided at the sittings for drawing up
the civil code. “Tronchet,” he said, “was the soul of this code, and he,
Napoleon, was its demonstrator.” Tronchet was gifted with a singularly
profound and correct understanding; but he could not descend to
developments. He spoke badly, and could not defend what he proposed.
“The whole council,” said the Emperor, “at first opposed his
suggestions;” but Napoleon, with his shrewdness and facility of seizing
and creating luminous and new relations, arose, and without any other
knowledge of the subject than the correct basis furnished by Tronchet,
developed his ideas, set aside objections, and brought every one over to
his opinions.
The Minutes of the Council of State have transmitted to us the extempore
speeches of the First Consul on most of the articles of the civil code.
At every line, we are struck with the correctness of his observations,
the depth of his views, and in particular the liberality of his
sentiments.
Thus, in spite of the opposition that was set up to it, we are indebted
to him for that article of the Code which enacts that every individual
born in France is a Frenchman. “I should like to know,” said he, "what
inconvenience can possibly arise from acknowledging every man born in
France to be a Frenchman? The extension of the French civil laws can
only be attended by advantageous consequences; thus instead of ordaining
that individuals born in France of a foreign father shall obtain civil
privileges only when they declare themselves willing to enjoy them, it
may be decreed that they will be deprived of those privileges only when
they formally renounce them.
"If individuals born in France of a foreign father were not to be
considered as enjoying the full privileges of Frenchmen, we cannot
subject to the conscription and other public duties the sons of those
foreigners who have married in France through the events of the war.
“I am of opinion that the question should be considered only with
reference to the interests of France. Though individuals born in France
possess no property, they are at least animated by French spirit, and
they follow French customs. They cherish that attachment which every one
naturally feels for the country that gave him birth; finally, they help
to maintain the public burthens.”
The First Consul distinguished himself no less by his support of the
article which preserves the privileges of Frenchmen to children born of
Frenchmen settled in foreign countries, and this law he extended in
spite of powerful opposition. “The French people,” said he, "who are a
numerous and industrious people, are scattered over every part of the
world; and in course of time they will be scattered about in still
greater numbers. But the French visit foreign countries only to make
their fortunes. The acts by which they seem momentarily to attach
themselves to foreign governments have for their object only to obtain
the protection necessary for their various speculations. If they should
intend to return to France, after realizing a fortune, would it be
proper to exclude them?
“If it should happen that a country in the possession of France were to
be invaded by the enemy, and afterwards ceded to him by a treaty, would
it be just to say to those of the inhabitants who might come to settle
on the territory of the republic, that they had forfeited their rights
as Frenchmen, for not having quitted their former country at the moment
it was ceded; and because they had sworn temporary allegiance to a new
Sovereign, in order to gain time to dispose of their property and
transfer their wealth to France?”
In another debate on the decease of soldiers, some difficulties having
arisen relative to those who might die in a foreign country, the First
Consul exclaimed with vivacity;—"The soldier is never abroad when he is
under the national banner. The spot where the standard of France is
unfurled becomes French ground!"
On the subject of divorce, the First Consul was for the adoption of the
principle, and spoke at great length on the ground of incompatibility,
which it was attempted to repel.
“It is pretended,” said he, "that divorce is contrary to the interests
of women and children, and to the spirit of families; but nothing is
more at variance with the interests of married persons, when their
humours are incompatible, than to reduce them to the alternative of
either living together, or of separating with publicity. Nothing is more
opposite to domestic happiness than a divided family. Separation had
formerly, with regard to the wife, the husband, and the children, nearly
the same effect as divorce, and yet it was not so frequent as divorce
now is. It was only attended with this additional inconvenience, that a
woman of bad character might continue to dishonour her husband’s name
because she was permitted to retain it."
When opposing the drawing up of an article to specify the causes for
which divorce would be admissible, he said; "But is it not a great
misfortune to be compelled to expose these causes, and reveal even the
most minute and private family details?
“Besides, will these causes, even in the event of their real existence,
be always sufficient to obtain divorce? That of adultery, for instance,
can only be successfully maintained by proofs, which it is always very
difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to produce. Yet the husband,
who should not be able to bring forward these proofs, would be compelled
to live with a woman whom he abhors and despises, and who introduces
illegitimate children into his family. His only resource would be
separation from bed and board; but this would not shield his name from
dishonour.”
Resuming the support of the principle of divorce, and opposing certain
restrictions, he continued; "Marriage is not always, as is supposed, the
result of affection. A young female consents to marry for the sake of
conforming to the fashion, and obtaining independence and an
establishment of her own. She accepts a husband of a disproportionate
age, and whose tastes and habits do not accord with hers. The law then
should provide for her a resource against the moment when, the illusion
having ceased, she finds that she is united in ill-assorted bonds, and
that her expectations have been disappointed.
"Marriage takes its form from the manners, customs, and religion, of
every people. Thus its forms are not everywhere alike. In some
countries, wives and concubines live under the same roof; and slaves are
treated like children: the organization of families is therefore not
deduced from the law of nature. The marriages of the Romans were not
like those of the French.
"The precautions established by law for preventing persons from
contracting unthinkingly at the age of fifteen or eighteen an engagement
which extends to the whole of their lives, are certainly wise. But are
they sufficient?
"That after ten years passed in wedlock, divorce should not be admitted
but for very weighty reasons, is also a proper regulation. Since,
however, marriages contracted in early youth are rarely the choice of
the parties themselves, but are brought about by their families for
interested views, it is proper that, if the parties themselves perceive
that they are not formed for one another, they should be enabled to
dissolve a union on which they had no opportunity of reflecting. The
facility thus afforded them, however, should not tend to favour either
levity or passion. It should be surrounded by every precaution and every
form calculated to prevent its abuse. The parties, for example, might be
heard by a secret family council, held under the presidency of the
magistrate. In addition to this, it might, if thought necessary, be
determined that a woman should only once be allowed to procure divorce,
and that she should not be suffered to re-marry in less than five years,
lest the idea of a second marriage should induce her to dissolve the
first; that, after married persons have lived together for ten years,
the dissolution should be rendered very difficult, &c.
“To grant divorce only on account of adultery publicly proved, is to
proscribe it completely; for, on the one hand, few cases of adultery can
be proved, and, on the other, there are few men shameless enough to
expose the infamy of their wives. Besides, it would be scandalous, and
contrary to the honour of the nation, to reveal the scenes that pass in
some families; it might be concluded, though erroneously, that they
afford a picture of our French manners.”
The first lawyers of the council were of opinion that civil death should
carry along with it the dissolution of the civil contract of marriage.
The question was warmly discussed. The First Consul, with great
animation, opposed it in these terms; "A woman is then to be forbidden,
though fully convinced of her husband’s innocence, to follow in exile
the man to whom she is most tenderly united; or, if she should yield to
her conviction, and to her duty, she is to be regarded only as a
concubine! Why deprive an unfortunate married couple of the right of
living together under the honourable title of lawful husband and wife?
"If the law permits a woman to follow her husband, without allowing her
the title of wife, it permits adultery.
"Society is sufficiently avenged by the sentence of condemnation, when
the criminal is deprived of his property and torn from his friends and
his connections. Is there any need to extend the punishment to the wife,
and violently to dissolve a union which identifies her existence with
that of her husband? Would she not say:—‘You had better have taken his
life, I should then have been permitted at least to cherish his memory;
but you ordain that he shall live, and you will not allow me to console
him in his misery.’ Alas! how many men have been led into guilt only
through their attachment to their wives! Those therefore who have caused
their misfortunes should at least be permitted to share them. If a woman
fulfils this duty, you esteem her virtue, and yet you are allowing her
no greater indulgence than would be extended to the infamous wretch who
prostitutes herself!" Volumes might be filled with quotations of this
sort.
In 1815, after the restoration, as I was conversing with M. Bertrand de
Molleville, formerly Minister of the Marine under Louis XVI., a man of
great abilities, and who has distinguished himself in more ways than
one, he said:—"Your Bonaparte, your Napoleon, was a very extraordinary
man, it must be confessed. How little did we know him on the other side
of the water! We could not but yield to the conviction of his victories
and his invasions, it is true; but Genseric, Attila, and Alaric, were as
victorious as he. Thus he produced on me an impression of terror rather
than of admiration. But, since I have been here, I have taken the
trouble to look over the debates on the civil code, and I have ever
since been filled with profound veneration for him. But where in the
world did he collect all his knowledge?... I discover something new
every day. Ah! Sir, what a man you had at the head of your government.
Really, he was nothing less than a prodigy!..."
About five o’clock the Emperor received Captain Bowen, of the Salsette
frigate, which is to sail to-morrow. He behaved very condescendingly to
him. In the course of conversation the name of Lord St. Vincent, who the
Captain said was his patron, happened to be mentioned, on which the
Emperor remarked: “You will see him on your return to England, and I
commission you to present my compliments to him, as to a good sailor, a
brave and worthy veteran.”
About 7 o’clock the Emperor took a bath. He sent for me, and we
conversed for a long time, first on the events of the day, then on
literary subjects, and lastly on geography. He expressed his
astonishment that we possessed no certain knowledge of the interior of
Africa. I told him that I had entertained the idea, some years ago, of
presenting to his Minister of Marine a plan of a journey into the
interior of Africa; not a secret and adventurous excursion, but a
regular military expedition, in every respect worthy of the age and of
the Emperor. The Minister laughed in my face when I first conversed with
him on the subject, and looked upon the idea as an absurdity.
My plan was to have entered Africa at once on the north, south, east,
and west, and to have formed a junction in the centre; or, if starting
only from the east and west, I proposed that the two divisions of the
expedition should meet in the centre, separate again and proceed, one to
the north, the other to the south. I thought it probable that, after
obtaining from the Court of Portugal all the information that could be
procured, it would be found that there already existed a communication
from east to west, or that at all events very little was wanting to
effect it. The state of public feeling at the time, our enthusiasm, our
enterprizes, our prodigies, would have rendered it easy to procure 5 or
600 good soldiers, with the requisite number of surgeons, physicians,
botanists, chymists, astronomers, and naturalists, all willing to embark
in the enterprize, and we should undoubtedly have accomplished something
worthy of the age.
The necessary supply of beasts of burthen, small leathern boats for
crossing rivers, skins for conveying water through the deserts, and
light manageable field-pieces, would have rendered the execution of the
enterprize easy and complete.
“No doubt,” said the Emperor, “your idea would have pleased me. I should
have taken it up, submitted it to the consideration of a committee, and
brought it to a result.”
He said that he very much regretted his not having had time, during his
stay in Egypt, to accomplish something of this sort. He had troops
suited in every respect to brave the dangers of the desert. He had
received presents from the Queen of Darfour, and had sent her some in
return. Had he remained longer, he intended to have carried to a great
extent our geographical investigations in the northern district of
Africa, and that too by the simplest means, merely by placing in each
caravan some intelligent officers, for whom he would have procured
hostages.
The conversation then turned on the marine department. The Emperor
entered very deeply into the subject. He could not say that he was
satisfied with Decrès; and he even thought that the confidence he
reposed in him was not altogether irreproachable. The difficulty of
finding persons better qualified maintained him in his post; for, after
all, the Emperor said, Decrès was the best he could find. Ganteaume was
merely a sailor, and destitute of every other talent. Cafarelli, he
said, had forfeited his good opinion, because he had been informed that
his wife intrigued in political affairs, which he regarded as an
unpardonable offence. Missiessi was not a man to be depended on; for his
family had been one of those who surrendered Toulon. The Emperor had,
for a moment, cast his eye on Emériau; but, on consideration, he did not
think that he possessed adequate capabilities. He had asked himself
whether T...... might not have filled the post; but he decided that he
was not qualified for it. He was a good man of business, it is true; but
he had plunged very deeply into the affairs of the revolution; and what
had confirmed the Emperor in his disapproval of him was that he had
subsequently seen some of his private letters, by which it was evident
that he still adhered to his old jacobinical sentiments.
“I had,” observed the Emperor, “rendered the duties of all my
ministerial posts so easy that almost any one was capable of discharging
them, if he possessed only fidelity, zeal, and activity. I must however
except the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which it was
frequently necessary to exercise a ready talent for persuasion. In
fact,” continued he, “in the marine department but little was required,
and Decrès was perhaps, after all, the best man I could have found. He
possessed authority; and he discharged the business of his office
scrupulously and honestly. He was endowed with a good share of
understanding, but this was evinced only in his conversation and private
conduct. He never conceived any plan of his own, and was incapable of
executing the ideas of others on a grand scale; he could walk, but he
could never be made to run. He ought to have passed one-half of his time
in the sea-ports, or on board the exercising squadrons. He would have
lost none of my favour by so doing. But, as a courtier, he was afraid to
quit his portfolio. This shews how little he knew me. He would not have
been the less protected by removing from my Court: his absence would
have been a powerful circumstance in his favour.”
The Emperor said he very much regretted Latouche-Tréville, whom he
regarded as a man of real talent. He was of opinion that that Admiral
would have given a different impulse to affairs. The attack on India and
the invasion of England would by him have been at least attempted, and
perhaps accomplished.
The Emperor blamed himself for having employed the pinnaces at Bologne.
He said it would have been better had he employed real ships at
Cherbourg. He was of opinion that had Villeneuve manifested more vigour
at Cape Finistèrre, the attack might have been rendered practicable. “I
had made arrangements for the arrival of Villeneuve, with considerable
art and calculation, and in defiance of the opinions and the routine of
the naval officers by whom I was surrounded. Every thing happened as I
had foreseen; when the inactivity of Villeneuve ruined all. But,” added
the Emperor, "Heaven knows what instructions he might have received from
Decrès,[10] or what letters might have been privately written to him
which never came to my knowledge; for, though I was very powerful and
fond of searching into every thing, yet I am convinced that I was far
from knowing all that was passing around me.
Footnote 10:
On reading this reflection of Napoleon’s, an officer in the confidence
of Admiral Villeneuve wrote to me that the letter of Decrès to that
Admiral before the arrival of M. de Rosilly, appointed to supersede
him, concluded thus;—"Sail as soon as you find a favourable
opportunity: do not shun the enemy; on the contrary attack him
wherever you fall in with him, since the Emperor cares little about
losing ships, so he loses them with honour." This letter was the only
one which the officer in question saved from the Admiral’s portfolio,
before he threw it into the sea, at the moment of striking the flag.
"The Grand Marshal said, the other day, that it used to be remarked in
the saloon of the household that I was never accessible to any one after
I had given audience to the Minister of the Marine. The reason was,
because he never had any but bad news to communicate to me. For my part
I gave up every thing after the disaster of Trafalgar; I could not be
every where, and I had enough to occupy my attention with the armies of
the continent.
"I had long meditated a decisive expedition to India; but my plans had
been constantly frustrated. I intended to have fitted out a force of
16,000 troops, on board ships of the line; each 74 to have taken 500
troops on board, which would of course have required thirty-two ships. I
proposed that they should take in a supply of water for four months;
which supply might have been renewed at the Isle of France, or in any
habitable spot of the desert of Africa, Brazil, or the Indian Ocean. In
case of need, they might have taken in water wherever they chose to
anchor. On reaching the place of their destination, the troops were to
be put ashore, and the ships were immediately to depart, making up the
number of their crews by the sacrifice of seven or eight of the vessels
which might be condemned as unserviceable; so that an English squadron
arriving from Europe immediately afterwards would have found no trace of
ours.
“As for the army, when abandoned to itself and placed under the command
of a clever and confidential chief, it would have renewed the prodigies
that were familiar to us, and Europe would have beheld the conquest of
India as she had already seen the conquest of Egypt.”
I knew Decrès well; we had both commenced our career together in the
marine. I think he entertained for me all the friendship of which he was
susceptible, and I, on my part, was tenderly attached to him. It was an
unfortunate passion, as I used to say when I was rallied on the subject,
which was frequently the case, for Decrès was very much disliked, and I
have often thought that, from some motive or other, he took pleasure in
his own unpopularity. At St. Helena, as elsewhere, I found myself almost
his only defender. I saw a great deal of him while the Emperor was at
the island of Elba, and he was occasionally favourable to Napoleon. We
conversed candidly on the subject, and I have every reason to believe
that he observed full and entire confidence with respect to me.
“No sooner had your Majesty returned to the Tuileries,” said I to the
Emperor, "than Decrès and I ran to embrace each other, exclaiming, ‘He
has returned! we have him again!’ His eyes were suffused with tears; I
must bear this testimony to his feelings. ‘Well,’ said he to me, in the
presence of his wife, ‘I am now convinced that I have often done you
wrong, and I owe you reparation; but your old habits and connections so
naturally brought you in contact with those who are now about to quit us
that I doubted not but you would sooner or later be perfectly reconciled
with them, though you were perhaps often offended at the expression of
my real sentiments.’”—“And did you believe this, you simpleton?"
exclaimed the Emperor, bursting into a fit of laughter. “This was an
excellent piece of courtier-like art; a touch for La Bruyère. It was
really a good idea on the part of Decrès; for if, during my absence, any
thing offensive to me had chanced to escape him, he would, you see, by
this means, have atoned for it once for all.”—"Well, Sire," continued I,
"what I have just told you is perhaps only amusing; but what I will now
communicate is of a more important nature:—During the crisis of 1814,
before the taking of Paris, Decrès was sounded in a very artful way as
to his inclination to conspire against your Majesty, and he honestly
repelled the suggestion. Decrès was easily and often roused to
discontent; and he possessed a certain air of authority in his language
and manners which rendered him a useful acquisition to any party he
might espouse. He happened, at the unhappy period I have just mentioned,
to visit a person of celebrity; the hero of the machinations of the day.
The latter advanced to Decrès, and, drawing him aside to the fire-place,
took up a book, saying, I have just now been reading something that
struck me forcibly,—you shall hear it. Montesquiou, in such and such a
chapter and page, says,—When the Prince rises above the laws, when
tyranny becomes insupportable, the oppressed have no alternative
but....—‘Enough,’ exclaimed Decrès, putting his hand over the mouth of
the reader; ‘I will hear no more; close the book.’ And the other coolly
laid down the volume, as though nothing particular had occurred, and
began to talk on a totally different subject."
On another occasion, a certain Marshal, after his fatal defection,
alarmed at the unfavourable impression which his conduct was calculated
to produce on the public mind, and vainly seeking the approbation and
support of those who surrounded him, endeavoured to interest Decrès in
his favour. “I have always borne in mind,” said he to Decrès, “one of
our conversations in which you so energetically painted the evils and
perplexities that weighed upon the country. The force of your arguments
greatly influenced me in the step which I took with the view of
alleviating our misfortunes.”—"Yes, my dear fellow," replied Decrès;
“but did it not also occur to you that you overshot your mark?”
“In order that these anecdotes may be appreciated as they deserve,” said
I to the Emperor, “I must inform your Majesty that they were related to
me by Decrès himself during your absence, and when he certainly
entertained no idea of your return.”
The Emperor kept up the conversation for nearly two hours in the bath.
He did not dine till nine o’clock, and he desired me to stay with him.
We discoursed about the military school at Paris. I left the school only
a year before Napoleon entered it, and therefore the same officers,
tutors, and comrades were common to us both. He took particular pleasure
in reverting with me to this period of our youth: in reviving the
recollection of our occupations, our boyish tricks, our games, &c.
In this cheerful humour, he called for a glass of Champagne, which was
rather an unusual thing; for such is his habitual abstinence that a
single glass of wine is sufficient to flush his face, and to render him
very talkative. It is well known that he seldom sits longer than a
quarter of an hour, or half an hour, at table; but to-day we sat upwards
of two hours. He was very much surprised when Marchand informed him that
it was eleven o’clock. “How rapidly the time has slipped away,” said he,
with an expression of satisfaction. “Why can I not always pass my hours
thus agreeably! My dear Las Cases,” said he, as he dismissed me, “you
leave me happy.”
DANGEROUS ILLNESS OF MY SON.—REMARKABLE OBSERVATIONS.—THE DICTIONARY OF
WEATHERCOCKS.—BERTHOLET.
13th. Dr. Warden and two other medical gentlemen came to hold a
consultation on my son, whose indisposition alarmed me.
The Emperor, at my request, consented to receive Dr. Warden, our old
acquaintance of the Northumberland. He conversed for upwards of two
hours, familiarly taking a review of those acts of his government which
had drawn upon him the greatest share of enmity, falsehood, and calumny.
As the Doctor afterwards observed to me, nothing could be more correct,
clear, simple, curious, and satisfactory, than these details.
The Emperor concluded with the following remarkable observations: “I
concern myself but little about the libels that have been written
against me. My acts and the events of my reign refute them more
completely than the most skilful arguments that could be employed. I
seated myself on a vacant throne. I arrived at supreme power unsullied
by the crimes that have usually disgraced the chiefs of dynasties. Let
history be consulted, let me be compared with others! If I have to fear
the reproaches of posterity and history, it is not for having been too
severe but perhaps for having been too indulgent!”
After dinner, the Emperor looked at the _Dictionnaire des Girouettes_
(Dictionary of Weathercocks) which is humourously conceived, though not
so well executed. It is an alphabetic collection of the living
characters who have figured on the stage of public events since the
Revolution, and whose language, opinions, and conduct have followed the
changes of the wind. Weathercocks are affixed to their names, with an
abstract of the speeches or a description of the acts which have
procured for them the distinction. On opening the work, the Emperor
inquired whether any of us were mentioned in it. “No Sire,” some one
present jokingly replied, “none save your Majesty.” The name of Napoleon
was indeed recorded in the work, because, as it was affirmed, he had
first sanctioned the republic and then assumed the prerogative of
royalty.
The Emperor read to us several articles from the Dictionary. The
contrast exhibited at different times in the language and conduct of
certain individuals was truly curious; and the transition was in some
instances performed with so much coolness and effrontery that the
Emperor several times suspended his reading and burst into a hearty fit
of laughter. However, after going through a few pages, he closed the
book, with an expression of disgust and regret, observing that, after
all, the publication was a disgrace to society, a code of turpitude, and
a record of our dishonour. One article seemed to affect him deeply,
namely, that concerning Bertholet, whom he had so loaded with favour,
and on whom, he said, he had every reason to rely.
The following charming trait in the Emperor’s character may be mentioned
here, though it is pretty generally known. Bertholet had sustained
losses which involved him in difficulties, when, the circumstance having
come to the Emperor’s knowledge, he sent him 100,000 crowns, adding,
that he had reason to complain of him, since he seemed to have forgotten
that he, Napoleon, was always ready to serve his friends. Bertholet,
however, behaved very ungratefully to the Emperor, at the period of his
disasters. His conduct deeply affected Napoleon at the time, and he was
often heard to exclaim: “What Bertholet, on whom I thought I could rely
with such confidence!...”
On the Emperor’s return from Elba, Bertholet seemed again inclined to
manifest his former sentiments of attachment to his benefactor. He
ventured to show himself at the Tuileries, and desired Monge to inform
the Emperor that, if he did not obtain a sight of him, he would put a
period to his existence the moment he left the palace. The Emperor could
not refuse his request, and saluted him with a smile as he passed by.
During his reign, the Emperor had conferred repeated favours on several
great manufacturers, among others on Oberkamp, Richard Lenoir, &c. He
wished to look for their names in the Dictionary, but every voice was
raised to bear witness to their good conduct.
RECEPTION OF THE PASSENGERS IN THE BENGAL
FLEET.
14th.—About four o’clock a great number of visitors came to Longwood,
They were passengers who had arrived by the East India Fleet, and the
Emperor had signified his willingness to receive them. The party
consisted of Mr. Strange, the brother-in-law of Lord Melville, First
Lord of the English Admiralty; a Mr. Arbuthnot; and Sir William
Burroughs, one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Calcutta; two of
Lord Moira’s Aides-de-camp; and some others, together with several
ladies. We were all conversing together in the ante-chamber, when the
Emperor left his own room to proceed to the garden. This circumstance
excited the curiosity of our visitors, who eagerly flew to the windows
to see him pass by:—the scene reminded us of Plymouth. The Grand Marshal
conducted our visitors to the presence of the Emperor, who received them
with the most perfect grace, and with that captivating smile which has
exercised such irresistible power. Curiosity and lively emotion were
painted in the countenances of all.
The Emperor conversed with each individual, and, according to custom,
instantly seized any circumstance that happened to be connected with
their names, as he heard them announced. He discoursed with the Supreme
Judge on legislation and the administration of justice; with the
Company’s officers on trade and the internal Government of India. He
questioned the military gentlemen as to how many years they had served
and how many wounds they had received; he paid many flattering
compliments to the ladies, and remarked, that the climate of Bengal had
not spoiled the delicacy of their complexions, &c. Then, addressing
himself to one of Lord Moira’s aides-de-camp, he observed that the Grand
Marshal had informed him that Lady Loudon was on the Island, and that,
had she been within his limits, he should have had great pleasure in
paying his respects to her; but that, as she happened to reside beyond
the boundaries which had been prescribed to him, he had no more
opportunity of seeing her than if she were still in Bengal.
During these conversations, in which I acted as interpreter, Mr.
Strange, with whom I had previously been talking, drew me aside by the
flap of my coat, and in a tone of surprise and satisfaction said:—"What
grace and dignity of manner the Emperor displays!—he shows that he has
been accustomed to the etiquette of holding a levee!"
We conducted the company to the drawing-room, and curiosity led them to
take a peep at the Emperor’s apartments. Sir William Burroughs, who,
from the post he holds, may be supposed to have some connection with the
English ministry, on entering the drawing-room asked me whether it was
our dining-room. I informed him that it was the drawing-room, or that we
might more properly say, it was the only room in the house; at this he
was much astonished. I then pointed out to him through the window, the
two little chambers which are all the Emperor has for his own use. His
countenance expressed regret, and he seemed, in his own mind to be
drawing comparisons between the present and the past. Remarking the
wretchedness of the furniture and the narrow limits of our abode, he
said, with an air of concern—"You will be better provided for
soon."—"How," said I, “is there any intention of removing us from the
Island?”—"No, but some elegant furniture and a commodious house are to
be sent to you."—"We do not," I replied, “complain of the furniture, or
the house; but of the rock to which we have been banished, and the
latitude in which it is situated. This latitude cannot be changed and we
can never be well here.”
I repeated to him literally what the Emperor had, a few days previously
said to the Governor on the same subject. Sir William was amazed, and,
pressing my hand, he said with a degree of warmth:—"My dear Sir, he is
too great and too gifted a man; we have too much cause to dread and fear
him."—"But," said I, in my turn, “why not have driven the car of glory
together, instead of mutually destroying each other by dragging it
different ways? What might not then have been its course?” He looked at
me, and again pressing my hand, he said with a pensive air:—"Yes, that
would doubtless have been better; but...."
All were particularly struck with the Emperor’s freedom of manner, and
his tranquil expression of countenance. I know not what they had
expected to see. One remarked that he could scarcely form a conception
of the strength of mind necessary to enable Napoleon to endure such
wonderful reverses. “That is,” replied I, "because nobody yet well knows
the Emperor’s character. He told us the other day that he had been like
a block of marble during all the great events of his life; that they had
slipped over him without producing any impression either on his moral or
physical faculties."
After dinner, the Emperor asked us, as he often does, what we should
like to read. Some one proposed that we should resume the Dictionary of
Weathercocks; but this the Emperor objected to, on the ground that it
served but to render his evenings the more unpleasant. “Rather let us
amuse ourselves with fiction,” said he; and, asking for Jerusalem
Delivered, he read aloud several cantos of that poem, occasionally
translating passages into French. He then read the chief part both of
Phedre and Athalie, always expressing his great admiration of the
writings of Racine.
EQUALITY OF PUNISHMENTS.—THE EMPEROR REQUIRES ME TO GIVE HIM A DETAILED
HISTORY OF MY ATLAS.
15th.—The Emperor, during his walk, conversed on various subjects, and
at length happened to light on that of crimes and punishments. He
observed that the greatest jurists, even those who had been influenced
by the spirit of the age, were divided as to the principle of the
equalization of capital punishments. At the establishment of the Code,
he should have been averse to equalization, had not circumstances
obliged him to adopt a contrary course. He asked my opinion: “I am,”
said I, "decidedly favourable to the inequality of punishments. Our
notions demand a gradation in punishments, analogous to that which we
conceive in crimes. The harmony of our sensations seems to require this.
I can never bring myself to rank on a level with each other the wretch
who has murdered his father and him who has merely committed a slight
robbery accompanied by violence. Should these two criminals be visited
by the same punishment?
“In this question the criminal himself is least of all to be considered.
The punishment is his business; and humanity discovers many hidden modes
of relieving his physical suffering. His ideas previously to the
commission of the crime, the feelings which his punishment creates in
the minds of the spectators, and the effect it produces on society in
general:—these are the points which must claim the attention of the
legislator in deciding the question of the equalization of punishments.
It is erroneous to suppose that death alone is sufficient, and that the
kind of death has no influence on the mind of the criminal in the
premeditation of his crime; for if there be inequality of punishment,
there is no culprit who would not make his choice if he were permitted
so to do. Let any member of society consult his own feelings: he would
shudder at the very idea of certain punishments, while perhaps he would
be totally indifferent to certain modes of death. The inequality of
punishments and the solemnity of executions belong therefore to the
justice and policy of civilization. Yet I conceive that it would now be
impossible to subdue public opinion on this point.”[11]
Footnote 11:
I must however confess that my opinion is likely to be erroneous, if,
as I have been informed, the statements of the registers in France,
since the introduction of the equalization of punishments, when
compared with those drawn up during a similar interval under the old
penal laws, present a diminution in the number of criminals.
The Emperor entirely concurred in these ideas. Having mentioned the
crime of regicide, he observed that it might truly be said to be the
greatest of all crimes, owing to the consequences which it produced.
“The man,” said he, “who should have murdered me in France would have
subverted all Europe; and how many times have I not been exposed to
assassination!”
Lady Loudon, wife of Lord Moira, the Governor-General of India, has been
for several days at St. Helena, where she attracts general attention.
She is a lady of high rank, corresponding nearly with a French Duchess
under the old regime. The English officers treat her with the utmost
respect. To-day the Admiral invited her to a little entertainment on
board the Northumberland. He sent a messenger on horseback to request me
to lend him my Atlas for the evening, in order that he might shew it to
Lady Loudon, whose husband was described in it as the first
representative of the Plantagenets, and consequently as the legitimate
heir to the throne of England.
The Admiral and I were on a footing of perfect indifference; indeed we
had been nearly strangers to each other since the moment he put me
ashore. The request was not so much a mark of politeness to me, as a
compliment to the work itself. The Atlas had been the subject of
conversation, the lady had expressed a wish to see it, and the Admiral
felt a desire to shew it to her. However, I was unable to satisfy this
desire. The book was in the Emperor’s chamber, and such was the answer I
returned.
The Emperor smiled at the honour which the Admiral had intended for me;
and I could not help pitying the amusement that had been prepared for
the lady. This circumstance led the Emperor himself to speak of the
Atlas, and to repeat some observations which had fallen from him before.
He remarked that he heard my work spoken of at all times and in all
places; that he found it sought after by foreigners as well as
Frenchmen. He had heard it mentioned on board the Bellerophon and the
Northumberland, at the Island of St. Helena, and, in short, every where,
persons of information and rank either knew the work, or expressed a
wish to become acquainted with it. “This,” said he, in a lively strain,
“is what I call enjoying a real triumph, a great reputation in the
literary world. I wish you would give me the history of this Atlas. Tell
me when and how you conceived the idea of it, the manner in which it was
executed, and its results: why you first of all published it under a
fictitious name, and why you did not afterwards affix your real name to
it: in short, give me a true and particular account; you understand, Mr.
Councillor of State?”
I replied that it would be a long story; though to me the recital would
not be devoid of pleasure; for, I added, that my Atlas was the history
of a great portion of my life, and that, above all, I was indebted to it
for the happiness of being now near the person of the Emperor.
The following is the narrative, such as it appeared when corrected after
my first hasty notes. Its length, doubtless, requires indulgence; but
this I trust the reader will be inclined to grant, on consideration that
the details which I here enter into revive the recollection of my
happiest years, of the period of my youth, my health and strength, in a
word, of the dear but brief interval of the plenitude of life. I once
more entreat the reader to pardon the prolixity in which I have
indulged; but this statement so forcibly revives my recollections of
past happiness that even now, on reading it over, I cannot find it in my
heart to cancel any part of it.
"This Work was partly the fruit of chance; but above all, of necessity,
which, as the common proverb says, is the mother of industry.... At the
time of the first reverses of the French emigrants, I was cast by the
political hurricane in the streets of London, without friends, without
money, and without resources; but possessing the requisite courage and
willingness for exertion. To a man animated by such a spirit, London, at
that time, afforded certain sources of emolument.
"After having unsuccessfully made several applications, I determined to
rely on myself alone, and, like Figaro, I decided on turning author. For
a moment, I had thoughts of becoming a romance writer: this idea was
suggested to me by the proposals of a bookseller; but he required too
much and was inclined to pay too little. I then turned my thoughts to
writing history, which, at all events, was calculated to procure for me
a certain moral advantage, by storing my mind with positive knowledge.
It was then I conceived the first idea of my Atlas, which I may truly
regard as an inspiration from Heaven, for to it I owed my life. The work
was at first a simple sketch, a mere nomenclature, very different from
the form in which it now appears. However, it sufficed immediately to
relieve me from embarrassment, and to secure to me what might be called
a little fortune, in comparison with the miseries endured by the other
emigrants. Then, Sire, came the Peace of Amiens, and the benefits
conferred on us by your amnesty. I was enabled to make a journey to
France, merely as a traveller, having no other object in view than to
breathe my native air and to see the French capital. There I found
myself at liberty to express my sentiments without restraint;
investigation was easy; my ideas and my judgment were enlarged; I was
master of my time, and I undertook to arrange my Atlas in the form in
which it now appears. I proposed publishing regularly four sheets per
quarter. I was now vastly improved both in my mind and circumstances.
Interest, attention, good offers, money and connexions, poured in upon
me; and I may confidently affirm that this was the happiest period of my
life.
"In England, I had published my Work under a feigned name, in order to
avoid compromising the honour of my own. I happened to fix upon Le Sage,
just as I might have decided on Leblanc, Legris, or Lenoir. But I could
not have made a more unlucky choice, or, at least, I could not have
assumed a more general appellation. Sometime afterwards, a letter
intended for me passed through all the different colonies of French
emigrants in London, and was delivered by turns to twenty-two priests,
who all bore the name of Le Sage. At length one, who had apparently
discovered that the name did not belong to me, sent me the letter in a
violent rage, observing that, when people thought proper to change their
names, they should at least avoid taking those that belonged to other
persons.
"In France I still preserved the name of Le Sage, which had now become
identified with my Atlas. To have published it under a new name might
have led to the supposition that it was a new work. Besides, I did not
wish to expose my own name to the chance of failure, to the attacks of
the Journals, or to the bickerings of criticism. Even though I had been
assured of the complete success of the work, I should not probably have
felt the more inclined to affix my real name to it, owing to a remnant
of my old prejudices, of which I could not easily divest myself.
"Certainly this literary fame flattered me not a little; but I had
sprung from a warlike race, and I conceived that I was in duty bound to
pursue fame of another kind. However, circumstances rendered this
impossible, and I think it proper to mention that at least I was not
unconscious of the duty. I never had cause to repent of my double
appellation. Independently of my real motive for assuming it, it
diffused around me an air of adventure and romance which was by no means
disagreeable, and which was moreover in unison with my temper and
character. It occasioned many mistakes and humourous scenes which
afforded me considerable amusement. In England, for example, I have
often, when in company, been questioned in the most innocent way
imaginable respecting the merits of M. Le Sage’s work; and at a
boarding-school I was once addressed in very discourteous language,
because I obstinately persisted in condemning my own Atlas.
"So long as I continued myself to manage the publication of the work, my
method was to treat in person with all who offered to set their names
down as subscribers. I had now no favours to solicit; I rather found it
necessary in some instances to guard against receiving those that were
offered. In France particularly I was overwhelmed with acts of kindness
and flattering compliments. Some paid me these attentions because they
knew me, others precisely because they did not know me; and all because
I conducted myself alike to each. For my part, I enjoyed the curious
spectacle that now presented itself to me. As every one who wished to
become a subscriber was obliged to give in his own name, I took a review
of many characters, whom I well knew, and observed them in silence. I
was thus enabled to meditate at my ease on the curious diversity of
opinion, judgment, and taste. The point which one condemned was
precisely that which another most admired, which a third declared to be
indispensable, and which a fourth pronounced to be inadmissible. Each
according to custom failed not to set forth his own opinion as the
prevailing one: it was the sentiment of all Paris and of every body.
"I had now an opportunity of being convinced of the great advantage that
a man derives from superintending his own business himself, and of the
important influence of politeness and good manners in all the affairs of
life. I acceded to every thing that was proposed, I received every hint
that was suggested, and I was repaid a hundred-fold for my complaisance.
It frequently happened that a person who had called on me, without any
intention of purchasing the work, was not only induced to carry it away
with him, but brought me ten, twenty, or even a hundred, additional
subscribers.
"One described my Atlas as a classic work to the Minister of the
Interior; another recommended it to the Minister for Foreign Affairs; a
third promised to procure for me the decoration of the Legion of Honour,
and a fourth wrote a flattering critique on the work, and got it
inserted in the public journals. Some carried their interest and
attachment for me even to a degree of enthusiasm. Of this the following
are instances. One of my provincial subscribers, who was unacquainted
with me, wrote to request, as a particular favour, that I would get my
portrait engraved to embellish the work, offering, in case I acceded to
the proposition, to defray half the expenses of the engraving. Another,
who was the owner of the Chateau de Montmorency, paid me a visit every
week under pretence of enquiring whether I had got a new sheet of my
Atlas ready for publication, but in reality, as he himself assured me,
to pass his happiest hours in my society. He added that, if ever I
should take a fancy to sell my conversation as I did the sheets of my
work, it was in my power, if I chose, to ruin him. I afterwards learned
that this was a man of a very eccentric turn; one of La Bruyere’s
characters; quite after the manner of Jean-Jacques. For a considerable
time he seemed to rack his invention to make me offers of service in the
most delicate way imaginable: he even went so far as to throw out
paternal suggestions to me. ‘M. Le Sage,’ said he, oftener than once
‘you ought to marry. You possess qualities that are calculated to insure
the happiness of a wife, and still more that of a father-in-law.’ I must
not omit to mention that the old gentleman had but one daughter, and she
was a rich heiress. However, the warmth of our intimacy gradually
abated, till at length I entirely lost the acquaintance. It was not
until a considerable time afterwards that, being on a country excursion
with a party of ladies, the sight of the Chateau de Montmorency revived
the recollection of my old friend. I related the history of his
eccentricities to the ladies who accompanied me: their curiosity was
excited, and we determined to visit the chateau. The porter refused to
admit us. On my enquiring whether the gentleman was at his country
residence, I received for answer that he was there, and that this was
precisely the reason why we could not be admitted. I thought it very
extraordinary that he should thus immure himself and render himself
totally inaccessible. With considerable difficulty I prevailed on the
servant to announce M. Le Sage. The sound of the name operated like
enchantment; the affront offered to an elegant calash and rich liveries
was immediately repaired. The gates were thrown open, apparently to the
no small astonishment of the porter. The servants received orders to
show us over the building and to offer us every kind of refreshment. We
had brought with us in the carriage provisions for a little rural
repast; but a sumptuous dinner was laid out for us in one of the best
apartments; and we could not, with any thing like a good grace, decline
accepting what was so politely offered. All this hospitality was
perfectly disinterested on the part of the worthy old gentleman, who was
confined to his chamber by the gout. He was overjoyed at seeing me; and
he seemed to regard my visit as the return of the prodigal son. He
insisted on seeing the ladies who accompanied me, and was carried into
the dining-room to do the honours of the dessert. One thing that amused
us infinitely was that he seemed to have no idea of the rank of the
friends by whom I was accompanied; and he treated them like persons of
inferior rank, though they were in reality ladies of distinction. The
old gentleman would now scarcely allow me to depart; he insisted on my
repeating my visit, and said, that I and all my friends should ever be
welcome to his residence. But alas! I could not avail myself of his
kindness; for a few days afterwards I read in the papers an account of
the death of this kind and sincere friend.
"From the commencement of my greatness, I may, under every point of
view, date the termination of the golden age of my Atlas. When I was
transplanted to Court and permitted to approach your Majesty’s person, I
conceived that I could not with propriety descend to the details that
had hitherto occupied me. I confided the management of the copyright to
one of my old college companions, who had been an emigrant like myself,
but who did not turn the publication to so good an account as I had
done.
"On entering upon my new post at Court, I was loaded with compliments on
my production; but to these I replied indifferently, and just as one
would do at a ball, after dropping one’s mask. When it was found that I
never alluded to my work, that I never quoted from it, and that I
avoided all discussion on it, I was never spoken to on the subject; and
at length people began to wonder how I had ever written it, and indeed
to doubt whether I had any right at all to be considered as its author.
"On hearing these words, the Emperor said to me, ‘My dear Las Cases,
even this doubt has found its way to St. Helena. I have heard it
affirmed that the work was not written by you, that you purchased the
manuscript from the real author; and in support of this assertion it has
been remarked that you know nothing at all about the book, because you
never speak of it. To these observations,’ continued he, ‘I have merely
contented myself with saying, Did you never know any question to remain
without a complete answer? Besides I recognise throughout the whole work
the style, the very expressions, of Las Cases.’
“Many,” said I, resuming my narrative, "will think I injured myself by
this denial; but I preferred good taste to quackery, and I was only
acting according to the dictates of my natural disposition. Your Majesty
was the other day describing how Syees used to present himself loaded
with written plans, and at the very first word of contradiction, as soon
as he found it necessary to act on the defensive, he would gather up his
papers and be off in a moment. This was precisely my feeling. I never
could stand up publicly to support my opinions. Before I could do this,
I must enjoy the authority of rank or the freedom of intimate
friendship: otherwise I prefer dooming myself to silence, that is to
say, when I am not interrogated and urged to the point. But to return to
my subject.
"So long as I remained in obscurity I enjoyed the good-will of every
one; but my elevation rendered me an object of enmity, and I felt the
influence of that vague feeling of envy and malevolence which ever
follows the footsteps of fortune. The public journals, which for a
length of time had overflowed with flattery and agreeable expressions in
favour of the Historical Atlas, now inserted some very ill-natured
articles respecting the work, and when these were traced to their
source, the writers frankly avowed that they had been occasioned solely
by changes that had taken place in political opinions and public
affairs.
"A report was delivered to the Institute of all the works that had
appeared for several years past; and in this report the Atlas was very
severely treated. Happening to be one day in company with the writer of
this report, to whom I was known only by the name of Le Sage, I
expressed to him my dissatisfaction at what he had said of the Atlas. He
candidly confessed that the work and its author were alike unknown to
him; that, having found the labour of writing the report too much for
him, he had divided the task among several other persons. He informed me
that the article on Le Sage’s Atlas was infinitely more severe when
delivered to him than it appeared as inserted in the report. He had
softened it down considerably. ‘I can easily perceive,’ continued he,
‘that you have enemies in the literary world, and for these you are
indebted to your habits and your situation. You have connected yourself
with a Count somebody, who holds places at Court; but courtiers and
authors never agree well together. Those gentlemen are, for the most
part, very unlike us. It is said that, in this curious partnership, you
supply the talent and he provides the money. What is the use of that?
The Count is only making his profit of you; your work is good, and your
bookseller would have remunerated you for it. However, I am only
repeating what I have heard, and I advise you to what I conceive to be
your interest. If you wish to enjoy our suffrage, you must connect
yourself with us, you must identify yourself with our doctrines, and
leave the great folks to themselves.’
"I replied, with all possible civility, that I was certainly indebted to
him for his kind advice, though it was not just then in my power to
follow it. I assured him that he had formed an unfair opinion of my
friend; that our purses and our very lives were common to each other;
that our friendship and intimacy were indissoluble; that we had vowed to
live and die together, and that nothing could induce us to break that
vow. It was altogether a truly comic scene.
"Some time afterwards I was dining at the table of a Prince: I was
seated beside my illustrious host, and wore a uniform covered with lace.
The member of the Institute was one of the guests. Surprise and
embarrassment were portrayed in his countenance. I spoke to him several
times; but he always drew close to his neighbours, whispering to them,
and apparently making enquiries. After dinner, he came up to me, and
very good-humouredly begged me to relieve him from his perplexity. He
said that he perfectly recollected having had the honour of meeting me
before, but that he was quite at a loss to comprehend the trick that I
had played upon him. I disclaimed any intention of hoaxing him. ‘All
that you have seen,’ said I, ‘and all that I have told you, is nothing
but reality and truth. The mystery is easily solved. You then saw M. Le
Sage who supplies the talent, and you now see M. Le Comte who provides
the funds. You now understand how histories are written, and I have
learned how reports are made out.’
“An equally ridiculous mistake procured for M. Le Sage in the famous
Yellow Dwarf, the honour of being set down as a Weathercock, in quality
of genealogist of the order under the humorous name of _Parvulus
Sapiens_ (Little Le Sage). For this favour, as I afterwards learned, I
was indebted to the suppression that was made during the King’s reign of
the genealogy of your Majesty, whose descent I was supposed to have
traced from Æneas and Ascanuis. It is difficult to conceive what could
have been meant by all this, as there was nothing in the Atlas that
could either directly or indirectly have suggested such an idea.
However, at all the various times at which the Atlas and its author were
assailed, numerous zealous and fervent partisans enquired whether I
would be pleased to permit them to take up my defence. I invariably
desired that the subject might be dropped; I conceived that, by thus
occupying public attention, I should surely endanger my own
tranquillity. I smiled at the ill-natured attacks that were made on poor
M. Le Sage; but I should have been very sorry to have seen them extended
to his _alias_.
“If however my Atlas enjoyed this general and extensive success, it
certainly deserved it. The work is indeed adapted to every age, to every
country, to every period; it is suited to all opinions, classes and
plans of education. It is an assistant to him who wishes to learn, and a
remembrancer to him who has learned. It is a guide to the scholar and an
illustrator to the master. It embraces chronology, history, geography,
politics, &c. To those who understand it, and know how to use it, it may
be truly said to compose a whole library in itself. It is the _vade
mecum_ of the pupil and the tutor, of the scholar and the man of
business.
“Thus it had an immediate sale, and never, I imagine, did any literary
work prove so productive to its author. On its first appearance, the
daily subscriptions frequently amounted to 2 or 300 louis. During the
period when I personally superintended the publication, I calculated
that the receipts constituted a yearly income of at least 60 or 80,000
francs. It procured me a fortune. I had no other, for the Revolution had
deprived me of my patrimony, which I had afterwards no hope of
recovering; for I had been obliged to renounce it upon oath, before I
could be permitted to set foot on the French territory.
“There have been published 8 or 10,000 copies of my Atlas in various
editions; and their sale has thrown into circulation 8 or 900,000,
perhaps a million of francs, out of which there has been a clear profit
of 300,000 francs now in my hands. This constitutes my whole fortune,
for I possess nothing that has not arisen out of my Atlas, and that may
not be included in its accounts. On my departure from Europe, the sum of
150,000 francs was due to me in outstanding debts, either good or bad;
and I possessed a collection of books obtained by exchange, worth
200,000 francs; which being divided into lots of 1000 crowns each, and
exported to foreign countries, seemed to promise certain returns. But,
unfortunately, out of all this brilliant produce, I can now only reckon
upon what I have already in my hands; the rest is involved in so many
chances that I cannot but consider it as lost. I have no agent in Europe
to manage my affairs, for I had not time to make arrangements for that
purpose; and the details are so numerous, scattered, and diversified,
that I could not possibly give any one a clue to follow. The outstanding
debts are growing old; some of my debtors are dead, some have left the
country, and as for the books, they are mostly scattered about, spoiled,
and lost.
“At one time my work was on the point of ensuring to me the possession
of a brilliant fortune; but my prospects were defeated by the vilest
shuffling. The details of this case are so curious that I cannot forbear
mentioning them to your Majesty.
“At the commencement of the year 1813, two merchants, who had discovered
that I was the author of Le Sage’s Historical Atlas, called on me, and
offered, if I would supply them with two millions’ worth of copies, to
pay me immediately at the rate of 20 per cent. in ready money, and to
convey the books gratis to London, where they should still be my
property and should remain at my disposal. I stared at this—I could not
conceive what was meant, and suspected that the merchants were hoaxing
me. They, on the other hand, sought to explain themselves, by saying
that the offer was made for the sake of procuring licences, an affair
with which they found I was totally unacquainted. On repeating this
conversation to a friend, I afterwards learned that the vessels which
were licensed to sail to England, to bring home colonial goods, could
not leave France without exporting goods equal in nominal value to their
intended importation. Books were included among the allowable objects of
exportation, and the merchants sought to obtain a light freight and a
high price, which, at little expense, would entitle them to a
considerable importation. My Atlas was admirably calculated for this
kind of speculation. However, before I entered into any agreement, I
consulted the Director General of Customs, and the President of the
Committee of Exportation, by whom I was informed that the thing was
perfectly legal. With this assurance I immediately set to work. I
entered upon one of the most curious speculations that can possibly be
conceived. Only a brief interval was allowed me for making the necessary
preparations. One hundred forms in folio were distributed among thirty
of the principal printing offices in Paris; and from that moment the
presses were kept at work without intermission. All the vellum paper of
a certain size was bought up, and it daily increased in price until it
reached upwards of 100 per cent. Such a general bustle prevailed among
all the printers in Paris as to alarm the police, until the affair was
fully investigated and explained. I afforded employment either directly
or indirectly to between 300 and 400 hands. At the expiration of
one-and-twenty days I was to be ready with the two millions worth of
copies of the Atlas, and was to receive 400,000 francs in ready money. I
was perhaps the only individual in the world who could have engaged in
such a speculation; for by a singular chance, I had kept all my forms
ready composed by purchasing the types at a vast expense. I was now
reaping the fruits of ten years’ industry and expenditure. This was
truly a prize in the lottery. I was mad with joy at my unexpected good
fortune. But alas! I was building on a sandy foundation, and I was
doomed to pay dearly for the few happy moments of my illusion.
“The cynical M. de P——, the Director General of the bookselling trade,
who was my colleague in the Council of State, seemed bent on my ruin,
though I was unable to divine the cause of his animosity. While he was
giving me every assurance of his readiness to serve me, he was, in an
underhand way straining every nerve to injure me; and was exciting
against me all the most active booksellers, whom he had induced to
become the agents of his operations. Of these facts I can entertain no
doubt; for the letters secretly written on this subject by P.... were
confidentially communicated to me; but motives of delicacy forbid my
taking the satisfaction of reproaching him with his baseness.
“He first of all intimated to me that the sheets of my Atlas could not
be carried out of France, because the law permitted the exportation of
books only. I then enquired whether books in sheets were suffered to be
exported; and, on receiving an answer in the affirmative, I observed
that my sheets must be considered merely as unbound books. M. de P....
then declared that the favour granted by the Emperor could be extended
only to booksellers and not to authors; but M. de Montalivet, the
Minister of the Interior, objected to this partiality and silenced M. de
P..... The latter then asserted that the price of my sheets had been
considerably encreased; but it was proved by reference to two hundred
advertisements inserted in the Journals during the last ten years, that
the price had never varied. He next alluded to the intrinsic value of
the work, and affirmed that what I sold for 100 sous did not cost me
more than five or six, and started many other difficulties of an equally
absurd kind. Meanwhile time was flying; the ships were taking in their
freights, the advantages offered by the owners were diminishing, the
arbitrary valuations of the committees arrived, and I, who had
persevered in my operations in spite of every difficulty, now found
myself involved in a thousand anxieties and vexations, and thought
myself happy in escaping absolute ruin, and being able to recover my
expenses, which exceeded 80,000 francs.”
“But,” said the Emperor, “this seems almost incredible; I can scarcely
conceive how all this happened. Your speculation was exactly suited to
my taste; it would have advanced you in my good opinion; I should have
been delighted with your activity and the method of your details.
Nothing afforded me greater pleasure than to enable those around me to
make their fortunes by honest means. Why did you not appeal to me? Why
did you not expose the conduct of P....? You should have seen how I
would have treated him.”—"Sire," I replied, "such an idea never entered
my mind, the moment was critical: your time was precious. How could I
hope that your Majesty would listen to me, or that I could
satisfactorily explain an affair so complicated and delicate? How could
I convince you that I was the author of a work that bore the name of
another? What would have been thought of one so near your Majesty’s
person meddling with commercial licenses and bookselling speculations? I
felt that I was so little known to your Majesty that I dreaded the
thought of the affair reaching your ear. Thus, though I was actively
engaged in this affair, yet I exerted every endeavour to prevent its
gaining publicity, and I made up my mind to suffer the worst."
“You were very wrong,” said the Emperor. “You behaved rather awkwardly
towards me and perhaps also towards P....; I cannot otherwise explain
the unnatural malignity which he evinced towards you.”
THE GOVERNOR’S VISIT.—HIS CONVERSATION WITH THE
EMPEROR.
16th.—The breach between the Governor and ourselves had been decided
ever since the occurrence of what I have already set down as his first
ill-natured trick, his first insult, &c. Our reserve and mutual dislike
encreased every day; in short, we were on very bad terms with each
other.
He appeared at Longwood about three o’clock, accompanied by his military
secretary, and desired to see the Emperor, as he wished to speak with
him on business. The Emperor was rather unwell and was not yet dressed;
however, he said he would see the Governor as soon as he had finished
dressing. In the course of a few minutes, he entered the drawing-room,
and I introduced Sir Hudson Lowe.
As I was waiting in the ante-chamber with the military secretary, I
could hear, from the Emperor’s tone of voice, that he was irritated, and
that the conversation was maintained with great warmth. The interview
was very long, and very clamorous. On the Governor’s departure, I went
to the garden, whither the Emperor had sent for me. He had not been well
for the last two days, and this affair completely upset him.
“Well, Las Cases,” said he, on perceiving me, “we have had a violent
scene. I have been thrown quite out of temper! They have now sent me
worse than a gaoler! Sir Hudson Lowe is a downright executioner! I
received him to-day with my stormy countenance, my head inclined, and my
ears pricked up. We looked most furiously at each other. My anger must
have been powerfully excited, for I felt a vibration in the calf of my
left leg. This is always a sure sign with me; and I have not felt it for
a long time before.”
The Governor had opened the conversation with an air of embarrassment,
and in broken sentences. He said, some planks of wood had arrived....
The newspapers must have made Napoleon acquainted with this
circumstance.... They were intended for the construction of a residence
for him.... He should be glad to know what he thought of it ... &c. To
this the Emperor replied only by a very significant look. Then adverting
hastily to other subjects, he told the Governor with warmth, that he
asked him for nothing, and that he would receive nothing at his hands;
and that he merely desired to be left undisturbed. He added that, though
he had much cause to complain of the Admiral, he had never had reason to
think him totally destitute of feeling; that, though he found fault with
him, he had nevertheless always received him in perfect confidence; but
that, during the month that Sir Hudson Lowe had been on the island, he
had experienced more causes of irritation than during the six preceding
months.
The Governor having observed that he did not come to receive a lesson,
the Emperor replied, "But that is no proof that you do not need one. You
tell me, Sir, that your instructions are much more rigid than those that
were given to the Admiral. Do they direct that I should suffer death by
the sword or by poison? No act of atrocity would surprise me on the part
of your ministers! If my death is determined on, execute your orders. I
know not how you will administer the poison; but, as for putting me to
death by the sword, you have already found the means of doing that. If
you should attempt, as you have threatened, to violate the sanctuary of
my abode, I give you fair warning that the brave 53rd shall enter only
by trampling over my corse.
“On hearing of your arrival, I congratulated myself in the hope of
meeting with a general who, having spent some portion of his life on the
Continent, and having taken part in important public affairs, would know
how to act in a becoming way to me; but I was grossly deceived.” The
Governor here said that, as a soldier, his conduct had been conformable
with the interests and forms of his country. On which the Emperor
replied, “Your country, your government, and yourself, will be
overwhelmed with disgrace for your conduct to me; and this disgrace will
extend to your posterity. Was there ever an act of more refined cruelty
than yours, Sir, when, a few days ago, you invited me to your table by
the title of _General Bonaparte_, with the view of rendering me an
object of ridicule or amusement to your guests? Would you have
proportioned the extent of your respect to the title you were pleased to
give me? I am not General Bonaparte to you. It is not for you or any one
in the world to deprive me of dignities which are fairly my own. If Lady
Loudon had been within my boundaries, I should undoubtedly have visited
her, because I do not stand upon strict etiquette with a woman; but I
should nevertheless have considered that I was conferring an honour upon
her. I have been told, you propose that some of the officers of your
staff should accompany me in my rides about the Island, instead of the
officer established at Longwood. Sir, when soldiers have been christened
by the fire of the battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes. It
is not the sight of any particular uniform that offends me here, but the
obligation of seeing soldiers at all; since this must be regarded as a
tacit concession of the point which I dispute. I am not a prisoner of
war; and I cannot, therefore, submit to the regulations required in such
a situation. I am placed in your power only by the most horrible breach
of confidence.”
The Governor, on taking leave, requested to be allowed to present his
Military Secretary to the Emperor; but the latter replied that that was
very unnecessary, and that if the officer had any delicacy of feeling he
could not wish it; for his own part he would rather decline it. He added
that no social relationship could exist between gaolers and prisoners;
and that the presentation was therefore perfectly useless. He then
dismissed the Governor.
The Grand Marshal joined us; he came from his own house, where the
Governor had alighted both before and after his visit to the Emperor. He
gave a detailed account of both his calls.
He said that the Governor on his return had shown great ill-humour, and
had complained very much of the Emperor’s temper. Not relying
sufficiently on his own wit, he had recourse to that of the Abbé de
Pradt, whose work had just then passed through our hands. He had said,
“that Napoleon was not content with having created to himself an
imaginary France, an imaginary Spain, and an imaginary Poland, but that
he now wished to create _an imaginary St. Helena_.” On hearing this, the
Emperor could not refrain from laughing.
We then drove out in the calash, and on our return the Emperor took a
bath. He sent for me, and having intimated that he would not dine till
nine o’clock, kept me with him. He talked over the affairs of the day,
and dwelt on the abominable treatment he suffered, the atrocious
malignity by which it was dictated, and the brutality with which it was
executed. After a few moments of silence and reflection, he exclaimed,
as he frequently does, “My dear Las Cases, they will kill me here! It is
certain!” What a horrible prophecy!...
He dismissed me at half-past ten.
17th.—I was very ill the whole of the night; the Emperor breakfasted in
the garden, and sent for me to attend him there. He was himself dull and
melancholy, and was not at all well. After breakfast we walked for a
long time in the garden; he uttered not a word. The heat obliged him to
return in-doors about ten o’clock. He regretted excessively the want of
shade.
About four o’clock he sent to know how I was. He had just returned from
taking a drive in the calash, in which I had not been able to join him.
I walked with him and the Grand Marshal until half past five. He still
had a melancholy and abstracted air. He desired Bertrand to give us an
account of his residence at Constantinople in 1796, his journey to
Athens, and his return across Albania. A great deal was said relative to
Selim III. and his improvements, the Baron de Tott, &c. The conversation
was very interesting, but unfortunately I find in my manuscript only a
few imperfect notes, which my memory cannot now assist me in filling up.
After dinner the Emperor, who had scarcely eaten any thing, attempted to
read to us the meeting of the academy from Anacharsis. His voice and his
whole frame had lost their wonted vigour and spirit. Contrary to his
custom, he ended without analysis or observation. He retired to rest as
soon as the chapter was concluded.