his visit to the Governor, Lord Charles Somerset, his countenance
sufficiently informed me that he had nothing agreeable to communicate.
He was no longer the same man; his behaviour was cold and embarrassed,
and his reserve was soon imitated by all the other persons on board.
Several naval officers belonging to different ships in the harbour
came to visit their friends on board the Griffin. I could easily
perceive that they felt a certain degree of curiosity to see me,
though they avoided as much as possible entering into conversation
with me. They spoke to each other aside; and, by their looks, seemed
to consider me as an outlaw. From these circumstances, and certain
expressions dropped by the persons about me, I could perceive that, in
spite of the distance, the security of the great captive was the
subject of as much alarm and distrust here as at St. Helena; and I had
every reason to expect that the dark cloud which enveloped Longwood
would be extended over me at the Cape. Accordingly, as soon as I was
put on shore at noon, I was met by the officer appointed to guard me.
Captain Wright, who took me ashore in his boat, for the sake of old
acquaintance, and I hope also from sincere sympathy, declined leaving
me until I should be safely lodged in the abode that was destined for
me. We therefore walked together to what is called the Old Castle or
Fort. After crossing several drawbridges, and passing many sentinels,
we arrived in the inner courtyard or parade, and thence proceeded by
various stair-cases and galleries to the lodging assigned to us. The
doors were locked. It was necessary to search for the keys; and,
meanwhile, we were requested to wait in a room which was occupied by
several officers of the garrison. By chance, an officer of the staff
entered. He seemed to be greatly surprised to find that we were thus
left in free communication with the persons about us; and, assuming a
polite pretence, he conducted us to his own apartment to partake of
some refreshment. After a few hours had elapsed, a messenger was sent
to inform us that our apartments were ready. They consisted of three
rooms, which we were enabled to discover in proportion as the cloud of
dust with which they were filled gradually dispersed; for they had but
that moment been swept. The first room was entirely empty; the middle
one contained a large table, an arm-chair, with broken legs, and four
other wretched chairs; the third contained two bedsteads, two
bolsters, one mattress and three blankets: this was the whole of the
valuable furniture. It was well that we had taken the precaution of
bringing our beds with us from St. Helena. I was at a loss to
comprehend how two days could have been occupied in such preparations.
This circumstance did not afford me a very high notion of the
regularity, precision, or promptitude of the new authority under which
I was now placed.
The officer who had charge of us installed himself in the first room.
A sentinel was immediately stationed on the outside, and I was
informed that I must not communicate with any one. I now found myself
literally a prisoner. I had complained of Balcombe’s Cottage; but here
I was infinitely worse off. This, thought I, is the first effect of
Sir Hudson Lowe’s kind recommendations.
Dinner was served. It was ordered by our officer, and was abundant.
The staff-officer, who had used the precautionary politeness of
conducting us to his apartment in the morning, thinking himself
already on a footing of intimacy, or perhaps, being specially charged
to watch over us, came familiarly to invite me to dinner. He and his
comrade appeared to exert themselves to do the honours of the table in
the most agreeable way. They seemed anxious to shew me every
attention; but I did not feel myself at ease, and, alleging as an
excuse the fatigue I had encountered during the day, I withdrew,
leaving them _tête à tête_ over the bottle; and they sat until late at
night, according to established custom.
On the following day, I received a visit from one of the captains of
our station at St. Helena. Knowing the state of my son’s health, he
brought a medical gentleman along with him. This was a mark of
attention on his part, but the introduction occasioned, for some
moments, a curious misunderstanding. I mistook the Captain’s medical
friend for his son or nephew. The grave Doctor, who was presented to
me, was a boy of eighteen, with the form, the manners, and the voice
of a woman. But Mr. Barry (such was his name) was described to be an
absolute phenomenon. I was informed that he had obtained his diploma
at the age of thirteen, after the most rigid examination; that he had
performed extraordinary cures at the Cape, and had saved the life of
one of the Governor’s daughters, after she had been given up, which
rendered him a sort of favourite in the family. I profited by this
latter circumstance to obtain some information which might serve as a
guide for my conduct with respect to the new Governor, to whom I that
day addressed a letter, explaining my situation, and formally
requesting to be sent to England, and restored to full and complete
liberty. My letter was as follows:—-
“MY LORD,—Having been for several days under your authority, I take
the liberty of addressing myself to your Excellency, in order to
ascertain what are your intentions respecting me. Owing to a
circumstance, of a nature wholly personal to myself, I was removed
from Longwood, at St. Helena, on the 25th of November last, by Sir
Hudson Lowe, the Governor of that island.
“A few days afterwards, in consequence of several conversations with
the Governor, though without his coming to any decision on my case, I
wrote to inform him that, from that moment I should withdraw from my
voluntary subjection to him, and place myself entirely under the
jurisdiction of the laws. I demanded that he would enforce the laws
with respect to me; observing that, if guilty, I ought to be tried,
and if not guilty, I ought to be restored to freedom. I added that the
critical state of my son’s health, and also my own, imperatively
demanded medical remedies of every kind, and I entreated that he would
send us to England. Sir Hudson Lowe then seemed to hesitate. I have
reason to believe that, at first, he entertained some idea of sending
me to Europe. But he next determined to detain me at St. Helena,
separated from Longwood, until the return of answers from England. He
then several times offered to allow me to return to Longwood; and
finally, he sent me to the Cape, under your Excellency’s orders, for
the purpose, as it appears to me, by the literal interpretation of his
instructions, of putting an end to his embarrassments, and perhaps
expecting from another the same results respecting me; but without
himself risking any personal responsibility. Such, my Lord, is the
brief statement of facts which I conceive it necessary to submit to
you, in order that you may form a correct idea of my real situation. I
hope you will consider as perfectly natural, inoffensive and regular,
the request which I have now the honour to address to you, and which
is, that I may be sent to England as speedily as possible, and be
restored to full and complete liberty, as far as my natural rights may
consist with your political duties.
“I have the honour,” &c.
“P. S.—I beg that your Excellency will be pleased to inform me whether
I may be allowed to write to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent and
his Ministers. If that permission be granted, I shall do myself the
honour of addressing to your Excellency two letters, with the request
that you will forward them to England without delay. I shall also be
obliged if you will let me know when there is an opportunity of
communicating with St. Helena, as I have to address some papers to Sir
Hudson Lowe.”
Two days afterwards, I received the Governor’s answer. It was very
brief. Without entering into any particulars, he merely declared that
he considered me as a prisoner _on the report of Sir Hudson Lowe_, and
condemned me to remain at the Cape, until instructions arrived from
England. I could make no resistance; I was compelled to submit. This I
intimated to Lord Charles Somerset, in a second letter, in which I
enclosed two others; the first addressed to Lord Castlereagh,
requesting his Lordship to lay the second before the Prince Regent. My
letter to Lord Charles Somerset was as follows:—
“MY LORD,—I have received the answer which your Excellency addressed
to me, and from which I learn that I am to be detained a prisoner here
until Sir Hudson Lowe shall receive answers from England respecting
me. Doubtless your Excellency has, in your wisdom, accurately weighed
the force of the reasons which induce you to adopt a measure of so
serious a nature, as that of depriving me of my liberty, without any
previous judicial forms, and even without my being made acquainted
with the cause of my detention. All I can do is to submit to
authority, and to rely on those laws which will protect me if I be
entitled to protection.
“I shall not undertake any ulterior argument for my defence, being
persuaded that you, my Lord, in the justice of your heart, when you
determined on adopting so delicate a course, must have attentively
considered the whole of my case. However, I perceive from your answer,
that your decision rests on circumstances stated respecting me by Sir
Hudson Lowe. But have these circumstances been satisfactorily proved
in your Excellency’s eyes? Have you heard both sides of the question;
or do you think yourself screened from all personal responsibility, by
acting on the authority of Sir Hudson Lowe’s instructions, and without
any regard to my remonstrances? How happens it that Sir Hudson Lowe
could not venture, without risk, to detain me at St. Helena, while he
finds it more easy and less inconvenient to do so at the Cape?
“If your Excellency should wish to render yourself acquainted with my
affair, and to ascertain my sentiments, I am ready to submit to your
perusal all my correspondence with the Governor of St. Helena, and to
lay before you my letters to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent and
his Ministers. I make this offer with the wish that it may be
accepted. If to subject myself voluntarily, on my arrival in England,
to any measures, however arbitrary, which might be deemed equivalent
to my political quarantine here, would induce you to alter your
determination, I am ready to accede willingly to that condition: such
is my ardent desire to return to Europe, owing to the state of my
son’s health and my own; and also on account of the melancholy
solitude in which I find myself placed, separated as I am from my
family, which is most dear to me, and from the revered object for
whose sake I made the sad sacrifice of leaving my country.
“Finally, my Lord, if there remain no chance of my liberation, at
least permit my son to depart. Let him not fall a victim to
circumstances to which his age must render him wholly a stranger. I
willingly consent to see him separated from me, in the hope of
securing to him a happier lot than that which seems to be reserved for
me. I will remain here alone, to struggle with my infirmities and
sorrows, to which I shall resign myself with the greater indifference,
when I reflect that my child is released from the sentence of
lingering death which is executing on me, though I have been tried by
no tribunal, and condemned by no judge.
“I have the honour to address to your Excellency a letter to Lord
Castlereagh, enclosing one for his Royal Highness the Prince Regent.
These letters were written before I received the information which you
had the goodness to communicate to me on this subject. I know not to
which of the Ministers I ought to have addressed myself; but I
consider it unnecessary to write the letter over again, as the state
of my eyes renders writing a very painful task, and I find that I have
observed the necessary forms.”
LETTER TO LORD CASTLEREAGH, INCLOSING THAT
ADDRESSED TO THE PRINCE REGENT.
“MY LORD,—As I know not to which of your colleagues I ought to appeal,
I address myself to you, as the person of whom I have acquired the
greatest knowledge through public events. If the details relating to
St. Helena have been communicated to your Lordship, they must,
doubtless, have inspired you with great prejudice against me; and yet,
had they been properly explained, my conduct must have appeared to you
worthy of esteem, and, perhaps, even have excited your interest.
“At Longwood I considered myself within a sacred boundary, of which it
was my duty to defend the approaches. I would willingly have died on
the breach: _I resisted_. But now, when I find myself removed from the
revered circle, and again mingling with the common mass, I assume
another attitude: _I implore_.
“I therefore beg and entreat, my Lord, and I speak in the supposition
that I am addressing the Minister to whom this appeal ought to be
directed, I entreat that you will allow me to proceed to England,
since the alarming state of my son’s health and my own renders skilful
and prompt medical treatment necessary.
“What reason can there be for refusing my request? It cannot be
personal hatred! I am too obscure to attain such an honour. It cannot
be the vague dislike arising from difference of opinion! You are so
much accustomed to difference of this kind in England, and it is
cherished with so little rancour, that it would be ridiculous to
suppose such a circumstance could operate to my prejudice. Can it be
the fear that I should write or speak of the affairs of St. Helena?
But would not your refusal to grant my request, in some measure,
authorize the bitterness which it will be so easy to vent elsewhere?
Besides, if your object were to restrain me from publishing, my
residence in England would surely render this object the more secure
and easy; for there you have not only general laws, but also
particular laws, against such offences. When the individual is near
you, you have, as positive guarantees, his prudence, his judgment,
and, above all, his wish of remaining in the country.
“Thus, my Lord, I see no motive for refusing my request; but I see
many reasons for granting it. You would, by this means, have the
fairest opportunity of arriving at the truth, by procuring
contradictory and opposite statements. In discharging the noble
functions of a juror, can you satisfy your conscience by viewing only
one side of the question? I can shew you the other; and I will do so,
without prejudice or passion. You will find that I am inspired only by
sentiment.
“I must now call your Lordship’s attention to my papers which are
detained at St. Helena. I have several times explained their nature;
but I will once more describe them. They are a collection of
manuscripts, in the form of a Journal, in which, for the space of
eighteen months, I inscribed all that I learned, saw, or heard
respecting him who, in my eyes is, and will ever continue to be, the
greatest of men. This Journal, which was incomplete, incorrect,
unarranged and, from its nature, requiring continual correction, was a
secret, which was revealed only by the circumstances that took place
previously to my departure from St. Helena. Its existence known to
none, except perhaps the august individual who was the object of it;
and even he is, at this moment, ignorant of its contents. It was not
destined to be published during my life; and I took pleasure in
endeavouring to render it a complete and valuable historical monument.
My Lord, I beg that you will order the whole of those papers to be
forwarded to you. This you may do without inconvenience. I solemnly
protest that they contain nothing that can, either directly or
indirectly, be necessary or useful to the local authority of St.
Helena, in furtherance of the great object with which that authority
is intrusted. The inspection of my papers at St. Helena can be
productive of no advantage; but, on the contrary, may occasion serious
inconvenience by aggravating, through the personal allusions contained
in them, the ill-humour and irritation that already prevail in too
great a degree.
“If, on my arrival in England, your Lordship, from your political
situation, should think proper to order the examination of these
papers, which are of so sacred and private a nature, I shall
cheerfully submit to your judgment, because the examination will take
place under my own cognizance, and I shall have the security of those
inviolable and sacred forms, which I am sure your Lordship will direct
to be observed. I trust you will not refuse this second favour, which
I urgently solicit.
“My Lord, I have the honour to forward to you a letter for the Prince
Regent, which I beg you will do me the favour to lay before His Royal
Highness. My profound respect for his august person alone prevents me
from sending it unsealed; and I authorize your Lordship to open it, if
custom admits of your doing so,—I have the honour,” &c.
LETTER TO THE PRINCE REGENT OF ENGLAND.
“ROYAL HIGHNESS,—The sport of the political tempest, wandering without
a home, an unfortunate foreigner presumes confidently to appeal to
your royal heart.
“Twice in the course of my life, I have had the misfortune to leave my
country; on both occasions contrary to my interests, and with the
intention of fulfilling great and noble duties. During my first exile,
my abode in England assuaged the sorrows of my youth, and I trusted
that England would again afford me an asylum in which I might enjoy a
little tranquillity in my old age. However I have reason to apprehend
that I shall be driven thence. Why should I be visited with this
severity? Can it be on account of the place whence I came, the
attentions which I took pleasure in administering there, and the
tender sentiments which I shall ever entertain towards the individual
from whom I am now separated? But, Prince, at Longwood I was
practising a great and singular virtue; I was supporting, with my
worthy companions, the honour of those who surround the thrones of
monarchs. After the example we have presented, it cannot henceforth be
said that love and fidelity are never shewn to unfortunate sovereigns.
“Should such conduct occasion me to be persecuted and banished from
the asylum I seek? Surely he, who was always great, when he wrote for
me on the rock of adversity, these words so gratifying to my heart:
_Whether you return to France, or go elsewhere, always boast of the
fidelity you have shewn to me_:—surely he, I say, has given me a right
and title to the regard of kings. Prince! I throw myself on your royal
protection.
“During my daily intercourse and conversations with him who once ruled
the world, and filled the universe with his name, I conceived and
executed the intention of writing down daily all that I saw of him,
and all that I heard him say.
“This Journal, which includes an interval of eighteen months, and
which is unique in its kind, but as yet incomplete, incorrect,
undetermined, and unknown to all, even to the august individual to
whom it related,—has been taken from me, and detained at St. Helena.
Prince, I also place it under your royal protection, and I venture to
entreat that you will receive it into your care, for the sake of
justice, truth and history.
“If your Royal Highness should in your goodness deign to afford me
your august protection, I shall hasten to seek, in England, an asylum
where I may tranquilly recollect and deplore.
“I am, with the most profound respect,
“COUNT LAS CASES.”
I received in answer, from Lord Charles Somerset, the permission I had
solicited for my son to proceed to Europe by the first opportunity. I
wished my son to avail himself of this permission. I urged and even
commanded him to do so; but he positively refused. On this subject he
wrote a letter to the Governor, which was so gratifying to my
feelings, and reflected so much honour on his own heart, that I cannot
forbear transcribing it. It was as follows:—
“MY LORD,—My father has just communicated to me the permission you
grant me to return to Europe. He has entreated and commanded me to
accept it.
“I cannot, my Lord, avail myself of your indulgence, and I presume to
disobey my father. Bodily afflictions are nothing; the sufferings of
the heart alone are hard to be endured. I have been deprived of my
mother, and I every moment deplore my separation from her; yet I will
never forsake my father in a foreign country, and in a situation so
different from all that he has been accustomed to. My health is an
object of no importance to me. I shall be happy if I can afford any
consolation to my father, and alleviate, by sharing, the miseries
which have long been accumulating upon him.
“I prefer dying by his side to living at a distance from him. I am too
proud of his distinguished virtues, and too eager to imitate his
example, to part from him for a moment. I am ready to die here, since
it must be so: there will be two victims instead of one.
“I thank you, my Lord, with all my heart, for your kind intentions
respecting me. How grateful should I have been, how should I have
blessed you, had you extended them to my father!
“I have the honour to be,” &c.
This letter had, doubtless, been read by the family of Lord Charles
Somerset, and produced those favourable sentiments which it was
naturally calculated to inspire. On the following day, when the young
Doctor called to see us, I wished to draw him aside for the purpose of
requesting that he would exert his professional influence over my son
to induce him to depart. But, instead of listening to me, he hastened
to Emanuel’s chamber, and embracing him, expressed his approval of his
conduct, observing that he should not have respected him had he acted
otherwise. Conducting him to the window, he introduced him to two
ladies, whom he had left in their carriage, and mutual salutation
passed between them. These ladies were the two daughters of Lord
Charles Somerset, who had this morning themselves brought the Doctor
as far as the court yard fronting our prison, probably for the purpose
of satisfying the interest and curiosity which my son’s letter had
excited.
Our situation continued to be most deplorable. We were confined in a
sort of dungeon: our windows without curtains, overlooked a court-yard
covered with scorching sand. Though it was now the month of January,
we experienced in this hemisphere the burning heat of summer. We were
almost suffocated.
We were still subject to the same restrictions and the same vexations,
and the same officers presided at breakfast and dinner. This last
circumstance was a particular annoyance to me. I determined to avoid
it, and I therefore kept my bed and had my meals brought to me there:
being determined not to leave my chamber until I should be released
from the torments that surrounded me. I was besides, very unwell from
pains in my stomach; I was occasionally feverish, and in short, my
health was totally deranged. The officer on duty informed me, it is
true, that he had orders to conduct me into the town and even the
environs, whenever I should express a wish to that effect. I thanked
him, and though I could not myself profit by this favour, I accepted
it for my son.
Meanwhile, nobody came near me. Whether it was that the officer,
knowing me to be unwell, thought he was rendering me service, or
whether he was acting in in conformity with orders, I know not: but he
repulsed all who attempted to approach me. This gave rise to a curious
circumstance. Our chamber-door led into a corridor, along which we
were permitted to walk: having one day proceeded to the end of it, I
found, contrary to custom, a little door open, leading to a steep
staircase. Curiosity induced me to ascend, and I found myself on the
platform of the fort, whence I could command a view of Cape Town and
the boundless ocean. Struck with the beauty of the spectacle, I became
so wrapped in the meditations to which it gave rise, that two hours
elapsed ere I thought of returning. By chance I had come out while my
son was taking a walk with our officer. In the interim, the sentinel
had been changed, and when I presented myself at the door leading to
our apartments, the soldier placed his musket across it, and rudely
refused to admit me. The more I insisted on being admitted, the more
angrily he expressed his determination to exclude me. This appeared to
me odd enough, but I thought it still more droll when I found it
necessary to descend the staircase, pass through the court-yards to
the outer guardhouse, and obtain entrance to my prison by main force.
The officer on duty, alarmed at sight of me, ran furiously to the
sentinel who was posted on the outside of our apartments, and a
violent altercation ensued between them. The officer severely
reprimanded the man, and threatened to have him punished. The soldier,
with his eyes starting out of his head, declared that he had
discharged his duty; and I, who remained a tranquil spectator, could
not forbear smiling at this curious dispute, the cause of which no one
could explain but myself. However, peace was soon established at the
expense of the captive. I was again placed under confinement, and
order was restored in the fort.