Napoleon Bonaparte, that agreeably to the instructions which I have
received from Lord Bathurst, dated 16th May, 1818, I am directed to
remove Mr. O’Meara from his situation near the person of Napoleon
Bonaparte, and that I have accordingly given orders for him to leave
Longwood immediately. Rear Admiral Plampin has received, at the same
time, instructions from the Lords of the Admiralty to remove him from
this island. Lord Bathurst’s instructions further direct that, after
Mr. O’Meara’s departure, I am to order Dr. Baxter to attend upon
Napoleon Bonaparte, as physician, whenever he is requested to do so;
and that I am to inform him that he is to consider the health of
Napoleon Bonaparte as the chief object of his attention. On
communicating this arrangement, I am strictly enjoined to state, at
the same time, that if Napoleon Bonaparte has any reason not to be
satisfied with the medical attendance of Dr. Baxter, or if he prefers
any other physician of this Island, I am quite ready to acquiesce in
his wishes in that respect, and to allow any other medical
practitioner whom he may select to attend upon him, provided he
strictly conform to the rules established and now in force.
Having given Dr. O’Meara the orders for his departure, I have
furnished Mr. Baxter with the necessary instructions, and he will be
ready to repair to Longwood at the first summons. In the meantime,
until I am informed of the wishes of Napoleon Bonaparte on this
subject, I shall order a medical officer to be stationed at Longwood,
to be ready in case of emergency.
I have the honour to be, &c.
HUDSON LOWE, Lieut.-Gen.
Document D. COUNT MONTHOLON TO THE GOVERNOR.
SIR,—Dr. O’Meara quitted Longwood yesterday, being compelled to leave
his patient in the midst of the course of medicine which he was
prescribing for him; that course has ceased this morning. From this
morning a great crime is in progress!!! Nothing remains to be added to
Count Bertrand’s letters of the 13th, 24th, 26th and 27th April last.
The Emperor will never receive any other physician than Mr. O’Meara,
because he is the physician attached to him, or than the one who may
be sent from Europe to him, in conformity with the letter of the 13th
of August, which has been already mentioned.
I have communicated the letter you addressed to me yesterday. What I
have now the honour of writing to you is the substance of the reply I
have been desired to transmit.
I have, &c.
COUNT MONTHOLON.
LETTER OF COUNT BERTRAND TO HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL
FESCH.[42]
Footnote 42:
We have thought it right to insert here this letter, because it
affords additional details respecting the interior of Longwood, and
adds new features to all that has been said of its real situation.
MY LORD,—The Sieur Cypriani, the Emperor’s steward, died at Longwood,
on the 27th of February last, at four in the afternoon. He was
interred in the Protestant burial-ground of this island, and the
ministers of their church have observed on this occasion the same
rites that they would have performed for one of their own persuasion.
Care has been taken that, in the extract from the register of deaths
which I shall send to you, though this paragraph of my letter might
answer the purpose, it should be stated that he died in the bosom of
the Roman Catholic church. The minister of the church of this country
would willingly have attended the deceased on his death-bed; but the
latter was anxious for a Catholic priest; and, as we have none, he
appeared to have no wish to see a clergyman of any other religion. I
should be glad if you would let us know what is the law of the
Catholic church upon this point, and whether a Catholic on his
death-bed may be attended by a minister of the church of England. We
cannot, however, sufficiently praise the proper feeling and the zeal
which were evinced on the present occasion by the clergy of the
island. Cypriani died of an inflammation in the bowels. He expired on
a Friday, and had attended his duties on the preceding Sunday without
having any presentiment of his approaching end. A child of one of
Count Montholon’s servants had died at Longwood a few days before. A
waiting-woman died some days ago of the same complaint. Such is the
effect of this unhealthy climate, in which few live to old age. Liver
complaints, dysentery, and inflammations in the bowels, carry off many
of the natives, but a still greater number of Europeans. We felt upon
this occasion, as we feel every day, the want of a minister of our own
persuasion. As you are our bishop, we wish you would send us out one,
either a Frenchman or an Italian. You will, in that case, select a man
of education, under forty years of age, and especially of a mild
disposition, and not imbued with antigallican principles.
The steward’s duty has devolved upon Mr. Pierron, of the household,
but he has been very ill; and, though convalescent, is still in a bad
state of health. The cook is in a similar condition. It would be,
therefore, necessary that either you, or Prince Eugene, or the
Empress, should send out a steward and a French or an Italian cook,
taken from amongst those who have been in the Emperor’s service, or
who may still be in the service of his family.
Your Eminence will find annexed: 1.—The papers found in M. Cypriani’s
portfolio; 2.—A brooch which he was in the habit of wearing, and which
I have thought it right to send home for his wife; 3.—An account of
all that is coming to him, amounting to 8,287 francs, or 345_l._ 5_s._
10_d._ sterling; 4.—A bill of exchange in favour of his heirs, for the
settlement of that account. The Emperor, knowing that his son is under
your care, and that his daughter is with Madame, only delays securing
an annuity to both his children, until he shall have been informed of
the fortune left by Cypriani, who appears to have funds in Genoa to a
rather considerable amount.
I will not afflict you by dwelling upon the state of the Emperor’s
health, which is not satisfactory. It has not, however, become worse
since the hot weather. I hope you will keep these details concealed
from Madame. Give no credit to the false reports that may be
circulated in Europe. Consider as the only fact that may be relied on
that for these twenty-two months past the Emperor has only quitted his
apartment occasionally, though very seldom, in order to pay a visit to
my wife. He has hardly seen any one, unless it be two or three
Frenchmen who are here, and the English Ambassador to China.
I beg that your Eminence will present my respects to Madame, and to
the individuals of her family, and accept the homage of the sentiments
with which I have the honour to be, &c.
COUNT BERTRAND.
FIRST LETTER OF THE COUNT DE LAS CASES TO GENERAL
COUNT BERTRAND.[43]
I am going to devote to you the first moment that I can command. It is
now upwards of a year since I quitted Longwood; and during that time,
what troubles, what cares, what misfortunes of every kind have I not
had to contend with!!! I leave it to the newspapers to give you an
account of my tribulations. I shall avoid in my letters every
expression, every subject, that might afford a pretext for their being
withheld from you. I will promote, by all means in my power, the only
object I have in view, which is that you should receive from me the
proofs of a devotedness that will occupy every instant of the
remainder of my life. I have but too present to my mind the
consolation and happiness that I derived, when in your company, from
European recollections, not to give all my attention to the object of
procuring you that kind of consolation: Oh, my dear companions! who
will henceforth engross my thoughts of every day, and of every moment!
I am, therefore, writing to you on the first instant of freedom that I
enjoy from personal restraint; and regularly every month, on the same
day, I shall at least give you this token of my incessant anxiety for
you. Obstacles, perhaps, over which I shall have no control, may
prevent your receiving my letters; but, as far as regards me, death
alone can make me fail in my promise; and here I appeal to the
feelings of those who, being intrusted with the censorship of my
letters, might fancy that they found in their expressions some motives
for intercepting them. I beseech them to let me know of any
involuntary deviations on my part that might appear reprehensible to
them, in order that I may avoid them for the future. The necessity and
the consolation of domestic sentiments cannot be prohibited by public
morality: and such are the only sentiments which I shall endeavour to
gratify in writing to you.
I have just obtained in Austria the asylum which I demanded, as soon
as I found that my liberty was in danger. I shall repair to Lintz so
soon as the wretched state of my health will allow me to undertake the
journey. The headaches which first attacked me at the Cape are daily
encreasing in violence, and give me much uneasiness. I shall avail
myself of the free intercourse which is henceforth allowed me, in
order to procure some exact information respecting all those that may
be dear to you. To-day I can only give you such information as I have
been able to collect indirectly.
My wife, who, by the greatest good fortune, was refused permission to
go out to St. Helena, at the very moment when I was leaving it, and
who came to meet me upon the road, where I was carried about like a
bale of goods, is now on her return to Paris, whence she will bring
back the rest of my children. She will enable me to afford you some
details in my next letter concerning your family, and those of
Montholon and of Gourgaud.
I have been able to ascertain that H.M. Maria Louisa enjoyed excellent
health in Parma, and that nothing can exceed the health and beauty of
her son, who is at Schœnbrunn. The Countess de Survilliers is
detained here by the very infirm state of her health; she occasionally
receives news from her husband, who is quite well, in America. Both
her daughters are also well. The eldest bears a striking resemblance
to the august head of the family. Princess Borghese, Madame, the
Emperor’s mother, Prince Canino, Cardinal Fesch, and Prince Louis, are
at Rome, and in the enjoyment of excellent health; the remainder of
the family, Princess Eliza, Count de Montfort, and Princess Murat,
reside in various parts of Austria. I hope that in time I shall be
able to send you more direct and positive details. I feel the most
bitter regret that I was not able to land and fix my abode in England.
I am deprived of the means of procuring and sending immediately
whatever I might have thought calculated to afford you some trifling
diversion upon your horrible rock. This is a religious duty imposed
upon me, which I have solicited, and shall continue every day to
solicit, the British Ministers to allow me to fulfil. My constant
endeavours to persuade them upon that point will not allow me to
despair of success. Nevertheless, however far I may be from the spot,
I shall not fail to attain so sacred an object by the assistance of
some intermediate person; only you will receive the results of my
cares and of my efforts in a less complete manner, and at a later
period.
Be careful all of you of your health; live for the consolation, the
affection, the happiness, and the wishes of those who admire and love
you.
I received, upon my arrival at Dover, a letter from you, dated the 22d
July, and one of the 29th from Sir Hudson Lowe. They acquainted me
with what was unknown to me until then, that you had received the few
articles I had sent to Longwood from the Cape; that you had received
the document which was handed to me by you, and which I had returned,
respecting the money which at my departure I had presumed to lay at
the feet of the Emperor, and of which I was so happy as to procure the
acceptance. Sir Hudson Lowe informs me that all the bills relating to
this affair, which I had left in your hands, have been negotiated. I
hope they have been duly honoured. I know not yet myself the state of
my affairs. I have not yet had it in my power to write a single line
to my agent in London, or to receive any news from him.
I regret much that T have not in my power, and at my command, the
narrative of the campaigns of Italy. That distant epoch, already
removed from the politics of the present day, possesses henceforth all
the merit of history. It is anxiously wished for. Science and the
contemporaries of that period claim it. I should deem myself fortunate
if that work were confided to my care; and in case you should procure
that favour for me, I shall instantly take the means of availing
myself of it without delay, by at once inquiring in London, what are
the previous formalities that would be required, both in England and
at St. Helena, in order that I might receive that manuscript. I shall
request that the reply to me may be likewise transmitted to Sir H.
Lowe, in order that you may judge whether there would be no objection
on your part to do what might be required of you.
Write to me dear General, in your turn, by every opportunity; give me
all the commissions that may occur to your mind, whether serious or
trifling, easy or difficult, it matters not. Be persuaded, and
constantly bear in mind, that I live only for you and through you all.
My body alone has left your rock.
COUNT DE LAS CASES.
Footnote 43:
It has been thought necessary to introduce here the following
letters of Count de Las Cases; 1.—Because they are alluded to in the
preceding letter from Count Bertrand, and help to complete the sense
and understanding of it; 2.—Because they evince the candour and good
faith with which this correspondence with Longwood was carried on;
3.—In short, because they enable the reader to give its due value to
the extraordinary assertion of Mr. Goulburn, who, whilst he received
these letters, and acknowledged with courtesy the receipt of them,
nevertheless ventured to affirm in the House of Commons, on a
certain occasion, that the author’s expressions were always clothed
in language admitting of a twofold interpretation. How can a man of
candour, such as the person to whom the aforesaid letters were
addressed, who had received, and must have read my letter to Lord
Bathurst particularly, take upon himself to assert that the author’s
expressions were always given in language that admitted of a double
interpretation? Surely, Mr. Goulburn must be very fastidious in
point of explicit and positive meaning, or else he does not
understand French. But has he read? Has he misunderstood? Did he
wish to misunderstand, and, in imitation of Lord Bathurst, may he
not, like his noble patron, on the occasion of his famous denials to
Lord Holland in the House of Peers, have founded his arguments not
upon what really existed, but upon what appeared to his advantage?
The communication of these letters is made chiefly from the
necessity of enabling every one to judge of the degree of credit
which is due to Mr. Goulburn’s assertion. That they were not
intended to be made public is sufficiently evident from the careless
and unaffected style in which they are written.
SECOND LETTER OF COUNT DE LAS CASES TO GENERAL
COUNT BERTRAND.
_Frankfort, 26 Jan., 1818._
Faithful to my promise, I write to you after the lapse of one month,
and on the same day on which my first letter was dated. I have at
heart to record the identical date, so that you may depend upon its
never being passed over without my addressing you. Some passages,
however, in my letter may perhaps be written subsequently to its date,
owing to the silence of Madame de Las Cases, whose letters I was in
daily expectation of receiving from Paris. It is now about a month
since she left me. She proposed calling upon all your relations, and
upon those of Generals Gourgaud and Montholon. She was to send me the
most circumstantial details respecting them. To my great surprise, I
have not heard from her, and as I do not wish to delay any longer
writing to you, I am under the necessity of postponing till next month
all the particulars, which I am quite certain she will have collected
with as much zeal and as much care as I could have done myself.
I have the satisfaction to know that my first letter has been
forwarded to you: I had enclosed it in one to Mr. Goulburn; his answer
has just reached me. I acknowledge with real pleasure that it is
filled with expressions of kind consideration, and is in all respects
satisfactory; this leads me to hope that what had hitherto taken place
proceeded from mutual misunderstanding.
He assures me of the readiness that will exist at all times to forward
my letters to you, so long as they shall be of the same nature as the
first, and not liable to any greater objections. He adds that,
conformably to my request, the books and pamphlets I may point out
will be sent to you. He offers to procure them, and to superintend
himself their regular transmission, taking care to remit to me from
time to time a note of their cost, in order that I may settle the
amount. He informs me that in case the Emperor shall think proper to
confide to me the _Campaigns in Italy_, Sir Hudson Lowe is forthwith
to receive instructions to transmit it to England, whence it will be
forwarded and delivered to me in the manner that may be desired at
Longwood, after taking such cognizance of it as may be deemed
necessary. Lastly, he apprizes me that my papers which were seized in
the Thames had been instantly sent back to me unopened; and that if I
had not yet received them, which is still the case, accident alone
could have occasioned the delay.
I am therefore in hopes that you will receive some publications with
this very letter. I am unfortunately at a great distance and
unpleasantly situated for selecting them, and for procuring them while
new; but I will immediately write to London to remedy this
inconvenience. I likewise hope that by the same opportunity I may be
able to send you many things of which you stand in need, or that may
prove acceptable to you, and others that may be of essential service
to the Emperor’s health.
Her Majesty Maria Louisa is quite well, and still resides in Parma.
Her son, from a late account given by a person who had seen him at a
juvenile ball, is remarkably handsome, and is the delight of all
Vienna. Such were the expressions used. He dances admirably, and is
passionately fond of that amusement.
All the members of the Emperor’s family have evinced the kindest and
most affectionate interest towards me. They have loaded me with offers
and good wishes. I shall fortunately have it in my power to afford you
regular accounts of them every month.
Prince Jerome has caused me to be assured that his offers of service
would know no other bounds than those of _impossibility_. He has given
an asylum near his person to the worthy and virtuous Planat, who,
after our separation on board the _Bellerophon_, was tossed about by
storms, and on the point of perishing on the coast. Princess Hortense
informs me that she has suffered much persecution; but that if the
torments inflicted upon her have originated in the tender and
respectful devotedness which fills her heart, they are a source of
pride and of happiness to her.
Whenever my health will allow me, I go to pay my respects to Princess
Joseph, who is confined to the most absolute retirement, and chiefly
to her bed, by the bad state of her health. We talk of St. Helena. Our
thoughts traverse the seas; those are happy moments for us. Her
daughters are quite well; her husband, from very late accounts, was
likewise well. He had taken under his care two of the Emperor
Napoleon’s servants, whom the British government had thought proper to
retrench from the establishment of Longwood.
Prince Lucien gives me an account of all those of the family who are
assembled in Rome. Madame, Cardinal Fesch, Princess Borghese, and
Prince Louis are all in the enjoyment of good health, and unite in
wishes and prayers for the health and preservation of their august
relative. As for Prince Lucien, he says he is happy in Rome; he has
just provided advantageously for his three daughters. Yet his mind and
his heart are incessantly directed towards St. Helena. He can no
longer reconcile himself to the idea of seeing his brother languishing
and dying in exile. He desires that I will candidly tell him whether
the Emperor would be as happy to see him as he himself would be to
appear before him; and conformably to his desire I write to the
British Government by the courier who bears this letter, to request
they will allow him to proceed to St. Helena, and to reside there a
couple of years or for life, if his brother does not send him away,
with or without his wife and children: his wife wishing to share in
the honour of his exile: and further, to state that he will engage not
to occasion any augmentation of expense, either for himself or for his
suite, and that he will submit to the same restrictions that are
imposed upon his brother, and to any others that it might be thought
proper to impose upon him personally, either before his departure, or
after his return.
I cannot refrain, my dear General, from again requesting you will
ascertain if the Emperor would intrust to me the _Campaigns in Italy_;
you might next forward to me those of Egypt in their turn. They are
both real treasures for the learned world and for history, quite
foreign to the politics of the present day, and consequently not
liable to any objection. I have written to London to convey the
Countess Bertrand’s thanks for the friendly recollections that were so
kindly expressed towards her, and the amiable attentions that were
shewn to her children. If I had had it in my power to remain in
England, I should have endeavoured to find out upon the spot some
articles that I might have thought acceptable to the ladies. At this
distance I can command nothing beyond my good wishes; they are very
sincere towards them and towards you all, my dear companions. The
fatal rock is ever impressed upon my heart.
I am still far from being well: my headaches are daily increasing; the
physicians are at a loss to give an opinion upon the subject. May God
be pleased to preserve my health, for the service and benefit of those
who are dearest to my heart. I embrace you all affectionately. Take
care of yourselves, and may you enjoy good health; it will be my
reward, and the reward of your friends, who love you as I do.
COUNT DE LAS CASES.
THIRD LETTER FROM COUNT DE LAS CASES TO GENERAL
COUNT BERTRAND.
_Frankfort, March 15, 1818._
I experience a certain pleasure, my dear General, in writing my third
letter to you, from the thought that my first must now be very near
reaching you. I hope my second is already on its way to St. Helena,
although I am not fortunate enough to be certain of it. A great many
publications were to be sent on at the same time, and I am going to
transmit a note of some others to be sent with the present letter.
I have just heard from my wife, who is on the point of quitting Paris
to come with my children and reside with me. She informs me that she
had seen the family of General Gourgaud, and had given to them all the
details which she had heard from me concerning himself and your
establishment at Longwood. His mother and his sister are both very
well, and send him the assurance of their most affectionate love and
good wishes. Your family, Grand Marshal, was in one of the provinces,
and for some time past no news had been received from them. With
respect to the family of Count Montholon, Madame de Las Cases has not
been fortunate enough to meet with anybody belonging to it. I hope to
be able in my next letter to speak of your friends, notwithstanding
they are away from the capital.
All the members of the Emperor’s family are quite well. I have heard
of every one of them since my last, and shall hear every month, so as
to be able to transmit regular information to you. They all follow him
with their good wishes, and live only for him. Most of them had been
hitherto entirely deprived of any information respecting him, and the
little that I have been enabled to give has therefore proved most
valuable and dear to them. To satisfy their interest and their
affection, which are both natural, I shall request the British
Government, when they receive news from St. Helena, to allow me to
receive the intelligence of the state of the Emperor’s health; it is a
favour which I shall request in the name of a numerous family, and I
hope it will not be refused to the sentiment which dictates it.
Prince Jerome has done me the honour to inform me that the conditions
attached to the permission of corresponding with his august brother,
and his profound veneration for him whom he acknowledges as his second
father, have alone prevented him from having the happiness of writing
to him, and laying his existence at his feet. If the situation of the
Emperor be not improved next year, he proposes to ask permission of
the British Government to go to St. Helena, with his wife and his son,
supposing that such a voyage could not be opposed by any reasonable
objection. The Queen his wife, to whom nothing is foreign that is
noble and elevated, is inspired with the same sentiments, and
expresses the same wishes.