FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA
The events that ended in the voyage of the fallen Emperor to St. Helena,
if told in full, would make a long story. The battle of Waterloo,
however, is a good starting place, the battle that decided the peace of
Europe after its long years of war, when the Allied Powers, led by the
Duke of Wellington, defeated the French, who had rallied around Napoleon
for a last stand.
Napoleon, when he saw that the day was lost for him and the French,
fought desperately, hoping perhaps to meet death. But he seemed to have
a charmed life, and, though he plunged into the thick of the fight, he
was not even wounded.
Some of his friends advised him to continue the struggle, but he saw
that this might mean civil war for France as well as a long contest
against the Allies. He cared too much for France to drag her into
further wars. Some say that in giving up he could not help
himself,--that what he did he had to do. Be that as it may, for a second
time he signed the Act of Abdication, and after proclaiming his son
Napoleon II, he left Paris. First he went to Malmaison, once the
beautiful home of Josephine, where a few friends joined him.
When the Allies were approaching Paris, Napoleon offered his services to
the Provisional Government, promising to retire when the enemy was
driven away. But the men now at the head of affairs at Paris were afraid
to give authority of any kind to Napoleon, even for a limited time. He
had broken one promise, he might break another, and they refused his
offer.
Napoleon now thought of America. Certain Americans in Paris had offered
him help. One shipping merchant, a Massachusetts man, had an excellent
plan, which, had Napoleon followed it, might have resulted in his
reaching America safely. But Napoleon delayed, and although he did not
know it at the time, when he left Malmaison for Rochefort on June 29 he
was too late. Up to the last he hoped to reach a vessel that would carry
him safely to the United States. It is said that he gave up the plan
proposed by the American shipping merchant because he would not desert
his friends, and for the time there seemed to be no way of providing for
them.
It takes strength of mind for a man to decide to live out his destiny
rather than run away from life. Napoleon now decided to make the best of
things. With British ships practically blockading the coast, he saw that
to try to escape was hopeless. He heard with dismay that Paris had
surrendered to the Allies, and that the Provisional Government, that
might have helped him, had dissolved. His last effort was to suggest
sending a flag of truce by Generals Savary and Las Cases to Captain
Maitland, commander of the British squadron, asking to be allowed to
pass out of the harbor. He gave his word of honor that he would then go
directly to America. Captain Maitland replied that even if he himself
could grant this request, Napoleon's vessel would be attacked as soon as
it had left the harbor. Napoleon at last had to admit that the end had
come when the report was brought him that Louis XVIII was again seated
on the throne of France. He therefore again sent two officers to Captain
Maitland, offering to surrender on condition that no harm should come to
his person or property. Another condition was that he should be allowed
to live where he pleased in England as a private individual. The officer
replied that he could not make terms, but that he would probably take
Napoleon and his suite to England as soon as he should receive word from
the Prince Regent. This answer was disappointing to Napoleon, but there
was nothing now for him to do except to set out for the _Bellerophon_,
Captain Maitland's ship, with the flag of truce.
"I come to claim the protection of your prince and your laws," he said
in French, as he advanced on the quarter-deck to meet Captain Maitland.
Soon after this he wrote the following letter in French to the Prince
Regent:
ROYAL HIGHNESS:
Exposed to the factions which divide my country and to the
enmity of the great Powers of Europe, I have terminated my
political career, and I come like Themistocles to throw myself
on the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under
the safeguard of their laws and claim protection of your Royal
Highness, the most powerful, the most constant, and the most
generous of my enemies.
NAPOLEON.
It is not to be supposed that all this time Napoleon's friends were
indifferent to his fate. Those who were near enough to communicate with
him made various suggestions.
[Illustration: THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE _BELLEROPHON_]
At Rochefort his brother Joseph offered to disguise himself and change
places with him, so that the Emperor might get away in the same vessel
in which he himself was preparing to escape. Had Napoleon agreed to this
plan, he would probably have been as successful as Joseph in reaching
America.
Some young and brave French officers are said to have offered themselves
as the crew of a rowing boat to carry Napoleon safely through the
blockading fleet. There would have been some risk in carrying out this
proposal of stealing through the blockade, but it had a fair chance of
success.
There were also swift neutral vessels not far away, on more than one of
which he had friends. But although, with three of his suite, he did
embark on a Danish ship, on second thoughts he decided not to venture
farther, and returned to shore. He might have accepted the suggestion of
the captain of a French frigate then at the Ile d'Aix, who begged
Napoleon to take the chance of intrusting himself to him. He would, he
said, attack a British ship near by, and while the attention of other
vessels was fixed on the encounter, a second French frigate with
Napoleon on board would carry him far outside the harbor to safety. But
this offer, too, was put aside. The admirers of Napoleon, who look back
on his days of indecision at Rochefort, wonder at the change in the man,
who by his policy of delay brought on himself his sad exile on the
barren island.
Yet it is easy to see that even though half willing to try flight,
Napoleon really could not bring himself to the position of a fugitive,
afraid to face his enemies. It was nobler to confront danger, as he had
confronted it often on the battlefield. It was not strange that he
should hope to find appreciation of his courage, even in the hearts of
his enemies.
It was the fifteenth of July when Napoleon embarked on the
_Bellerophon_, and a week afterwards he was in Plymouth Harbor. Too
late, to his great consternation, he found that the British regarded him
as a prisoner. He was helpless; he had no weapons but words, for armed
vessels surrounded him and the few friends who followed him counted for
nothing against his foes.
On the thirtieth of July, General Bonaparte--the British refused him the
title of Emperor--was notified that the British Government had chosen
St. Helena as his future residence, whither a limited number of his
friends might accompany him. On receiving this word, Napoleon's
indignation was loudly expressed. He replied, that he was not the
prisoner, but the guest of England, and that it was an outrage against
him to condemn him to exile into which he would not willingly go. It was
at once evident, however, that, willing or unwilling, he must embark for
his distant prison. From Plymouth he was taken to Torbay, where, on the
eleventh of August, the _Bellerophon_ met the _Northumberland_, on which
the illustrious prisoner was to be taken to St. Helena.
When Napoleon received Lord Keith and Sir George Cockburn on the deck of
the _Bellerophon_ he wore a green coat with red facings, epaulets, white
waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings, the star of the Legion of Honor,
and a _chapeau gris_ with the tricolored cockade. At first the Emperor
spoke bitterly of the action of the British Government, but at last he
abruptly asked Lord Keith for his advice. The latter replied it would be
best for Napoleon to submit with good grace. Napoleon then agreed to go
on board the _Northumberland_ at ten the next morning. Later he recalled
his consent and again talked bitterly of his fate, but at last he
controlled himself and agreed to submit.
The next day, after all the stores and provisions and the personal
belongings of Napoleon and his suite were on board, the
_Northumberland_, with its distinguished prisoner, set sail for St.
Helena.
With Napoleon went a fairly large suite, consisting of the following
persons:
Grand Mareschal Comte de Bertrand, Madame de Bertrand and three
children, one woman servant and her child, one man servant; General
Comte de Montholon, Madame de Montholon and a child, one woman servant;
Comte de las Cases and his son of thirteen; General Gorgaud; three
_valets de chambre_ and three footmen, a cook, a _lampiste_, an usher, a
steward, _chef d'office_.
Among the things that made up the rather large store of baggage that
Napoleon took with him to St. Helena, besides his clothing and more
personal belongings, were two table services of silver, a number of
articles of gold, a beautiful toilet service of silver, including water
basin and ewer, cases of books, and his special beds. Although money
could do little for him in his new home, since all his expenses would be
met by the British Government, it is known that he had with him a large
amount of money.
It is useless now to discuss what would have been the result had his
enemies been kinder to Napoleon. If he had been permitted to settle down
in England as he wished, as a country gentleman, would this have
satisfied him? Even if he had made no attempt to recover the throne of
France for himself, might he not have put forth efforts to have his son
acknowledged Emperor? At the time of his father's downfall, the little
King of Rome was hardly more than a baby, but as years passed on he
could never have lived contentedly with his grandfather, the Austrian
Emperor, knowing that his father was as near as England. In the name of
the young Napoleon, Europe might again have been plunged into a great
war.
Yet, without looking toward the future, Great Britain was only too sure
that the time had come to punish one who had always been the avowed
enemy of England. It is true that England had suffered less than any
other of the Powers at the hands of Napoleon, because he had never
invaded her territory, but in no country was Napoleon so hated.
Thousands of Englishmen had shed their blood in the wars carried on
against him by the Allies, and by the mass of the English people he was
regarded as a monster. Although the so-called Napoleonic wars had their
origin in causes that Napoleon could not have controlled, he was
regarded as the one being responsible for the twenty years' upheaval in
Europe.
When it was announced that the British Cabinet had decided to send him
into exile, many, perhaps the majority, thought the punishment too
light. They would have had him treated as a rebel and immediately hanged
or beheaded. Yet while the mass of the English people hated Napoleon,
Englishmen who had ever met him were apt to be his firm friends, or at
least his admirers.
Captain Maitland, of the _Bellerophon_, said that he had inquiries made
of the crew as to their opinion of him, and this was the result: "They
may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England
knew him as well as we do, they would not touch a hair of his head."
Though Napoleon had surrendered to Great Britain alone, the Allied
Powers, desiring Great Britain to be responsible for him, approved her
course.
During the voyage of ten weeks toward St. Helena, Napoleon suffered
little from sea-sickness after the first few days. He breakfasted in his
own cabin at ten or eleven o'clock. Before he dined he generally played
a game of chess, and remained at dinner, in compliment to the Admiral,
about an hour. After he had his coffee he left the others to walk with
Count Bertrand or Count Las Cases on the quarter-deck. He often spoke to
those officers who could understand French. At first he showed little
interest in the occupations of those about him, but in time he engaged
in more general conversation and was especially inclined to talk to Mr.
Warden, the _Northumberland_ surgeon, about the prevailing complaints on
board the ship and his methods of treating the sick. After a while he
turned to his own books and spent most of the day reading or in
dictating to Las Cases. On the twenty-third of August the
_Northumberland_ crossed the equator. Before this the Admiral had amused
himself trying to frighten the French, telling them of the rough
ceremony practised by the sailors, who always undertook to present to
Neptune all persons on board who had never before crossed the line. It
happened, however, that in this instance all made a special effort to be
courteous. While the sailors presented to Neptune were shaved with huge
razors and a lather of pitch, the French were introduced politely with
compliments, and the Emperor was treated especially well.
Napoleon seemed amused by this novel performance, and later he wished to
have one hundred napoleons divided among the sailors. He was made,
however, to feel his altered position when, after some discussion, the
Admiral courteously but decidedly refused his request.
There were probably few on the _Northumberland_ who did not deeply
sympathize with the fallen Emperor. On this long, monotonous voyage,
when his only amusements were conversation and an occasional evening
game of whist with his friends, he seemed to be trying to make the best
of the situation.
On the morning when the _Northumberland_ approached St. Helena, the
Emperor dressed early, and going up on deck stepped forward on the
gangway. It was the fifteenth of October when the ship, after its long
voyage, lay at anchor. The Emperor, standing on the gangway with Las
Cases behind him, looked through his glass at the shore. Directly in
front he saw a little village, surrounded by barren and naked hills,
reaching toward the clouds. Wherever he looked, on every platform, at
every aperture, on every hill, was a cannon. Las Cases, watching his
face intently, could perceive no change of expression, for Napoleon now
had full control of himself. Unmoved he could look on the island that
was to be his prison, perhaps his grave. He did not stay long on deck,
but, turning about, asked Las Cases to lead the way to his cabin. There
they went on with their usual occupation, waiting until they should be
told that the time for landing had come.
During the long voyage Napoleon had won the regard of most persons on
the ship. The _Northumberland_ was terribly crowded, but while others
grumbled, he made no complaint of the great discomfort, although he,
like the others, was affected by it. Already he had begun to practise
that stoicism which, on the whole, was the keynote of his life at St.
Helena.