principal persons who accompanied Buonaparte to the Bellerophon;
premising, that I do not pretend to be minutely correct in the view I
took of them: the trying circumstances in which these unfortunate men
were placed, being such as required more than common temper; and I
think it very doubtful, whether, in the same situation, Englishmen
would have maintained equal forbearance.
Count Bertrand was a man of about forty-four years of age, five feet
ten inches in height, of a slight make and prepossessing appearance:
his manners extremely placid and gentle, though evidently of a warm
temper; and showed himself rather hasty in his conduct to Sir George
Cockburn, about searching the baggage; as Sir George was not acting
upon his own authority, but by the directions of his superiors, and
was inclined to conduct himself with as much consideration as his
orders would admit. He was an affectionate attentive husband, and much
attached to his children.
The Countess Bertrand was then of a tall, slight figure. Her maiden
name was Dillon; her father was an Irishman in the French service, who
lost his life during the revolution, and was related to Lord Dillon.
Though, perhaps, a little warm, she has undoubtedly many excellent
qualities: she showed herself to be a kind mother and affectionate
wife; and if she easily took offence, she as easily forgot it; and any
little dispute that occurred between her and me, was amply atoned for
by the frank and affectionate manner in which she took leave when we
were about to part, perhaps for ever.[13] They had, at the time I
speak of, three fine children,--two boys and a girl; the eldest boy
about five years of age, who seemed to have a natural turn for the
profession of his father: his constant amusement, in which the young
lady and little Montholon joined, was forming lines and squares, and
other military evolutions, on the quarter-deck.
[Footnote 13: [I think the handsome and gentlemanlike account
of Madame Bertrand is a complete _amende honorable_ for
anything said of her in the course of the journal, and forms
a complete refutation to the objections made in the sense of
delicacy towards that lady for mentioning some part of the
conversation when in warmer moments. If you were to mention
your having afterwards met her in France, I think it would be
interesting.--SCOTT.]]
General Savary, Duc de Rovigo, was a tall handsome man, then about
forty-six years of age, of a cheerful disposition; and notwithstanding
the alarm he was in lest he should be given up to the French
Government, he never forgot himself so far as to make use of a rude
expression in my presence. He was Minister of Police after Fouche. As
a great deal had been said about Captain Wright's death, I spoke to
him one day upon the subject, and told him it was generally believed
in England that he had been murdered: he said, "I took much pains in
investigating that matter, and in ascertaining the cause of his death;
and I have not a doubt that he cut his own throat in a fit of
delirium." Neither Savary nor Lallemand were allowed to accompany
Buonaparte to St Helena; but on the Bellerophon's return to Plymouth,
after transferring Napoleon to the Northumberland, both of them,
together with Planat and the other officers with the exception of
three, were, by an order from the Admiralty, sent on board the Eurotas
frigate, which conveyed them to Malta, from whence, after remaining
some time as prisoners in Fort St Angelo, they were allowed to proceed
to Smyrna.
General Lallemand[14] was about forty-two years of age, of a thick
strong make; his manners not pleasing, and his appearance by no means
prepossessing. During the whole time he was in the Bellerophon, he was
morose and abstracted, and seemed much alarmed lest he should be given
up to the French Government; and there can be little doubt, had he
fallen into its power, he would have shared the fate of Ney, as he
had, with the troops under his command, joined Napoleon on his return
from Elba. He had formerly been, for several years, one of
Buonaparte's aide-de-camps, and during the time he was in the
Bellerophon always did that duty in rotation with Montholon and
Gourgaud; one of them sleeping in his clothes on a mattress every
night outside of the door of the cabin he slept in. The other two
aide-de-camps, Generals Montholon and Gourgaud, were young men about
thirty-two years of age, the former an officer in the cavalry, and the
other in the artillery: they were both of good families; but their
attachment to Buonaparte induced them to give up their country and
property to follow him.
[Footnote 14: [Lallemand, if I recollect right, had begun the
counter-revolution in Bonaparte's favour in the north-east of
France, and anticipated the moment of success, so that his
scheme had failed. I have some reason to think (being at
Paris at the time and much with those who knew something of
what was going on) that he would have been condemned to death
along with Ney had he fallen into the hands of the restored
Government. His person should be described.--SCOTT.]]
Madame Montholon was a quiet unassuming woman, gave no trouble, and
seemed perfectly satisfied, provided she were allowed to accompany
her husband. She had with her one fine little boy, about four years
old, and I believe left another child at nurse in France.
Count Las Cases, though he bore the title of Counsellor of State, held
no official situation with Buonaparte; nor did I perfectly understand
how he came to accompany him on his departure from France, as he was
not with him in Elba: but the intimacy appeared to have been formed
since his return from that island. Napoleon was fond of his
conversation. He was of small stature, being little more than five
feet high, and slightly made. He always spoke of his master in terms
of enthusiasm, and resisted every application from his wife and family
to remain behind, being determined to follow wherever Buonaparte might
be sent. He took with him his eldest son, a quick intelligent boy of
thirteen.
Monsieur Maingaut, the surgeon, with all the domestics beyond the
twelve who went to St Helena, were conveyed in the Bellerophon to
Portsmouth, and from thence sent to Cherbourg, and landed there.
Monsieur Saint Catharine, a lad about sixteen, nephew to the Empress
Josephine, and a native of Martinique, was provided with a passage to
that island in one of our sloops of war.
Captain Prontowski, a Pole, was allowed to proceed to St Helena, some
time after the Northumberland sailed. Why this indulgence was granted
to him, I never clearly understood; but it was said to be in
consequence of the representations he made to the British Government,
of the very strong attachment he entertained to his fallen master,--a
feeling, as far as I could judge, which prevailed with equal force in
the breasts of all those who accompanied him from France, without
excepting Madame Bertrand, who, when not influenced by the horror she
entertained of being banished to St Helena, always spoke of him not
only with affection, but in the language of respect and enthusiasm.
* * * * *
[Sir Walter Scott adds at the end of his notes:--
I declare against abridgement. You are publishing a great and
interesting national document, in which accuracy is everything,
and abridgement takes greatly from its authenticity. Anything
that can be pointed out as what might be personally injurious to
these individuals whose attachment to a fallen master renders
them objects of interest ought of course to be retrenched. But on
no other account would I in Capt. M.'s place consent to alter a
word of a narrative written down at the time; and this you may
depend upon, that the more minute the narrative is the more it
will be interesting to the public. Minuteness is in itself the
voucher for authenticity. I presume to press this general remark.
The whole narrative is as fine, manly, and explicit an account as
ever was given of so interesting a transaction. It is one in
which Captain Maitland not only vindicates his own character, but
guarantees that of the British nation. I really, since an
opportunity is given me by Capt. Maitland's confidence, protest
against its being snipped and clipped like the feet of the
ladies who wished to qualify themselves for the glass slipper.
The corrections in point of mere style are generally for the
better, and, I think, ought to be adopted. But let an idea get
abroad that your narrative has been altered and modified to suit
existing times, and the public suspicion will greatly outrun the
fact and suppose that material cancels or alterations have been
made.]
APPENDIX.
So many erroneous statements have gone abroad, as to the terms of
Buonaparte's reception on board the Bellerophon, that I conceive it
right to give the following correspondence, although at the expense of
some repetition; in order to its being distinctly seen, that the good
faith of the British nation was not compromised on that occasion, but
that His Majesty's Government were at perfect liberty, as far as those
terms were concerned, to act as they thought best.
"Tonnant, at anchor under Berryhead,
7th August, 1815.
"SIR,
"Count Las Cases having this morning stated to me that he understood
from you, when he was on board the Bellerophon in Basque Roads, on a
mission from General Buonaparte, that you were authorized to receive
the General and his suite on board the ship you command, for
conveyance to England; and that you assured him, at the same time,
that both the General and his suite would be well received there; you
are to report for my information, such observations as you may
consider it necessary to make upon these assertions.
"I am, Sir,
Your most obedient,
humble servant,
KEITH, Admiral."
"Captain Maitland,
Bellerophon."
"H.M.S. Bellerophon,
Plymouth Sound, 8th August, 1815.
"MY LORD,
"I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of
yesterday's date, informing me that Count Las Cases had stated to you,
that he had understood from me when he was on board the Bellerophon in
Basque Roads, on a mission from General Buonaparte, that I was
authorized to receive the General and his suite on board the ship I
command, for a conveyance to England, and that I assured him at the
same time, that both the General and his suite would be well received
there; and directing me to report for your Lordship's information such
observations as I may consider it necessary to make upon these
assertions. I shall, in consequence, state, to the best of my
recollection, the whole of the transaction that took place between
Count Las Cases and me, on the 14th of July, respecting the
embarkation of Napoleon Buonaparte, for the veracity of which I beg to
refer your Lordship to Captain Sartorius as to what was said in the
morning, and to that officer and Captain Gambier (the Myrmidon having
joined me in the afternoon) as to what passed in the evening.
"Your Lordship being informed already of the flag of truce that came
out to me on the 10th of July, as well as of every thing that occurred
on that occasion, I shall confine myself to the transactions of the
14th of the same month.
"Early in the morning of that day, the officer of the watch informed
me, a schooner, bearing a flag of truce, was approaching: on her
joining the ship, about seven A.M. the Count Las Cases and General
Lallemand came on board, when, on being shown into the cabin, Las
Cases asked me if any answer had been returned to the letter sent by
me to Sir Henry Hotham respecting Napoleon Buonaparte being allowed to
pass for America, either in the frigates or in a neutral vessel. I
informed him no answer had been returned, though I hourly expected, in
consequence of those despatches, Sir Henry Hotham would arrive; and,
as I had told Monsieur Las Cases, when last on board, that I should
send my boat in when the answer came, it was quite unnecessary to have
sent out a flag of truce on that account:--there, for the time, the
conversation terminated. On their coming on board, I had made the
signal for the Captain of the Slaney, being desirous of having a
witness to all that might pass.
"After breakfast (during which Captain Sartorius came on board) we
retired to the after-cabin, when Monsieur Las Cases began on the same
subject, and said, 'The Emperor was so anxious to stop the further
effusion of blood, that he would go to America in any way the English
Government would sanction, either in a neutral, a disarmed frigate, or
an English ship of war.' To which I replied, 'I have no authority to
permit any of those measures; but if he chooses to come on board the
ship I command, I think, under the orders I am acting with, I may
venture to receive him and carry him to England; but, if I do so, I
can in no way be answerable for the reception he may meet with (this I
repeated several times); when Las Cases said, 'I have little doubt,
under those circumstances, that you will see the Emperor on board the
Bellerophon.' After some more general conversation, and the above
being frequently repeated, Monsieur Las Cases and General Lallemand
took their leave: and I assure your Lordship that I never, in any way,
entered into conditions with respect to the reception General
Buonaparte was to meet with; nor was it, at that time, finally
arranged that he was to come on board the Bellerophon. In the course
of conversation, Las Cases asked me whether I thought Buonaparte would
be well received in England; to which I gave the only answer I could
do in my situation--'That I did not at all know what was the intention
of the British Government; but I had no reason to suppose he would not
be well received.' It is here worthy of remark, that when Las Cases
came on board, he assured me that Buonaparte was then at Rochefort,
and that it would be necessary for him to go there to report the
conversation that had passed between us (this I can prove by the
testimony of Captain Sartorius, and the first Lieutenant of this ship,
to whom I spoke of it at the time), which statement was not fact;
Buonaparte never having quitted Isle d'Aix, or the frigates, after the
3rd.
"I was, therefore, much surprised at seeing Monsieur Las Cases on
board again before seven o'clock the same evening; and one of the
first questions I put to him was, whether he had been at Rochefort. He
answered, that on returning to Isle d'Aix, he found that Buonaparte
had arrived there.
"Monsieur Las Cases then presented to me the letter Count Bertrand
wrote concerning Buonaparte's intention to come on board the ship (a
copy of which has been transmitted to your Lordship by Sir Henry
Hotham); and it was not till then agreed upon that I should receive
him; when either Monsieur Las Cases, or General Gourgaud (I am not
positive which, as I was employed writing my own despatches), wrote to
Bertrand to inform him of it. While paper was preparing to write the
letter, I said again to Monsieur Las Cases, 'You will recollect I have
no authority for making conditions of any sort.' Nor has Monsieur Las
Cases ever started such an idea till the day before yesterday. That it
was not the feeling of Buonaparte, or the rest of his people, I will
give strong proof, drawn from the conversations they have held with
me.
"As I never heard the subject mentioned till two days ago, I shall not
detail every conversation that has passed, but confine myself to that
period.
"The night that the squadron anchored at the back of Berryhead,
Buonaparte sent for me about 10 P.M. and said he was informed by
Bertrand, that I had received orders to remove him to the
Northumberland, and wished to know if that was the case; on being told
that it was, he requested I would write a letter to Bertrand, stating
I had such orders, that it might not appear that he went of his own
accord, but that he had been forced to do so. I told him, I could have
no objection, and wrote a letter to that effect (a copy of which is
here annexed), which your Lordship afterwards sanctioned, and desired
me, if he required it, to give him a copy of the order.
"After having arranged that matter, I was going to withdraw, when he
requested me to remain, as he had something more to say: he then began
complaining of his treatment in being forced to go to St Helena: among
other things, he observed, 'They say I made no conditions: certainly,
I made no conditions: how could a private man (_un particulier_) make
conditions with a nation? I wanted nothing from them but hospitality,
or (as the ancients would express it) air and water. I threw myself on
the generosity of the English nation; I claimed a place _sur leurs
foyers_, and my only wish was to purchase a small estate and end my
life in tranquillity.' After more of the same sort of conversation I
left him for the night.
"On the morning he removed from the Bellerophon to the Northumberland,
he sent for me again, and said, 'I have sent for you to express my
gratitude for your conduct to me, while I have been on board the ship
you command. My reception in England has been very different from what
I expected; but you throughout have behaved like a man of honour; and
I request you will accept my thanks, as well as convey them to the
officers, and ship's company of the Bellerophon.'
"Soon afterwards Montholon came to me from Buonaparte; but, to
understand what passed between him and me, I must revert to a
conversation that I had with Madame Bertrand on the passage from
Rochefort.
"It is not necessary to state how the conversation commenced, as it
does not apply to the present transaction; but she informed me, that
it was Buonaparte's intention to present me with a box containing his
picture set with diamonds. I answered, 'I hope not, for I cannot
receive it.' 'Then you will offend him very much,' she said. 'If that
is the case,' I replied, 'I request you will take measures to prevent
its being offered, as it is absolutely impossible I can accept of it;
and I wish to spare him the mortification, and myself the pain, of a
refusal.' There the matter dropt, and I heard no more of it, till
about half an hour before Buonaparte quitted the Bellerophon, when
Montholon came to me, and said he was desired by Buonaparte to express
the high sense he entertained of my conduct throughout the whole of
the transaction: that it had been his intention to present me with a
box containing his portrait, but that he understood I was determined
not to accept it. I said, 'Placed as I was, I felt it impossible to
receive a present from him, though I was highly flattered at the
testimony he had borne to the uprightness of my conduct throughout.'
Montholon then added, 'One of the greatest causes of chagrin he feels
in not being admitted to an interview with the Prince Regent, is, that
he had determined to ask as a favour, your being promoted to the rank
of Rear-Admiral.' To which I replied, 'That would have been quite
impossible, but I do not the less feel the kindness of the intention.'
I then said, 'I am hurt that Las Cases should say I held forth any
assurances as to the reception Buonaparte was to meet with in
England.' 'Oh!' said he, 'Las Cases is disappointed in his
expectations; and as he negotiated the affair, he attributes the
Emperor's situation to himself: but I can assure you, that he
(Buonaparte) feels convinced you have acted like a man of honour
throughout.'
"As your Lordship overheard part of a conversation which took place
between Las Cases and me on the quarter-deck of the Bellerophon, I
shall not detail it; but on that occasion, I positively denied having
promised anything as to the reception of Buonaparte and his suite; and
I believe your Lordship was of opinion he could not make out the
statement to you.
"It is extremely unpleasant for me to be under the necessity of
entering into a detail of this sort; but the unhandsome representation
Monsieur Las Cases has made to your Lordship of my conduct, has
obliged me to produce proofs of the light in which the transaction was
viewed by Buonaparte as well as his attendants.
"I again repeat, that Captains Gambier and Sartorius can verify the
principal part of what I have stated, as far as concerns the charge
made against me by Count Las Cases.
"I have the honour to be,
Your Lordship's
Most obedient humble servant,
FREDERICK L. MAITLAND."
"To the Right Hon.
Viscount Keith, G.C.B.
&c. &c. &c."
"Slaney, in Plymouth Sound,
15th August, 1815.
"MY LORD,
"I have read Captain Maitland's letter to your Lordship, of the 8th
instant, containing his observations upon the assertions made on the
preceding day by Count Las Cases; and I most fully attest the
correctness of the statement he has made, so far as relates to the
conversations that took place in my presence.
"I have the honour to be,
Your Lordship's
Most obedient humble servant,
G. R. SARTORIUS,
Capt. of H.M.S. Slaney."
"To the Right Hon.
Viscount Keith, G.C.B.
&c. &c. &c."
A letter to the same effect as the foregoing was written to Lord
Keith, by Captain Gambier, of the Myrmidon, and forwarded by his
Lordship to the Admiralty, with my report; of which, by some accident,
the Admiral's secretary did not furnish me with a copy.
ADDITIONAL APPENDIX.
I.
LIST OF OFFICERS borne on the Books of H.M.S. Bellerophon in July
1815.
Captain Fred. L. Maitland.
Lieutenant Andrew Mott.[15]
" William Walford.
" John Bowerbank.
" Gabriel Christie.
" Edward William Ramsay.
Captain of Marines, George Marshall.
Lieutenant of Marines, J. W. Simpson.
" Henry Smith.
Master, Stephen Vale.
Surgeon, Barry O'Meara.
Assistant-Surgeon, A. Milne.
" E. Graebke.
Chaplain, J. W. Wynne.
Purser, George Jackson.
[Footnote 15: "Our new first lieutenant, Mr Andrew Mott, was
the best officer I ever saw in charge of a quarter-deck. I
often wondered when that man slept, eat, or dressed himself,
for he was hardly ever missed from deck, was always fresh and
vigorous, and his dress and appearance would, at any time,
have done honour to the queen's drawing-room. Maitland was,
withal, rather a little easy-going, and it occurred to me
that, knowing his defect in this way, he contrived always to
get a tolerable tartar of a first lieutenant, so that between
the captain's good nature and the lieutenant's severity,
which he occasionally checked and tempered when he thought
the lieutenant was likely to exceed bounds, the ship was kept
in capital discipline."--Home's _Memoirs_, p. 209.]
II.
Letter from EPHRAIM GRAEBKE, assistant-surgeon on board H.M.S.
Bellerophon, to his mother, giving an account of Napoleon's surrender
(British Museum, Additional MSS. 34,710, f. 81).
H.M.S. Bellerophon, Plymouth Sound,
Tuesday, July 30, 1815.
MY DEAR MOTHER,