Memoirs of the life, exile, and conversations of the Emperor Napoleon. (Vol. IV)

by comte de Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases

THE SERVANT WHO HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM ME PAYS ME A SECRET VISIT.—HIS OFFERS.—SECOND VISIT.—THIRD VISIT.—I INTRUST TO HIM MY LETTER TO PRINCE LUCIEN, WHICH CAUSES MY REMOVAL FROM ST. HELENA.

From 21st to 24th.—I had remained with the Emperor the preceding day, as late as one or two o’clock in the morning; on returning to my own apartment, I found that I had had a visit paid to me, during my absence, by a person who had become tired of waiting for me.

That visit, which my son had received, and which prudence obliged me to insert in my journal, at the time, under the veil of mystery, may and shall now be fully explained.

That visit was neither more nor less than the mysterious re-appearance of the servant whom Sir Hudson Lowe had taken from me, and who, favoured by the darkness of the night, and his knowledge of the localities of the island, had surmounted every obstacle, avoided sentinels, and scaled precipices, to come and see me, in order to tell me that, having got a situation with a person who was going to set off for London in a very few days, he came to offer me his services without reserve. He had waited for me in my own apartment for a considerable time, and, seeing that I did not return from the Emperor’s, he had gone away, fearing lest he should be caught; but he promised to return, either under pretence of visiting his sister, who was employed in our household; or by having recourse to the same means to which he had just resorted.

The next day, I immediately communicated my good fortune to the Emperor, who appeared much pleased at the intelligence, and to attach some value to the circumstance. I was very warm on the subject; I strenuously urged that we had already been here above a year, without having taken one single step towards the prospect of better days; on the contrary, we were every day more and more restricted, ill used, and tormented. We were lost in the universe; Europe was ignorant of our real situation; it behoved us to make it known. Day after day, the newspapers shewed us the veil of imposture which had been thrown over us, and the impudent and disgusting falsehoods of which we were the objects; it was for us, I urged, to publish the truth; it would find its way to the ears of the Sovereigns, to whom it was perhaps unknown; it would become known to the people, whose sympathy would be our consolation, and whose indignation would, at least, revenge us upon our cruel persecutors, &c.

We immediately began to search amongst our records. The Emperor portioned them out, pointing out the share which each of us was to take, in order to transcribe them with greater despatch. The day however passed without any thing being done on the subject. The next day (Friday), as soon as I saw the Emperor, I took the liberty of reminding him of our plans of the preceding day; but he now appeared to think less of the matter, and ended the conversation by saying, “We must see.” This day passed like the preceding; I was on thorns. At night, as if to add to my impatience, my man came again, and renewed the unreserved offer of his services. I told him that I should take advantage of them, and that he might act without scruple, as I should not involve him in any criminality or danger. To this he replied that he did not care about that, and that he would take charge of any thing I might wish to give him, observing only, that he would call for it, without fail, the day after the next (Sunday), which would, in all probability, be the eve of his sailing. The next day (Saturday) as soon as I saw the Emperor, I hastened to communicate to him what I had heard from the servant, dwelling upon the circumstance of our having only twenty-four hours more; but the Emperor, with the utmost indifference, turned the conversation to some other topic, totally foreign to my object. I was struck with surprise. I knew the Emperor’s disposition, and I was perfectly satisfied that the indifference, the sort of absence of mind, which he manifested at this moment could not be the effect of chance, still less the result of caprice; but what then could his motives be? This idea haunted my mind the whole day, and rendered me melancholy and miserable. At night, the same sentiment which agitated my breast during the day, prevented me from sleeping. I painfully recalled to my mind every circumstance connected with this affair, when suddenly a new light broke in upon me. What do I require of the Emperor, thought I? that he should stoop to the execution of trifling details too much beneath him! No doubt, disgust and secret dissatisfaction have occasioned the silence which has caused my uneasiness. Ought we to be useless to him? Can we not serve him without afflicting him? And then several of his former observations came across my mind. Had I not informed him of the affair; had he not approved of it; what more could I expect?[^[23]] Henceforth it was for me to act, and I made up my mind in one instant. I resolved to proceed in the business, without mentioning another word to him on the subject: and, in order that it might remain more secret, I determined to keep it entirely to myself.

Some months had now elapsed since I had succeeded in forwarding the celebrated letter, in answer to Sir Hudson Lowe, concerning the Commissioners from the Allied Powers, and which was the only document that had been sent to Europe up to that period. The person who had kindly taken charge of it had brought me a large piece of satin, on part of which the letter had been written. Some was still left; and that was precisely what I wanted. Thus every thing combined to urge me towards the precipice, down which I was destined to fall.

As soon as daylight appeared, I gave the remainder of the satin to my son, on whose discretion I could rely; and he spent the whole of the day in copying upon it my letter to Prince Lucien. Night came, and, faithful to his word, my young mulatto appeared. He had some knowledge of the business of a tailor; he sewed with his own hands the satin into his clothes, and took his leave of me. I promised to give him some other things if he came to see me again before his departure, and wished him a pleasant voyage in case I should not see him again:—afterwards I went to bed with a light heart, and a feeling of satisfaction, arising from the contemplation of a day well employed, and marked by a fortunate event. I was far from thinking, at that moment, that I had just cut with my own hands the thread of my destiny at Longwood!

Alas! it will soon be seen that twenty-four hours had not elapsed when, under pretence of my having written that letter, I was removed from Longwood, and my person and papers were in the power and at the entire disposal of the Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe. And if I should now be asked how I could be so unguarded, and not suspect that possibly a snare might be laid for me, I should say that my servant had appeared to me honest, that I believed him to be faithful, and that I was still a stranger to all idea of instigating spies, a new invention, the honour of which the British Ministers of that period may claim as their own, and which has since thriven so well on the continent!

MY REMOVAL FROM LONGWOOD.—SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
AT ST. HELENA (A SPACE OF ABOUT SIX WEEKS).

25th.—The Emperor sent for me at about four o’clock; he had just finished work, and appeared much pleased with the result of his occupations of the day. “I have been busy with Bertrand all day on fortifications,” said he to me, “and the day has appeared to me very short.” I have already said that this was a newly acquired taste of the Emperor’s, quite of the moment; and such pastimes are valuable here, God knows!

I had followed the Emperor to the kind of grassplot which adjoins the tent; we thence went to the corner of the walk that leads to the bottom of the garden. Five oranges were brought on a plate, with a knife and some sugar. Oranges are very scarce on the island; they are sent from the Cape. The Emperor is very fond of this fruit. These were a present from Lady Malcolm, and the Admiral never failed to send him some, whenever he had any. We were three of us at this moment with the Emperor; he gave me one of these oranges to put in my pocket for my son, and proceeded to cut the others in slices, and prepare them; and, seated on the trunk of a tree, was eating them cheerfully, and familiarly distributing part of them to us at the same time. By a fatal instinct, I was precisely at that instant contemplating the pleasure of this momentary situation! Alas! I was far from thinking that I was then taking the last present I could receive from his hands!...

The Emperor then took some turns in the garden; the wind had become cold: he went into the house again, and bade me follow him alone into the drawing-room, and the billiard-room, whilst he paced up and down the whole extent of the two rooms. He was talking to me again about the manner in which he had passed his day, and asked me how I had spent mine; then, the conversation having turned on his marriage, he was speaking of the festivities which had taken place on that occasion, and which had ended in the terrible accident that happened at M. Schwartzenberg’s ball. I was listening, and inwardly proposing to make an interesting article in my journal on the subject, when the Emperor suddenly interrupted his conversation, to observe through the window a great number of English officers, who were advancing towards us from the gate of our enclosure: it was the Governor, surrounded by several of his staff. The Grand Marshal, who at this moment came into the room, observed that the Governor had already been there in the morning; and that he had been at his house, and remained there some time; he added that a certain movement of the troops was spoken of. These circumstances appeared singular; and—mark the effect of a guilty conscience!—the idea of my letter clandestinely sent, immediately occurred to my mind, and a secret foreboding instantly warned me that all these strange proceedings concerned me. Such in fact, was the case, for a few minutes afterwards, a message was brought to me, informing me that the English Colonel, the creature of Sir Hudson Lowe’s, was waiting for me in my own apartment. I made a sign that I was with the Emperor, who, a few minutes afterwards, said to me, “Go, Las Cases, and see what that animal wants of you.” And, as I was going, he added, “and come back soon.” These were the last words of Napoleon to me. Alas, I have never seen him since! but his accent, the tone of his voice, still sound in my ears. How often since have I taken delight in allowing my imagination to dwell upon them! and what mingled sensations of pleasure and regret may be produced by a painful recollection!

The Colonel who wished to see me was a man entirely devoted to the Governor’s wishes, his factotum, and with whom I had frequently to communicate as interpreter. I had no sooner entered the room than, with an expression of benevolence and kindness both in his voice and countenance, he inquired after my health with a tender interest. This was the kiss of Judas; for, having made a sign to him with my hand to sit down on the sofa, and having also taken a seat on it myself, he seized this opportunity to place himself between me and the door: and, altering at once his tone and expression, he informed me that he arrested me in the name of the Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, on the deposition of my servant, who had charged me with having carried on a secret correspondence.

My room was already guarded by dragoons, all representations on my part became useless, I was obliged to yield to violence, and was carried away strongly escorted. The Emperor has since written, as it will be seen hereafter, that, on seeing me from his window, hurried along through the plain, surrounded by armed men, the alacrity of the numerous staff prancing about me, and the rapid undulation of their high feathers floating in the air, had put him in mind of the ferocious joy of the savage inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, dancing round the prisoner whom they are about to devour.

I had been separated from my son, who had been detained prisoner in my apartment; but he soon joined me also under escort: so that the sudden interruption and final termination of our communications with Longwood date from that moment. We were both shut up in a wretched hovel, near the former habitation of General Bertrand and his family. I was obliged to sleep on a miserable pallet, and to make room for my poor son by my side, lest he should have to lie on the floor; I considered his life to be at this moment in danger, he was threatened with an aneurism, and had been on the point of expiring in my arms a few days before. We were kept until eleven o’clock without food; and when, in order to supply the wants of my son, I went to the door and to each of the windows to ask the men who guarded them for a morsel of bread, they answered me only by presenting their bayonets.

MY PAPERS ARE EXAMINED, &C.

25th, 26th.—What a terrible night is the first night spent in prison, within four walls! What ideas, what reflections, arise in the mind! My last thought at night, and the first on waking in the morning, had been that I was still only a few minutes’ walk from Longwood, and yet that perhaps I was already separated from it for ever.

In the course of the morning, the Grand Marshal, accompanied by an officer, passed within hail of my hovel. I was enabled to ask him from my dungeon how the Emperor was. The Grand Marshal was going to the Governor’s at Plantation House. His visit was undoubtedly on my account, but what could be the object of his mission? What were the ideas and the wishes of the Emperor on the subject? This occupied all my thoughts. On passing again, on his return, the Grand Marshal, with an expression of melancholy, made a sign to me, which gave me the idea of bidding me adieu, and which went to my heart. In the course of the morning, General Gourgaud and M. de Montholon also came as far as the late residence of Madame Bertrand, which was opposite to my prison, and not far from it. It was consolatory to me to see and to interpret their signs of friendship and tender interest. They solicited in vain to be allowed to come into my prison; they were obliged to return without having succeeded. Shortly afterwards, Madame Bertrand sent me some oranges, informing me, at the same time, that she had just received indirectly some news of my wife, and that she was in good health. These attentions, these demonstrations of kindness, from all my companions, were to me a proof that the first appearance of misfortune is sufficient to awaken the feelings of family affection, and I found some consolation at this moment in being a prisoner.

No time had been lost in my late apartment, after my arrest: a police officer (a recent importation into the colony, and, I presume, the first attempt of the kind that had been made on British ground) had made his first essay on me. He had searched my secretaire, broken open my drawers, and seized all my papers; and, anxious to shew his dexterity and the extent of his abilities, he had immediately set about undoing our beds, and taking my sofa to pieces, and even spoke of taking up the flooring.

The Governor, having got possession of all my papers, now proceeded to produce them to me in triumph. He went into the late house of Madame Bertrand, opposite to me, followed by eight or ten officers, and sent to ask me whether I would go over and there be present at the inventory which was to be made of them, or whether I preferred that he should come to me. I replied that since he left me the option, the latter plan would be most agreeable to me. Every body being seated, I rose to protest most positively against the indecorous manner in which I had been taken away from Longwood, against the illegality of sealing up my papers in my absence, and against the violation about to be committed on my private papers, the sacred depositories of my thoughts, which should exist for me only, and which had remained to this day a secret to all the world. I protested against the abuse that might be made of their contents by power; I told Sir Hudson Lowe that, if he thought that the circumstances of the case required that he should examine them, he must use his own discretion; that I had no fear of the consequences; but that I owed to myself and to general principles to throw the responsibility of the act entirely upon him, to yield only to violence, and not to authorize it by my consent.

These words, uttered by me in presence of all his officers, irritated the Governor, who exclaimed, “Count Las Cases, do not render your situation worse than it is; it is bad enough already!” alluding probably to the punishment of death, which he often reminded us of our being liable to, if we assisted in endeavouring to effect the escape of the great Captive. He concluded, no doubt, that my papers would produce the most important discoveries: God knows how far his ideas might go on that subject.

Before Sir Hudson began to read my papers, he called General Bingham, the second in command in the island, to assist personally in their perusal; but that officer’s ideas of delicacy differed entirely from those of the Governor. “Sir Hudson Lowe,” answered he, with a marked expression of disgust, “I beg you will excuse me, I do not think that I shall be able to read that kind of French hand-writing.”

I had, in fact, no real objection to the Governor’s examining my papers; and I therefore told him that, not in his capacity of judge or magistrate, for he was neither the one nor the other to me, but of my own accord and out of pure condescension, I thought proper to allow him to read them. He fell immediately upon my Journal. His joy and his expectations may be imagined, when he perceived that it would inform him, day by day, of all that happened among us at Longwood. It was sufficiently arranged to have a table of contents, or index to the subjects at the beginning of each month. Sir Hudson Lowe, on meeting frequently with his name, would immediately refer to the page pointed out in the index to read the details; and I could not help observing to him that if he found it often necessary to use forbearance, it was not my fault, but the fault of his own indiscretion. I assured him that my Journal was not known to any body; that the Emperor himself, who was the sole subject of it, had only read the first pages of it; that its contexture was far from being settled, and that it was intended to remain, for some time to come, a secret known to myself only.

After Sir Hudson Lowe had spent two or three hours in looking over my Journal, I told him that my intention had been to enable him to form a correct idea of the nature of its contents, and that, having now done so, I felt bound, for many reasons, to prohibit, as far as it was in my power, his going any further; that he could of course do as he pleased, but that I should protest against the violence he would thus exercise, and the abuse of his authority. I could easily perceive that this was a great disappointment to him; he even hesitated: however, my protest produced its effect, and my Journal was not touched again. I might have extended the protest to all my other papers, but I did not care much about them; and they were, during several days, most minutely examined.

I had my last will sealed up: I was obliged to open it as well as other papers equally sacred. Having got to the bottom of a portfolio containing some things which I had not ventured to look at since my absence from Europe, I was obliged to open them. This day was to be a day of emotion to me: the sight of these objects awoke in my breast some old recollections which my courage had stifled, since certain painful separations had taken place. I was affected, and obliged to hasten out of the room. My son, who remained in it, told me afterwards that the Governor himself had appeared somewhat affected by this circumstance.