Napoleon's Young Neighbor

by Helen Leah Reed

One day, when Napoleon was still at The Briars, the girls were walking with him down Pomegranate Walk, which led to the garden, when he heard strangers' voices. He did not wish to meet them, and began to run away, but, unluckily, when he reached the garden gate he found it locked. Napoleon was not likely to turn aside from anything he had undertaken to do, and as the voices drew nearer, too impatient to wait, he insisted on jumping over the gate fence. There was a prickly pear on top, the thorns of which caught him so that at first he could not extricate himself. Then he had to descend rather ignominiously on the garden side, before the strangers appeared. The thorns had really done considerable damage, and it took no little skill on Dr. O'Meara's part to extract them.

To Betsy's friends Napoleon was apt to be more obliging than to others, and tourists, many of whom stayed over at St. Helena on their way to or from Africa or India, frequently sought her services to effect an introduction.

"Sir," said Betsy to Napoleon one day, "may I present a lady to you? She is just here from India. Her husband has high rank."

Napoleon was not fond of women visitors, but he gave his consent to Betsy's request.

At the appointed time the lady from India appeared, gowned in crimson velvet bordered with pearls. Her black hair was braided and adorned with pearls, and butterflies of diamonds and emeralds and rubies. She was one of the plainest women Betsy had ever seen, and she was fearful of the impression she would make on Napoleon.

After Napoleon had asked the usual questions, "Are you married?" and "How many children have you?" he looked closely at her to see what compliment he could best pay her.

At length, after a pause that might have embarrassed a less complacent woman, he said politely, "Madame, you have the most luxuriant hair."

That the lady from India had fine hair was so evident a fact, that she need not have been so exceedingly pleased by Napoleon's compliment. Yet she was so overcome by it that when she returned to England she sent letters to the newspapers speaking of the Emperor's great admiration for her.

Napoleon, in reality, did not at all like this visitor, and when she had gone he said severely to the young girl:

"You shall introduce me to no more ladies." His tone was so unusually severe that Betsy did not dare confess what really was the case, that she had brought Mrs. S. to see Napoleon merely to tease him, knowing that it was positively disagreeable to him to meet very plain women.