[73] "A conspiracy of no common kind tore him from the throne, and transported him out of his states. The unanimity evinced against him is, no doubt, a proof of the wrongs he had committed. I am ready to admit, that he was inexcusable and even mad; but it is, notwithstanding, extraordinary and unexampled, that, in that crisis a single sword was not drawn in his defence, whether from affection, from gratitude, from virtuous feeling, or even from mere simplicity, if it must be so; and truly, it is a circumstance which does little honour to the atmosphere of kings."—Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 169.
[74] Fouché, tom. i., p. 337.
[75] "The real king," he said, "according to my political system and the true interests of France, was the king of Denmark; because I should then have governed Sweden by the influence of my simple contact with the Danish provinces."
[76] "I, the elected monarch of the people, had to answer, that I could not set myself against the elections of other people. It was what I told Bernadotte, whose whole attitude betrayed the anxiety excited by the expectation of my answer. I added, that he had only to take advantage of the good-will of which he had been the object; that I wished to be considered as having had no weight in his election, but that it had my approbation and my best wishes. I felt, however, shall I say it, a secret instinct, which made the thing disagreeable and painful. Bernadotte was, in fact, the serpent which I nourished in my bosom."—Napoleon, Las Cases, tom. iii., p. 171.
[77] See Reflections on the Conduct of Napoleon towards the Crown Prince of Sweden, in the [Appendix] to this Volume, [No. I.]
[78] Annual Register, vol. lii., p. 518.
[79] Jests, as well as serious observations, were made on this occasion. "Have you any commands for France?" said a Frenchman at Naples to an English friend; "I shall be there in two days."—"In France?" answered his friend, "I thought you were setting off for Rome."—"True; but Rome, by a decree of the Emperor, is now indissolubly united to France."—"I have no news to burden you with," said his friend; "but can I do any thing for you in England? I shall be there in half an hour."—"In England?" said the Frenchman, "and in half an hour!"—"Yes," said his friend, "within that time I shall be at sea, and the sea has been indissolubly united to the British empire."—S.
[80] See Mémoires de Savary, tom. iii., part i., p. 37.
[81] Lucien landed at Portsmouth in December, 1810, and was conveyed to Ludlow, which he soon after quitted for an estate called Thorngrove, fifteen miles from that town. Restored to personal liberty by the peace of Paris in 1814, he reached Rome in May; and was received by the sovereign pontiff on the very night of his arrival. The holy father immediately conferred on him the dignity of a Roman prince; and on the next day all the nobles came to salute him, by the title of Prince of Canino.
[82] Lucien's poem of "Charlemagne, ou l'Eglise Delivrée," an epic in twenty-four books, commenced at Tusculum, continued at Malta, and completed in England, appeared in 1814. It was translated into English by Dr. Butler and Mr. Hodgson. From the eighteenth canto, which was written at Malta, and which opens with a digression personal to the poet, we shall make a short extract:—