States of Thermometer, as taken at Deadwood, island of St. Helena, during twelve calendar months, viz. from 1st Sept. 1820, to 31st Aug. 1821, inclusive.—This condensed view of the different states of the Thermometer was kept at Deadwood, which is just one short mile from Longwood, and therefore expresses the exact temperature of the climate in which he lived—milder, and more equable, certainly, than most in the known world. In point of moisture, Dr. Shortt is not of opinion that St. Helena differs materially from any other tropical island of the same extent. His account of the general state of health among the troops has been already referred to.

Months.Thermometer.Remarks
Maximum.Medium.Minimum.
Sept.1820,666462Wind blowing from S.E.
Oct.do.686562Do.Do.
Nov.do.726661Generally S.E. 6 days from N.W.
Dec.do.726661Wind from S.E.
Jan.1821,767068Do.Do.
Feb.do.767067Do.Do.
Marchdo.767167Do.Do.
Aprildo.747066Do.Do.
Maydo.726864Do.Do.
Junedo.706557Generally S.E. 1 day westerly.
Julydo.716657Do.Do.
Aug.do.686462Wind from S.E.

(Certified) by Thomas Shortt,
Physician to H.M. Forces, and
Principal Medical Officer at St. Helena.

No. IV.
INTERVIEW BETWIXT NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE AND HENRY ELLIS, ESQ., THIRD COMMISSIONER OF LORD AMHERST'S EMBASSY TO CHINA.

[See p. [311].]

Although, like others, I was familiar with the details of Buonaparte's present situation, and might, therefore, be supposed to have become saturated with those sentiments of surprise, which such an extraordinary reverse of fortune was calculated to excite—I must confess that I could boast but little self-possession on entering the presence of a man, who had been at once the terror and wonder of the civilized world. The absence of attendants, and the other circumstances of high station, did not seem to me to have affected his individual greatness; however elevated his rank had been, his actions had been still beyond it. Even the mighty weapons which he had wielded were light to his gigantic strength; the splendour of a court, the pomp, discipline, and number of his armies, sufficient to have constituted the personal greatness of an hereditary monarch, scarcely added to the effect produced by the tremendous, but unfortunately ill-directed, energies of his mind. Their absence, therefore, did not diminish the influence of his individuality. I do not know that I ever before felt myself in the presence of a mind differing from mine, not in degree, but in nature; and could have had but little disposition to gratify curiosity by inquiries into the motives which had guided his conduct in the eventful transactions of his life. I came prepared to listen and recollect, not to question or speculate. Lord Amherst having presented me, Napoleon began by saying, that my name was not unknown to him; that he understood I had been at Constantinople, and had a faint recollection of some person of my name having been employed in Russia. I, in reply, said that I had been at Constantinople in my way to Persia. "Yes," says he, "it was I who showed you the way to that country? Eh bien, comment se porte mon ami le Shah? What have the Russians been doing lately in that quarter?" On my informing him that the result of the last war had been the cession of all the territory in the military occupation of their troops—he said, "Yes, Russia is the power now most to be dreaded; Alexander may have whatever army he pleases. Unlike the French and English, the subjects of the Russian empire improve their condition by becoming soldiers. If I called on a Frenchman to quit his country, I required him to abandon his happiness. The Russian, on the contrary, is a slave while a peasant, and becomes free and respectable when a soldier. A Frenchman, leaving his country, always changes for the worse, while Germany, France, and Italy, are all superior to the native country of the Russians. Their immense bodies of Cossacks are also formidable; their mode of travelling resembles the Bedouins of the desert. They advance with confidence into the most unknown regions." He then related the following instance of the extraordinary powers of vision possessed by the Arabs. When in Egypt, he took up his glass to examine an Arab, who was still at some distance. Before Buonaparte had, with the assistance of the instrument, ascertained his appearance, a Bedouin standing near him, had so completely made him out, as to distinguish the dress of the tribe to which he belonged.

"Russia," continued he, "has still her designs upon Constantinople. To obtain my consent to his projects upon Turkey, was the great wish of the Emperor Alexander, but in vain; I told him I would never allow the Greek cross to be added to the crown of the Czars. Austria would unite with Russia against Turkey, on condition of being allowed to retain the provinces contiguous to her frontier. France and England are the only powers interested in opposing their schemes; I always felt this, and always supported the Turks, although I hated them as barbarians. If Russia," he added, "organises Poland, she will be irresistible." Napoleon here took a rapid view of the military character of the nations of Europe, and, without reference to what he had just said respecting the Russians, declared the French and English were the only troops deserving notice for their discipline and moral qualities. "The Austrian and Prussian," he said, "were much inferior: in fact, real strength and efficiency were confined to the English and French." The remainder of his harangue (for his habit of not waiting for, or indeed listening to replies, renders conversation an inapplicable term) was employed upon the present state of England, which he considered was most calamitous, and as produced by the impolicy of mixing with continental affairs. The dominion of the seas, and the maintenance of a monopoly of commerce, he considered as the only true foundation of our national prosperity. "Whatever might be the bravery of our troops, their limited number would for ever prevent us from becoming a great military power. Vous avez toujours vôtre bravoure des siècles, mais avec quarante cinq mille, vous ne serez jamais, puissance militaire. In sacrificing maritime affairs, we were acting like Francis I. at the battle of Pavia, whose general had made an excellent disposition of his army, and had placed forty-five pieces of cannon (an unheard of battery at that time) in a situation that must have secured the victory: Francis, however, his grand sabre à la main, placed himself at the head of his gendarmerie and household troops, between the battery and the enemy, and thereby lost the advantage his superiority of artillery gave him; thus," said he, "seduced by a temporary success, you are masking the only battery you possess, your naval pre-eminence. While that remains, you may blockade all Europe. I well know the effect of blockade. With two small wooden machines, you distress a line of coast, and place a country in the situation of a body rubbed over with oil, and thus deprived of the natural perspiration. I," says he, "am now suffering in my face from this obstruction to perspiration, and blockade has the same effect upon a nation. What have you gained by the war? You have gained possession of my person, and had an opportunity of exhibiting an example of ungenerousness. By placing the Bourbons on the throne, you have disturbed the legitimacy of kings, for I am the natural sovereign of France. You conceived that none but Napoleon could shut the ports of Europe against you, but now every petty sovereign insults you with prohibitory regulations upon your commerce.—L'Angleterre est déchue depuis qu'elle s'est mêlée des affaires du continent.—You should have been aware of the advance I had made towards the improvement of manufacture throughout my empire, and secured the repayment of your expenses during the war, by a forced extension of your trade. Who placed the King of Portugal on his throne? Was it not England? Had you not, therefore, a right to be reimbursed? and that reimbursement might have been found in the exclusive trade to the Brazils for five years. This demand was reasonable, and could not, therefore, have been refused." I observed, that such a proceeding would not have been consonant with our political system, and that the King of Portugal, aware of this, would have resisted, the more especially as, when placed on the throne, he no longer wanted our assistance. "The demand should have been made in the first instance," said he, "when you might have asked anything; but it is now too late; and you have only to blame your ministers, who have totally neglected the interests of England. Russia, Austria, Prussia, have all been gainers; England alone has been a loser. You have even neglected that poor kingdom of Hanover. Why not have added three or four millions to its population? Lord Castlereagh got among the monarchs, became a courtier, and thought more of their aggrandisement, than of the claims of his country. Your good fortunes, et mes fautes, mes imprudences, have brought about a state of things which even Pitt never dared to dream of; and what is the result? your people are starving, and your country is convulsed with riots. The situation of England is most curious. She has gained all, and yet she is ruined. Believe the opinion of a man accustomed to consider political subjects; England should look wholly to commerce, and naval affairs; she never can be a continental power, and in the attempt must be ruined. Maintain the empire of the seas, and you may send your ambassadors to the courts of Europe, and ask what you please. The sovereigns are aware of your present distressed situation, and insult you." He repeated, "Forty-five thousand men will never make you a military power; it is not in the genius of your nation. None but the very dregs of the nation enlist in your army; the profession is not liked." He would not listen to an observation respecting the great channel of supply from the militia to the line, which he seemed to confound with the volunteers.

Napoleon continued his observations by saying, "The suspension of the habeas corpus would not prove a remedy for the riots; people must have food; the stagnation of commerce diminishes your exports, and your manufacturers are starving. It is absurd to describe the evils as temporary. Wellesley is right in that, the distress is general, and must be lasting. Stopping the evils by suspending the habeas corpus, is applying topical remedies when the disease is in the system; topical remedies will only remove topical eruption; the complaint extends over the whole body.—There is not a man of ability in the cabinet. Lord Chatham understood the true interests of England, when he said, 'If we are just for twenty-four hours, we must be ruined.' Immense extension of commerce, combined with reductions and reforms, could alone have prevented the present crisis in England. For his part, he wished that all was tranquil and settled, as that was his only chance of being released. A large army," he remarked, "was moreover inconsistent with our free constitution, to which we were, with reason, so much attached." I remarked, that the superior importance to England of maritime concerns was fully acknowledged by our ministers, and that they would heartily rejoice in being enabled to withdraw the British contingent in France (to which he seemed to have alluded); that the actual distress in England arose from the system of public credit, by which the war had been supported, and the consequences of which were in their nature lasting; that these consequences had been anticipated, and were not, it was to be hoped, irremediable. "Yes," said Napoleon, "your resources are great; but your ruin, from persisting in your present policy, is certain. Your ministers have affected generosity, and have ruined the country. In this generosity you have departed from the system of your ancestors, who never concluded a peace without gaining, or attempting to gain, some advantage; they were steady merchants, who filled their purses; but you have set up for gentlemen, and are ruined. Although the peace, on the termination of the American war, was honourable to France, for she compelled England to acknowledge the independence of America, the treaty in 1783 was fatal to French commerce; and how do you suppose that came to be concluded? The French ministers were fully aware of its injurious consequences, but England threatened war, and they had no money to defray the expenses." I understood Buonaparte to say, that this account was supported by memoirs in the Bureau des Affaires Etrangères.

During the conversation, which, notwithstanding the variety of topics started, if not discussed, did not occupy more than half an hour, there were frequent repetitions of particular expressions, such as "L'Angleterre est déchue; avec 45,000 hommes vous ne serez jamais puissance continentale." Buonaparte never listened to any reply naturally arising from his observations, but continued his own view of the subject he was discussing; he seemed little studious in arrangement, but poured out his ideas with a rapidity of language almost equal to the rapidity of their succession in the mind. His style upon political subjects is so epigrammatic and tranchant, that in a man whose actions had not been correspondent, it would look like charlatanerie. Buonaparte must be allowed to be eloquent, and possesses that species of oratory well adapted for a popular assembly, or for influencing persons already prepared to look up to him. Upon the former, his point would produce impression; and a sort of oracular confidence, in which he abounds, would command the conviction of the latter. His manner, on the whole, was pleasing, and had a mixture of simplicity and conscious superiority which I never before witnessed. The expression of his countenance is more intellectual than commanding; and his person, so far from being overgrown with corpulency, seems fully equal to the endurance of the greatest exertion. I should say that he was as fit as ever to go through a campaign, and that, considering his age, he was not unusually corpulent. I have omitted to mention an illustration made use of by Buonaparte, in speaking of the conduct of the English ministers at the Congress. "You were," said he, "like the dog in the fable, who dropt the piece of meat in the water, while looking at his own image. You had the commerce of the world, and you took no precautions to retain it. Nothing but a great extension of commerce could have enabled you to bear your immense taxes, and you made no effort to obtain it." Buonaparte miscalls English names and words more than any foreigner I ever before heard, who had pretensions to a knowledge of the language; and notwithstanding his reading, and the attention he has probably paid to the subject, he seems little acquainted with the nature of our domestic policy. His plans, like his practice, are all despotic, and are formed without adverting to constitutional restrictions.