The Tragedy of St. Helena by Walter Runciman

W >> Walter Runciman >> The Tragedy of St. Helena

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

THE TRAGEDY OF ST. HELENA

BY

SIR WALTER RUNCIMAN, BART.

AUTHOR OF

"WINDJAMMERS AND SEA TRAMPS,"
"THE SHELLBACK'S PROGRESS,"
"LOOKING SEAWARD AGAIN," ETC.

T. FISHER UNWIN
LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE
LEIPSIC: INSELSTRASSE 20
1911

PREFACE

In my early sea-life, I used to listen to the eccentric and
complicated views expressed by a race of seamen long since passed
away. Occasionally there were amongst the crew one or two who had the
true British hypothetical belief in the demoniacal character of
Napoleon, but this was not the general view of the men with whom I
sailed; and after the lapse of many years, I often wonder how it came
about that such definite partiality in regard to this wonderful being
could have been formed, and the conclusion that impresses me most is,
that his many acts of kindness to his own men, the absence of flogging
and other debasing treatment in his own service, his generosity and
consideration for the comfort of British prisoners during the wars,
his ultimate defeat by the combined forces of Europe, the despicable
advantage they took of the man who was their superior in everything,
and to whom in other days the allied Kings had bent in homage, had
become known to the English sailors.

How these rugged men came to their knowledge of Napoleon and formed
their opinions about him may be explained in this way. Hundreds of
seamen and civilians were pressed into the King's service, many of
whom were taken ruthlessly from vessels they partly owned and
commanded. Indeed, there was no distinction. The pressgangs captured
everybody, irrespective of whether they were officers, common able
seamen, or boys, to say nothing of those who had no sea experience.
Both my own grandfathers and two of my great uncles were kidnapped
from their vessels and their families into the navy, and after many
years of execrable treatment, hard fighting, and wounds, they landed
back into their homes broken men, with no better prospect than to
begin life anew. It was natural that the numerous pressed men should
detest the ruffianly man-catchers and their employers, if not the
service they were forced into, and that they would nurse the wrong
which had been done to them.

They would have opportunities of comparing their own lot with that of
other nationalities engaged in combat against them, and though both
might be bad, it comes quite natural to the sailor to imagine his
treatment is worse than that of others; and there is copious evidence
that the British naval service was not at that period popular.
Besides, they knew, as everybody else should have known, that Napoleon
was beloved by his navy and army alike. Then, after the Emperor had
asked for the hospitality of the British nation, and became its guest
aboard the _Bellerophon_, the sailors saw what manner of man he was.
And later, his voyage to St. Helena in the _Northumberland_ gave them
a better chance of being impressed by his fascinating personality. It
is well known how popular he became aboard both ships; the men of the
squadron that was kept at St. Helena were also drawn to him in
sympathy, and many of the accounts show how, in their rough ardent
way, they repudiated the falsehoods of his traducers. The exiled
Emperor had become _their_ hero and _their_ martyr, just as
impressively as he was and remained that of the French; and from them
and other sources were handed down to the generation of merchant
seamen those tales which were told with the usual love of hyperbole
characteristic of the sailor, and wiled away many dreary hours while
traversing trackless oceans. They would talk about the sea fights of
Aboukir and Trafalgar, and the battles of Arcola, Marengo, Jena,
Austerlitz, the Russian campaign, the retreat from Moscow, his
deportation to Elba, his escape therefrom, and his matchless march
into Paris, and then the great encounter of Waterloo, combined with
the divorce of Josephine and the marriage with Marie Louise; all of
which, as I remember it now, was set forth in the most voluble and
comical manner. Some of their most engaging chanties were composed
about him, and the airs given to them, always pathetic and touching,
were sung by the sailors in a way which showed that they wanted it to
be known that they had no hand in, and disavowed, the crime that was
committed. As an example, I give four verses of the chanty "Boney was
a Warrior," as it was sung in the days I speak of. It is jargon, but
none the less interesting.

"They sent him to St. Helena!
Oh! aye, Oh!
They sent him to St. Helena,
John France Wa! (Francois.)

Oh! Boney was ill-treated!
Oh! aye, Oh!
Oh! Boney was ill-treated,
John France Wa!

Oh! Boney's heart was broken!
Oh! aye, Oh!
Oh! Boney's heart was broken!
John France Wa!

But Boney was an Emperor!
Oh! aye, Oh!
But Boney was an Emperor!
John France Wa!"

--and so on.

Although at that time I had, in common with others, anti-Napoleonic
ideas, I was impressed by the views of the sailors. Later in life,
when on the eve of a long voyage, nearly forty years ago, I happened
to see Scott's "Life of Napoleon" on a bookstall, and being desirous
of having my opinion confirmed, I bought it. A careful reading of this
book was the means of convincing me of the fact that "Boney _was_
ill-treated," and this in face of the so-called evidence which Sir
Walter Scott had so obviously collected for the purpose of exonerating
the then English Government.

The new idea presented to my mind led me to take up a course of
serious reading, which comprised all the "Lives" of Napoleon on which
I could lay my hands, all the St. Helena Journals, and the
commentaries which have been written since their publication. As my
knowledge of the great drama increased, I found my pro-Napoleonic
ideas increasing in fervour. Like the Psalmist when musing on the
wickedness of man, "my heart was hot within me, and at the last I
spake with my tongue."

I may here state in passing that there is no public figure who lived
before or since his time who is surrounded with anything approaching
the colossal amount of literature which is centred on this man whose
dazzling achievements amazed the world. Paradoxical though it may
appear now, in the years to come, when the impartial student has
familiarised himself with the most adverse criticisms, he will see in
this literature much of the hand of enmity, cowardice, and delusion
and, as conviction forces itself upon him, there evolve therefrom the
revelation of a senseless travesty of justice.

I offer no apology for the opinions contained in this book, which have
been arrived at as the result of many years of study and exhaustive
reading. I give the volume to the public as it is, in the hope that it
may attract in other ways to a fair examination of Napoleon's complex
and fascinating character.

WALTER RUNCIMAN.

_December 3, 1910._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
THE ABODE OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER II
THE MAN OF THE REVOLUTION--CRITICISM, CONTEMPORARY AND OTHERWISE

CHAPTER III
THREE GENERATIONS: MADAME LA MERE, MARIE LOUISE, AND THE KING OF ROME

CHAPTER IV
THE OLIGARCHY, THEIR AGENTS AND APOLOGISTS

CHAPTER V
MESDAMES DE STAEL AND DE REMUSAT

CHAPTER VI
JOSEPHINE

CHAPTER VII
RELIGIOUS NOTIONS OF NAPOLEON

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF EVENTS AND DATES HAVING REFERENCE TO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

INDEX

CHAPTER I

THE ABODE OF DARKNESS

In Clause 2 of his last will, dated Longwood, April 15, 1821, the
Emperor Napoleon states: "It is my wish that my ashes may repose on
the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom I have
loved so well."

At London, September 21, 1821, Count Bertrand and Count Montholon
addressed the following letter to the King of England:--

"SIRE,--We now fulfil a sacred duty imposed on us by the Emperor
Napoleon's last wishes--we claim his ashes. Your Ministers,
Sire, are aware of his desire to repose in the midst of the
people whom he loved so well. His wishes were communicated to
the Governor of St. Helena, but that officer, without paying any
regard to our protestations, caused him to be interred in that
land of exile. His mother, listening to nothing but her grief,
implores from you, Sire, demands from you, the ashes of her son;
she demands from you the feeble consolation of watering his tomb
with her tears. If on his barren rock as when on his throne, he
was a terror of the world, when dead, his glory alone should
survive him. We are, with respect, &c, &c,

(Signed) COUNT BERTRAND.

COUNT MONTHOLON."

In reply to this touching act of devotion to their dead chief the
English Ambassador at Paris wrote in December, 1821, that the English
Government only considered itself the depository of the Emperor's
ashes, and that it would deliver them up to France as soon as the
latter Government should express a desire to that effect. The two
Counts immediately applied to the French Ministry, but without result.
On May 1, 1822, a further letter was sent to Louis XVIII., by the
grace of God King of France and Navarre, concerning the redepositing
of the ashes of Napoleon, Emperor, thrice proclaimed by the grace of
the people.

On the accession of Louis Philippe to the throne the rival parties
were each struggling for ascendancy. The glory of the days of the
Empire had been stifled by the action of the European Powers and their
French allies, but the smouldering embers began to show signs of
renewed activity, and a wave of Napoleonic popularity swept over the
land. Philippe and his Ministry were not indifferent to what was going
on, and in order to distract attention from the chaos which the new
condition of things was creating, the plan of having the "ashes" of
the illustrious chief brought to the country and the people whom he
"loved so well" was suggested as a means of bringing tranquillity to
France and security to the throne.

M. Thiers, the head of a new Ministry, entered into negotiations with
the English Government, and M. Guizot addressed an official note to
Lord Palmerston, who was then Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

This precious communication is embodied in the following
document:--"The undersigned, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the French, has the honour,
conformably to instructions received from His Government, to inform
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Her Majesty the
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, that the King ardently
desires that the mortal remains of Napoleon may be deposited in a tomb
in France, in the country which he defended and rendered illustrious,
and which proudly preserves the ashes of thousands of his companions
in arms, officers and soldiers, devoted with him to the service of
their country. The undersigned is convinced that Her Britannic
Majesty's Government will only see in this desire of His Majesty the
King of the French a just and pious feeling, and will give the orders
necessary to the removal of any obstacle to the transfer of Napoleon's
remains from St. Helena to France."

This document was sent to the British Embassy in Paris, and the wishes
of M. Thiers and his Government were conveyed in orthodox fashion to
the British Foreign Secretary by the Ambassador, in the following
letter, dated Paris, May 4, 1840:--

"MY LORD,--The French Government have been requested, in several
petitions addressed to the Chambers, to take the necessary steps
with regard to the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of Great
Britain, in order to obtain an authorisation for removing the
ashes of the Emperor Napoleon to Paris. These petitions were
favourably received by the Chambers, who transmitted them to the
President of the Council, and to the other Ministers, his
colleagues. The Ministers having deliberated on this point, and
the King having given his consent to the measures necessary to
meet the object of the petitioners, M. Thiers yesterday
announced to me officially the desire of the French Government
that Her Majesty's Government would grant the necessary
authority to enable them to remove the remains of the Emperor
Napoleon from St. Helena to Paris. M. Thiers also calls my
attention to the fact that the consent of the British Government
to the projected measure would be one of the most efficacious
means of cementing the union of the two countries, and of
producing a friendly feeling between France and
England.--(Signed) GRANVILLE."

So that this King of the French and M. Thiers realise, after a
quarter of a century, that the hero who was driven to abdicate,
and then banished from France, _did_ defend his country and make
it illustrious, and that the removal of his ashes to France was
the "_most_ efficacious means" of cementing the union of the
country that forsook him in his misfortune with the country that
sent him to perish on a rock. His ashes, indeed, were to produce
a friendly feeling between these two countries. What a
burlesque!

Napoleon's motto was "Everything for the French people." He
seems to have predicted that after his death they would require
his "ashes" to tranquillise an enraged people. Of the other
contracting party he says in the fifth paragraph of his
will:--"I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy
and its deputy; the English nation will not be slow in avenging
me."

Well, it is requested that his ashes shall be given up to France so
that peace may prevail. And now follows the great act of
condescension:--

"MY LORD,--Her Majesty's Government having taken into
consideration the request made by the French Government for an
authorisation to remove the remains of the Emperor Napoleon from
St. Helena to France, you are instructed to inform M. Thiers
that Her Majesty's Government will with pleasure accede to the
request. Her Majesty's Government entertains hopes that its
readiness to comply with the wish expressed will be regarded in
France as a proof of Her Majesty's desire to efface every trace
of those national animosities which, during the life of the
Emperor, engaged the two nations in war. Her Majesty's
Government feels pleasure in believing that such sentiments, if
they still exist, will be buried for ever in the tomb destined
to receive the mortal remains of Napoleon. Her Majesty's
Government, in concert with that of France, will arrange the
measures necessary for effecting the removal.

--(Signed) PALMERSTON."

One of the chief features of this State document is its veiled
condition that in consideration of H.B.M. Government giving up the
remains of Napoleon, it is to be understood that every _trace_ of
national animosity is to be effaced. Another is, now that his mortal
remains are in question, he is styled "the Emperor Napoleon."
Twenty-five years before, when the atrocious crime of captivity was
planned, Lord Keith, in the name of the British Government, addressed
a communication to "General Bonaparte." The title of Emperor which his
countrymen had given to him was, until his death, officially ignored,
and he was only allowed to be styled "General" Bonaparte--the rank
which the British Government in that hour of his misfortune thought
best suited to their illustrious captive. He was, in fact, so far as
rank was concerned, to be put on a level with some and beneath others
who followed him into captivity. Well might he "protest in the face of
Heaven and mankind against the violence that was being enacted"
towards him. Well might he appeal to history to avenge him. There is
nothing in history to equal the malignancy of the conquerors'
treatment of their fallen foe. We shall see now and hereafter
prejudices making way, reluctantly it may be, but surely, for the
justice that should be done him.

Three days after the gracious reply of the British Government, May 20,
1840, the French King signified his desire to carry out the wishes of
the Chambers by putting the following document before them:--

"GENTLEMEN,--The King has commanded Prince Joinville [his son]
to repair with his frigate to the island of St. Helena, there to
receive the mortal remains of the Emperor Napoleon. The frigate
containing the remains of Napoleon will present itself, on its
return, at the mouth of the Seine; another vessel will convey
them to Paris; they will be deposited in the Hospital of the
Invalides. Solemn ceremonies, both religious and military, will
inaugurate the tomb which is to retain them for ever. It is of
importance, gentlemen, that this august sepulture should not be
exposed on a public place, amidst a noisy and unheeding crowd.
The remains must be placed in a silent and sacred spot, where
all those who respect glory and genius, greatness and
misfortune, may visit them in reverential tranquillity.

"He was an Emperor and a King, he was the legitimate sovereign
of our country, and, under this title, might be interred at St.
Denis; but the ordinary sepulture of kings must not be accorded
to Napoleon; he must still reign and command on the spot where
the soldiers of France find a resting-place, and where those who
are called upon to defend her will always seek for inspiration.
His sword will be deposited in his tomb.

"Beneath the dome of the temple consecrated by religion to the
God of Armies, a tomb worthy, _if possible_, of the name
destined to be graven on it will be erected. The study of the
artist should be to give to this monument a simple beauty, a
noble form, and that aspect of solidity which shall appear to
brave all the efforts of time. Napoleon must have a monument
durable as his memory. The grant for which we have applied to
the Chambers is to be employed in the removal of the remains to
the Invalides, the funeral obsequies, and the construction of
the tomb. We doubt not, gentlemen, that the Chamber will concur
with patriotic emotion in the royal project which we have laid
before them. Henceforth, France, and France alone, will possess
all that remains of Napoleon; his tomb, like his fame, will
belong solely to his country.

"The monarchy of 1830 is in fact the sole and legitimate heir of
all the recollections in which France prides itself. It has
remained for this monarchy, which was the first to rally all the
strength and conciliate all the wishes of the French Revolution,
to erect and to honour without fear the statue and the tomb of a
popular hero; for there is one thing, and one thing alone, which
does not dread a comparison with glory, and that is Liberty."[1]

The appeal is generous and just in its conception and beautifully
phrased. It was received with enthusiasm throughout the whole of
France. Louis Philippe and his Government had accurately gauged what
would, more than anything, for the time being, subdue the rumbling
indications of discord and revolt. The King had by this popular act
caught the imagination of the people. He had made his seat on the
throne secure for a time, and his name was immortal. The great mass of
the people and his Government were behind him, and he made use of this
to his own advantage. Napoleon's dying wish is to be consummated. "The
blind hatred of kings" is relaxed; they are no longer afraid of his
mortal remains; they see, and see correctly, that if they continue to
"pursue his blood" he will be "avenged, nay, but, perchance, cruelly
avenged." The old and the new generation of Frenchmen clamour that as
much as may be of the stigma that rests upon them shall be removed,
threatening reprisals if it be not quickly done. The British
Government diplomatically, and with almost comic celerity, gravely
drop "the General Bonaparte" and style their dead captive "the Emperor
Napoleon."

Louis Philippe, overwhelmed with the greatness of the dead monarch,
bursts forth in eloquent praise of this so-called "usurper" of other
days. He was not only an Emperor and a King, but the _legitimate
sovereign_ of his country. No ordinary sepulture is to be his--it is
to be an august sepulture, a silent sacred spot which those who
respect glory, genius, and greatness may visit in "reverential
tranquillity." Henceforth, by Royal Proclamation, history is to know
him as an Emperor and a King. He is to have a tomb as durable as his
memory, and his tomb and fame are to belong to his country for
evermore. The legitimate heir of Napoleon's glory is the author of one
of the finest panegyrics that has ever been written; a political move,
if you will, but none the less the document is glowing with the
artistic phrasing that appeals to the perceptions of an emotional
race.

But the real sincerity was obviously not so much in the author of the
document as in the great masses, who were intoxicated with the desire
to have the remains of their great hero brought home to the people he
had loved so well. It may easily be imagined how superfluously the
French King and his Government patted each other on the back in
self-adoration for the act of funereal restoration which they took
credit for having instituted. If they took too much credit it was only
natural. But not an item of what is their due should be taken from
them. The world must be grateful to whoever took a part in so noble a
deed. At the same time the world will not exonerate the two official
contracting parties from being exactly free from interested motives.
The one desired to maintain domestic harmony, and this could only be
assured by recalling the days of their nation's glory; and the other,
_i.e._, the British Government, had their eye on some Eastern business
which Palmerston desired to go smoothly, and so the dead Emperor was
made the medium of tranquillity, and, it may be, expediency, in both
cases.

In short, Prince Joinville was despatched from Toulon in feverish
haste with the frigate _Bellespoule_ and the corvette _Favorite_.
These vessels were piously fitted out to suit the august occasion.
Whatever the motives or influences, seen or unseen, that prompted the
two Governments to carry out this unquestionable act of justice to the
nation, to Napoleon's family, his comrades in arms who were still
living, yea, and to all the peoples of the earth who were possessed of
humane instincts, yet it is pretty certain that fear of a popular
rising suggested the idea, and the genius who thought of the
restoration of the Emperor's ashes as a means of subduing the
gathering storm may be regarded as a public benefactor.

But be all this as it may, it is doubtful if anything so ludicrously
farcical is known to history as the mortal terror of this man's
influence, living or dead. The very name of him, animate or inanimate,
made thrones rock and Ministers shiver. Such was their terror, that
the Allies, as they were called (inspired, as Napoleon believed, by
the British Government--and nothing has transpired to disprove his
theory) banished him to a rock in mid-ocean, caged him up in a house
overrun with rats, put him on strict allowance of rations, and guarded
him with warships, a regiment of soldiers with fixed bayonets, and the
uneasy spirit of Sir Hudson Lowe.

After six years of unspeakable treatment he is said to have died of
cancer in the stomach. Doubtless he did, but it is quite reasonable to
suppose that the conditions under which he was placed in an unhealthy
climate, together with perpetual petty irritations, brought about
premature death, and it is highly probable that the malady might have
been prevented altogether under different circumstances. At any rate,
he was without disease when Captain Cockburn handed him over, and for
some time after. But he knew his own mental and physical make-up; he
knew that in many ways he was differently constituted from other men.
His habits of life were different, and therefore his gaolers should
have been especially careful not to subject this singularly organised
man to a poisonous climate and to an unheard-of system of cruelty.
Yes, and they would have been well advised had they guarded with
greater humanity the fair fame of a great people, and not wantonly
committed acts that have left a stigma on the British name.

Sir Walter Scott, who cannot be regarded as an impartial historian of
the Napoleonic regime, does not, in his unfortunate "Life of
Napoleon," produce one single fact or argument that will exculpate the
British Government of that time from having violated every humane law.
The State papers so generously put at his disposal by the English
Ministry do not aid him in proving that they could not have found a
more suitable place or climate for their distinguished prisoner, or
that he would have died of cancer anyhow. The object of the good Sir
Walter is obvious, and the distressing thing is that this excellent
man should have been used for the purpose of whitewashing the British
Administration.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16