Itod 0F0taehs Leifers on Kapolcon. 



i-iJi ir,'^>.j .W?»n VISIT. ■ 



l,ao not recollect whetlier, >n any of 

 mj former letters, I mentioned, from the 

 B^(horit3rofLas Cases, who istlie ainanu> 

 cn.sis of the historian, that Bonaparte 

 Vas seriously ami laboriously engaged in 

 Vrit.in^ the annals of his life. I had al- 

 ieadj. been informed by the game person, 

 diat the campaigns of Egypt and Italy, 

 »iid what he styles my reign of an hun- 

 dred days, or some such title, were com- 

 pleated; and that the intermediate pe- 

 progressive state. I 



iriods were in 



therefore was looking forward to a very 

 curious morning, and hugging myself on 

 ifie approaching view of such manuscripts 

 as were to be unfolded to me: but this 

 expectation was disappointed by if mes- 

 sage from Napoleon to attend him in his 

 room. As I knew that my visit would 

 i\pt he one of mere ceremony, I pre- 

 vailed upon my companion to accompany 

 me, as J'is interpretations are always 

 given with such aptitude and perspicuity, 

 and, besides, afford me lime to arnnii^e 

 my answers. There was some little 

 finesse employed in making this arrange- 

 ment, as the funis of the court at Long- 

 wood are most respectfully observed by 

 tbe attendants on it. 



On entering the room I observed the back 

 of a; sofa turned towards me; and, on ad- 

 vancing, I saw Napoleon lying at full 

 length on it, with his left-arm hanging over 

 th^upperpart. The glare of light was ex- 

 cltj'ded by a Venetian blind, and before 

 him there was a table covered with books. 

 I could distinguish among ihem some fine 

 boundynluines on the French Revolution. 

 The heat of the day liad occasioned him 

 to^dismantle himself of coatand waistcoat. 

 — ^The moment his eye met mine, he 

 started up, and exclaimed, in English, in 

 a tone of good-humoured vivacity, «' Ah, 

 Warden, how do you do?" I bowed in 

 return; when he stretched out his hand, 

 saying, "I have got a fever." I imme- 

 diately applied my hand to the wrist, 

 and observing, both from the regularity 

 of the pulsation and the jocular expres- 

 sion of his countenance, that he was 

 exercising a little of his pleasantry, I 

 expressed my wish that h'.s health might 

 always remain the same. He then gave 

 me a familiar tap on the cheek, with the 

 back of his hand; and desired me to go 

 into the middle of the room, as he had 

 something to say to me. I now con- 

 gratulated him on the preservation of his 

 ijealih, and complimented him, at the 

 same lime, on the progress ke appeared 

 to'bi^ve tnade in the English language. 

 ♦'|tlertait>ly enjoy (tie said)" a verjr gooti 



slate of health, which I attribute to tl 

 rigorous observance of regimen. My 

 appetite is such that I feel as if I could 

 eat at any time of the day: but I am 

 regular in my meals; and always leave 

 off eating with an appetite: besides, I 

 never, as you know, drink- strong wines* 

 — Wiih respect to the English language, 

 (he continued) I have been very diligent ; 

 I now read your news-papers wiih ease; 

 and must own, that (bey afford me no iii- 

 coiisulerable amusement. They are oc« 

 casioiially inconsistent, and sometime* 

 abusive.— In one paper I am called it 

 Lear, in another a 'I'l/rant, in a third a 

 Monster, HiMi, in one of them, vvhich I' 

 really did not expect, I am described as 

 !\ Coivard ; but it turned out, after all, 

 that the writer did not accuse me of 

 avoiding danger in the field of battle, of 

 flying from an enemy, or fearing to look 

 at the menaces of fate and foitime: it 

 did not charge me with wanting presence 

 of mind in the hurry of battle, and in tht 

 suspence of conflicting armies. — Nosuchr- 

 (hiiig; I wanted courage it seems, beJ ' 

 cause I did not coully take a dose uF 

 poison, or throw myself into the sea, or 

 blow out my brains. The editor most/ 

 certainly misunderstands nie; I have, M' 

 least, too much courage for that. — Youi^a 

 papers are influenced by party princi*^.* 

 pies: what one praises, the other wilfj 

 abuse; and so vice ver^a. They wha'J> 

 live ill the metropolis where they anJlJ 

 published, can judge of pa«sing eveiitin 

 and transactions for themselves; but perJb 

 sons living at n distance from the cnpitaJ/? 

 and particularly foreigners, must be nt ali.' 

 loss to determine upon the real state ofPl? 

 things, and the characters of public meoiiq 

 from the perusal of your Journals.'' • ■'•> 

 "This calling of names, and theirt'/^ 

 scolding epithets, only serve to amustfi 1 

 me; but there are obseivations in yAtn^l 

 papers, which produce far difft-rent seniiiJ 

 sations. You have," he co.itinued, *'»-l^ 

 writer whom I grea'ly admire; I'tjelievo!'* 

 he is of your country, a Scotchm«n'r*i!iI 

 Macpherson, the author of OssiaoiEia 

 There is also a person of the name «>ft)iJ 

 Belsham: on what subjects has h^ei 

 written?"—! replied, that I believeiftu 

 he had written an account of the reign'lo 

 of our excellent sovereign. — •'•Yes," h«fsii 

 said, "your laws permit you to write (\lini 

 kings, of ministers, of measures, and trf'to 

 one another." — "Yes," Irefilied, "sucteiJJ 

 is the privilege of Englishmen; and, pos^^il 

 sessing the infirmities of human nnturej^ne. 

 they may sometimes abuse it. Miscon^'io 

 ceptioii, party spirit, and perhaps fat*": S 

 tious minds oiayi at times, tend to pro«« 



