INTERVIEW WITH NAPOLEON 207 



science he seemed to know little more than any well- 

 educated gentleman, and of astronomy much less 

 for instance than our own King. His general air/ 

 he said, ' was something like affecting to know more 

 than he did know/ He was high and tried to be 

 great with Herschel, I suppose, without success ; and 

 1 1 remarked/ said the astronomer, ' his hypocrisy in 

 concluding the conversation on astronomy by observing 

 how all these glorious views gave proofs of an 

 Almighty Wisdom.' I asked him if he thought the 

 system of Laplace to be quite certain, with regard 

 to the total security of the planetary system from 

 the effects of gravitation losing its present balance? 

 He said, No ; he thought by no means that the universe 

 was secured from the chance of sudden losses of 

 parts." 



It is unfortunate that no other record exists of the 

 estimate formed of Napoleon by Herschel. Campbell 

 may have imported into the astronomer's words turns 

 of thought which he never meant to convey, and a 

 man is sometimes more free of speech in conversa- 

 tion than he would be in print. An interviewer, as 

 modern journalism has proved, may, even without 

 knowing it, give an unhappy twist to a man's words 

 and thoughts. Assuming, however, that the poet's 

 report is strictly correct, and remembering that the 

 great bitterness of Herschel's life sprang from a 

 French victory, unforgettable by him or his relations, 

 his words must be received with a discount unavoid- 

 able in the circumstances. Both poet and astronomer 

 show their feelings, perhaps, by the use of the long 

 obsolete title "First Consul" instead of the better 

 known "Emperor," and it ought never to have been 



