PARIS. 
638 
and an abfolute confinement to her chamber: but, at this 
time, the emperor paid one of his vifits, when her refpeCt 
for him rendered her incautious, and fhe received the im¬ 
perial gueft in the ufual manner: they walked, during 
the time of his flay, in the gardens of Malmaifon ; and 
the confequence of this promenade was fatal: fhe was 
feized with a violent inflammation in the lungs, which 
defiec^all medical afliflance, and in a few days fhe was no 
more. 
“ Count Bertrand, in the hiflory which he gave of the 
German campaign in 1807, took occafion to obferve that 
Bonaparte had very feldoni employed fpies. (See p. 534, 
5.) He appeared, in the courfe of his warfare, to know 
but one inflance of a perfon being engaged by his mailer 
in that capacity, which was in Italy; at the fame time he 
acknowledged that the fervices performed by that perfon 
were of coniiderable importance. In fpeaking alfo of 
Napoleon’s talents, for which he uniformly avows the 
moil profound admiration, he exprefi'ed himfelf to the fol¬ 
lowing effect : ‘ When I was firll admitted to the empe¬ 
ror’s confidence, he employed me on a particular fervice, 
and no zeal was wanting, on my part, to execute it; but 
I found it imprafticable ; and I did not hefitate to fub- 
mit my opinion to him that it was abfolutely fo. It 
may be fo to you , he replied ; but in what manner did you 
proceed ? I accordingly explained the means I had pur¬ 
ified. You have failed, he laid, in following your own 
plans: now fee what fuccefs you will have in purfuing 
mine. Thefe he explained ; I adhered to them of courfe, 
and fucceeded. I then determined never again to fuppofe 
that any commands of his could fail of being fulfilled ; 
and, in any future operations which he entrufted to me, 
the idea of impoffibility never occurred to my thoughts.’ 
“ Having drolled the line, the fouth-wefl winds occa- 
fioned our making a fweep off the gulf of Guinea, before 
we were enabled to fliape a courfe for our deltined port. 
The declining fun of the 14th of OClober, 1815, fliot out 
a parting ray e’er it funk beneath the horizon. Under 
this fmall illumined fpace was obfcurely perceived the 
lofty peak of Saint Helena. The memorable morning 
foon dawned which was to ufherin the commencement of 
Napoleon’s exile. 
“ The fenfation excited in the little colony of St. Helena, 
on the arrival of this extraordinary gueft, may be more 
eafily imagined than defcribed. Curiofity, aftonifhment, 
and interelt, combined to roufe the inhabitants from their 
habitual tranquillity, into a ftate of bufy activity and in- 
quifitive folicitude. 
“ The morning was pleafant, and the breeze Heady. At 
dawn we were fufficiently near to behold the black peak 
of St. Helena : between eight and nine we were clofe 
under the Sugarloaf-hill. The whole of the French party 
had quitted their cabins, with the exception of Napoleon, 
and taken their refpe&ive ftations. On the right flood 
madame Montholon, with her arm entwined in that of 
the general, her hufband; on the poop fat madame Ber¬ 
trand, and the marfhal flood behind her. I was the only 
unoccupied perfon belonging to the fhip; and could there¬ 
fore, undifturbed, contemplate the fcene around me. I 
was afraid to approach madame Bertrand, for I was near 
enough to perceive an aClion in the mufcle of her throat 
which betokened a fob. Las Cafes, reding his arm on the 
fhoulder of his Ion, was llretching his little figure on tip¬ 
toe, but in vain, to look over the gangway; for all his 
exertion would not enable him to fee more than half-way 
down the mountain. General Gourgaud endeavoured, 
by a fmile, to fupprefs what he felt; for he had no female 
to confole him. The fervants were gazing with open 
mouths, and all their eyes ; while the children, uncon- 
fcious of ifland or rock, prifon or palace, were perform¬ 
ing their little evolutions as ufual; and the Newfound¬ 
land dog would occafionally break in upon their hollow 
fquares. We did not fee Napoleon till the fhip had anchored 
in front of the town. About eleven he made his appear¬ 
ance ; he afcended the poop-ladder, from which he could 
examine every gun that briftles at the mouth of James’* 
Valley, in the centre of which the town of that name, 
and the only one in the ifland, is fituate. While he Hood 
there, I watched his countenance with the mod obfervant 
attention, and it betrayed no particular fenfation : he 
looked as any other man would look at a place which he 
beheld for the firft time. I fhail alfo take this opportunity 
to mention that, during the whole voyage, from the mo¬ 
ment the Northumberland fet fail from England to its 
arrival at St. Helena, I never faw any change in the pla¬ 
cid countenance and unaffuming manners of our diltin- 
guifhed fhipmate; nor did I hear of a difeontented look, or 
apeevifh expreflion, being remarked by any other perfon in 
the fhip. The ladies, indeed, difcovered fome diftrefs on 
the firft view of their rocky cage; but their general con- 
duCl on the occafion, difplayed a degree of felf-poffeflion 
which was not expected of them. 
“ The firft objefil of the admiral was to make the necef- 
fary arrangements for the accommodation of Napoleon 
and his fuite; and the lieutenant-governor’s houfe was 
appropriated for that purpofe, till a proper place could 
be prepared for his fixed refidence. It was not, therefore, 
till the 17th, that they difembarked. After fun-fet on 
that day, when the inhabitants of the town, wearied ouc 
in waiting for the fpe&acle of Bonaparte’s landing, had 
retired to their homes, he, according to the wifh he had 
exprefled, went unobferved to the houfe where he was 
to pafs the firft night as an inhabitant of St. Helena. At 
an early hour of the following morning, the general was 
on horfeback, accompanied by fir George Cockburn. 
They afcended the mountain to Longwood, which was to 
be the refidence of a man, on an ifolated rock in Africa, 
who had polfefled gorgeous palaces in fo many of the 
fplendid cities of Europe. 
“About a mile from the town, and midway up the 
mountain, ftands the country-houfe of a moll refpefilable 
man, and a merchant of the ifland, Mr. Balcombe ; it is 
named the Briars, and is fituated on a level fpot, which 
might almoft be imagined to have been formed by art in 
the deep afcent. It occupies about two acres, and is 
bountifully fupplied with water, by whofe irrigating in¬ 
fluence a pleafing and contrafted fcene of vegetation, en¬ 
riched by fruit-trees, has been produced ; and feems, as it 
were', fufpended between the heights above and the depths 
below. Here Napoleon, on his defcent from Longwood, 
was induced to call; and fuch was the hofpitable impor¬ 
tunity of the amiable mafter of the manfion, that he relin- 
quifhed his intention of defcending to the valley, and 
thereby avoided the public gaze that was waiting his ap¬ 
pearance. 
“ On an elevated mound, about fifty yards from the 
houfe, is a gothic building, having one room below, and 
two fmall apartments above. This inaifonette Napoleon 
chofe for his refidence, till Longwood could be completed. 
There was no choice in the arrangement of this confined 
abode: the ground-floor was, of courfe, occupied by him, 
while Las Cafes, with his fon, who was a page, and the 
valet in waiting, were to poflefs the upper ftory. 
“ The Briars had derived, and will ever retain, a cer¬ 
tain degree of celebrity, from its having been the unex¬ 
pected refidence of Napoleon ; and this circumftance will, 
I doubt not, bring to your recolleftion, the various in- 
llances where remote and obfcure fituations, which never 
formed the fmallelt fpeclc on a map, have, by accidental 
events, become important points in the geography of 
the hiftorian. Napoleon frequently makes one of Mr. 
Balcombe’s family-parties, where he is neither trouble- 
fome nor intrufive, but condufls himfelf with the manners 
of a gentleman, and a lively demeanour that promotes 
the general vivacity of the domeftic circle. 
“ On his removal to Longw’ood, certain limits were af- 
figned him forexercife, around which a cordon of fentinels 
were ftationed. While he continues within the circle, he 
experiences no additional vigilance; but, when he ven¬ 
tures beyond, an officer is on duty* to attend him. The 
5 latter 
