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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/35037-8.txt b/35037-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e7db9e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/35037-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6264 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Napoleon's Young Neighbor, by Helen Leah Reed + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Napoleon's Young Neighbor + +Author: Helen Leah Reed + +Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35037] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + + + + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR + + BY HELEN LEAH REED + + +AUTHOR OF "BRENDA; HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB," "BRENDA'S COUSIN AT +RADCLIFFE," "BRENDA'S WARD," "AMY IN ACADIA," ETC. + + + _ILLUSTRATED_ + + BOSTON: + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + 1907 + + Copyright, 1907, + By Little, Brown, and Company. + + _All rights reserved_ + + Published October, 1907 + + Alfred Mudge & Son, Inc., Printers, + Boston, Mass., U. S. A. + + TO + DOROTHY E. B. + WHOSE LOVE OF HISTORY BESPEAKS + A WELCOME + FOR THIS LITTLE VOLUME. + + + + +[Illustration: NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. From the painting by Delaroche] + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book, chronicling some little known passages in the last few years +of Napoleon, is based on the "Recollections of Napoleon at St. Helena," +by Mrs. Abell (Elizabeth Balcombe), published in 1844 by John Murray. + +Her little book is written in an old-fashioned and quiet style, and the +present writer, without altering any words of Napoleon's, has, so far as +possible, given a vivid form to conversations and incidents related +undramatically and has rearranged incidents that Mrs. Abell told without +great attention to chronology. The writer has also added many pages of +matter (with close reference to the best authorities) in order to make +the whole story of Napoleon clear to those who are not familiar with it. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I. GREAT NEWS + +II. A DISTINGUISHED TENANT + +III. FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA + +IV. NAPOLEON AT THE BRIARS + +V. BETSY'S BALL-GOWN + +VI. A HORSE TAMER + +VII. OFF FOR LONGWOOD + +VIII. THE GOVERNOR'S RULES + +IX. ALL KINDS OF FUN + +X. THE SERIOUS SIDE + +XI. THE EMPEROR'S VISITORS + +XII. THOUGHTLESS BETSY + +XIII. LONGWOOD DAYS + +XIV. THE PARTING + +XV. THE PANORAMA + +XVI. THE LAST PICTURES + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA + +JAMESTOWN + +THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE _BELLEROPHON_ + +NAPOLEON + +THE BRIARS + +LONGWOOD + + + + +NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR + + + + +CHAPTER I + +GREAT NEWS + + +Far south in the Atlantic there is an island that at first sight from +the deck of a ship seems little more than a great rock. In shape it is +oblong, with perpendicular sides several hundred feet high. It is called +St. Helena because the Portuguese, who discovered it in 1502, came upon +it on the birthday of St. Helena, Constantine's mother. To describe it +as the geographies might, we may say that it lies in latitude 15° 55' +South, and in longitude 5° 46' West. It is about ten and a half miles +long, six and three-quarters miles broad, and its circumference is about +twenty-eight miles. The nearest land is Ascension Island, about six +hundred miles away, and St. Helena is eleven hundred miles from the Cape +of Good Hope. + +From the sea St. Helena is gloomy and forbidding. Masses of volcanic +rock, with sharp and jagged peaks, tower up above the coast, an iron +girdle barring all access to the interior. A hundred years ago its sides +were without foliage or verdure and its few points of landing bristled +with cannon. Jamestown, the only town, named for the Duke of York, lies +in a narrow valley, the bottom of a deep ravine. Precipices overhang it +on every side; the one on the left, rising directly from the sea, is +known as Rupert's Hill, that on the right as Ladder Hill. A steep and +narrow path cuts along the former, and a really good road winds zigzag +along the other to the Governor's House. Opposite the town is James's +Bay, the principal anchorage, where the largest ships are perfectly +safe. + +The town really consists of a small street along the beach, called the +Marina, which extends about three hundred yards to a spot where it +branches off into two narrower roads, one of which is now called +Napoleon Street. In 1815 there were about one hundred and sixty houses, +chiefly of stone cemented with mud, for lime is scarce on the island. +Among its larger buildings were a church, a botanical garden, a tavern, +barracks, and, high on the left, the castle, the Governor's town +residence. + +About a mile and a half from the town there stood in the early part of +the past century a cottage built in the style of an Indian bungalow. It +was placed rather low, with rooms mainly on one floor. A fine avenue of +banyan trees led up to the house, and around it were tall evergreens and +laces, pomegranates and myrtles, and other tropical trees. Better than +these, however, in the eyes of the dwellers at The Briars were the great +white-rose bushes, like the sweetbriar of old England. From these the +house took its name, and thus the family in it seemed less far away from +their old home. + +In a grove near the house were trees of every description, grapes of all +kinds and citron, orange, shaddoc, guava, and mango trees in the +greatest abundance. The surplus raised in the garden beyond what the +family could use brought its owner several hundred pounds a year. The +little cottage was shut in on one side by a hedge of aloes and prickly +pear and on the other by high cliffs and precipices. From one of these +cliffs, not far from the house, fell a waterfall, not only beautiful to +the eye but on a hot day refreshing to the mind with its cool splash and +tinkle. + +The owner of The Briars at this time was an Englishman named Balcombe, +who was in the service of the government. Besides his servants his +household consisted of his wife, his daughters Jane and Betsy, in their +early teens, and two little boys much younger. They formed a happy, +contented household, living a simple, quiet life, and though the parents +were sometimes homesick, the children were very fond of their island +abode. + +One evening in the middle of October, 1815, the Balcombe children were +having a merry time with their parents, when a servant, entering, +announced the arrival of two visitors. + +"It is the captain of the _Icarus_," said Mr. Balcombe, turning to his +wife, "and another naval officer." + +"The man-of-war that came in to-day?" asked one of the children. "We +heard the alarm sound from Ladder Hill." + +"Yes, yes, my dear." Then, turning to a servant, "Show them in." + +As the gentlemen entered the room, it was plain that they had something +of importance to communicate. + +"Sir," said the senior officer to Mr. Balcombe, after the first +greetings, "I come to tell you that the _Icarus_ is sent ahead of the +_Northumberland_ to announce that the _Northumberland_ is but a few +days' sail from St. Helena." + +"Yes," responded Mr. Balcombe politely, wondering why this announcement +should be made so seriously. + +"Sir George Cockburn," continued the other, "commands the +_Northumberland_, and in his care is Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he brings +to St. Helena as a prisoner of state." + +Mr. Balcombe started to speak; his expression was one of annoyance. He +was not fond of practical jokes. His wife leaned back in her chair, +gazing incredulously at the speaker. The children laughed. The officer's +story was too absurd. Then one of the little boys began to cry. In their +play the older children were in the habit of frightening the others with +the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was alarming to hear that the +terrible Napoleon was to come to live on their peaceful island. + +Before Mr. Balcombe could express his surprise, the officer repeated: + +"Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte, the enemy of England." + +"But how can that be?" asked Mr. Balcombe, hardly understanding. +"Bonaparte was on Elba months ago; what has England to do with him now?" + +"Surely--" began the captain; then recalling himself, "but I forgot how +far St. Helena is from the rest of the world. After Napoleon escaped +from Elba in February, he gathered a great army. But the Allies, with +our Iron Duke at the head, met him near Brussels, and there in June was +fought the great battle of Waterloo. Thousands were killed, brave +English as well as French. That battle marked the downfall of Napoleon, +and soon he was England's prisoner." + +Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe, as well as their children, listened eagerly, +absorbed in a story they now heard for the first time. + +"So they send him here?" It was Mr. Balcombe who first spoke. + +"Yes; no spot in Europe can hold him. Even on Elba he had begun to +establish a kingdom. He reached beyond that little island, and now he +has had his Waterloo." + +"It is clear, then," said Mr. Balcombe, "why they have sent him here. +This is a natural fortress and it belongs to England." + +"Yes," said the officer; "England knows that here, in her keeping, +Bonaparte will never again escape to torment the world." + +After a few more words of explanation on the one hand and of surprise on +the other, the visitors withdrew. + +Of those who had listened to the officer young Elizabeth, or Betsy as +she was commonly called, was the most disturbed. She shivered and turned +pale, and her mother, noticing her agitation, soon sent her to bed. +There she silently wept herself to sleep and her dreams were filled with +visions of that dreadful ogre, Bonaparte. It was not a very long time +since she had really believed Napoleon to be a huge monster, a kind of +Polyphemus with one large, flaming eye in the middle of his forehead and +with long teeth protruding from his mouth, with which he devoured bad +little girls. + +Although Betsy had outgrown this first idea of Napoleon, implanted in +her young brain by careless servants, she was still afraid of the +Conqueror. It is true that she realized he was not an ogre, but a human +being; that is to say, the very worst human being that had ever lived. +She knew this must be so, for she had heard sensible grown-up persons +speak of him in this way, even her own father and mother. What wonder, +then, that her dreams should be disturbed by thoughts of the misery that +must come to St. Helena with such a man as Napoleon living on the +island? + +The next morning after the visit of the officer from the _Icarus_, the +little girl rose early. She was far from cheerful as she looked about +her on the lovely garden and grove. A wave of hot anger passed over her. +Why should that terrible man be permitted to land and destroy all this +beauty, as he would, of course, on the first opportunity? + +From the garden she looked toward the rugged mountain, known as Peak's +Hill, which shut off the valley from the south. Her father had spoken of +the island as a natural fortress. Except for the mountains the +Government would never have thought of sending the dreadful Napoleon to +St. Helena. So she hated the mountains and cliffs. + +Perhaps, however, even at that moment when she dreaded the coming of the +exiled Emperor, Betsy may have recalled her own first impressions of St. +Helena and cast a half-pitying thought toward the great man who now saw +in its rocky heights only his prison wall. + +One day Betsy's mother had reminded the young girl of the bitter tears +she shed when she had first seen the island. + +"You were a silly girl to cry when you first came in sight of land," +said her mother, recalling the circumstance. + +"Yes, but some had told me that the island was really the head of a +great negro that was only waiting for the breakfast bell; then it would +devour me first, and later the rest of the passengers and crew." + +"Well, I am glad you told me your fears." + +"So am I, for you showed me that these things could not be true." + +"Yet I remember," responded Betsy's mother, "that you would not take +your head from my lap until eight bells had sounded. For some reason the +nearness of breakfast made you believe that danger was over." + +"But you can't say that I made much fuss when I really was in the power +of a negro," rejoined Betsy; "for I can well remember how strange it +seemed when I was lifted in a basket, and told that a big negro was to +carry me out to The Briars. At first I was a little frightened, for I +had never seen a black man before, but he spoke so pleasantly when he +put me down to rest, even though grinning from ear to ear, that I +decided he would not harm me." + +"You saw at once that he was good natured." + +"Yes, and he asked me so kindly if I were comfortable in my little nest, +that I trusted him. I was as proud as a peacock when he said he was +honored in being allowed to carry me, because usually he had nothing but +vegetables in his basket. When we reached The Briars I told father I had +had a delightful ride, and so he gave the negro a little present that +made him grin more than ever, and he went off singing merrily at the top +of his voice." + +Thus Betsy recalled her first impression of St. Helena. + +If Mr. Balcombe and the rest of the family at The Briars were surprised +at the news of Napoleon's approach, people on the island in general were +equally astonished. No communication had reached Governor Wilks, no +letter of instructions as to what should be done with the illustrious +prisoner. + +The captain of the _Icarus_ could only tell the residents of St. Helena +that Napoleon was near and that the Second Battalion of the Fifty-third +Regiment had embarked with the squadron. Even in those days, when there +were no cables to flash the news of coming events, when there were no +swift steamboats to act as heralds, it seems strange that in more than +seven months no news of the escape from Elba had reached the little +island. + +Now, when the people of St. Helena heard the news, they were greatly +disturbed. They were afraid that the coming of Napoleon might cause +changes in their government, and they were so fond of the Governor that +they did not wish to lose him. + +Their fears were well grounded, for when Sir George Cockburn landed it +was found that he had received an appointment that gave him the chief +civil and military power on the island, while Governor Wilks took +secondary rank. Later it was learned that on account of the distinction +of the prisoner, a governor of higher rank than Colonel Wilks would be +sent from England to supersede him, a governor who held his appointment +directly from the Crown. + +Two or three days after the visit of the officer to The Briars, Betsy +and her brothers and sister were in a state of great excitement. + +"Ah, I hope papa will not be killed," cried little Alexander. + +"How silly you are!" responded the older Jane. "Why should he be +killed?" + +"Because Napoleon is such a monster. If he should suddenly take out his +sword--" + +"Yes, or open his mouth and swallow papa, how terrible it would be!" +added Betsy mockingly. + +"Of course Bonaparte is a monster, but he would never dare hurt any one +on this island, especially an Englishman. Don't worry. Papa will come +home safely enough, but I wish he would hurry, so we could hear all +about the wretch." + +Later in the day the children gathered eagerly around their father, who +had returned from his visit to the ships. + +"Oh, papa, what was he like?" asked each in turn. + +"Who, Napoleon?" + +"Of course. We wish to hear about him. Didn't you see him? Didn't you +see anybody there?" + +"I could hardly visit a fleet without seeing some one." + +"Is it a large fleet?" + +"Yes, it would be called large in any part of the world." + +"How large is it?" + +"Besides the _Northumberland_ there are several other men-of-war, and +the transports with the Fifty-third Regiment." + +"But did you see Napoleon?" asked one of the children, returning to the +subject of greatest interest. + +"I did not see General Bonaparte," replied the father, pausing to see +the effect of his words on the children. Then, as he noted their +expression of disappointment, he quickly added: "But I saw some of the +others,--some of his suite." + +"Oh, tell us about it!" + +"There is little to tell. After paying my respects to Sir George +Cockburn, I was introduced to Madame Bertrand and Madame Montholon, and +then to the rest of Napoleon's suite." + +"What were they like?" asked one of the girls eagerly, as if she +expected her father to describe a group of strange beings. + +"Like any travellers, my child, who had had a long voyage, from the +effects of which they were anxious to rest." + +"Oh, I wish you had seen Napoleon!" + +"I am likely to see him soon, and you may, also, as he is to land +to-night." + +At this news the children were silent. To have Napoleon on the island +was not a pleasant prospect. They were not so sure now that they cared +to see him. + +"But where will he live, papa, when he comes ashore?" ventured Jane at +last. "Will they put him in a dungeon?" + +"Certainly not, my child. He is to live at Longwood, but as the house +needs to be put in repair, he will stay for a while with Mr. Porteous." + +"When will he come ashore?" asked Betsy timidly. Now that her father had +spoken so reassuringly of Napoleon, she was curious to see him, at least +from a safe distance. + +"He will land to-night,--after dark, I imagine, to escape the gaze of +the crowd;" and their father, turning from the children, went toward the +house. + +As he left them, the young people began an animated discussion of +Napoleon. They were already getting used to the idea that he was to live +on St. Helena and that he was an ordinary human being, not unlike the +British officials of high rank sent out by the Crown. + +"As he cannot possibly hurt us, why shouldn't we go to the valley to see +him land?" asked Betsy. + +"Why shouldn't we?" echoed Jane. So it happened, when they had asked +their parents, that the older children were permitted to go to Jamestown +to see Napoleon land. When they reached the wharf it was dusk and crowds +of people were gathered on every side. + +"I did not know there were so many people on the island," whispered +Betsy, as she pressed closer to her sister. "Do you suppose he will be +in the first boat?" + +"I don't know. But see, it is coming!" + +"Yes, little ladies," said a bystander, "Bonaparte will surely be in the +first boat." + +"Here it is, here it is," cried Betsy. "Look, Jane, look!" + +Even as she spoke, the passengers from the longboat were coming ashore, +and although it was seven o'clock in the evening, there was still enough +light to enable the watchers to see the figures of those who were +landing. + +The girls strained their eyes. Three men marched slowly up from the +ship's boat. "See," cried Betsy, "probably Napoleon is in the middle." + +"That little man, and in an overcoat!" + +"Yes, for there is something flashing, probably a diamond." + +"A man with a diamond! How foolish!" objected Jane. + +[Illustration: JAMESTOWN] + +"But it is, indeed it is!" + +"I wish people wouldn't crowd so." + +"They've got to move back. I'm glad of it. The sentries are standing +with fixed bayonets to keep more people from rushing down from the +town." + +If Napoleon had landed earlier in the day, he would have been greeted by +an even greater crowd, for people had been gathering on the Marina from +the earliest hours; but disappointed that he was not to land until after +sunset, most of them had gone home. Still, however, a large enough crowd +had gathered to make it necessary for the sentries to use some force to +keep them in order. + +In spite of the crowd, the sisters felt that they had been rewarded for +their trouble, for when they reached home they learned that the little +man in the green coat was indeed the dreaded monster. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A DISTINGUISHED TENANT + + +The next morning Betsy rose early. The night before the family had sat +up later than their custom, talking about the arrival of the ship and +the distinguished prisoners. + +"Are General Bertrand and Count Montholon prisoners too?" asked one of +the girls. + +"No, my dear; I understand that they are at liberty to leave St. Helena +whenever they wish. Of course while they are here they must obey +whatever rules are made for them, but they would not be here if they had +not chosen to share the fate of Napoleon." + +"That is very noble," said Jane, "to leave one's home for the sake of +such a man as Napoleon;" and the conversation changed into a discussion +of the reasons that had induced those Frenchmen to follow their leader. +The next morning Betsy awoke feeling that something unusual had +happened. + +Her little brothers plied her and Jane with questions about the landing +of the Frenchmen. + +"I wish we lived close to the town," complained Alexander, "that we +might hear more about Napoleon." + +"Look, look!" cried Betsy, before the little fellow had finished +speaking. "What is that on the side of the mountain?" + +Following the direction of her finger, the other children broke into +excited cries. "The French, it must be the French! There are horses with +men on them. There, see the swords flash! They must be guarding a +prisoner." + +"Oh, I suppose it is a prisoner. But what is that white thing?" + +"It is a plume; you can see that for yourself. Let us get a spyglass." + +For some time the children watched the little procession curving around +the mountain-side, high above them. + +"It makes me think of a great serpent winding along," said Betsy. + +"It doesn't look like a serpent, through the glass. There are five men +on horseback. One of them has a cocked hat. It must be Napoleon, though +he wears no greatcoat." + +"They're going to Longwood. That's what it is. Papa says he's to live +there. I wonder how he'll like it after all his palaces in Europe." + +"I'm glad he won't live near us. I should never dare leave the house, if +he lived near." + +"Who's he?" + +"Napoleon, of course." + +The morning passed. The children thought of little but Napoleon. They +talked to each other of his victories and were proud that Englishmen had +overthrown him. + +Early in the afternoon two gentlemen called, Dr. Warden of the +_Northumberland_ and Dr. O'Meara of the garrison. + +"Oh, have you seen him?" + +"Seen whom?" + +"Why, Napoleon; don't tease us,--Napoleon Bonaparte." + +"Well, then, since you are so curious, yes, we have seen him." Dr. +Warden smiled, for he was surgeon of the ship that had brought Napoleon. + +"Oh, was he perfectly awful? Weren't you frightened?" + +"If we were frightened, I tried not to show it. Napoleon seemed +harmless. He did not even try to bayonet us," replied Dr. O'Meara. + +"But how did he look?" + +"He hadn't horns or hoofs; at least, we didn't see them, and on the +whole he was charming, though he seemed tired. You girls will like him." + +"Oh, no!" cried Betsy. "I shake and shiver whenever I think of him. If +ever I look at him it will be only at a distance, but I could never, +never speak to him." + +"Mark my words, you will change your mind, Miss Betsy," cried one of the +two as he turned away. + +About four o'clock that same afternoon, when it was approaching dusk in +the little valley, one of the children reported that the same horsemen +they had seen in the morning were again winding around the mountain. + +Soon the whole family gathered outside, and as they looked, to their +great astonishment they observed the procession halt at the mountain +pass above the house, and then, after a few minutes' pause, begin to +descend the mountain toward the cottage. + +"Oh, mamma, do you suppose they are coming here? I must go and hide +myself," cried the excitable Betsy. + +"No, my dear, you will do nothing of the kind. I am surprised that a +great girl should be so foolish." + +"But Napoleon is coming, don't you understand, Napoleon. I could not +bear to look at him." + +"You will look at him and speak to him, if he comes here. It will be a +good chance for you to put your French to use." + +Poor Betsy! Up to this time she had been proud of the French acquired +during a visit to England a few years before, which she had +conscientiously kept up by conversation with a French servant. + +It seemed hard that she was now to be called on to do a disagreeable +thing just because of this accomplishment. Of course she could not +disobey her mother, and in spite of her fright she really had some +curiosity to see the distinguished guest. + +Not long after the party first came in sight, the French and their +escort were at the gate of The Briars. As there was no carriage road to +the house, all, except Napoleon, got off their horses. He rode over the +grass, while his horse's feet cut into the turf. His horse was jet +black, with arched neck, and as he pranced along he seemed to feel +conscious of his own importance in carrying so distinguished a man as +the Emperor. + +"He's handsome," whispered Jane to Betsy. + +"The horse?" + +"No, Napoleon; just look at those jewels and ribbons on his coat--and I +never saw so beautiful a saddlecloth. It is embroidered with gold." + +Before more could be said, Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe were moving forward to +meet Sir George Cockburn and his distinguished companion. The sisters +closely followed their parents, and after the older people had been +presented to Napoleon the turn of the girls came. Betsy, looking up, was +impressed by the charm of Napoleon's smile. She saw that his hair was +brown and silky fine; his eyes were a brilliant hazel. She also noticed +one slight defect,--that his even teeth were dark, the result, she +afterwards learned, of his habit of using much licorice. + +The children at first were surprised to find Napoleon neither as tall +nor as impressive as he had appeared on horseback. When they looked in +his face they decided that he was very attractive, and when he spoke his +smile and kindly manner at once won their hearts. From that moment Betsy +forgot that she had ever considered him an ogre. To herself she called +him the handsomest man she had ever seen. + +"This is a most beautiful situation," he said to Betsy's mother. "One +could be almost happy here!" he added with a sigh. + +"Then perhaps you will honor us with a visit until Longwood is ready," +interposed Mr. Balcombe. "I understand that you prefer this to the town, +and I have already put some rooms at Sir George Cockburn's disposal." + +"I do prefer it." + +"Then the rooms are at your service." + +Strange language this to a prisoner,--the children may have thought as +they listened,--to give him a choice of abode. Later they learned why +their father had put the matter in this way. They heard how wretched it +made the Emperor to think of returning to the small house where he had +lodged in the town and where people stared into the windows, as if he +were some kind of wild animal. When he found that Longwood would not be +ready for him for several weeks, he had at once declared his +unwillingness to return to Jamestown. The glimpse of The Briars that he +had had from a distance pleased him greatly, and he had asked if it +might not be possible to lodge him there. Mr. Balcombe, as an official +of the Government, having placed some rooms at the disposal of the +Admiral, Sir George Cockburn, was now anxious to put Napoleon at his +ease about occupying them. + +The Balcombe children were greatly stirred up when they found that +Napoleon was to be their neighbor, for the rooms to be assigned him were +near, but not in, the main house. Their fear of the Emperor had almost +wholly disappeared. + +Continuing to praise the view, Napoleon asked that some chairs be +brought out on the lawn. + +"Come, Mademoiselle," he said to Betsy in French, "sit by me and talk. +You speak French?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Betsy with apparent calmness, though her heart was +beating violently. + +"Who taught you?" + +"I learned in England, when I was at school." + +"That is well, and what else did you study? Geography, I hope." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then you can tell me what is the capital of France?" + +"Paris, monsieur." + +"Of Italy?" + +"Rome." + +"Of Russia?" + +"St. Petersburg." + +He looked up quickly. "St. Petersburg now; it was Moscow." + +Then he asked, sternly and abruptly, "_Qui l'a brulé?_" ["Who burned +it?"] + +Betsy trembled. There was something terrifying now in his expression, as +well as in the tones of his voice. She could not find words to reply as +she recalled what she had heard about the burning of the great Russian +city and the question as to whether the French or the Russians had set +it on fire. + +"_Qui l'a brulé?_" repeated Napoleon. + +But there was a twinkle in his eye and a smile in his voice that +encouraged Betsy to venture a stammering "I don't know, sir." + +"_Oui, oui_," he responded, laughing heartily. "_Vous savez très bien. +C'est moi qui l'a brulé._" ["Yes, yes, you understand well. It is I who +burned it."] + +Then Betsy ventured further: + +"I believe, sir, the Russians burned it to get rid of the French." + +Again Napoleon laughed and, instead of being angry, seemed pleased that +the little girl knew something about the Russian campaign. + +Now while Napoleon was sitting in the garden or walking about the +beautiful grounds, all was confusion and excitement within The Briars. +Betsy's mother, like any other good English housewife, was naturally +somewhat taken aback at having suddenly to make plans to entertain +Napoleon and part of his suite. Even though the English Government might +pay for his board, she must still regard him as her guest, and in the +small time at her disposal do all that she could to make him +comfortable. + +Rooms, therefore, must be rearranged and what furniture could be spared +from the rest of the house must be put into Napoleon's apartments. So, +in the short space of a few hours, the dreaded Emperor of the French, +the ogre feared by the children, had become the neighbor, almost the +inmate of a happy English household--English, in spite of its distance, +many thousands of miles away, from the islands of Great Britain. + +It was evening when Napoleon came back to the house with the family. +Here again his conversation was chiefly with Betsy, as her fluent French +pleased him. Her parents could use the language only with difficulty. + +"Do you like music?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"But I suppose that you are too young to play." + +This rather piqued Betsy. + +"I can both sing and play." + +"Then sing to me." + +Thereupon Betsy, seating herself at the little harpsichord, sang in a +sweet, full voice "Ye Banks and Braes." + +"That is the prettiest English air I have ever heard." + +"It is a Scotch air," said Betsy timidly. + +"I thought it too pretty to be English. Their music is vile,--the worst +in the world. Do you know any French songs? Ah, I wish you could sing +_Vive Henri Quatre_." + +"No, sir; I know no French songs." + +Upon this the Emperor began to hum the air, and in a fit of abstraction, +rising from his chair, marched around the room, keeping time to the tune +he was singing. + +"Now what do you think of that, Miss Betsy?" he asked abruptly. Betsy +hesitated between her love of truth and her desire to please the +Emperor. + +"I do not think I like it," she said at last, rather gently. "I cannot +make out the air." + +She might also have added that the great Emperor's voice was far from +musical. Neither then nor at other times when he tried to sing could she +tell just what tune he thought he was rendering. + +When he discussed music she understood him better and she saw that he +was a good critic. "French music," he said, "is almost as bad as +English. Only Italians know how to produce an opera properly;" and he +sighed heavily, remembering perhaps that his own opera days were over. + +Not long after Betsy had finished "Ye Banks and Braes," word was brought +to Napoleon that his rooms were ready, and with a kindly word or two he +bade good night to his young friend. + +The little girl's dreams that night were, we can well imagine, quite +unlike any she had ever had before. But if she dreamed of the Emperor it +is certain that she did not regard him as an ogre. His wonderful +personality had gained her heart. Henceforth she was to be his loyal +friend as well as his neighbor. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA + + +The events that ended in the voyage of the fallen Emperor to St. Helena, +if told in full, would make a long story. The battle of Waterloo, +however, is a good starting place, the battle that decided the peace of +Europe after its long years of war, when the Allied Powers, led by the +Duke of Wellington, defeated the French, who had rallied around Napoleon +for a last stand. + +Napoleon, when he saw that the day was lost for him and the French, +fought desperately, hoping perhaps to meet death. But he seemed to have +a charmed life, and, though he plunged into the thick of the fight, he +was not even wounded. + +Some of his friends advised him to continue the struggle, but he saw +that this might mean civil war for France as well as a long contest +against the Allies. He cared too much for France to drag her into +further wars. Some say that in giving up he could not help +himself,--that what he did he had to do. Be that as it may, for a second +time he signed the Act of Abdication, and after proclaiming his son +Napoleon II, he left Paris. First he went to Malmaison, once the +beautiful home of Josephine, where a few friends joined him. + +When the Allies were approaching Paris, Napoleon offered his services to +the Provisional Government, promising to retire when the enemy was +driven away. But the men now at the head of affairs at Paris were afraid +to give authority of any kind to Napoleon, even for a limited time. He +had broken one promise, he might break another, and they refused his +offer. + +Napoleon now thought of America. Certain Americans in Paris had offered +him help. One shipping merchant, a Massachusetts man, had an excellent +plan, which, had Napoleon followed it, might have resulted in his +reaching America safely. But Napoleon delayed, and although he did not +know it at the time, when he left Malmaison for Rochefort on June 29 he +was too late. Up to the last he hoped to reach a vessel that would carry +him safely to the United States. It is said that he gave up the plan +proposed by the American shipping merchant because he would not desert +his friends, and for the time there seemed to be no way of providing for +them. + +It takes strength of mind for a man to decide to live out his destiny +rather than run away from life. Napoleon now decided to make the best of +things. With British ships practically blockading the coast, he saw that +to try to escape was hopeless. He heard with dismay that Paris had +surrendered to the Allies, and that the Provisional Government, that +might have helped him, had dissolved. His last effort was to suggest +sending a flag of truce by Generals Savary and Las Cases to Captain +Maitland, commander of the British squadron, asking to be allowed to +pass out of the harbor. He gave his word of honor that he would then go +directly to America. Captain Maitland replied that even if he himself +could grant this request, Napoleon's vessel would be attacked as soon as +it had left the harbor. Napoleon at last had to admit that the end had +come when the report was brought him that Louis XVIII was again seated +on the throne of France. He therefore again sent two officers to Captain +Maitland, offering to surrender on condition that no harm should come to +his person or property. Another condition was that he should be allowed +to live where he pleased in England as a private individual. The officer +replied that he could not make terms, but that he would probably take +Napoleon and his suite to England as soon as he should receive word from +the Prince Regent. This answer was disappointing to Napoleon, but there +was nothing now for him to do except to set out for the _Bellerophon_, +Captain Maitland's ship, with the flag of truce. + +"I come to claim the protection of your prince and your laws," he said +in French, as he advanced on the quarter-deck to meet Captain Maitland. + +Soon after this he wrote the following letter in French to the Prince +Regent: + + ROYAL HIGHNESS: + + Exposed to the factions which divide my country and to the + enmity of the great Powers of Europe, I have terminated my + political career, and I come like Themistocles to throw myself + on the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under + the safeguard of their laws and claim protection of your Royal + Highness, the most powerful, the most constant, and the most + generous of my enemies. + + NAPOLEON. + +It is not to be supposed that all this time Napoleon's friends were +indifferent to his fate. Those who were near enough to communicate with +him made various suggestions. + +[Illustration: THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE _BELLEROPHON_] + +At Rochefort his brother Joseph offered to disguise himself and change +places with him, so that the Emperor might get away in the same vessel +in which he himself was preparing to escape. Had Napoleon agreed to this +plan, he would probably have been as successful as Joseph in reaching +America. + +Some young and brave French officers are said to have offered themselves +as the crew of a rowing boat to carry Napoleon safely through the +blockading fleet. There would have been some risk in carrying out this +proposal of stealing through the blockade, but it had a fair chance of +success. + +There were also swift neutral vessels not far away, on more than one of +which he had friends. But although, with three of his suite, he did +embark on a Danish ship, on second thoughts he decided not to venture +farther, and returned to shore. He might have accepted the suggestion of +the captain of a French frigate then at the Ile d'Aix, who begged +Napoleon to take the chance of intrusting himself to him. He would, he +said, attack a British ship near by, and while the attention of other +vessels was fixed on the encounter, a second French frigate with +Napoleon on board would carry him far outside the harbor to safety. But +this offer, too, was put aside. The admirers of Napoleon, who look back +on his days of indecision at Rochefort, wonder at the change in the man, +who by his policy of delay brought on himself his sad exile on the +barren island. + +Yet it is easy to see that even though half willing to try flight, +Napoleon really could not bring himself to the position of a fugitive, +afraid to face his enemies. It was nobler to confront danger, as he had +confronted it often on the battlefield. It was not strange that he +should hope to find appreciation of his courage, even in the hearts of +his enemies. + +It was the fifteenth of July when Napoleon embarked on the +_Bellerophon_, and a week afterwards he was in Plymouth Harbor. Too +late, to his great consternation, he found that the British regarded him +as a prisoner. He was helpless; he had no weapons but words, for armed +vessels surrounded him and the few friends who followed him counted for +nothing against his foes. + +On the thirtieth of July, General Bonaparte--the British refused him the +title of Emperor--was notified that the British Government had chosen +St. Helena as his future residence, whither a limited number of his +friends might accompany him. On receiving this word, Napoleon's +indignation was loudly expressed. He replied, that he was not the +prisoner, but the guest of England, and that it was an outrage against +him to condemn him to exile into which he would not willingly go. It was +at once evident, however, that, willing or unwilling, he must embark for +his distant prison. From Plymouth he was taken to Torbay, where, on the +eleventh of August, the _Bellerophon_ met the _Northumberland_, on which +the illustrious prisoner was to be taken to St. Helena. + +When Napoleon received Lord Keith and Sir George Cockburn on the deck of +the _Bellerophon_ he wore a green coat with red facings, epaulets, white +waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings, the star of the Legion of Honor, +and a _chapeau gris_ with the tricolored cockade. At first the Emperor +spoke bitterly of the action of the British Government, but at last he +abruptly asked Lord Keith for his advice. The latter replied it would be +best for Napoleon to submit with good grace. Napoleon then agreed to go +on board the _Northumberland_ at ten the next morning. Later he recalled +his consent and again talked bitterly of his fate, but at last he +controlled himself and agreed to submit. + +The next day, after all the stores and provisions and the personal +belongings of Napoleon and his suite were on board, the +_Northumberland_, with its distinguished prisoner, set sail for St. +Helena. + +With Napoleon went a fairly large suite, consisting of the following +persons: + +Grand Mareschal Comte de Bertrand, Madame de Bertrand and three +children, one woman servant and her child, one man servant; General +Comte de Montholon, Madame de Montholon and a child, one woman servant; +Comte de las Cases and his son of thirteen; General Gorgaud; three +_valets de chambre_ and three footmen, a cook, a _lampiste_, an usher, a +steward, _chef d'office_. + +Among the things that made up the rather large store of baggage that +Napoleon took with him to St. Helena, besides his clothing and more +personal belongings, were two table services of silver, a number of +articles of gold, a beautiful toilet service of silver, including water +basin and ewer, cases of books, and his special beds. Although money +could do little for him in his new home, since all his expenses would be +met by the British Government, it is known that he had with him a large +amount of money. + +It is useless now to discuss what would have been the result had his +enemies been kinder to Napoleon. If he had been permitted to settle down +in England as he wished, as a country gentleman, would this have +satisfied him? Even if he had made no attempt to recover the throne of +France for himself, might he not have put forth efforts to have his son +acknowledged Emperor? At the time of his father's downfall, the little +King of Rome was hardly more than a baby, but as years passed on he +could never have lived contentedly with his grandfather, the Austrian +Emperor, knowing that his father was as near as England. In the name of +the young Napoleon, Europe might again have been plunged into a great +war. + +Yet, without looking toward the future, Great Britain was only too sure +that the time had come to punish one who had always been the avowed +enemy of England. It is true that England had suffered less than any +other of the Powers at the hands of Napoleon, because he had never +invaded her territory, but in no country was Napoleon so hated. +Thousands of Englishmen had shed their blood in the wars carried on +against him by the Allies, and by the mass of the English people he was +regarded as a monster. Although the so-called Napoleonic wars had their +origin in causes that Napoleon could not have controlled, he was +regarded as the one being responsible for the twenty years' upheaval in +Europe. + +When it was announced that the British Cabinet had decided to send him +into exile, many, perhaps the majority, thought the punishment too +light. They would have had him treated as a rebel and immediately hanged +or beheaded. Yet while the mass of the English people hated Napoleon, +Englishmen who had ever met him were apt to be his firm friends, or at +least his admirers. + +Captain Maitland, of the _Bellerophon_, said that he had inquiries made +of the crew as to their opinion of him, and this was the result: "They +may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England +knew him as well as we do, they would not touch a hair of his head." + +Though Napoleon had surrendered to Great Britain alone, the Allied +Powers, desiring Great Britain to be responsible for him, approved her +course. + +During the voyage of ten weeks toward St. Helena, Napoleon suffered +little from sea-sickness after the first few days. He breakfasted in his +own cabin at ten or eleven o'clock. Before he dined he generally played +a game of chess, and remained at dinner, in compliment to the Admiral, +about an hour. After he had his coffee he left the others to walk with +Count Bertrand or Count Las Cases on the quarter-deck. He often spoke to +those officers who could understand French. At first he showed little +interest in the occupations of those about him, but in time he engaged +in more general conversation and was especially inclined to talk to Mr. +Warden, the _Northumberland_ surgeon, about the prevailing complaints on +board the ship and his methods of treating the sick. After a while he +turned to his own books and spent most of the day reading or in +dictating to Las Cases. On the twenty-third of August the +_Northumberland_ crossed the equator. Before this the Admiral had amused +himself trying to frighten the French, telling them of the rough +ceremony practised by the sailors, who always undertook to present to +Neptune all persons on board who had never before crossed the line. It +happened, however, that in this instance all made a special effort to be +courteous. While the sailors presented to Neptune were shaved with huge +razors and a lather of pitch, the French were introduced politely with +compliments, and the Emperor was treated especially well. + +Napoleon seemed amused by this novel performance, and later he wished to +have one hundred napoleons divided among the sailors. He was made, +however, to feel his altered position when, after some discussion, the +Admiral courteously but decidedly refused his request. + +There were probably few on the _Northumberland_ who did not deeply +sympathize with the fallen Emperor. On this long, monotonous voyage, +when his only amusements were conversation and an occasional evening +game of whist with his friends, he seemed to be trying to make the best +of the situation. + +On the morning when the _Northumberland_ approached St. Helena, the +Emperor dressed early, and going up on deck stepped forward on the +gangway. It was the fifteenth of October when the ship, after its long +voyage, lay at anchor. The Emperor, standing on the gangway with Las +Cases behind him, looked through his glass at the shore. Directly in +front he saw a little village, surrounded by barren and naked hills, +reaching toward the clouds. Wherever he looked, on every platform, at +every aperture, on every hill, was a cannon. Las Cases, watching his +face intently, could perceive no change of expression, for Napoleon now +had full control of himself. Unmoved he could look on the island that +was to be his prison, perhaps his grave. He did not stay long on deck, +but, turning about, asked Las Cases to lead the way to his cabin. There +they went on with their usual occupation, waiting until they should be +told that the time for landing had come. + +During the long voyage Napoleon had won the regard of most persons on +the ship. The _Northumberland_ was terribly crowded, but while others +grumbled, he made no complaint of the great discomfort, although he, +like the others, was affected by it. Already he had begun to practise +that stoicism which, on the whole, was the keynote of his life at St. +Helena. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +NAPOLEON AT THE BRIARS + + +Napoleon quickly fitted himself into his place in his new surroundings. +So adaptable was he that the children soon ceased to regard him as a +stranger, nor were they inclined to criticise his habits, although in +most respects his ways were quite unlike those of the Balcombe family. +For example, he did not breakfast as they did. After rising at eight +o'clock, he satisfied himself with a cup of coffee and had his first +hearty meal, breakfast or luncheon as they variously called it, at one. +It was nine o'clock in the evening before he dined, and eleven when he +withdrew to his own room. + +The Pavilion, the building that chiefly formed his new abode, was a +short distance from the main building of The Briars. It had one good +room on the ground floor, and two garrets. Napoleon selected this +Pavilion, not because it was really more convenient for him, but because +by occupying it he would less disturb the Balcombe family than by taking +quarters in the main house. + +Las Cases and his son were in one of the garrets, and Napoleon's chief +_valet de chambre_ and others of his household were in the second. The +rooms were so crowded that some of the party had to sleep on the floor +of the little hall. The Pavilion had been built by Betsy's father as a +ballroom, and had a certain stateliness. The large room opened on a +lawn, neatly fenced around, and in the centre of the lawn was a marquee, +connected with the house by a covered way. The marquee had two +compartments. The inner one was Napoleon's bedroom, and in the other +General Gorgaud slept. There was little but the beds in the marquee. +General Gorgaud slept on a small tent bed with green silk hangings, +which Napoleon had had with him in all his campaigns. + +Between the two divisions of the marquee some of the servants of +Napoleon had carved a huge crown in the green turf, on which the Emperor +was obliged to step as he passed through. + +At first Count Bertrand and Count Montholon with their families were +lodged at Mr. Porteous's house in the town, where a suitable table was +prepared for them in the French style. They could go to The Briars +whenever they wished, accompanied by a British officer or Dr. O'Meara, +who was appointed physician to Napoleon; or, followed by a soldier, they +were permitted to visit any part of the island except the forts and +batteries. + +A captain of artillery resided at The Briars, and at first a sergeant +and soldiers were also stationed there. But the presence of the soldiers +was evidently needless, as well as so disagreeable to the family that, +on hearing various remonstrances, Sir George Cockburn ordered them away. + +But for the presence of the artillery officer, Napoleon during his stay +at The Briars might almost have forgotten that he was a prisoner. He and +his suite appreciated the unfailing kindness of Mr. Balcombe and his +family, who from the first left nothing undone for the comfort of the +exiles. During the early days of his stay the dinner for the French +people at The Briars was sent out from town, but soon Mr. Balcombe +fitted up a little kitchen, connected with the Pavilion, where +Napoleon's accomplished cook had every opportunity to display his skill. +Very often after dinner Napoleon obligingly went outside for a walk, +that his attendants might finish their dinner in the room that he had +left. + +Soon after his arrival Napoleon was visited by Colonel Wilks, Governor +of St. Helena, Mrs. Wilks, and other officials of the island, and some +of the leading citizens and their families. He had not yet begun to +seclude himself, and he and his companions seemed to be trying to make +the best of their situation. Then and later evening parties were +occasionally given by the French without much appearance of restraint. +Napoleon accepted no invitations except those given by his friends at +The Briars, and in one or two unusual cases, but the others went +sometimes to the well-attended balls given by Sir George Cockburn. + +Madames Bertrand and Montholon and the rest of Napoleon's suite, for +whom there was not room at The Briars, often came to see him there, and +remained during the day. To them he was still _le grand empereur_. His +every look was watched, every wish was anticipated, and they showed him +great reverence. Some have thought that in dealing with them he insisted +too much on the etiquette of a court, but certainly none of the suite +complained of formality. + +Napoleon was always polite to guests at The Briars, and once went to a +large party given by Mr. Balcombe, pleasing every one by his urbanity. +When guests were introduced he always asked their profession, and then +turned the conversation in that direction. People were always surprised +at the extent of his information. Officers and others on the way from +China sought introductions and were seldom refused. + +Indeed in those first months his attitude to people was very different +from what it was later. Not infrequently he himself invited people to +dine with him. + +Most of Napoleon's suite shared with him a feeling of friendliness for +the Balcombe family. Las Cases, however, was always ready to criticise +Miss Betsy, whose hoydenish ways he could never understand. One evening, +when she was turning over the leaves of Estille's "Floriant," seeing +that Gaston de Foix was called General, she asked Napoleon whether he +was satisfied with him and whether he had escaped or was still living. +This question shocked Las Cases, for it seemed to him extraordinary that +a girl should imagine that the famous Gaston de Foix had been a general +under Napoleon. + +But this was not a very strange mistake for a little English girl to +make. It is to be feared that Las Cases always took a certain pleasure +in correcting the faults of the young Balcombes, or in reporting them to +their parents. + +From the first Napoleon claimed more of the society of Betsy than of the +other members of the family, and so agreeable were his manners toward +her that the little girl soon began to regard him as a companion of her +own, with whom she could be perfectly at ease, rather than as one much +older. + +"His spirits were very good, and he was at times almost boyish in his +love of mirth and glee, not unmixed sometimes with a tinge of malice," +wrote Betsy years later. + +"Jane," said Betsy to her sister, not long after Napoleon's arrival, +"the Emperor has invited us to dine with him. What fun it will be!" + +"I don't know. I am afraid it will be terribly solemn." + +"Oh, no; I am not afraid of that. The Emperor isn't solemn. You ought to +get acquainted with him, and you wouldn't think so." + +Jane shook her head dubiously. + +"I am half afraid of him. I don't see how you can dare to trifle so with +him. What were you laughing at yesterday when Lucy was here? I thought +the Emperor looked rather silly." + +"Well, perhaps he did, if you put it that way," responded the blunt +Betsy. "Only Lucy was sillier. I thought she would drag me to the ground +when I told her the Emperor was coming across the lawn." + +"Then why did you run and bring him up to her? I saw you do it." + +"I needn't have done that. I did more harm than good. I told her he +wasn't the cruel creature she thought him. But I oughtn't to have told +the Emperor she was afraid of him. At least, I wouldn't have done so had +I known how he would act, for he brushed up his hair so it stood out +like a savage's, and when he came up to Lucy he gave a queer growl so +that she screamed until mamma thought she might have hysterics and +hurried her out into the house." + +"It was ridiculous for a man to act like a child," responded the sedate +Jane, who had not acquired Betsy's admiration for Napoleon. + +"It was more ridiculous for her to scream. Napoleon laughed so at her +that I had to take her part. 'I thought you a kind of an ogre, too,' I +said, 'before I knew you.' 'Perhaps you think I couldn't frighten you +now,' he answered, 'but see;' and then he brushed his hair up higher and +made faces, and he looked so queer that I could only laugh at him. 'So I +can't frighten you!' he said, and then he howled and howled, and at last +seemed disappointed that I wasn't alarmed. 'It's a Cossack howl,' he +explained, 'and ought to terrify you!' To tell you the truth, it was +something terrible, but though I didn't like it I wouldn't flinch. Of +course it was all in fun, for he is really very kind-hearted," concluded +Betsy. + +"All the same I don't enjoy the thought of having dinner with him," +responded the practical Jane. "I've half a mind not to go." + +"Oh, Jane, that would never do! What would the Emperor think? After you +have been invited, too. Besides, mother wouldn't let you stay away. An +invitation from royalty is a command." + +"But Napoleon isn't--" + +"Hush," cried Betsy, not wishing to hear her new friend belittled. She +always took offence if any one called him prisoner. + +In spite of her professed distaste for the dinner, Jane would have been +disappointed had she been obliged to stay at home. She set out gayly +enough, proud in her secret heart that she was to have the honor of +being in the company of the great man. + +Nine o'clock, Napoleon's dinner hour, was late for the little girls. As +they entered his apartment the Emperor greeted them cordially, meeting +them with extended hands, and a moment after, Cipriani, his _maître +d'hôtel_, stood at the door. + +"_Le diner de votre Majesté est servi._" Whereupon Napoleon, with a girl +on each side, led the way after Cipriani, who walked backward, followed +by the rest of his suite, who were dining with him. + +Hardly had they taken their places when Napoleon began to quiz Betsy on +the fondness of the English for "rosbif and plum pudding." + +"It is better than eating frogs." + +"Oh, my dear Mees, how you wrong us!" + +"Ah, but see here!" cried Betsy, and she brought him a caricature of a +long, lean Frenchman with his mouth open, his tongue out, and a frog on +the tip of it, ready to jump down his throat. Under it was written, "A +Frenchman's Dinner." + +The Emperor laughed loudly at this. "You are impertinent," he cried, +pinching Betsy's ear. "I must show this to the petit Las Cases. He will +not love you so much for laughing at his countrymen." + +Upon this Betsy turned very red. The Emperor had touched a vulnerable +point. The young Las Cases, a boy of fourteen, was now at dinner with +them, and Napoleon had found that he could easily tease Betsy about him. + +"He will not want a wife," continued Napoleon, "who makes fun of him;" +and Betsy, inwardly enraged, could only maintain a dignified silence. + +The Emperor gazed intently at his young friend, and later, when they +rose from the table, he called young Las Cases. + +"Come, kiss her; this is your revenge." + +Betsy looked about vainly for a means of escape. But the Emperor had +already closed his hands over hers, holding them so that she had no +chance to get away, while young Las Cases, with a mischievous smile, +approached and kissed her. + +As soon as her hands were at liberty, Betsy boxed the boy's ears and +awaited her chance to pay Napoleon off. + +There was no inside hall to go from Napoleon's apartments to the rest of +the house, and it was necessary to pass outside along a steep, narrow +path, wide enough for only one at a time. + +An idea flashed into the mind of mischievous Betsy as Napoleon led the +way, followed by Count Las Cases, his son, and last by Jane. + +Betsy let the others get ahead of her, and waited when they were about +ten yards distant. Then with might and main she dashed ahead, running +with full force against the luckless Jane, who fell with extended hand +upon young Las Cases. He in turn struck against his father, and the +latter, to his dismay, against Napoleon. + +The latter could hardly hold his footing, while Betsy in the rear, +delighted with the success of her plan, jumped and screamed with +pleasure. + +The Emperor said nothing, but Las Cases, horror-struck at the insult +offered his master, became furiously angry as Betsy's laughter fell on +his ear. + +Turning back, he caught her roughly by the shoulder and pushed her +against the rocky bank. It was now Betsy's turn to be angry. + +"Oh, sir, he has hurt me!" + +"Never mind," replied Napoleon; "to please you, I will hold him while +you punish him." + +Thereupon it was young Las Cases's place to tremble. While the great man +held him by the hands, Betsy gleefully boxed his ears until he begged +for mercy. + +"Stop, stop!" he cried. + +"No, I will not. This has all been your fault. If you hadn't kissed +me--" + +"There, there," at last called the Emperor to the boy, "I will let you +go, but you must run as fast as you can. If you cannot run faster than +Betsy, you deserve to be beaten again." + +The young French page did not wait for a second warning, but starting +off at a run travelled as fast as he could, with Betsy in full pursuit. +Napoleon, watching them, laughed heartily and clapped his hands as the +two raced around the grounds. The little encounter amused him, but Las +Cases the elder took the matter more seriously. + +Betsy wrote, "From that moment Las Cases never liked me, after this +adventure, and used to call me a little rude hoyden." + +The next afternoon Betsy and Jane joined the Emperor, accompanied by +General Gorgaud, in a walk in a meadow. + +"Look, Betsy!" cried Jane, "there are the cows I saw the other day. I am +half afraid of them." + +"Nonsense! How silly!" cried the intrepid Betsy. "Afraid of a cow!" and +she repeated her sister's fear to Napoleon. The latter, professing to be +surprised and amused at Jane's fears, joined with Betsy in a laugh at +her sister's expense. But even the dread of ridicule had little effect +on Jane. + +"Oh, Betsy," she cried, "I am sure one of those cows is coming at us!" + +Looking up, Betsy had to admit that her sister might be right. One of +the cows was rushing toward them with her head down, as if ready to +attack the party. It was no time for words, and Napoleon, feeling it no +disgrace to retreat in the presence of such an enemy, jumped nimbly over +a wall and, standing behind it, was thus protected against the enemy. + +General Gorgaud did not run, but standing with drawn sword exclaimed, +"This is the second time I have saved the Emperor's life." + +From behind his wall Napoleon laughed loudly at Gorgaud's boast. + +"You ought to have put yourself in the position to repel cavalry," he +cried. + +"But really, Monsieur," said Betsy, "it was you who terrified the cows, +for the moment you disappeared over the wall the animal became calm and +tranquil." + +"Well, well," cried Napoleon, again laughing, "it is a pity she could +not carry out her good intentions. Evidently she wished to save the +English Government the expense and trouble of keeping me." + +"Betsy," said the sedate Jane a little later, when she had a chance to +talk to her sister alone, "you ought not to speak so to the Emperor. You +treat him like a child." + +"Well, he seems like one of us, doesn't he, Jane? I always feel as if he +were one of us, a brother of our own age, and I am sure he is much +happier than if we acted as if we were afraid of him. But still, if you +like, I will walk very solemnly now." + +So Betsy walked along beside her sister with a slow and mincing step, +her face as long as if she had lost her best friend. As she approached +the Emperor he noticed the change. + +"_Eh, bien! qu'as tu, Mademoiselle Betsee?_" he asked. "Has le petit Las +Cases proved inconstant? If he have, bring him to me." + +Instantly Betsy's new resolves melted away and for the rest of the walk +she and Napoleon were in their usual mood of good comradeship. + +The next morning, when Napoleon joined the family circle at The Briars, +one of Betsy's little brothers, hardly more than a baby, sat on +Napoleon's knee, and began to amuse himself as usual by playing with the +glittering decorations and orders that Napoleon wore. + +"Come, Mees Betsee," he cried, "there is no pleasing this child. You +must come and cut off these jewels to satisfy him." + +"Oh, I have something better to do now!" cried little Alexander, jumping +from Napoleon's knee and picking up a pack of cards. "Look!" he +continued, pointing to the figure of a Grand Mogul on the back of each +card, "look, Bony, this is you." + +At first the Emperor, with his imperfect knowledge of English, did not +exactly understand the child's meaning. When he did, instead of taking +offence, he only smiled as he turned to Betsy, saying, "But what does he +mean by calling me 'Bony'?" + +"Ah," replied Betsy in French, "it is short for Bonaparte." Las Cases, +however, trying to improve on the little girl's definition, interpreted +the word literally, "a bony person." + +Napoleon laughed at this reply, adding, "_Je ne suis pas osseux_," and +this was all. Alexander was not reproved for his familiarity. + +It was true that Bonaparte was far from thin or bony, and Betsy had +often admired his plump hand, which she had more than once called the +prettiest in the world. Its knuckles were dimpled like a baby's, the +fingers taper and beautifully formed, and the nails perfect. + +"Your hand does not look large and strong enough to hold a sword," she +said to him one day. + +"Ah, but it is," said one of his suite, who was present. Drawing his own +sabre from its scabbard, he pointed to a stain on it, saying, "This is +the blood of an Englishman." + +"Sheathe your sword," cried the Emperor. "It is bad taste to boast, +particularly before ladies. But if you will pardon me," and he looked +toward the others in the room, "I will show you a sword of mine." + +Then from its embossed sheath Napoleon drew a wonderful sword with a +handle in the shape of a golden fleur-de-lis. The sheath itself was +hardly less remarkable, made of a single piece of tortoise shell, +studded with golden bees. + +The children were delighted when the Emperor permitted them to touch the +wonderful weapon. It was the most beautiful sword they had ever seen. + +As Betsy held the sword in her hands, unluckily she remembered a recent +incident in which she had been at a great disadvantage under the +Emperor's teasing. Now was her chance to get even with her tormentor. + +With her usual heedlessness of consequences she drew out the sword and +began to make passes at Napoleon until she had driven him into a corner. + +"You must say your prayers," she said, "for I am going to kill you." + +"Oh, Betsy, how can you!" remonstrated the more prudent Jane, rushing to +the Emperor's assistance. "I will go and tell father." + +But Betsy only laughed at her. + +"I don't care," she cried. "People tease me when they like. Now it is my +turn;" and she continued to thrust the sword dangerously near Napoleon's +face, until her strength was exhausted, and her arm fell at her side. +Count Las Cases, the dignified chamberlain, who had entered the room +during the encounter, looked on indignantly. He did not quite dare to +interfere, although his indignation was plainly expressed in his face. +Already he had taken a deep dislike to the little girl, and to him the +sword incident seemed the climax of her misbehavior. If looks could +kill, she would have perished on the spot. + +Although the Frenchman's expression had not the power to annihilate +Betsy, something in his look warned her that she had gone far enough. +Daring though she was, she decided that her wisest course was to give up +the weapon. As she handed the sword back to him, Napoleon playfully +pinched her ear. + +It happened, unluckily, however, that Betsy's ear had been bored only +the day before. The pinch consequently caused her some pain. Without +venturing to resist the Emperor's touch, she gave a sharp exclamation. +She knew that he had not intended to hurt her. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BETSY'S BALL-GOWN + + +When the little flurry over the sword had ended, Napoleon seemed lost in +thought, and the children wondered what he was thinking of. Perhaps the +laughing ways of these young people reminded him of his little son, +whose growth from babyhood to youth he was destined never to see. Some +such thought must have been in his mind when he turned to one of his +attendants, saying: + +"I believe that these children would like to see some of my +_bijouterie_. Go bring me those miniatures of the King of Rome." + +In a short time the messenger returned, laden with little boxes, while +the children loudly expressed their delight. They knew the story of the +young Napoleon, once the pride of the French nation, on whom had been +conferred the title King of Rome. They knew that he had gone to live +with the Austrian Emperor, father of his mother, Maria Louisa, and +perhaps some of them had heard of his stout resistance to those who came +to take him away from his beautiful home, the Tuileries. Already they +had seen some of the portraits of the little boy, brought by Napoleon to +St. Helena, and they were pleased by the idea of seeing others of the +collection. + +So they gathered around the Emperor as children will when something +interesting is to be shown them. + +"How lovely!" cried Jane, gazing at the miniature she was first allowed +to hold in her hand. + +It was indeed a beautiful picture, showing a baby asleep in his cradle, +which was in the shape of a helmet of Mars. Above his head the banner of +France was waving and in his tiny right hand was a small globe. + +"What does it mean?" asked Betsy, a little timidly now, as she noted the +expression of mingled pride and sadness in Napoleon's face. + +"Ah, those are the symbols of greatness. He is to be a great warrior and +rule the world." + +"Yes--in a minute," murmured Betsy, as one of the boys whispered to her +to translate "_Je prie le bon Dieu pour mon père, ma mère, et ma +patrie_," inscribed beneath a picture of the child on a snuffbox cover, +which showed the little fellow in prayer before a crucifix. Then they +both looked at another miniature portraying him riding one lamb, while +he was decking another with ribbons. + +"Ah!" mused the Emperor again sadly. "Those were real lambs. They were +given him by the inhabitants of Paris,--a hint, I suppose, that they +would rather have peace than war." + +"And this is his mother," continued the Emperor, as a woman, far less +handsome than Josephine, was shown in the miniature with the boy, +surrounded by a halo of roses and clouds. + +"She is beautiful," exclaimed Napoleon; "but I will show you the most +beautiful woman in the world." + +The girls echoed his words. "I never saw any one so beautiful in my +life," cried Betsy, gazing on the portrait of a young, charming woman. + +"And you never will," avowed Napoleon. + +"The Princess of--" queried one of the French. + +"My sister Pauline," said Napoleon, "and you show good taste in admiring +her. She is probably one of the loveliest women ever created." + +"But now," he continued, when they had seen all the pictures, "let us go +down to the cottage and play whist." + +Turning reluctantly from the miniatures, the children walked down to the +cottage and soon were ready to play. + +But the cards did not deal smoothly enough. "Go off there by yourself," +said Napoleon to young Las Cases, "and deal until the cards run better. +And now, Mees Betsy, tell me about your _robe de bal_." + +Betsy's face flushed with pleasure. "Do you really want to see it? I +will go upstairs and get it." + +To Betsy the ball to be given soon by Sir George Cockburn was a +wonderful affair. It was considered a great event by all the people of +the island, but for Betsy it had a special significance, because it +would be her very first ball. In England, at her age, her parents would +not have thought of letting her go to a ball, but amusements were so few +at St. Helena that to keep her home would have seemed cruel. + +At first her parents had objected to her going, but when Napoleon saw +her in tears one day and learned why, he asked her father to let her go, +and thus she gained her father's consent. + +It is not strange then that the little girl took a great interest in her +gown for the ball, and since she felt indebted to the Emperor for his +intercession, she was pleased that he expressed an interest in her +costume. + +So she ran upstairs light-heartedly to get the new gown, and in a few +minutes returned with it on her arm. + +"It is very pretty," cried the Emperor, examining the gown critically; +and all the others, except the stern Las Cases, had a word of +commendation for it. + +It was a delicately pretty gown, trimmed with soft roses. Even if it had +not been her first ball-gown, Betsy's pride in it would have been +justified; but as things were, no cynical person could have found fault +with her for picturing to herself what a fine impression she would make +at this first appearance at a grown-up function. + +The Emperor's praises were particularly gratifying, because he had a way +of ridiculing any detail of dress that he did not like. + +"Oh, Mees Betsee," he would cry, "why do you wear trousers? You look +just like a boy;" and any one who has seen pictures of girls in +pantalets will admit that they merited criticism. Or again he would say: + +"If I were governor I would make a law against ladies wearing those +ugly, short waists. Why do you wear them, Mees Betsee?" + +It was, therefore, delightful to the young girl that he approved her +ball-gown. + +After sufficient praise had been given the dress, the four sat down to +play, Napoleon and Jane against Las Cases and Betsy. + +"Mademoiselle Betsee," said the Emperor, "I tire of sugar-plums. I bet +you a napoleon on the game. What will you put against it?" + +"I have no money," replied Betsy, a little shyly for her. "I have +nothing worth a napoleon except--oh, yes--my little pagoda. Will that +do?" + +The Emperor laughed. "Yes, that will do, and I will try to get it." + +So they began in merry spirits. + +"There, there," cried Betsy after a minute or two, "that isn't fair. You +mustn't show your cards to Jane." + +"But this is such a good one." Napoleon's eye twinkled. + +"Well, it isn't fair," added Betsy with the excitement in her tone often +observable in vivacious natures. As the cards were shuffled she +repeated, "Remember, you mustn't look at your cards until they are all +dealt." + +"But it seems so long to wait." + +"Then I won't play. You revoked on purpose." + +"Did I? Then I must hide my guilt;" and Napoleon mixed all the cards +indiscriminately together, while Betsy tried to hold his hands to +prevent further mischief, as she pointed out what he had done. + +Napoleon, amused by Betsy's indignation, laughed until the tears came. + +"Mees Betsy, Mees Betsy, I am surprised. I played so fair, and you have +cheated so; you must pay me the forfeit, the pagoda." + +"No, Monsieur, you revoked." + +"Oh, but Mees Betsy, but you are _méchante_ and a cheat. Ah, but I will +keep you from going to the ball!" + +While they were playing Betsy had quite forgotten the pretty gown that +she had laid carefully on the sofa. Now, all too late, she realized its +danger, for the Emperor, suddenly turning toward the sofa, seized it, +and before she could stop him ran out of the room with it, toward the +Pavilion. + +Betsy in alarm quickly followed, but though she went fast, Napoleon went +faster, and had locked himself in his room before she reached him. + +Poor Betsy was now thoroughly frightened. She was sure that her pretty +gown, with its trimmings of soft roses, would be destroyed. + +"Oh, give it to me, please!" she cried in English, as she knocked upon +his door. But the Emperor made no reply. Then she made her appeal in +French, using every beseeching word she knew to get him to return it. +Still his only answer was a mocking laugh, repeated several times, and +an occasional word of refusal. Nor did any one else come to Betsy's +assistance. As short a time as the French had lived at The Briars there +was hardly one of them on whom Betsy had not played some trick, and even +the members of her own family were unsympathetic when a message was +brought her from Napoleon that he intended to keep her dress and that +she might as well make up her mind she could not go to the ball. + +Poor Betsy! At night, after many wakeful hours, she cried herself to +sleep. When morning came things did not seem so black. She felt sure +that the Emperor would not do what he had no right to do, keep her +pretty dress. He would surely send it back to her. But the morning wore +away, and, contrary to his habit, Napoleon did not come near his +neighbors of The Briars. Betsy sent several strongly appealing messages, +but to them all came only one reply: + +"The Emperor is sleeping, and cannot be disturbed." + +So strong indeed was the dignity with which Napoleon had hedged himself, +that even the daring Betsy did not venture to intrude upon him when he +was resting. + +Afternoon came, and at last it was almost time to start for the valley. +The family were to ride there on horseback, carrying their ball-dresses +in tin cases, and they were to dress at the house of a friend. + +The horses were brought around, the black boys came up with the tin +cases that held the dresses--the dresses of the rest of the party--but +nothing of poor Betsy's. The little girl's cup was full to overflowing; +she, the courageous, began to cry. + +She turned to one of the servants: + +"Has my dress been packed?" + +"Of course not; we didn't have it to pack." + +"Then I cannot go." + +Her tears had ceased. She was now too angry to cry longer. + +"I will go anyway," she said on second thought. "I will dance in my +morning frock, and then you will all feel sorry, for I will tell every +one how I have been treated." + +At this moment a figure was seen running down the lawn. It was Napoleon, +and Betsy gave a scream of delight as she saw that in his arms he +carried her dress. + +Her face brightened and she hastened to meet him. + +"Here, Mees Betsy," he cried; "I have brought your dress. I hope you are +a good girl now, and that you will like the ball; and mind you dance +with Gorgaud." + +"Yes, yes!" said Betsy, too happy to get her dress to oppose any +suggestion, although General Gorgaud was no favorite of hers and she had +a long-standing feud with him. + +"You will find your roses still fresh," said the Emperor. "I ordered +them arranged and pulled out, in case any were crushed." + +To the little girl's delight, when she examined her gown she found that +no harm had been done it, in spite of the rough treatment it had +received at Napoleon's hands. + +"I wish you were going, sire," she said politely, as he walked beside +the horses to the end of the bridle path. + +"Ah, balls are not for me," he replied, shaking his head. Then he +stopped. + +"Whose house is that?" he asked, pointing to a house in the valley far +beneath. "It is beautifully situated," he continued; "some time I shall +visit it. Come, Las Cases, we must not detain the party." + +"We must hurry on," whispered one of those on horseback. + +"Good-bye, good-bye," and Napoleon and the elder Las Cases went down the +mountain toward the house that he had seen in the distance, while Betsy +and the others rode on toward the ball. + +Next day Napoleon said that he had been charmed with the beautiful place +in the valley that he and Las Cases had visited after he had seen the +others ride away to the ball. He had found the owner of the place, Mr. +Hodgdon, very agreeable, and at last he had ridden home on an Arab horse +that the latter had lent him. + +Before Napoleon withdrew within his shell he was not only inclined to +receive visitors but to pay visits. Betsy and Jane were riding gayly +along one day when they came unexpectedly upon Napoleon, also on +horseback. + +"Where have you been?" asked the venturesome Betsy. + +"To Candy Bay," replied Napoleon, without resenting her inquisitiveness. + +"Oh, didn't you think Fairyland just the most perfect place?" + +"Yes, indeed, I was delighted with it and with its venerable host, Mr. +D. He is a typical Englishman of the highest type." + +"Yes, and only think, he is over seventy years old and yet has never +left the island. I don't know what St. Helena would do without him," +said Jane. + +"I call him the good genius of the valley," added Betsy. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A HORSE TAMER + + +One morning, not long after the ball, Betsy took a slight revenge on the +Emperor. She had a certain favor to ask of him, and she had gone to look +for him in his favorite retreat in his garden, the Grapery, near a large +pond of clear water, full of gold and silver fish. Though called a +grapery, vines of many different kinds twined over the trellis-work, +while the grapevines were chiefly over an arbor at the end. + +In the sultriest weather this little arbor was cool and pleasant, and +here Napoleon was in the habit of taking his books and papers when he +wished to work out of doors. + +He had no regular hour for rising, and sometimes he would go there as +early as four o'clock and write until breakfast, or dictate to Las +Cases. No one was permitted to intrude on him there, no one but Betsy +occasionally, and then it could hardly be called intruding, for she +usually went at the Emperor's request, or, as it might be said, she had +a general invitation. When Betsy said, "Come and unlock the garden +door," Napoleon stopped, even in the middle of the sentence he might be +dictating, and she was always admitted. This general invitation, +however, might have been withdrawn if Betsy had not been too sensible to +interrupt the Emperor often. She was careful not to abuse what was for +her a special privilege. + +On this particular morning she went to the arbor door with some +hesitation. One of her friends from the valley, a very charming girl, +had come to pass the morning with her. + +"Now, Betsy," she had said, "I hear that you are a great favorite with +Napoleon and you must introduce me, for I am just dying to see him." + +"I do not think I can," replied Betsy. "It is a very hot morning and I +saw him go early to the arbor. I do not like to disturb him when he is +busy." + +"Busy! How can a prisoner be busy? It cannot matter whether he is idle +or busy." + +"He is not a prisoner, at least we don't call him so," retorted Betsy +indignantly, "and he is writing books." + +"Oh, I suppose you know best, but if you cannot be obliging, I shall be +mortified when I go home to say that I did not see him. I heard you knew +him so well, that I supposed you wouldn't mind introducing me." + +Thus put on her mettle, Betsy yielded against her better judgment and +went down to the arbor. + +At first there was no answer to her knock. Napoleon had fallen asleep +over his papers. At last she succeeded in arousing him. "What do you +want?" he asked rather gruffly as he came to the little door. + +"Let me in, and you will know." + +"No, tell me first what you want and then I will let you in." + +Betsy was not so sure of this, but since she could not help it, she had +to explain her errand. + +"I wish to introduce a young lady to you." + +"Oh, no, indeed; I am not well." + +"But she will be so disappointed,--and she is so pretty." + +"Not like the lady I was obliged to say agreeable things to yesterday?" + +"Oh, no, she is very different. She is really young and handsome." + +"Very well, then, since you have promised, I suppose I must go, but come +in for a minute,"--this not very politely, it must be admitted. As Betsy +entered the little enclosure she rushed to the table and rather rudely +snatched up some of the papers on which Napoleon had been at work. + +"Now," she said, "for your ill-nature in making me stand so long at the +door, I shall keep these and find out all your secrets." + +The Emperor looked at Betsy with some alarm. He did not like to see his +papers in her hands. + +"Put them down instantly," he cried. + +"No, no," rejoined Betsy, running around the garden with the papers held +high above her head. The Emperor looked at her sternly. + +"Very well! Unless you obey me at once, I shall no longer be your +friend." + +[Illustration] + +Hardly ever before had Betsy heard Napoleon speak so severely. She saw +that he was in earnest and that she must obey. She saw, too, that she +was in danger of losing his regard, and even without looking far ahead +she realized that he might not go to her friend, if her own foolishness +continued longer. So, giving up her trophies, she seized the Emperor's +hand and led him to the house. + +Now that he had yielded to Betsy's wishes, Napoleon was most courteous +to her guest. He talked graciously to the young lady, complimented her +on her beauty, and when she was ready to go home helped her on her +horse. + +"She is a very pretty girl," he said later to Betsy, "but she has the +airs of a _marchande de modes_." + +In thus intruding on Napoleon in his arbor study, Betsy had shown a +rashness that no one else in the family would have ventured to imitate. +One day, however, Betsy aided an intruder, whose behavior the Emperor +could not resent although he was disturbed by it. + +It happened in this way. One morning while Napoleon was busy in his +outdoor study making notes, Betsy was romping about in the garden near +by. + +"Come, Tom Pipes!" she called loudly; and a second later a beautiful +Newfoundland dog rushed to her side. Tom Pipes belonged to Sir George +Cockburn, the Admiral, and was well known to every one at The Briars, as +he was in the habit of accompanying his master on his occasional visits +to Mr. Balcombe's house. After his long run up the mountainous road +under the hot sun, Tom Pipes was always delighted to reach The Briars, +for the place had many ponds and little streams, into which the +intelligent dog would plunge for a swim. + +On this particular day, Tom needed no second word from Betsy to make him +accept her invitation to take a dip in the pond, stocked with gold and +silver fish, that was near Napoleon's arbor. The dog bathed and swam and +amused himself in the water, and at last clambered up the bank. A moment +later, as if tired from his exertions, he lay down by Napoleon's side. +Napoleon, like every one else at The Briars, knew and admired the dog, +and if he noticed Tom Pipes's approach had no objection to it. He was so +absorbed in his work, however, that he probably was hardly aware of the +nearness of the creature. After a few minutes' rest, Tom Pipes realized +that he had not completed his toilet. So, rising to his feet, he began +to shake himself vigorously. Instantly a shower of water bespattered +Napoleon's face and clothing, and drenched the papers on the table. The +sheet on which he was writing was entirely spoiled, and he himself +looked rather ridiculous, as he tried to brush off the drops of water. +In spite of his annoyance, Napoleon could not help laughing, for +although he scolded and did his best to drive Tom Pipes away, the dog +could not understand him. The two had been shipmates on the +_Northumberland_, and the dog was so delighted to see Napoleon again +that instead of running away, he kept jumping on him, leaving on the +Emperor's clothing repeated imprints of his wet and muddy paws. + +While all this was happening, Betsy, looking on, was convulsed with +laughter. She had not had this particular ending in mind when she had +called Tom Pipes to play with her, but no deliberate practical joke of +hers had ever been more amusing to her; and the best part of it was that +the Emperor could not really blame her nor punish Tom Pipes. + +Very often, however, it was not Betsy who got the best of a practical +joke. Not infrequently she lost her temper over little things that were +not worth minding, and Napoleon, to whom she was a constant source of +amusement, could not forbear teasing her, just to see how she would take +his fun. One day, looking over Betsy's shoulder, Napoleon discovered +that her translation was not finished. Her father required this bit of +work from her every day, and now Napoleon saw a way to pay her back in +some of her own coin. + +Taking the paper from Betsy, and holding it aloft, the Emperor +approached Mr. Balcombe, who was now mounting his horse for a ride. + +"Balcombe," he cried, "_voilà le thème de Mdlle. Betsee. Qu'elle a bien +travaillé!_" he concluded sarcastically. + +Betsy's father looked at the sheet of paper which was quite blank, and, +entering into the spirit of the thing with Napoleon, he professed to be +very angry. Calling Betsy to him, he reproved her severely. + +"If your translation is not ready when I return home to dinner, I will +punish you severely." Mortified by this reproof, Betsy cherished plans +of retaliation against the Emperor, which she carried out when she +pinioned him in the corner with her sword. + +Yet after all she deserved the reproof, since her father had made a +rigid rule that his daughters should have a translation from English +into French ready every morning before the hour when Napoleon visited +The Briars. He rightly considered it a great privilege for the young +girls that the great man should be willing to look at their French +themes, with a view to improving their use of his language. + +One morning the sisters observed Archambaud, Napoleon's groom, leading a +beautiful horse in front of the house. + +"That is the Arab they have bought for him to ride." + +"I shouldn't think he'd care to ride that horse," responded the timid +Jane. "See how he rears and plunges." + +"He's afraid of that white cloth on the lawn." + +"Yes, but they've put it there on purpose, to break him of the habit of +shying." + +While they were speaking, Napoleon approached. + +"Sir," said the confident Betsy, "I don't believe you can ride that +horse." + +"I! Don't you think me a good rider?" + +"Yes; I think you look better on horseback than any one I have ever +seen." + +"Only _look_!" Napoleon was trying to draw her out. + +"But you really ride better than anyone else, as I told you the other +day when you rode around the lawn. I didn't suppose any one could make a +horse wheel in such a narrow circle." + +"Yet you think this Arab could conquer me!" + +"But it looks so ugly,--I mean its disposition." + +The Emperor, without replying directly, called Archambaud to him and +bade him dismount, while he took his seat on the fiery horse. The girls +looked on in horror, but Napoleon only smiled the more, as he compelled +the horse to pass the cloth and continued his discipline until he made +the creature put his foot on it. + +Archambaud gazed open-mouthed, hardly knowing whether to laugh or to +cry. The Emperor persevered, and in a short time the horse was +absolutely obedient to him, and the groom, though chagrined at his own +failure, was pleased by the Emperor's success. + +"Ah," said Napoleon, dismounting, "it would be a strange horse that did +not understand me. There was one that I rode once one hundred and +twenty-nine miles in one day. My mother was ill, and I had to do it; but +the horse, poor thing, died in the course of the night." + +"And you?" asked Betsy. + +"Ah, I was fatigued, but in or out of the saddle makes little difference +to me. I could almost sleep in the saddle. But, come, young ladies," he +continued, "I came here to invite you to see my china. It is all +unpacked." + +The girls followed the Emperor toward the house, and "Oh!" and "Ah!" +they exclaimed loudly as they looked at the beautiful dishes lately +arrived from France. Among them there were plates that had cost +twenty-five napoleons, each of them painted by a great artist. It was a +beautiful set, given to the Emperor by the people of Paris, and the +pictures were chiefly battle scenes commemorating his great victories. + +Before one of these paintings, Betsy stood enraptured. It represented a +slim youth, who looked almost tall, standing on a bridge and evidently +cheering others on, while nearer him were the dead and dying. + +"And this was really you?" exclaimed Betsy, for she recognized the +standing figure. + +"Yes," replied Napoleon, sighing, as if for his dead youth. "I was that +boy. That was almost the beginning. I was more slender then than now." + +"This is the ibis?" asked Betsy, pointing to a bird that appeared on +many plates. + +"Yes; these are mostly pictures of Egypt;" and the ibis led him to a +long discourse on the Egyptian campaign. + +"But don't go to Egypt, Miss Betsy," he concluded. "You will catch +ophthalmia and spoil your eyes." + +"_Pourquoi avez-vous tourné turque?_" ["Why did you turn Turk?"] +interposed Betsy abruptly. + +"What is that to you?" he asked, laughing. The question referred to his +having become a Mahometan, but at first it was not clear to Napoleon +what she meant. + +"I mean, why did you change your religion?" Betsy explained. + +"Fighting is a soldier's religion," he replied. "I never changed that. +The other is the affair of women and priests. _Quant à moi_, I always +adopt the religion of the country I am in. And now," he said at last, +"you have seen all the plates, and there are your little brothers coming +up to find out what our Santini has made for them." + +Santini was Napoleon's lamplighter, a clever little fellow, who could +make all kinds of toys and was always ready to play amusing tricks to +entertain the children. + +"What has he now?" the little boys asked as the man approached with a +box under his arm. + +The children jumped about excitedly. Even the girls were curious, as, +taking the box from under his arm, Santini displayed a tiny carriage to +which were harnessed two pairs of mice. In spite of Santini's efforts, +they did not at once start off, as he had expected, to draw the +carriage, and the boys appealed to the Emperor. + +"Pinch the tails of the leaders, and then they will go," commanded +Napoleon. + +The boys obeyed, and to the great delight of the children the mice +started off at full speed. As they watched the carriage and the +scampering steeds, the children shouted and clapped their hands. + + * * * * * + +One morning Betsy stood before Napoleon with an expression of +disappointment on her pretty face. + +"Of course I thought you meant it." + +"But you are a foolish child." + +"Why shouldn't you give a ball before you leave The Briars? Not a very +great one, but just large enough for me to dance at. Soon you will be +away, at Longwood. I thought you promised." + +"You must have known I was in fun." + +At last Betsy noted a tone in the Emperor's voice that warned her to go +no further. + +"But since you are so disappointed," said Napoleon kindly, "you may have +whatever you wish to ask of me. _Dites-moi, que veux-tu que je fosse +Mdlle. Betsee pour te consoler?_" ["Tell me, what do you wish me to do +to console you?"] + +Betsy's face brightened. + +"Let us play the game of blindman's buff you have so often promised. +Then I will forgive you for not having the ball, and never speak of it +again." + +"Blindman's buff, as you describe it, did not seem to be just the game +for me. Can't you think of something else?" + +"But you promised, and your room is splendid for it, and it wouldn't be +any fun without you." + +Seeing that resistance was useless, the Emperor at last consented to +play. He began by binding his fine white handkerchief over Betsy's eyes. + +"Can you see?" + +"I cannot see you." + +But Betsy, although she spoke truly in saying that she could not see the +Emperor, could yet detect a glimmer of light. Napoleon waved his hands +before her eyes, and the shadows and rush of air made her start. + +"Ah, leetle monkey, you can see me!" he exclaimed, and he put another +handkerchief over her eyes. + +Then, with Betsy in the middle of the room, the game began. Soon the +young girl felt some one pull her nose roughly. She knew who had touched +her, for, as he crept toward her, she recognized Napoleon's footsteps. +As she darted forward, he bounded away just as her hand touched his. +Then, as she groped about, Napoleon pulled her ear. She was sure that +she had recognized him and putting out her hand she cried triumphantly: + +"I have you, I have you! Now it is your turn." + +When Betsy uncovered her eyes she was mortified to find that it was her +sister she had captured. Napoleon, it was true, had pulled her ear, but +he had accomplished this by reaching his hand over Jane's head. Every +one now laughed at Betsy. + +"Come," said Napoleon, "as you have made such a great mistake, you must +pay the penalty and remain blindfolded." + +The Emperor continued to tease and quiz, pulling Betsy's ear or her +dress, and always managing to escape being caught. + +At last, when the fun was at its height, a servant, entering, announced +that some one had called to see the Emperor. So the young people were +left to themselves for a while. The game was at an end. + +"Now, Mees Betsy," exclaimed the Emperor, when he returned to the room, +"you and all the other players must come and dine with me." + +"But we have already dined." + +"Yet you must come. Now, Navarre," said the Emperor, when they had +reached the marquee, "Mees Betsy is very fond of creams. Bring some for +her." + +"I cannot eat them," protested Betsy. + +"But you told me you were so fond of them. Come, it is not kind to +refuse." + +"But really I cannot eat." + +"Oh, nonsense!" + +Betsy made the effort, and ate half of a delicious cream. + +"That is not enough. I will feed you, little _bambino_, I will feed +you;" and with spoon in hand Napoleon actually began to feed the little +girl, laughing steadily at her as he did so. + +Only by running away did Betsy at last escape, and even then the Emperor +called after her: + +"Stop, Mees Betsy, do stay and eat another. You know you told me you +liked them." + +The next day Marchand brought to the sisters a box of bonbons with the +Emperor's compliments, and with them came some of the famous creams for +"Mdlle. Betsee." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OFF FOR LONGWOOD + + +New Year's Day was approaching, the day which French people love to +celebrate by making gifts to their friends and paying compliments. + +On this first New Year's morning of Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, +Betsy, looking from her window, saw young Tristram Montholon and Henri +Bertrand approaching. + +"Look, Jane," she cried excitedly, "they are carrying something; do you +suppose--" + +But without finishing her question or waiting for Jane to answer, Betsy +had taken the shortest way to gratify her curiosity by running to greet +the boys. Immediately the two little fellows saluted her with New Year +wishes and before she could ask a question had presented each +sister--for Jane had followed her--with a beautiful crystal basket. + +"Something Piron made for you," the boys explained; and the fingers of +the two girls trembled with excitement as they began to uncover the +contents of the baskets. Piron, Napoleon's _confiseur_, could do the +most remarkable things. There was nothing he could not reproduce in +sugar--palaces, triumphal arches, all kinds of curious structures--all +looking too good to eat. Already Betsy and Jane had received presents +from the Emperor, products of Piron's skill, accompanied usually by some +pleasant message. But this New Year's gift surpassed their expectations, +for when they tore off the white satin napkin, inside the baskets they +saw that delicious bonbons were heaped within them on Sèvres plates, a +plate for each girl. + +"Cupidons for the Graces," was Napoleon's message accompanying the +kindly gift. + +The first of the new year brought a certain regret to the family at The +Briars and to Napoleon as well. His new home at Longwood was nearly +ready for him, and this meant that he should see much less of the +charming family to which he had become attached. Longwood was several +miles away, and the chance was that there he would be guarded more +closely and that it might be harder for the girls to see him. + +For the two months before New Year's, Longwood was as busy a place as a +dock-yard in war. The Admiral was often there, hurrying lazy workmen. +Every day two or three hundred seamen carried timber and other building +materials and furniture to Longwood. Although Napoleon was in no hurry +to go there--indeed, he did not wish to go there at all--he watched the +workmen with great interest, as he observed them climbing up the heights +between Longwood and The Briars. He would really have preferred to make +The Briars his home, and he tried to get the Government to buy it for +him, but for reasons, perhaps political, this could not be accomplished. +Longwood, in situation, was bleak and unshaded, and so exposed that it +was not likely he could ever have a garden such as that at The Briars. +Water had to be brought from a distance of three miles, and the houses +that were to be remodelled for the French were known to be damp and +unhealthy. The farmhouses which Napoleon was to occupy were very plain +and have even been called a collection of huts. The expenditure of much +money could not make the place really comfortable. + +Napoleon had now been on the island nearly three months. No longer was +he regarded by any one with dread, at least by any one who had come +under his immediate influence. By the Balcombe family he was esteemed an +amiable friend. They had had the chance to see him under all kinds of +conditions, and if they did not regard him as exactly perfect, their +feeling for him was one not only of great sympathy but respect. + +As the time for his departure approached he came more often to the +drawing-room at The Briars. + +"Ah," he said, half sadly, to the family, "I would rather stay here than +go to Longwood. I could never have imagined it possible to be happy on +such a horrible rock as St. Helena." + +One day General Bertrand, coming over from Longwood, told Napoleon the +house smelled so of paint that it was not fit for him at present. All +Napoleon's friends knew his great dislike for unpleasant odors, and that +paint was especially disagreeable to him. + +When the Emperor heard this report of the condition of Longwood, his +rage almost choked him. He walked up and down the lawn, gesticulating +wildly. + +"I will not live in a house that smells of paint. It is most horrible. I +will send to the Admiral and refuse to go." + +Betsy had hardly ever seen him display such temper as he now showed, +declaiming against the lack of consideration shown by the Governor. This +excitement was a result probably of his general dislike for his new +home. Although first interested in the workmen, toward the end he began +to complain of the fifes and drums with which the soldier workmen urged +themselves on as they wound their way up the hill. He had disliked +Longwood from the day when he had first seen it, just after his arrival +on the island, and what he heard about it had not changed his opinion. +No family, it was said, had ever lived there longer than a few months, +so unwholesome was its climate. This came from the situation of the +place--a plain on the top of a mountain, eighteen hundred feet high. It +was on the windward side of the island, and only for a month or six +weeks in the year was the weather pleasant. For three or four weeks it +had the sun directly overhead; the rest of the year was wet and +disagreeable. In the course of a single day there could be extreme +changes of heat and cold. + +At last the day of departure came. Sir George Cockburn and all the +Emperor's suite, some of whom lived at a distance from The Briars, came +over to escort him. The younger members of the family stood around the +house, showing their sadness very plainly. + +"You must not cry, Mdlle. Betsee," said Napoleon kindly. "You must come +to see me next week, and very often." + +"Oh, yes, I want to, but that will depend on my father." + +Then Napoleon turned to Mr. Balcombe. "Balcombe, you must bring Misses +Jane and Betsee next week to see me, eh? When will you ride up to +Longwood?" + +"Indeed, I will bring them soon," responded Mr. Balcombe. + +"But where is your mother?" added the Emperor, casting his eye over the +group that had gathered to bid him good-bye. + +"She sent her kind regards to you," replied Betsy, "but is sorry that +she is not well enough to come down." + +"Then I will go up to her;" and Napoleon impulsively ran upstairs before +word could be given of his approach. + +When Napoleon entered her room, Mrs. Balcombe was lying down. The girls, +who had followed him, saw him sit down on the edge of her bed as he +thanked her very warmly for all her attention to him. + +"I should have preferred to stay at The Briars. I am sorry to go to +Longwood," he said; and then he handed a little package to her, saying, +"Now please give this to your husband as a mark of my friendship." +"This" proved to be a beautiful gold snuffbox. + +As he turned to leave the room, Napoleon saw the red-eyed Betsy standing +near the door. + +"Here, my dear," he said, putting something in her hand, "you can give +this as a _gage d'amour_ to petit Las Cases." + +Betsy had no heart now to reply to a jest that ordinarily would have +brought out a spirited reply. But with the beautiful bon-bonnière in her +hand, she ran out of the room and took a post at a window where she +could see Napoleon. Her tears continued to flow and she found that she +could not bear to look longer at the departing Emperor. At last she had +to run to her own room, where, throwing herself on a bed, she wept +bitterly for a long time. + +It was true, as Betsy knew, that Longwood was not so very far from The +Briars, and that it was not likely that she would be restrained from +going there sometimes. Yet in spite of this knowledge the little girl +realized that she had lost a great deal by the departure of the Emperor +from her father's house. + +Friends, and enemies too, of Napoleon in Europe would have been amazed +at that moment to know that the man who so short a time before had been +dreaded as the commander of one of the world's greatest armies, was now +bewailed by a little girl as a lost playmate, for as playmate and friend +Betsy had certainly come to regard him, and she regretted his removal to +Longwood, not only because it was farther away, but because he was +likely to be hedged in with a greater ceremony that might prevent her +from seeing much of him. + +Mr. Balcombe went with Napoleon to Longwood, and when he returned the +girls asked eagerly how the Emperor liked the new residence. + +"He seemed out of spirits. He went soon to his own room and shut himself +in;" and at this report they sympathized with his loneliness. + +Betsy and Jane, fortunately, were not to be shut off altogether from +their friend. Their father was purveyor to the Emperor, and this meant +that he had a general order to visit Longwood and could take his +daughters with him. Thus it happened that hardly a week passed without +their going there to call, to their own great delight as well as to the +satisfaction of Napoleon, who never tired of them. + +Usually their visits were so timed that they could breakfast with the +Emperor at one, and for the most part they found him much the same as he +had been at The Briars. After a while, however, they could not help +noticing that he was less cheerful than formerly. + +About a week after his departure, Betsy and her mother and sister made +their first visit to Longwood to call on the Emperor. + +"Ah, there he is," Betsy cried; and looking ahead, they saw him seated +on the steps of the billiard-room, talking to little Tristram Montholon. +The moment Napoleon caught sight of them, he hastened toward them. +Saluting them pleasantly, he kissed Mrs. Balcombe and Jane on each +cheek, while he pinched Betsy's ear, as he said: "Ah, Mdlle. Betsee, +_etes-vous sage_, eh, eh?" + +Then, with the eagerness of a boy anxious to display a new toy, he +added, "What do you think of the place? I must show you over it. Come, +follow me!" + +So the Emperor walked ahead of Mrs. Balcombe and her daughters, leading +them first to his bedroom. Betsy thought this room small and cheerless, +though she did not say so to Napoleon. + +As she looked about she observed that the walls were covered with fluted +nankeen, that on the wall were many family pictures that she recognized, +while the bed was the well-known camp bed with the green silk hangings, +the bed Napoleon had used in his Marengo and Austerlitz campaigns. +There, on one side, was the silver wash-hand basin and ewer, and on the +mantelpiece over the bed was a portrait of Maria Louisa, so placed as to +be the first thing to meet Napoleon's eye when he awoke in the morning. +Off the bedroom was a small chamber with a bath that he showed to them. +A dressing-room, dining-room, billiard and drawing room made up the +Emperor's own special suite. The billiard-room, which had been built +according to Sir George Cockburn's orders, was large and well +proportioned. It was the best apartment in the house, and the girls +expressed their admiration for it, although Betsy, when her eye fell on +the billiard table and balls, thought the game a foolish one for men to +play. + +"Now to the kitchen!" Napoleon exclaimed, at last. "M. Piron will be so +pleased. Aha, Piron, here is Mees Betsee; you know how she loves creams. +Send her some and some bonbons. See, _regardez, mademoiselle, voilà un +mouton pour mon diner, dont on fait une lanterne_," pointing to the lean +carcass of a sheep hanging up in the kitchen, in which the French +servants had placed a candle which shone through. "But I know," he +continued, "you are dying to see the baby;" and the sisters went with +him to Madame Montholon's apartment to see her six-weeks-old girl. + +Napoleon took his little god-daughter in his arms. + +"Oh, you will let it fall!" cried Betsy as he dandled it clumsily. + +"No, no! See, it will let me do anything with it;" and he pinched little +Lili's nose and chin until she cried. + +"You do not know how to hold a baby," protested Betsy. + +"But I ought to know," responded Napoleon with a twinkle of amusement in +his eye. "Often and often I have nursed the King of Rome when he was +younger than Lili." + +After leaving the baby and Madame Montholon, the little girls went with +Napoleon to the garden outside. + +"It is not like The Briars," the Emperor said, shaking his head sadly. + +"I should say not;" and Betsy looked from the bare surroundings of the +house to the rugged mountain near by with its scraggly vegetation of +wild samphire, prickly pears and aloes, its iron-covered rocks, with +sharp cliffs and mysterious caves overshadowing the house. + +Napoleon's momentary sadness may have come from his casual allusion to +his son, the little King of Rome, the child whom he was never to see +again. Those who observed him when any allusion was made to his child +were always sure that Napoleon's heart held great fatherly affection. +Once when he had been a trifle downcast, Dr. O'Meara told him an +anecdote he had heard about the child. Immediately Napoleon smiled with +great animation and his face brightened. At other times when the +conversation turned on the child, he grew perceptibly sadder. + +His love for his own child made Napoleon undoubtedly more interested in +all children, and he was never ashamed, as some men are, to show this +interest in the children of his friends. + +This first visit to Longwood was in every way delightful to the sisters, +not only because there was much to see that was new to them in the +arrangement of the house and grounds, but because they found the Emperor +in one of his most boyish moods. + +"Now, ladies," he said, as the time for their return approached, "send +your horses off. They can meet you at Hutsgate, and I will take a drive +with you, if you will honor my jaunting car." + +Hutsgate was the residence of Madame Bertrand, where Mrs. Balcombe and +her daughters intended to call before returning to The Briars. + +"Yes," answered Betsy after a moment's hesitation, "we will drive with +you." She was not fond of driving, but did not dare to expose her +timidity to the ridicule of the Emperor. + +Hardly, however, had they started off when she felt that her fears were +justified. The daring Archambaud was their charioteer, and he drove +three unbroken Cape horses abreast. + +"This is the most dangerous road for driving on the island. No wonder +they call it the Devil's Punchbowl," cried poor Betsy. As she spoke, the +carriage seemed to be tipping over the edge of the declivity. Those +nearer the edge were in mortal terror, and the others looked as if they +would be crushed against the huge rock. + +"You are not frightened, are you, Mees Betsee?" asked Napoleon +mischievously. "Of course it is a narrow road; I only hope the horses +are not running away. They seem rather wild." + +Thankful enough was Betsy to arrive at Madame Bertrand's without +accident, and when she started for home she was more than eager to mount +her own quiet pony, Tom. She was not fond of driving over the dangerous +roads, and for a jaunting car she had a special dislike. Napoleon, +knowing this, could not resist the opportunity to tease her. Betsy, +indeed, was not the only one whom he liked to terrify by getting +Archambaud to display his reckless driving. It seemed, indeed, as if his +guest, as well as the Emperor, always took his life in his hands when +driving in the jaunting car. + +On a second visit not long after the first, when Betsy and Jane arrived +at Longwood, they found the Emperor firing at a target. He put the +pistol in Betsy's hands, saying, "Ah, _la Petite Tirailleuse_, I will +form a company of sharpshooters and you shall be captain." + +A little later he took her to the billiard-room and showed her the +billiard table. + +"It is a silly game for men," she said in her positive way, "too much +like marbles. I wouldn't play it." + +"Oh, do try," urged the Emperor; but wilful Betsy replied only by aiming +the ball at his fingers, as he rested his hand on the board. + +Later, however, the sisters learned to play the game, and at the +billiard table they passed many an hour. + +Napoleon himself taught Betsy how to handle a cue, but, when tired of +the lesson, she would often aim at his fingers, and she was always +delighted when a well-directed shot made him cry out. + +The visits of Betsy and her sisters gave pleasure to the fallen great +man; still, as time went on, they could not help noticing that he was +less and less buoyant. In their presence he tried to lay aside his +troubles, and continued unfailingly kind. + +He and the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, were always at swords' points, +and this wore on his spirits. Moreover, the health of Napoleon was +impaired, and as he realized this he grew more and more gloomy. + +Sir Hudson Lowe was very particular that the passes issued for visitors +should be used only as they had been made out. + +One day Betsy went to Longwood with a pass that prescribed a visit to +General Bertrand. But when Betsy, wandering about, caught sight of +Napoleon in the billiard-room, she could not resist the temptation of +playing a game with him. Her father vainly tried to remonstrate with +her. Far from listening to him, she bounded off. + +Instead of playing billiards, however, Napoleon asked her to read to him +from a book that he had lately received from England. It was by Dr. +Warden, surgeon of the _Northumberland_, describing in English +Napoleon's voyage to St. Helena. Napoleon had not made great headway in +reading English, and Betsy went through several chapters with him, +turning them into her French that he might better understand. + +Napoleon listened attentively to her reading. "Dr. Warden's word is a +very true one," he said. + +Betsy finished her stay at Longwood this day by remaining awhile with +Madame Bertrand. + +The news of Betsy's visit to Napoleon without the requisite permission +reached the Governor's ears; and Mr. Balcombe was severely reproved. In +fact, he nearly lost his position. The Governor from the first insisted +that Mr. Balcombe always acted in the interest of Napoleon, and hence, +as he viewed it in his narrow-mindedness, against the interests of the +English Government. Thus we can see that Napoleon's young neighbor was +wrong in doing things that drew on her father the Governor's reproof. + +"My dears," said Mr. Balcombe one morning, "I am going to Longwood +to-morrow, and the Emperor has expressly asked me to bring you. He has +something curious to show you." + +"What can it be?" the girls asked each other. This special invitation, +promising a special pleasure, made them eager to start when the next +morning came. + +When they reached Longwood with their father they found Napoleon +examining a machine whose use they could guess. + +"Come, come, young ladies," the great man cried, when he caught sight of +them, "come see me make ice. You have not been here for a long time, +Mees Betsy, what is the matter?" + +"I have been ill,--a sunstroke." + +"Oh, I am sorry! What foolish thing did you do?" + +"Oh, Jane and I walked with Captain M. to call on Mrs. Wilks. We went +over the mountain, two thousand feet, and also across Francis Plain, and +down into the valley, up the mountain ridges." + +Napoleon expressed his astonishment at the extent of their walk. + +"Yes, we were nearly dead when we reached Plantation House, but the Lady +Governess and her daughter there were so kind, and at noon we went to +Fairyland." + +When Betsy had told her story, Napoleon explained the air-pumps and the +process of ice-making. He was evidently proud of his own proficiency. + +"Now, Mr. Balcombe, get an elementary chemistry for Miss Betsy and make +her study every day, and the good O'Meara shall be her examiner." + +While he talked Napoleon was watching the machine. + +"Do try my ice," he exclaimed at last, when he had a cupful. + +"Here, Mees Betsee, take this!" and he put a large piece in her mouth. + +"Oh, Mees Betsee, why make such faces?" + +This was the first ice that had ever been seen on the island, and those +who had never been off St. Helena were naturally amazed when it was +shown to them. + +"It can't be frozen water," exclaimed Miss de F., a young St. Helena +lady who had accompanied the Balcombes on this visit to Longwood; and +she had to hold a piece in her hand before she believed it. Then she +gave a little scream. The glassy substance was so cold at first that she +was ready to drop it. A moment later when it began to melt and the water +streamed down her fingers, she realized that she had actually seen a +very strange thing, the turning of water into ice by artificial means. + +Betsy long remembered the day when she had first seen the wonderful ice +machine, and perhaps her remembrance of it was intensified because on +that same morning Napoleon permitted her to cut from his coat an +embroidered bugle, and the coat was the one he had worn at Waterloo. +Napoleon himself was as pleased as a child with the ice machine, and to +more than one person expressed his regret that he had not had it in +Egypt, where its use would have saved the lives of many suffering +soldiers. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE GOVERNOR'S RULES + + +After Napoleon had been at St. Helena a few months, newspapers from +England began to arrive with narratives of many of the happenings at The +Briars. + +One journal contained a letter from the Marquis de Montchenu, describing +all the romping games at The Briars, such as the game of blindman's +buff, the sword scare, and other things in which the children had taken +part. + +Special comments were made on the manners of Betsy, and the writer said, +"She is the wildest little girl I have ever met; she seems _folle_." +This letter had been translated into French and German journals, so that +Betsy Balcombe's name was now widely known. + +Mr. Balcombe was greatly enraged by this letter, and wished to call the +Marquis to account for his ill nature, but Mrs. Balcombe persuaded him +to desist from extreme measures, and in the end the Marquis himself made +an apology. + +Napoleon found some amusement in Betsy's fierce anger against the +critical Frenchman. One day Dr. O'Meara called at The Briars, on the way +to St. James Valley, with a message from Napoleon to tell Betsy how she +could revenge herself on the tale-bearer. + +The Marquis, a noble of the old school, was in the habit of wearing an +elaborate wig with a long cue. + +"Mees Betsy, if you will burn off the cue with caustic, I will reward +you with the prettiest fan in Solomon's shop, if you will send the +pigtail to me," suggested Napoleon to Betsy as a plan of revenge. + +"_Eh, bien_," said the Emperor, when next he saw Betsy, "Mdlle. Betsy, +_as tu obei mes ordres et gagné l'éventail_?" ["Have you obeyed my +orders and won the fan?"] + +"Oh, sire, how I wanted to do it, but my brother would not let me!" + +"Ah, Mees Betsy," and Napoleon pinched her ear, "_tu commences à etre +sage_. Here, O'Meara, have you brought the fan I promised Miss Betsy?" + +"No, sire, there were none pretty enough for her in Solomon's shop." + +Betsy's face grew serious. + +"Do not look sad," expostulated Napoleon. "You shall have something +prettier than a fan;" and Betsy, comprehending, wondered what the +present would be that he evidently intended to give her. + +In a few days a package came to The Briars, addressed to Betsy. Opening +it, she saw a ring of brilliants, forming the letter N, surmounted by a +small eagle. + +This was a wonderful gift for a little girl, and at first she could +hardly believe that it was for her. Later she found there was no +mistake. It was really hers, and she kept it always. + +Although Betsy was not permitted to carry out Napoleon's proposed plan +of revenge on the tale-telling Marquis, she expressed her feelings in a +way of her own by relating to Napoleon an anecdote about him. + +"The Marquis," she said, "is extremely fond of cauliflower, a vegetable +that is very hard to get here on the island. Well, the other day, he +dined with us and we had the most delicious cauliflower. Somehow he +didn't see it until it was being removed and then he cried to his +aide-de-camp, who had neglected to point it out, '_Bête, pourquoi-ne m'a +tu pas dit qu'il-y-avait des choux fleurs?_' ['Idiot, why didn't you +tell me that there was cauliflower?'] Now, wasn't he greedy?" asked +Betsy, glad enough to have a story to tell that placed the Marquis at a +disadvantage. + +The Marquis de Montchenu, for whom Betsy had professed this dislike, was +one of the three Commissioners sent by the Allied Powers to keep watch +on Napoleon. The other two were the Baron Sturmer, representing Austria, +and Count Balmain, sent by Russia. While England provided the prison and +jailer for Napoleon, these Commissioners were asked to observe +everything and report to their respective countries. France and Austria +had ordered their Commissioners to see Napoleon in their official +capacity every day in order to assure themselves that he was actually +alive. Baron Balmain was instructed by Russia neither to seek nor avoid +an occasion to see him. To describe the vain efforts of the French and +Austrian Commissioners to see Napoleon would make an entertaining story. +Napoleon's orders to his household were not to admit any one presenting +a pass from the British authorities. But as Sir Hudson Lowe would permit +no one to go to Longwood without a pass from him, those who wished to +see Napoleon were in a dilemma. + +Things were not bettered when Napoleon wrote Sir Hudson Lowe, desiring +him not to present any one to him, as in future he would receive no +visitors. He acted as if he thought it his duty to shut himself up, in +order that public opinion might be turned against the narrow-mindedness +of the Governor. After this few of the people of St. Helena tried to +call on him. From delicacy of feeling, or because they feared his anger, +civilians and military residents avoided Longwood. Only the two +Commissioners and the resident English officer made an effort to see him +daily, and their efforts, merely to get a glance at him through window +or door, were most absurd. The officer sometimes saw him, but the +Commissioners never had the privilege. The Marquis de Montchenu beheld +him at last only when he lay dead. Baron Sturmer and Baron Balmain left +St. Helena while Napoleon was still alive without having met him. + +As to Betsy Balcombe, though she had her own opinion, on account of her +father's position she could not express herself strongly about Sir +Hudson Lowe. + +"Has any one run away with a favorite _robe de bal_, or is the pet black +nurse, old Sarah, dead?" asked Napoleon one day, detecting a serious +look on Betsy's face. "What can have occurred?" + +Betsy's face did not brighten. + +"I am feeling very sad," she said, "because Mrs. Wilks, our kind +Lady-Governess, has gone away. Every one was at the boat to see her go, +and at the castle. It was like a funeral, no one with a dry eye, and all +saying, 'God bless you, and a safe and happy voyage home.'" + +Betsy paused for a moment, then continued: "Then they all followed the +Governor and his family to the barge that was to take them to Havana, +and groups of grief-stricken ladies wandered under the peepul trees of +Sisters' Walk, watching the vessel." + +"Did you cry too?" asked Napoleon. + +"Indeed I did." + +"I regret," added Napoleon, "that I had not known the Lady-Governess; +she must have been so amiable." + +Napoleon, as well as Betsy, probably realized that but for his coming +the people of St. Helena might have retained their popular Governor, +Mark Wilks. Before the arrival of Napoleon, the Governor of St. Helena +was paid by the East India Company, though appointed by the Crown; but +with so important a personage as Napoleon held there in captivity, it +seemed wisest that full responsibility for him should be laid on the +English Government. It was therefore decided, as we have before seen, +that as soon as possible a Governor of higher rank should be sent out in +place of Governor Wilks. The change at this time seemed unfortunate for +the people of St. Helena. In Governor Wilks they had found an officer +who had their interests more at heart than any preceding Governor. Could +he have been Napoleon's custodian, the Emperor's exile would have been +very much happier than it was with Sir Hudson Lowe in charge. + +Betsy, like all who came in contact with Napoleon, sympathized deeply +with his annoyance at the restrictions imposed on him by Sir Hudson +Lowe. The story of the discussion between Napoleon's friends and the +supporters of the Governor would be a long one to tell, but the fact +remains, when all is said in Sir Hudson Lowe's favor, that he was far +too narrow-minded for the important position that he held. Sir Hudson +Lowe was a brave man and had served honorably in many wars, but the +responsibility of guarding the fallen Emperor was too great for him, and +his behavior toward the exile was in every way unfortunate. + +Napoleon had been on the island just six months when Sir Hudson Lowe +arrived. From the first he seemed possessed by the idea that Napoleon +was constantly watching for some chance to escape. To those nearest +Napoleon at St. Helena, the Governor's fears that he might escape seemed +absurd. From the island posts approaching ships were seen twenty-four +leagues off. Two ships of war were always cruising to windward and +leeward. Only guard-boats were allowed out at night. All fishing boats +were numbered and had to anchor every evening at sunset under the +supervision of a lieutenant of the navy. No foreign vessels were +permitted to anchor unless under great distress, and then no one from +them could land until an officer and a party from the British ships went +on board to take charge while they stayed. If he had cared to try +flight, Napoleon could hardly have made his escape. + +In the very beginning, when Lord Bathurst issued instructions for the +custody of Napoleon, he expressed the earnest desire of the Prince +Regent that no greater personal restraint might be employed than was +necessary to make sure that Napoleon was securely held on the island. + +Sir Hudson Lowe, however, in carrying out the instructions of the +British Government, interpreted them as meaning that he should have +constant information about all Napoleon's doings. To accomplish this +was, of course, impossible, and his vain efforts made him the +laughing-stock of the English as well as the French. In his very first +interview with Napoleon the new Governor managed to offend him +seriously, and Napoleon after this was so unwilling to see him that the +two met only five times more during the five years that intervened until +Napoleon's death; and these five interviews were all within the first +three months after Sir Hudson Lowe's arrival. + +Under the most favorable conditions Sir Hudson Lowe could hardly have +been popular with the islanders themselves. Governor Wilks, his +predecessor, had been unusually loved, and his charming wife and +daughter had a firm hold on the affections of all the people of St. +Helena. Betsy, as we have seen, was extremely fond of Mrs. Wilks, whom +she called the "Lady-Governess," and she had a young girl's admiration +for the beautiful Miss Wilks, whose praises she continually sang to +Napoleon. One day, not long before Miss Wilks left the island, Napoleon +showed Betsy a portrait that General Gorgaud had drawn from memory of +Miss Wilks, saying, "You think Miss Wilks beautiful. Gorgaud thinks so +too, and this is his portrait from memory." + +"Ah," replied Betsy, gazing at the portrait, "she is far more beautiful; +and she is so clever and amiable." + +"You are certainly enthusiastic, and I quite long to see her," responded +Napoleon, evidently appreciative of Betsy's enthusiasm for her friend. + +During the first months of Napoleon's exile, Colonel Wilks continued to +act as Governor, but the direct custody of Napoleon was the business of +Sir George Cockburn, who had brought the illustrious prisoner on the +_Northumberland_ from England. Not long after Napoleon went to Longwood +an amusing incident happened, resulting from the panic of Captain +Poppleton, the orderly officer whose duty it was to guard Napoleon on +his rides. + +The two sisters were sitting at dinner, with their father and Admiral +Cockburn. + +"See," cried Betsy to Jane, "here comes Captain Poppleton, looking as if +he had lost his wits. Why is he alone? Don't you remember that he set +out with the Emperor and Generals Bertrand, Montholon, and Gorgaud?" + +"But you wouldn't expect them all to march in, when we have company, +too," whispered Jane, looking toward the end of the table where her +father was talking with his especial guest, the Admiral, Sir George +Cockburn. + +Before the girls could speculate further, Captain Poppleton broke out +excitedly: + +"Oh, sir, I have lost the Emperor." + +All looked up, but the Admiral, whom Captain Poppleton addressed, did +not change expression as the officer continued: + +"We were riding along one of the paths on the side of the mountain, when +suddenly the Emperor turned short around to the left and almost flew up +the mountain. None of the generals accompanied him. I started, but I +could not follow. My horse would not take the steep ascent. So I came +back to you. If there is a plot--" + +"Nonsense!" cried the Admiral, and his tone was echoed by Mr. Balcombe. +It was natural that Captain Poppleton should feel alarm at the sudden +disappearance. But the Admiral was made of sterner stuff. "Go back to +Longwood," he said quietly to the officer. "You will find Napoleon +there." + +This proved to be the case, for when he reached Longwood the Emperor was +at dinner, and he laughed at poor Captain Poppleton for his fears. + +If Betsy had ventured to express herself regarding the trouble between +Sir Hudson Lowe and the Emperor in this, she certainly would not have +favored the former. + +"What do you really think," she asked her father one day, "about this +quarrel between the Governor and the Emperor?" + +Mr. Balcombe very properly, as an officer of the Government, was not +inclined to give a direct reply. But Betsy understood him, when he said: + +"Their disputes are generally on subjects so trivial that they hardly +seem worth quarrelling about." + +But she realized that to Napoleon these disputes were not trivial when +she came upon him one day reading an English book. Looking at it, as he +held it before her, she saw that it was a copy of "Æsop's Fables," a +book that in a translation children often use to improve their knowledge +of French. + +The page was open at "The Sick Lion." This is the famous account of the +lion that, when lying sick, receives visits from many other animals who, +instead of sympathizing, exult over his downfall. The lion makes no +complaint until a donkey kicks him in the face. "I could have borne +anything but this," he said. + +As Betsy looked at the open page, Napoleon, pointing to the woodcut, +said, "It is myself and your Governor." His expression showed the depth +of his feeling on the subject. + +In little ways Betsy was disappointed by the regulations made for +Napoleon by Sir Hudson Lowe. She was exceedingly anxious, for example, +that Napoleon should see a huge boa constrictor that a captain of an +incoming vessel had brought to the island. + +"It is a most wonderful creature," she said, as she described it to the +Emperor. "They put a live goat into its cage, and I really believe that +it swallowed it whole, for I could see the poor thing's horns poking +almost through the boa constrictor's skin." + +The Emperor smiled as Betsy told her tale. "Your boa constrictor sounds +like the Marquis de Montchenu, or, rather, the latter, from the amount +of food I have heard he consumes, must resemble a boa constrictor." + +"He really does," responded Betsy. "Oh, I wish you could see him--not +the Marquis, but the boa constrictor." + +"I should like to see it; I will ask them to have it brought here to +me." + +As Betsy herself also desired this, she was naturally disappointed when +those in authority decided that the boa constrictor could not be shown +to Napoleon. + +Napoleon was not the only one on the island affected by the many +regulations made for his safety in the matter of sentries. The question +of passes, always troublesome to visitors, and the fact that after the +sunset gun had been fired no one could pass the sentries without giving +the countersign, were annoyances to all on the island. Once Betsy +herself had an experience that was far from agreeable, although she was +not the only one to suffer, as the incident concerned many others. + +As might be supposed, picnics were a favorite form of diversion with the +people of St. Helena, and they were particularly delightful when, as +usually happened, young and old took part in them. One day there was a +large picnic near the celebrated Friar's Valley. The Balcombes and all +their friends were to go to it. + +The day proved pleasant fortunately, for the journey was difficult. +After amusing themselves for hours, the party was at last surprised to +hear the sunset gun from Ladder Hill. They found that none of the party +had the countersign for the night, and they knew that if they ventured +forth without it they would be made prisoners. This was one of the many +strict rules made by the Governor to prevent the mishap of helpers +coming to Napoleon after dark. + +At last some of them decided that it was better to make an effort to +reach home rather than spend the night outdoors. Betsy and her parents +were among those who ventured to go toward home. + +It was a starlight night, but the road was bad. Mr. Balcombe at last +hailed a light. + +"Who goes there?" cried the sentry. + +"A friend." + +"Advance, friend, and give the countersign." + +Now this was just what none of the party could do, and as protests were +useless, they all had to spend the night in the guard-room, where they +were half eaten by fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects. + +Those who had stayed on the picnic grounds laughed well at the more +venturous who had gone ahead. Napoleon, when he heard the story, was +highly diverted, pleased to have so good a chance to blame the +Government. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ALL KINDS OF FUN + + +Any one who had looked in on the sisters one day would have seen that +they were greatly excited. Just at this time they were visiting Madame +Bertrand, and during their stay a ball was to be given. + +Plans that promised much pleasure for them had been made. They were to +dine with the Emperor, and then go on to Deadwood in his carriage. + +"Don't jerk so, please," cried Betsy, while the maid was arranging her +hair. + +"But you must have this Chinese coiffure, if you are going to the ball. +You would not wish to go looking like a little girl." + +"Oh, no," responded Betsy faintly, inwardly rebellious, as her hair was +jerked and strained on top of her head. She was willing to bear pain for +the sake of appearing well, but when she looked in the glass she thought +that she had never seen anything so hideous as the coiffure that the +maid had arranged with such care. She no longer desired to appear like a +young lady. Her hair had been drawn back so tight that her eyes were +fairly starting from the socket. Had there been time she would have +pulled the coiffure down, and indeed she was ready to cry with vexation, +but she did not really dare to disarrange it now, for she dreaded the +Emperor's ridicule. How he would laugh at the funny Chinese coiffure! In +a few minutes she was to appear before him. + +To her great surprise, when she and her sister entered the dining-room, +the Emperor spared her, saying only: + +"Mees Betsy, this is the only time I have ever seen you look really +neat; but I don't like your frock. What is the matter?" + +Poor Betsy! She was almost upset by the Emperor's tone. She looked at +him closely, and decided that he meant just what he said. She had +thought her little frock so pretty. Now, what could be the matter with +it? + +The Emperor understood her look of inquiry and answered in words. + +"It is too short," he said. "You must have it made long before the +ball." + +He was certainly in earnest, and the young girl was really troubled. +"But I cannot do anything to it," she protested; "there is not time." + +"Oh, but no one will wish to dance with you." + +"It isn't as bad as that!" + +"But it is." + +Betsy knew that Napoleon meant what he said. He knew more about balls +and ball-gowns than any young girl on the island. Indeed, if his +criticism had not been based on his knowledge of the customs of the +modish world, Betsy would still have been inclined to trust to his +judgment; for though at times she seemed to trifle with his wishes, in +her heart she was always ready to please him. + +So now, as sensitive as any more conventional girl to the impression she +might make at a ball, Betsy ran off to find Josephine, the maid. + +Josephine shook her head when Betsy first told her tale of woe, but at +last she consented to remedy the defect by lengthening the frock. There +was but one thing to do, and consequently some of the tucks were let +down. + +Neither Betsy nor the maid was proud of the result of their efforts. The +effect was not good, and Betsy had to take what consolation she could +from the fact that she had obeyed Napoleon. + +A dinner with the Emperor was always delightful to Betsy and Jane, and +this one was no exception. When it was over the Emperor rose abruptly +and all went with him to the drawing-room. There the delectable coffee +for which Le Page was famous was brought in, and Betsy, feeling more +grown up than ever, drank a cup into which, disdaining tongs, she +dropped a lump of sugar. + +Soon the carriage was announced, and all set out, Madame Bertrand ahead, +carrying her baby, next little Arthur, then Mrs. Balcombe, and finally +Betsy and Jane and General Gorgaud. + +When the signal was given, the spirited Cape steeds tore away, dashing +from side to side, while Madame Bertrand screamed loudly to Archambaud +to stop, though without avail, until the carriage ran into a gumwood +tree. + +Except for the shaking up and the fright, none of the party was injured, +and when the door was opened all scrambled hastily out. Nothing would +induce them to intrust themselves again to the carriage and the reckless +Archambaud, and though the rain was falling heavily they preferred to +walk over the muddy road to Deadwood. They had nearly a mile to go, and +it was especially hard for Madame Bertrand, whose baby would not be +carried. + +Betsy, though she knew that she herself probably looked equally absurd, +could not help laughing when she saw Madame Bertrand arrayed in one of +Mrs. Balcombe's dresses, half a yard too short and small in every way, +which she had to borrow while her own clothes were drying. + +But the ball itself was pleasant and all felt repaid for going, even +though they had to walk home in the mist. + +The next morning, as ever, Betsy was the victim of Napoleon's raillery. + +"So you had a good time last evening, Mees Betsy. I hear you danced very +well and looked well, and might have been Baroness Sturmer's younger +sister, you looked so much like her." + +This compliment pleased Betsy mightily, as doubtless Napoleon realized, +for the little English girl thought Baroness Sturmer, wife of the +Austrian Commissioner, the prettiest woman she had ever seen. + +Not long after breakfast the visitors from The Briars and several from +Longwood went to the town and to the _Newcastle_ in the bay, on board of +which Sir Pultney and Lady Malcom were to give a breakfast in honor of +Lord Amherst. + +When next the sisters visited Longwood, "Ah, Mees Betsee," cried +Napoleon, "I have heard great stories of you. You locked up little Miss +P. the other day, while the other ladies were being shipped over the +side of the frigate to return to shore. When they missed her Captain G. +had to go back to rescue her." + +As Betsy did not deny this charge, Napoleon, turning to her father, +exclaimed: + +"Balcombe, you must set her a task." + +"Indeed I must," responded Betsy's father gravely. + +"But I have been punished enough," protested Betsy. "Lady Lowe scolded +me, too, and desired me to use my reason and not to be childish. I +wondered at her lack of perception in giving me credit for what I never +possessed. But I did admire Lord Amherst," she added, a few minutes +later. + +"He must be a very fascinating man," responded Napoleon, "so to have +impressed your youthful fancy." + +The kindness that Madame Montholon showed Betsy in allowing her maid to +arrange the young girl's hair in a style suitable for a ball, an +undoubted kindness in spite of the discomfort it produced, was in a line +with many other things that she and Madame Bertrand did for the Balcombe +girls. Madame Bertrand was particularly fond of Betsy and often invited +her to her house. She advised her about her studies and, to a certain +extent, supervised some of them. Madame Bertrand had many +accomplishments, some of which she tried to impart to Betsy. Singing was +one of them, and under her instruction Betsy made considerable progress. +Napoleon sometimes listened to their little concerts in the drawing-room +at Longwood. One evening when Betsy was to sing a part from "Les +Styriens," the piano was so out of tune that Napoleon was greatly +distressed. He at once sent for Mr. Guiness, the bandmaster of the +_General Kid_, then in St. James's Harbor, the only man at hand who +could properly tune it, and was naturally annoyed when the Governor +expressed his unwillingness to have Mr. Guiness come. + +Of all those who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena, Madame Bertrand had +made, perhaps, the greatest sacrifices. She was born in Martinique and +was partly of Irish descent, through her father, whose name was Dillon. +In spite of her warm devotion to Napoleon, she almost went out of her +mind when she heard that he was doomed to imprisonment in St. Helena and +that her husband would follow him. Later, however, she became resigned +and did not try to dissuade her husband from accompanying the fallen +Emperor. Undoubtedly she thought of her children and all that they would +lose in living so far from France, but when they were at last in their +new home she bore inconveniences patiently and tried in every way to +make life pleasant for those around her. + +"Come," said Napoleon one day when Betsy was wandering around the +Longwood grounds, "come, and I will show you some pretty toys." + +Following the Emperor to the billiard-room, she saw upon the table some +gorgeously carved chessmen sent to him by Mr. Elphinstone. Each piece +was perfect. The castles, surmounting lifelike elephants, were filled +with warriors discharging arrows. The knights, cased in armor, were on +beautifully caparisoned horses. The mitred bishops were in flowing +robes, and the pawns each represented a man of a different nation. The +carving was wonderful. Such work had never before left China, and Betsy +saw that Napoleon was as pleased as a child with a new plaything. + +"I have just finished a game of chess with Lady Malcom," he said, "and +she has beaten me because I paid more attention to the men than the +game." + +Besides the chessmen Mr. Elphinstone had sent workboxes and card +counters with the various tradespeople of China minutely carved on them. + +Betsy's interest in these beautiful things was increased by hearing how +Mr. Elphinstone happened to think of sending gifts to Napoleon. He +wished to show his gratitude for Napoleon's kindness to his brother, +severely wounded on the field of Waterloo. Napoleon, it seems, +perceiving the wounded man and hearing that he was faint from loss of +blood, sent to him a goblet of wine from his own canteen. + +"The chessmen are too pretty for St. Helena," said Napoleon; "I must +send them to the King of Rome." + +Among Mr. Elphinstone's presents, Napoleon showed Betsy a superb ivory +tea-chest, which when opened showed a perfect model of the city of +Canton. Beneath it were packages of fine tea, done up in fantastic +shapes. + +"Ah," said Napoleon, turning to Betsy, "this reminds me that when I was +Emperor I did not permit any tea in my dominion, except that grown in +Switzerland. No one could tell the difference from the Chinese tea. I +also cultivated the beet-root to make sugar, instead of depending on +foreign goods." + +Napoleon was probably no less pleased with the chessmen because each +piece had a small eagle carved on it. When Sir Hudson Lowe heard of the +eagles he regretted that they had escaped his notice, and that he had +given permission for the gifts to be received at Longwood. + +Among the Emperor's treasures were many rare coins and seals which he +often permitted his little neighbor to handle and examine. Yet even +while she appreciated this special privilege, Betsy could not let her +sense of obligation entirely suppress her love of mischief. + +Once, for instance, when Betsy approached a table at which Napoleon was +seated, the little girl, unperceived by him, saw that he was in the act +of sealing a letter with one of his precious seals. The temptation was +too strong to resist, and she surprised Napoleon by joggling his arm. +This sudden movement caused a drop of hot sealing wax to fall on his +hand, and as a blister was the result, the pain for the moment must have +been extreme. Nevertheless, Napoleon said hardly a word of reproof, and +his patience was so remarkable that Betsy immediately apologized for her +mischief. + +Yet it was not unusual for Napoleon to show patience when teased. In all +his sports with the children, even when they took liberties that their +parents would have disapproved, Betsy never saw him show any temper. He +never fell back on his rank or age, but always professed to be one of +themselves, a good comrade, claiming only for his own part the right to +tease them when he chose. + +What wonder that Las Cases, the dignified Chamberlain, sometimes stood +aghast at the merry pranks shared by his illustrious master and his +young friends; but even with the eyes of the disapproving Las Cases upon +her, Betsy always enjoyed her visits to Longwood. Often some pleasant +surprise awaited her on her arrival there. + +Napoleon was interested in the various legends of St. Helena, and these +legends are very numerous. Nearly every rock and valley and bit of water +has some story connected with it. The Friar's Valley, for example, takes +its name from a huge rock fashioned by nature into the figure of a monk +with his cowl thrown back, wearing a flowing robe and a rosary. +Immediately around are sterile rocks, some many hundred feet high, some +with aloes growing from the fissures. + +Napoleon sometimes rode into this valley, and one day he turned to +Betsy: + +"Mees Betsee, have you ever seen 'Will-o'-the-Wisp' that they say lights +the friar's lantern?" + +"Oh, yes; my mother used to send me over there for purer air, and my old +nurse had a cottage overlooking the vale. She was teaching me the +alphabet, and when I did not arrange my letters properly she would +threaten me with the friar." + +The story, as Betsy had often heard it, was that the friar had been a +good Franciscan monk, but he fell in love with a girl in a mountain +cottage, whom he met while she was tending goats. She asked him to help +her find something that she had lost, and thus attracted his attention. +Later he made love to her and she promised to marry him if he would give +up his faith. So the man broke his vows to the Church; but, when he was +to be married, as he was clasping the bride's hand, there was a fearful +crash: the chapel disappeared and with it all those who were taking part +in the unholy wedding. + +"Have you noticed," asked Betsy of Napoleon, coming on him when out +riding, "those three queer sugar-loaf rocks that they call 'Lot's Wife +and Daughters'?" + +"Yes," responded Napoleon, "I have seen them." + +"Well," persisted Betsy, "do you know the story about them?" + +"No, I do not." + +"Then I must tell you. More than fifty years ago there were two slaves +on the island who hated to work and to obey their masters, so they hid +themselves in a cave, halfway up the cliff on the top of which we now +see Lot's wife. Every night they used to go down and steal whatever they +could lay their hands on. For a long time people could not find out +where they lived, but at last they were tracked to their cave. No one +could reach them, however, because they rolled stones down toward all +who tried to climb up the cliff." + +Napoleon listened attentively, and Betsy continued: + +"At last it was thought necessary to send a party of soldiers to fire on +them, if they refused to surrender, but before this was done one of the +besiegers managed to climb the cliff on the other side. He reached a +point opposite the cave and higher up, so that he could roll down stones +toward the slaves. When one of these wretched creatures was standing on +the edge of the cliff he was killed by one of the rocks rolled from +above, and the other who was with him was severely injured; and now," +concluded Betsy solemnly, "if you go there at the right time, the +islanders say that you will see the murdered slave rushing around at +night just as he used to when alive." + +Napoleon, after hearing Betsy's legend, said: "When I ride that way +again I shall certainly look at the sugar-loaf mountain with much +greater interest than ever before." + +Undoubtedly these various legends, which Betsy had heard from her +earliest childhood, tended to make her superstitious. Napoleon soon +found that she was easily frightened, and took advantage of this fact +sometimes to tease her unmercifully. When he arrived at The Briars, one +of Betsy's little brothers had as tutor an elderly man named Huff. The +coming of Napoleon had a strange effect on the tutor's brain. Among +other delusions, he believed that it was to fall on him to free the +Emperor from his imprisonment and restore him to his throne again. Old +Huff, as they called him, talked constantly on this subject and no one +could reason with him. It was evident that the poor fellow was mad, but +before it was decided to put him under guardianship he found a chance to +kill himself, although he was closely watched. According to custom, he +was buried at a spot where three crossroads meet. This happened to be a +place near The Briars, and, in consequence, poor Betsy was far from +happy. Napoleon, aware of her fears, would call out, just before she +said good night to the household, "Mees Betsee, ole Huff, ole Huff." + +Poor Betsy! She was indeed unhappy, and after these words lay long awake +at night, and in the end often scrambled into her mother's room and +stayed there until morning. + +One evening, when Betsy and her mother and her sister Jane were sitting +on the cottage porch enjoying the refreshing evening breeze, a strange +noise made Betsy turn her head, and in an instant she had risen to her +feet with a loud scream. In front of them now walked a figure dressed in +white, not a very terrifying sight, except to one of Betsy's nervous +temperament. + +[Illustration: THE BRIARS. From an old print] + +Mrs. Balcombe at once understood the situation, for at the moment of the +figure's appearance she had heard a smothered laugh that she recognized +as Napoleon's. Advancing to the white figure, she turned back the +covering, and underneath appeared the black face of a little slave, +grinning from ear to ear. + +"What brought you here?" asked Mrs. Balcombe sternly. + +"To frighten Miss Betsy;" and the black girl pointed toward Napoleon, +who had now come forward to see what effect his trick had had upon his +young neighbor. + +This little ghost scene had a wider effect than Napoleon intended, for +it put the idea of playing ghost into the heads of other servants. One +of the Balcombe slaves had lately run away and could not be found. The +family suspected that he was hiding not far off, because every night +pigs, poultry, bread, and other provisions were stolen in quantities, by +whom nobody could tell. After a while Napoleon began to complain of +thefts, but when the various black servants were questioned they all +said that the thief must be a ghostly white figure that they saw +skipping around the valley from rock to rock. That they believed what +they said was shown by the alarm they showed, for none of them would go +out alone by night. + +"I believe that it really and truly is old Huff's ghost," insisted +Betsy. + +"You can't believe such a foolish thing; indeed, I should think you +would know better after what happened the other evening, when you +allowed yourself to be terrified by a little black girl," said her +mother reprovingly. She added, "You look pale, Betsy. What is the +trouble?" + +"I can't help it. I may be foolish," responded poor Betsy, "but for +nights and nights I have been afraid to close my eyes." + +"All on account of the ghost," thought Mrs. Balcombe, wishing that Betsy +were less nervous. + +Mr. Balcombe and some friends now undertook to catch the thief, feeling +sure that he would prove to be a substantial individual. After long +watching, one night they saw a figure move stealthily across the valley +toward the house. They called upon it to stop, but when it neither +obeyed nor answered, they felt obliged to shoot. A loud scream followed +the report of the gun, and when they came upon the fallen figure they +discovered the runaway slave Alley. He was badly hurt, although not +fatally, and they did what they could for him. The next morning the +whole party went to the cave to which Alley directed them. Napoleon +accompanied them and was much interested in what he saw. + +It reminded him of the catacombs of Paris, he exclaimed, as he looked +about at the heaps of bones which the slave had placed in neatly +arranged piles after he had gorged himself with food. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SERIOUS SIDE + + +As Betsy grew to know Napoleon better, she sometimes observed in his +conversation and manner a sadness that she had not noticed earlier. This +slight melancholy was especially evident when the conversation touched +on Josephine or the little King of Rome. Often Napoleon gazed intently +at Mrs. Balcombe, explaining as he did so that it was because she +reminded him strongly of Josephine. He loved to talk of Josephine, +especially with Madame Bertrand, who was a native of Martinique and was +said also to be a distant relative of the Empress. + +One day, for example, Madame Bertrand, in Betsy's presence, brought out +a miniature of Josephine. The Emperor seemed deeply moved as he gazed at +it. + +"It is the most perfect likeness of her that I have ever seen." + +"It is for you, sir," said Madame Bertrand simply. + +Thanking her warmly, Napoleon added, "I will keep it until my death." + +On this occasion the Emperor was especially inclined to talk about his +first wife, and Betsy, hearing him, wondered that he had been willing to +separate himself from her. + +"Josephine," he said, "was the most feminine woman I have ever +known--all charm and sweetness and grace. _Era la dama la piu graziosa +in Francia._" Then he continued: "Josephine was the goddess of the +toilet. All fashions came from her. Besides this she was humane and +always thoughtful of others. She was the best of women. Although the +English and the Bourbons allow that I did some good, yet they generally +qualify it by saying that it was chiefly through the instrumentality of +Josephine. But the fact is that she never interfered in politics. Great +as my veneration was for her, I could not bear to have it thought that +she in any way ruled my public actions." + +Napoleon's praises of Josephine continued to flow on. + +"She was the greatest patroness of the arts known in France for years; +but though I loved to attend to her whims, yet I always acted to please +the nation, and whenever I obtained a fine statue or valuable picture I +sent it to the Museum for the people's benefit. Josephine was grace +personified. She never acted inelegantly during the whole time we lived +together. Her toilet was perfection, and she resisted the inroads of +time, to all appearances, by exquisite taste." + +Napoleon spoke with deep emotion, "She was the best of women!" + +Then, as if in answer to Betsy's unspoken question, he said: + +"It was only political motives that led me to give her up. Nothing else +would have separated me from a wife so tenderly loved. Thank God, she +died without witnessing my last misfortune!" + +From Josephine Napoleon turned to Maria Louisa, his second wife, the +mother of his son, of whom he spoke tenderly and affectionately: + +"She was an amiable and good wife. She would have followed me here, but +they would not let her." + +Napoleon next called Betsy's attention to one or two portraits of Maria +Louisa, but Betsy, though she made no criticism, thought then, as she +had thought at other times when studying the face of Maria Louisa, that +the Austrian Princess was at a disadvantage when contrasted with the +members of Napoleon's family, all of whom were handsome and looked +intellectual. + +This conversation about Josephine and Maria Louisa was interrupted by +the arrival of a visitor, Count Piontkowski, lately arrived from Europe. +He was a Pole who had fought under Napoleon, and his love for his fallen +leader had led him to follow into exile. + +Napoleon himself had no clear remembrance of the Pole as an individual, +and he was therefore the more deeply gratified by the spirit of devotion +that had induced Piontkowski to make the long voyage to St. Helena for +the sake of being near his old commander. + +The long interview with the newcomer undoubtedly brought before +Napoleon's mind many sad memories, and when he returned to them Betsy +and the others noticed that he was in unusually low spirits. As he +looked again at the portraits of Josephine and Maria Louisa he grew more +and more dejected, and at last, excusing himself, he went to bed much +earlier than usual, leaving the rest of the party under the influence of +his melancholy. + +When the second New Year came around, Napoleon was in less than his +usual good spirits. It was not to Betsy, however, but to Dr. O'Meara +that he said in reply to the physician's "Happy New Year": + +"Perhaps the next one will find me better situated. Perhaps I shall be +dead, which will be better still. Worse than this cannot be." + +It was not the Emperor's habit to show his sadness for any great length +of time. On this second New Year's the sisters were to go over to +Longwood to carry their New Year greeting and to dine with Madame +Bertrand. + +When they first arrived at the house Betsy was disappointed that +Napoleon was nowhere in sight and she wondered that no message or +present came from him, for she knew that the French made a special +festival of New Year's and recalled the generosity of the Emperor just a +year before. + +Still there was much to see and enjoy in Madame Bertrand's apartment, +and she and Jane were examining with admiration the presents of Madame +Bertrand and her family, when Napoleon himself entered the room. In each +hand he was carefully carrying a beautiful Sèvres cup. As the girls drew +near to look at them, they saw that on one was a portrait of Napoleon +himself, representing him in Turkish costume, and on the other the +figure of an Egyptian woman drawing water. + +"Here, Mdlles. Betsee and Jane," he exclaimed, "are two cups for you. +Accept them as a mark of the friendship I entertain for you both and for +your kindness to Madame Bertrand." + +Charmed with his beautiful presents, the girls thanked Napoleon warmly. +Betsy, indeed, was so delighted with her cup that she would not let it +go out of her hands, and when at last the time for her departure came +she wrapped it in many folds of cotton to carry it home--at considerable +risk even then, as the journey was made on horseback. + +Betsy was a keen observer, and although she was fond of paying Napoleon +back in his own coin when he teased her, she appreciated the depth of +his feelings in his more serious moments. + +One beautiful day, when she went over to Longwood, she was impressed by +the brilliancy of the atmosphere, which is, indeed, one of the charms of +St. Helena. Standing on the rocks she watched the waves breaking and +sparkling at their base and noted the sea beyond, glistening like a +sheet of quicksilver. With her spirits especially buoyant under the +influence of the wonderful day, she went up to St. Denis, one of the +Emperor's suite. + +"Where is the Emperor?" she asked gayly. "I want to see him." + +The Frenchman shook his head so gravely that for the moment the smile +left Betsy's face and she wondered if any misfortune had happened. After +a moment of silence, St. Denis replied: + +"The Emperor is watching the _Conqueror_, which is now coming in." The +_Conqueror_ was the vessel bearing the flag of Admiral Pamplin, who was +to succeed Admiral Malcom. "You will find the Emperor," continued St. +Denis, "near Madame Bertrand's, but he is in no mood for badinage +to-day." + +If the Frenchman had meant to keep Betsy away from Napoleon, he was not +successful. In spite of his warning Betsy went on toward the cottage. As +soon as she saw the Emperor, she herself came under the influence of his +mood. He was standing on a cliff with General Bertrand, looking out +toward sea, where the _Conqueror_ was still but a speck on the horizon. +Betsy was impressed by the intense melancholy of the exiled Emperor's +expression, as he stood there stern and silent. His eyes were bent sadly +upon the vessel as it came in, beating up proudly to windward. + +For some time not a word was uttered by any of the three. Even the +talkative Betsy was silent. At last Napoleon spoke: + +"They manage the vessel beautifully; the English are certainly kings +upon the sea," he said. Then his melancholy tone changed to one of +sarcasm. "I wonder what they think of our beautiful island! They cannot +be much elated by the sight of my gigantic walls." + +At this moment Betsy did not venture a retort, as was generally the case +when Napoleon railed at her beloved St. Helena. Betsy was alive to all +the beauties of the place, while Napoleon, naturally, saw only its +faults. When Betsy defended the island and waxed eloquent over its +beauties, sometimes he would simply laugh at her impertinence, while at +others, pinching her ear in his favorite fashion, he would say: + +"Mees Betsee, how can you possibly dare to have an opinion on the +subject?" + +This glimpse of Napoleon, sadly watching the _Conqueror_, was not the +only occasion when Betsy had an opportunity to see the more serious side +of the man whom she admired. Although she was only a young girl, she was +able sometimes by her intelligent questions to draw from him an +explanation of much discussed things in his past. There was, for +example, the oft-repeated story that Napoleon had sanctioned the +butchery of Turkish troops at Jaffa and the poisoning of the sick in the +hospitals. + +If the Emperor was vexed with Betsy for touching on forbidden ground, he +did not show his feeling, but entered into an explanation that his young +neighbor was able long afterwards to repeat in his own words. "Before +leaving Jaffa," said Napoleon, "and when many of the sick had been +embarked, I was informed that there were some in the hospital severely +wounded, dangerously ill, and unfit to be moved at any risk. I desired +my medical men to hold a consultation as to what steps had best be taken +with regard to the unfortunate sufferers and to send in their opinions +to me. The result of this consultation was that seven-eighths of the +soldiers were considered past recovery, and that in all probability few +would be alive at the expiration of twenty hours." + +Betsy listened attentively, as Napoleon showed how difficult it was to +decide whether it was not more cruel to leave these helpless men to the +mercy of the Turks than to end their misery by a dose of opium: "I +should have desired such a relief for myself under the same +circumstances and I considered it would be an act of mercy to anticipate +their fate by only a few hours. My physician did not enter into my views +of the case, and disapproved of the proposal, saying it was his business +to cure, not to kill. Accordingly I left a rear-guard to protect these +unhappy men from the enemy. They remained until Nature had paid her last +debt and released the expiring soldiers from their agony." + +As his auditors did not look convinced of the correctness of his views, +Napoleon turned to Dr. O'Meara, who was of the party. + +"I ask you, O'Meara, to place yourself in the situation of one of these +men. Were it demanded of you which fate you would select, either to be +left to suffer the tortures of those miscreants or to have opium +administered to you, which fate would you rather choose? If my own +son--and I believe I love my son as well as any father loves his +child--were in a similar situation, I should advise it to be done. If so +situated myself I should insist upon it, if I had sense enough and +strength to demand it." + +Without waiting for comment from the others, Napoleon added that if he +had been capable of secretly poisoning his soldiers or of the barbarity +ascribed to him of driving his carriage over the mutilated bodies of the +wounded, his troops would never have fought under him with the +enthusiasm and reverence they uniformly displayed. "No, no, I should have +been shot long ago. Even my wounded would have tried to pull a trigger +to despatch me." + +The Emperor spoke so earnestly that no one could doubt he meant what he +said. Even though they believed that the Turkish prisoners had been +treated with great cruelty, his hearers saw that ambition or a feeling +of necessity had been the impelling motive of the officers who +sanctioned or ordered the cruelty. + +Napoleon's conversations with Betsy were of course carried on largely in +French, and but for the little girl's fluency in this language she would +probably have seen much less of the great man. Napoleon himself made a +real effort to learn English. Not only did he study with Las Cases, but +he tried to practise the language with Betsy and her sister. In +conversation, however, he never became very proficient, his +pronunciation was droll, and he was inclined to translate things very +literally. Betsy was less patient than her sister with Napoleon's +English. By his expressed desire she and Jane were always to correct his +mistakes, yet often, in the midst of his efforts, she would run off +without deigning to help him. + +"Ah, Mdlle. Betsee," he would then cry in French, "you are a stupid +little creature; when will you become wise?" + +Although Napoleon persevered with his English lessons with Las Cases, he +never proceeded much further than to read the newspapers. English books +presented many difficulties, and yet much of the literature that came +his way was in this language. Here again Betsy was able to make herself +very useful by translating books or newspapers for him, and sometimes +she went further and gave him in condensed form the contents of a great +many pages. Even after he went to Longwood, when Betsy went over there +to call on Madame Bertrand, Napoleon would summon her to help him +understand some newly arrived English book. + +From Napoleon's own admission to one of his own suite, after he had been +in St. Helena a year or two, we can judge that his progress in English +had not been very rapid. One morning, after the arrival of a number of +French books, he said: + +"What a pleasure I have enjoyed! I can read forty pages of French in the +time that it would require to read two of English." + +The Emperor enjoyed talking with Betsy, for the little girl was a great +reader herself, and he had the faculty of drawing from her whatever +information she had on a given subject. Occasionally she thoughtlessly +questioned Napoleon on topics that she might better have avoided. + +One Sunday, for example, at Madame Bertrand's, he found the girls poring +over a book. + +"What are you doing?" he asked abruptly. + +"Learning the collect," replied Betsy. "My father is always very angry +if I do not know it." Then she added, not very courteously, "I suppose +you never learned a collect or anything religious in your life, for I +know that you do not believe in the existence of a God." + +"You have been told an untruth," replied Napoleon impatiently, evidently +displeased with Betsy. "When you are wiser you will understand that no +one can doubt the existence of a God." + +"But you believe in predestination?" + +"Whatever a man's destiny calls him to do, that he must fulfil," was the +Emperor's response. + +Young though she was, Betsy understood the seriousness that underlay the +superficial gayety most in evidence when Napoleon met her. She decided +that he was not the cold, calculating man that most people thought him, +but rather a man of deep feeling, capable of strong attachments. + +One day, not long after he had left The Briars, a lady approached Betsy, +who was in the grounds outside the house. + +As she dismounted from her horse Betsy had recognized her as a French +woman of high position, whose husband was one of the diplomatists then +at St. Helena. + +"Will you be so good," she said almost timidly to the little girl, "as +to show me the part of the cottage occupied by the Emperor?" + +"With pleasure," responded Betsy, leading the way to the Pavilion. The +lady looked about her with great interest. + +"Look!" said Betsy, pointing to the spot where the marquee had stood. +"Look at this crown in the turf!" + +The lady gazed for some minutes at this empty symbol of the power once +held by the Emperor. The thoughts that it brought up overpowered her. +Losing all self-control, she sank to her knees, sobbing hysterically. +Forgetful of Betsy, she continued to weep so bitterly that the little +girl started for the cottage that she might get her mother, or some one +else of the household, to bring restoratives. + +"Stop, stop!" cried the lady, as if realizing her purpose. "Do not call +any one. I shall be myself in a moment." Then, in a voice still filled +with emotion, she added, "Please do me the favor of never mentioning +this to any one. All French people feel as I do. They all treasure +Napoleon's memory as I do, and would willingly die for him." + +Betsy gave the required promise and waited patiently until the lady had +recovered her self-possession. Then the latter asked innumerable +questions of the little girl about the life of Napoleon and his suite at +The Briars. + +Several times the visitor repeated, "How happy it must have made you to +be with the Emperor!" + +When she rode away after her long interview, she put a thick veil over +her face to hide the fact that she had been weeping. + +Betsy was true to her word, and although her family, one after another, +asked her why the visitor had made so long a stay, she merely replied +that she had been interested in the Pavilion. But the scene made a deep +impression on the little girl, as showing the remarkable hold of +Napoleon on the hearts of those who had been his subjects. Moreover she +judged, and truly too, that a man for whom such deep feeling was shown +must himself have been of a kind and sympathetic nature. + +It is true that she did not need the testimony of any outsider to assure +her of Napoleon's amiability. She was well acquainted with his general +kindliness; she knew of many of his gracious acts, and the charm of his +manner toward all young people had made a deep impression upon her. + +Another thing that she noticed convinced Betsy of the softer qualities +of Napoleon's nature. This was the firm devotion of the little band of +Frenchmen and French women who had followed him to St. Helena. They had +made great sacrifices in sharing the exile of Napoleon. There was so +little to hope for, in the way of reward for this devotion, that no +reasonable person could doubt their disinterestedness. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE EMPEROR'S VISITORS + + +"Who danced the best at the Governor's ball?" Napoleon asked Betsy one +day. + +"Mrs. Wilks, the Governor's lady." + +This was before the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe. + +"What sort of dances are in fashion there?" + +"Quadrilles, country dances. Mr. C. brought them to St. Helena." + +"Oh, he is a great dandy!" + +"Yes; he will sit with his feet above his head an hour before dressing, +the more readily to squeeze them into tight shoes. He wore an epaulette +nearly down to his elbow, and his sword hilt was embroidered with golden +oak leaves. The same embroidery confined his stockings, on each knee, +like the order of the garter. When he first arrived he was disgusted +that St. Helena ladies knew only kitchen dances and reels, and finally +he drilled quadrilles and other new dances into them." + +Betsy's description of the young dandy amused Napoleon. "Bring him to +Longwood some day," he said. + +A pass was obtained for the young man and Napoleon received him most +politely. "I hear from Mees Betsee that you are a great dandy,--and what +a fine coat!" + +The young man, who had been in some fear of the Emperor, felt better. + +"You are more fortunate than myself," continued Napoleon, "for I have to +wear my coat turned." Although this was true, it was only because there +was no cloth his shade of green on the island. + +On the whole Napoleon liked the young dandy, especially as he spoke +French fluently. + +But Napoleon was not always glad, or even willing, to receive visitors. +In fact, after the first few months on the island, he practically +refused to allow strangers to be presented to him, unless there was some +special reason for his seeing them. + +One day, when Napoleon was still at The Briars, the girls were walking +with him down Pomegranate Walk, which led to the garden, when he heard +strangers' voices. He did not wish to meet them, and began to run away, +but, unluckily, when he reached the garden gate he found it locked. +Napoleon was not likely to turn aside from anything he had undertaken to +do, and as the voices drew nearer, too impatient to wait, he insisted on +jumping over the gate fence. There was a prickly pear on top, the thorns +of which caught him so that at first he could not extricate himself. +Then he had to descend rather ignominiously on the garden side, before +the strangers appeared. The thorns had really done considerable damage, +and it took no little skill on Dr. O'Meara's part to extract them. + +To Betsy's friends Napoleon was apt to be more obliging than to others, +and tourists, many of whom stayed over at St. Helena on their way to or +from Africa or India, frequently sought her services to effect an +introduction. + +"Sir," said Betsy to Napoleon one day, "may I present a lady to you? She +is just here from India. Her husband has high rank." + +Napoleon was not fond of women visitors, but he gave his consent to +Betsy's request. + +At the appointed time the lady from India appeared, gowned in crimson +velvet bordered with pearls. Her black hair was braided and adorned with +pearls, and butterflies of diamonds and emeralds and rubies. She was one +of the plainest women Betsy had ever seen, and she was fearful of the +impression she would make on Napoleon. + +After Napoleon had asked the usual questions, "Are you married?" and +"How many children have you?" he looked closely at her to see what +compliment he could best pay her. + +At length, after a pause that might have embarrassed a less complacent +woman, he said politely, "Madame, you have the most luxuriant hair." + +That the lady from India had fine hair was so evident a fact, that she +need not have been so exceedingly pleased by Napoleon's compliment. Yet +she was so overcome by it that when she returned to England she sent +letters to the newspapers speaking of the Emperor's great admiration for +her. + +Napoleon, in reality, did not at all like this visitor, and when she had +gone he said severely to the young girl: + +"You shall introduce me to no more ladies." His tone was so unusually +severe that Betsy did not dare confess what really was the case, that +she had brought Mrs. S. to see Napoleon merely to tease him, knowing +that it was positively disagreeable to him to meet very plain women. + +Betsy one day came to him full of excitement over a traveller whom she +had just seen. + +"Oh, he is extraordinary; queerer than any one I have ever met here. His +long black beard reaches to his waist, and he wears a regular mandarin's +dress." + +"An Englishman dressed like a Chinaman?" + +"Yes! You know he has been there so long, and he has done the most +wonderful things! Why, he has even travelled to Thibet and talked to the +Grand Lama." + +The Emperor's interest was aroused. + +"I have always wished to hear something about the Grand Lama," he said, +"especially about the way he is worshipped, for I believe that much I +have read is fabulous. I should like to see this traveller." + +"I knew you would," cried Betsy, "and he is anxious to see you, too. He +was a prisoner of war once in France, and he says you treated him very +kindly; so he has brought you some presents, and if--" + +"Yes, and if he can get a pass--" + +The sentence was left unfinished. But Mr. Manning obtained a pass to see +the Emperor and presented him with a number of curious things that he +had collected in his travels. + +"The Lama," he said in answer to a question, "when I saw him, was a very +intelligent boy of seven, and I went through the same form of worship as +the others who were introduced into his presence." + +"Were you not afraid of being seized as a spy?" asked Napoleon. + +The traveller hesitated, as if not quite pleased by the question. Then, +with a laugh, he pointed to his dress and beard, as if they were a +sufficient answer. + +"Did you pass for an Englishman?" persisted the Emperor. "The shape of +your nose is too good for a Tartar." + +"No," replied Mr. Manning; "I was generally taken for a Hindoo." The +bystanders, looking at his fine eyes and regular features, could easily +understand that in the rôle of a Hindoo he must certainly have been +successful. + +The conversation between the two--the Emperor and the traveller--lasted +for some time. + +"Travellers," said Napoleon, "are privileged to tell marvellous stories, +but I hope you are not doing this in describing to me all the wonders of +Thibet." + +Then he continued his questions, asking much about the Lama, and the +customs and religion of his people. His queries showed that he already +possessed a fund of information about this strange country, and Mr. +Manning finally said, "You have as much information on Thibet as I have +myself." + +Napoleon accepted the compliment, but the many questions that he +continued to ask, especially concerning the Chinese and their language +and habits, showed that he was quite willing to admit Mr. Manning's +greater knowledge of the Orient. + +When the unusually long interview had ended, Napoleon turned to Betsy +with an expression in which sadness was mingled with satisfaction. + +"This conversation," he cried, "has given me more pleasure than anything +I have experienced for many long months." + +Betsy, realizing the Emperor's capacity for finding entertainment in +hearing about the small things that made up the life of St. Helena, +always gratified him by describing the little festivities in which she +took part, or even the larger affairs of which she knew only by what +others told her. Like all places garrisoned by British regiments, there +was always much going on, as the phrase is, on the island, and the +gossip of the place, usually harmless enough in itself, never failed to +entertain him. + +Sometimes he tried to draw from the little girl information that for one +reason or another she did not care to give him--sometimes merely to +tease him, sometimes because she feared that what she said might disturb +him. + +"So you have been calling on Lady Lowe at Plantation House," he said, +after one of her visits to the wife of the Governor. "Tell me, does she +ask about your visits to Longwood?" + +"There, that is just the kind of thing she asks me. I am sure to be +questioned what we say and do in your presence;" and beyond this Betsy +would give Napoleon little satisfaction. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman on the island?" he asked on another +occasion. + +"Madame Bertrand," replied Betsy, never at a loss for an answer, "is +more beautiful than any one I have ever seen. Every one else seems +insignificant beside her. Why, when my father saw her on the +_Northumberland_ he was very much struck by her. Her features may not be +strictly beautiful, but her expression is intellectual. Besides, her +bearing is so queenlike and dignified!" + +"But don't you think Madame Montholon pretty?" + +"No," responded Betsy unhesitatingly, in spite of the fact that she had +much regard for Madame Montholon. + +"Marchand," cried Napoleon, apparently changing the subject, "bring me +my snuffbox,--you know which." + +The faithful Marchand obeyed, and when he returned Napoleon took the +snuffbox from his hands to show the girls--for Jane was with Betsy--a +miniature on the lid. + +It was a portrait of Madame Montholon, taken many years earlier. + +"Yes, it is like her," Betsy admitted, "and beautiful, too." + +"She was just like that when she was young," responded the Emperor. + +Although Napoleon was fond of teasing Betsy, whenever he found that he +could serve her in any way he never failed to show himself a true +friend. + +Once Dr. O'Meara came upon Betsy alone in the garden with tears in her +eyes. To his inquiry as to the cause of her sorrow, she pouted, and at +first hesitated in her reply. On second thoughts she exclaimed, "It is +too mean! Just because I didn't do my lessons yesterday, to keep me home +from the races!" + +"Were you warned?" + +"Oh, yes, but I did not expect to be punished." + +"Probably this isn't the first time, and your parents are bound to make +you remember." + +"Oh, it is my father, and it's the meanest thing! He has lent Tom to +somebody. My pony is not in the stable. Who could have been so mean as +to borrow the only pony that I can ride? All the others have ridden off, +and there is no way for me to go." + +Dr. O'Meara listened sympathetically. Probably he did not exactly +understand the situation or he would hardly have encouraged a young girl +to disobey her parents. It was quite natural that to Betsy, the lover of +gayety, her punishment seemed greater than she deserved. Every one that +she knew was going to the races, for the Deadwood races, instituted by +John Rous, were made a kind of festival by the people of the island. +Since every one she knew had gone to Deadwood, there was no horse at +hand that she could borrow. For the moment Napoleon's little neighbor +was troubled by no sense of duty; the only question was how to reach +Deadwood. + +Dr. O'Meara, after Betsy had poured out her soul to him, rode on towards +Longwood at a rapid pace. Not long afterwards her heart leaped with joy +when she saw Dr. O'Meara winding down the mountain, followed by a slave +with a superb gray horse. At once she recognized Mameluke, one of +Napoleon's stable, and, as the horses drew nearer, she saw that above +his crimson saddlecloth Mameluke wore a lady's saddle. Even before Dr. +O'Meara spoke, she understood what his quick return meant. + +"Here, Miss Betsy, cheer up," he cried when he drew near the little +girl. "This horse is for you. When the Emperor heard of your +disappointment, he ordered the quietest horse in his stable to be sent +to you." + +Regardless of consequences to herself, pleased by the good-natured +attention of the Emperor, light-hearted Betsy on Mameluke went to the +races. Perhaps she would have hesitated had she known that her father, +rather than she herself, was to be the sufferer by her heedless act, for +afterwards it gave her great pain to learn that Mr. Balcombe had been +severely reprimanded by Governor Lowe for having committed a breach of +discipline in letting his daughter borrow a horse belonging to the +Longwood establishment. + +But for the time Betsy had the fun of the races, and the next day she +went over to Longwood to thank Napoleon. + +"Aha, Mees Betsee," he said after their first greeting, "perhaps you do +not know that I too saw the races." + +"But I did not see you there." + +"Ah, where were your eyes? You were not thinking of me; but they were +amusing." + +After a little more teasing, Betsy learned that Napoleon had seen the +Deadwood races from an upper window of General Gorgaud's house. + +"You were so amused," he added, "that you forgot to be afraid. I have +told your father you should never be encouraged in foolish fears." + +"I wish you had been really there!" + +"Ah, gayety is not for me." Napoleon's face became grave. + +Betsy, noticing this, added quickly, "But you are coming to my birthday +fête." + +"Surely! It will not be far away at Rous Cottage." + +The day of the birthday was bright and fair, and as large numbers of +guests had assembled, Rous Cottage, which had been chosen for this +picnic fête, was named for the gallant flag officer of the +_Northumberland_, whom Napoleon admired and called "a very brave man." + +In the earlier part of the celebration, Betsy, flying among her friends, +was too much absorbed to notice that Napoleon had not come, but when she +missed him she began to look eagerly in the direction in which she might +expect to see him appear. He had said he would come to the party, and +Betsy expected him to keep his promise, though it was an unheard-of +thing for him to mingle in a gay crowd. + +After a while she was delighted to see him in the distance, riding along +the hills. Soon she saw that he was no longer riding. His horse was at a +standstill. What could this mean? Presently a messenger from the Emperor +appeared to say that he would content himself by looking on. + +The young hostess was not satisfied with this. Rushing off to the hill +where Napoleon waited, she stood before him. + +"This is not keeping your promise. You said you would come, indeed you +did, and you should not disappoint me on my birthday." + +Napoleon smiled at his young friend, but he spoke with decision: + +"No; I won't come down to be stared at by a crowd who wish to gratify +their curiosity by a sight of me." + +Betsy begged and pleaded, using every effort to make him change his +mind, but he was firm. Nothing could change him. + +A friend in England had sent Betsy a huge birthday cake, ornamented with +a large eagle. That she should have had a cake decorated with this +imperial emblem occasioned much comment on the island. In fact, in the +eyes of some, Mr. Balcombe and his family were under more or less of a +cloud on account of their open admiration for the illustrious prisoner +of St. Helena. When Betsy found that her words made no impression on +Napoleon, she left him for a few moments, only to return with a slice of +the cake. + +"You must eat this thick slice," she said, holding it out to him. "It is +the least you can do for getting us into this disgrace. Some people +think it almost treason when they see the eagle on the cake." + +Napoleon ate the cake with evident appreciation. Then he pinched Betsy's +ear in his usual familiar fashion, saying as he did so, "Saucy +simpleton!" As he galloped away Betsy could not help smiling, as she +heard him singing, or rather trying to sing in his most unmusical voice, +"_Vive, Henri Quatre_." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THOUGHTLESS BETSY + + +Sometimes, without intending to hurt Napoleon's feelings, heedless Betsy +must often have come near wounding him. One day, for example, she showed +him a toy that had lately come to St. Helena from Europe. It represented +a toy emperor climbing a ladder, each rung of which was a country. When +he reached the top he sat for an instant astride the world, and then +went headlong down the other side, until he landed at last on St. +Helena. + +Napoleon himself did not reprove Betsy for her rudeness, but Mr. +Balcombe was disturbed and angry when he heard of it. Betsy, he decided, +was altogether too fond of playing foolish tricks, and he resolved to +teach her a lesson that she could not forget. + +Calling her to him, after he had expressed his displeasure for what she +had done, "Betsy," he said in his severest tone, "you are to spend the +night in the cellar, and every night for a week you shall sleep there. +You must be taught respect for your elders. It is to punish you for your +rudeness to Napoleon that I am resolved to punish you in this way." + +Poor Betsy shivered at her father's words. Bold though she was in the +face of danger by day, darkness always had great terrors for her, and to +spend the night underground was a punishment she felt she could hardly +bear. Her protests, however, were useless. Her father locked her in the +dark cellar and left her there. Betsy's experiences that night were +terrible. Rats made the cellar their home, and, as they jumped about in +the darkness, they tumbled the bottles of wine about, making a terrible +noise. Betsy was so frightened that to defend herself from them she +picked up bottle after bottle to hurl against them. At last they were +driven away, but there was no sleep for Betsy on the bed that had been +prepared for her. At dawn a faint light came through the windows, just +enough to show her what havoc she had made. Broken bottles lay about her +everywhere and in every direction ran rivulets of wine. + +At last she fell into a heavy stupor, and in this condition a slave, who +had been sent with her breakfast, found her. Alarmed at the sight of +Betsy, apparently half dead, the slave ran to summon Mr. Balcombe. When +he hurried to the cellar, Mr. Balcombe was naturally shocked by what he +saw. He had not thought of rats, and he was only too thankful that Betsy +had escaped serious injury. He not only did not reprove her for the +destruction of the claret, but forgave her for her offence against +Napoleon. + +As to Napoleon, "It was too great a punishment," he said, "for so little +an offence." Then he laughed heartily as the lively Betsy, now quite +herself again, gave a vivid account of her battle with the rats. "Ah, +the rats!" he added; "a big one jumped out of my hat one day, as I was +about to put it on. It startled me." + +Some time after this adventure in the cellar, Mr. Balcombe again had +occasion to punish Betsy and again he thought of the cellar. + +"No, not the cellar!" remonstrated Napoleon. But Mr. Balcombe was +obdurate. He had decided that Betsy should have a week's imprisonment +there, staying by day but released at night that she might sleep in her +own room. + +So Betsy went daily to her cell. She managed to vary the monotony of her +prison life by sitting close to the grating of the open window, and +while she sat there, the picture of dejection, Napoleon, approaching the +window, daily expressed a half-mocking sympathy with her. For a time +Betsy maintained an appearance of dignity and injured innocence, but in +the end the Emperor, by mimicking her doleful expression, usually +succeeded in making her laugh. + +"Sewing!" he exclaimed in surprise, when he visited Betsy on the third +day of her imprisonment. + +"Yes," responded Betsy; "I am making a dress for myself." + +"Ah, they indeed are cruel--" + +Like all Betsy's acquaintances, Napoleon knew that she had no strong +love for sewing and the ordinary domestic duties. She was at the age +when boyish sports were much more fun than the occupations that older +people prescribed for girls. + +"But no one required me to sew. I am sewing because I wish to." + +The Emperor expressed his surprise at this announcement. + +"Yes," continued Betsy; "I did not know what else to do. It is +frightfully dull here, so I begged old black Sarah to find me some work, +and this is what she brought." Betsy held up the partly made dress with +considerable pride. + +It is to Betsy's credit that she finished the dress old Sarah had +brought her, although her fit of industry did not outlast her week's +imprisonment. + +"You should keep Mees Betsee's prison livery," said Napoleon to Mrs. +Balcombe, "and show it to her occasionally, when you think that she is +on the point of doing something foolish that ought to be punished." + +"Prison livery" was Napoleon's name for the dress that Betsy had made +during her week in the cell. + +Betsy, however, was only one of many persons who had disagreeable +experiences with the rats of St. Helena. A sleeping slave, for example, +had a part of his leg bitten off. One of Count Bertrand's horses in the +stable had been severely bitten, and Dr. O'Meara had once had to defend +himself from the rodents by hurling his bootjack repeatedly at them. +Other tales of fierce rats had been told, and in consequence Betsy, when +she thought of her escape from real harm, had good cause for +congratulation. + +The battle of the rats happened while Napoleon was still living at The +Briars, and though Betsy long remembered it, it cannot be said that she +altogether profited by the lesson that it should have conveyed to her. +Later, when Napoleon was living at Longwood, Betsy, visiting at Madame +Bertrand's, occupied herself with practising a song that was a favorite +with one of the ladies of the garrison. + +Betsy sang and played very well, and Napoleon, hearing the new song, +praised the air though he did not understand the words. Now it happened +that the song was a monody on the death of the Duc d'Enghien, for whose +death Napoleon had been greatly blamed by friends as well as by foes. + +"What is the song?" Napoleon asked. + +A tactful girl would have devised some answer to spare Napoleon's +feelings. But thoughtless Betsy, without a word, turned to the front +page of the sheet of music, on which was a picture of a man standing in +a ditch, his eyes bandaged and a lantern hanging from his waist, while +soldiers were aiming their muskets at him. + +"What is it?" asked Napoleon, to whom the picture conveyed no meaning. + +"It represents the murder of the Duc d'Enghien," replied Betsy. + +Napoleon examined the picture more closely. Then, turning to the young +girl: + +"What do you know of the Duc d'Enghien?" + +"That you are considered the murderer of that illustrious prince," +replied Betsy, with great lack of consideration. + +"It is true," responded Napoleon, "that I ordered his execution, for he +was a conspirator and had landed troops in the pay of the Bourbons to +assassinate me. In the face of such a conspiracy, the most politic thing +was to put a Bourbon prince to death so that the Bourbons would not +again try to take my life. The prisoner was tried for having taken arms +against the Republic, and was executed according to law. But he was not +shot in a ditch nor at night. All was open and known to the public." + +This talk about the Duc d'Enghien led Napoleon to tell Betsy of many +thrilling experiences of his own in escaping death at the hands of +would-be assassins. + +At another time Betsy ran up to Napoleon, crying, "Why is your face so +swollen and inflamed?" + +"Oh," replied Napoleon, assuming a doleful look, "Dr. O'Meara has just +drawn a tooth and I have had much pain." + +"What!" exclaimed Betsy in the rôle of mentor. "You to complain of +pain--the pain of so trifling an operation, though you have gone through +battles innumerable with storms of bullets whizzing, some of which must +have touched you. I am ashamed. But give me the tooth, and I will get +Mr. Solomon to set it as an ear-ring." + +Napoleon, listening to Betsy, was evidently amused by her tone of +assumed severity, and laughing heartily, replied: "See how I laugh, even +while I suffer. Ah, Mees Betsee, I fear you will never cut your wisdom +tooth." + +Although Betsy saw more of Napoleon than the other children, they were +all fond of him; but it is to be feared that Betsy's example was not the +best in the world for her little brothers, who were much younger than +she. One day, for example, Napoleon had given little Alexander a pretty +box made by Piron, filled with his delicious bonbons. + +"When my brother had eaten all his sugar-plums," said Betsy, "and was +grieving over his exhausted store, he unluckily chanced to espy a +pill-box. He thereupon took some pills from the box and offered them to +the Emperor. Napoleon helped himself, thinking they were sugar-plums, +and began eating. He soon ejected them with coughing and nausea." + +Las Cases, it is needless to say, reported this to Mr. Balcombe, who +whipped Alexander soundly. Nobody can deny that the little boy merited +the punishment. + +A favorite jest of Napoleon was to cry, "Now, Mdlle. Betsee, I hope you +have been a good child and learned your lessons." + +Then Betsy would redden and toss her head, for, like most girls in their +early teens, she wished to be thought older than she was. This habit of +teasing was one that Napoleon had found time to indulge in even when he +was at the height of his power. He was very fond of children, and some +one has said that no case is known in which he refused to grant a favor +when a child was asked to be the messenger. He was fond of his nieces +and nephews, and devoted to his step-children. Few brothers have ever +been kinder to their brothers and sisters than Napoleon to his. When he +was only sixteen, he began to take a great interest in the education of +his brother Lucien, who was six years younger. When he was a lieutenant +in the army, he made real sacrifices for Louis, who was twelve years +old. Yet, in spite of his love for them, he teased them just as he +teased Betsy. Every one knows how he used to fondle the little King of +Rome and carry him around in his arms while he was dictating to his +secretaries. One who knew him writes: + +"It used to be a real holiday for the Emperor when Queen Hortense came +to see her mother, bringing her two children. Napoleon would take them +in his arms, caress them, often tease them, and burst into laughter as +if he had been of their own age, when, according to his custom, he had +smeared their faces with jam or cream." + +Sometimes, however, he went too far, even with his young relatives. Once +when he had playfully pulled the ears of his nephew, little Achille +Murat, the boy protested, "You are a naughty, wicked man," to the great +amusement of his uncle. + +But if Napoleon was inclined to tease the young people at The Briars, he +was also ready to do pleasant things for them. He certainly entered into +the feelings of young people. With them he became a child, and an +amusing one. Many were the games he played with Betsy and her brothers +and sister, not only blindman's buff but puss in the corner and other +quieter games. + +Betsy was not the only one of the Balcombe family whom Napoleon loved to +tease. Jane, the elder sister, was the more dignified and it was +therefore easier to embarrass her. Toward the end of her stay at St. +Helena, an English surgeon, Dr. Stokoe, was sent to the island. He was +much the senior of Jane, but, because the two were seen much together, +the gossips of St. Helena thought that he wished to marry her. + +Napoleon himself occasionally teased Jane about Dr. Stokoe, and +professed to think that Mr. Balcombe was a cruel father, standing in the +way of his daughter's happiness. "Why have you refused your daughter to +the surgeon of the flagship?" he would ask mischievously, adding, +"_C'est un brave homme_." + +Napoleon's capacity for seeing the humorous side of things kept up his +spirits wonderfully during his first year or two of exile. Betsy's +enjoyment of a joke, even of a practical joke, was perhaps the strongest +bond between the Emperor and his little neighbor. + +"Come," he would say, "come, Mees Betsee, sit down and sing like our +dear departed friend." By this term Napoleon referred to a certain lady +who believed herself to be the possessor of a very fine voice. To +exhibit her prowess this lady would sit down and sing Italian airs in an +affected style. At the end of a performance the lady expected, and +received, the Emperor's compliments; but when at last she was away and +out of hearing, he roared with laughter as Betsy, at the piano, imitated +the lady's affectations. + +With his eyes closed he would pretend that he really believed he was +listening to the operatic lady, and end by thanking Betsy gravely for +the pleasure she had given. + +Napoleon himself was a good mimic. He amused the Balcombe family greatly +by his imitation of London cockney street cries. + +"Mees Jane," he asked one evening, "have you ever heard the London +cries?" + +"No, sir, never," she replied. + +"Then I must let you hear them;" and without waiting further, he began +to make a series of shrill sounds. At first it was difficult to +distinguish the words, for Napoleon's droll accent could hardly be +called good English. His intonation, however, was perfect, and exactly +represented the street venders crying their wares. + +"You must have been in London, unknown to any one," cried Jane; "for if +you haven't been there, I don't see how you could have got those cries +so perfectly." + +In suggesting that Napoleon might have been in London incognito, Jane +was only repeating what then had wide currency--that Napoleon in the +height of his power had slipped away from Paris, letting no one know +that he was to cross the Channel, to spend a few days in London, +studying the English and their ways. + +To the inquisitive Jane, however, Napoleon gave no information as to the +truth of this belief. + +"I was much entertained," he said, "by one of my buffos, who introduced +London street cries into a comedy that he got up in Paris." + +This mention of the theatre led Napoleon to speak of Talma. "He was the +truest actor to nature that ever trod the boards," he said. + +"Talma?" repeated Betsy, catching the actor's name. "Oh, I remember; +they used to say that you took lessons from him how to sit on the +throne." + +"I have often heard that myself," responded Napoleon, "and I even +mentioned it once to Talma himself as a sign that I was considered to +hold myself well on it." + +Napoleon often displayed his powers of mimicry, to the great +entertainment of the children. + +A large ball, given by Sir George Bingham in return for the civilities +that had been shown the Fifty-third Regiment, took place not far from +Longwood, and practically every one on the island was invited. + +"It was the very prettiest affair I ever saw," said Betsy, "and you +ought to have seen it." + +Glancing at Napoleon, she thought she caught a certain meaning in the +smile with which he greeted her remark. "I really believe you _were_ +there," she exclaimed. "Some one told us you were going to take a peep +at us incognito, but I did not see you." + +Without deigning to reply, Napoleon began an ungraceful imitation of the +saraband, a dance that had been seen at this ball for the first time in +St. Helena. The young lady who waltzed in this dance had been very +awkward, and Napoleon's imitation of her movements was so perfect that +the girls were sure he had really seen her. Moreover he had so many +accurate criticisms to make of the people at the ball, and of the ball +in all its details, that no doubt was left in their minds that he had +been an actual looker-on. + +Napoleon thoroughly appreciated the humor of others, and was much +amused, for example, by a remark of Madame Bertrand's that he repeated +to Betsy. + +Madame Bertrand's son, Arthur, was about a month old when Napoleon asked +Betsy if she had seen the little fellow, adding, "You must hear the +clever way in which Madame Bertrand introduced the baby to me: 'Allow me +to present to your Majesty a subject who has dared to enter the gates of +Longwood without a pass from Sir Hudson Lowe.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +LONGWOOD DAYS + + +Many a time when in the company of Napoleon and the members of his +suite, Betsy must have realized that this pleasant intercourse could not +last always. + +Few people remained indefinitely long at St. Helena,--few people, +indeed, besides the natives and the one life prisoner, the Emperor +Napoleon. Betsy, however, had no desire to leave her beloved island. She +loved its climate and its scenery, and she was happy with the many +people who were her friends. It was a gay little place, with numerous +officers quartered there with their families,--a much gayer place than +it would have been had not the British Government thought it necessary +to make it a great military stronghold for the safeguarding of the +Emperor,--a much gayer place than it had been before Napoleon's arrival. + +[Illustration: LONGWOOD] + +Almost every day some form of amusement offered itself--races, balls, +picnics, and sham fights. There was also a pretty little theatre on the +island, established by the popular Commissary General, where amateur +plays were performed by the officers, to the great entertainment of all +who saw them. + +Madame Montholon and Madame Bertrand and, to a certain extent, the +gentlemen of the Emperor's suite entered more or less into the +festivities of the place. It was only Napoleon who always stayed at home +alone. Betsy, who was an especial favorite of Madame Bertrand, was often +at Longwood, and very often the latter was the young girl's chaperon at +balls or other entertainments. + +Yet even when no special gayety was in view, Betsy enjoyed her visits to +Longwood, and the ingenuous girl with her frank speech certainly +brightened the lives of the exiles. As for Betsy herself it was a great +advantage for her to be so much in the society of these French people, +with their cultivation and gayety. On cool evenings chairs were brought +out on the lawn leading to the billiard-room, and there the Countess of +Montholon and Madame Bertrand, with their husbands and children, would +spend the hour after sunset listening to the crickets, of which there +were thousands. Sometimes they sat on the lawn in the moonlight, gazing +long at the sky, which at St. Helena is of a peculiarly deep blue. + +Doubtless at such times the hearts of the poor exiles were far away +among home scenes in France, and even lively Betsy for the time was +quiet and subdued. + +One splendid starry night, as they were all on the lawn near the +billiard-room steps after a very sultry day, they heard a sound as if +heavy wagons were lumbering over the ground beneath. Those nearer the +house thought that it was about to fall about their heads. Dr. O'Meara +and Major Blakeney, Captain of the Guard, hastening from the room, +expected to find the ladies half dead with fright. All the household, +some from their beds, rushed out, looking wonderingly into the sky, and +little Tristram Montholon ran to his mother, screaming that some one had +tried to throw him out of his bed. + +This was in September, and the strange rumbling was caused by an +earthquake, the first one in St. Helena for a long time. Many feared for +their friends in the valleys with the sharp precipices, but fortunately +in the end it was shown that there had been no loss of life. + +Napoleon was in bed at the time of the shock. + +"Ah Mees Betsee," he asked the next morning, "were you frightened by the +_tremblement de terre_? You look pale and quiet." + +Betsy admitted that she had had a little fear at the earthquake. + +"I thought," said Napoleon, turning to General Bertrand, "that the +_Conqueror_ had blown up in the harbor; but the second or third shock +showed that it was an earthquake." + +The _Conqueror_ was the seventy-four gun ship whose arrival Betsy had +seen Napoleon observe with great interest. + +Betsy, for several nights after the earthquake, was too frightened to go +to bed, and in a day or two she was ill with a severe cold, caught while +sitting on the veranda. In this case, as always in illness, Napoleon was +sympathetic, blaming the climate and adding that the houses ought to +have plenty of fireplaces to protect people from sudden changes. + +"What would be the use of fireplaces," asked Betsy, "when we have no +coals?" + +"Then burn the orange trees," responded Napoleon. + +From this remark Betsy saw that for some reason the Emperor was not in +good humor, for he was one of those who realized the need of more trees +on St. Helena, and later--if he had not then begun--devoted much time +and money to planting trees in the neighborhood of Longwood. Perhaps the +presence of the _Conqueror_ in the harbor disturbed him, since this was +the vessel that had brought Admiral Pamplin, who was to relieve Admiral +Malcom. Sir Pultney Malcom had come to St. Helena with Napoleon, and the +two had grown to be very good friends. The Admiral, a courteous old man, +with exquisite, kindly manners, showed great consideration for the +exile. He paid Napoleon many visits, sent him newspapers, and so far as +he could tried to protect him from various annoying things said or done +by Governor Lowe. + +It was not strange, then, that Napoleon should feel depressed at the +thought of Admiral Malcom's departure, and, in consequence, seem a +little more brusque than usual with Betsy in talking of her cold. + +Napoleon well understood the value of regular occupation and spent many +hours daily in reading and writing. He had few of the works of reference +that he needed for his historical work, yet he persevered in spite of +all difficulties. In the end he really had something to show, volumes of +military commentaries, essays on great generals and historical sketches, +chiefly of the time of the French Republic. These writings may not all +be perfectly accurate, but they show a wonderful memory and grasp of +facts. The inaccuracies, indeed, are chiefly such as must result when a +man writes without the proper documents and books to verify his +statements. + +The Memoirs left by Napoleon, the many volumes of conversations +collected by his friends on subjects of general interest, as well as +those books that relate to the military profession, show the wonderful +strength of his mind. His temperate habits were, of course, a great help +in carrying out the broad plans that he made for hard work. He took +little wine, and then only used it as a medicine. + +Napoleon's hours for rising and going to bed were very irregular. Often +on moonlight nights he would rise at three o'clock, and when at The +Briars he would go to the garden before Toby was up, getting the key +from the place where the old slave had hidden it. He would then have an +early breakfast of fresh fruits. + +Not infrequently, in those early days of his stay at St. Helena, Betsy +would see him in the early morning riding around the lawn on his +beautiful horse Hope, and when she talked with him she would learn that +already he had that day dictated a number of letters. Hope was the first +horse Napoleon rode on the island, and it pleased him to think that this +name was an augury. + +When it came to his bed hour, Napoleon's habits were most uncertain. +Frequently, when he was restless, he would have Marchand read him to +sleep. + +At times when he was ill he resented the doctor's efforts to get him to +take medicine. He had original ideas on the best treatment of the sick, +and believed strongly in the efficacy of the salt-water bath. + +However heterodox his views on any subject, Napoleon seldom hesitated to +express them, at least to those in whom he had confidence. + +"I have no faith whatever in medicine," said Napoleon one day to a very +clever medical man who was on the island. "My own remedies are +starvation and the warm bath. Churchmen," he added, "are often +hypocrites, because too much is expected of them. Politicians must have +a conventional conscience, and soldiers are cut-throats and robbers. But +surgeons are neither too good nor too bad; their mission is to benefit +mankind, and they have opportunities to study human nature as well as +science. I have a higher opinion of the surgical profession than of any +other. The practice of the law," he concluded, "is too severe for poor +human nature, for he who distorts truth and exults at the success of +injustice at last will hardly know right from wrong." + + * * * * * + +Napoleon liked sailors, and often talked with those who conducted +fatigue parties around the island. + +One day he asked the girls if they had met one active young reefer, who +happened to belong to a distinguished family. + +"He is one of the few combinations of high birth and intelligence I have +ever seen." + +"We know him," was the reply, "and he is one of the most popular men in +the ward-room. Oh, how funny he was when we first knew him!" added +Betsy. "He was coming back from the Admiral's ball. We met an old cart, +and he was surrounded by brother middies, all shouting, 'Lord W.'s +carriage stops the way.' Well, we couldn't get past, as the cart had +been dragged inside the arch through which we were to pass. Afterwards +this same young man had a narrow escape. He was rowing guard when hailed +by sentry. On account of the surf, the sentry could not hear him give +the password, and so he fired among the crew." + +"Yes, he can do anything. Sir Pultney Malcom put him in charge of the +government farm, and said he had never seen such vegetables produced on +the sterile rocks of St. Helena." + +"Whatever British sailors take in hand," said Napoleon, "they never +leave undone." + + * * * * * + +A marble bust of the King of Rome was sent to Napoleon, probably by +Maria Louisa. Napoleon gazed on it with proud satisfaction and he seemed +pleased with the praises of Betsy and her mother. + +"You ought to be proud to be the father of so beautiful a boy," said +Mrs. Balcombe. + +Smiles lit Napoleon's face, and Betsy, child though she was, was +impressed by his expression of paternal fondness. + +The bust was of white marble and executed by Caracci, and it bore the +names Napoleon François Charles Joseph. The child was shown wearing the +Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. It had been brought from Leghorn by +the gunner of a ship bound to St. Helena, and although it had come so +mysteriously, people generally understood that Maria Louisa herself had +taken the trouble to have it sent in this way to Napoleon, her husband. + +"Now, come," said Madame Bertrand, after the sisters had spent some time +admiring Napoleon's gifts, "let me show you my presents;" for the ship +that had brought the bust brought things also to others of the French +exiles. These were chiefly for Countess Bertrand and Countess Montholon +from Lady Holland, who often remembered them in this way. + +"La bonne Lady Holland," as Napoleon called her, was one of the few +English women not afraid to show her sympathy with Napoleon and those +who had followed him to St. Helena. He was very grateful for her +attentions to him now when he was abandoned by the world. "All members +of the family of Fox," he said, "abound in liberal, generous sentiments. +Fox was sincere in his intentions, and had he lived England would not +have been devastated by war. He was the only minister who rightly +understood the interests of his country." To show that he had always +appreciated Fox, Napoleon told of a visit that the latter with his wife +paid to St. Cloud. By mistake he opened the door of a private room, and +he was surprised to see there his own statue among those of +distinguished citizens of the world, Hampden, Washington, Cicero, Lord +Chatham and his son. + +The regulation that an officer must accompany him on his rides was a +continued annoyance to Napoleon. At first he submitted, and rode off, +painfully realizing that a representative of his jailers constantly kept +his eye on him. After a time he decided that he would not ride if he +could not ride alone, and during the last four years of his life he was +not on a horse. As he had depended on riding for exercise during the +greater part of his life, he now suffered from giving it up. He not only +began to grow extremely stout, but his general health became poorer. + +It disturbed Napoleon greatly that the English always addressed him as +"General Bonaparte." The title "Emperor" would have been so barren on +St. Helena that it is hard to understand why Napoleon should have cared +much about it. He might easily have been as philosophic about this as he +was about other things. + +Soon after his arrival Sir Hudson Lowe addressed a card of invitation to +"General Bonaparte." + +"Send this card to General Bonaparte," said Napoleon to Count Bertrand. +"The last I heard of him was at the Pyramids and Mt. Tabor." Yet +Napoleon was never happier, never better loved by the French people, +than when, as General Bonaparte, he was received with the greatest +enthusiasm on his return from his Italian campaign. + +The English, on their part, were foolish in objecting to the use of a +title to which he once had had a perfect right, with all its power and +dignity. Now, deprived of the substance, there was no reason for +forbidding him the pleasure of treasuring the shadow. Sir George +Cockburn seems to have been almost childish in writing to Count +Bertrand: + +"I have no cognizance of any Emperor being actually upon this island, or +of any person possessing such dignity (as stated by you) having come +here." + +Language like this was far more absurd than Napoleon's obstinacy on the +subject. Even his good friend, Admiral Malcom, could not change his +views. In the course of a conversation on the subject of letting him +have the title "Emperor," Malcom said decidedly: + +"Still, it would be impossible to treat you as a sovereign." + +"Why, they might leave me my honors to amuse me. It would do no harm on +this rock." + +"But you would have to be styled Emperor." + +"No; they could not do that. I have abdicated." + +"But you object to be called General." + +"That is because I am no longer a general,--not since I returned from +Egypt,--but why not call me 'Napoleon'?" + +It was a long and painful discussion, and it did not end even with +Napoleon's death. The British Government, since Napoleon was securely in +its power, could have afforded to let him wear the title that had once +been his by right, even though on St. Helena it would have shown itself +an almost foolishly vain ornament. The foreign Commissioners were told +by the countries that they represented to give him this title, but the +Act of Parliament dealing with the distinguished prisoner had called him +"Napoleon Bonaparte," and this, or "General Bonaparte," he was to be to +all who had dealings with him at St. Helena. + +Within his own circle--and in this circle the Balcombe family may be +included--he was ever "the Emperor." + + * * * * * + +Napoleon often showed great kindness to the sick. For example, when a +certain officer, Captain Meynell, was ill under Mr. Balcombe's roof at +The Briars, Napoleon sent Cipriani, his _maître d'hôtel_, daily to +inquire about him, and seemed really concerned when he asked about him. + +Not long after he left The Briars, Betsy had a severe illness. When +Napoleon heard of this he sent constantly to inquire for her, and the +messenger usually brought her some delicacy made by Piron. + +Napoleon's kindness of heart was also shown by his attitude toward the +Malay slave, named Toby, who had care of the beautiful garden at The +Briars. When no one was in it the garden was kept locked and the key was +left in Toby's hands. Toby and Napoleon speedily became friends, and the +black man always spoke of the Emperor as "that good man, Bony." He +always placed the key of the garden where Napoleon could reach it under +the wicket. The black man was original and entertaining, and so +autocratic that no one at The Briars ever disputed his authority. His +story was rather pathetic. + +He had been enticed from his native place many years before, brought to +St. Helena by the English, smuggled on shore and illegally sold as a +slave, let out to whoever would hire him, and his earnings chiefly +appropriated to his master. Napoleon perhaps recognized in Toby a +kindred spirit, or at least felt a common bond in the fact that both had +been brought unwillingly to the island. Certainly he liked him, and, +when he had heard his story, wished to buy and free him. But for +political reasons, when Mr. Balcombe made Napoleon's wishes known to Sir +Hudson Lowe, he could not get his consent. + +Toby, however, was grateful to Napoleon for his wish to help him, and +continued his devoted admirer. On going from The Briars, Napoleon +presented Toby with twenty-nine napoleons and always inquired for his +health. When Napoleon left The Briars, Toby often arranged bouquets and +fruits to go to Longwood,--"to that good man, Bony." + +Toby, from all accounts, was an attractive fellow. His countenance had a +frank and benevolent expression. His eyes were animated and sparkling, +his aspect not abject, but prepossessing. So at least he appeared to +Betsy, and one day she was interested to hear Napoleon reflecting upon +him: + +"What, after all, is a poor prisoner but a machine? As for poor Toby, he +endures his misfortunes very quietly; he stoops to his work, and spends +his days in innocent tranquillity. This man, after all, had his family +and his happiness and his liberty, and it was a horrible act of cruelty +to bring him here to languish in the fetters of his slavery." + +Toby, however, was not the only slave on St. Helena. Not long after the +first discovery of the island by the Portuguese, Juan Denova Castella, a +nobleman, was exiled there for desertion and had to spend four years in +complete solitude, except for a few slaves that he was allowed to have +with him. The Portuguese did not colonize St. Helena, and after a time +the Dutch held it for many years. When they had deserted it, the East +India Company, with plenty of capital, took possession and naturally +fell back on slave labor to cultivate the fields. When the Dutch saw +that St. Helena was likely to prove profitable to the English they tried +to get it back again, but the effort was unsuccessful, and since 1666 it +has been counted an English possession. At one time a law was passed +restricting the importation of slaves, for the colonists had begun to +fear that they might outnumber the Europeans. There was, however, an old +law that every Madagascar ship should leave one slave to work the +company's plantations. The slaves were often troublesome, but the +cruelty with which they were treated was inexcusable. Probably many a +poor creature on the island had been stolen from his home, just as we +know poor Toby had been stolen. + +After the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe, the new Governor reminded the +people of St. Helena that their island was the last British possession +to retain slavery. Various plans were proposed for doing away with it, +and at last, at his suggestion, it was agreed that after Christmas Day, +1818, all children born of slave women should be considered free. Thus +the great evil gradually ceased. + +This good action on the part of Sir Hudson Lowe--that he helped gain +freedom for the slaves--made him no better liked by Napoleon and his +friends. From the first, indeed, the Governor was suspicious of +Napoleon's friends, and the fear that they were plotting for Napoleon's +escape was one of the reasons, probably, for the regulations that +greatly annoyed Napoleon. It seemed as if he wished Napoleon to be +surrounded entirely by English, for one of his early acts was to tell +the French that they were at liberty to leave St. Helena whenever they +wished. Every facility, he said, would be offered them to return to +Europe. Had he known human nature better, Sir Hudson Lowe would have +realized that persons who had given up so much to follow Napoleon would +hardly desert him merely because conditions on the island did not suit +them. + +At last, on one pretext or another, he contrived to have several of +Napoleon's attendants sent away,--Santini, the clever little +lamplighter, the jack-of-all-trades, who had so often amused Betsy's +small brothers with his toys; Rousseau, his artificer; and Archambaud, +his coachman, whose reckless driving of the jaunting car always struck +terror to Betsy's heart. Most important of all, however, was the +departure of Count Las Cases, who had never failed to frown on Betsy's +hoydenish pranks. With Count Las Cases went his son, the boy about whom +Napoleon had loved to tease Betsy. It was before the end of Napoleon's +first year at Longwood that these two were sent away on the charge of +bribing a young native of St. Helena to carry a letter to Europe for +them. This would not have been a serious offence, except for the reason +that the Governor had made a regulation that no letter should be sent to +Europe without passing through his hands. + +For a time Las Cases and his son were in prison on the island. Later +they were despatched to the Cape of Good Hope, where they were detained +seven months and at last sent to England. + +"Let them take away all my Frenchmen," said Napoleon sadly, after the +departure of Las Cases. "I do not want them." He especially missed Las +Cases, since it was to him that he daily dictated the material for his +Memoirs. + +Not long after the departure of Las Cases, Napoleon was greatly +disturbed because the Governor would not let him receive a visit from a +botanist just arrived from Europe, who was known lately to have seen +Maria Louisa and the little King of Rome. Betsy sympathized with him in +his indignation at this and other needless restrictions. + +Sometimes, however, she felt like laughing at him. + +"Where is the Emperor, where is the Emperor?" she asked one morning, +when staying at Longwood after a ball. + +At first no one could inform her, but at last some one said, "Go over +there; he is building a ditch." + +Going in the direction indicated, the young girl found Napoleon +superintending the building of a trench that he was having constructed, +so that he might have a place where he could walk unobserved. + +"Do not laugh!" he said, after Betsy had come upon him, standing with +folded arms and downcast gaze. "Do not laugh! I must have a walk of my +own, where no one can look at me when I go out." + +Even though she smiled, Betsy understood Napoleon's feeling. In his +early days at The Briars, when he was permitted to walk out unattended, +Napoleon was fond of strolling some distance from the cottage. Later +when he could not go far without the watchful eye of an officer upon +him, he almost gave up walking. At a certain hour of the afternoon, as +it was known that he took a short walk along a straight path not far +from the house, the curious often stationed themselves at a distance +where they could observe him. On account of this annoying observation, +Napoleon conceived the plan of digging a ditch or trench. The ditch +served at least one purpose: while it was digging it gave Napoleon +plenty of occupation in directing the workmen. When it was finished it +is said that he never used it as a promenade. + +His unwillingness to take exercise resulted in a serious illness. During +this time Betsy and her sister did not see him, but whenever they met +Dr. O'Meara they eagerly questioned him about their friend. "I would +rather die at once than walk, as you prescribe." These were the words of +Napoleon that Dr. O'Meara reported to the sisters. "I have tried +persuasion of every kind, but I cannot get him to take exercise," he +said, "although I have told him that this is the only thing that can +possibly cure him. I urged him to let me call in another surgeon, so +that if he should grow no better, too much blame need not fall on me, +and what was his reply?" + +Dr. O'Meara paused for a moment, and then repeated Napoleon's exact +words: "If all the physicians in the world were collected, they would +but repeat what you have already advised me--to take constant exercise +on horseback. I am well aware of the truth of what you say, but if I +were to call in another surgeon, it would be like sending a physician to +a starving man instead of giving him a loaf of bread. I have no +objection to your making known to him my state of health, if it be any +satisfaction to you; but I know that he will say, 'Exercise.' As long as +this strict surveillance is enforced, I will never stir." + +In vain Dr. O'Meara repeated his arguments. Napoleon had but one reply, +"Would you have me render myself liable to insult from the sentries +surrounding my house, as Madame Bertrand was, some days ago?" + +"Jane," said Betsy, who always saw the funny side of things, "what a +fine caricature this would have made for the London print +shops--Napoleon stopped at the gates by a sentinel, charging him with a +fixed bayonet! How the Londoners would laugh! No, I don't blame Napoleon +for staying indoors." + +But when Betsy saw the Emperor after this illness, her heart was filled +with pity. His skin was a waxy yellow and his cheeks hung in deep +pouches. His ankles were terribly swollen, and he could not stand +without the support of a table on one side and the shoulder of an +attendant on the other. + +As Betsy looked at him, tears fell from her eyes and she could hardly +keep from sobbing aloud. + +"Ah!" said Napoleon kindly. "Do not cry, Mees Betsee. I am almost +well--and the good O'Meara will surely cure me." + +Upon this Betsy became more cheerful, but later, when they were out of +the Emperor's hearing, Mrs. Balcombe shook her head sorrowfully, as she +turned to Betsy, saying, "He has the stamp of death on his brow." + +Had Napoleon been less obstinate, within the eight miles of enclosure +allotted him he might certainly have taken enough exercise of various +kinds to preserve his health. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE PARTING + + +At last the time came when Napoleon and his young neighbor must part. +The health of Betsy's mother, Mrs. Balcombe, was not good, and the +family decided to go home to England. Mr. Balcombe obtained six months' +leave, but, although the family professed to expect to return, in their +secret hearts they felt that they were bidding good-bye to St. Helena. + +A day or two before sailing Betsy and Jane went over to Longwood to say +farewell to Napoleon. They found him in the billiard-room, as usual, +surrounded by books. There was sadness in his voice as he talked about +their departure. + +"I hope your mother's health will soon be restored," he said. "Give her +my kindest regards and best wishes for the journey. Soon you will be +sailing away towards England, leaving me to die on this miserable rock. +Look at those dreadful mountains--they are my prison walls. You will +soon hear that the Emperor Napoleon is dead." + +At these melancholy words the emotional Betsy burst into tears and +Jane's eyes grew moist. Betsy sobbed as if her heart would break, and +Napoleon, greatly moved, tried to comfort her. Betsy felt for her +handkerchief, only to find that she had left it in her side-saddle +pocket. So Napoleon, holding his own toward her, said, "Take it, and +keep it in remembrance of this sad day." + +The sisters went the rounds of Longwood, bidding good-bye to all that +was dear to them. Later they dined with Napoleon, but Betsy was still so +overcome with grief that she could hardly swallow. + +"Take some bonbons," said Napoleon kindly. + +"I cannot," she cried. "My throat has a swelling, and I cannot eat!" + +When at last they were ready to go, the Emperor embraced the two sisters +with great affection. + +"Do not forget me!" he said. "I thank you for your kindness and +friendship, and all my happy hours in your society." + +The two sisters could hardly reply. + +"Mees Betsee," he added, after a moment's pause, "what would you like to +have in remembrance?" + +"A lock of your hair," sobbed the young girl, "better than anything +else." + +"Marchand shall bring the scissors, then;" and the devoted Marchand, +promptly obeying, severed four locks for the four older members of the +Balcombe family. + +Not long before they left, Napoleon in a conversation with Mr. Balcombe +said: + +"I fear that your resignation of your employment in this island is +caused by the quarrels and annoyances drawn upon you by the relation +established between your family and Longwood, in consequence of the +hospitality which you showed on my first arrival in St. Helena. I would +not wish you to regret having known me." + +Although Mr. Balcombe did not exactly confirm what Napoleon said about +the reason for his withdrawal from St. Helena, he knew that to a great +extent it was true. For a long time Sir Hudson Lowe had been +dissatisfied with the intimacy existing between Napoleon and the +Balcombes. While he admitted that he had no tangible cause for +complaint, he was constantly watching for one, and was always ready to +call Mr. Balcombe to account for what he considered partiality for the +illustrious exile. As the Governor himself put it, he was not without +suspicion that his relations with Longwood were not limited to the +ostensible duties of his office. The Governor at this time was very +suspicious of Dr. O'Meara, and as Mr. Balcombe and he were intimate +friends, the former was naturally regarded also with disfavor. + +More than once had Betsy's careless behavior drawn a reprimand upon her +father. But for the Governor's feeling against him, Mr. Balcombe and his +family might have been on St. Helena during the last sad days of +Napoleon. + +As it was, they went back to England the middle of March, 1818, little +more than three years before Napoleon's death. Their ship was the +Winchelsea store-ship, on its way from China, and on the same vessel +went General Gorgaud, the bachelor of Napoleon's suite, a pompous, +though brave man, for whom Betsy had no especial liking. General Gorgaud +knew that he would never return to St. Helena. Mr. Balcombe had obtained +a six months' leave from his official duties, but he, too, may have felt +as the vessel sailed away that he was unlikely ever again to look upon +its frowning walls. + +As to Betsy, Napoleon's young neighbor, the tears that fell from her +eyes when she said her last good-bye to the Emperor were not the last +that she shed for him. As the years went by she ever listened eagerly to +all the news that came from St. Helena, until the final mournful tidings +in the early summer of 1821, that Napoleon had died on the fifth of May. + +"I am sure," said Betsy long afterwards, "after seeing Napoleon in every +possible mood and in his most unguarded moments, I know that the idea of +acting a part never entered his head. I had the most complete conviction +of his want of guile, and the thorough goodness and amiability of his +heart." + +Betsy was a keen observer of human nature, and another of her judgments +is worth remembering: "That this impression of his amiability and +goodness was common to almost all who approached him is proved by the +devotion of his followers at St. Helena. They had then nothing more to +expect from him, and only entailed misery on themselves by adhering to +his fortunes." + +It is indeed a fact worth remembering, that Napoleon's suite, in spite +of the fact that to a great extent Napoleon obliged them to practise the +rigid etiquette of a court, were all devoted to him. It is true that +they had to stand in his presence and in certain ways keep up a ceremony +that seemed absurd in an establishment as simple as that of Longwood; +but there were many hours of relaxation. In these hours of relaxation +Napoleon played cards with his friends, or chess, or--after he went to +Longwood--billiards. He was fond of reading aloud, and not infrequently +favored his friends with a long reading. Sometimes he indulged in +declamation, for he was rather proud of the fact that he had learned +something of this art from the great Talma. In his later years at +Longwood he devised ways of getting his needed exercise indoors and +worked almost too vigorously at gardening. + +An old St. Helena newspaper has an account of his exertions in his +garden, not long before his death, which has a pathos of its own: "A few +weeks before his death the Emperor labored with a spade in his garden so +long and so severely as to be faint with fatigue. Some one suggested the +probable injury to his health. 'No,' said he, 'it cannot injure my +health; that is lost beyond all hope. It will but shorten my days.'" + +The disease from which Napoleon died was one that he had inherited from +his father,--one, indeed, for which there is no cure. So it cannot be +said with certainty that his life might have been prolonged if he had +been more careful to get enough, and only enough, of the right kind of +exercise. Yet though his life may have had to run in its natural course, +his last years would have been much happier if there had been no +friction between him and the Governor of St. Helena. + +The last three years of Napoleon's life were undoubtedly the loneliest +he had known. He missed Las Cases, Gorgaud, the Balcombes, and O'Meara, +whom the Governor was at last able to get out of the way. Napoleon kept +himself busy with his gardening and his books, and when, in 1819, the +Government began to build a new house for him, he spent much time +watching its progress, although with true forebodings he often said that +he should never live to occupy it. + +He still refused to take exercise, and once in a fit of depression +stayed in the house for three months. Thus his health continued to +suffer and he grew stout and clumsy. When he did go out he was apt to +drive around the eight miles of his enclosure at breakneck speed, in a +carriage drawn by six horses. In October, 1820, he sent word to Sir +William Doveton that he would be glad to breakfast with him. Sir William +was, of course, happy to receive his distinguished guest, and breakfast +was served on the lawn to Napoleon and Generals Bertrand and Montholon. +The breakfast in the society of Sir William Doveton and his family +passed off pleasantly, and Napoleon started to walk home. Unluckily he +had not the strength to carry out his good intentions, and on the way +back to Longwood he had to stop at a cottage by the way to rest, while +his carriage was sent for. + +Betsy would have been glad, if the fact had ever come to her ears, to +learn that in his last year or two Napoleon had another little friend +who to a certain degree could fill the place in his affections always +ready for children. This was the young daughter of a soldier of the +garrison, little Julia, nine years old, who was intelligent and +companionable. + +When he knew that Julia was coming to see him, Napoleon always had +fruits and sweetmeats ready for her. Not long before he died he hung a +gold watch and chain around Julia's neck, saying, "Wear this for my +sake." On the cover he had scratched an inscription with his penknife, +"The Emperor to his little friend Julia." When she visited him they sat +or walked in the garden, and Napoleon found some amusement in giving her +drawing lessons from nature. One fine morning in April, when Julia +appeared, Napoleon invited her inside the house where the breakfast +table was laid. Standing by the table, he filled her little basket with +fruit and sweet things, and at last put a bottle of wine in the basket, +saying, "For your father to drink my health in." + +Alas! it was too late for any one to wish Napoleon good health. Not long +after he had suggested the toast for Julia's father, he had to go to +bed. Whatever others thought, he was sure that he would never rise. He +probably knew that the end was near. The very end came suddenly, and +many on St. Helena, who had not known of the seriousness of his +condition, were greatly surprised to hear of his death on the fifth of +May. + +Before the funeral Napoleon's body lay in state, and naval and military +officers and many others were permitted to view it. When Sir Hudson Lowe +looked at Napoleon immediately after his death, he was impressed by the +nobility of the dead man's expression. "His face in death," he wrote to +Lord Bathurst, "was the most beautiful I have ever seen." Yet even to +the dead Napoleon the Governor maintained the same attitude as to the +living, for when it came to the question of the inscription to be placed +on the Emperor's coffin, he would not permit the simple "Napoleon" with +dates and places of birth and death, but insisted that in addition it +should bear the surname "Bonaparte." + +British soldiers carried Napoleon from the house to the car that was to +bear him to the burial place; but the horses that drew the car were four +that had belonged to the late Emperor. Orders had been issued to conduct +his funeral as that of a general of the highest rank. In consequence the +left side of the road from Longwood to the grave was lined with troops. +It was a solemn and impressive procession that moved along as escort, +paying the last earthly honors to Napoleon, on whose coffin lay his +sword and the mantle of Marengo. + +Napoleon had always wished to be buried in France, but toward the end of +his life, when it seemed unlikely that his wish could be gratified, he +gave directions as to the spot in St. Helena that he preferred. This was +a romantic and picturesque enclosure in a ravine not very far from +Longwood. Often, when out walking, the Emperor had stopped there to +quench his thirst at a small spring. The little valley was shaded with +Norfolk pines, firs, and other trees, and here, near the spring, under +the shade of two great willow trees, Napoleon's body was laid to rest. +As it was lowered into the grave three discharges from eleven pieces of +musketry were fired. + +As his sorrowing attendants turned away, how overwhelmingly sad must the +reflections of the two of Napoleon's personal suite have been! Only +Montholon and Bertrand were there at the last, though Marchand and other +attendants still remained. Montholon, when a boy of ten, had known +Napoleon in Corsica, and Bertrand had long been one of his +officers,--"the best engineer officer I have ever known," said Napoleon. + +Now their years of faithful devotion were at an end. With heavy hearts +they turned their backs on the lonely grave under the willow trees and +soon they sailed away to the great world, their hearts filled with +memories of Napoleon. + +Nineteen years after Napoleon's death a French frigate, _La Belle +Poule_, commanded by the Prince of Joinville, arrived off Jamestown. The +wheel had turned, and the friends and admirers of Napoleon were on top. + +Even Great Britain was not unwilling that the dead Napoleon should have +the honor that was his due. The frigate had come for the body of +Napoleon to give it proper honors in France. On _La Belle Poule_ were +Count Bertrand, his son Arthur, born at St. Helena, General Gorgaud, the +young Las Cases, and the faithful Marchand. + +The body of Napoleon was taken from the tomb under the willow trees and +borne back to France. Every one knows of the magnificent funeral given +their dead hero by the impulsive French. Every one has heard how +countless throngs filled the streets of Paris, how the military display +has seldom been equalled, as the catafalque, preceded by a riderless +horse, went slowly along the tree-lined boulevards. The wonderful tomb +of Napoleon in the Hotel des Invalides is known to many, but there are +few in comparison who have visited the little enclosure at the bottom of +the deep ravine where the Emperor's body lay for a score of years. Yet, +in the days of wooden ships, when St. Helena was the place where +captains had to call to re-provision their vessels, many a passenger on +going ashore hastened to Napoleon's grave, and while the world stands +the secluded valley will continue to claim the interest of Napoleon's +admirers. The vault itself is now covered with a broad, flat stone, +without inscription, and its cemented surface is cracked in places. +There is a hedge around the fence and a sentry box at the entrance of +the enclosure. Here there is a notice to the effect that the grave is +now the property of the French Republic, and in the sentry box an +attendant keeps a book and registers the names of all who visit the spot +where once lay the body of Napoleon. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE PANORAMA + + +Who can blame Betsy for Being Heavy-hearted on that day in early spring +when she sailed away from St. Helena, toward the colder country that was +her real home? Even though her parents and her brothers and sister were +with her, she felt that she was leaving behind much that was dear. She +loved the lonely, mountainous island where she had lived so long. She +believed that no other flowers or fruits could equal those produced on +its tropical soil. She felt that no new friends could compare with those +from whom she had just parted. + +More than this, although she tried to persuade herself that in the +future she might revisit St. Helena, she could hardly believe that when +that day arrived, Napoleon would still be there to receive her with his +accustomed cordiality. + +Indeed, as a true friend of the Emperor's, Betsy could scarcely wish to +find him there on that indefinite day of her return, since that would +mean long-continued captivity for him. Rather, if she hoped to see him +again, the young girl more probably imagined that after no very long +time some change in the sentiments of those in power might result in +freeing him from his galling bondage. + +Though we to-day may not be certain just what form Betsy's thoughts took +on that monotonous homeward voyage, we can be sure that Napoleon had no +small part in them. Already she knew the chief facts in his meteoric +career; and her vivid fancy must have brought before her many scenes in +which he had had part. + +Like Betsy, you and I may see the panorama of Napoleon's life unfold in +a series of pictures melting into one another, some clearer than the +others, yet all leaving an ineffaceable impression. + +First, there is the thin, pale, serious-eyed boy running half wild over +the hills of his native Corsica. He is an affectionate brother--this +young Napoleon--to the six younger brothers and sisters, and a close +companion of Joseph, only a year older. He is devoted to his +high-spirited and energetic mother, once the beautiful Letitia Ramolino, +whose life, since her marriage, has been so hard. He is dutiful to his +father, the improvident, though ambitious Charles Marié de Buonaparte. +Yet, although dutiful, he resents his father's lack of patriotism in +seeking favors from the Frenchmen in authority in Corsica, for the boy, +born only a year after Corsica had passed under French rule, had small +love for those outsiders who had made it impossible for his native +island to gain independence. + +One of our pictures would show us Napoleon, a timid boy in the military +school at Brienne, where his father had secured a place for him by +showing he was of noble descent. The boy works hard at his tasks, his +teachers commend his industry, while calling him reserved and obstinate. + +The young Napoleon is not happy in the society of his one hundred and +twenty fellow-pupils, who, like himself, are supported by the Government +at Brienne. They are largely the sons of poor nobles--vain and +indolent--and they love to tease the timid boy. + +"I am tired of poverty and the jeers of insolent scholars. If fortune +refuses to smile upon me, take me from Brienne, and make me if you will +a mechanic." In spite of this letter, the father wisely keeps the little +boy at Brienne, and gradually he makes friends, especially among the +teachers. + +"I have seen a spark here which cannot be too carefully cultivated," +writes the aged Chevalier de Keralio, an inspector of the school, who is +anxious to have Napoleon sent to the military school at Paris. + +Our pictures are now painted in somewhat brighter colors. + +For although at Paris the young Napoleon is not perfectly contented, he +knows that he is on the way to a modest independence. He is surrounded +by foolish young men with whose extravagance he cannot keep up. But only +his sympathetic sister Elizabeth at St. Cyr hears him complain of the +difficulties that beset him. + +Napoleon is naturally happier when at the early age of sixteen he finds +himself a second lieutenant in the army. He rejoices at the prospect of +helping his family out of his meagre income of less than two hundred and +fifty dollars a year. But his responsibility is suddenly increased when +Charles Bonaparte, his father, dies. The family is worse off than +before, and when Joseph cannot straighten out their tangled affairs, +Napoleon decides to undertake the task. + +After eight years of absence we see Napoleon on leave from his regiment, +returning to Corsica. He has hard work before him. There are four little +children under nine, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome, at home with +their widowed mother. There are two, Lucien and Elizabeth, away at +school. Only Joseph and Napoleon are on their feet, and on Napoleon, the +stronger character, falls the brunt of the burden. + +When the young lieutenant goes back to the army he takes Louis with him. +He tutors him in mathematics, he shares his all with him. He deprives +himself of many things really necessary to his position in order to help +his family. + +"I breakfast on dry bread," he writes. He stints himself for his family, +he stints himself still further to have a little money for the books +that he needs. + +The claims of the family are pressing. Again Napoleon has leave of +absence. In Corsica he tries in vain to get something for his mother +from what is left of their property,--from salt works, from a mulberry +plantation belonging to the estate. + +It is five or six years since the death of Charles Bonaparte. Napoleon +has been away from his post too long. In 1792, after an absence from his +regiment of fifteen months, he loses his place in the army. + +The picture now before us is a dark one. The young man is discouraged. +Hardly knowing where to turn, he drifts toward Paris. + +For two or three years he has been uncertain which side to take in the +Revolution on which France is entering. Many things incline him toward +the King's party. He is in Paris on that memorable June 10 when the King +is deposed. He sees the terrible events of the 10th of August. While he +sympathizes with the King, he perceives that the great question is one +of the nation rather than the individual. + +Intelligent young men are greatly needed in the army. Napoleon's ability +is known. He receives a captain's commission, signed by the King, though +really given by the Revolutionary Government. Soon he is at Toulon, +where, by acting on his advice, the French drive the English from the +harbor in December, 1793. + +The young man's prospects are brightening. There are only a few shadows +on the picture. A revolution in Corsica drives his family to France, and +while he feels his responsibility, Napoleon cannot yet do much for them. + +Napoleon's talents impress all who come in contact with him. The time +approaches when he is to reap the reward for all his years of patient +study. Young Robespierre calls attention to his transcendent merit. +Though he is not a Terrorist, he has many friends in the party, and +after the fall of Robespierre the young Corsican spends nearly a +fortnight in prison. Once more he loses his place in the army, in which +he has been commissioned General. Discouraged, with nothing to do in +Paris, he thinks of accepting an office from the Sultan. But Fortune is +soon to favor him again. Not so very long after his release from prison +we gaze on a thrilling scene. It is the 13th Vendémiaire, year III, or +October 15, 1795. The Directory under which the Government of France is +now carried on has to face a revolt of the people and the National +Guard. General Barras, who had observed Napoleon's great ability at +Toulon, summons the young officer to help the Directory. Napoleon orders +the artillery to sweep the Sections. + +By this use of cannon, with fearful slaughter, the smaller force of the +Government conquers the uprising. Next day Napoleon is mentioned by the +Commander-in-Chief for his distinguished services, and shortly he +becomes General-in-Chief of the Army of the Interior. + +Picture after picture passes quickly before us, and always Napoleon is +in the foreground. We see him now for the first time really enjoying +society. The brusque and rather timid young officer is lionized in the +drawing-room of Madame Tallien. There he meets the beautiful Josephine, +widow of Alexandre de Beauharnais, and soon asks her to marry him. + +It is said that Napoleon first became interested in Josephine through +her sending her son Eugène to ask him to secure for him the sword of his +father who had been put to death during the Reign of Terror. But whether +the story is true or not, certainly Napoleon always has the greatest +affection for Eugène and his sister Hortense. Napoleon's family are now +in Paris. They share equally in the prosperity that has come to him. He +lavishes on his mother all that she will accept. It pains him that +neither she nor his brothers and sisters are pleased with his marriage. + +Two days after the wedding, Napoleon leaves Josephine to cross the +Apennines as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. We see the +Italians running before those whom they had contemptuously called the +"rag heroes." The French win victory after victory. Arcola, Lodi, +Milan--eighteen pitched battles, forty-seven smaller engagements. +Everywhere Napoleon is the idol, not only of his own soldiers, but of a +large number of Italians, who hope through him to gain political +liberty. + +When, after the Treaty of Campo Formio, Napoleon returns to Paris in +December, 1797, France is at his feet, rejoicing in the glory that comes +to her through victories, rejoicing in the treasures of art that the +young conqueror had brought back to adorn the Paris museums. + +The scene changes--Napoleon is setting out for Egypt. He hopes to weaken +England by attacking her power in the East. He hopes to strengthen +himself in the eyes of the French by winning new victories. For idolized +though he is by the French people, he realizes their fickleness, and he +knows that the Directory is jealous of him. This expedition has not the +brilliancy of the Italian campaign. He does not succeed in disabling the +British, the French fleet meets fearful disaster. On land the French +army suffers terribly from pestilence. But Napoleon has many scientific +men with him on this expedition, and science gains greatly by this +Egyptian campaign. Then by chance he learns that there is the utmost +political discontent in France. Almost secretly he sails away from +Egypt. We see him in Paris by the middle of October, 1799. His enemies +are astonished. But Napoleon's hour has come. The famous _coup d'état_ +follows, and in less than two months after his return from Egypt, +Napoleon has become temporary Dictator of France. His title is First +Consul, but many shake their heads and murmur that Napoleon, instead of +serving the term prescribed by law, means to make himself Consul for +life. + +Yet whatever Napoleon's ambitions may be, it is clear that France needs +a strong man at the head of the Government. Then as we observe the clear +eye and firm bearing of the young Corsican, it is evident that no one +abler than he can be found to direct the work of upbuilding the country. + +Our picture of France shows no longer a scene of confusion, of chaos, +although much must be done before the Republic can hold her own--except +in war--with other great nations. + +Napoleon is tired of war, but those Powers to whom he suggests peace are +not ready to accept his overtures. They are more willing to listen to +him after his Austrian campaign, when Marengo and Lunéville are added to +the French victories. + +The Peace of Amiens gives Europe a breathing spell--for no one believes +that this peace will last forever. + +Perhaps among all our pictures of Napoleon there is hardly one more +pleasing than this of his First Consulate, when we see him walking among +his gorgeously attired officers, noticeable for the simplicity of his +attire. For in spite of the example of extravagant dress set by others, +he is content with the plain uniform of a colonel of grenadiers or of +the light infantry. + +"His address is the finest I have ever seen," writes one who meets him +at this time, "and said by those who have travelled to exceed not only +every Prince and Potentate now in being, but even all those whose memory +has come down to us.... While he speaks, his features are still more +expressive than his words." + +This is the Napoleon whom Betsy knew--this man whose simple, pleasing +manners drew every one to him--every one at least whom he wished to +attract. Had he cared to make the effort he might even have won Sir +Hudson Lowe. + +For in those earlier days, before his downfall, many an Englishman, with +a deeply rooted prejudice against Napoleon, on visiting Paris, like the +writer of the above, found his prejudices melt away like snow in summer. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE LAST PICTURES + + +Our pictures change little as they show the next stage of Napoleon's +progress. For when in the summer of 1801 he is made Consul for life, he +appears still to be the same ardent lover of liberty that he was when he +became First Consul. He is still the idol of the French people--as well +he may be--for what ruler has ever done so much for them? When once +things are in his own hands he codifies the laws, gives security to all +forms of religion, and organizes the educational system of France. He +does everything possible for the rebuilding of the state. He regulates +taxes, that the burden may fall equitably on all classes. He helps +manufactures of every kind. He proves himself a masterly road-builder. +He establishes museums, and orders the construction of great public +buildings. In peace he seems to be greater even than he has shown +himself in war. He encourages literature, art, and music, and makes +Paris so beautiful that its citizens are justified in their pride. + +He surrounds himself with capable men. In no way does he more clearly +show his own superiority than by letting it be seen that he is free from +jealousy. He is always ready to reward publicly those who help him in +any of his undertakings. Not all Napoleon's plans are carried out during +his Consulship, but they are begun with such vigor that no one doubts +that they will be completed. The country is the better for his firm +hand. Yet in some ways we admired him more in his earlier years. His +ambition now casts a shadow that should warn him that the middle way is +the best. + +In one way at least Napoleon's ambitions do not get the better of him. +As he advances in power he does not forget old friends. They share his +prosperity, these schoolmates and associates of his earlier years. They +are given honors that some of them find it hard to wear gracefully. + +"Here we are at the Tuileries," he exclaims to an old friend, when made +Consul for life. "We must remain here." + +In the short breathing spell made possible by the Peace of Amiens, +France accomplishes more in all directions than the other countries of +Europe. Yet those whose sight is clearest may, perhaps, see a cloud +likely to deepen and blur the picture. Does it come from England, now +making great efforts to gather her strength for a long contest? Or does +the growing ambition of Napoleon mean the overthrow of the very things +he is working for? + +Though the gorgeous spectacle of the Imperial Coronation in the great +Cathedral has seldom been surpassed, we incline to turn away from it. It +had been better for Napoleon to remain First Consul rather than to make +himself Emperor. His plain gray suit became him better than this +trailing cloak of purple velvet embroidered in gold and trimmed with +ermine. We recognize the golden bees, and the insignia of the Legion of +Honor, but the diamond collar and the great Pitt diamond blazing in the +pommel of his sword seem unsuited to the young Corsican who once +delighted in simplicity. The laurel wreath that he first wears suits him +better than the Imperial crown that he takes from the hands of the Pope +and places on his own head. But the Pope has anointed him, and Napoleon +is now Emperor of that shadowy Holy Roman Empire, for which in the past +rivers of blood have been shed. + +Is Napoleon really happier now than when he roamed, a fearless boy, over +the rough hills of Corsica? Is Josephine as contented wearing the crown +of an Empress as she was wandering light-hearted in the forests of +Martinique? Josephine is indeed fond of jewels and beautiful clothes, +and nothing could be more splendid than her coronation robe of white +satin and silver and gold, with its ornaments of pearls and diamonds. +But Josephine has a long memory. She often recalls the poverty of her +childhood, of her early married life. When Empress she tells one of the +ladies in attendance on her that no present ever made her happier than a +pair of shoes given her for Hortense, her little daughter, who otherwise +would have had to go barefoot part of her voyage from Martinique to +France. + +Josephine is a sensible woman. She is not ashamed of her early poverty. +Like Napoleon she had suffered during the Revolution and had even for a +time been thrown into prison. Like Napoleon she, too, had sometimes not +known when she should get her next meal. She had even had to borrow +money to pay her rent. She had suffered everything, when the execution +of her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, during the Reign of +Terror, had left her and her two children destitute. + +All the circumstances of her past life may not have flashed before +Josephine's mind at the moment of the Coronation. Yet it is not +improbable that wearing the crown and realizing the responsibilities of +her new position, she may have sighed for a day of freedom from care, +such as she had known in Martinique. + +On that December day in 1805 when Napoleon puts on the Imperial crown +more than three years have passed since England signed the short-lived +Peace of Amiens. The war that is now renewed between France and England +is to continue until Waterloo. As Emperor, however, Napoleon seems to be +master of Europe. All the European courts, except England, Russia, and +Sweden, acknowledge his new title. + +So we turn to a new picture. It is the eve of Austerlitz. Napoleon walks +among the soldiers, who are resting in camp, awaiting the struggle. When +his men recognize him, they surround him, they rush ahead of him, +holding aloft long poles on which are fastened burning wisps of straw. + +"It is the anniversary of the Coronation," they shout as they light his +way. The next day when they measure their strength with Russia and +Austria, the soldiers of the Empire are victorious. Another scene now +stands out vividly. Alexander of Russia is coming to meet Napoleon. At +Tilsit on a raft in the river Niemen the two Emperors greet each other +with a kiss. + +"I hate the English as much as you," cries the impulsive Alexander. "I +will be your second in all that you do against them." + +The next day we see the King of Prussia arriving half-heartedly at +Tilsit. Friedland has done its work, and for the time Prussia is +humbled. + +Brilliant though the panorama of Napoleon's life is after Tilsit, we +view with wonder rather than approval the striking pictures as they +present themselves one by one. We observe the wild enthusiasm of the +French people for their Emperor after Ulm and Austerlitz and +Hohenlinden. Even the battle of Trafalgar--a victory for England--does +not dampen their ardor. But Napoleon himself grows careful, and tries to +keep from the army the news of his loss on the sea. + +Prussia is humbled, Austria wishes to make terms, Napoleon has some +successes in Spain, and he hopes to injure England. Though we may not +discover this at first, his interference in the affairs of Spain hastens +the Emperor's downfall. Although he succeeds in having his brother +Joseph made King of Spain, he cannot keep him on the throne. + +His ambition increases. His family try to persuade him to divorce +Josephine, that he may strengthen himself by a second marriage with some +royal princess. + +We look at the family group of the Bonapartes. With Napoleon at the +height of his power, we count the titles. + +Joseph, at first King of Naples, is King of Spain; Louis, King of +Holland; Jerome, King of Westphalia; Lucien, a Prince of the Empire, +later repudiates the title; Eliza, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Pauline, +Princess Borghese; and Caroline is Queen of Naples; Josephine's +daughter, Hortense, is Queen of Holland; and Eugène, her son, is a +Prince. Old Madame Bonaparte, the devoted mother, is not sure that the +glory of the family will last forever. Of the treasures lavished on her +by Napoleon, she puts aside a portion that may be of service when the +possible rainy day comes. + +Josephine is the idol of the French people. But Bonaparte ambition +extends even to them. In these uncertain days France might be stronger +if its Emperor were free to marry into a Royal family. + +We note Josephine's anxiety as she studies Napoleon. But she sees no +change in his love for her children. Eugène is his adopted heir. +Hortense is married to Napoleon's brother Louis. Josephine hopes that +those who advise the Royal Alliance may not prevail. Her tears are +useless, and when Napoleon decides she has to yield. + +The first of April, 1810, less than five years from the date of the +Coronation, Napoleon is the centre of another brilliant ceremony. This +is the day of his marriage with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of +Austria. A year later fickle Paris is in a state of feverish excitement +over the birth of the King of Rome. Napoleon, rejoicing in his little +son, seems at the height of his power. + +Looking at Napoleon now, we must admit that he has become an autocrat. +Yet he is not a despot in the ordinary sense. Though he may like power +in itself, for what it brings to him, he cares still for the prosperity +of France. The country needs his strong guidance. Outside of France he +has enemies on all sides. While he does not admit it, things are against +him in Spain; and then, as if losing his head, he decides to march into +Russia. The Emperor of Russia is now his bitter enemy. The kiss of +Tilsit was soon wiped away. + +If we could, we would close our eyes to the next terrible scene. Before +us marches the best of the young manhood of France--hundreds of +thousands of men--to a certain death. Here is the greatest army of the +time, and at Borodino we see "the bloodiest fight of the century." For +the French the victory is almost worse than a defeat, since they are +thus beguiled farther into Russia. No one can paint adequately the +horrors of that bitter campaign. Of the hundreds of thousands who had +crossed the Niemen a few months earlier, only twenty thousand +frost-bitten spectres stagger again over the bridge in the middle of +December. + +Napoleon's thoughts are gloomy enough as he rides desperately back to +France, leaving his fragment of an army in charge of Murat. No one +envies him now, with the world against him. Soon he hears that Joseph +has been driven from Spain. Already he feels the strength of the +coalition formed to overthrow him. Does he realize that Austria is no +longer his friend--that Prussia is ready to fall upon him? All Germany +is waking to new life, and to a great extent its energy is the result of +the teachings of Napoleon himself. We see him struggling to hold his +own, unwilling to admit that he has lost anything. There is likely to be +discontent in France. The flower of French youth has gone with the army, +and there are hardly men enough to till the ground. We glance hastily at +the passing pictures. The victory at Dresden is more than balanced by +the disasters at Kulm and Leipzig. The campaign of 1813 is fatal to +Napoleon, who still trusts to his star. + +So we pass on to the last scenes of the panorama. + +It is a Sunday in January, 1814. Napoleon is in Paris, intending in a +few days to go to the front. He and the Empress are holding a reception +at the Tuileries, and there is a brilliant throng in the great salon. +All eyes are on the Emperor and Empress as they enter the apartment. +Napoleon holds by the hand a fair-haired boy of three, the little King +of Rome. The child wears the uniform of the National Guard of Paris. +Courtiers, crowding around the group, bow and smile. But as he scans +their faces with his keen eye, Napoleon reads who are his enemies, who +his friends. There are many officers of the National Guard present, and +it is to them perhaps that the Emperor especially addresses himself. + +"Gentlemen," he cries, "I am about to set out for the army. I intrust to +you what I hold dearest in the world--my wife and my son." + +Although those present do not dream that the end of Napoleon's reign is +so near, they show great emotion. Tears fall and sobs are heard on all +sides as his appeal reaches their hearts. Many of those present at the +Tuileries this afternoon--even those nearest him--will never see +Napoleon again. + +In less than two days the Emperor bids his last farewell to Maria Louisa +and their little son. The Empress is to be Regent during his absence. +Joseph is appointed Lieutenant of France. + +Then we look on the sad picture of Napoleon's last campaign, when he +meets his match in the dogged Blucher. Before the end of February, +Napoleon has to admit that he is conquered. He accepts the terms made by +the Allies. They give him the island of Elba for a time, with money +enough to keep up a certain small grandeur. Pensions are provided for +Maria Louisa and the King of Rome, and even for the other Bonapartes. + +It is a curious spectacle--Napoleon amusing himself with Elba, as if it +were a big toy. One day he increases his standing army, the next he +annexes a neighboring island. His mother and some of his family are with +him, but Maria Louisa has returned to her father with the little King of +Rome. + +But Napoleon and his friends have been making their plans, and we are +dazzled, as the world was then, by his rapid march across France, by the +demonstrations of his soldiers and the vigor of the short, sharp +campaign and the greatness of Wellington's victory. Yet Quatre Bras and +Waterloo are soon overshadowed by the rock of St. Helena. + +Betsy Balcombe, Napoleon's young neighbor, well knew the story of +Napoleon. She could see as plainly as we can to-day the pictures +revealed in the panorama of his life. Perhaps she stood too near him, +perhaps she was too young to draw the lesson that we of to-day draw from +his meteoric career. Perhaps her sympathy for him in all that he had to +bear at St. Helena blinded her to the fact that he was himself to a +certain extent to blame for his own downfall. He reached too far, his +ambition was too great. As First Consul, depending on the votes of the +people, he might have been stronger than he was as Emperor. The good +that he did France was fairly balanced by the fearful loss of life in +his long wars. + +Napoleon's one thought was to carry out his own plans without counting +the cost in men. Yet putting aside the question of the vast loss of life +in his wars and the sorrow that resulted, we may see that his career was +not wholly bad for Europe. + +Although ambition and selfishness may have prompted much that he did, he +really wished to promote the welfare of France. To-day that country is +farther ahead than would have been possible but for Napoleon. Many of +the institutions that have most advanced her originated with the First +Emperor. Other countries besides France benefited by Napoleon's energy. +He showed several of them how to realize their ideals of independence. + +It is true that the constitutions he gave to various states of +Europe--as well as to France--after his downfall were for a time +cancelled. Still, in the end, his ideas prevailed, and except for +Napoleon not only a French Republic would have been slower in +establishing itself, but also a free Italy, and even a United Germany +might have arrived less quickly. + +The sadness of Napoleon's last years modified the judgments of many who +had been his bitter enemies. His personal charm made those who knew him +forget the general selfishness of his whole career. Yet in weighing all +that can be said for and against him, it would be unfair to have the +balance against him. That Napoleon whom Betsy Balcombe knew at The +Briars--fun-loving and considerate of those about him--was as truly +Napoleon as the man before whom many had trembled--whom his enemies had +so criticised--to look at him as his young neighbor looked at him is to +understand a little the secret of his influence. + + +THE END. + + + + +HELEN LEAH REED'S "BRENDA" BOOKS + + + The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls + of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and + wholesome.--_The Outlook, New York._ + + Miss Reed's girls have all the impulses and likes of real girls + as their characters are developing, and her record of their + thoughts and actions reads like a chapter snatched from the + page of life.--_Boston Herald._ + +BRENDA, HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB + +Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. + + One of the most natural books for girls. It is a careful study + of schoolgirl life in a large city, somewhat unique in its + way.--_Minneapolis Journal._ + +BRENDA'S SUMMER AT ROCKLEY + +Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. + + It is a wholesome book, telling of a merry and healthy + vacation.--_Dial_, Chicago. + +BRENDA'S COUSIN AT RADCLIFFE + +_A College Story for Girls_ + +Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. + + No better college story has been written.--_Providence News._ + + Miss Reed is herself a Radcliffe woman, and she has made a + sympathetic and accurate study of the woman's college at + Cambridge.--_Chicago Evening Post._ + + The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls + of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and + wholesome.--_The Outlook_, N. Y. + + The book has the background of old Cambridge, a little of + Harvard, and Boston in the distance.... The heroine is a fine + girl, and the other characters are girls of many varieties and + from many places.--_New York Commercial Advertiser._ + + She brings out all sides of the life, and, while making much of + the fun and good fellowship, does not let it be forgotten that + work and growth are the end and object of it all.--_Chicago + Tribune._ + + +BRENDA'S BARGAIN + +Illustrated by Ellen Bernard Thompson. + + The story deals with social settlement work, under conditions + with which the author is familiar.--_The Bookman_, New York. + + +AMY IN ACADIA + +Illustrated by Katherine Pyle. + + A splendid tale for girls, carefully written, interesting and + full of information concerning the romantic region made famous + by the vicissitudes of Evangeline.--_Toronto Globe._ + + +BRENDA'S WARD + +Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. + + The story details the experience of a Chicago girl at school in + Boston, and very absorbing those experiences are--full of + action and diversity.--_Chicago Post._ + + Pictures a Western girl's school life in Boston, and the story + is told with spirit and fine sentiment.... The girls whose + lives are told of are merry and of wholesome + temperament.--_Portland_ (Ore.) _Oregonian_. + + The story is full of seeing, doing, enjoying, and + accomplishing.--_Kansas City Star._ + + The tale throughout is sweet and wholesome.... The character + sketching is consistent and firm, and the dialogue + natural.--_Boston Transcript._ + + The young Western girl who enters Brenda's life is sweet and + charming, and will appeal to all.--_Philadelphia Ledger._ + + The characters are all brimful of wholesome human interest with + Brenda as a paramount attraction.--_Pittsburg Bulletin._ + + A new Brenda book is always sure of a welcome.... Of all the + stories for girls these books rank among the best. The movement + of these narratives is rapid, there is an abundance of natural + and entertaining incident, and the characters are sharply drawn + and developed with masterly skill and rare powers of + sympathetic analysis.--_Kennebec_ (Me.) _Journal_. + + * * * * * + +IRMA AND NAP + +_A Story for Younger Girls_ + +Illustrated by Clara E. Atwood. + + A brightly written story about children from eleven to thirteen + years of age, who live in a suburban town, and attend a public + grammar school. The book is full of incident of school and home + life. + + The story deals with real life, and is told in the simple and + natural style which characterized Miss Reed's popular "Brenda" + stories.--_Washington Post._ + + There are little people in this sweetly written story with whom + all will feel at once that they have been long acquainted, so + real do they seem, as well as their plans, their play, and + their school and home and everyday life.--_Boston Courier._ + + Her children are real; her style also is natural and + pleasing.--_The Outlook_, New York. + + Miss Reed's children are perfectly natural and act as real + girls would under the same circumstances. Nap is a lively + little dog, who takes an important part in the development of + the story.--_Christian Register_, Boston. + + A clever story, not a bit preachy, but with much influence for + right living in evidence throughout.--_Chicago Evening Post._ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Napoleon's Young Neighbor, by Helen Leah Reed + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + +***** This file should be named 35037-8.txt or 35037-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/0/3/35037/ + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Napoleon's Young Neighbor + +Author: Helen Leah Reed + +Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35037] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + + + + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<h1>NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR</h1> + +<h2>BY HELEN LEAH REED</h2> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Author of "Brenda; Her School and Her Club," "Brenda's Cousin at +Radcliffe," "Brenda's Ward," "Amy in Acadia," etc.</span></h3> + + +<h3><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></h3> + +<h3>BOSTON:<br /> +LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY<br /> +1907</h3> + +<h3>Copyright, 1907,<br /> +<span class="smcap">By Little, Brown, and Company.</span></h3> + +<h3><i>All rights reserved</i></h3> + +<h3>Published October, 1907</h3> + +<h3><span class="smcap">Alfred Mudge & Son, Inc., Printers,</span><br /> +<span class="smcap">Boston, Mass., U. S. A.</span></h3> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h3>TO<br /> +DOROTHY E. B.<br /> +WHOSE LOVE OF HISTORY BESPEAKS<br /> +A WELCOME<br /> +FOR THIS LITTLE VOLUME.</h3> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus1" id="illus1"></a> +<img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. From the painting by Delaroche</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>This book, chronicling some little known passages in the last few years +of Napoleon, is based on the "Recollections of Napoleon at St. Helena," +by Mrs. Abell (Elizabeth Balcombe), published in 1844 by John Murray.</p> + +<p>Her little book is written in an old-fashioned and quiet style, and the +present writer, without altering any words of Napoleon's, has, so far as +possible, given a vivid form to conversations and incidents related +undramatically and has rearranged incidents that Mrs. Abell told without +great attention to chronology. The writer has also added many pages of +matter (with close reference to the best authorities) in order to make +the whole story of Napoleon clear to those who are not familiar with it.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> +<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I. <span class="smcap">Great News</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II. <span class="smcap">A Distinguished Tenant</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III. <span class="smcap">From Waterloo to St. Helena</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV. <span class="smcap">Napoleon at The Briars</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V. <span class="smcap">Betsy's Ball-Gown</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI. <span class="smcap">A Horse Tamer</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII. <span class="smcap">Off for Longwood</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII. <span class="smcap">The Governor's Rules</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX. <span class="smcap">All Kinds of Fun</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X. <span class="smcap">The Serious Side</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI. <span class="smcap">The Emperor's Visitors</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII. <span class="smcap">Thoughtless Betsy</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII. <span class="smcap">Longwood Days</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV. <span class="smcap">The Parting</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV. <span class="smcap">The Panorama</span></a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI. <span class="smcap">The Last Pictures</span></a><br /><br /> +<a href="#HELEN_LEAH_REEDS_BRENDA_BOOKS">BOOKS BY HELEN LEAH REED</a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + + +<p><a href="#illus1"><span class="smcap">Napoleon at St. Helena</span></a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus2"><span class="smcap">Jamestown</span></a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus3"><span class="smcap">The Embarkation on Board the <i>Bellerophon</i></span></a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus4"><span class="smcap">Napoleon</span></a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus5"><span class="smcap">The Briars</span></a></p> + +<p><a href="#illus6"><span class="smcap">Longwood</span></a></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>GREAT NEWS</h3> + + +<p>Far south in the Atlantic there is an island that at first sight from +the deck of a ship seems little more than a great rock. In shape it is +oblong, with perpendicular sides several hundred feet high. It is called +St. Helena because the Portuguese, who discovered it in 1502, came upon +it on the birthday of St. Helena, Constantine's mother. To describe it +as the geographies might, we may say that it lies in latitude 15° 55' +South, and in longitude 5° 46' West. It is about ten and a half miles +long, six and three-quarters miles broad, and its circumference is about +twenty-eight miles. The nearest land is Ascension Island, about six +hundred miles away, and St. Helena is eleven hundred miles from the Cape +of Good Hope.</p> + +<p>From the sea St. Helena is gloomy and forbidding. Masses of volcanic +rock, with sharp and jagged peaks, tower up above the coast, an iron +girdle barring all access to the interior. A hundred years ago its sides +were without foliage or verdure and its few points of landing bristled +with cannon. Jamestown, the only town, named for the Duke of York, lies +in a narrow valley, the bottom of a deep ravine. Precipices overhang it +on every side; the one on the left, rising directly from the sea, is +known as Rupert's Hill, that on the right as Ladder Hill. A steep and +narrow path cuts along the former, and a really good road winds zigzag +along the other to the Governor's House. Opposite the town is James's +Bay, the principal anchorage, where the largest ships are perfectly +safe.</p> + +<p>The town really consists of a small street along the beach, called the +Marina, which extends about three hundred yards to a spot where it +branches off into two narrower roads, one of which is now called +Napoleon Street. In 1815 there were about one hundred and sixty houses, +chiefly of stone cemented with mud, for lime is scarce on the island. +Among its larger buildings were a church, a botanical garden, a tavern, +barracks, and, high on the left, the castle, the Governor's town +residence.</p> + +<p>About a mile and a half from the town there stood in the early part of +the past century a cottage built in the style of an Indian bungalow. It +was placed rather low, with rooms mainly on one floor. A fine avenue of +banyan trees led up to the house, and around it were tall evergreens and +laces, pomegranates and myrtles, and other tropical trees. Better than +these, however, in the eyes of the dwellers at The Briars were the great +white-rose bushes, like the sweetbriar of old England. From these the +house took its name, and thus the family in it seemed less far away from +their old home.</p> + +<p>In a grove near the house were trees of every description, grapes of all +kinds and citron, orange, shaddoc, guava, and mango trees in the +greatest abundance. The surplus raised in the garden beyond what the +family could use brought its owner several hundred pounds a year. The +little cottage was shut in on one side by a hedge of aloes and prickly +pear and on the other by high cliffs and precipices. From one of these +cliffs, not far from the house, fell a waterfall, not only beautiful to +the eye but on a hot day refreshing to the mind with its cool splash and +tinkle.</p> + +<p>The owner of The Briars at this time was an Englishman named Balcombe, +who was in the service of the government. Besides his servants his +household consisted of his wife, his daughters Jane and Betsy, in their +early teens, and two little boys much younger. They formed a happy, +contented household, living a simple, quiet life, and though the parents +were sometimes homesick, the children were very fond of their island +abode.</p> + +<p>One evening in the middle of October, 1815, the Balcombe children were +having a merry time with their parents, when a servant, entering, +announced the arrival of two visitors.</p> + +<p>"It is the captain of the <i>Icarus</i>," said Mr. Balcombe, turning to his +wife, "and another naval officer."</p> + +<p>"The man-of-war that came in to-day?" asked one of the children. "We +heard the alarm sound from Ladder Hill."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, my dear." Then, turning to a servant, "Show them in."</p> + +<p>As the gentlemen entered the room, it was plain that they had something +of importance to communicate.</p> + +<p>"Sir," said the senior officer to Mr. Balcombe, after the first +greetings, "I come to tell you that the <i>Icarus</i> is sent ahead of the +<i>Northumberland</i> to announce that the <i>Northumberland</i> is but a few +days' sail from St. Helena."</p> + +<p>"Yes," responded Mr. Balcombe politely, wondering why this announcement +should be made so seriously.</p> + +<p>"Sir George Cockburn," continued the other, "commands the +<i>Northumberland</i>, and in his care is Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he brings +to St. Helena as a prisoner of state."</p> + +<p>Mr. Balcombe started to speak; his expression was one of annoyance. He +was not fond of practical jokes. His wife leaned back in her chair, +gazing incredulously at the speaker. The children laughed. The officer's +story was too absurd. Then one of the little boys began to cry. In their +play the older children were in the habit of frightening the others with +the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was alarming to hear that the +terrible Napoleon was to come to live on their peaceful island.</p> + +<p>Before Mr. Balcombe could express his surprise, the officer repeated:</p> + +<p>"Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte, the enemy of England."</p> + +<p>"But how can that be?" asked Mr. Balcombe, hardly understanding. +"Bonaparte was on Elba months ago; what has England to do with him now?"</p> + +<p>"Surely—" began the captain; then recalling himself, "but I forgot how +far St. Helena is from the rest of the world. After Napoleon escaped +from Elba in February, he gathered a great army. But the Allies, with +our Iron Duke at the head, met him near Brussels, and there in June was +fought the great battle of Waterloo. Thousands were killed, brave +English as well as French. That battle marked the downfall of Napoleon, +and soon he was England's prisoner."</p> + +<p>Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe, as well as their children, listened eagerly, +absorbed in a story they now heard for the first time.</p> + +<p>"So they send him here?" It was Mr. Balcombe who first spoke.</p> + +<p>"Yes; no spot in Europe can hold him. Even on Elba he had begun to +establish a kingdom. He reached beyond that little island, and now he +has had his Waterloo."</p> + +<p>"It is clear, then," said Mr. Balcombe, "why they have sent him here. +This is a natural fortress and it belongs to England."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the officer; "England knows that here, in her keeping, +Bonaparte will never again escape to torment the world."</p> + +<p>After a few more words of explanation on the one hand and of surprise on +the other, the visitors withdrew.</p> + +<p>Of those who had listened to the officer young Elizabeth, or Betsy as +she was commonly called, was the most disturbed. She shivered and turned +pale, and her mother, noticing her agitation, soon sent her to bed. +There she silently wept herself to sleep and her dreams were filled with +visions of that dreadful ogre, Bonaparte. It was not a very long time +since she had really believed Napoleon to be a huge monster, a kind of +Polyphemus with one large, flaming eye in the middle of his forehead and +with long teeth protruding from his mouth, with which he devoured bad +little girls.</p> + +<p>Although Betsy had outgrown this first idea of Napoleon, implanted in +her young brain by careless servants, she was still afraid of the +Conqueror. It is true that she realized he was not an ogre, but a human +being; that is to say, the very worst human being that had ever lived. +She knew this must be so, for she had heard sensible grown-up persons +speak of him in this way, even her own father and mother. What wonder, +then, that her dreams should be disturbed by thoughts of the misery that +must come to St. Helena with such a man as Napoleon living on the +island?</p> + +<p>The next morning after the visit of the officer from the <i>Icarus</i>, the +little girl rose early. She was far from cheerful as she looked about +her on the lovely garden and grove. A wave of hot anger passed over her. +Why should that terrible man be permitted to land and destroy all this +beauty, as he would, of course, on the first opportunity?</p> + +<p>From the garden she looked toward the rugged mountain, known as Peak's +Hill, which shut off the valley from the south. Her father had spoken of +the island as a natural fortress. Except for the mountains the +Government would never have thought of sending the dreadful Napoleon to +St. Helena. So she hated the mountains and cliffs.</p> + +<p>Perhaps, however, even at that moment when she dreaded the coming of the +exiled Emperor, Betsy may have recalled her own first impressions of St. +Helena and cast a half-pitying thought toward the great man who now saw +in its rocky heights only his prison wall.</p> + +<p>One day Betsy's mother had reminded the young girl of the bitter tears +she shed when she had first seen the island.</p> + +<p>"You were a silly girl to cry when you first came in sight of land," +said her mother, recalling the circumstance.</p> + +<p>"Yes, but some had told me that the island was really the head of a +great negro that was only waiting for the breakfast bell; then it would +devour me first, and later the rest of the passengers and crew."</p> + +<p>"Well, I am glad you told me your fears."</p> + +<p>"So am I, for you showed me that these things could not be true."</p> + +<p>"Yet I remember," responded Betsy's mother, "that you would not take +your head from my lap until eight bells had sounded. For some reason the +nearness of breakfast made you believe that danger was over."</p> + +<p>"But you can't say that I made much fuss when I really was in the power +of a negro," rejoined Betsy; "for I can well remember how strange it +seemed when I was lifted in a basket, and told that a big negro was to +carry me out to The Briars. At first I was a little frightened, for I +had never seen a black man before, but he spoke so pleasantly when he +put me down to rest, even though grinning from ear to ear, that I +decided he would not harm me."</p> + +<p>"You saw at once that he was good natured."</p> + +<p>"Yes, and he asked me so kindly if I were comfortable in my little nest, +that I trusted him. I was as proud as a peacock when he said he was +honored in being allowed to carry me, because usually he had nothing but +vegetables in his basket. When we reached The Briars I told father I had +had a delightful ride, and so he gave the negro a little present that +made him grin more than ever, and he went off singing merrily at the top +of his voice."</p> + +<p>Thus Betsy recalled her first impression of St. Helena.</p> + +<p>If Mr. Balcombe and the rest of the family at The Briars were surprised +at the news of Napoleon's approach, people on the island in general were +equally astonished. No communication had reached Governor Wilks, no +letter of instructions as to what should be done with the illustrious +prisoner.</p> + +<p>The captain of the <i>Icarus</i> could only tell the residents of St. Helena +that Napoleon was near and that the Second Battalion of the Fifty-third +Regiment had embarked with the squadron. Even in those days, when there +were no cables to flash the news of coming events, when there were no +swift steamboats to act as heralds, it seems strange that in more than +seven months no news of the escape from Elba had reached the little +island.</p> + +<p>Now, when the people of St. Helena heard the news, they were greatly +disturbed. They were afraid that the coming of Napoleon might cause +changes in their government, and they were so fond of the Governor that +they did not wish to lose him.</p> + +<p>Their fears were well grounded, for when Sir George Cockburn landed it +was found that he had received an appointment that gave him the chief +civil and military power on the island, while Governor Wilks took +secondary rank. Later it was learned that on account of the distinction +of the prisoner, a governor of higher rank than Colonel Wilks would be +sent from England to supersede him, a governor who held his appointment +directly from the Crown.</p> + +<p>Two or three days after the visit of the officer to The Briars, Betsy +and her brothers and sister were in a state of great excitement.</p> + +<p>"Ah, I hope papa will not be killed," cried little Alexander.</p> + +<p>"How silly you are!" responded the older Jane. "Why should he be +killed?"</p> + +<p>"Because Napoleon is such a monster. If he should suddenly take out his +sword—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, or open his mouth and swallow papa, how terrible it would be!" +added Betsy mockingly.</p> + +<p>"Of course Bonaparte is a monster, but he would never dare hurt any one +on this island, especially an Englishman. Don't worry. Papa will come +home safely enough, but I wish he would hurry, so we could hear all +about the wretch."</p> + +<p>Later in the day the children gathered eagerly around their father, who +had returned from his visit to the ships.</p> + +<p>"Oh, papa, what was he like?" asked each in turn.</p> + +<p>"Who, Napoleon?"</p> + +<p>"Of course. We wish to hear about him. Didn't you see him? Didn't you +see anybody there?"</p> + +<p>"I could hardly visit a fleet without seeing some one."</p> + +<p>"Is it a large fleet?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, it would be called large in any part of the world."</p> + +<p>"How large is it?"</p> + +<p>"Besides the <i>Northumberland</i> there are several other men-of-war, and +the transports with the Fifty-third Regiment."</p> + +<p>"But did you see Napoleon?" asked one of the children, returning to the +subject of greatest interest.</p> + +<p>"I did not see General Bonaparte," replied the father, pausing to see +the effect of his words on the children. Then, as he noted their +expression of disappointment, he quickly added: "But I saw some of the +others,—some of his suite."</p> + +<p>"Oh, tell us about it!"</p> + +<p>"There is little to tell. After paying my respects to Sir George +Cockburn, I was introduced to Madame Bertrand and Madame Montholon, and +then to the rest of Napoleon's suite."</p> + +<p>"What were they like?" asked one of the girls eagerly, as if she +expected her father to describe a group of strange beings.</p> + +<p>"Like any travellers, my child, who had had a long voyage, from the +effects of which they were anxious to rest."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I wish you had seen Napoleon!"</p> + +<p>"I am likely to see him soon, and you may, also, as he is to land +to-night."</p> + +<p>At this news the children were silent. To have Napoleon on the island +was not a pleasant prospect. They were not so sure now that they cared +to see him.</p> + +<p>"But where will he live, papa, when he comes ashore?" ventured Jane at +last. "Will they put him in a dungeon?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly not, my child. He is to live at Longwood, but as the house +needs to be put in repair, he will stay for a while with Mr. Porteous."</p> + +<p>"When will he come ashore?" asked Betsy timidly. Now that her father had +spoken so reassuringly of Napoleon, she was curious to see him, at least +from a safe distance.</p> + +<p>"He will land to-night,—after dark, I imagine, to escape the gaze of +the crowd;" and their father, turning from the children, went toward the +house.</p> + +<p>As he left them, the young people began an animated discussion of +Napoleon. They were already getting used to the idea that he was to live +on St. Helena and that he was an ordinary human being, not unlike the +British officials of high rank sent out by the Crown.</p> + +<p>"As he cannot possibly hurt us, why shouldn't we go to the valley to see +him land?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't we?" echoed Jane. So it happened, when they had asked +their parents, that the older children were permitted to go to Jamestown +to see Napoleon land. When they reached the wharf it was dusk and crowds +of people were gathered on every side.</p> + +<p>"I did not know there were so many people on the island," whispered +Betsy, as she pressed closer to her sister. "Do you suppose he will be +in the first boat?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. But see, it is coming!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, little ladies," said a bystander, "Bonaparte will surely be in the +first boat."</p> + +<p>"Here it is, here it is," cried Betsy. "Look, Jane, look!"</p> + +<p>Even as she spoke, the passengers from the longboat were coming ashore, +and although it was seven o'clock in the evening, there was still enough +light to enable the watchers to see the figures of those who were +landing.</p> + +<p>The girls strained their eyes. Three men marched slowly up from the +ship's boat. "See," cried Betsy, "probably Napoleon is in the middle."</p> + +<p>"That little man, and in an overcoat!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, for there is something flashing, probably a diamond."</p> + +<p>"A man with a diamond! How foolish!" objected Jane.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus2" id="illus2"></a> +<img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>JAMESTOWN</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>"But it is, indeed it is!"</p> + +<p>"I wish people wouldn't crowd so."</p> + +<p>"They've got to move back. I'm glad of it. The sentries are standing +with fixed bayonets to keep more people from rushing down from the +town."</p> + +<p>If Napoleon had landed earlier in the day, he would have been greeted by +an even greater crowd, for people had been gathering on the Marina from +the earliest hours; but disappointed that he was not to land until after +sunset, most of them had gone home. Still, however, a large enough crowd +had gathered to make it necessary for the sentries to use some force to +keep them in order.</p> + +<p>In spite of the crowd, the sisters felt that they had been rewarded for +their trouble, for when they reached home they learned that the little +man in the green coat was indeed the dreaded monster.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>A DISTINGUISHED TENANT</h3> + + +<p>The next morning Betsy rose early. The night before the family had sat +up later than their custom, talking about the arrival of the ship and +the distinguished prisoners.</p> + +<p>"Are General Bertrand and Count Montholon prisoners too?" asked one of +the girls.</p> + +<p>"No, my dear; I understand that they are at liberty to leave St. Helena +whenever they wish. Of course while they are here they must obey +whatever rules are made for them, but they would not be here if they had +not chosen to share the fate of Napoleon."</p> + +<p>"That is very noble," said Jane, "to leave one's home for the sake of +such a man as Napoleon;" and the conversation changed into a discussion +of the reasons that had induced those Frenchmen to follow their leader. +The next morning Betsy awoke feeling that something unusual had +happened.</p> + +<p>Her little brothers plied her and Jane with questions about the landing +of the Frenchmen.</p> + +<p>"I wish we lived close to the town," complained Alexander, "that we +might hear more about Napoleon."</p> + +<p>"Look, look!" cried Betsy, before the little fellow had finished +speaking. "What is that on the side of the mountain?"</p> + +<p>Following the direction of her finger, the other children broke into +excited cries. "The French, it must be the French! There are horses with +men on them. There, see the swords flash! They must be guarding a +prisoner."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I suppose it is a prisoner. But what is that white thing?"</p> + +<p>"It is a plume; you can see that for yourself. Let us get a spyglass."</p> + +<p>For some time the children watched the little procession curving around +the mountain-side, high above them.</p> + +<p>"It makes me think of a great serpent winding along," said Betsy.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look like a serpent, through the glass. There are five men +on horseback. One of them has a cocked hat. It must be Napoleon, though +he wears no greatcoat."</p> + +<p>"They're going to Longwood. That's what it is. Papa says he's to live +there. I wonder how he'll like it after all his palaces in Europe."</p> + +<p>"I'm glad he won't live near us. I should never dare leave the house, if +he lived near."</p> + +<p>"Who's he?"</p> + +<p>"Napoleon, of course."</p> + +<p>The morning passed. The children thought of little but Napoleon. They +talked to each other of his victories and were proud that Englishmen had +overthrown him.</p> + +<p>Early in the afternoon two gentlemen called, Dr. Warden of the +<i>Northumberland</i> and Dr. O'Meara of the garrison.</p> + +<p>"Oh, have you seen him?"</p> + +<p>"Seen whom?"</p> + +<p>"Why, Napoleon; don't tease us,—Napoleon Bonaparte."</p> + +<p>"Well, then, since you are so curious, yes, we have seen him." Dr. +Warden smiled, for he was surgeon of the ship that had brought Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"Oh, was he perfectly awful? Weren't you frightened?"</p> + +<p>"If we were frightened, I tried not to show it. Napoleon seemed +harmless. He did not even try to bayonet us," replied Dr. O'Meara.</p> + +<p>"But how did he look?"</p> + +<p>"He hadn't horns or hoofs; at least, we didn't see them, and on the +whole he was charming, though he seemed tired. You girls will like him."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" cried Betsy. "I shake and shiver whenever I think of him. If +ever I look at him it will be only at a distance, but I could never, +never speak to him."</p> + +<p>"Mark my words, you will change your mind, Miss Betsy," cried one of the +two as he turned away.</p> + +<p>About four o'clock that same afternoon, when it was approaching dusk in +the little valley, one of the children reported that the same horsemen +they had seen in the morning were again winding around the mountain.</p> + +<p>Soon the whole family gathered outside, and as they looked, to their +great astonishment they observed the procession halt at the mountain +pass above the house, and then, after a few minutes' pause, begin to +descend the mountain toward the cottage.</p> + +<p>"Oh, mamma, do you suppose they are coming here? I must go and hide +myself," cried the excitable Betsy.</p> + +<p>"No, my dear, you will do nothing of the kind. I am surprised that a +great girl should be so foolish."</p> + +<p>"But Napoleon is coming, don't you understand, Napoleon. I could not +bear to look at him."</p> + +<p>"You will look at him and speak to him, if he comes here. It will be a +good chance for you to put your French to use."</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy! Up to this time she had been proud of the French acquired +during a visit to England a few years before, which she had +conscientiously kept up by conversation with a French servant.</p> + +<p>It seemed hard that she was now to be called on to do a disagreeable +thing just because of this accomplishment. Of course she could not +disobey her mother, and in spite of her fright she really had some +curiosity to see the distinguished guest.</p> + +<p>Not long after the party first came in sight, the French and their +escort were at the gate of The Briars. As there was no carriage road to +the house, all, except Napoleon, got off their horses. He rode over the +grass, while his horse's feet cut into the turf. His horse was jet +black, with arched neck, and as he pranced along he seemed to feel +conscious of his own importance in carrying so distinguished a man as +the Emperor.</p> + +<p>"He's handsome," whispered Jane to Betsy.</p> + +<p>"The horse?"</p> + +<p>"No, Napoleon; just look at those jewels and ribbons on his coat—and I +never saw so beautiful a saddlecloth. It is embroidered with gold."</p> + +<p>Before more could be said, Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe were moving forward to +meet Sir George Cockburn and his distinguished companion. The sisters +closely followed their parents, and after the older people had been +presented to Napoleon the turn of the girls came. Betsy, looking up, was +impressed by the charm of Napoleon's smile. She saw that his hair was +brown and silky fine; his eyes were a brilliant hazel. She also noticed +one slight defect,—that his even teeth were dark, the result, she +afterwards learned, of his habit of using much licorice.</p> + +<p>The children at first were surprised to find Napoleon neither as tall +nor as impressive as he had appeared on horseback. When they looked in +his face they decided that he was very attractive, and when he spoke his +smile and kindly manner at once won their hearts. From that moment Betsy +forgot that she had ever considered him an ogre. To herself she called +him the handsomest man she had ever seen.</p> + +<p>"This is a most beautiful situation," he said to Betsy's mother. "One +could be almost happy here!" he added with a sigh.</p> + +<p>"Then perhaps you will honor us with a visit until Longwood is ready," +interposed Mr. Balcombe. "I understand that you prefer this to the town, +and I have already put some rooms at Sir George Cockburn's disposal."</p> + +<p>"I do prefer it."</p> + +<p>"Then the rooms are at your service."</p> + +<p>Strange language this to a prisoner,—the children may have thought as +they listened,—to give him a choice of abode. Later they learned why +their father had put the matter in this way. They heard how wretched it +made the Emperor to think of returning to the small house where he had +lodged in the town and where people stared into the windows, as if he +were some kind of wild animal. When he found that Longwood would not be +ready for him for several weeks, he had at once declared his +unwillingness to return to Jamestown. The glimpse of The Briars that he +had had from a distance pleased him greatly, and he had asked if it +might not be possible to lodge him there. Mr. Balcombe, as an official +of the Government, having placed some rooms at the disposal of the +Admiral, Sir George Cockburn, was now anxious to put Napoleon at his +ease about occupying them.</p> + +<p>The Balcombe children were greatly stirred up when they found that +Napoleon was to be their neighbor, for the rooms to be assigned him were +near, but not in, the main house. Their fear of the Emperor had almost +wholly disappeared.</p> + +<p>Continuing to praise the view, Napoleon asked that some chairs be +brought out on the lawn.</p> + +<p>"Come, Mademoiselle," he said to Betsy in French, "sit by me and talk. +You speak French?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied Betsy with apparent calmness, though her heart was +beating violently.</p> + +<p>"Who taught you?"</p> + +<p>"I learned in England, when I was at school."</p> + +<p>"That is well, and what else did you study? Geography, I hope."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"Then you can tell me what is the capital of France?"</p> + +<p>"Paris, monsieur."</p> + +<p>"Of Italy?"</p> + +<p>"Rome."</p> + +<p>"Of Russia?"</p> + +<p>"St. Petersburg."</p> + +<p>He looked up quickly. "St. Petersburg now; it was Moscow."</p> + +<p>Then he asked, sternly and abruptly, "<i>Qui l'a brulé?</i>" ["Who burned +it?"]</p> + +<p>Betsy trembled. There was something terrifying now in his expression, as +well as in the tones of his voice. She could not find words to reply as +she recalled what she had heard about the burning of the great Russian +city and the question as to whether the French or the Russians had set +it on fire.</p> + +<p>"<i>Qui l'a brulé?</i>" repeated Napoleon.</p> + +<p>But there was a twinkle in his eye and a smile in his voice that +encouraged Betsy to venture a stammering "I don't know, sir."</p> + +<p>"<i>Oui, oui</i>," he responded, laughing heartily. "<i>Vous savez très bien. +C'est moi qui l'a brulé.</i>" ["Yes, yes, you understand well. It is I who +burned it."]</p> + +<p>Then Betsy ventured further:</p> + +<p>"I believe, sir, the Russians burned it to get rid of the French."</p> + +<p>Again Napoleon laughed and, instead of being angry, seemed pleased that +the little girl knew something about the Russian campaign.</p> + +<p>Now while Napoleon was sitting in the garden or walking about the +beautiful grounds, all was confusion and excitement within The Briars. +Betsy's mother, like any other good English housewife, was naturally +somewhat taken aback at having suddenly to make plans to entertain +Napoleon and part of his suite. Even though the English Government might +pay for his board, she must still regard him as her guest, and in the +small time at her disposal do all that she could to make him +comfortable.</p> + +<p>Rooms, therefore, must be rearranged and what furniture could be spared +from the rest of the house must be put into Napoleon's apartments. So, +in the short space of a few hours, the dreaded Emperor of the French, +the ogre feared by the children, had become the neighbor, almost the +inmate of a happy English household—English, in spite of its distance, +many thousands of miles away, from the islands of Great Britain.</p> + +<p>It was evening when Napoleon came back to the house with the family. +Here again his conversation was chiefly with Betsy, as her fluent French +pleased him. Her parents could use the language only with difficulty.</p> + +<p>"Do you like music?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>"But I suppose that you are too young to play."</p> + +<p>This rather piqued Betsy.</p> + +<p>"I can both sing and play."</p> + +<p>"Then sing to me."</p> + +<p>Thereupon Betsy, seating herself at the little harpsichord, sang in a +sweet, full voice "Ye Banks and Braes."</p> + +<p>"That is the prettiest English air I have ever heard."</p> + +<p>"It is a Scotch air," said Betsy timidly.</p> + +<p>"I thought it too pretty to be English. Their music is vile,—the worst +in the world. Do you know any French songs? Ah, I wish you could sing +<i>Vive Henri Quatre</i>."</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I know no French songs."</p> + +<p>Upon this the Emperor began to hum the air, and in a fit of abstraction, +rising from his chair, marched around the room, keeping time to the tune +he was singing.</p> + +<p>"Now what do you think of that, Miss Betsy?" he asked abruptly. Betsy +hesitated between her love of truth and her desire to please the +Emperor.</p> + +<p>"I do not think I like it," she said at last, rather gently. "I cannot +make out the air."</p> + +<p>She might also have added that the great Emperor's voice was far from +musical. Neither then nor at other times when he tried to sing could she +tell just what tune he thought he was rendering.</p> + +<p>When he discussed music she understood him better and she saw that he +was a good critic. "French music," he said, "is almost as bad as +English. Only Italians know how to produce an opera properly;" and he +sighed heavily, remembering perhaps that his own opera days were over.</p> + +<p>Not long after Betsy had finished "Ye Banks and Braes," word was brought +to Napoleon that his rooms were ready, and with a kindly word or two he +bade good night to his young friend.</p> + +<p>The little girl's dreams that night were, we can well imagine, quite +unlike any she had ever had before. But if she dreamed of the Emperor it +is certain that she did not regard him as an ogre. His wonderful +personality had gained her heart. Henceforth she was to be his loyal +friend as well as his neighbor.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA</h3> + + +<p>The events that ended in the voyage of the fallen Emperor to St. Helena, +if told in full, would make a long story. The battle of Waterloo, +however, is a good starting place, the battle that decided the peace of +Europe after its long years of war, when the Allied Powers, led by the +Duke of Wellington, defeated the French, who had rallied around Napoleon +for a last stand.</p> + +<p>Napoleon, when he saw that the day was lost for him and the French, +fought desperately, hoping perhaps to meet death. But he seemed to have +a charmed life, and, though he plunged into the thick of the fight, he +was not even wounded.</p> + +<p>Some of his friends advised him to continue the struggle, but he saw +that this might mean civil war for France as well as a long contest +against the Allies. He cared too much for France to drag her into +further wars. Some say that in giving up he could not help +himself,—that what he did he had to do. Be that as it may, for a second +time he signed the Act of Abdication, and after proclaiming his son +Napoleon II, he left Paris. First he went to Malmaison, once the +beautiful home of Josephine, where a few friends joined him.</p> + +<p>When the Allies were approaching Paris, Napoleon offered his services to +the Provisional Government, promising to retire when the enemy was +driven away. But the men now at the head of affairs at Paris were afraid +to give authority of any kind to Napoleon, even for a limited time. He +had broken one promise, he might break another, and they refused his +offer.</p> + +<p>Napoleon now thought of America. Certain Americans in Paris had offered +him help. One shipping merchant, a Massachusetts man, had an excellent +plan, which, had Napoleon followed it, might have resulted in his +reaching America safely. But Napoleon delayed, and although he did not +know it at the time, when he left Malmaison for Rochefort on June 29 he +was too late. Up to the last he hoped to reach a vessel that would carry +him safely to the United States. It is said that he gave up the plan +proposed by the American shipping merchant because he would not desert +his friends, and for the time there seemed to be no way of providing for +them.</p> + +<p>It takes strength of mind for a man to decide to live out his destiny +rather than run away from life. Napoleon now decided to make the best of +things. With British ships practically blockading the coast, he saw that +to try to escape was hopeless. He heard with dismay that Paris had +surrendered to the Allies, and that the Provisional Government, that +might have helped him, had dissolved. His last effort was to suggest +sending a flag of truce by Generals Savary and Las Cases to Captain +Maitland, commander of the British squadron, asking to be allowed to +pass out of the harbor. He gave his word of honor that he would then go +directly to America. Captain Maitland replied that even if he himself +could grant this request, Napoleon's vessel would be attacked as soon as +it had left the harbor. Napoleon at last had to admit that the end had +come when the report was brought him that Louis XVIII was again seated +on the throne of France. He therefore again sent two officers to Captain +Maitland, offering to surrender on condition that no harm should come to +his person or property. Another condition was that he should be allowed +to live where he pleased in England as a private individual. The officer +replied that he could not make terms, but that he would probably take +Napoleon and his suite to England as soon as he should receive word from +the Prince Regent. This answer was disappointing to Napoleon, but there +was nothing now for him to do except to set out for the <i>Bellerophon</i>, +Captain Maitland's ship, with the flag of truce.</p> + +<p>"I come to claim the protection of your prince and your laws," he said +in French, as he advanced on the quarter-deck to meet Captain Maitland.</p> + +<p>Soon after this he wrote the following letter in French to the Prince +Regent:</p> + +<blockquote><p><span class="smcap">Royal Highness</span>:</p> + +<p>Exposed to the factions which divide my country and to the +enmity of the great Powers of Europe, I have terminated my +political career, and I come like Themistocles to throw myself +on the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under +the safeguard of their laws and claim protection of your Royal +Highness, the most powerful, the most constant, and the most +generous of my enemies.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Napoleon.</span></p></blockquote> + +<p>It is not to be supposed that all this time Napoleon's friends were +indifferent to his fate. Those who were near enough to communicate with +him made various suggestions.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus3" id="illus3"></a> +<img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE <i>BELLEROPHON</i></h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>At Rochefort his brother Joseph offered to disguise himself and change +places with him, so that the Emperor might get away in the same vessel +in which he himself was preparing to escape. Had Napoleon agreed to this +plan, he would probably have been as successful as Joseph in reaching +America.</p> + +<p>Some young and brave French officers are said to have offered themselves +as the crew of a rowing boat to carry Napoleon safely through the +blockading fleet. There would have been some risk in carrying out this +proposal of stealing through the blockade, but it had a fair chance of +success.</p> + +<p>There were also swift neutral vessels not far away, on more than one of +which he had friends. But although, with three of his suite, he did +embark on a Danish ship, on second thoughts he decided not to venture +farther, and returned to shore. He might have accepted the suggestion of +the captain of a French frigate then at the Ile d'Aix, who begged +Napoleon to take the chance of intrusting himself to him. He would, he +said, attack a British ship near by, and while the attention of other +vessels was fixed on the encounter, a second French frigate with +Napoleon on board would carry him far outside the harbor to safety. But +this offer, too, was put aside. The admirers of Napoleon, who look back +on his days of indecision at Rochefort, wonder at the change in the man, +who by his policy of delay brought on himself his sad exile on the +barren island.</p> + +<p>Yet it is easy to see that even though half willing to try flight, +Napoleon really could not bring himself to the position of a fugitive, +afraid to face his enemies. It was nobler to confront danger, as he had +confronted it often on the battlefield. It was not strange that he +should hope to find appreciation of his courage, even in the hearts of +his enemies.</p> + +<p>It was the fifteenth of July when Napoleon embarked on the +<i>Bellerophon</i>, and a week afterwards he was in Plymouth Harbor. Too +late, to his great consternation, he found that the British regarded him +as a prisoner. He was helpless; he had no weapons but words, for armed +vessels surrounded him and the few friends who followed him counted for +nothing against his foes.</p> + +<p>On the thirtieth of July, General Bonaparte—the British refused him the +title of Emperor—was notified that the British Government had chosen +St. Helena as his future residence, whither a limited number of his +friends might accompany him. On receiving this word, Napoleon's +indignation was loudly expressed. He replied, that he was not the +prisoner, but the guest of England, and that it was an outrage against +him to condemn him to exile into which he would not willingly go. It was +at once evident, however, that, willing or unwilling, he must embark for +his distant prison. From Plymouth he was taken to Torbay, where, on the +eleventh of August, the <i>Bellerophon</i> met the <i>Northumberland</i>, on which +the illustrious prisoner was to be taken to St. Helena.</p> + +<p>When Napoleon received Lord Keith and Sir George Cockburn on the deck of +the <i>Bellerophon</i> he wore a green coat with red facings, epaulets, white +waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings, the star of the Legion of Honor, +and a <i>chapeau gris</i> with the tricolored cockade. At first the Emperor +spoke bitterly of the action of the British Government, but at last he +abruptly asked Lord Keith for his advice. The latter replied it would be +best for Napoleon to submit with good grace. Napoleon then agreed to go +on board the <i>Northumberland</i> at ten the next morning. Later he recalled +his consent and again talked bitterly of his fate, but at last he +controlled himself and agreed to submit.</p> + +<p>The next day, after all the stores and provisions and the personal +belongings of Napoleon and his suite were on board, the +<i>Northumberland</i>, with its distinguished prisoner, set sail for St. +Helena.</p> + +<p>With Napoleon went a fairly large suite, consisting of the following +persons:</p> + +<p>Grand Mareschal Comte de Bertrand, Madame de Bertrand and three +children, one woman servant and her child, one man servant; General +Comte de Montholon, Madame de Montholon and a child, one woman servant; +Comte de las Cases and his son of thirteen; General Gorgaud; three +<i>valets de chambre</i> and three footmen, a cook, a <i>lampiste</i>, an usher, a +steward, <i>chef d'office</i>.</p> + +<p>Among the things that made up the rather large store of baggage that +Napoleon took with him to St. Helena, besides his clothing and more +personal belongings, were two table services of silver, a number of +articles of gold, a beautiful toilet service of silver, including water +basin and ewer, cases of books, and his special beds. Although money +could do little for him in his new home, since all his expenses would be +met by the British Government, it is known that he had with him a large +amount of money.</p> + +<p>It is useless now to discuss what would have been the result had his +enemies been kinder to Napoleon. If he had been permitted to settle down +in England as he wished, as a country gentleman, would this have +satisfied him? Even if he had made no attempt to recover the throne of +France for himself, might he not have put forth efforts to have his son +acknowledged Emperor? At the time of his father's downfall, the little +King of Rome was hardly more than a baby, but as years passed on he +could never have lived contentedly with his grandfather, the Austrian +Emperor, knowing that his father was as near as England. In the name of +the young Napoleon, Europe might again have been plunged into a great +war.</p> + +<p>Yet, without looking toward the future, Great Britain was only too sure +that the time had come to punish one who had always been the avowed +enemy of England. It is true that England had suffered less than any +other of the Powers at the hands of Napoleon, because he had never +invaded her territory, but in no country was Napoleon so hated. +Thousands of Englishmen had shed their blood in the wars carried on +against him by the Allies, and by the mass of the English people he was +regarded as a monster. Although the so-called Napoleonic wars had their +origin in causes that Napoleon could not have controlled, he was +regarded as the one being responsible for the twenty years' upheaval in +Europe.</p> + +<p>When it was announced that the British Cabinet had decided to send him +into exile, many, perhaps the majority, thought the punishment too +light. They would have had him treated as a rebel and immediately hanged +or beheaded. Yet while the mass of the English people hated Napoleon, +Englishmen who had ever met him were apt to be his firm friends, or at +least his admirers.</p> + +<p>Captain Maitland, of the <i>Bellerophon</i>, said that he had inquiries made +of the crew as to their opinion of him, and this was the result: "They +may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England +knew him as well as we do, they would not touch a hair of his head."</p> + +<p>Though Napoleon had surrendered to Great Britain alone, the Allied +Powers, desiring Great Britain to be responsible for him, approved her +course.</p> + +<p>During the voyage of ten weeks toward St. Helena, Napoleon suffered +little from sea-sickness after the first few days. He breakfasted in his +own cabin at ten or eleven o'clock. Before he dined he generally played +a game of chess, and remained at dinner, in compliment to the Admiral, +about an hour. After he had his coffee he left the others to walk with +Count Bertrand or Count Las Cases on the quarter-deck. He often spoke to +those officers who could understand French. At first he showed little +interest in the occupations of those about him, but in time he engaged +in more general conversation and was especially inclined to talk to Mr. +Warden, the <i>Northumberland</i> surgeon, about the prevailing complaints on +board the ship and his methods of treating the sick. After a while he +turned to his own books and spent most of the day reading or in +dictating to Las Cases. On the twenty-third of August the +<i>Northumberland</i> crossed the equator. Before this the Admiral had amused +himself trying to frighten the French, telling them of the rough +ceremony practised by the sailors, who always undertook to present to +Neptune all persons on board who had never before crossed the line. It +happened, however, that in this instance all made a special effort to be +courteous. While the sailors presented to Neptune were shaved with huge +razors and a lather of pitch, the French were introduced politely with +compliments, and the Emperor was treated especially well.</p> + +<p>Napoleon seemed amused by this novel performance, and later he wished to +have one hundred napoleons divided among the sailors. He was made, +however, to feel his altered position when, after some discussion, the +Admiral courteously but decidedly refused his request.</p> + +<p>There were probably few on the <i>Northumberland</i> who did not deeply +sympathize with the fallen Emperor. On this long, monotonous voyage, +when his only amusements were conversation and an occasional evening +game of whist with his friends, he seemed to be trying to make the best +of the situation.</p> + +<p>On the morning when the <i>Northumberland</i> approached St. Helena, the +Emperor dressed early, and going up on deck stepped forward on the +gangway. It was the fifteenth of October when the ship, after its long +voyage, lay at anchor. The Emperor, standing on the gangway with Las +Cases behind him, looked through his glass at the shore. Directly in +front he saw a little village, surrounded by barren and naked hills, +reaching toward the clouds. Wherever he looked, on every platform, at +every aperture, on every hill, was a cannon. Las Cases, watching his +face intently, could perceive no change of expression, for Napoleon now +had full control of himself. Unmoved he could look on the island that +was to be his prison, perhaps his grave. He did not stay long on deck, +but, turning about, asked Las Cases to lead the way to his cabin. There +they went on with their usual occupation, waiting until they should be +told that the time for landing had come.</p> + +<p>During the long voyage Napoleon had won the regard of most persons on +the ship. The <i>Northumberland</i> was terribly crowded, but while others +grumbled, he made no complaint of the great discomfort, although he, +like the others, was affected by it. Already he had begun to practise +that stoicism which, on the whole, was the keynote of his life at St. +Helena.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>NAPOLEON AT THE BRIARS</h3> + + +<p>Napoleon quickly fitted himself into his place in his new surroundings. +So adaptable was he that the children soon ceased to regard him as a +stranger, nor were they inclined to criticise his habits, although in +most respects his ways were quite unlike those of the Balcombe family. +For example, he did not breakfast as they did. After rising at eight +o'clock, he satisfied himself with a cup of coffee and had his first +hearty meal, breakfast or luncheon as they variously called it, at one. +It was nine o'clock in the evening before he dined, and eleven when he +withdrew to his own room.</p> + +<p>The Pavilion, the building that chiefly formed his new abode, was a +short distance from the main building of The Briars. It had one good +room on the ground floor, and two garrets. Napoleon selected this +Pavilion, not because it was really more convenient for him, but because +by occupying it he would less disturb the Balcombe family than by taking +quarters in the main house.</p> + +<p>Las Cases and his son were in one of the garrets, and Napoleon's chief +<i>valet de chambre</i> and others of his household were in the second. The +rooms were so crowded that some of the party had to sleep on the floor +of the little hall. The Pavilion had been built by Betsy's father as a +ballroom, and had a certain stateliness. The large room opened on a +lawn, neatly fenced around, and in the centre of the lawn was a marquee, +connected with the house by a covered way. The marquee had two +compartments. The inner one was Napoleon's bedroom, and in the other +General Gorgaud slept. There was little but the beds in the marquee. +General Gorgaud slept on a small tent bed with green silk hangings, +which Napoleon had had with him in all his campaigns.</p> + +<p>Between the two divisions of the marquee some of the servants of +Napoleon had carved a huge crown in the green turf, on which the Emperor +was obliged to step as he passed through.</p> + +<p>At first Count Bertrand and Count Montholon with their families were +lodged at Mr. Porteous's house in the town, where a suitable table was +prepared for them in the French style. They could go to The Briars +whenever they wished, accompanied by a British officer or Dr. O'Meara, +who was appointed physician to Napoleon; or, followed by a soldier, they +were permitted to visit any part of the island except the forts and +batteries.</p> + +<p>A captain of artillery resided at The Briars, and at first a sergeant +and soldiers were also stationed there. But the presence of the soldiers +was evidently needless, as well as so disagreeable to the family that, +on hearing various remonstrances, Sir George Cockburn ordered them away.</p> + +<p>But for the presence of the artillery officer, Napoleon during his stay +at The Briars might almost have forgotten that he was a prisoner. He and +his suite appreciated the unfailing kindness of Mr. Balcombe and his +family, who from the first left nothing undone for the comfort of the +exiles. During the early days of his stay the dinner for the French +people at The Briars was sent out from town, but soon Mr. Balcombe +fitted up a little kitchen, connected with the Pavilion, where +Napoleon's accomplished cook had every opportunity to display his skill. +Very often after dinner Napoleon obligingly went outside for a walk, +that his attendants might finish their dinner in the room that he had +left.</p> + +<p>Soon after his arrival Napoleon was visited by Colonel Wilks, Governor +of St. Helena, Mrs. Wilks, and other officials of the island, and some +of the leading citizens and their families. He had not yet begun to +seclude himself, and he and his companions seemed to be trying to make +the best of their situation. Then and later evening parties were +occasionally given by the French without much appearance of restraint. +Napoleon accepted no invitations except those given by his friends at +The Briars, and in one or two unusual cases, but the others went +sometimes to the well-attended balls given by Sir George Cockburn.</p> + +<p>Madames Bertrand and Montholon and the rest of Napoleon's suite, for +whom there was not room at The Briars, often came to see him there, and +remained during the day. To them he was still <i>le grand empereur</i>. His +every look was watched, every wish was anticipated, and they showed him +great reverence. Some have thought that in dealing with them he insisted +too much on the etiquette of a court, but certainly none of the suite +complained of formality.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was always polite to guests at The Briars, and once went to a +large party given by Mr. Balcombe, pleasing every one by his urbanity. +When guests were introduced he always asked their profession, and then +turned the conversation in that direction. People were always surprised +at the extent of his information. Officers and others on the way from +China sought introductions and were seldom refused.</p> + +<p>Indeed in those first months his attitude to people was very different +from what it was later. Not infrequently he himself invited people to +dine with him.</p> + +<p>Most of Napoleon's suite shared with him a feeling of friendliness for +the Balcombe family. Las Cases, however, was always ready to criticise +Miss Betsy, whose hoydenish ways he could never understand. One evening, +when she was turning over the leaves of Estille's "Floriant," seeing +that Gaston de Foix was called General, she asked Napoleon whether he +was satisfied with him and whether he had escaped or was still living. +This question shocked Las Cases, for it seemed to him extraordinary that +a girl should imagine that the famous Gaston de Foix had been a general +under Napoleon.</p> + +<p>But this was not a very strange mistake for a little English girl to +make. It is to be feared that Las Cases always took a certain pleasure +in correcting the faults of the young Balcombes, or in reporting them to +their parents.</p> + +<p>From the first Napoleon claimed more of the society of Betsy than of the +other members of the family, and so agreeable were his manners toward +her that the little girl soon began to regard him as a companion of her +own, with whom she could be perfectly at ease, rather than as one much +older.</p> + +<p>"His spirits were very good, and he was at times almost boyish in his +love of mirth and glee, not unmixed sometimes with a tinge of malice," +wrote Betsy years later.</p> + +<p>"Jane," said Betsy to her sister, not long after Napoleon's arrival, +"the Emperor has invited us to dine with him. What fun it will be!"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. I am afraid it will be terribly solemn."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; I am not afraid of that. The Emperor isn't solemn. You ought to +get acquainted with him, and you wouldn't think so."</p> + +<p>Jane shook her head dubiously.</p> + +<p>"I am half afraid of him. I don't see how you can dare to trifle so with +him. What were you laughing at yesterday when Lucy was here? I thought +the Emperor looked rather silly."</p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps he did, if you put it that way," responded the blunt +Betsy. "Only Lucy was sillier. I thought she would drag me to the ground +when I told her the Emperor was coming across the lawn."</p> + +<p>"Then why did you run and bring him up to her? I saw you do it."</p> + +<p>"I needn't have done that. I did more harm than good. I told her he +wasn't the cruel creature she thought him. But I oughtn't to have told +the Emperor she was afraid of him. At least, I wouldn't have done so had +I known how he would act, for he brushed up his hair so it stood out +like a savage's, and when he came up to Lucy he gave a queer growl so +that she screamed until mamma thought she might have hysterics and +hurried her out into the house."</p> + +<p>"It was ridiculous for a man to act like a child," responded the sedate +Jane, who had not acquired Betsy's admiration for Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"It was more ridiculous for her to scream. Napoleon laughed so at her +that I had to take her part. 'I thought you a kind of an ogre, too,' I +said, 'before I knew you.' 'Perhaps you think I couldn't frighten you +now,' he answered, 'but see;' and then he brushed his hair up higher and +made faces, and he looked so queer that I could only laugh at him. 'So I +can't frighten you!' he said, and then he howled and howled, and at last +seemed disappointed that I wasn't alarmed. 'It's a Cossack howl,' he +explained, 'and ought to terrify you!' To tell you the truth, it was +something terrible, but though I didn't like it I wouldn't flinch. Of +course it was all in fun, for he is really very kind-hearted," concluded +Betsy.</p> + +<p>"All the same I don't enjoy the thought of having dinner with him," +responded the practical Jane. "I've half a mind not to go."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Jane, that would never do! What would the Emperor think? After you +have been invited, too. Besides, mother wouldn't let you stay away. An +invitation from royalty is a command."</p> + +<p>"But Napoleon isn't—"</p> + +<p>"Hush," cried Betsy, not wishing to hear her new friend belittled. She +always took offence if any one called him prisoner.</p> + +<p>In spite of her professed distaste for the dinner, Jane would have been +disappointed had she been obliged to stay at home. She set out gayly +enough, proud in her secret heart that she was to have the honor of +being in the company of the great man.</p> + +<p>Nine o'clock, Napoleon's dinner hour, was late for the little girls. As +they entered his apartment the Emperor greeted them cordially, meeting +them with extended hands, and a moment after, Cipriani, his <i>maître +d'hôtel</i>, stood at the door.</p> + +<p>"<i>Le diner de votre Majesté est servi.</i>" Whereupon Napoleon, with a girl +on each side, led the way after Cipriani, who walked backward, followed +by the rest of his suite, who were dining with him.</p> + +<p>Hardly had they taken their places when Napoleon began to quiz Betsy on +the fondness of the English for "rosbif and plum pudding."</p> + +<p>"It is better than eating frogs."</p> + +<p>"Oh, my dear Mees, how you wrong us!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, but see here!" cried Betsy, and she brought him a caricature of a +long, lean Frenchman with his mouth open, his tongue out, and a frog on +the tip of it, ready to jump down his throat. Under it was written, "A +Frenchman's Dinner."</p> + +<p>The Emperor laughed loudly at this. "You are impertinent," he cried, +pinching Betsy's ear. "I must show this to the petit Las Cases. He will +not love you so much for laughing at his countrymen."</p> + +<p>Upon this Betsy turned very red. The Emperor had touched a vulnerable +point. The young Las Cases, a boy of fourteen, was now at dinner with +them, and Napoleon had found that he could easily tease Betsy about him.</p> + +<p>"He will not want a wife," continued Napoleon, "who makes fun of him;" +and Betsy, inwardly enraged, could only maintain a dignified silence.</p> + +<p>The Emperor gazed intently at his young friend, and later, when they +rose from the table, he called young Las Cases.</p> + +<p>"Come, kiss her; this is your revenge."</p> + +<p>Betsy looked about vainly for a means of escape. But the Emperor had +already closed his hands over hers, holding them so that she had no +chance to get away, while young Las Cases, with a mischievous smile, +approached and kissed her.</p> + +<p>As soon as her hands were at liberty, Betsy boxed the boy's ears and +awaited her chance to pay Napoleon off.</p> + +<p>There was no inside hall to go from Napoleon's apartments to the rest of +the house, and it was necessary to pass outside along a steep, narrow +path, wide enough for only one at a time.</p> + +<p>An idea flashed into the mind of mischievous Betsy as Napoleon led the +way, followed by Count Las Cases, his son, and last by Jane.</p> + +<p>Betsy let the others get ahead of her, and waited when they were about +ten yards distant. Then with might and main she dashed ahead, running +with full force against the luckless Jane, who fell with extended hand +upon young Las Cases. He in turn struck against his father, and the +latter, to his dismay, against Napoleon.</p> + +<p>The latter could hardly hold his footing, while Betsy in the rear, +delighted with the success of her plan, jumped and screamed with +pleasure.</p> + +<p>The Emperor said nothing, but Las Cases, horror-struck at the insult +offered his master, became furiously angry as Betsy's laughter fell on +his ear.</p> + +<p>Turning back, he caught her roughly by the shoulder and pushed her +against the rocky bank. It was now Betsy's turn to be angry.</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, he has hurt me!"</p> + +<p>"Never mind," replied Napoleon; "to please you, I will hold him while +you punish him."</p> + +<p>Thereupon it was young Las Cases's place to tremble. While the great man +held him by the hands, Betsy gleefully boxed his ears until he begged +for mercy.</p> + +<p>"Stop, stop!" he cried.</p> + +<p>"No, I will not. This has all been your fault. If you hadn't kissed +me—"</p> + +<p>"There, there," at last called the Emperor to the boy, "I will let you +go, but you must run as fast as you can. If you cannot run faster than +Betsy, you deserve to be beaten again."</p> + +<p>The young French page did not wait for a second warning, but starting +off at a run travelled as fast as he could, with Betsy in full pursuit. +Napoleon, watching them, laughed heartily and clapped his hands as the +two raced around the grounds. The little encounter amused him, but Las +Cases the elder took the matter more seriously.</p> + +<p>Betsy wrote, "From that moment Las Cases never liked me, after this +adventure, and used to call me a little rude hoyden."</p> + +<p>The next afternoon Betsy and Jane joined the Emperor, accompanied by +General Gorgaud, in a walk in a meadow.</p> + +<p>"Look, Betsy!" cried Jane, "there are the cows I saw the other day. I am +half afraid of them."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense! How silly!" cried the intrepid Betsy. "Afraid of a cow!" and +she repeated her sister's fear to Napoleon. The latter, professing to be +surprised and amused at Jane's fears, joined with Betsy in a laugh at +her sister's expense. But even the dread of ridicule had little effect +on Jane.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Betsy," she cried, "I am sure one of those cows is coming at us!"</p> + +<p>Looking up, Betsy had to admit that her sister might be right. One of +the cows was rushing toward them with her head down, as if ready to +attack the party. It was no time for words, and Napoleon, feeling it no +disgrace to retreat in the presence of such an enemy, jumped nimbly over +a wall and, standing behind it, was thus protected against the enemy.</p> + +<p>General Gorgaud did not run, but standing with drawn sword exclaimed, +"This is the second time I have saved the Emperor's life."</p> + +<p>From behind his wall Napoleon laughed loudly at Gorgaud's boast.</p> + +<p>"You ought to have put yourself in the position to repel cavalry," he +cried.</p> + +<p>"But really, Monsieur," said Betsy, "it was you who terrified the cows, +for the moment you disappeared over the wall the animal became calm and +tranquil."</p> + +<p>"Well, well," cried Napoleon, again laughing, "it is a pity she could +not carry out her good intentions. Evidently she wished to save the +English Government the expense and trouble of keeping me."</p> + +<p>"Betsy," said the sedate Jane a little later, when she had a chance to +talk to her sister alone, "you ought not to speak so to the Emperor. You +treat him like a child."</p> + +<p>"Well, he seems like one of us, doesn't he, Jane? I always feel as if he +were one of us, a brother of our own age, and I am sure he is much +happier than if we acted as if we were afraid of him. But still, if you +like, I will walk very solemnly now."</p> + +<p>So Betsy walked along beside her sister with a slow and mincing step, +her face as long as if she had lost her best friend. As she approached +the Emperor he noticed the change.</p> + +<p>"<i>Eh, bien! qu'as tu, Mademoiselle Betsee?</i>" he asked. "Has le petit Las +Cases proved inconstant? If he have, bring him to me."</p> + +<p>Instantly Betsy's new resolves melted away and for the rest of the walk +she and Napoleon were in their usual mood of good comradeship.</p> + +<p>The next morning, when Napoleon joined the family circle at The Briars, +one of Betsy's little brothers, hardly more than a baby, sat on +Napoleon's knee, and began to amuse himself as usual by playing with the +glittering decorations and orders that Napoleon wore.</p> + +<p>"Come, Mees Betsee," he cried, "there is no pleasing this child. You +must come and cut off these jewels to satisfy him."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I have something better to do now!" cried little Alexander, jumping +from Napoleon's knee and picking up a pack of cards. "Look!" he +continued, pointing to the figure of a Grand Mogul on the back of each +card, "look, Bony, this is you."</p> + +<p>At first the Emperor, with his imperfect knowledge of English, did not +exactly understand the child's meaning. When he did, instead of taking +offence, he only smiled as he turned to Betsy, saying, "But what does he +mean by calling me 'Bony'?"</p> + +<p>"Ah," replied Betsy in French, "it is short for Bonaparte." Las Cases, +however, trying to improve on the little girl's definition, interpreted +the word literally, "a bony person."</p> + +<p>Napoleon laughed at this reply, adding, "<i>Je ne suis pas osseux</i>," and +this was all. Alexander was not reproved for his familiarity.</p> + +<p>It was true that Bonaparte was far from thin or bony, and Betsy had +often admired his plump hand, which she had more than once called the +prettiest in the world. Its knuckles were dimpled like a baby's, the +fingers taper and beautifully formed, and the nails perfect.</p> + +<p>"Your hand does not look large and strong enough to hold a sword," she +said to him one day.</p> + +<p>"Ah, but it is," said one of his suite, who was present. Drawing his own +sabre from its scabbard, he pointed to a stain on it, saying, "This is +the blood of an Englishman."</p> + +<p>"Sheathe your sword," cried the Emperor. "It is bad taste to boast, +particularly before ladies. But if you will pardon me," and he looked +toward the others in the room, "I will show you a sword of mine."</p> + +<p>Then from its embossed sheath Napoleon drew a wonderful sword with a +handle in the shape of a golden fleur-de-lis. The sheath itself was +hardly less remarkable, made of a single piece of tortoise shell, +studded with golden bees.</p> + +<p>The children were delighted when the Emperor permitted them to touch the +wonderful weapon. It was the most beautiful sword they had ever seen.</p> + +<p>As Betsy held the sword in her hands, unluckily she remembered a recent +incident in which she had been at a great disadvantage under the +Emperor's teasing. Now was her chance to get even with her tormentor.</p> + +<p>With her usual heedlessness of consequences she drew out the sword and +began to make passes at Napoleon until she had driven him into a corner.</p> + +<p>"You must say your prayers," she said, "for I am going to kill you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Betsy, how can you!" remonstrated the more prudent Jane, rushing to +the Emperor's assistance. "I will go and tell father."</p> + +<p>But Betsy only laughed at her.</p> + +<p>"I don't care," she cried. "People tease me when they like. Now it is my +turn;" and she continued to thrust the sword dangerously near Napoleon's +face, until her strength was exhausted, and her arm fell at her side. +Count Las Cases, the dignified chamberlain, who had entered the room +during the encounter, looked on indignantly. He did not quite dare to +interfere, although his indignation was plainly expressed in his face. +Already he had taken a deep dislike to the little girl, and to him the +sword incident seemed the climax of her misbehavior. If looks could +kill, she would have perished on the spot.</p> + +<p>Although the Frenchman's expression had not the power to annihilate +Betsy, something in his look warned her that she had gone far enough. +Daring though she was, she decided that her wisest course was to give up +the weapon. As she handed the sword back to him, Napoleon playfully +pinched her ear.</p> + +<p>It happened, unluckily, however, that Betsy's ear had been bored only +the day before. The pinch consequently caused her some pain. Without +venturing to resist the Emperor's touch, she gave a sharp exclamation. +She knew that he had not intended to hurt her.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>BETSY'S BALL-GOWN</h3> + + +<p>When the little flurry over the sword had ended, Napoleon seemed lost in +thought, and the children wondered what he was thinking of. Perhaps the +laughing ways of these young people reminded him of his little son, +whose growth from babyhood to youth he was destined never to see. Some +such thought must have been in his mind when he turned to one of his +attendants, saying:</p> + +<p>"I believe that these children would like to see some of my +<i>bijouterie</i>. Go bring me those miniatures of the King of Rome."</p> + +<p>In a short time the messenger returned, laden with little boxes, while +the children loudly expressed their delight. They knew the story of the +young Napoleon, once the pride of the French nation, on whom had been +conferred the title King of Rome. They knew that he had gone to live +with the Austrian Emperor, father of his mother, Maria Louisa, and +perhaps some of them had heard of his stout resistance to those who came +to take him away from his beautiful home, the Tuileries. Already they +had seen some of the portraits of the little boy, brought by Napoleon to +St. Helena, and they were pleased by the idea of seeing others of the +collection.</p> + +<p>So they gathered around the Emperor as children will when something +interesting is to be shown them.</p> + +<p>"How lovely!" cried Jane, gazing at the miniature she was first allowed +to hold in her hand.</p> + +<p>It was indeed a beautiful picture, showing a baby asleep in his cradle, +which was in the shape of a helmet of Mars. Above his head the banner of +France was waving and in his tiny right hand was a small globe.</p> + +<p>"What does it mean?" asked Betsy, a little timidly now, as she noted the +expression of mingled pride and sadness in Napoleon's face.</p> + +<p>"Ah, those are the symbols of greatness. He is to be a great warrior and +rule the world."</p> + +<p>"Yes—in a minute," murmured Betsy, as one of the boys whispered to her +to translate "<i>Je prie le bon Dieu pour mon père, ma mère, et ma +patrie</i>," inscribed beneath a picture of the child on a snuffbox cover, +which showed the little fellow in prayer before a crucifix. Then they +both looked at another miniature portraying him riding one lamb, while +he was decking another with ribbons.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" mused the Emperor again sadly. "Those were real lambs. They were +given him by the inhabitants of Paris,—a hint, I suppose, that they +would rather have peace than war."</p> + +<p>"And this is his mother," continued the Emperor, as a woman, far less +handsome than Josephine, was shown in the miniature with the boy, +surrounded by a halo of roses and clouds.</p> + +<p>"She is beautiful," exclaimed Napoleon; "but I will show you the most +beautiful woman in the world."</p> + +<p>The girls echoed his words. "I never saw any one so beautiful in my +life," cried Betsy, gazing on the portrait of a young, charming woman.</p> + +<p>"And you never will," avowed Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"The Princess of—" queried one of the French.</p> + +<p>"My sister Pauline," said Napoleon, "and you show good taste in admiring +her. She is probably one of the loveliest women ever created."</p> + +<p>"But now," he continued, when they had seen all the pictures, "let us go +down to the cottage and play whist."</p> + +<p>Turning reluctantly from the miniatures, the children walked down to the +cottage and soon were ready to play.</p> + +<p>But the cards did not deal smoothly enough. "Go off there by yourself," +said Napoleon to young Las Cases, "and deal until the cards run better. +And now, Mees Betsy, tell me about your <i>robe de bal</i>."</p> + +<p>Betsy's face flushed with pleasure. "Do you really want to see it? I +will go upstairs and get it."</p> + +<p>To Betsy the ball to be given soon by Sir George Cockburn was a +wonderful affair. It was considered a great event by all the people of +the island, but for Betsy it had a special significance, because it +would be her very first ball. In England, at her age, her parents would +not have thought of letting her go to a ball, but amusements were so few +at St. Helena that to keep her home would have seemed cruel.</p> + +<p>At first her parents had objected to her going, but when Napoleon saw +her in tears one day and learned why, he asked her father to let her go, +and thus she gained her father's consent.</p> + +<p>It is not strange then that the little girl took a great interest in her +gown for the ball, and since she felt indebted to the Emperor for his +intercession, she was pleased that he expressed an interest in her +costume.</p> + +<p>So she ran upstairs light-heartedly to get the new gown, and in a few +minutes returned with it on her arm.</p> + +<p>"It is very pretty," cried the Emperor, examining the gown critically; +and all the others, except the stern Las Cases, had a word of +commendation for it.</p> + +<p>It was a delicately pretty gown, trimmed with soft roses. Even if it had +not been her first ball-gown, Betsy's pride in it would have been +justified; but as things were, no cynical person could have found fault +with her for picturing to herself what a fine impression she would make +at this first appearance at a grown-up function.</p> + +<p>The Emperor's praises were particularly gratifying, because he had a way +of ridiculing any detail of dress that he did not like.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mees Betsee," he would cry, "why do you wear trousers? You look +just like a boy;" and any one who has seen pictures of girls in +pantalets will admit that they merited criticism. Or again he would say:</p> + +<p>"If I were governor I would make a law against ladies wearing those +ugly, short waists. Why do you wear them, Mees Betsee?"</p> + +<p>It was, therefore, delightful to the young girl that he approved her +ball-gown.</p> + +<p>After sufficient praise had been given the dress, the four sat down to +play, Napoleon and Jane against Las Cases and Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Betsee," said the Emperor, "I tire of sugar-plums. I bet +you a napoleon on the game. What will you put against it?"</p> + +<p>"I have no money," replied Betsy, a little shyly for her. "I have +nothing worth a napoleon except—oh, yes—my little pagoda. Will that +do?"</p> + +<p>The Emperor laughed. "Yes, that will do, and I will try to get it."</p> + +<p>So they began in merry spirits.</p> + +<p>"There, there," cried Betsy after a minute or two, "that isn't fair. You +mustn't show your cards to Jane."</p> + +<p>"But this is such a good one." Napoleon's eye twinkled.</p> + +<p>"Well, it isn't fair," added Betsy with the excitement in her tone often +observable in vivacious natures. As the cards were shuffled she +repeated, "Remember, you mustn't look at your cards until they are all +dealt."</p> + +<p>"But it seems so long to wait."</p> + +<p>"Then I won't play. You revoked on purpose."</p> + +<p>"Did I? Then I must hide my guilt;" and Napoleon mixed all the cards +indiscriminately together, while Betsy tried to hold his hands to +prevent further mischief, as she pointed out what he had done.</p> + +<p>Napoleon, amused by Betsy's indignation, laughed until the tears came.</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsy, Mees Betsy, I am surprised. I played so fair, and you have +cheated so; you must pay me the forfeit, the pagoda."</p> + +<p>"No, Monsieur, you revoked."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but Mees Betsy, but you are <i>méchante</i> and a cheat. Ah, but I will +keep you from going to the ball!"</p> + +<p>While they were playing Betsy had quite forgotten the pretty gown that +she had laid carefully on the sofa. Now, all too late, she realized its +danger, for the Emperor, suddenly turning toward the sofa, seized it, +and before she could stop him ran out of the room with it, toward the +Pavilion.</p> + +<p>Betsy in alarm quickly followed, but though she went fast, Napoleon went +faster, and had locked himself in his room before she reached him.</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy was now thoroughly frightened. She was sure that her pretty +gown, with its trimmings of soft roses, would be destroyed.</p> + +<p>"Oh, give it to me, please!" she cried in English, as she knocked upon +his door. But the Emperor made no reply. Then she made her appeal in +French, using every beseeching word she knew to get him to return it. +Still his only answer was a mocking laugh, repeated several times, and +an occasional word of refusal. Nor did any one else come to Betsy's +assistance. As short a time as the French had lived at The Briars there +was hardly one of them on whom Betsy had not played some trick, and even +the members of her own family were unsympathetic when a message was +brought her from Napoleon that he intended to keep her dress and that +she might as well make up her mind she could not go to the ball.</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy! At night, after many wakeful hours, she cried herself to +sleep. When morning came things did not seem so black. She felt sure +that the Emperor would not do what he had no right to do, keep her +pretty dress. He would surely send it back to her. But the morning wore +away, and, contrary to his habit, Napoleon did not come near his +neighbors of The Briars. Betsy sent several strongly appealing messages, +but to them all came only one reply:</p> + +<p>"The Emperor is sleeping, and cannot be disturbed."</p> + +<p>So strong indeed was the dignity with which Napoleon had hedged himself, +that even the daring Betsy did not venture to intrude upon him when he +was resting.</p> + +<p>Afternoon came, and at last it was almost time to start for the valley. +The family were to ride there on horseback, carrying their ball-dresses +in tin cases, and they were to dress at the house of a friend.</p> + +<p>The horses were brought around, the black boys came up with the tin +cases that held the dresses—the dresses of the rest of the party—but +nothing of poor Betsy's. The little girl's cup was full to overflowing; +she, the courageous, began to cry.</p> + +<p>She turned to one of the servants:</p> + +<p>"Has my dress been packed?"</p> + +<p>"Of course not; we didn't have it to pack."</p> + +<p>"Then I cannot go."</p> + +<p>Her tears had ceased. She was now too angry to cry longer.</p> + +<p>"I will go anyway," she said on second thought. "I will dance in my +morning frock, and then you will all feel sorry, for I will tell every +one how I have been treated."</p> + +<p>At this moment a figure was seen running down the lawn. It was Napoleon, +and Betsy gave a scream of delight as she saw that in his arms he +carried her dress.</p> + +<p>Her face brightened and she hastened to meet him.</p> + +<p>"Here, Mees Betsy," he cried; "I have brought your dress. I hope you are +a good girl now, and that you will like the ball; and mind you dance +with Gorgaud."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes!" said Betsy, too happy to get her dress to oppose any +suggestion, although General Gorgaud was no favorite of hers and she had +a long-standing feud with him.</p> + +<p>"You will find your roses still fresh," said the Emperor. "I ordered +them arranged and pulled out, in case any were crushed."</p> + +<p>To the little girl's delight, when she examined her gown she found that +no harm had been done it, in spite of the rough treatment it had +received at Napoleon's hands.</p> + +<p>"I wish you were going, sire," she said politely, as he walked beside +the horses to the end of the bridle path.</p> + +<p>"Ah, balls are not for me," he replied, shaking his head. Then he +stopped.</p> + +<p>"Whose house is that?" he asked, pointing to a house in the valley far +beneath. "It is beautifully situated," he continued; "some time I shall +visit it. Come, Las Cases, we must not detain the party."</p> + +<p>"We must hurry on," whispered one of those on horseback.</p> + +<p>"Good-bye, good-bye," and Napoleon and the elder Las Cases went down the +mountain toward the house that he had seen in the distance, while Betsy +and the others rode on toward the ball.</p> + +<p>Next day Napoleon said that he had been charmed with the beautiful place +in the valley that he and Las Cases had visited after he had seen the +others ride away to the ball. He had found the owner of the place, Mr. +Hodgdon, very agreeable, and at last he had ridden home on an Arab horse +that the latter had lent him.</p> + +<p>Before Napoleon withdrew within his shell he was not only inclined to +receive visitors but to pay visits. Betsy and Jane were riding gayly +along one day when they came unexpectedly upon Napoleon, also on +horseback.</p> + +<p>"Where have you been?" asked the venturesome Betsy.</p> + +<p>"To Candy Bay," replied Napoleon, without resenting her inquisitiveness.</p> + +<p>"Oh, didn't you think Fairyland just the most perfect place?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, I was delighted with it and with its venerable host, Mr. +D. He is a typical Englishman of the highest type."</p> + +<p>"Yes, and only think, he is over seventy years old and yet has never +left the island. I don't know what St. Helena would do without him," +said Jane.</p> + +<p>"I call him the good genius of the valley," added Betsy.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>A HORSE TAMER</h3> + + +<p>One morning, not long after the ball, Betsy took a slight revenge on the +Emperor. She had a certain favor to ask of him, and she had gone to look +for him in his favorite retreat in his garden, the Grapery, near a large +pond of clear water, full of gold and silver fish. Though called a +grapery, vines of many different kinds twined over the trellis-work, +while the grapevines were chiefly over an arbor at the end.</p> + +<p>In the sultriest weather this little arbor was cool and pleasant, and +here Napoleon was in the habit of taking his books and papers when he +wished to work out of doors.</p> + +<p>He had no regular hour for rising, and sometimes he would go there as +early as four o'clock and write until breakfast, or dictate to Las +Cases. No one was permitted to intrude on him there, no one but Betsy +occasionally, and then it could hardly be called intruding, for she +usually went at the Emperor's request, or, as it might be said, she had +a general invitation. When Betsy said, "Come and unlock the garden +door," Napoleon stopped, even in the middle of the sentence he might be +dictating, and she was always admitted. This general invitation, +however, might have been withdrawn if Betsy had not been too sensible to +interrupt the Emperor often. She was careful not to abuse what was for +her a special privilege.</p> + +<p>On this particular morning she went to the arbor door with some +hesitation. One of her friends from the valley, a very charming girl, +had come to pass the morning with her.</p> + +<p>"Now, Betsy," she had said, "I hear that you are a great favorite with +Napoleon and you must introduce me, for I am just dying to see him."</p> + +<p>"I do not think I can," replied Betsy. "It is a very hot morning and I +saw him go early to the arbor. I do not like to disturb him when he is +busy."</p> + +<p>"Busy! How can a prisoner be busy? It cannot matter whether he is idle +or busy."</p> + +<p>"He is not a prisoner, at least we don't call him so," retorted Betsy +indignantly, "and he is writing books."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I suppose you know best, but if you cannot be obliging, I shall be +mortified when I go home to say that I did not see him. I heard you knew +him so well, that I supposed you wouldn't mind introducing me."</p> + +<p>Thus put on her mettle, Betsy yielded against her better judgment and +went down to the arbor.</p> + +<p>At first there was no answer to her knock. Napoleon had fallen asleep +over his papers. At last she succeeded in arousing him. "What do you +want?" he asked rather gruffly as he came to the little door.</p> + +<p>"Let me in, and you will know."</p> + +<p>"No, tell me first what you want and then I will let you in."</p> + +<p>Betsy was not so sure of this, but since she could not help it, she had +to explain her errand.</p> + +<p>"I wish to introduce a young lady to you."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, indeed; I am not well."</p> + +<p>"But she will be so disappointed,—and she is so pretty."</p> + +<p>"Not like the lady I was obliged to say agreeable things to yesterday?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, she is very different. She is really young and handsome."</p> + +<p>"Very well, then, since you have promised, I suppose I must go, but come +in for a minute,"—this not very politely, it must be admitted. As Betsy +entered the little enclosure she rushed to the table and rather rudely +snatched up some of the papers on which Napoleon had been at work.</p> + +<p>"Now," she said, "for your ill-nature in making me stand so long at the +door, I shall keep these and find out all your secrets."</p> + +<p>The Emperor looked at Betsy with some alarm. He did not like to see his +papers in her hands.</p> + +<p>"Put them down instantly," he cried.</p> + +<p>"No, no," rejoined Betsy, running around the garden with the papers held +high above her head. The Emperor looked at her sternly.</p> + +<p>"Very well! Unless you obey me at once, I shall no longer be your +friend."</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus4" id="illus4"></a> +<img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>NAPOLEON</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<p>Hardly ever before had Betsy heard Napoleon speak so severely. She saw +that he was in earnest and that she must obey. She saw, too, that she +was in danger of losing his regard, and even without looking far ahead +she realized that he might not go to her friend, if her own foolishness +continued longer. So, giving up her trophies, she seized the Emperor's +hand and led him to the house.</p> + +<p>Now that he had yielded to Betsy's wishes, Napoleon was most courteous +to her guest. He talked graciously to the young lady, complimented her +on her beauty, and when she was ready to go home helped her on her +horse.</p> + +<p>"She is a very pretty girl," he said later to Betsy, "but she has the +airs of a <i>marchande de modes</i>."</p> + +<p>In thus intruding on Napoleon in his arbor study, Betsy had shown a +rashness that no one else in the family would have ventured to imitate. +One day, however, Betsy aided an intruder, whose behavior the Emperor +could not resent although he was disturbed by it.</p> + +<p>It happened in this way. One morning while Napoleon was busy in his +outdoor study making notes, Betsy was romping about in the garden near +by.</p> + +<p>"Come, Tom Pipes!" she called loudly; and a second later a beautiful +Newfoundland dog rushed to her side. Tom Pipes belonged to Sir George +Cockburn, the Admiral, and was well known to every one at The Briars, as +he was in the habit of accompanying his master on his occasional visits +to Mr. Balcombe's house. After his long run up the mountainous road +under the hot sun, Tom Pipes was always delighted to reach The Briars, +for the place had many ponds and little streams, into which the +intelligent dog would plunge for a swim.</p> + +<p>On this particular day, Tom needed no second word from Betsy to make him +accept her invitation to take a dip in the pond, stocked with gold and +silver fish, that was near Napoleon's arbor. The dog bathed and swam and +amused himself in the water, and at last clambered up the bank. A moment +later, as if tired from his exertions, he lay down by Napoleon's side. +Napoleon, like every one else at The Briars, knew and admired the dog, +and if he noticed Tom Pipes's approach had no objection to it. He was so +absorbed in his work, however, that he probably was hardly aware of the +nearness of the creature. After a few minutes' rest, Tom Pipes realized +that he had not completed his toilet. So, rising to his feet, he began +to shake himself vigorously. Instantly a shower of water bespattered +Napoleon's face and clothing, and drenched the papers on the table. The +sheet on which he was writing was entirely spoiled, and he himself +looked rather ridiculous, as he tried to brush off the drops of water. +In spite of his annoyance, Napoleon could not help laughing, for +although he scolded and did his best to drive Tom Pipes away, the dog +could not understand him. The two had been shipmates on the +<i>Northumberland</i>, and the dog was so delighted to see Napoleon again +that instead of running away, he kept jumping on him, leaving on the +Emperor's clothing repeated imprints of his wet and muddy paws.</p> + +<p>While all this was happening, Betsy, looking on, was convulsed with +laughter. She had not had this particular ending in mind when she had +called Tom Pipes to play with her, but no deliberate practical joke of +hers had ever been more amusing to her; and the best part of it was that +the Emperor could not really blame her nor punish Tom Pipes.</p> + +<p>Very often, however, it was not Betsy who got the best of a practical +joke. Not infrequently she lost her temper over little things that were +not worth minding, and Napoleon, to whom she was a constant source of +amusement, could not forbear teasing her, just to see how she would take +his fun. One day, looking over Betsy's shoulder, Napoleon discovered +that her translation was not finished. Her father required this bit of +work from her every day, and now Napoleon saw a way to pay her back in +some of her own coin.</p> + +<p>Taking the paper from Betsy, and holding it aloft, the Emperor +approached Mr. Balcombe, who was now mounting his horse for a ride.</p> + +<p>"Balcombe," he cried, "<i>voilà le thème de Mdlle. Betsee. Qu'elle a bien +travaillé!</i>" he concluded sarcastically.</p> + +<p>Betsy's father looked at the sheet of paper which was quite blank, and, +entering into the spirit of the thing with Napoleon, he professed to be +very angry. Calling Betsy to him, he reproved her severely.</p> + +<p>"If your translation is not ready when I return home to dinner, I will +punish you severely." Mortified by this reproof, Betsy cherished plans +of retaliation against the Emperor, which she carried out when she +pinioned him in the corner with her sword.</p> + +<p>Yet after all she deserved the reproof, since her father had made a +rigid rule that his daughters should have a translation from English +into French ready every morning before the hour when Napoleon visited +The Briars. He rightly considered it a great privilege for the young +girls that the great man should be willing to look at their French +themes, with a view to improving their use of his language.</p> + +<p>One morning the sisters observed Archambaud, Napoleon's groom, leading a +beautiful horse in front of the house.</p> + +<p>"That is the Arab they have bought for him to ride."</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't think he'd care to ride that horse," responded the timid +Jane. "See how he rears and plunges."</p> + +<p>"He's afraid of that white cloth on the lawn."</p> + +<p>"Yes, but they've put it there on purpose, to break him of the habit of +shying."</p> + +<p>While they were speaking, Napoleon approached.</p> + +<p>"Sir," said the confident Betsy, "I don't believe you can ride that +horse."</p> + +<p>"I! Don't you think me a good rider?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; I think you look better on horseback than any one I have ever +seen."</p> + +<p>"Only <i>look</i>!" Napoleon was trying to draw her out.</p> + +<p>"But you really ride better than anyone else, as I told you the other +day when you rode around the lawn. I didn't suppose any one could make a +horse wheel in such a narrow circle."</p> + +<p>"Yet you think this Arab could conquer me!"</p> + +<p>"But it looks so ugly,—I mean its disposition."</p> + +<p>The Emperor, without replying directly, called Archambaud to him and +bade him dismount, while he took his seat on the fiery horse. The girls +looked on in horror, but Napoleon only smiled the more, as he compelled +the horse to pass the cloth and continued his discipline until he made +the creature put his foot on it.</p> + +<p>Archambaud gazed open-mouthed, hardly knowing whether to laugh or to +cry. The Emperor persevered, and in a short time the horse was +absolutely obedient to him, and the groom, though chagrined at his own +failure, was pleased by the Emperor's success.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Napoleon, dismounting, "it would be a strange horse that did +not understand me. There was one that I rode once one hundred and +twenty-nine miles in one day. My mother was ill, and I had to do it; but +the horse, poor thing, died in the course of the night."</p> + +<p>"And you?" asked Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Ah, I was fatigued, but in or out of the saddle makes little difference +to me. I could almost sleep in the saddle. But, come, young ladies," he +continued, "I came here to invite you to see my china. It is all +unpacked."</p> + +<p>The girls followed the Emperor toward the house, and "Oh!" and "Ah!" +they exclaimed loudly as they looked at the beautiful dishes lately +arrived from France. Among them there were plates that had cost +twenty-five napoleons, each of them painted by a great artist. It was a +beautiful set, given to the Emperor by the people of Paris, and the +pictures were chiefly battle scenes commemorating his great victories.</p> + +<p>Before one of these paintings, Betsy stood enraptured. It represented a +slim youth, who looked almost tall, standing on a bridge and evidently +cheering others on, while nearer him were the dead and dying.</p> + +<p>"And this was really you?" exclaimed Betsy, for she recognized the +standing figure.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied Napoleon, sighing, as if for his dead youth. "I was that +boy. That was almost the beginning. I was more slender then than now."</p> + +<p>"This is the ibis?" asked Betsy, pointing to a bird that appeared on +many plates.</p> + +<p>"Yes; these are mostly pictures of Egypt;" and the ibis led him to a +long discourse on the Egyptian campaign.</p> + +<p>"But don't go to Egypt, Miss Betsy," he concluded. "You will catch +ophthalmia and spoil your eyes."</p> + +<p>"<i>Pourquoi avez-vous tourné turque?</i>" ["Why did you turn Turk?"] +interposed Betsy abruptly.</p> + +<p>"What is that to you?" he asked, laughing. The question referred to his +having become a Mahometan, but at first it was not clear to Napoleon +what she meant.</p> + +<p>"I mean, why did you change your religion?" Betsy explained.</p> + +<p>"Fighting is a soldier's religion," he replied. "I never changed that. +The other is the affair of women and priests. <i>Quant à moi</i>, I always +adopt the religion of the country I am in. And now," he said at last, +"you have seen all the plates, and there are your little brothers coming +up to find out what our Santini has made for them."</p> + +<p>Santini was Napoleon's lamplighter, a clever little fellow, who could +make all kinds of toys and was always ready to play amusing tricks to +entertain the children.</p> + +<p>"What has he now?" the little boys asked as the man approached with a +box under his arm.</p> + +<p>The children jumped about excitedly. Even the girls were curious, as, +taking the box from under his arm, Santini displayed a tiny carriage to +which were harnessed two pairs of mice. In spite of Santini's efforts, +they did not at once start off, as he had expected, to draw the +carriage, and the boys appealed to the Emperor.</p> + +<p>"Pinch the tails of the leaders, and then they will go," commanded +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>The boys obeyed, and to the great delight of the children the mice +started off at full speed. As they watched the carriage and the +scampering steeds, the children shouted and clapped their hands.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>One morning Betsy stood before Napoleon with an expression of +disappointment on her pretty face.</p> + +<p>"Of course I thought you meant it."</p> + +<p>"But you are a foolish child."</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't you give a ball before you leave The Briars? Not a very +great one, but just large enough for me to dance at. Soon you will be +away, at Longwood. I thought you promised."</p> + +<p>"You must have known I was in fun."</p> + +<p>At last Betsy noted a tone in the Emperor's voice that warned her to go +no further.</p> + +<p>"But since you are so disappointed," said Napoleon kindly, "you may have +whatever you wish to ask of me. <i>Dites-moi, que veux-tu que je fosse +Mdlle. Betsee pour te consoler?</i>" ["Tell me, what do you wish me to do +to console you?"]</p> + +<p>Betsy's face brightened.</p> + +<p>"Let us play the game of blindman's buff you have so often promised. +Then I will forgive you for not having the ball, and never speak of it +again."</p> + +<p>"Blindman's buff, as you describe it, did not seem to be just the game +for me. Can't you think of something else?"</p> + +<p>"But you promised, and your room is splendid for it, and it wouldn't be +any fun without you."</p> + +<p>Seeing that resistance was useless, the Emperor at last consented to +play. He began by binding his fine white handkerchief over Betsy's eyes.</p> + +<p>"Can you see?"</p> + +<p>"I cannot see you."</p> + +<p>But Betsy, although she spoke truly in saying that she could not see the +Emperor, could yet detect a glimmer of light. Napoleon waved his hands +before her eyes, and the shadows and rush of air made her start.</p> + +<p>"Ah, leetle monkey, you can see me!" he exclaimed, and he put another +handkerchief over her eyes.</p> + +<p>Then, with Betsy in the middle of the room, the game began. Soon the +young girl felt some one pull her nose roughly. She knew who had touched +her, for, as he crept toward her, she recognized Napoleon's footsteps. +As she darted forward, he bounded away just as her hand touched his. +Then, as she groped about, Napoleon pulled her ear. She was sure that +she had recognized him and putting out her hand she cried triumphantly:</p> + +<p>"I have you, I have you! Now it is your turn."</p> + +<p>When Betsy uncovered her eyes she was mortified to find that it was her +sister she had captured. Napoleon, it was true, had pulled her ear, but +he had accomplished this by reaching his hand over Jane's head. Every +one now laughed at Betsy.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Napoleon, "as you have made such a great mistake, you must +pay the penalty and remain blindfolded."</p> + +<p>The Emperor continued to tease and quiz, pulling Betsy's ear or her +dress, and always managing to escape being caught.</p> + +<p>At last, when the fun was at its height, a servant, entering, announced +that some one had called to see the Emperor. So the young people were +left to themselves for a while. The game was at an end.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mees Betsy," exclaimed the Emperor, when he returned to the room, +"you and all the other players must come and dine with me."</p> + +<p>"But we have already dined."</p> + +<p>"Yet you must come. Now, Navarre," said the Emperor, when they had +reached the marquee, "Mees Betsy is very fond of creams. Bring some for +her."</p> + +<p>"I cannot eat them," protested Betsy.</p> + +<p>"But you told me you were so fond of them. Come, it is not kind to +refuse."</p> + +<p>"But really I cannot eat."</p> + +<p>"Oh, nonsense!"</p> + +<p>Betsy made the effort, and ate half of a delicious cream.</p> + +<p>"That is not enough. I will feed you, little <i>bambino</i>, I will feed +you;" and with spoon in hand Napoleon actually began to feed the little +girl, laughing steadily at her as he did so.</p> + +<p>Only by running away did Betsy at last escape, and even then the Emperor +called after her:</p> + +<p>"Stop, Mees Betsy, do stay and eat another. You know you told me you +liked them."</p> + +<p>The next day Marchand brought to the sisters a box of bonbons with the +Emperor's compliments, and with them came some of the famous creams for +"Mdlle. Betsee."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>OFF FOR LONGWOOD</h3> + + +<p>New Year's Day was approaching, the day which French people love to +celebrate by making gifts to their friends and paying compliments.</p> + +<p>On this first New Year's morning of Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, +Betsy, looking from her window, saw young Tristram Montholon and Henri +Bertrand approaching.</p> + +<p>"Look, Jane," she cried excitedly, "they are carrying something; do you +suppose—"</p> + +<p>But without finishing her question or waiting for Jane to answer, Betsy +had taken the shortest way to gratify her curiosity by running to greet +the boys. Immediately the two little fellows saluted her with New Year +wishes and before she could ask a question had presented each +sister—for Jane had followed her—with a beautiful crystal basket.</p> + +<p>"Something Piron made for you," the boys explained; and the fingers of +the two girls trembled with excitement as they began to uncover the +contents of the baskets. Piron, Napoleon's <i>confiseur</i>, could do the +most remarkable things. There was nothing he could not reproduce in +sugar—palaces, triumphal arches, all kinds of curious structures—all +looking too good to eat. Already Betsy and Jane had received presents +from the Emperor, products of Piron's skill, accompanied usually by some +pleasant message. But this New Year's gift surpassed their expectations, +for when they tore off the white satin napkin, inside the baskets they +saw that delicious bonbons were heaped within them on Sèvres plates, a +plate for each girl.</p> + +<p>"Cupidons for the Graces," was Napoleon's message accompanying the +kindly gift.</p> + +<p>The first of the new year brought a certain regret to the family at The +Briars and to Napoleon as well. His new home at Longwood was nearly +ready for him, and this meant that he should see much less of the +charming family to which he had become attached. Longwood was several +miles away, and the chance was that there he would be guarded more +closely and that it might be harder for the girls to see him.</p> + +<p>For the two months before New Year's, Longwood was as busy a place as a +dock-yard in war. The Admiral was often there, hurrying lazy workmen. +Every day two or three hundred seamen carried timber and other building +materials and furniture to Longwood. Although Napoleon was in no hurry +to go there—indeed, he did not wish to go there at all—he watched the +workmen with great interest, as he observed them climbing up the heights +between Longwood and The Briars. He would really have preferred to make +The Briars his home, and he tried to get the Government to buy it for +him, but for reasons, perhaps political, this could not be accomplished. +Longwood, in situation, was bleak and unshaded, and so exposed that it +was not likely he could ever have a garden such as that at The Briars. +Water had to be brought from a distance of three miles, and the houses +that were to be remodelled for the French were known to be damp and +unhealthy. The farmhouses which Napoleon was to occupy were very plain +and have even been called a collection of huts. The expenditure of much +money could not make the place really comfortable.</p> + +<p>Napoleon had now been on the island nearly three months. No longer was +he regarded by any one with dread, at least by any one who had come +under his immediate influence. By the Balcombe family he was esteemed an +amiable friend. They had had the chance to see him under all kinds of +conditions, and if they did not regard him as exactly perfect, their +feeling for him was one not only of great sympathy but respect.</p> + +<p>As the time for his departure approached he came more often to the +drawing-room at The Briars.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said, half sadly, to the family, "I would rather stay here than +go to Longwood. I could never have imagined it possible to be happy on +such a horrible rock as St. Helena."</p> + +<p>One day General Bertrand, coming over from Longwood, told Napoleon the +house smelled so of paint that it was not fit for him at present. All +Napoleon's friends knew his great dislike for unpleasant odors, and that +paint was especially disagreeable to him.</p> + +<p>When the Emperor heard this report of the condition of Longwood, his +rage almost choked him. He walked up and down the lawn, gesticulating +wildly.</p> + +<p>"I will not live in a house that smells of paint. It is most horrible. I +will send to the Admiral and refuse to go."</p> + +<p>Betsy had hardly ever seen him display such temper as he now showed, +declaiming against the lack of consideration shown by the Governor. This +excitement was a result probably of his general dislike for his new +home. Although first interested in the workmen, toward the end he began +to complain of the fifes and drums with which the soldier workmen urged +themselves on as they wound their way up the hill. He had disliked +Longwood from the day when he had first seen it, just after his arrival +on the island, and what he heard about it had not changed his opinion. +No family, it was said, had ever lived there longer than a few months, +so unwholesome was its climate. This came from the situation of the +place—a plain on the top of a mountain, eighteen hundred feet high. It +was on the windward side of the island, and only for a month or six +weeks in the year was the weather pleasant. For three or four weeks it +had the sun directly overhead; the rest of the year was wet and +disagreeable. In the course of a single day there could be extreme +changes of heat and cold.</p> + +<p>At last the day of departure came. Sir George Cockburn and all the +Emperor's suite, some of whom lived at a distance from The Briars, came +over to escort him. The younger members of the family stood around the +house, showing their sadness very plainly.</p> + +<p>"You must not cry, Mdlle. Betsee," said Napoleon kindly. "You must come +to see me next week, and very often."</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, I want to, but that will depend on my father."</p> + +<p>Then Napoleon turned to Mr. Balcombe. "Balcombe, you must bring Misses +Jane and Betsee next week to see me, eh? When will you ride up to +Longwood?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed, I will bring them soon," responded Mr. Balcombe.</p> + +<p>"But where is your mother?" added the Emperor, casting his eye over the +group that had gathered to bid him good-bye.</p> + +<p>"She sent her kind regards to you," replied Betsy, "but is sorry that +she is not well enough to come down."</p> + +<p>"Then I will go up to her;" and Napoleon impulsively ran upstairs before +word could be given of his approach.</p> + +<p>When Napoleon entered her room, Mrs. Balcombe was lying down. The girls, +who had followed him, saw him sit down on the edge of her bed as he +thanked her very warmly for all her attention to him.</p> + +<p>"I should have preferred to stay at The Briars. I am sorry to go to +Longwood," he said; and then he handed a little package to her, saying, +"Now please give this to your husband as a mark of my friendship." +"This" proved to be a beautiful gold snuffbox.</p> + +<p>As he turned to leave the room, Napoleon saw the red-eyed Betsy standing +near the door.</p> + +<p>"Here, my dear," he said, putting something in her hand, "you can give +this as a <i>gage d'amour</i> to petit Las Cases."</p> + +<p>Betsy had no heart now to reply to a jest that ordinarily would have +brought out a spirited reply. But with the beautiful bon-bonnière in her +hand, she ran out of the room and took a post at a window where she +could see Napoleon. Her tears continued to flow and she found that she +could not bear to look longer at the departing Emperor. At last she had +to run to her own room, where, throwing herself on a bed, she wept +bitterly for a long time.</p> + +<p>It was true, as Betsy knew, that Longwood was not so very far from The +Briars, and that it was not likely that she would be restrained from +going there sometimes. Yet in spite of this knowledge the little girl +realized that she had lost a great deal by the departure of the Emperor +from her father's house.</p> + +<p>Friends, and enemies too, of Napoleon in Europe would have been amazed +at that moment to know that the man who so short a time before had been +dreaded as the commander of one of the world's greatest armies, was now +bewailed by a little girl as a lost playmate, for as playmate and friend +Betsy had certainly come to regard him, and she regretted his removal to +Longwood, not only because it was farther away, but because he was +likely to be hedged in with a greater ceremony that might prevent her +from seeing much of him.</p> + +<p>Mr. Balcombe went with Napoleon to Longwood, and when he returned the +girls asked eagerly how the Emperor liked the new residence.</p> + +<p>"He seemed out of spirits. He went soon to his own room and shut himself +in;" and at this report they sympathized with his loneliness.</p> + +<p>Betsy and Jane, fortunately, were not to be shut off altogether from +their friend. Their father was purveyor to the Emperor, and this meant +that he had a general order to visit Longwood and could take his +daughters with him. Thus it happened that hardly a week passed without +their going there to call, to their own great delight as well as to the +satisfaction of Napoleon, who never tired of them.</p> + +<p>Usually their visits were so timed that they could breakfast with the +Emperor at one, and for the most part they found him much the same as he +had been at The Briars. After a while, however, they could not help +noticing that he was less cheerful than formerly.</p> + +<p>About a week after his departure, Betsy and her mother and sister made +their first visit to Longwood to call on the Emperor.</p> + +<p>"Ah, there he is," Betsy cried; and looking ahead, they saw him seated +on the steps of the billiard-room, talking to little Tristram Montholon. +The moment Napoleon caught sight of them, he hastened toward them. +Saluting them pleasantly, he kissed Mrs. Balcombe and Jane on each +cheek, while he pinched Betsy's ear, as he said: "Ah, Mdlle. Betsee, +<i>etes-vous sage</i>, eh, eh?"</p> + +<p>Then, with the eagerness of a boy anxious to display a new toy, he +added, "What do you think of the place? I must show you over it. Come, +follow me!"</p> + +<p>So the Emperor walked ahead of Mrs. Balcombe and her daughters, leading +them first to his bedroom. Betsy thought this room small and cheerless, +though she did not say so to Napoleon.</p> + +<p>As she looked about she observed that the walls were covered with fluted +nankeen, that on the wall were many family pictures that she recognized, +while the bed was the well-known camp bed with the green silk hangings, +the bed Napoleon had used in his Marengo and Austerlitz campaigns. +There, on one side, was the silver wash-hand basin and ewer, and on the +mantelpiece over the bed was a portrait of Maria Louisa, so placed as to +be the first thing to meet Napoleon's eye when he awoke in the morning. +Off the bedroom was a small chamber with a bath that he showed to them. +A dressing-room, dining-room, billiard and drawing room made up the +Emperor's own special suite. The billiard-room, which had been built +according to Sir George Cockburn's orders, was large and well +proportioned. It was the best apartment in the house, and the girls +expressed their admiration for it, although Betsy, when her eye fell on +the billiard table and balls, thought the game a foolish one for men to +play.</p> + +<p>"Now to the kitchen!" Napoleon exclaimed, at last. "M. Piron will be so +pleased. Aha, Piron, here is Mees Betsee; you know how she loves creams. +Send her some and some bonbons. See, <i>regardez, mademoiselle, voilà un +mouton pour mon diner, dont on fait une lanterne</i>," pointing to the lean +carcass of a sheep hanging up in the kitchen, in which the French +servants had placed a candle which shone through. "But I know," he +continued, "you are dying to see the baby;" and the sisters went with +him to Madame Montholon's apartment to see her six-weeks-old girl.</p> + +<p>Napoleon took his little god-daughter in his arms.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you will let it fall!" cried Betsy as he dandled it clumsily.</p> + +<p>"No, no! See, it will let me do anything with it;" and he pinched little +Lili's nose and chin until she cried.</p> + +<p>"You do not know how to hold a baby," protested Betsy.</p> + +<p>"But I ought to know," responded Napoleon with a twinkle of amusement in +his eye. "Often and often I have nursed the King of Rome when he was +younger than Lili."</p> + +<p>After leaving the baby and Madame Montholon, the little girls went with +Napoleon to the garden outside.</p> + +<p>"It is not like The Briars," the Emperor said, shaking his head sadly.</p> + +<p>"I should say not;" and Betsy looked from the bare surroundings of the +house to the rugged mountain near by with its scraggly vegetation of +wild samphire, prickly pears and aloes, its iron-covered rocks, with +sharp cliffs and mysterious caves overshadowing the house.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's momentary sadness may have come from his casual allusion to +his son, the little King of Rome, the child whom he was never to see +again. Those who observed him when any allusion was made to his child +were always sure that Napoleon's heart held great fatherly affection. +Once when he had been a trifle downcast, Dr. O'Meara told him an +anecdote he had heard about the child. Immediately Napoleon smiled with +great animation and his face brightened. At other times when the +conversation turned on the child, he grew perceptibly sadder.</p> + +<p>His love for his own child made Napoleon undoubtedly more interested in +all children, and he was never ashamed, as some men are, to show this +interest in the children of his friends.</p> + +<p>This first visit to Longwood was in every way delightful to the sisters, +not only because there was much to see that was new to them in the +arrangement of the house and grounds, but because they found the Emperor +in one of his most boyish moods.</p> + +<p>"Now, ladies," he said, as the time for their return approached, "send +your horses off. They can meet you at Hutsgate, and I will take a drive +with you, if you will honor my jaunting car."</p> + +<p>Hutsgate was the residence of Madame Bertrand, where Mrs. Balcombe and +her daughters intended to call before returning to The Briars.</p> + +<p>"Yes," answered Betsy after a moment's hesitation, "we will drive with +you." She was not fond of driving, but did not dare to expose her +timidity to the ridicule of the Emperor.</p> + +<p>Hardly, however, had they started off when she felt that her fears were +justified. The daring Archambaud was their charioteer, and he drove +three unbroken Cape horses abreast.</p> + +<p>"This is the most dangerous road for driving on the island. No wonder +they call it the Devil's Punchbowl," cried poor Betsy. As she spoke, the +carriage seemed to be tipping over the edge of the declivity. Those +nearer the edge were in mortal terror, and the others looked as if they +would be crushed against the huge rock.</p> + +<p>"You are not frightened, are you, Mees Betsee?" asked Napoleon +mischievously. "Of course it is a narrow road; I only hope the horses +are not running away. They seem rather wild."</p> + +<p>Thankful enough was Betsy to arrive at Madame Bertrand's without +accident, and when she started for home she was more than eager to mount +her own quiet pony, Tom. She was not fond of driving over the dangerous +roads, and for a jaunting car she had a special dislike. Napoleon, +knowing this, could not resist the opportunity to tease her. Betsy, +indeed, was not the only one whom he liked to terrify by getting +Archambaud to display his reckless driving. It seemed, indeed, as if his +guest, as well as the Emperor, always took his life in his hands when +driving in the jaunting car.</p> + +<p>On a second visit not long after the first, when Betsy and Jane arrived +at Longwood, they found the Emperor firing at a target. He put the +pistol in Betsy's hands, saying, "Ah, <i>la Petite Tirailleuse</i>, I will +form a company of sharpshooters and you shall be captain."</p> + +<p>A little later he took her to the billiard-room and showed her the +billiard table.</p> + +<p>"It is a silly game for men," she said in her positive way, "too much +like marbles. I wouldn't play it."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do try," urged the Emperor; but wilful Betsy replied only by aiming +the ball at his fingers, as he rested his hand on the board.</p> + +<p>Later, however, the sisters learned to play the game, and at the +billiard table they passed many an hour.</p> + +<p>Napoleon himself taught Betsy how to handle a cue, but, when tired of +the lesson, she would often aim at his fingers, and she was always +delighted when a well-directed shot made him cry out.</p> + +<p>The visits of Betsy and her sisters gave pleasure to the fallen great +man; still, as time went on, they could not help noticing that he was +less and less buoyant. In their presence he tried to lay aside his +troubles, and continued unfailingly kind.</p> + +<p>He and the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, were always at swords' points, +and this wore on his spirits. Moreover, the health of Napoleon was +impaired, and as he realized this he grew more and more gloomy.</p> + +<p>Sir Hudson Lowe was very particular that the passes issued for visitors +should be used only as they had been made out.</p> + +<p>One day Betsy went to Longwood with a pass that prescribed a visit to +General Bertrand. But when Betsy, wandering about, caught sight of +Napoleon in the billiard-room, she could not resist the temptation of +playing a game with him. Her father vainly tried to remonstrate with +her. Far from listening to him, she bounded off.</p> + +<p>Instead of playing billiards, however, Napoleon asked her to read to him +from a book that he had lately received from England. It was by Dr. +Warden, surgeon of the <i>Northumberland</i>, describing in English +Napoleon's voyage to St. Helena. Napoleon had not made great headway in +reading English, and Betsy went through several chapters with him, +turning them into her French that he might better understand.</p> + +<p>Napoleon listened attentively to her reading. "Dr. Warden's word is a +very true one," he said.</p> + +<p>Betsy finished her stay at Longwood this day by remaining awhile with +Madame Bertrand.</p> + +<p>The news of Betsy's visit to Napoleon without the requisite permission +reached the Governor's ears; and Mr. Balcombe was severely reproved. In +fact, he nearly lost his position. The Governor from the first insisted +that Mr. Balcombe always acted in the interest of Napoleon, and hence, +as he viewed it in his narrow-mindedness, against the interests of the +English Government. Thus we can see that Napoleon's young neighbor was +wrong in doing things that drew on her father the Governor's reproof.</p> + +<p>"My dears," said Mr. Balcombe one morning, "I am going to Longwood +to-morrow, and the Emperor has expressly asked me to bring you. He has +something curious to show you."</p> + +<p>"What can it be?" the girls asked each other. This special invitation, +promising a special pleasure, made them eager to start when the next +morning came.</p> + +<p>When they reached Longwood with their father they found Napoleon +examining a machine whose use they could guess.</p> + +<p>"Come, come, young ladies," the great man cried, when he caught sight of +them, "come see me make ice. You have not been here for a long time, +Mees Betsy, what is the matter?"</p> + +<p>"I have been ill,—a sunstroke."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am sorry! What foolish thing did you do?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Jane and I walked with Captain M. to call on Mrs. Wilks. We went +over the mountain, two thousand feet, and also across Francis Plain, and +down into the valley, up the mountain ridges."</p> + +<p>Napoleon expressed his astonishment at the extent of their walk.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we were nearly dead when we reached Plantation House, but the Lady +Governess and her daughter there were so kind, and at noon we went to +Fairyland."</p> + +<p>When Betsy had told her story, Napoleon explained the air-pumps and the +process of ice-making. He was evidently proud of his own proficiency.</p> + +<p>"Now, Mr. Balcombe, get an elementary chemistry for Miss Betsy and make +her study every day, and the good O'Meara shall be her examiner."</p> + +<p>While he talked Napoleon was watching the machine.</p> + +<p>"Do try my ice," he exclaimed at last, when he had a cupful.</p> + +<p>"Here, Mees Betsee, take this!" and he put a large piece in her mouth.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mees Betsee, why make such faces?"</p> + +<p>This was the first ice that had ever been seen on the island, and those +who had never been off St. Helena were naturally amazed when it was +shown to them.</p> + +<p>"It can't be frozen water," exclaimed Miss de F., a young St. Helena +lady who had accompanied the Balcombes on this visit to Longwood; and +she had to hold a piece in her hand before she believed it. Then she +gave a little scream. The glassy substance was so cold at first that she +was ready to drop it. A moment later when it began to melt and the water +streamed down her fingers, she realized that she had actually seen a +very strange thing, the turning of water into ice by artificial means.</p> + +<p>Betsy long remembered the day when she had first seen the wonderful ice +machine, and perhaps her remembrance of it was intensified because on +that same morning Napoleon permitted her to cut from his coat an +embroidered bugle, and the coat was the one he had worn at Waterloo. +Napoleon himself was as pleased as a child with the ice machine, and to +more than one person expressed his regret that he had not had it in +Egypt, where its use would have saved the lives of many suffering +soldiers.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>THE GOVERNOR'S RULES</h3> + + +<p>After Napoleon had been at St. Helena a few months, newspapers from +England began to arrive with narratives of many of the happenings at The +Briars.</p> + +<p>One journal contained a letter from the Marquis de Montchenu, describing +all the romping games at The Briars, such as the game of blindman's +buff, the sword scare, and other things in which the children had taken +part.</p> + +<p>Special comments were made on the manners of Betsy, and the writer said, +"She is the wildest little girl I have ever met; she seems <i>folle</i>." +This letter had been translated into French and German journals, so that +Betsy Balcombe's name was now widely known.</p> + +<p>Mr. Balcombe was greatly enraged by this letter, and wished to call the +Marquis to account for his ill nature, but Mrs. Balcombe persuaded him +to desist from extreme measures, and in the end the Marquis himself made +an apology.</p> + +<p>Napoleon found some amusement in Betsy's fierce anger against the +critical Frenchman. One day Dr. O'Meara called at The Briars, on the way +to St. James Valley, with a message from Napoleon to tell Betsy how she +could revenge herself on the tale-bearer.</p> + +<p>The Marquis, a noble of the old school, was in the habit of wearing an +elaborate wig with a long cue.</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsy, if you will burn off the cue with caustic, I will reward +you with the prettiest fan in Solomon's shop, if you will send the +pigtail to me," suggested Napoleon to Betsy as a plan of revenge.</p> + +<p>"<i>Eh, bien</i>," said the Emperor, when next he saw Betsy, "Mdlle. Betsy, +<i>as tu obei mes ordres et gagné l'éventail</i>?" ["Have you obeyed my +orders and won the fan?"]</p> + +<p>"Oh, sire, how I wanted to do it, but my brother would not let me!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, Mees Betsy," and Napoleon pinched her ear, "<i>tu commences à etre +sage</i>. Here, O'Meara, have you brought the fan I promised Miss Betsy?"</p> + +<p>"No, sire, there were none pretty enough for her in Solomon's shop."</p> + +<p>Betsy's face grew serious.</p> + +<p>"Do not look sad," expostulated Napoleon. "You shall have something +prettier than a fan;" and Betsy, comprehending, wondered what the +present would be that he evidently intended to give her.</p> + +<p>In a few days a package came to The Briars, addressed to Betsy. Opening +it, she saw a ring of brilliants, forming the letter N, surmounted by a +small eagle.</p> + +<p>This was a wonderful gift for a little girl, and at first she could +hardly believe that it was for her. Later she found there was no +mistake. It was really hers, and she kept it always.</p> + +<p>Although Betsy was not permitted to carry out Napoleon's proposed plan +of revenge on the tale-telling Marquis, she expressed her feelings in a +way of her own by relating to Napoleon an anecdote about him.</p> + +<p>"The Marquis," she said, "is extremely fond of cauliflower, a vegetable +that is very hard to get here on the island. Well, the other day, he +dined with us and we had the most delicious cauliflower. Somehow he +didn't see it until it was being removed and then he cried to his +aide-de-camp, who had neglected to point it out, '<i>Bête, pourquoi-ne m'a +tu pas dit qu'il-y-avait des choux fleurs?</i>' ['Idiot, why didn't you +tell me that there was cauliflower?'] Now, wasn't he greedy?" asked +Betsy, glad enough to have a story to tell that placed the Marquis at a +disadvantage.</p> + +<p>The Marquis de Montchenu, for whom Betsy had professed this dislike, was +one of the three Commissioners sent by the Allied Powers to keep watch +on Napoleon. The other two were the Baron Sturmer, representing Austria, +and Count Balmain, sent by Russia. While England provided the prison and +jailer for Napoleon, these Commissioners were asked to observe +everything and report to their respective countries. France and Austria +had ordered their Commissioners to see Napoleon in their official +capacity every day in order to assure themselves that he was actually +alive. Baron Balmain was instructed by Russia neither to seek nor avoid +an occasion to see him. To describe the vain efforts of the French and +Austrian Commissioners to see Napoleon would make an entertaining story. +Napoleon's orders to his household were not to admit any one presenting +a pass from the British authorities. But as Sir Hudson Lowe would permit +no one to go to Longwood without a pass from him, those who wished to +see Napoleon were in a dilemma.</p> + +<p>Things were not bettered when Napoleon wrote Sir Hudson Lowe, desiring +him not to present any one to him, as in future he would receive no +visitors. He acted as if he thought it his duty to shut himself up, in +order that public opinion might be turned against the narrow-mindedness +of the Governor. After this few of the people of St. Helena tried to +call on him. From delicacy of feeling, or because they feared his anger, +civilians and military residents avoided Longwood. Only the two +Commissioners and the resident English officer made an effort to see him +daily, and their efforts, merely to get a glance at him through window +or door, were most absurd. The officer sometimes saw him, but the +Commissioners never had the privilege. The Marquis de Montchenu beheld +him at last only when he lay dead. Baron Sturmer and Baron Balmain left +St. Helena while Napoleon was still alive without having met him.</p> + +<p>As to Betsy Balcombe, though she had her own opinion, on account of her +father's position she could not express herself strongly about Sir +Hudson Lowe.</p> + +<p>"Has any one run away with a favorite <i>robe de bal</i>, or is the pet black +nurse, old Sarah, dead?" asked Napoleon one day, detecting a serious +look on Betsy's face. "What can have occurred?"</p> + +<p>Betsy's face did not brighten.</p> + +<p>"I am feeling very sad," she said, "because Mrs. Wilks, our kind +Lady-Governess, has gone away. Every one was at the boat to see her go, +and at the castle. It was like a funeral, no one with a dry eye, and all +saying, 'God bless you, and a safe and happy voyage home.'"</p> + +<p>Betsy paused for a moment, then continued: "Then they all followed the +Governor and his family to the barge that was to take them to Havana, +and groups of grief-stricken ladies wandered under the peepul trees of +Sisters' Walk, watching the vessel."</p> + +<p>"Did you cry too?" asked Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"Indeed I did."</p> + +<p>"I regret," added Napoleon, "that I had not known the Lady-Governess; +she must have been so amiable."</p> + +<p>Napoleon, as well as Betsy, probably realized that but for his coming +the people of St. Helena might have retained their popular Governor, +Mark Wilks. Before the arrival of Napoleon, the Governor of St. Helena +was paid by the East India Company, though appointed by the Crown; but +with so important a personage as Napoleon held there in captivity, it +seemed wisest that full responsibility for him should be laid on the +English Government. It was therefore decided, as we have before seen, +that as soon as possible a Governor of higher rank should be sent out in +place of Governor Wilks. The change at this time seemed unfortunate for +the people of St. Helena. In Governor Wilks they had found an officer +who had their interests more at heart than any preceding Governor. Could +he have been Napoleon's custodian, the Emperor's exile would have been +very much happier than it was with Sir Hudson Lowe in charge.</p> + +<p>Betsy, like all who came in contact with Napoleon, sympathized deeply +with his annoyance at the restrictions imposed on him by Sir Hudson +Lowe. The story of the discussion between Napoleon's friends and the +supporters of the Governor would be a long one to tell, but the fact +remains, when all is said in Sir Hudson Lowe's favor, that he was far +too narrow-minded for the important position that he held. Sir Hudson +Lowe was a brave man and had served honorably in many wars, but the +responsibility of guarding the fallen Emperor was too great for him, and +his behavior toward the exile was in every way unfortunate.</p> + +<p>Napoleon had been on the island just six months when Sir Hudson Lowe +arrived. From the first he seemed possessed by the idea that Napoleon +was constantly watching for some chance to escape. To those nearest +Napoleon at St. Helena, the Governor's fears that he might escape seemed +absurd. From the island posts approaching ships were seen twenty-four +leagues off. Two ships of war were always cruising to windward and +leeward. Only guard-boats were allowed out at night. All fishing boats +were numbered and had to anchor every evening at sunset under the +supervision of a lieutenant of the navy. No foreign vessels were +permitted to anchor unless under great distress, and then no one from +them could land until an officer and a party from the British ships went +on board to take charge while they stayed. If he had cared to try +flight, Napoleon could hardly have made his escape.</p> + +<p>In the very beginning, when Lord Bathurst issued instructions for the +custody of Napoleon, he expressed the earnest desire of the Prince +Regent that no greater personal restraint might be employed than was +necessary to make sure that Napoleon was securely held on the island.</p> + +<p>Sir Hudson Lowe, however, in carrying out the instructions of the +British Government, interpreted them as meaning that he should have +constant information about all Napoleon's doings. To accomplish this +was, of course, impossible, and his vain efforts made him the +laughing-stock of the English as well as the French. In his very first +interview with Napoleon the new Governor managed to offend him +seriously, and Napoleon after this was so unwilling to see him that the +two met only five times more during the five years that intervened until +Napoleon's death; and these five interviews were all within the first +three months after Sir Hudson Lowe's arrival.</p> + +<p>Under the most favorable conditions Sir Hudson Lowe could hardly have +been popular with the islanders themselves. Governor Wilks, his +predecessor, had been unusually loved, and his charming wife and +daughter had a firm hold on the affections of all the people of St. +Helena. Betsy, as we have seen, was extremely fond of Mrs. Wilks, whom +she called the "Lady-Governess," and she had a young girl's admiration +for the beautiful Miss Wilks, whose praises she continually sang to +Napoleon. One day, not long before Miss Wilks left the island, Napoleon +showed Betsy a portrait that General Gorgaud had drawn from memory of +Miss Wilks, saying, "You think Miss Wilks beautiful. Gorgaud thinks so +too, and this is his portrait from memory."</p> + +<p>"Ah," replied Betsy, gazing at the portrait, "she is far more beautiful; +and she is so clever and amiable."</p> + +<p>"You are certainly enthusiastic, and I quite long to see her," responded +Napoleon, evidently appreciative of Betsy's enthusiasm for her friend.</p> + +<p>During the first months of Napoleon's exile, Colonel Wilks continued to +act as Governor, but the direct custody of Napoleon was the business of +Sir George Cockburn, who had brought the illustrious prisoner on the +<i>Northumberland</i> from England. Not long after Napoleon went to Longwood +an amusing incident happened, resulting from the panic of Captain +Poppleton, the orderly officer whose duty it was to guard Napoleon on +his rides.</p> + +<p>The two sisters were sitting at dinner, with their father and Admiral +Cockburn.</p> + +<p>"See," cried Betsy to Jane, "here comes Captain Poppleton, looking as if +he had lost his wits. Why is he alone? Don't you remember that he set +out with the Emperor and Generals Bertrand, Montholon, and Gorgaud?"</p> + +<p>"But you wouldn't expect them all to march in, when we have company, +too," whispered Jane, looking toward the end of the table where her +father was talking with his especial guest, the Admiral, Sir George +Cockburn.</p> + +<p>Before the girls could speculate further, Captain Poppleton broke out +excitedly:</p> + +<p>"Oh, sir, I have lost the Emperor."</p> + +<p>All looked up, but the Admiral, whom Captain Poppleton addressed, did +not change expression as the officer continued:</p> + +<p>"We were riding along one of the paths on the side of the mountain, when +suddenly the Emperor turned short around to the left and almost flew up +the mountain. None of the generals accompanied him. I started, but I +could not follow. My horse would not take the steep ascent. So I came +back to you. If there is a plot—"</p> + +<p>"Nonsense!" cried the Admiral, and his tone was echoed by Mr. Balcombe. +It was natural that Captain Poppleton should feel alarm at the sudden +disappearance. But the Admiral was made of sterner stuff. "Go back to +Longwood," he said quietly to the officer. "You will find Napoleon +there."</p> + +<p>This proved to be the case, for when he reached Longwood the Emperor was +at dinner, and he laughed at poor Captain Poppleton for his fears.</p> + +<p>If Betsy had ventured to express herself regarding the trouble between +Sir Hudson Lowe and the Emperor in this, she certainly would not have +favored the former.</p> + +<p>"What do you really think," she asked her father one day, "about this +quarrel between the Governor and the Emperor?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Balcombe very properly, as an officer of the Government, was not +inclined to give a direct reply. But Betsy understood him, when he said:</p> + +<p>"Their disputes are generally on subjects so trivial that they hardly +seem worth quarrelling about."</p> + +<p>But she realized that to Napoleon these disputes were not trivial when +she came upon him one day reading an English book. Looking at it, as he +held it before her, she saw that it was a copy of "Æsop's Fables," a +book that in a translation children often use to improve their knowledge +of French.</p> + +<p>The page was open at "The Sick Lion." This is the famous account of the +lion that, when lying sick, receives visits from many other animals who, +instead of sympathizing, exult over his downfall. The lion makes no +complaint until a donkey kicks him in the face. "I could have borne +anything but this," he said.</p> + +<p>As Betsy looked at the open page, Napoleon, pointing to the woodcut, +said, "It is myself and your Governor." His expression showed the depth +of his feeling on the subject.</p> + +<p>In little ways Betsy was disappointed by the regulations made for +Napoleon by Sir Hudson Lowe. She was exceedingly anxious, for example, +that Napoleon should see a huge boa constrictor that a captain of an +incoming vessel had brought to the island.</p> + +<p>"It is a most wonderful creature," she said, as she described it to the +Emperor. "They put a live goat into its cage, and I really believe that +it swallowed it whole, for I could see the poor thing's horns poking +almost through the boa constrictor's skin."</p> + +<p>The Emperor smiled as Betsy told her tale. "Your boa constrictor sounds +like the Marquis de Montchenu, or, rather, the latter, from the amount +of food I have heard he consumes, must resemble a boa constrictor."</p> + +<p>"He really does," responded Betsy. "Oh, I wish you could see him—not +the Marquis, but the boa constrictor."</p> + +<p>"I should like to see it; I will ask them to have it brought here to +me."</p> + +<p>As Betsy herself also desired this, she was naturally disappointed when +those in authority decided that the boa constrictor could not be shown +to Napoleon.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was not the only one on the island affected by the many +regulations made for his safety in the matter of sentries. The question +of passes, always troublesome to visitors, and the fact that after the +sunset gun had been fired no one could pass the sentries without giving +the countersign, were annoyances to all on the island. Once Betsy +herself had an experience that was far from agreeable, although she was +not the only one to suffer, as the incident concerned many others.</p> + +<p>As might be supposed, picnics were a favorite form of diversion with the +people of St. Helena, and they were particularly delightful when, as +usually happened, young and old took part in them. One day there was a +large picnic near the celebrated Friar's Valley. The Balcombes and all +their friends were to go to it.</p> + +<p>The day proved pleasant fortunately, for the journey was difficult. +After amusing themselves for hours, the party was at last surprised to +hear the sunset gun from Ladder Hill. They found that none of the party +had the countersign for the night, and they knew that if they ventured +forth without it they would be made prisoners. This was one of the many +strict rules made by the Governor to prevent the mishap of helpers +coming to Napoleon after dark.</p> + +<p>At last some of them decided that it was better to make an effort to +reach home rather than spend the night outdoors. Betsy and her parents +were among those who ventured to go toward home.</p> + +<p>It was a starlight night, but the road was bad. Mr. Balcombe at last +hailed a light.</p> + +<p>"Who goes there?" cried the sentry.</p> + +<p>"A friend."</p> + +<p>"Advance, friend, and give the countersign."</p> + +<p>Now this was just what none of the party could do, and as protests were +useless, they all had to spend the night in the guard-room, where they +were half eaten by fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects.</p> + +<p>Those who had stayed on the picnic grounds laughed well at the more +venturous who had gone ahead. Napoleon, when he heard the story, was +highly diverted, pleased to have so good a chance to blame the +Government.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>ALL KINDS OF FUN</h3> + + +<p>Any one who had looked in on the sisters one day would have seen that +they were greatly excited. Just at this time they were visiting Madame +Bertrand, and during their stay a ball was to be given.</p> + +<p>Plans that promised much pleasure for them had been made. They were to +dine with the Emperor, and then go on to Deadwood in his carriage.</p> + +<p>"Don't jerk so, please," cried Betsy, while the maid was arranging her +hair.</p> + +<p>"But you must have this Chinese coiffure, if you are going to the ball. +You would not wish to go looking like a little girl."</p> + +<p>"Oh, no," responded Betsy faintly, inwardly rebellious, as her hair was +jerked and strained on top of her head. She was willing to bear pain for +the sake of appearing well, but when she looked in the glass she thought +that she had never seen anything so hideous as the coiffure that the +maid had arranged with such care. She no longer desired to appear like a +young lady. Her hair had been drawn back so tight that her eyes were +fairly starting from the socket. Had there been time she would have +pulled the coiffure down, and indeed she was ready to cry with vexation, +but she did not really dare to disarrange it now, for she dreaded the +Emperor's ridicule. How he would laugh at the funny Chinese coiffure! In +a few minutes she was to appear before him.</p> + +<p>To her great surprise, when she and her sister entered the dining-room, +the Emperor spared her, saying only:</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsy, this is the only time I have ever seen you look really +neat; but I don't like your frock. What is the matter?"</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy! She was almost upset by the Emperor's tone. She looked at +him closely, and decided that he meant just what he said. She had +thought her little frock so pretty. Now, what could be the matter with +it?</p> + +<p>The Emperor understood her look of inquiry and answered in words.</p> + +<p>"It is too short," he said. "You must have it made long before the +ball."</p> + +<p>He was certainly in earnest, and the young girl was really troubled. +"But I cannot do anything to it," she protested; "there is not time."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but no one will wish to dance with you."</p> + +<p>"It isn't as bad as that!"</p> + +<p>"But it is."</p> + +<p>Betsy knew that Napoleon meant what he said. He knew more about balls +and ball-gowns than any young girl on the island. Indeed, if his +criticism had not been based on his knowledge of the customs of the +modish world, Betsy would still have been inclined to trust to his +judgment; for though at times she seemed to trifle with his wishes, in +her heart she was always ready to please him.</p> + +<p>So now, as sensitive as any more conventional girl to the impression she +might make at a ball, Betsy ran off to find Josephine, the maid.</p> + +<p>Josephine shook her head when Betsy first told her tale of woe, but at +last she consented to remedy the defect by lengthening the frock. There +was but one thing to do, and consequently some of the tucks were let +down.</p> + +<p>Neither Betsy nor the maid was proud of the result of their efforts. The +effect was not good, and Betsy had to take what consolation she could +from the fact that she had obeyed Napoleon.</p> + +<p>A dinner with the Emperor was always delightful to Betsy and Jane, and +this one was no exception. When it was over the Emperor rose abruptly +and all went with him to the drawing-room. There the delectable coffee +for which Le Page was famous was brought in, and Betsy, feeling more +grown up than ever, drank a cup into which, disdaining tongs, she +dropped a lump of sugar.</p> + +<p>Soon the carriage was announced, and all set out, Madame Bertrand ahead, +carrying her baby, next little Arthur, then Mrs. Balcombe, and finally +Betsy and Jane and General Gorgaud.</p> + +<p>When the signal was given, the spirited Cape steeds tore away, dashing +from side to side, while Madame Bertrand screamed loudly to Archambaud +to stop, though without avail, until the carriage ran into a gumwood +tree.</p> + +<p>Except for the shaking up and the fright, none of the party was injured, +and when the door was opened all scrambled hastily out. Nothing would +induce them to intrust themselves again to the carriage and the reckless +Archambaud, and though the rain was falling heavily they preferred to +walk over the muddy road to Deadwood. They had nearly a mile to go, and +it was especially hard for Madame Bertrand, whose baby would not be +carried.</p> + +<p>Betsy, though she knew that she herself probably looked equally absurd, +could not help laughing when she saw Madame Bertrand arrayed in one of +Mrs. Balcombe's dresses, half a yard too short and small in every way, +which she had to borrow while her own clothes were drying.</p> + +<p>But the ball itself was pleasant and all felt repaid for going, even +though they had to walk home in the mist.</p> + +<p>The next morning, as ever, Betsy was the victim of Napoleon's raillery.</p> + +<p>"So you had a good time last evening, Mees Betsy. I hear you danced very +well and looked well, and might have been Baroness Sturmer's younger +sister, you looked so much like her."</p> + +<p>This compliment pleased Betsy mightily, as doubtless Napoleon realized, +for the little English girl thought Baroness Sturmer, wife of the +Austrian Commissioner, the prettiest woman she had ever seen.</p> + +<p>Not long after breakfast the visitors from The Briars and several from +Longwood went to the town and to the <i>Newcastle</i> in the bay, on board of +which Sir Pultney and Lady Malcom were to give a breakfast in honor of +Lord Amherst.</p> + +<p>When next the sisters visited Longwood, "Ah, Mees Betsee," cried +Napoleon, "I have heard great stories of you. You locked up little Miss +P. the other day, while the other ladies were being shipped over the +side of the frigate to return to shore. When they missed her Captain G. +had to go back to rescue her."</p> + +<p>As Betsy did not deny this charge, Napoleon, turning to her father, +exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Balcombe, you must set her a task."</p> + +<p>"Indeed I must," responded Betsy's father gravely.</p> + +<p>"But I have been punished enough," protested Betsy. "Lady Lowe scolded +me, too, and desired me to use my reason and not to be childish. I +wondered at her lack of perception in giving me credit for what I never +possessed. But I did admire Lord Amherst," she added, a few minutes +later.</p> + +<p>"He must be a very fascinating man," responded Napoleon, "so to have +impressed your youthful fancy."</p> + +<p>The kindness that Madame Montholon showed Betsy in allowing her maid to +arrange the young girl's hair in a style suitable for a ball, an +undoubted kindness in spite of the discomfort it produced, was in a line +with many other things that she and Madame Bertrand did for the Balcombe +girls. Madame Bertrand was particularly fond of Betsy and often invited +her to her house. She advised her about her studies and, to a certain +extent, supervised some of them. Madame Bertrand had many +accomplishments, some of which she tried to impart to Betsy. Singing was +one of them, and under her instruction Betsy made considerable progress. +Napoleon sometimes listened to their little concerts in the drawing-room +at Longwood. One evening when Betsy was to sing a part from "Les +Styriens," the piano was so out of tune that Napoleon was greatly +distressed. He at once sent for Mr. Guiness, the bandmaster of the +<i>General Kid</i>, then in St. James's Harbor, the only man at hand who +could properly tune it, and was naturally annoyed when the Governor +expressed his unwillingness to have Mr. Guiness come.</p> + +<p>Of all those who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena, Madame Bertrand had +made, perhaps, the greatest sacrifices. She was born in Martinique and +was partly of Irish descent, through her father, whose name was Dillon. +In spite of her warm devotion to Napoleon, she almost went out of her +mind when she heard that he was doomed to imprisonment in St. Helena and +that her husband would follow him. Later, however, she became resigned +and did not try to dissuade her husband from accompanying the fallen +Emperor. Undoubtedly she thought of her children and all that they would +lose in living so far from France, but when they were at last in their +new home she bore inconveniences patiently and tried in every way to +make life pleasant for those around her.</p> + +<p>"Come," said Napoleon one day when Betsy was wandering around the +Longwood grounds, "come, and I will show you some pretty toys."</p> + +<p>Following the Emperor to the billiard-room, she saw upon the table some +gorgeously carved chessmen sent to him by Mr. Elphinstone. Each piece +was perfect. The castles, surmounting lifelike elephants, were filled +with warriors discharging arrows. The knights, cased in armor, were on +beautifully caparisoned horses. The mitred bishops were in flowing +robes, and the pawns each represented a man of a different nation. The +carving was wonderful. Such work had never before left China, and Betsy +saw that Napoleon was as pleased as a child with a new plaything.</p> + +<p>"I have just finished a game of chess with Lady Malcom," he said, "and +she has beaten me because I paid more attention to the men than the +game."</p> + +<p>Besides the chessmen Mr. Elphinstone had sent workboxes and card +counters with the various tradespeople of China minutely carved on them.</p> + +<p>Betsy's interest in these beautiful things was increased by hearing how +Mr. Elphinstone happened to think of sending gifts to Napoleon. He +wished to show his gratitude for Napoleon's kindness to his brother, +severely wounded on the field of Waterloo. Napoleon, it seems, +perceiving the wounded man and hearing that he was faint from loss of +blood, sent to him a goblet of wine from his own canteen.</p> + +<p>"The chessmen are too pretty for St. Helena," said Napoleon; "I must +send them to the King of Rome."</p> + +<p>Among Mr. Elphinstone's presents, Napoleon showed Betsy a superb ivory +tea-chest, which when opened showed a perfect model of the city of +Canton. Beneath it were packages of fine tea, done up in fantastic +shapes.</p> + +<p>"Ah," said Napoleon, turning to Betsy, "this reminds me that when I was +Emperor I did not permit any tea in my dominion, except that grown in +Switzerland. No one could tell the difference from the Chinese tea. I +also cultivated the beet-root to make sugar, instead of depending on +foreign goods."</p> + +<p>Napoleon was probably no less pleased with the chessmen because each +piece had a small eagle carved on it. When Sir Hudson Lowe heard of the +eagles he regretted that they had escaped his notice, and that he had +given permission for the gifts to be received at Longwood.</p> + +<p>Among the Emperor's treasures were many rare coins and seals which he +often permitted his little neighbor to handle and examine. Yet even +while she appreciated this special privilege, Betsy could not let her +sense of obligation entirely suppress her love of mischief.</p> + +<p>Once, for instance, when Betsy approached a table at which Napoleon was +seated, the little girl, unperceived by him, saw that he was in the act +of sealing a letter with one of his precious seals. The temptation was +too strong to resist, and she surprised Napoleon by joggling his arm. +This sudden movement caused a drop of hot sealing wax to fall on his +hand, and as a blister was the result, the pain for the moment must have +been extreme. Nevertheless, Napoleon said hardly a word of reproof, and +his patience was so remarkable that Betsy immediately apologized for her +mischief.</p> + +<p>Yet it was not unusual for Napoleon to show patience when teased. In all +his sports with the children, even when they took liberties that their +parents would have disapproved, Betsy never saw him show any temper. He +never fell back on his rank or age, but always professed to be one of +themselves, a good comrade, claiming only for his own part the right to +tease them when he chose.</p> + +<p>What wonder that Las Cases, the dignified Chamberlain, sometimes stood +aghast at the merry pranks shared by his illustrious master and his +young friends; but even with the eyes of the disapproving Las Cases upon +her, Betsy always enjoyed her visits to Longwood. Often some pleasant +surprise awaited her on her arrival there.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was interested in the various legends of St. Helena, and these +legends are very numerous. Nearly every rock and valley and bit of water +has some story connected with it. The Friar's Valley, for example, takes +its name from a huge rock fashioned by nature into the figure of a monk +with his cowl thrown back, wearing a flowing robe and a rosary. +Immediately around are sterile rocks, some many hundred feet high, some +with aloes growing from the fissures.</p> + +<p>Napoleon sometimes rode into this valley, and one day he turned to +Betsy:</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsee, have you ever seen 'Will-o'-the-Wisp' that they say lights +the friar's lantern?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; my mother used to send me over there for purer air, and my old +nurse had a cottage overlooking the vale. She was teaching me the +alphabet, and when I did not arrange my letters properly she would +threaten me with the friar."</p> + +<p>The story, as Betsy had often heard it, was that the friar had been a +good Franciscan monk, but he fell in love with a girl in a mountain +cottage, whom he met while she was tending goats. She asked him to help +her find something that she had lost, and thus attracted his attention. +Later he made love to her and she promised to marry him if he would give +up his faith. So the man broke his vows to the Church; but, when he was +to be married, as he was clasping the bride's hand, there was a fearful +crash: the chapel disappeared and with it all those who were taking part +in the unholy wedding.</p> + +<p>"Have you noticed," asked Betsy of Napoleon, coming on him when out +riding, "those three queer sugar-loaf rocks that they call 'Lot's Wife +and Daughters'?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," responded Napoleon, "I have seen them."</p> + +<p>"Well," persisted Betsy, "do you know the story about them?"</p> + +<p>"No, I do not."</p> + +<p>"Then I must tell you. More than fifty years ago there were two slaves +on the island who hated to work and to obey their masters, so they hid +themselves in a cave, halfway up the cliff on the top of which we now +see Lot's wife. Every night they used to go down and steal whatever they +could lay their hands on. For a long time people could not find out +where they lived, but at last they were tracked to their cave. No one +could reach them, however, because they rolled stones down toward all +who tried to climb up the cliff."</p> + +<p>Napoleon listened attentively, and Betsy continued:</p> + +<p>"At last it was thought necessary to send a party of soldiers to fire on +them, if they refused to surrender, but before this was done one of the +besiegers managed to climb the cliff on the other side. He reached a +point opposite the cave and higher up, so that he could roll down stones +toward the slaves. When one of these wretched creatures was standing on +the edge of the cliff he was killed by one of the rocks rolled from +above, and the other who was with him was severely injured; and now," +concluded Betsy solemnly, "if you go there at the right time, the +islanders say that you will see the murdered slave rushing around at +night just as he used to when alive."</p> + +<p>Napoleon, after hearing Betsy's legend, said: "When I ride that way +again I shall certainly look at the sugar-loaf mountain with much +greater interest than ever before."</p> + +<p>Undoubtedly these various legends, which Betsy had heard from her +earliest childhood, tended to make her superstitious. Napoleon soon +found that she was easily frightened, and took advantage of this fact +sometimes to tease her unmercifully. When he arrived at The Briars, one +of Betsy's little brothers had as tutor an elderly man named Huff. The +coming of Napoleon had a strange effect on the tutor's brain. Among +other delusions, he believed that it was to fall on him to free the +Emperor from his imprisonment and restore him to his throne again. Old +Huff, as they called him, talked constantly on this subject and no one +could reason with him. It was evident that the poor fellow was mad, but +before it was decided to put him under guardianship he found a chance to +kill himself, although he was closely watched. According to custom, he +was buried at a spot where three crossroads meet. This happened to be a +place near The Briars, and, in consequence, poor Betsy was far from +happy. Napoleon, aware of her fears, would call out, just before she +said good night to the household, "Mees Betsee, ole Huff, ole Huff."</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy! She was indeed unhappy, and after these words lay long awake +at night, and in the end often scrambled into her mother's room and +stayed there until morning.</p> + +<p>One evening, when Betsy and her mother and her sister Jane were sitting +on the cottage porch enjoying the refreshing evening breeze, a strange +noise made Betsy turn her head, and in an instant she had risen to her +feet with a loud scream. In front of them now walked a figure dressed in +white, not a very terrifying sight, except to one of Betsy's nervous +temperament.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus5" id="illus5"></a> +<img src="images/illus5.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>THE BRIARS. From an old print</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p>Mrs. Balcombe at once understood the situation, for at the moment of the +figure's appearance she had heard a smothered laugh that she recognized +as Napoleon's. Advancing to the white figure, she turned back the +covering, and underneath appeared the black face of a little slave, +grinning from ear to ear.</p> + +<p>"What brought you here?" asked Mrs. Balcombe sternly.</p> + +<p>"To frighten Miss Betsy;" and the black girl pointed toward Napoleon, +who had now come forward to see what effect his trick had had upon his +young neighbor.</p> + +<p>This little ghost scene had a wider effect than Napoleon intended, for +it put the idea of playing ghost into the heads of other servants. One +of the Balcombe slaves had lately run away and could not be found. The +family suspected that he was hiding not far off, because every night +pigs, poultry, bread, and other provisions were stolen in quantities, by +whom nobody could tell. After a while Napoleon began to complain of +thefts, but when the various black servants were questioned they all +said that the thief must be a ghostly white figure that they saw +skipping around the valley from rock to rock. That they believed what +they said was shown by the alarm they showed, for none of them would go +out alone by night.</p> + +<p>"I believe that it really and truly is old Huff's ghost," insisted +Betsy.</p> + +<p>"You can't believe such a foolish thing; indeed, I should think you +would know better after what happened the other evening, when you +allowed yourself to be terrified by a little black girl," said her +mother reprovingly. She added, "You look pale, Betsy. What is the +trouble?"</p> + +<p>"I can't help it. I may be foolish," responded poor Betsy, "but for +nights and nights I have been afraid to close my eyes."</p> + +<p>"All on account of the ghost," thought Mrs. Balcombe, wishing that Betsy +were less nervous.</p> + +<p>Mr. Balcombe and some friends now undertook to catch the thief, feeling +sure that he would prove to be a substantial individual. After long +watching, one night they saw a figure move stealthily across the valley +toward the house. They called upon it to stop, but when it neither +obeyed nor answered, they felt obliged to shoot. A loud scream followed +the report of the gun, and when they came upon the fallen figure they +discovered the runaway slave Alley. He was badly hurt, although not +fatally, and they did what they could for him. The next morning the +whole party went to the cave to which Alley directed them. Napoleon +accompanied them and was much interested in what he saw.</p> + +<p>It reminded him of the catacombs of Paris, he exclaimed, as he looked +about at the heaps of bones which the slave had placed in neatly +arranged piles after he had gorged himself with food.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>THE SERIOUS SIDE</h3> + + +<p>As Betsy grew to know Napoleon better, she sometimes observed in his +conversation and manner a sadness that she had not noticed earlier. This +slight melancholy was especially evident when the conversation touched +on Josephine or the little King of Rome. Often Napoleon gazed intently +at Mrs. Balcombe, explaining as he did so that it was because she +reminded him strongly of Josephine. He loved to talk of Josephine, +especially with Madame Bertrand, who was a native of Martinique and was +said also to be a distant relative of the Empress.</p> + +<p>One day, for example, Madame Bertrand, in Betsy's presence, brought out +a miniature of Josephine. The Emperor seemed deeply moved as he gazed at +it.</p> + +<p>"It is the most perfect likeness of her that I have ever seen."</p> + +<p>"It is for you, sir," said Madame Bertrand simply.</p> + +<p>Thanking her warmly, Napoleon added, "I will keep it until my death."</p> + +<p>On this occasion the Emperor was especially inclined to talk about his +first wife, and Betsy, hearing him, wondered that he had been willing to +separate himself from her.</p> + +<p>"Josephine," he said, "was the most feminine woman I have ever +known—all charm and sweetness and grace. <i>Era la dama la piu graziosa +in Francia.</i>" Then he continued: "Josephine was the goddess of the +toilet. All fashions came from her. Besides this she was humane and +always thoughtful of others. She was the best of women. Although the +English and the Bourbons allow that I did some good, yet they generally +qualify it by saying that it was chiefly through the instrumentality of +Josephine. But the fact is that she never interfered in politics. Great +as my veneration was for her, I could not bear to have it thought that +she in any way ruled my public actions."</p> + +<p>Napoleon's praises of Josephine continued to flow on.</p> + +<p>"She was the greatest patroness of the arts known in France for years; +but though I loved to attend to her whims, yet I always acted to please +the nation, and whenever I obtained a fine statue or valuable picture I +sent it to the Museum for the people's benefit. Josephine was grace +personified. She never acted inelegantly during the whole time we lived +together. Her toilet was perfection, and she resisted the inroads of +time, to all appearances, by exquisite taste."</p> + +<p>Napoleon spoke with deep emotion, "She was the best of women!"</p> + +<p>Then, as if in answer to Betsy's unspoken question, he said:</p> + +<p>"It was only political motives that led me to give her up. Nothing else +would have separated me from a wife so tenderly loved. Thank God, she +died without witnessing my last misfortune!"</p> + +<p>From Josephine Napoleon turned to Maria Louisa, his second wife, the +mother of his son, of whom he spoke tenderly and affectionately:</p> + +<p>"She was an amiable and good wife. She would have followed me here, but +they would not let her."</p> + +<p>Napoleon next called Betsy's attention to one or two portraits of Maria +Louisa, but Betsy, though she made no criticism, thought then, as she +had thought at other times when studying the face of Maria Louisa, that +the Austrian Princess was at a disadvantage when contrasted with the +members of Napoleon's family, all of whom were handsome and looked +intellectual.</p> + +<p>This conversation about Josephine and Maria Louisa was interrupted by +the arrival of a visitor, Count Piontkowski, lately arrived from Europe. +He was a Pole who had fought under Napoleon, and his love for his fallen +leader had led him to follow into exile.</p> + +<p>Napoleon himself had no clear remembrance of the Pole as an individual, +and he was therefore the more deeply gratified by the spirit of devotion +that had induced Piontkowski to make the long voyage to St. Helena for +the sake of being near his old commander.</p> + +<p>The long interview with the newcomer undoubtedly brought before +Napoleon's mind many sad memories, and when he returned to them Betsy +and the others noticed that he was in unusually low spirits. As he +looked again at the portraits of Josephine and Maria Louisa he grew more +and more dejected, and at last, excusing himself, he went to bed much +earlier than usual, leaving the rest of the party under the influence of +his melancholy.</p> + +<p>When the second New Year came around, Napoleon was in less than his +usual good spirits. It was not to Betsy, however, but to Dr. O'Meara +that he said in reply to the physician's "Happy New Year":</p> + +<p>"Perhaps the next one will find me better situated. Perhaps I shall be +dead, which will be better still. Worse than this cannot be."</p> + +<p>It was not the Emperor's habit to show his sadness for any great length +of time. On this second New Year's the sisters were to go over to +Longwood to carry their New Year greeting and to dine with Madame +Bertrand.</p> + +<p>When they first arrived at the house Betsy was disappointed that +Napoleon was nowhere in sight and she wondered that no message or +present came from him, for she knew that the French made a special +festival of New Year's and recalled the generosity of the Emperor just a +year before.</p> + +<p>Still there was much to see and enjoy in Madame Bertrand's apartment, +and she and Jane were examining with admiration the presents of Madame +Bertrand and her family, when Napoleon himself entered the room. In each +hand he was carefully carrying a beautiful Sèvres cup. As the girls drew +near to look at them, they saw that on one was a portrait of Napoleon +himself, representing him in Turkish costume, and on the other the +figure of an Egyptian woman drawing water.</p> + +<p>"Here, Mdlles. Betsee and Jane," he exclaimed, "are two cups for you. +Accept them as a mark of the friendship I entertain for you both and for +your kindness to Madame Bertrand."</p> + +<p>Charmed with his beautiful presents, the girls thanked Napoleon warmly. +Betsy, indeed, was so delighted with her cup that she would not let it +go out of her hands, and when at last the time for her departure came +she wrapped it in many folds of cotton to carry it home—at considerable +risk even then, as the journey was made on horseback.</p> + +<p>Betsy was a keen observer, and although she was fond of paying Napoleon +back in his own coin when he teased her, she appreciated the depth of +his feelings in his more serious moments.</p> + +<p>One beautiful day, when she went over to Longwood, she was impressed by +the brilliancy of the atmosphere, which is, indeed, one of the charms of +St. Helena. Standing on the rocks she watched the waves breaking and +sparkling at their base and noted the sea beyond, glistening like a +sheet of quicksilver. With her spirits especially buoyant under the +influence of the wonderful day, she went up to St. Denis, one of the +Emperor's suite.</p> + +<p>"Where is the Emperor?" she asked gayly. "I want to see him."</p> + +<p>The Frenchman shook his head so gravely that for the moment the smile +left Betsy's face and she wondered if any misfortune had happened. After +a moment of silence, St. Denis replied:</p> + +<p>"The Emperor is watching the <i>Conqueror</i>, which is now coming in." The +<i>Conqueror</i> was the vessel bearing the flag of Admiral Pamplin, who was +to succeed Admiral Malcom. "You will find the Emperor," continued St. +Denis, "near Madame Bertrand's, but he is in no mood for badinage +to-day."</p> + +<p>If the Frenchman had meant to keep Betsy away from Napoleon, he was not +successful. In spite of his warning Betsy went on toward the cottage. As +soon as she saw the Emperor, she herself came under the influence of his +mood. He was standing on a cliff with General Bertrand, looking out +toward sea, where the <i>Conqueror</i> was still but a speck on the horizon. +Betsy was impressed by the intense melancholy of the exiled Emperor's +expression, as he stood there stern and silent. His eyes were bent sadly +upon the vessel as it came in, beating up proudly to windward.</p> + +<p>For some time not a word was uttered by any of the three. Even the +talkative Betsy was silent. At last Napoleon spoke:</p> + +<p>"They manage the vessel beautifully; the English are certainly kings +upon the sea," he said. Then his melancholy tone changed to one of +sarcasm. "I wonder what they think of our beautiful island! They cannot +be much elated by the sight of my gigantic walls."</p> + +<p>At this moment Betsy did not venture a retort, as was generally the case +when Napoleon railed at her beloved St. Helena. Betsy was alive to all +the beauties of the place, while Napoleon, naturally, saw only its +faults. When Betsy defended the island and waxed eloquent over its +beauties, sometimes he would simply laugh at her impertinence, while at +others, pinching her ear in his favorite fashion, he would say:</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsee, how can you possibly dare to have an opinion on the +subject?"</p> + +<p>This glimpse of Napoleon, sadly watching the <i>Conqueror</i>, was not the +only occasion when Betsy had an opportunity to see the more serious side +of the man whom she admired. Although she was only a young girl, she was +able sometimes by her intelligent questions to draw from him an +explanation of much discussed things in his past. There was, for +example, the oft-repeated story that Napoleon had sanctioned the +butchery of Turkish troops at Jaffa and the poisoning of the sick in the +hospitals.</p> + +<p>If the Emperor was vexed with Betsy for touching on forbidden ground, he +did not show his feeling, but entered into an explanation that his young +neighbor was able long afterwards to repeat in his own words. "Before +leaving Jaffa," said Napoleon, "and when many of the sick had been +embarked, I was informed that there were some in the hospital severely +wounded, dangerously ill, and unfit to be moved at any risk. I desired +my medical men to hold a consultation as to what steps had best be taken +with regard to the unfortunate sufferers and to send in their opinions +to me. The result of this consultation was that seven-eighths of the +soldiers were considered past recovery, and that in all probability few +would be alive at the expiration of twenty hours."</p> + +<p>Betsy listened attentively, as Napoleon showed how difficult it was to +decide whether it was not more cruel to leave these helpless men to the +mercy of the Turks than to end their misery by a dose of opium: "I +should have desired such a relief for myself under the same +circumstances and I considered it would be an act of mercy to anticipate +their fate by only a few hours. My physician did not enter into my views +of the case, and disapproved of the proposal, saying it was his business +to cure, not to kill. Accordingly I left a rear-guard to protect these +unhappy men from the enemy. They remained until Nature had paid her last +debt and released the expiring soldiers from their agony."</p> + +<p>As his auditors did not look convinced of the correctness of his views, +Napoleon turned to Dr. O'Meara, who was of the party.</p> + +<p>"I ask you, O'Meara, to place yourself in the situation of one of these +men. Were it demanded of you which fate you would select, either to be +left to suffer the tortures of those miscreants or to have opium +administered to you, which fate would you rather choose? If my own +son—and I believe I love my son as well as any father loves his +child—were in a similar situation, I should advise it to be done. If so +situated myself I should insist upon it, if I had sense enough and +strength to demand it."</p> + +<p>Without waiting for comment from the others, Napoleon added that if he +had been capable of secretly poisoning his soldiers or of the barbarity +ascribed to him of driving his carriage over the mutilated bodies of the +wounded, his troops would never have fought under him with the +enthusiasm and reverence they uniformly displayed. "No, no, I should have +been shot long ago. Even my wounded would have tried to pull a trigger +to despatch me."</p> + +<p>The Emperor spoke so earnestly that no one could doubt he meant what he +said. Even though they believed that the Turkish prisoners had been +treated with great cruelty, his hearers saw that ambition or a feeling +of necessity had been the impelling motive of the officers who +sanctioned or ordered the cruelty.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's conversations with Betsy were of course carried on largely in +French, and but for the little girl's fluency in this language she would +probably have seen much less of the great man. Napoleon himself made a +real effort to learn English. Not only did he study with Las Cases, but +he tried to practise the language with Betsy and her sister. In +conversation, however, he never became very proficient, his +pronunciation was droll, and he was inclined to translate things very +literally. Betsy was less patient than her sister with Napoleon's +English. By his expressed desire she and Jane were always to correct his +mistakes, yet often, in the midst of his efforts, she would run off +without deigning to help him.</p> + +<p>"Ah, Mdlle. Betsee," he would then cry in French, "you are a stupid +little creature; when will you become wise?"</p> + +<p>Although Napoleon persevered with his English lessons with Las Cases, he +never proceeded much further than to read the newspapers. English books +presented many difficulties, and yet much of the literature that came +his way was in this language. Here again Betsy was able to make herself +very useful by translating books or newspapers for him, and sometimes +she went further and gave him in condensed form the contents of a great +many pages. Even after he went to Longwood, when Betsy went over there +to call on Madame Bertrand, Napoleon would summon her to help him +understand some newly arrived English book.</p> + +<p>From Napoleon's own admission to one of his own suite, after he had been +in St. Helena a year or two, we can judge that his progress in English +had not been very rapid. One morning, after the arrival of a number of +French books, he said:</p> + +<p>"What a pleasure I have enjoyed! I can read forty pages of French in the +time that it would require to read two of English."</p> + +<p>The Emperor enjoyed talking with Betsy, for the little girl was a great +reader herself, and he had the faculty of drawing from her whatever +information she had on a given subject. Occasionally she thoughtlessly +questioned Napoleon on topics that she might better have avoided.</p> + +<p>One Sunday, for example, at Madame Bertrand's, he found the girls poring +over a book.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing?" he asked abruptly.</p> + +<p>"Learning the collect," replied Betsy. "My father is always very angry +if I do not know it." Then she added, not very courteously, "I suppose +you never learned a collect or anything religious in your life, for I +know that you do not believe in the existence of a God."</p> + +<p>"You have been told an untruth," replied Napoleon impatiently, evidently +displeased with Betsy. "When you are wiser you will understand that no +one can doubt the existence of a God."</p> + +<p>"But you believe in predestination?"</p> + +<p>"Whatever a man's destiny calls him to do, that he must fulfil," was the +Emperor's response.</p> + +<p>Young though she was, Betsy understood the seriousness that underlay the +superficial gayety most in evidence when Napoleon met her. She decided +that he was not the cold, calculating man that most people thought him, +but rather a man of deep feeling, capable of strong attachments.</p> + +<p>One day, not long after he had left The Briars, a lady approached Betsy, +who was in the grounds outside the house.</p> + +<p>As she dismounted from her horse Betsy had recognized her as a French +woman of high position, whose husband was one of the diplomatists then +at St. Helena.</p> + +<p>"Will you be so good," she said almost timidly to the little girl, "as +to show me the part of the cottage occupied by the Emperor?"</p> + +<p>"With pleasure," responded Betsy, leading the way to the Pavilion. The +lady looked about her with great interest.</p> + +<p>"Look!" said Betsy, pointing to the spot where the marquee had stood. +"Look at this crown in the turf!"</p> + +<p>The lady gazed for some minutes at this empty symbol of the power once +held by the Emperor. The thoughts that it brought up overpowered her. +Losing all self-control, she sank to her knees, sobbing hysterically. +Forgetful of Betsy, she continued to weep so bitterly that the little +girl started for the cottage that she might get her mother, or some one +else of the household, to bring restoratives.</p> + +<p>"Stop, stop!" cried the lady, as if realizing her purpose. "Do not call +any one. I shall be myself in a moment." Then, in a voice still filled +with emotion, she added, "Please do me the favor of never mentioning +this to any one. All French people feel as I do. They all treasure +Napoleon's memory as I do, and would willingly die for him."</p> + +<p>Betsy gave the required promise and waited patiently until the lady had +recovered her self-possession. Then the latter asked innumerable +questions of the little girl about the life of Napoleon and his suite at +The Briars.</p> + +<p>Several times the visitor repeated, "How happy it must have made you to +be with the Emperor!"</p> + +<p>When she rode away after her long interview, she put a thick veil over +her face to hide the fact that she had been weeping.</p> + +<p>Betsy was true to her word, and although her family, one after another, +asked her why the visitor had made so long a stay, she merely replied +that she had been interested in the Pavilion. But the scene made a deep +impression on the little girl, as showing the remarkable hold of +Napoleon on the hearts of those who had been his subjects. Moreover she +judged, and truly too, that a man for whom such deep feeling was shown +must himself have been of a kind and sympathetic nature.</p> + +<p>It is true that she did not need the testimony of any outsider to assure +her of Napoleon's amiability. She was well acquainted with his general +kindliness; she knew of many of his gracious acts, and the charm of his +manner toward all young people had made a deep impression upon her.</p> + +<p>Another thing that she noticed convinced Betsy of the softer qualities +of Napoleon's nature. This was the firm devotion of the little band of +Frenchmen and French women who had followed him to St. Helena. They had +made great sacrifices in sharing the exile of Napoleon. There was so +little to hope for, in the way of reward for this devotion, that no +reasonable person could doubt their disinterestedness.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>THE EMPEROR'S VISITORS</h3> + + +<p>"Who danced the best at the Governor's ball?" Napoleon asked Betsy one +day.</p> + +<p>"Mrs. Wilks, the Governor's lady."</p> + +<p>This was before the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe.</p> + +<p>"What sort of dances are in fashion there?"</p> + +<p>"Quadrilles, country dances. Mr. C. brought them to St. Helena."</p> + +<p>"Oh, he is a great dandy!"</p> + +<p>"Yes; he will sit with his feet above his head an hour before dressing, +the more readily to squeeze them into tight shoes. He wore an epaulette +nearly down to his elbow, and his sword hilt was embroidered with golden +oak leaves. The same embroidery confined his stockings, on each knee, +like the order of the garter. When he first arrived he was disgusted +that St. Helena ladies knew only kitchen dances and reels, and finally +he drilled quadrilles and other new dances into them."</p> + +<p>Betsy's description of the young dandy amused Napoleon. "Bring him to +Longwood some day," he said.</p> + +<p>A pass was obtained for the young man and Napoleon received him most +politely. "I hear from Mees Betsee that you are a great dandy,—and what +a fine coat!"</p> + +<p>The young man, who had been in some fear of the Emperor, felt better.</p> + +<p>"You are more fortunate than myself," continued Napoleon, "for I have to +wear my coat turned." Although this was true, it was only because there +was no cloth his shade of green on the island.</p> + +<p>On the whole Napoleon liked the young dandy, especially as he spoke +French fluently.</p> + +<p>But Napoleon was not always glad, or even willing, to receive visitors. +In fact, after the first few months on the island, he practically +refused to allow strangers to be presented to him, unless there was some +special reason for his seeing them.</p> + +<p>One day, when Napoleon was still at The Briars, the girls were walking +with him down Pomegranate Walk, which led to the garden, when he heard +strangers' voices. He did not wish to meet them, and began to run away, +but, unluckily, when he reached the garden gate he found it locked. +Napoleon was not likely to turn aside from anything he had undertaken to +do, and as the voices drew nearer, too impatient to wait, he insisted on +jumping over the gate fence. There was a prickly pear on top, the thorns +of which caught him so that at first he could not extricate himself. +Then he had to descend rather ignominiously on the garden side, before +the strangers appeared. The thorns had really done considerable damage, +and it took no little skill on Dr. O'Meara's part to extract them.</p> + +<p>To Betsy's friends Napoleon was apt to be more obliging than to others, +and tourists, many of whom stayed over at St. Helena on their way to or +from Africa or India, frequently sought her services to effect an +introduction.</p> + +<p>"Sir," said Betsy to Napoleon one day, "may I present a lady to you? She +is just here from India. Her husband has high rank."</p> + +<p>Napoleon was not fond of women visitors, but he gave his consent to +Betsy's request.</p> + +<p>At the appointed time the lady from India appeared, gowned in crimson +velvet bordered with pearls. Her black hair was braided and adorned with +pearls, and butterflies of diamonds and emeralds and rubies. She was one +of the plainest women Betsy had ever seen, and she was fearful of the +impression she would make on Napoleon.</p> + +<p>After Napoleon had asked the usual questions, "Are you married?" and +"How many children have you?" he looked closely at her to see what +compliment he could best pay her.</p> + +<p>At length, after a pause that might have embarrassed a less complacent +woman, he said politely, "Madame, you have the most luxuriant hair."</p> + +<p>That the lady from India had fine hair was so evident a fact, that she +need not have been so exceedingly pleased by Napoleon's compliment. Yet +she was so overcome by it that when she returned to England she sent +letters to the newspapers speaking of the Emperor's great admiration for +her.</p> + +<p>Napoleon, in reality, did not at all like this visitor, and when she had +gone he said severely to the young girl:</p> + +<p>"You shall introduce me to no more ladies." His tone was so unusually +severe that Betsy did not dare confess what really was the case, that +she had brought Mrs. S. to see Napoleon merely to tease him, knowing +that it was positively disagreeable to him to meet very plain women.</p> + +<p>Betsy one day came to him full of excitement over a traveller whom she +had just seen.</p> + +<p>"Oh, he is extraordinary; queerer than any one I have ever met here. His +long black beard reaches to his waist, and he wears a regular mandarin's +dress."</p> + +<p>"An Englishman dressed like a Chinaman?"</p> + +<p>"Yes! You know he has been there so long, and he has done the most +wonderful things! Why, he has even travelled to Thibet and talked to the +Grand Lama."</p> + +<p>The Emperor's interest was aroused.</p> + +<p>"I have always wished to hear something about the Grand Lama," he said, +"especially about the way he is worshipped, for I believe that much I +have read is fabulous. I should like to see this traveller."</p> + +<p>"I knew you would," cried Betsy, "and he is anxious to see you, too. He +was a prisoner of war once in France, and he says you treated him very +kindly; so he has brought you some presents, and if—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and if he can get a pass—"</p> + +<p>The sentence was left unfinished. But Mr. Manning obtained a pass to see +the Emperor and presented him with a number of curious things that he +had collected in his travels.</p> + +<p>"The Lama," he said in answer to a question, "when I saw him, was a very +intelligent boy of seven, and I went through the same form of worship as +the others who were introduced into his presence."</p> + +<p>"Were you not afraid of being seized as a spy?" asked Napoleon.</p> + +<p>The traveller hesitated, as if not quite pleased by the question. Then, +with a laugh, he pointed to his dress and beard, as if they were a +sufficient answer.</p> + +<p>"Did you pass for an Englishman?" persisted the Emperor. "The shape of +your nose is too good for a Tartar."</p> + +<p>"No," replied Mr. Manning; "I was generally taken for a Hindoo." The +bystanders, looking at his fine eyes and regular features, could easily +understand that in the rôle of a Hindoo he must certainly have been +successful.</p> + +<p>The conversation between the two—the Emperor and the traveller—lasted +for some time.</p> + +<p>"Travellers," said Napoleon, "are privileged to tell marvellous stories, +but I hope you are not doing this in describing to me all the wonders of +Thibet."</p> + +<p>Then he continued his questions, asking much about the Lama, and the +customs and religion of his people. His queries showed that he already +possessed a fund of information about this strange country, and Mr. +Manning finally said, "You have as much information on Thibet as I have +myself."</p> + +<p>Napoleon accepted the compliment, but the many questions that he +continued to ask, especially concerning the Chinese and their language +and habits, showed that he was quite willing to admit Mr. Manning's +greater knowledge of the Orient.</p> + +<p>When the unusually long interview had ended, Napoleon turned to Betsy +with an expression in which sadness was mingled with satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"This conversation," he cried, "has given me more pleasure than anything +I have experienced for many long months."</p> + +<p>Betsy, realizing the Emperor's capacity for finding entertainment in +hearing about the small things that made up the life of St. Helena, +always gratified him by describing the little festivities in which she +took part, or even the larger affairs of which she knew only by what +others told her. Like all places garrisoned by British regiments, there +was always much going on, as the phrase is, on the island, and the +gossip of the place, usually harmless enough in itself, never failed to +entertain him.</p> + +<p>Sometimes he tried to draw from the little girl information that for one +reason or another she did not care to give him—sometimes merely to +tease him, sometimes because she feared that what she said might disturb +him.</p> + +<p>"So you have been calling on Lady Lowe at Plantation House," he said, +after one of her visits to the wife of the Governor. "Tell me, does she +ask about your visits to Longwood?"</p> + +<p>"There, that is just the kind of thing she asks me. I am sure to be +questioned what we say and do in your presence;" and beyond this Betsy +would give Napoleon little satisfaction.</p> + +<p>"Who is the most beautiful woman on the island?" he asked on another +occasion.</p> + +<p>"Madame Bertrand," replied Betsy, never at a loss for an answer, "is +more beautiful than any one I have ever seen. Every one else seems +insignificant beside her. Why, when my father saw her on the +<i>Northumberland</i> he was very much struck by her. Her features may not be +strictly beautiful, but her expression is intellectual. Besides, her +bearing is so queenlike and dignified!"</p> + +<p>"But don't you think Madame Montholon pretty?"</p> + +<p>"No," responded Betsy unhesitatingly, in spite of the fact that she had +much regard for Madame Montholon.</p> + +<p>"Marchand," cried Napoleon, apparently changing the subject, "bring me +my snuffbox,—you know which."</p> + +<p>The faithful Marchand obeyed, and when he returned Napoleon took the +snuffbox from his hands to show the girls—for Jane was with Betsy—a +miniature on the lid.</p> + +<p>It was a portrait of Madame Montholon, taken many years earlier.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is like her," Betsy admitted, "and beautiful, too."</p> + +<p>"She was just like that when she was young," responded the Emperor.</p> + +<p>Although Napoleon was fond of teasing Betsy, whenever he found that he +could serve her in any way he never failed to show himself a true +friend.</p> + +<p>Once Dr. O'Meara came upon Betsy alone in the garden with tears in her +eyes. To his inquiry as to the cause of her sorrow, she pouted, and at +first hesitated in her reply. On second thoughts she exclaimed, "It is +too mean! Just because I didn't do my lessons yesterday, to keep me home +from the races!"</p> + +<p>"Were you warned?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, but I did not expect to be punished."</p> + +<p>"Probably this isn't the first time, and your parents are bound to make +you remember."</p> + +<p>"Oh, it is my father, and it's the meanest thing! He has lent Tom to +somebody. My pony is not in the stable. Who could have been so mean as +to borrow the only pony that I can ride? All the others have ridden off, +and there is no way for me to go."</p> + +<p>Dr. O'Meara listened sympathetically. Probably he did not exactly +understand the situation or he would hardly have encouraged a young girl +to disobey her parents. It was quite natural that to Betsy, the lover of +gayety, her punishment seemed greater than she deserved. Every one that +she knew was going to the races, for the Deadwood races, instituted by +John Rous, were made a kind of festival by the people of the island. +Since every one she knew had gone to Deadwood, there was no horse at +hand that she could borrow. For the moment Napoleon's little neighbor +was troubled by no sense of duty; the only question was how to reach +Deadwood.</p> + +<p>Dr. O'Meara, after Betsy had poured out her soul to him, rode on towards +Longwood at a rapid pace. Not long afterwards her heart leaped with joy +when she saw Dr. O'Meara winding down the mountain, followed by a slave +with a superb gray horse. At once she recognized Mameluke, one of +Napoleon's stable, and, as the horses drew nearer, she saw that above +his crimson saddlecloth Mameluke wore a lady's saddle. Even before Dr. +O'Meara spoke, she understood what his quick return meant.</p> + +<p>"Here, Miss Betsy, cheer up," he cried when he drew near the little +girl. "This horse is for you. When the Emperor heard of your +disappointment, he ordered the quietest horse in his stable to be sent +to you."</p> + +<p>Regardless of consequences to herself, pleased by the good-natured +attention of the Emperor, light-hearted Betsy on Mameluke went to the +races. Perhaps she would have hesitated had she known that her father, +rather than she herself, was to be the sufferer by her heedless act, for +afterwards it gave her great pain to learn that Mr. Balcombe had been +severely reprimanded by Governor Lowe for having committed a breach of +discipline in letting his daughter borrow a horse belonging to the +Longwood establishment.</p> + +<p>But for the time Betsy had the fun of the races, and the next day she +went over to Longwood to thank Napoleon.</p> + +<p>"Aha, Mees Betsee," he said after their first greeting, "perhaps you do +not know that I too saw the races."</p> + +<p>"But I did not see you there."</p> + +<p>"Ah, where were your eyes? You were not thinking of me; but they were +amusing."</p> + +<p>After a little more teasing, Betsy learned that Napoleon had seen the +Deadwood races from an upper window of General Gorgaud's house.</p> + +<p>"You were so amused," he added, "that you forgot to be afraid. I have +told your father you should never be encouraged in foolish fears."</p> + +<p>"I wish you had been really there!"</p> + +<p>"Ah, gayety is not for me." Napoleon's face became grave.</p> + +<p>Betsy, noticing this, added quickly, "But you are coming to my birthday +fête."</p> + +<p>"Surely! It will not be far away at Rous Cottage."</p> + +<p>The day of the birthday was bright and fair, and as large numbers of +guests had assembled, Rous Cottage, which had been chosen for this +picnic fête, was named for the gallant flag officer of the +<i>Northumberland</i>, whom Napoleon admired and called "a very brave man."</p> + +<p>In the earlier part of the celebration, Betsy, flying among her friends, +was too much absorbed to notice that Napoleon had not come, but when she +missed him she began to look eagerly in the direction in which she might +expect to see him appear. He had said he would come to the party, and +Betsy expected him to keep his promise, though it was an unheard-of +thing for him to mingle in a gay crowd.</p> + +<p>After a while she was delighted to see him in the distance, riding along +the hills. Soon she saw that he was no longer riding. His horse was at a +standstill. What could this mean? Presently a messenger from the Emperor +appeared to say that he would content himself by looking on.</p> + +<p>The young hostess was not satisfied with this. Rushing off to the hill +where Napoleon waited, she stood before him.</p> + +<p>"This is not keeping your promise. You said you would come, indeed you +did, and you should not disappoint me on my birthday."</p> + +<p>Napoleon smiled at his young friend, but he spoke with decision:</p> + +<p>"No; I won't come down to be stared at by a crowd who wish to gratify +their curiosity by a sight of me."</p> + +<p>Betsy begged and pleaded, using every effort to make him change his +mind, but he was firm. Nothing could change him.</p> + +<p>A friend in England had sent Betsy a huge birthday cake, ornamented with +a large eagle. That she should have had a cake decorated with this +imperial emblem occasioned much comment on the island. In fact, in the +eyes of some, Mr. Balcombe and his family were under more or less of a +cloud on account of their open admiration for the illustrious prisoner +of St. Helena. When Betsy found that her words made no impression on +Napoleon, she left him for a few moments, only to return with a slice of +the cake.</p> + +<p>"You must eat this thick slice," she said, holding it out to him. "It is +the least you can do for getting us into this disgrace. Some people +think it almost treason when they see the eagle on the cake."</p> + +<p>Napoleon ate the cake with evident appreciation. Then he pinched Betsy's +ear in his usual familiar fashion, saying as he did so, "Saucy +simpleton!" As he galloped away Betsy could not help smiling, as she +heard him singing, or rather trying to sing in his most unmusical voice, +"<i>Vive, Henri Quatre</i>."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THOUGHTLESS BETSY</h3> + + +<p>Sometimes, without intending to hurt Napoleon's feelings, heedless Betsy +must often have come near wounding him. One day, for example, she showed +him a toy that had lately come to St. Helena from Europe. It represented +a toy emperor climbing a ladder, each rung of which was a country. When +he reached the top he sat for an instant astride the world, and then +went headlong down the other side, until he landed at last on St. +Helena.</p> + +<p>Napoleon himself did not reprove Betsy for her rudeness, but Mr. +Balcombe was disturbed and angry when he heard of it. Betsy, he decided, +was altogether too fond of playing foolish tricks, and he resolved to +teach her a lesson that she could not forget.</p> + +<p>Calling her to him, after he had expressed his displeasure for what she +had done, "Betsy," he said in his severest tone, "you are to spend the +night in the cellar, and every night for a week you shall sleep there. +You must be taught respect for your elders. It is to punish you for your +rudeness to Napoleon that I am resolved to punish you in this way."</p> + +<p>Poor Betsy shivered at her father's words. Bold though she was in the +face of danger by day, darkness always had great terrors for her, and to +spend the night underground was a punishment she felt she could hardly +bear. Her protests, however, were useless. Her father locked her in the +dark cellar and left her there. Betsy's experiences that night were +terrible. Rats made the cellar their home, and, as they jumped about in +the darkness, they tumbled the bottles of wine about, making a terrible +noise. Betsy was so frightened that to defend herself from them she +picked up bottle after bottle to hurl against them. At last they were +driven away, but there was no sleep for Betsy on the bed that had been +prepared for her. At dawn a faint light came through the windows, just +enough to show her what havoc she had made. Broken bottles lay about her +everywhere and in every direction ran rivulets of wine.</p> + +<p>At last she fell into a heavy stupor, and in this condition a slave, who +had been sent with her breakfast, found her. Alarmed at the sight of +Betsy, apparently half dead, the slave ran to summon Mr. Balcombe. When +he hurried to the cellar, Mr. Balcombe was naturally shocked by what he +saw. He had not thought of rats, and he was only too thankful that Betsy +had escaped serious injury. He not only did not reprove her for the +destruction of the claret, but forgave her for her offence against +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>As to Napoleon, "It was too great a punishment," he said, "for so little +an offence." Then he laughed heartily as the lively Betsy, now quite +herself again, gave a vivid account of her battle with the rats. "Ah, +the rats!" he added; "a big one jumped out of my hat one day, as I was +about to put it on. It startled me."</p> + +<p>Some time after this adventure in the cellar, Mr. Balcombe again had +occasion to punish Betsy and again he thought of the cellar.</p> + +<p>"No, not the cellar!" remonstrated Napoleon. But Mr. Balcombe was +obdurate. He had decided that Betsy should have a week's imprisonment +there, staying by day but released at night that she might sleep in her +own room.</p> + +<p>So Betsy went daily to her cell. She managed to vary the monotony of her +prison life by sitting close to the grating of the open window, and +while she sat there, the picture of dejection, Napoleon, approaching the +window, daily expressed a half-mocking sympathy with her. For a time +Betsy maintained an appearance of dignity and injured innocence, but in +the end the Emperor, by mimicking her doleful expression, usually +succeeded in making her laugh.</p> + +<p>"Sewing!" he exclaimed in surprise, when he visited Betsy on the third +day of her imprisonment.</p> + +<p>"Yes," responded Betsy; "I am making a dress for myself."</p> + +<p>"Ah, they indeed are cruel—"</p> + +<p>Like all Betsy's acquaintances, Napoleon knew that she had no strong +love for sewing and the ordinary domestic duties. She was at the age +when boyish sports were much more fun than the occupations that older +people prescribed for girls.</p> + +<p>"But no one required me to sew. I am sewing because I wish to."</p> + +<p>The Emperor expressed his surprise at this announcement.</p> + +<p>"Yes," continued Betsy; "I did not know what else to do. It is +frightfully dull here, so I begged old black Sarah to find me some work, +and this is what she brought." Betsy held up the partly made dress with +considerable pride.</p> + +<p>It is to Betsy's credit that she finished the dress old Sarah had +brought her, although her fit of industry did not outlast her week's +imprisonment.</p> + +<p>"You should keep Mees Betsee's prison livery," said Napoleon to Mrs. +Balcombe, "and show it to her occasionally, when you think that she is +on the point of doing something foolish that ought to be punished."</p> + +<p>"Prison livery" was Napoleon's name for the dress that Betsy had made +during her week in the cell.</p> + +<p>Betsy, however, was only one of many persons who had disagreeable +experiences with the rats of St. Helena. A sleeping slave, for example, +had a part of his leg bitten off. One of Count Bertrand's horses in the +stable had been severely bitten, and Dr. O'Meara had once had to defend +himself from the rodents by hurling his bootjack repeatedly at them. +Other tales of fierce rats had been told, and in consequence Betsy, when +she thought of her escape from real harm, had good cause for +congratulation.</p> + +<p>The battle of the rats happened while Napoleon was still living at The +Briars, and though Betsy long remembered it, it cannot be said that she +altogether profited by the lesson that it should have conveyed to her. +Later, when Napoleon was living at Longwood, Betsy, visiting at Madame +Bertrand's, occupied herself with practising a song that was a favorite +with one of the ladies of the garrison.</p> + +<p>Betsy sang and played very well, and Napoleon, hearing the new song, +praised the air though he did not understand the words. Now it happened +that the song was a monody on the death of the Duc d'Enghien, for whose +death Napoleon had been greatly blamed by friends as well as by foes.</p> + +<p>"What is the song?" Napoleon asked.</p> + +<p>A tactful girl would have devised some answer to spare Napoleon's +feelings. But thoughtless Betsy, without a word, turned to the front +page of the sheet of music, on which was a picture of a man standing in +a ditch, his eyes bandaged and a lantern hanging from his waist, while +soldiers were aiming their muskets at him.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Napoleon, to whom the picture conveyed no meaning.</p> + +<p>"It represents the murder of the Duc d'Enghien," replied Betsy.</p> + +<p>Napoleon examined the picture more closely. Then, turning to the young +girl:</p> + +<p>"What do you know of the Duc d'Enghien?"</p> + +<p>"That you are considered the murderer of that illustrious prince," +replied Betsy, with great lack of consideration.</p> + +<p>"It is true," responded Napoleon, "that I ordered his execution, for he +was a conspirator and had landed troops in the pay of the Bourbons to +assassinate me. In the face of such a conspiracy, the most politic thing +was to put a Bourbon prince to death so that the Bourbons would not +again try to take my life. The prisoner was tried for having taken arms +against the Republic, and was executed according to law. But he was not +shot in a ditch nor at night. All was open and known to the public."</p> + +<p>This talk about the Duc d'Enghien led Napoleon to tell Betsy of many +thrilling experiences of his own in escaping death at the hands of +would-be assassins.</p> + +<p>At another time Betsy ran up to Napoleon, crying, "Why is your face so +swollen and inflamed?"</p> + +<p>"Oh," replied Napoleon, assuming a doleful look, "Dr. O'Meara has just +drawn a tooth and I have had much pain."</p> + +<p>"What!" exclaimed Betsy in the rôle of mentor. "You to complain of +pain—the pain of so trifling an operation, though you have gone through +battles innumerable with storms of bullets whizzing, some of which must +have touched you. I am ashamed. But give me the tooth, and I will get +Mr. Solomon to set it as an ear-ring."</p> + +<p>Napoleon, listening to Betsy, was evidently amused by her tone of +assumed severity, and laughing heartily, replied: "See how I laugh, even +while I suffer. Ah, Mees Betsee, I fear you will never cut your wisdom +tooth."</p> + +<p>Although Betsy saw more of Napoleon than the other children, they were +all fond of him; but it is to be feared that Betsy's example was not the +best in the world for her little brothers, who were much younger than +she. One day, for example, Napoleon had given little Alexander a pretty +box made by Piron, filled with his delicious bonbons.</p> + +<p>"When my brother had eaten all his sugar-plums," said Betsy, "and was +grieving over his exhausted store, he unluckily chanced to espy a +pill-box. He thereupon took some pills from the box and offered them to +the Emperor. Napoleon helped himself, thinking they were sugar-plums, +and began eating. He soon ejected them with coughing and nausea."</p> + +<p>Las Cases, it is needless to say, reported this to Mr. Balcombe, who +whipped Alexander soundly. Nobody can deny that the little boy merited +the punishment.</p> + +<p>A favorite jest of Napoleon was to cry, "Now, Mdlle. Betsee, I hope you +have been a good child and learned your lessons."</p> + +<p>Then Betsy would redden and toss her head, for, like most girls in their +early teens, she wished to be thought older than she was. This habit of +teasing was one that Napoleon had found time to indulge in even when he +was at the height of his power. He was very fond of children, and some +one has said that no case is known in which he refused to grant a favor +when a child was asked to be the messenger. He was fond of his nieces +and nephews, and devoted to his step-children. Few brothers have ever +been kinder to their brothers and sisters than Napoleon to his. When he +was only sixteen, he began to take a great interest in the education of +his brother Lucien, who was six years younger. When he was a lieutenant +in the army, he made real sacrifices for Louis, who was twelve years +old. Yet, in spite of his love for them, he teased them just as he +teased Betsy. Every one knows how he used to fondle the little King of +Rome and carry him around in his arms while he was dictating to his +secretaries. One who knew him writes:</p> + +<p>"It used to be a real holiday for the Emperor when Queen Hortense came +to see her mother, bringing her two children. Napoleon would take them +in his arms, caress them, often tease them, and burst into laughter as +if he had been of their own age, when, according to his custom, he had +smeared their faces with jam or cream."</p> + +<p>Sometimes, however, he went too far, even with his young relatives. Once +when he had playfully pulled the ears of his nephew, little Achille +Murat, the boy protested, "You are a naughty, wicked man," to the great +amusement of his uncle.</p> + +<p>But if Napoleon was inclined to tease the young people at The Briars, he +was also ready to do pleasant things for them. He certainly entered into +the feelings of young people. With them he became a child, and an +amusing one. Many were the games he played with Betsy and her brothers +and sister, not only blindman's buff but puss in the corner and other +quieter games.</p> + +<p>Betsy was not the only one of the Balcombe family whom Napoleon loved to +tease. Jane, the elder sister, was the more dignified and it was +therefore easier to embarrass her. Toward the end of her stay at St. +Helena, an English surgeon, Dr. Stokoe, was sent to the island. He was +much the senior of Jane, but, because the two were seen much together, +the gossips of St. Helena thought that he wished to marry her.</p> + +<p>Napoleon himself occasionally teased Jane about Dr. Stokoe, and +professed to think that Mr. Balcombe was a cruel father, standing in the +way of his daughter's happiness. "Why have you refused your daughter to +the surgeon of the flagship?" he would ask mischievously, adding, +"<i>C'est un brave homme</i>."</p> + +<p>Napoleon's capacity for seeing the humorous side of things kept up his +spirits wonderfully during his first year or two of exile. Betsy's +enjoyment of a joke, even of a practical joke, was perhaps the strongest +bond between the Emperor and his little neighbor.</p> + +<p>"Come," he would say, "come, Mees Betsee, sit down and sing like our +dear departed friend." By this term Napoleon referred to a certain lady +who believed herself to be the possessor of a very fine voice. To +exhibit her prowess this lady would sit down and sing Italian airs in an +affected style. At the end of a performance the lady expected, and +received, the Emperor's compliments; but when at last she was away and +out of hearing, he roared with laughter as Betsy, at the piano, imitated +the lady's affectations.</p> + +<p>With his eyes closed he would pretend that he really believed he was +listening to the operatic lady, and end by thanking Betsy gravely for +the pleasure she had given.</p> + +<p>Napoleon himself was a good mimic. He amused the Balcombe family greatly +by his imitation of London cockney street cries.</p> + +<p>"Mees Jane," he asked one evening, "have you ever heard the London +cries?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir, never," she replied.</p> + +<p>"Then I must let you hear them;" and without waiting further, he began +to make a series of shrill sounds. At first it was difficult to +distinguish the words, for Napoleon's droll accent could hardly be +called good English. His intonation, however, was perfect, and exactly +represented the street venders crying their wares.</p> + +<p>"You must have been in London, unknown to any one," cried Jane; "for if +you haven't been there, I don't see how you could have got those cries +so perfectly."</p> + +<p>In suggesting that Napoleon might have been in London incognito, Jane +was only repeating what then had wide currency—that Napoleon in the +height of his power had slipped away from Paris, letting no one know +that he was to cross the Channel, to spend a few days in London, +studying the English and their ways.</p> + +<p>To the inquisitive Jane, however, Napoleon gave no information as to the +truth of this belief.</p> + +<p>"I was much entertained," he said, "by one of my buffos, who introduced +London street cries into a comedy that he got up in Paris."</p> + +<p>This mention of the theatre led Napoleon to speak of Talma. "He was the +truest actor to nature that ever trod the boards," he said.</p> + +<p>"Talma?" repeated Betsy, catching the actor's name. "Oh, I remember; +they used to say that you took lessons from him how to sit on the +throne."</p> + +<p>"I have often heard that myself," responded Napoleon, "and I even +mentioned it once to Talma himself as a sign that I was considered to +hold myself well on it."</p> + +<p>Napoleon often displayed his powers of mimicry, to the great +entertainment of the children.</p> + +<p>A large ball, given by Sir George Bingham in return for the civilities +that had been shown the Fifty-third Regiment, took place not far from +Longwood, and practically every one on the island was invited.</p> + +<p>"It was the very prettiest affair I ever saw," said Betsy, "and you +ought to have seen it."</p> + +<p>Glancing at Napoleon, she thought she caught a certain meaning in the +smile with which he greeted her remark. "I really believe you <i>were</i> +there," she exclaimed. "Some one told us you were going to take a peep +at us incognito, but I did not see you."</p> + +<p>Without deigning to reply, Napoleon began an ungraceful imitation of the +saraband, a dance that had been seen at this ball for the first time in +St. Helena. The young lady who waltzed in this dance had been very +awkward, and Napoleon's imitation of her movements was so perfect that +the girls were sure he had really seen her. Moreover he had so many +accurate criticisms to make of the people at the ball, and of the ball +in all its details, that no doubt was left in their minds that he had +been an actual looker-on.</p> + +<p>Napoleon thoroughly appreciated the humor of others, and was much +amused, for example, by a remark of Madame Bertrand's that he repeated +to Betsy.</p> + +<p>Madame Bertrand's son, Arthur, was about a month old when Napoleon asked +Betsy if she had seen the little fellow, adding, "You must hear the +clever way in which Madame Bertrand introduced the baby to me: 'Allow me +to present to your Majesty a subject who has dared to enter the gates of +Longwood without a pass from Sir Hudson Lowe.'"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>LONGWOOD DAYS</h3> + + +<p>Many a time when in the company of Napoleon and the members of his +suite, Betsy must have realized that this pleasant intercourse could not +last always.</p> + +<p>Few people remained indefinitely long at St. Helena,—few people, +indeed, besides the natives and the one life prisoner, the Emperor +Napoleon. Betsy, however, had no desire to leave her beloved island. She +loved its climate and its scenery, and she was happy with the many +people who were her friends. It was a gay little place, with numerous +officers quartered there with their families,—a much gayer place than +it would have been had not the British Government thought it necessary +to make it a great military stronghold for the safeguarding of the +Emperor,—a much gayer place than it had been before Napoleon's arrival.</p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a name="illus6" id="illus6"></a> +<img src="images/illus6.jpg" alt=""/> +</div> + +<h3>LONGWOOD</h3> +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + + +<p>Almost every day some form of amusement offered itself—races, balls, +picnics, and sham fights. There was also a pretty little theatre on the +island, established by the popular Commissary General, where amateur +plays were performed by the officers, to the great entertainment of all +who saw them.</p> + +<p>Madame Montholon and Madame Bertrand and, to a certain extent, the +gentlemen of the Emperor's suite entered more or less into the +festivities of the place. It was only Napoleon who always stayed at home +alone. Betsy, who was an especial favorite of Madame Bertrand, was often +at Longwood, and very often the latter was the young girl's chaperon at +balls or other entertainments.</p> + +<p>Yet even when no special gayety was in view, Betsy enjoyed her visits to +Longwood, and the ingenuous girl with her frank speech certainly +brightened the lives of the exiles. As for Betsy herself it was a great +advantage for her to be so much in the society of these French people, +with their cultivation and gayety. On cool evenings chairs were brought +out on the lawn leading to the billiard-room, and there the Countess of +Montholon and Madame Bertrand, with their husbands and children, would +spend the hour after sunset listening to the crickets, of which there +were thousands. Sometimes they sat on the lawn in the moonlight, gazing +long at the sky, which at St. Helena is of a peculiarly deep blue.</p> + +<p>Doubtless at such times the hearts of the poor exiles were far away +among home scenes in France, and even lively Betsy for the time was +quiet and subdued.</p> + +<p>One splendid starry night, as they were all on the lawn near the +billiard-room steps after a very sultry day, they heard a sound as if +heavy wagons were lumbering over the ground beneath. Those nearer the +house thought that it was about to fall about their heads. Dr. O'Meara +and Major Blakeney, Captain of the Guard, hastening from the room, +expected to find the ladies half dead with fright. All the household, +some from their beds, rushed out, looking wonderingly into the sky, and +little Tristram Montholon ran to his mother, screaming that some one had +tried to throw him out of his bed.</p> + +<p>This was in September, and the strange rumbling was caused by an +earthquake, the first one in St. Helena for a long time. Many feared for +their friends in the valleys with the sharp precipices, but fortunately +in the end it was shown that there had been no loss of life.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was in bed at the time of the shock.</p> + +<p>"Ah Mees Betsee," he asked the next morning, "were you frightened by the +<i>tremblement de terre</i>? You look pale and quiet."</p> + +<p>Betsy admitted that she had had a little fear at the earthquake.</p> + +<p>"I thought," said Napoleon, turning to General Bertrand, "that the +<i>Conqueror</i> had blown up in the harbor; but the second or third shock +showed that it was an earthquake."</p> + +<p>The <i>Conqueror</i> was the seventy-four gun ship whose arrival Betsy had +seen Napoleon observe with great interest.</p> + +<p>Betsy, for several nights after the earthquake, was too frightened to go +to bed, and in a day or two she was ill with a severe cold, caught while +sitting on the veranda. In this case, as always in illness, Napoleon was +sympathetic, blaming the climate and adding that the houses ought to +have plenty of fireplaces to protect people from sudden changes.</p> + +<p>"What would be the use of fireplaces," asked Betsy, "when we have no +coals?"</p> + +<p>"Then burn the orange trees," responded Napoleon.</p> + +<p>From this remark Betsy saw that for some reason the Emperor was not in +good humor, for he was one of those who realized the need of more trees +on St. Helena, and later—if he had not then begun—devoted much time +and money to planting trees in the neighborhood of Longwood. Perhaps the +presence of the <i>Conqueror</i> in the harbor disturbed him, since this was +the vessel that had brought Admiral Pamplin, who was to relieve Admiral +Malcom. Sir Pultney Malcom had come to St. Helena with Napoleon, and the +two had grown to be very good friends. The Admiral, a courteous old man, +with exquisite, kindly manners, showed great consideration for the +exile. He paid Napoleon many visits, sent him newspapers, and so far as +he could tried to protect him from various annoying things said or done +by Governor Lowe.</p> + +<p>It was not strange, then, that Napoleon should feel depressed at the +thought of Admiral Malcom's departure, and, in consequence, seem a +little more brusque than usual with Betsy in talking of her cold.</p> + +<p>Napoleon well understood the value of regular occupation and spent many +hours daily in reading and writing. He had few of the works of reference +that he needed for his historical work, yet he persevered in spite of +all difficulties. In the end he really had something to show, volumes of +military commentaries, essays on great generals and historical sketches, +chiefly of the time of the French Republic. These writings may not all +be perfectly accurate, but they show a wonderful memory and grasp of +facts. The inaccuracies, indeed, are chiefly such as must result when a +man writes without the proper documents and books to verify his +statements.</p> + +<p>The Memoirs left by Napoleon, the many volumes of conversations +collected by his friends on subjects of general interest, as well as +those books that relate to the military profession, show the wonderful +strength of his mind. His temperate habits were, of course, a great help +in carrying out the broad plans that he made for hard work. He took +little wine, and then only used it as a medicine.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's hours for rising and going to bed were very irregular. Often +on moonlight nights he would rise at three o'clock, and when at The +Briars he would go to the garden before Toby was up, getting the key +from the place where the old slave had hidden it. He would then have an +early breakfast of fresh fruits.</p> + +<p>Not infrequently, in those early days of his stay at St. Helena, Betsy +would see him in the early morning riding around the lawn on his +beautiful horse Hope, and when she talked with him she would learn that +already he had that day dictated a number of letters. Hope was the first +horse Napoleon rode on the island, and it pleased him to think that this +name was an augury.</p> + +<p>When it came to his bed hour, Napoleon's habits were most uncertain. +Frequently, when he was restless, he would have Marchand read him to +sleep.</p> + +<p>At times when he was ill he resented the doctor's efforts to get him to +take medicine. He had original ideas on the best treatment of the sick, +and believed strongly in the efficacy of the salt-water bath.</p> + +<p>However heterodox his views on any subject, Napoleon seldom hesitated to +express them, at least to those in whom he had confidence.</p> + +<p>"I have no faith whatever in medicine," said Napoleon one day to a very +clever medical man who was on the island. "My own remedies are +starvation and the warm bath. Churchmen," he added, "are often +hypocrites, because too much is expected of them. Politicians must have +a conventional conscience, and soldiers are cut-throats and robbers. But +surgeons are neither too good nor too bad; their mission is to benefit +mankind, and they have opportunities to study human nature as well as +science. I have a higher opinion of the surgical profession than of any +other. The practice of the law," he concluded, "is too severe for poor +human nature, for he who distorts truth and exults at the success of +injustice at last will hardly know right from wrong."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Napoleon liked sailors, and often talked with those who conducted +fatigue parties around the island.</p> + +<p>One day he asked the girls if they had met one active young reefer, who +happened to belong to a distinguished family.</p> + +<p>"He is one of the few combinations of high birth and intelligence I have +ever seen."</p> + +<p>"We know him," was the reply, "and he is one of the most popular men in +the ward-room. Oh, how funny he was when we first knew him!" added +Betsy. "He was coming back from the Admiral's ball. We met an old cart, +and he was surrounded by brother middies, all shouting, 'Lord W.'s +carriage stops the way.' Well, we couldn't get past, as the cart had +been dragged inside the arch through which we were to pass. Afterwards +this same young man had a narrow escape. He was rowing guard when hailed +by sentry. On account of the surf, the sentry could not hear him give +the password, and so he fired among the crew."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he can do anything. Sir Pultney Malcom put him in charge of the +government farm, and said he had never seen such vegetables produced on +the sterile rocks of St. Helena."</p> + +<p>"Whatever British sailors take in hand," said Napoleon, "they never +leave undone."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>A marble bust of the King of Rome was sent to Napoleon, probably by +Maria Louisa. Napoleon gazed on it with proud satisfaction and he seemed +pleased with the praises of Betsy and her mother.</p> + +<p>"You ought to be proud to be the father of so beautiful a boy," said +Mrs. Balcombe.</p> + +<p>Smiles lit Napoleon's face, and Betsy, child though she was, was +impressed by his expression of paternal fondness.</p> + +<p>The bust was of white marble and executed by Caracci, and it bore the +names Napoleon François Charles Joseph. The child was shown wearing the +Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. It had been brought from Leghorn by +the gunner of a ship bound to St. Helena, and although it had come so +mysteriously, people generally understood that Maria Louisa herself had +taken the trouble to have it sent in this way to Napoleon, her husband.</p> + +<p>"Now, come," said Madame Bertrand, after the sisters had spent some time +admiring Napoleon's gifts, "let me show you my presents;" for the ship +that had brought the bust brought things also to others of the French +exiles. These were chiefly for Countess Bertrand and Countess Montholon +from Lady Holland, who often remembered them in this way.</p> + +<p>"La bonne Lady Holland," as Napoleon called her, was one of the few +English women not afraid to show her sympathy with Napoleon and those +who had followed him to St. Helena. He was very grateful for her +attentions to him now when he was abandoned by the world. "All members +of the family of Fox," he said, "abound in liberal, generous sentiments. +Fox was sincere in his intentions, and had he lived England would not +have been devastated by war. He was the only minister who rightly +understood the interests of his country." To show that he had always +appreciated Fox, Napoleon told of a visit that the latter with his wife +paid to St. Cloud. By mistake he opened the door of a private room, and +he was surprised to see there his own statue among those of +distinguished citizens of the world, Hampden, Washington, Cicero, Lord +Chatham and his son.</p> + +<p>The regulation that an officer must accompany him on his rides was a +continued annoyance to Napoleon. At first he submitted, and rode off, +painfully realizing that a representative of his jailers constantly kept +his eye on him. After a time he decided that he would not ride if he +could not ride alone, and during the last four years of his life he was +not on a horse. As he had depended on riding for exercise during the +greater part of his life, he now suffered from giving it up. He not only +began to grow extremely stout, but his general health became poorer.</p> + +<p>It disturbed Napoleon greatly that the English always addressed him as +"General Bonaparte." The title "Emperor" would have been so barren on +St. Helena that it is hard to understand why Napoleon should have cared +much about it. He might easily have been as philosophic about this as he +was about other things.</p> + +<p>Soon after his arrival Sir Hudson Lowe addressed a card of invitation to +"General Bonaparte."</p> + +<p>"Send this card to General Bonaparte," said Napoleon to Count Bertrand. +"The last I heard of him was at the Pyramids and Mt. Tabor." Yet +Napoleon was never happier, never better loved by the French people, +than when, as General Bonaparte, he was received with the greatest +enthusiasm on his return from his Italian campaign.</p> + +<p>The English, on their part, were foolish in objecting to the use of a +title to which he once had had a perfect right, with all its power and +dignity. Now, deprived of the substance, there was no reason for +forbidding him the pleasure of treasuring the shadow. Sir George +Cockburn seems to have been almost childish in writing to Count +Bertrand:</p> + +<p>"I have no cognizance of any Emperor being actually upon this island, or +of any person possessing such dignity (as stated by you) having come +here."</p> + +<p>Language like this was far more absurd than Napoleon's obstinacy on the +subject. Even his good friend, Admiral Malcom, could not change his +views. In the course of a conversation on the subject of letting him +have the title "Emperor," Malcom said decidedly:</p> + +<p>"Still, it would be impossible to treat you as a sovereign."</p> + +<p>"Why, they might leave me my honors to amuse me. It would do no harm on +this rock."</p> + +<p>"But you would have to be styled Emperor."</p> + +<p>"No; they could not do that. I have abdicated."</p> + +<p>"But you object to be called General."</p> + +<p>"That is because I am no longer a general,—not since I returned from +Egypt,—but why not call me 'Napoleon'?"</p> + +<p>It was a long and painful discussion, and it did not end even with +Napoleon's death. The British Government, since Napoleon was securely in +its power, could have afforded to let him wear the title that had once +been his by right, even though on St. Helena it would have shown itself +an almost foolishly vain ornament. The foreign Commissioners were told +by the countries that they represented to give him this title, but the +Act of Parliament dealing with the distinguished prisoner had called him +"Napoleon Bonaparte," and this, or "General Bonaparte," he was to be to +all who had dealings with him at St. Helena.</p> + +<p>Within his own circle—and in this circle the Balcombe family may be +included—he was ever "the Emperor."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Napoleon often showed great kindness to the sick. For example, when a +certain officer, Captain Meynell, was ill under Mr. Balcombe's roof at +The Briars, Napoleon sent Cipriani, his <i>maître d'hôtel</i>, daily to +inquire about him, and seemed really concerned when he asked about him.</p> + +<p>Not long after he left The Briars, Betsy had a severe illness. When +Napoleon heard of this he sent constantly to inquire for her, and the +messenger usually brought her some delicacy made by Piron.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's kindness of heart was also shown by his attitude toward the +Malay slave, named Toby, who had care of the beautiful garden at The +Briars. When no one was in it the garden was kept locked and the key was +left in Toby's hands. Toby and Napoleon speedily became friends, and the +black man always spoke of the Emperor as "that good man, Bony." He +always placed the key of the garden where Napoleon could reach it under +the wicket. The black man was original and entertaining, and so +autocratic that no one at The Briars ever disputed his authority. His +story was rather pathetic.</p> + +<p>He had been enticed from his native place many years before, brought to +St. Helena by the English, smuggled on shore and illegally sold as a +slave, let out to whoever would hire him, and his earnings chiefly +appropriated to his master. Napoleon perhaps recognized in Toby a +kindred spirit, or at least felt a common bond in the fact that both had +been brought unwillingly to the island. Certainly he liked him, and, +when he had heard his story, wished to buy and free him. But for +political reasons, when Mr. Balcombe made Napoleon's wishes known to Sir +Hudson Lowe, he could not get his consent.</p> + +<p>Toby, however, was grateful to Napoleon for his wish to help him, and +continued his devoted admirer. On going from The Briars, Napoleon +presented Toby with twenty-nine napoleons and always inquired for his +health. When Napoleon left The Briars, Toby often arranged bouquets and +fruits to go to Longwood,—"to that good man, Bony."</p> + +<p>Toby, from all accounts, was an attractive fellow. His countenance had a +frank and benevolent expression. His eyes were animated and sparkling, +his aspect not abject, but prepossessing. So at least he appeared to +Betsy, and one day she was interested to hear Napoleon reflecting upon +him:</p> + +<p>"What, after all, is a poor prisoner but a machine? As for poor Toby, he +endures his misfortunes very quietly; he stoops to his work, and spends +his days in innocent tranquillity. This man, after all, had his family +and his happiness and his liberty, and it was a horrible act of cruelty +to bring him here to languish in the fetters of his slavery."</p> + +<p>Toby, however, was not the only slave on St. Helena. Not long after the +first discovery of the island by the Portuguese, Juan Denova Castella, a +nobleman, was exiled there for desertion and had to spend four years in +complete solitude, except for a few slaves that he was allowed to have +with him. The Portuguese did not colonize St. Helena, and after a time +the Dutch held it for many years. When they had deserted it, the East +India Company, with plenty of capital, took possession and naturally +fell back on slave labor to cultivate the fields. When the Dutch saw +that St. Helena was likely to prove profitable to the English they tried +to get it back again, but the effort was unsuccessful, and since 1666 it +has been counted an English possession. At one time a law was passed +restricting the importation of slaves, for the colonists had begun to +fear that they might outnumber the Europeans. There was, however, an old +law that every Madagascar ship should leave one slave to work the +company's plantations. The slaves were often troublesome, but the +cruelty with which they were treated was inexcusable. Probably many a +poor creature on the island had been stolen from his home, just as we +know poor Toby had been stolen.</p> + +<p>After the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe, the new Governor reminded the +people of St. Helena that their island was the last British possession +to retain slavery. Various plans were proposed for doing away with it, +and at last, at his suggestion, it was agreed that after Christmas Day, +1818, all children born of slave women should be considered free. Thus +the great evil gradually ceased.</p> + +<p>This good action on the part of Sir Hudson Lowe—that he helped gain +freedom for the slaves—made him no better liked by Napoleon and his +friends. From the first, indeed, the Governor was suspicious of +Napoleon's friends, and the fear that they were plotting for Napoleon's +escape was one of the reasons, probably, for the regulations that +greatly annoyed Napoleon. It seemed as if he wished Napoleon to be +surrounded entirely by English, for one of his early acts was to tell +the French that they were at liberty to leave St. Helena whenever they +wished. Every facility, he said, would be offered them to return to +Europe. Had he known human nature better, Sir Hudson Lowe would have +realized that persons who had given up so much to follow Napoleon would +hardly desert him merely because conditions on the island did not suit +them.</p> + +<p>At last, on one pretext or another, he contrived to have several of +Napoleon's attendants sent away,—Santini, the clever little +lamplighter, the jack-of-all-trades, who had so often amused Betsy's +small brothers with his toys; Rousseau, his artificer; and Archambaud, +his coachman, whose reckless driving of the jaunting car always struck +terror to Betsy's heart. Most important of all, however, was the +departure of Count Las Cases, who had never failed to frown on Betsy's +hoydenish pranks. With Count Las Cases went his son, the boy about whom +Napoleon had loved to tease Betsy. It was before the end of Napoleon's +first year at Longwood that these two were sent away on the charge of +bribing a young native of St. Helena to carry a letter to Europe for +them. This would not have been a serious offence, except for the reason +that the Governor had made a regulation that no letter should be sent to +Europe without passing through his hands.</p> + +<p>For a time Las Cases and his son were in prison on the island. Later +they were despatched to the Cape of Good Hope, where they were detained +seven months and at last sent to England.</p> + +<p>"Let them take away all my Frenchmen," said Napoleon sadly, after the +departure of Las Cases. "I do not want them." He especially missed Las +Cases, since it was to him that he daily dictated the material for his +Memoirs.</p> + +<p>Not long after the departure of Las Cases, Napoleon was greatly +disturbed because the Governor would not let him receive a visit from a +botanist just arrived from Europe, who was known lately to have seen +Maria Louisa and the little King of Rome. Betsy sympathized with him in +his indignation at this and other needless restrictions.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, however, she felt like laughing at him.</p> + +<p>"Where is the Emperor, where is the Emperor?" she asked one morning, +when staying at Longwood after a ball.</p> + +<p>At first no one could inform her, but at last some one said, "Go over +there; he is building a ditch."</p> + +<p>Going in the direction indicated, the young girl found Napoleon +superintending the building of a trench that he was having constructed, +so that he might have a place where he could walk unobserved.</p> + +<p>"Do not laugh!" he said, after Betsy had come upon him, standing with +folded arms and downcast gaze. "Do not laugh! I must have a walk of my +own, where no one can look at me when I go out."</p> + +<p>Even though she smiled, Betsy understood Napoleon's feeling. In his +early days at The Briars, when he was permitted to walk out unattended, +Napoleon was fond of strolling some distance from the cottage. Later +when he could not go far without the watchful eye of an officer upon +him, he almost gave up walking. At a certain hour of the afternoon, as +it was known that he took a short walk along a straight path not far +from the house, the curious often stationed themselves at a distance +where they could observe him. On account of this annoying observation, +Napoleon conceived the plan of digging a ditch or trench. The ditch +served at least one purpose: while it was digging it gave Napoleon +plenty of occupation in directing the workmen. When it was finished it +is said that he never used it as a promenade.</p> + +<p>His unwillingness to take exercise resulted in a serious illness. During +this time Betsy and her sister did not see him, but whenever they met +Dr. O'Meara they eagerly questioned him about their friend. "I would +rather die at once than walk, as you prescribe." These were the words of +Napoleon that Dr. O'Meara reported to the sisters. "I have tried +persuasion of every kind, but I cannot get him to take exercise," he +said, "although I have told him that this is the only thing that can +possibly cure him. I urged him to let me call in another surgeon, so +that if he should grow no better, too much blame need not fall on me, +and what was his reply?"</p> + +<p>Dr. O'Meara paused for a moment, and then repeated Napoleon's exact +words: "If all the physicians in the world were collected, they would +but repeat what you have already advised me—to take constant exercise +on horseback. I am well aware of the truth of what you say, but if I +were to call in another surgeon, it would be like sending a physician to +a starving man instead of giving him a loaf of bread. I have no +objection to your making known to him my state of health, if it be any +satisfaction to you; but I know that he will say, 'Exercise.' As long as +this strict surveillance is enforced, I will never stir."</p> + +<p>In vain Dr. O'Meara repeated his arguments. Napoleon had but one reply, +"Would you have me render myself liable to insult from the sentries +surrounding my house, as Madame Bertrand was, some days ago?"</p> + +<p>"Jane," said Betsy, who always saw the funny side of things, "what a +fine caricature this would have made for the London print +shops—Napoleon stopped at the gates by a sentinel, charging him with a +fixed bayonet! How the Londoners would laugh! No, I don't blame Napoleon +for staying indoors."</p> + +<p>But when Betsy saw the Emperor after this illness, her heart was filled +with pity. His skin was a waxy yellow and his cheeks hung in deep +pouches. His ankles were terribly swollen, and he could not stand +without the support of a table on one side and the shoulder of an +attendant on the other.</p> + +<p>As Betsy looked at him, tears fell from her eyes and she could hardly +keep from sobbing aloud.</p> + +<p>"Ah!" said Napoleon kindly. "Do not cry, Mees Betsee. I am almost +well—and the good O'Meara will surely cure me."</p> + +<p>Upon this Betsy became more cheerful, but later, when they were out of +the Emperor's hearing, Mrs. Balcombe shook her head sorrowfully, as she +turned to Betsy, saying, "He has the stamp of death on his brow."</p> + +<p>Had Napoleon been less obstinate, within the eight miles of enclosure +allotted him he might certainly have taken enough exercise of various +kinds to preserve his health.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE PARTING</h3> + + +<p>At last the time came when Napoleon and his young neighbor must part. +The health of Betsy's mother, Mrs. Balcombe, was not good, and the +family decided to go home to England. Mr. Balcombe obtained six months' +leave, but, although the family professed to expect to return, in their +secret hearts they felt that they were bidding good-bye to St. Helena.</p> + +<p>A day or two before sailing Betsy and Jane went over to Longwood to say +farewell to Napoleon. They found him in the billiard-room, as usual, +surrounded by books. There was sadness in his voice as he talked about +their departure.</p> + +<p>"I hope your mother's health will soon be restored," he said. "Give her +my kindest regards and best wishes for the journey. Soon you will be +sailing away towards England, leaving me to die on this miserable rock. +Look at those dreadful mountains—they are my prison walls. You will +soon hear that the Emperor Napoleon is dead."</p> + +<p>At these melancholy words the emotional Betsy burst into tears and +Jane's eyes grew moist. Betsy sobbed as if her heart would break, and +Napoleon, greatly moved, tried to comfort her. Betsy felt for her +handkerchief, only to find that she had left it in her side-saddle +pocket. So Napoleon, holding his own toward her, said, "Take it, and +keep it in remembrance of this sad day."</p> + +<p>The sisters went the rounds of Longwood, bidding good-bye to all that +was dear to them. Later they dined with Napoleon, but Betsy was still so +overcome with grief that she could hardly swallow.</p> + +<p>"Take some bonbons," said Napoleon kindly.</p> + +<p>"I cannot," she cried. "My throat has a swelling, and I cannot eat!"</p> + +<p>When at last they were ready to go, the Emperor embraced the two sisters +with great affection.</p> + +<p>"Do not forget me!" he said. "I thank you for your kindness and +friendship, and all my happy hours in your society."</p> + +<p>The two sisters could hardly reply.</p> + +<p>"Mees Betsee," he added, after a moment's pause, "what would you like to +have in remembrance?"</p> + +<p>"A lock of your hair," sobbed the young girl, "better than anything +else."</p> + +<p>"Marchand shall bring the scissors, then;" and the devoted Marchand, +promptly obeying, severed four locks for the four older members of the +Balcombe family.</p> + +<p>Not long before they left, Napoleon in a conversation with Mr. Balcombe +said:</p> + +<p>"I fear that your resignation of your employment in this island is +caused by the quarrels and annoyances drawn upon you by the relation +established between your family and Longwood, in consequence of the +hospitality which you showed on my first arrival in St. Helena. I would +not wish you to regret having known me."</p> + +<p>Although Mr. Balcombe did not exactly confirm what Napoleon said about +the reason for his withdrawal from St. Helena, he knew that to a great +extent it was true. For a long time Sir Hudson Lowe had been +dissatisfied with the intimacy existing between Napoleon and the +Balcombes. While he admitted that he had no tangible cause for +complaint, he was constantly watching for one, and was always ready to +call Mr. Balcombe to account for what he considered partiality for the +illustrious exile. As the Governor himself put it, he was not without +suspicion that his relations with Longwood were not limited to the +ostensible duties of his office. The Governor at this time was very +suspicious of Dr. O'Meara, and as Mr. Balcombe and he were intimate +friends, the former was naturally regarded also with disfavor.</p> + +<p>More than once had Betsy's careless behavior drawn a reprimand upon her +father. But for the Governor's feeling against him, Mr. Balcombe and his +family might have been on St. Helena during the last sad days of +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>As it was, they went back to England the middle of March, 1818, little +more than three years before Napoleon's death. Their ship was the +Winchelsea store-ship, on its way from China, and on the same vessel +went General Gorgaud, the bachelor of Napoleon's suite, a pompous, +though brave man, for whom Betsy had no especial liking. General Gorgaud +knew that he would never return to St. Helena. Mr. Balcombe had obtained +a six months' leave from his official duties, but he, too, may have felt +as the vessel sailed away that he was unlikely ever again to look upon +its frowning walls.</p> + +<p>As to Betsy, Napoleon's young neighbor, the tears that fell from her +eyes when she said her last good-bye to the Emperor were not the last +that she shed for him. As the years went by she ever listened eagerly to +all the news that came from St. Helena, until the final mournful tidings +in the early summer of 1821, that Napoleon had died on the fifth of May.</p> + +<p>"I am sure," said Betsy long afterwards, "after seeing Napoleon in every +possible mood and in his most unguarded moments, I know that the idea of +acting a part never entered his head. I had the most complete conviction +of his want of guile, and the thorough goodness and amiability of his +heart."</p> + +<p>Betsy was a keen observer of human nature, and another of her judgments +is worth remembering: "That this impression of his amiability and +goodness was common to almost all who approached him is proved by the +devotion of his followers at St. Helena. They had then nothing more to +expect from him, and only entailed misery on themselves by adhering to +his fortunes."</p> + +<p>It is indeed a fact worth remembering, that Napoleon's suite, in spite +of the fact that to a great extent Napoleon obliged them to practise the +rigid etiquette of a court, were all devoted to him. It is true that +they had to stand in his presence and in certain ways keep up a ceremony +that seemed absurd in an establishment as simple as that of Longwood; +but there were many hours of relaxation. In these hours of relaxation +Napoleon played cards with his friends, or chess, or—after he went to +Longwood—billiards. He was fond of reading aloud, and not infrequently +favored his friends with a long reading. Sometimes he indulged in +declamation, for he was rather proud of the fact that he had learned +something of this art from the great Talma. In his later years at +Longwood he devised ways of getting his needed exercise indoors and +worked almost too vigorously at gardening.</p> + +<p>An old St. Helena newspaper has an account of his exertions in his +garden, not long before his death, which has a pathos of its own: "A few +weeks before his death the Emperor labored with a spade in his garden so +long and so severely as to be faint with fatigue. Some one suggested the +probable injury to his health. 'No,' said he, 'it cannot injure my +health; that is lost beyond all hope. It will but shorten my days.'"</p> + +<p>The disease from which Napoleon died was one that he had inherited from +his father,—one, indeed, for which there is no cure. So it cannot be +said with certainty that his life might have been prolonged if he had +been more careful to get enough, and only enough, of the right kind of +exercise. Yet though his life may have had to run in its natural course, +his last years would have been much happier if there had been no +friction between him and the Governor of St. Helena.</p> + +<p>The last three years of Napoleon's life were undoubtedly the loneliest +he had known. He missed Las Cases, Gorgaud, the Balcombes, and O'Meara, +whom the Governor was at last able to get out of the way. Napoleon kept +himself busy with his gardening and his books, and when, in 1819, the +Government began to build a new house for him, he spent much time +watching its progress, although with true forebodings he often said that +he should never live to occupy it.</p> + +<p>He still refused to take exercise, and once in a fit of depression +stayed in the house for three months. Thus his health continued to +suffer and he grew stout and clumsy. When he did go out he was apt to +drive around the eight miles of his enclosure at breakneck speed, in a +carriage drawn by six horses. In October, 1820, he sent word to Sir +William Doveton that he would be glad to breakfast with him. Sir William +was, of course, happy to receive his distinguished guest, and breakfast +was served on the lawn to Napoleon and Generals Bertrand and Montholon. +The breakfast in the society of Sir William Doveton and his family +passed off pleasantly, and Napoleon started to walk home. Unluckily he +had not the strength to carry out his good intentions, and on the way +back to Longwood he had to stop at a cottage by the way to rest, while +his carriage was sent for.</p> + +<p>Betsy would have been glad, if the fact had ever come to her ears, to +learn that in his last year or two Napoleon had another little friend +who to a certain degree could fill the place in his affections always +ready for children. This was the young daughter of a soldier of the +garrison, little Julia, nine years old, who was intelligent and +companionable.</p> + +<p>When he knew that Julia was coming to see him, Napoleon always had +fruits and sweetmeats ready for her. Not long before he died he hung a +gold watch and chain around Julia's neck, saying, "Wear this for my +sake." On the cover he had scratched an inscription with his penknife, +"The Emperor to his little friend Julia." When she visited him they sat +or walked in the garden, and Napoleon found some amusement in giving her +drawing lessons from nature. One fine morning in April, when Julia +appeared, Napoleon invited her inside the house where the breakfast +table was laid. Standing by the table, he filled her little basket with +fruit and sweet things, and at last put a bottle of wine in the basket, +saying, "For your father to drink my health in."</p> + +<p>Alas! it was too late for any one to wish Napoleon good health. Not long +after he had suggested the toast for Julia's father, he had to go to +bed. Whatever others thought, he was sure that he would never rise. He +probably knew that the end was near. The very end came suddenly, and +many on St. Helena, who had not known of the seriousness of his +condition, were greatly surprised to hear of his death on the fifth of +May.</p> + +<p>Before the funeral Napoleon's body lay in state, and naval and military +officers and many others were permitted to view it. When Sir Hudson Lowe +looked at Napoleon immediately after his death, he was impressed by the +nobility of the dead man's expression. "His face in death," he wrote to +Lord Bathurst, "was the most beautiful I have ever seen." Yet even to +the dead Napoleon the Governor maintained the same attitude as to the +living, for when it came to the question of the inscription to be placed +on the Emperor's coffin, he would not permit the simple "Napoleon" with +dates and places of birth and death, but insisted that in addition it +should bear the surname "Bonaparte."</p> + +<p>British soldiers carried Napoleon from the house to the car that was to +bear him to the burial place; but the horses that drew the car were four +that had belonged to the late Emperor. Orders had been issued to conduct +his funeral as that of a general of the highest rank. In consequence the +left side of the road from Longwood to the grave was lined with troops. +It was a solemn and impressive procession that moved along as escort, +paying the last earthly honors to Napoleon, on whose coffin lay his +sword and the mantle of Marengo.</p> + +<p>Napoleon had always wished to be buried in France, but toward the end of +his life, when it seemed unlikely that his wish could be gratified, he +gave directions as to the spot in St. Helena that he preferred. This was +a romantic and picturesque enclosure in a ravine not very far from +Longwood. Often, when out walking, the Emperor had stopped there to +quench his thirst at a small spring. The little valley was shaded with +Norfolk pines, firs, and other trees, and here, near the spring, under +the shade of two great willow trees, Napoleon's body was laid to rest. +As it was lowered into the grave three discharges from eleven pieces of +musketry were fired.</p> + +<p>As his sorrowing attendants turned away, how overwhelmingly sad must the +reflections of the two of Napoleon's personal suite have been! Only +Montholon and Bertrand were there at the last, though Marchand and other +attendants still remained. Montholon, when a boy of ten, had known +Napoleon in Corsica, and Bertrand had long been one of his +officers,—"the best engineer officer I have ever known," said Napoleon.</p> + +<p>Now their years of faithful devotion were at an end. With heavy hearts +they turned their backs on the lonely grave under the willow trees and +soon they sailed away to the great world, their hearts filled with +memories of Napoleon.</p> + +<p>Nineteen years after Napoleon's death a French frigate, <i>La Belle +Poule</i>, commanded by the Prince of Joinville, arrived off Jamestown. The +wheel had turned, and the friends and admirers of Napoleon were on top.</p> + +<p>Even Great Britain was not unwilling that the dead Napoleon should have +the honor that was his due. The frigate had come for the body of +Napoleon to give it proper honors in France. On <i>La Belle Poule</i> were +Count Bertrand, his son Arthur, born at St. Helena, General Gorgaud, the +young Las Cases, and the faithful Marchand.</p> + +<p>The body of Napoleon was taken from the tomb under the willow trees and +borne back to France. Every one knows of the magnificent funeral given +their dead hero by the impulsive French. Every one has heard how +countless throngs filled the streets of Paris, how the military display +has seldom been equalled, as the catafalque, preceded by a riderless +horse, went slowly along the tree-lined boulevards. The wonderful tomb +of Napoleon in the Hotel des Invalides is known to many, but there are +few in comparison who have visited the little enclosure at the bottom of +the deep ravine where the Emperor's body lay for a score of years. Yet, +in the days of wooden ships, when St. Helena was the place where +captains had to call to re-provision their vessels, many a passenger on +going ashore hastened to Napoleon's grave, and while the world stands +the secluded valley will continue to claim the interest of Napoleon's +admirers. The vault itself is now covered with a broad, flat stone, +without inscription, and its cemented surface is cracked in places. +There is a hedge around the fence and a sentry box at the entrance of +the enclosure. Here there is a notice to the effect that the grave is +now the property of the French Republic, and in the sentry box an +attendant keeps a book and registers the names of all who visit the spot +where once lay the body of Napoleon.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>THE PANORAMA</h3> + + +<p>Who can blame Betsy for Being Heavy-hearted on that day in early spring +when she sailed away from St. Helena, toward the colder country that was +her real home? Even though her parents and her brothers and sister were +with her, she felt that she was leaving behind much that was dear. She +loved the lonely, mountainous island where she had lived so long. She +believed that no other flowers or fruits could equal those produced on +its tropical soil. She felt that no new friends could compare with those +from whom she had just parted.</p> + +<p>More than this, although she tried to persuade herself that in the +future she might revisit St. Helena, she could hardly believe that when +that day arrived, Napoleon would still be there to receive her with his +accustomed cordiality.</p> + +<p>Indeed, as a true friend of the Emperor's, Betsy could scarcely wish to +find him there on that indefinite day of her return, since that would +mean long-continued captivity for him. Rather, if she hoped to see him +again, the young girl more probably imagined that after no very long +time some change in the sentiments of those in power might result in +freeing him from his galling bondage.</p> + +<p>Though we to-day may not be certain just what form Betsy's thoughts took +on that monotonous homeward voyage, we can be sure that Napoleon had no +small part in them. Already she knew the chief facts in his meteoric +career; and her vivid fancy must have brought before her many scenes in +which he had had part.</p> + +<p>Like Betsy, you and I may see the panorama of Napoleon's life unfold in +a series of pictures melting into one another, some clearer than the +others, yet all leaving an ineffaceable impression.</p> + +<p>First, there is the thin, pale, serious-eyed boy running half wild over +the hills of his native Corsica. He is an affectionate brother—this +young Napoleon—to the six younger brothers and sisters, and a close +companion of Joseph, only a year older. He is devoted to his +high-spirited and energetic mother, once the beautiful Letitia Ramolino, +whose life, since her marriage, has been so hard. He is dutiful to his +father, the improvident, though ambitious Charles Marié de Buonaparte. +Yet, although dutiful, he resents his father's lack of patriotism in +seeking favors from the Frenchmen in authority in Corsica, for the boy, +born only a year after Corsica had passed under French rule, had small +love for those outsiders who had made it impossible for his native +island to gain independence.</p> + +<p>One of our pictures would show us Napoleon, a timid boy in the military +school at Brienne, where his father had secured a place for him by +showing he was of noble descent. The boy works hard at his tasks, his +teachers commend his industry, while calling him reserved and obstinate.</p> + +<p>The young Napoleon is not happy in the society of his one hundred and +twenty fellow-pupils, who, like himself, are supported by the Government +at Brienne. They are largely the sons of poor nobles—vain and +indolent—and they love to tease the timid boy.</p> + +<p>"I am tired of poverty and the jeers of insolent scholars. If fortune +refuses to smile upon me, take me from Brienne, and make me if you will +a mechanic." In spite of this letter, the father wisely keeps the little +boy at Brienne, and gradually he makes friends, especially among the +teachers.</p> + +<p>"I have seen a spark here which cannot be too carefully cultivated," +writes the aged Chevalier de Keralio, an inspector of the school, who is +anxious to have Napoleon sent to the military school at Paris.</p> + +<p>Our pictures are now painted in somewhat brighter colors.</p> + +<p>For although at Paris the young Napoleon is not perfectly contented, he +knows that he is on the way to a modest independence. He is surrounded +by foolish young men with whose extravagance he cannot keep up. But only +his sympathetic sister Elizabeth at St. Cyr hears him complain of the +difficulties that beset him.</p> + +<p>Napoleon is naturally happier when at the early age of sixteen he finds +himself a second lieutenant in the army. He rejoices at the prospect of +helping his family out of his meagre income of less than two hundred and +fifty dollars a year. But his responsibility is suddenly increased when +Charles Bonaparte, his father, dies. The family is worse off than +before, and when Joseph cannot straighten out their tangled affairs, +Napoleon decides to undertake the task.</p> + +<p>After eight years of absence we see Napoleon on leave from his regiment, +returning to Corsica. He has hard work before him. There are four little +children under nine, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome, at home with +their widowed mother. There are two, Lucien and Elizabeth, away at +school. Only Joseph and Napoleon are on their feet, and on Napoleon, the +stronger character, falls the brunt of the burden.</p> + +<p>When the young lieutenant goes back to the army he takes Louis with him. +He tutors him in mathematics, he shares his all with him. He deprives +himself of many things really necessary to his position in order to help +his family.</p> + +<p>"I breakfast on dry bread," he writes. He stints himself for his family, +he stints himself still further to have a little money for the books +that he needs.</p> + +<p>The claims of the family are pressing. Again Napoleon has leave of +absence. In Corsica he tries in vain to get something for his mother +from what is left of their property,—from salt works, from a mulberry +plantation belonging to the estate.</p> + +<p>It is five or six years since the death of Charles Bonaparte. Napoleon +has been away from his post too long. In 1792, after an absence from his +regiment of fifteen months, he loses his place in the army.</p> + +<p>The picture now before us is a dark one. The young man is discouraged. +Hardly knowing where to turn, he drifts toward Paris.</p> + +<p>For two or three years he has been uncertain which side to take in the +Revolution on which France is entering. Many things incline him toward +the King's party. He is in Paris on that memorable June 10 when the King +is deposed. He sees the terrible events of the 10th of August. While he +sympathizes with the King, he perceives that the great question is one +of the nation rather than the individual.</p> + +<p>Intelligent young men are greatly needed in the army. Napoleon's ability +is known. He receives a captain's commission, signed by the King, though +really given by the Revolutionary Government. Soon he is at Toulon, +where, by acting on his advice, the French drive the English from the +harbor in December, 1793.</p> + +<p>The young man's prospects are brightening. There are only a few shadows +on the picture. A revolution in Corsica drives his family to France, and +while he feels his responsibility, Napoleon cannot yet do much for them.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's talents impress all who come in contact with him. The time +approaches when he is to reap the reward for all his years of patient +study. Young Robespierre calls attention to his transcendent merit. +Though he is not a Terrorist, he has many friends in the party, and +after the fall of Robespierre the young Corsican spends nearly a +fortnight in prison. Once more he loses his place in the army, in which +he has been commissioned General. Discouraged, with nothing to do in +Paris, he thinks of accepting an office from the Sultan. But Fortune is +soon to favor him again. Not so very long after his release from prison +we gaze on a thrilling scene. It is the 13th Vendémiaire, year III, or +October 15, 1795. The Directory under which the Government of France is +now carried on has to face a revolt of the people and the National +Guard. General Barras, who had observed Napoleon's great ability at +Toulon, summons the young officer to help the Directory. Napoleon orders +the artillery to sweep the Sections.</p> + +<p>By this use of cannon, with fearful slaughter, the smaller force of the +Government conquers the uprising. Next day Napoleon is mentioned by the +Commander-in-Chief for his distinguished services, and shortly he +becomes General-in-Chief of the Army of the Interior.</p> + +<p>Picture after picture passes quickly before us, and always Napoleon is +in the foreground. We see him now for the first time really enjoying +society. The brusque and rather timid young officer is lionized in the +drawing-room of Madame Tallien. There he meets the beautiful Josephine, +widow of Alexandre de Beauharnais, and soon asks her to marry him.</p> + +<p>It is said that Napoleon first became interested in Josephine through +her sending her son Eugène to ask him to secure for him the sword of his +father who had been put to death during the Reign of Terror. But whether +the story is true or not, certainly Napoleon always has the greatest +affection for Eugène and his sister Hortense. Napoleon's family are now +in Paris. They share equally in the prosperity that has come to him. He +lavishes on his mother all that she will accept. It pains him that +neither she nor his brothers and sisters are pleased with his marriage.</p> + +<p>Two days after the wedding, Napoleon leaves Josephine to cross the +Apennines as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. We see the +Italians running before those whom they had contemptuously called the +"rag heroes." The French win victory after victory. Arcola, Lodi, +Milan—eighteen pitched battles, forty-seven smaller engagements. +Everywhere Napoleon is the idol, not only of his own soldiers, but of a +large number of Italians, who hope through him to gain political +liberty.</p> + +<p>When, after the Treaty of Campo Formio, Napoleon returns to Paris in +December, 1797, France is at his feet, rejoicing in the glory that comes +to her through victories, rejoicing in the treasures of art that the +young conqueror had brought back to adorn the Paris museums.</p> + +<p>The scene changes—Napoleon is setting out for Egypt. He hopes to weaken +England by attacking her power in the East. He hopes to strengthen +himself in the eyes of the French by winning new victories. For idolized +though he is by the French people, he realizes their fickleness, and he +knows that the Directory is jealous of him. This expedition has not the +brilliancy of the Italian campaign. He does not succeed in disabling the +British, the French fleet meets fearful disaster. On land the French +army suffers terribly from pestilence. But Napoleon has many scientific +men with him on this expedition, and science gains greatly by this +Egyptian campaign. Then by chance he learns that there is the utmost +political discontent in France. Almost secretly he sails away from +Egypt. We see him in Paris by the middle of October, 1799. His enemies +are astonished. But Napoleon's hour has come. The famous <i>coup d'état</i> +follows, and in less than two months after his return from Egypt, +Napoleon has become temporary Dictator of France. His title is First +Consul, but many shake their heads and murmur that Napoleon, instead of +serving the term prescribed by law, means to make himself Consul for +life.</p> + +<p>Yet whatever Napoleon's ambitions may be, it is clear that France needs +a strong man at the head of the Government. Then as we observe the clear +eye and firm bearing of the young Corsican, it is evident that no one +abler than he can be found to direct the work of upbuilding the country.</p> + +<p>Our picture of France shows no longer a scene of confusion, of chaos, +although much must be done before the Republic can hold her own—except +in war—with other great nations.</p> + +<p>Napoleon is tired of war, but those Powers to whom he suggests peace are +not ready to accept his overtures. They are more willing to listen to +him after his Austrian campaign, when Marengo and Lunéville are added to +the French victories.</p> + +<p>The Peace of Amiens gives Europe a breathing spell—for no one believes +that this peace will last forever.</p> + +<p>Perhaps among all our pictures of Napoleon there is hardly one more +pleasing than this of his First Consulate, when we see him walking among +his gorgeously attired officers, noticeable for the simplicity of his +attire. For in spite of the example of extravagant dress set by others, +he is content with the plain uniform of a colonel of grenadiers or of +the light infantry.</p> + +<p>"His address is the finest I have ever seen," writes one who meets him +at this time, "and said by those who have travelled to exceed not only +every Prince and Potentate now in being, but even all those whose memory +has come down to us.... While he speaks, his features are still more +expressive than his words."</p> + +<p>This is the Napoleon whom Betsy knew—this man whose simple, pleasing +manners drew every one to him—every one at least whom he wished to +attract. Had he cared to make the effort he might even have won Sir +Hudson Lowe.</p> + +<p>For in those earlier days, before his downfall, many an Englishman, with +a deeply rooted prejudice against Napoleon, on visiting Paris, like the +writer of the above, found his prejudices melt away like snow in summer.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>THE LAST PICTURES</h3> + + +<p>Our pictures change little as they show the next stage of Napoleon's +progress. For when in the summer of 1801 he is made Consul for life, he +appears still to be the same ardent lover of liberty that he was when he +became First Consul. He is still the idol of the French people—as well +he may be—for what ruler has ever done so much for them? When once +things are in his own hands he codifies the laws, gives security to all +forms of religion, and organizes the educational system of France. He +does everything possible for the rebuilding of the state. He regulates +taxes, that the burden may fall equitably on all classes. He helps +manufactures of every kind. He proves himself a masterly road-builder. +He establishes museums, and orders the construction of great public +buildings. In peace he seems to be greater even than he has shown +himself in war. He encourages literature, art, and music, and makes +Paris so beautiful that its citizens are justified in their pride.</p> + +<p>He surrounds himself with capable men. In no way does he more clearly +show his own superiority than by letting it be seen that he is free from +jealousy. He is always ready to reward publicly those who help him in +any of his undertakings. Not all Napoleon's plans are carried out during +his Consulship, but they are begun with such vigor that no one doubts +that they will be completed. The country is the better for his firm +hand. Yet in some ways we admired him more in his earlier years. His +ambition now casts a shadow that should warn him that the middle way is +the best.</p> + +<p>In one way at least Napoleon's ambitions do not get the better of him. +As he advances in power he does not forget old friends. They share his +prosperity, these schoolmates and associates of his earlier years. They +are given honors that some of them find it hard to wear gracefully.</p> + +<p>"Here we are at the Tuileries," he exclaims to an old friend, when made +Consul for life. "We must remain here."</p> + +<p>In the short breathing spell made possible by the Peace of Amiens, +France accomplishes more in all directions than the other countries of +Europe. Yet those whose sight is clearest may, perhaps, see a cloud +likely to deepen and blur the picture. Does it come from England, now +making great efforts to gather her strength for a long contest? Or does +the growing ambition of Napoleon mean the overthrow of the very things +he is working for?</p> + +<p>Though the gorgeous spectacle of the Imperial Coronation in the great +Cathedral has seldom been surpassed, we incline to turn away from it. It +had been better for Napoleon to remain First Consul rather than to make +himself Emperor. His plain gray suit became him better than this +trailing cloak of purple velvet embroidered in gold and trimmed with +ermine. We recognize the golden bees, and the insignia of the Legion of +Honor, but the diamond collar and the great Pitt diamond blazing in the +pommel of his sword seem unsuited to the young Corsican who once +delighted in simplicity. The laurel wreath that he first wears suits him +better than the Imperial crown that he takes from the hands of the Pope +and places on his own head. But the Pope has anointed him, and Napoleon +is now Emperor of that shadowy Holy Roman Empire, for which in the past +rivers of blood have been shed.</p> + +<p>Is Napoleon really happier now than when he roamed, a fearless boy, over +the rough hills of Corsica? Is Josephine as contented wearing the crown +of an Empress as she was wandering light-hearted in the forests of +Martinique? Josephine is indeed fond of jewels and beautiful clothes, +and nothing could be more splendid than her coronation robe of white +satin and silver and gold, with its ornaments of pearls and diamonds. +But Josephine has a long memory. She often recalls the poverty of her +childhood, of her early married life. When Empress she tells one of the +ladies in attendance on her that no present ever made her happier than a +pair of shoes given her for Hortense, her little daughter, who otherwise +would have had to go barefoot part of her voyage from Martinique to +France.</p> + +<p>Josephine is a sensible woman. She is not ashamed of her early poverty. +Like Napoleon she had suffered during the Revolution and had even for a +time been thrown into prison. Like Napoleon she, too, had sometimes not +known when she should get her next meal. She had even had to borrow +money to pay her rent. She had suffered everything, when the execution +of her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, during the Reign of +Terror, had left her and her two children destitute.</p> + +<p>All the circumstances of her past life may not have flashed before +Josephine's mind at the moment of the Coronation. Yet it is not +improbable that wearing the crown and realizing the responsibilities of +her new position, she may have sighed for a day of freedom from care, +such as she had known in Martinique.</p> + +<p>On that December day in 1805 when Napoleon puts on the Imperial crown +more than three years have passed since England signed the short-lived +Peace of Amiens. The war that is now renewed between France and England +is to continue until Waterloo. As Emperor, however, Napoleon seems to be +master of Europe. All the European courts, except England, Russia, and +Sweden, acknowledge his new title.</p> + +<p>So we turn to a new picture. It is the eve of Austerlitz. Napoleon walks +among the soldiers, who are resting in camp, awaiting the struggle. When +his men recognize him, they surround him, they rush ahead of him, +holding aloft long poles on which are fastened burning wisps of straw.</p> + +<p>"It is the anniversary of the Coronation," they shout as they light his +way. The next day when they measure their strength with Russia and +Austria, the soldiers of the Empire are victorious. Another scene now +stands out vividly. Alexander of Russia is coming to meet Napoleon. At +Tilsit on a raft in the river Niemen the two Emperors greet each other +with a kiss.</p> + +<p>"I hate the English as much as you," cries the impulsive Alexander. "I +will be your second in all that you do against them."</p> + +<p>The next day we see the King of Prussia arriving half-heartedly at +Tilsit. Friedland has done its work, and for the time Prussia is +humbled.</p> + +<p>Brilliant though the panorama of Napoleon's life is after Tilsit, we +view with wonder rather than approval the striking pictures as they +present themselves one by one. We observe the wild enthusiasm of the +French people for their Emperor after Ulm and Austerlitz and +Hohenlinden. Even the battle of Trafalgar—a victory for England—does +not dampen their ardor. But Napoleon himself grows careful, and tries to +keep from the army the news of his loss on the sea.</p> + +<p>Prussia is humbled, Austria wishes to make terms, Napoleon has some +successes in Spain, and he hopes to injure England. Though we may not +discover this at first, his interference in the affairs of Spain hastens +the Emperor's downfall. Although he succeeds in having his brother +Joseph made King of Spain, he cannot keep him on the throne.</p> + +<p>His ambition increases. His family try to persuade him to divorce +Josephine, that he may strengthen himself by a second marriage with some +royal princess.</p> + +<p>We look at the family group of the Bonapartes. With Napoleon at the +height of his power, we count the titles.</p> + +<p>Joseph, at first King of Naples, is King of Spain; Louis, King of +Holland; Jerome, King of Westphalia; Lucien, a Prince of the Empire, +later repudiates the title; Eliza, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Pauline, +Princess Borghese; and Caroline is Queen of Naples; Josephine's +daughter, Hortense, is Queen of Holland; and Eugène, her son, is a +Prince. Old Madame Bonaparte, the devoted mother, is not sure that the +glory of the family will last forever. Of the treasures lavished on her +by Napoleon, she puts aside a portion that may be of service when the +possible rainy day comes.</p> + +<p>Josephine is the idol of the French people. But Bonaparte ambition +extends even to them. In these uncertain days France might be stronger +if its Emperor were free to marry into a Royal family.</p> + +<p>We note Josephine's anxiety as she studies Napoleon. But she sees no +change in his love for her children. Eugène is his adopted heir. +Hortense is married to Napoleon's brother Louis. Josephine hopes that +those who advise the Royal Alliance may not prevail. Her tears are +useless, and when Napoleon decides she has to yield.</p> + +<p>The first of April, 1810, less than five years from the date of the +Coronation, Napoleon is the centre of another brilliant ceremony. This +is the day of his marriage with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of +Austria. A year later fickle Paris is in a state of feverish excitement +over the birth of the King of Rome. Napoleon, rejoicing in his little +son, seems at the height of his power.</p> + +<p>Looking at Napoleon now, we must admit that he has become an autocrat. +Yet he is not a despot in the ordinary sense. Though he may like power +in itself, for what it brings to him, he cares still for the prosperity +of France. The country needs his strong guidance. Outside of France he +has enemies on all sides. While he does not admit it, things are against +him in Spain; and then, as if losing his head, he decides to march into +Russia. The Emperor of Russia is now his bitter enemy. The kiss of +Tilsit was soon wiped away.</p> + +<p>If we could, we would close our eyes to the next terrible scene. Before +us marches the best of the young manhood of France—hundreds of +thousands of men—to a certain death. Here is the greatest army of the +time, and at Borodino we see "the bloodiest fight of the century." For +the French the victory is almost worse than a defeat, since they are +thus beguiled farther into Russia. No one can paint adequately the +horrors of that bitter campaign. Of the hundreds of thousands who had +crossed the Niemen a few months earlier, only twenty thousand +frost-bitten spectres stagger again over the bridge in the middle of +December.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's thoughts are gloomy enough as he rides desperately back to +France, leaving his fragment of an army in charge of Murat. No one +envies him now, with the world against him. Soon he hears that Joseph +has been driven from Spain. Already he feels the strength of the +coalition formed to overthrow him. Does he realize that Austria is no +longer his friend—that Prussia is ready to fall upon him? All Germany +is waking to new life, and to a great extent its energy is the result of +the teachings of Napoleon himself. We see him struggling to hold his +own, unwilling to admit that he has lost anything. There is likely to be +discontent in France. The flower of French youth has gone with the army, +and there are hardly men enough to till the ground. We glance hastily at +the passing pictures. The victory at Dresden is more than balanced by +the disasters at Kulm and Leipzig. The campaign of 1813 is fatal to +Napoleon, who still trusts to his star.</p> + +<p>So we pass on to the last scenes of the panorama.</p> + +<p>It is a Sunday in January, 1814. Napoleon is in Paris, intending in a +few days to go to the front. He and the Empress are holding a reception +at the Tuileries, and there is a brilliant throng in the great salon. +All eyes are on the Emperor and Empress as they enter the apartment. +Napoleon holds by the hand a fair-haired boy of three, the little King +of Rome. The child wears the uniform of the National Guard of Paris. +Courtiers, crowding around the group, bow and smile. But as he scans +their faces with his keen eye, Napoleon reads who are his enemies, who +his friends. There are many officers of the National Guard present, and +it is to them perhaps that the Emperor especially addresses himself.</p> + +<p>"Gentlemen," he cries, "I am about to set out for the army. I intrust to +you what I hold dearest in the world—my wife and my son."</p> + +<p>Although those present do not dream that the end of Napoleon's reign is +so near, they show great emotion. Tears fall and sobs are heard on all +sides as his appeal reaches their hearts. Many of those present at the +Tuileries this afternoon—even those nearest him—will never see +Napoleon again.</p> + +<p>In less than two days the Emperor bids his last farewell to Maria Louisa +and their little son. The Empress is to be Regent during his absence. +Joseph is appointed Lieutenant of France.</p> + +<p>Then we look on the sad picture of Napoleon's last campaign, when he +meets his match in the dogged Blucher. Before the end of February, +Napoleon has to admit that he is conquered. He accepts the terms made by +the Allies. They give him the island of Elba for a time, with money +enough to keep up a certain small grandeur. Pensions are provided for +Maria Louisa and the King of Rome, and even for the other Bonapartes.</p> + +<p>It is a curious spectacle—Napoleon amusing himself with Elba, as if it +were a big toy. One day he increases his standing army, the next he +annexes a neighboring island. His mother and some of his family are with +him, but Maria Louisa has returned to her father with the little King of +Rome.</p> + +<p>But Napoleon and his friends have been making their plans, and we are +dazzled, as the world was then, by his rapid march across France, by the +demonstrations of his soldiers and the vigor of the short, sharp +campaign and the greatness of Wellington's victory. Yet Quatre Bras and +Waterloo are soon overshadowed by the rock of St. Helena.</p> + +<p>Betsy Balcombe, Napoleon's young neighbor, well knew the story of +Napoleon. She could see as plainly as we can to-day the pictures +revealed in the panorama of his life. Perhaps she stood too near him, +perhaps she was too young to draw the lesson that we of to-day draw from +his meteoric career. Perhaps her sympathy for him in all that he had to +bear at St. Helena blinded her to the fact that he was himself to a +certain extent to blame for his own downfall. He reached too far, his +ambition was too great. As First Consul, depending on the votes of the +people, he might have been stronger than he was as Emperor. The good +that he did France was fairly balanced by the fearful loss of life in +his long wars.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's one thought was to carry out his own plans without counting +the cost in men. Yet putting aside the question of the vast loss of life +in his wars and the sorrow that resulted, we may see that his career was +not wholly bad for Europe.</p> + +<p>Although ambition and selfishness may have prompted much that he did, he +really wished to promote the welfare of France. To-day that country is +farther ahead than would have been possible but for Napoleon. Many of +the institutions that have most advanced her originated with the First +Emperor. Other countries besides France benefited by Napoleon's energy. +He showed several of them how to realize their ideals of independence.</p> + +<p>It is true that the constitutions he gave to various states of +Europe—as well as to France—after his downfall were for a time +cancelled. Still, in the end, his ideas prevailed, and except for +Napoleon not only a French Republic would have been slower in +establishing itself, but also a free Italy, and even a United Germany +might have arrived less quickly.</p> + +<p>The sadness of Napoleon's last years modified the judgments of many who +had been his bitter enemies. His personal charm made those who knew him +forget the general selfishness of his whole career. Yet in weighing all +that can be said for and against him, it would be unfair to have the +balance against him. That Napoleon whom Betsy Balcombe knew at The +Briars—fun-loving and considerate of those about him—was as truly +Napoleon as the man before whom many had trembled—whom his enemies had +so criticised—to look at him as his young neighbor looked at him is to +understand a little the secret of his influence.</p> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="HELEN_LEAH_REEDS_BRENDA_BOOKS" id="HELEN_LEAH_REEDS_BRENDA_BOOKS"></a>HELEN LEAH REED'S "BRENDA" BOOKS</h2> + + +<blockquote><p>The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls +of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and +wholesome.—<i>The Outlook, New York.</i></p> + +<p>Miss Reed's girls have all the impulses and likes of real girls +as their characters are developing, and her record of their +thoughts and actions reads like a chapter snatched from the +page of life.—<i>Boston Herald.</i></p></blockquote> + +<h3>BRENDA, HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB</h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>One of the most natural books for girls. It is a careful study +of schoolgirl life in a large city, somewhat unique in its +way.—<i>Minneapolis Journal.</i></p></blockquote> + +<h3>BRENDA'S SUMMER AT ROCKLEY</h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>It is a wholesome book, telling of a merry and healthy +vacation.—<i>Dial</i>, Chicago.</p></blockquote> + +<h3>BRENDA'S COUSIN AT RADCLIFFE</h3> + +<h3><i>A College Story for Girls</i></h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>No better college story has been written.—<i>Providence News.</i></p> + +<p>Miss Reed is herself a Radcliffe woman, and she has made a +sympathetic and accurate study of the woman's college at +Cambridge.—<i>Chicago Evening Post.</i></p> + +<p>The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls +of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and +wholesome.—<i>The Outlook</i>, N. Y.</p> + +<p>The book has the background of old Cambridge, a little of +Harvard, and Boston in the distance.... The heroine is a fine +girl, and the other characters are girls of many varieties and +from many places.—<i>New York Commercial Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>She brings out all sides of the life, and, while making much of +the fun and good fellowship, does not let it be forgotten that +work and growth are the end and object of it all.—<i>Chicago +Tribune.</i></p></blockquote> + + +<h3>BRENDA'S BARGAIN</h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Ellen Bernard Thompson.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>The story deals with social settlement work, under conditions +with which the author is familiar.—<i>The Bookman</i>, New York.</p></blockquote> + +<h3>AMY IN ACADIA</h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Katherine Pyle.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>A splendid tale for girls, carefully written, interesting and +full of information concerning the romantic region made famous +by the vicissitudes of Evangeline.—<i>Toronto Globe.</i></p></blockquote> + +<h3>BRENDA'S WARD</h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>The story details the experience of a Chicago girl at school in +Boston, and very absorbing those experiences are—full of +action and diversity.—<i>Chicago Post.</i></p> + +<p>Pictures a Western girl's school life in Boston, and the story +is told with spirit and fine sentiment.... The girls whose +lives are told of are merry and of wholesome +temperament.—<i>Portland</i> (Ore.) <i>Oregonian</i>.</p> + +<p>The story is full of seeing, doing, enjoying, and +accomplishing.—<i>Kansas City Star.</i></p> + +<p>The tale throughout is sweet and wholesome.... The character +sketching is consistent and firm, and the dialogue +natural.—<i>Boston Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>The young Western girl who enters Brenda's life is sweet and +charming, and will appeal to all.—<i>Philadelphia Ledger.</i></p> + +<p>The characters are all brimful of wholesome human interest with +Brenda as a paramount attraction.—<i>Pittsburg Bulletin.</i></p> + +<p>A new Brenda book is always sure of a welcome.... Of all the +stories for girls these books rank among the best. The movement +of these narratives is rapid, there is an abundance of natural +and entertaining incident, and the characters are sharply drawn +and developed with masterly skill and rare powers of +sympathetic analysis.—<i>Kennebec</i> (Me.) <i>Journal</i>.</p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h3>IRMA AND NAP</h3> + +<h3><i>A Story for Younger Girls</i></h3> + +<h3>Illustrated by Clara E. Atwood.</h3> + +<blockquote><p>A brightly written story about children from eleven to thirteen +years of age, who live in a suburban town, and attend a public +grammar school. The book is full of incident of school and home +life.</p> + +<p>The story deals with real life, and is told in the simple and +natural style which characterized Miss Reed's popular "Brenda" +stories.—<i>Washington Post.</i></p> + +<p>There are little people in this sweetly written story with whom +all will feel at once that they have been long acquainted, so +real do they seem, as well as their plans, their play, and +their school and home and everyday life.—<i>Boston Courier.</i></p> + +<p>Her children are real; her style also is natural and +pleasing.—<i>The Outlook</i>, New York.</p> + +<p>Miss Reed's children are perfectly natural and act as real +girls would under the same circumstances. Nap is a lively +little dog, who takes an important part in the development of +the story.—<i>Christian Register</i>, Boston.</p> + +<p>A clever story, not a bit preachy, but with much influence for +right living in evidence throughout.—<i>Chicago Evening Post.</i></p></blockquote> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Napoleon's Young Neighbor, by Helen Leah Reed + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + +***** This file should be named 35037-h.htm or 35037-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/0/3/35037/ + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Napoleon's Young Neighbor + +Author: Helen Leah Reed + +Release Date: January 22, 2011 [EBook #35037] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + + + + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + + + + + + + + + NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR + + BY HELEN LEAH REED + + +AUTHOR OF "BRENDA; HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB," "BRENDA'S COUSIN AT +RADCLIFFE," "BRENDA'S WARD," "AMY IN ACADIA," ETC. + + + _ILLUSTRATED_ + + BOSTON: + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + 1907 + + Copyright, 1907, + By Little, Brown, and Company. + + _All rights reserved_ + + Published October, 1907 + + Alfred Mudge & Son, Inc., Printers, + Boston, Mass., U. S. A. + + TO + DOROTHY E. B. + WHOSE LOVE OF HISTORY BESPEAKS + A WELCOME + FOR THIS LITTLE VOLUME. + + + + +[Illustration: NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA. From the painting by Delaroche] + + + + +PREFACE + + +This book, chronicling some little known passages in the last few years +of Napoleon, is based on the "Recollections of Napoleon at St. Helena," +by Mrs. Abell (Elizabeth Balcombe), published in 1844 by John Murray. + +Her little book is written in an old-fashioned and quiet style, and the +present writer, without altering any words of Napoleon's, has, so far as +possible, given a vivid form to conversations and incidents related +undramatically and has rearranged incidents that Mrs. Abell told without +great attention to chronology. The writer has also added many pages of +matter (with close reference to the best authorities) in order to make +the whole story of Napoleon clear to those who are not familiar with it. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I. GREAT NEWS + +II. A DISTINGUISHED TENANT + +III. FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA + +IV. NAPOLEON AT THE BRIARS + +V. BETSY'S BALL-GOWN + +VI. A HORSE TAMER + +VII. OFF FOR LONGWOOD + +VIII. THE GOVERNOR'S RULES + +IX. ALL KINDS OF FUN + +X. THE SERIOUS SIDE + +XI. THE EMPEROR'S VISITORS + +XII. THOUGHTLESS BETSY + +XIII. LONGWOOD DAYS + +XIV. THE PARTING + +XV. THE PANORAMA + +XVI. THE LAST PICTURES + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA + +JAMESTOWN + +THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE _BELLEROPHON_ + +NAPOLEON + +THE BRIARS + +LONGWOOD + + + + +NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR + + + + +CHAPTER I + +GREAT NEWS + + +Far south in the Atlantic there is an island that at first sight from +the deck of a ship seems little more than a great rock. In shape it is +oblong, with perpendicular sides several hundred feet high. It is called +St. Helena because the Portuguese, who discovered it in 1502, came upon +it on the birthday of St. Helena, Constantine's mother. To describe it +as the geographies might, we may say that it lies in latitude 15 deg. 55' +South, and in longitude 5 deg. 46' West. It is about ten and a half miles +long, six and three-quarters miles broad, and its circumference is about +twenty-eight miles. The nearest land is Ascension Island, about six +hundred miles away, and St. Helena is eleven hundred miles from the Cape +of Good Hope. + +From the sea St. Helena is gloomy and forbidding. Masses of volcanic +rock, with sharp and jagged peaks, tower up above the coast, an iron +girdle barring all access to the interior. A hundred years ago its sides +were without foliage or verdure and its few points of landing bristled +with cannon. Jamestown, the only town, named for the Duke of York, lies +in a narrow valley, the bottom of a deep ravine. Precipices overhang it +on every side; the one on the left, rising directly from the sea, is +known as Rupert's Hill, that on the right as Ladder Hill. A steep and +narrow path cuts along the former, and a really good road winds zigzag +along the other to the Governor's House. Opposite the town is James's +Bay, the principal anchorage, where the largest ships are perfectly +safe. + +The town really consists of a small street along the beach, called the +Marina, which extends about three hundred yards to a spot where it +branches off into two narrower roads, one of which is now called +Napoleon Street. In 1815 there were about one hundred and sixty houses, +chiefly of stone cemented with mud, for lime is scarce on the island. +Among its larger buildings were a church, a botanical garden, a tavern, +barracks, and, high on the left, the castle, the Governor's town +residence. + +About a mile and a half from the town there stood in the early part of +the past century a cottage built in the style of an Indian bungalow. It +was placed rather low, with rooms mainly on one floor. A fine avenue of +banyan trees led up to the house, and around it were tall evergreens and +laces, pomegranates and myrtles, and other tropical trees. Better than +these, however, in the eyes of the dwellers at The Briars were the great +white-rose bushes, like the sweetbriar of old England. From these the +house took its name, and thus the family in it seemed less far away from +their old home. + +In a grove near the house were trees of every description, grapes of all +kinds and citron, orange, shaddoc, guava, and mango trees in the +greatest abundance. The surplus raised in the garden beyond what the +family could use brought its owner several hundred pounds a year. The +little cottage was shut in on one side by a hedge of aloes and prickly +pear and on the other by high cliffs and precipices. From one of these +cliffs, not far from the house, fell a waterfall, not only beautiful to +the eye but on a hot day refreshing to the mind with its cool splash and +tinkle. + +The owner of The Briars at this time was an Englishman named Balcombe, +who was in the service of the government. Besides his servants his +household consisted of his wife, his daughters Jane and Betsy, in their +early teens, and two little boys much younger. They formed a happy, +contented household, living a simple, quiet life, and though the parents +were sometimes homesick, the children were very fond of their island +abode. + +One evening in the middle of October, 1815, the Balcombe children were +having a merry time with their parents, when a servant, entering, +announced the arrival of two visitors. + +"It is the captain of the _Icarus_," said Mr. Balcombe, turning to his +wife, "and another naval officer." + +"The man-of-war that came in to-day?" asked one of the children. "We +heard the alarm sound from Ladder Hill." + +"Yes, yes, my dear." Then, turning to a servant, "Show them in." + +As the gentlemen entered the room, it was plain that they had something +of importance to communicate. + +"Sir," said the senior officer to Mr. Balcombe, after the first +greetings, "I come to tell you that the _Icarus_ is sent ahead of the +_Northumberland_ to announce that the _Northumberland_ is but a few +days' sail from St. Helena." + +"Yes," responded Mr. Balcombe politely, wondering why this announcement +should be made so seriously. + +"Sir George Cockburn," continued the other, "commands the +_Northumberland_, and in his care is Napoleon Bonaparte, whom he brings +to St. Helena as a prisoner of state." + +Mr. Balcombe started to speak; his expression was one of annoyance. He +was not fond of practical jokes. His wife leaned back in her chair, +gazing incredulously at the speaker. The children laughed. The officer's +story was too absurd. Then one of the little boys began to cry. In their +play the older children were in the habit of frightening the others with +the name of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was alarming to hear that the +terrible Napoleon was to come to live on their peaceful island. + +Before Mr. Balcombe could express his surprise, the officer repeated: + +"Yes, Napoleon Bonaparte, the enemy of England." + +"But how can that be?" asked Mr. Balcombe, hardly understanding. +"Bonaparte was on Elba months ago; what has England to do with him now?" + +"Surely--" began the captain; then recalling himself, "but I forgot how +far St. Helena is from the rest of the world. After Napoleon escaped +from Elba in February, he gathered a great army. But the Allies, with +our Iron Duke at the head, met him near Brussels, and there in June was +fought the great battle of Waterloo. Thousands were killed, brave +English as well as French. That battle marked the downfall of Napoleon, +and soon he was England's prisoner." + +Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe, as well as their children, listened eagerly, +absorbed in a story they now heard for the first time. + +"So they send him here?" It was Mr. Balcombe who first spoke. + +"Yes; no spot in Europe can hold him. Even on Elba he had begun to +establish a kingdom. He reached beyond that little island, and now he +has had his Waterloo." + +"It is clear, then," said Mr. Balcombe, "why they have sent him here. +This is a natural fortress and it belongs to England." + +"Yes," said the officer; "England knows that here, in her keeping, +Bonaparte will never again escape to torment the world." + +After a few more words of explanation on the one hand and of surprise on +the other, the visitors withdrew. + +Of those who had listened to the officer young Elizabeth, or Betsy as +she was commonly called, was the most disturbed. She shivered and turned +pale, and her mother, noticing her agitation, soon sent her to bed. +There she silently wept herself to sleep and her dreams were filled with +visions of that dreadful ogre, Bonaparte. It was not a very long time +since she had really believed Napoleon to be a huge monster, a kind of +Polyphemus with one large, flaming eye in the middle of his forehead and +with long teeth protruding from his mouth, with which he devoured bad +little girls. + +Although Betsy had outgrown this first idea of Napoleon, implanted in +her young brain by careless servants, she was still afraid of the +Conqueror. It is true that she realized he was not an ogre, but a human +being; that is to say, the very worst human being that had ever lived. +She knew this must be so, for she had heard sensible grown-up persons +speak of him in this way, even her own father and mother. What wonder, +then, that her dreams should be disturbed by thoughts of the misery that +must come to St. Helena with such a man as Napoleon living on the +island? + +The next morning after the visit of the officer from the _Icarus_, the +little girl rose early. She was far from cheerful as she looked about +her on the lovely garden and grove. A wave of hot anger passed over her. +Why should that terrible man be permitted to land and destroy all this +beauty, as he would, of course, on the first opportunity? + +From the garden she looked toward the rugged mountain, known as Peak's +Hill, which shut off the valley from the south. Her father had spoken of +the island as a natural fortress. Except for the mountains the +Government would never have thought of sending the dreadful Napoleon to +St. Helena. So she hated the mountains and cliffs. + +Perhaps, however, even at that moment when she dreaded the coming of the +exiled Emperor, Betsy may have recalled her own first impressions of St. +Helena and cast a half-pitying thought toward the great man who now saw +in its rocky heights only his prison wall. + +One day Betsy's mother had reminded the young girl of the bitter tears +she shed when she had first seen the island. + +"You were a silly girl to cry when you first came in sight of land," +said her mother, recalling the circumstance. + +"Yes, but some had told me that the island was really the head of a +great negro that was only waiting for the breakfast bell; then it would +devour me first, and later the rest of the passengers and crew." + +"Well, I am glad you told me your fears." + +"So am I, for you showed me that these things could not be true." + +"Yet I remember," responded Betsy's mother, "that you would not take +your head from my lap until eight bells had sounded. For some reason the +nearness of breakfast made you believe that danger was over." + +"But you can't say that I made much fuss when I really was in the power +of a negro," rejoined Betsy; "for I can well remember how strange it +seemed when I was lifted in a basket, and told that a big negro was to +carry me out to The Briars. At first I was a little frightened, for I +had never seen a black man before, but he spoke so pleasantly when he +put me down to rest, even though grinning from ear to ear, that I +decided he would not harm me." + +"You saw at once that he was good natured." + +"Yes, and he asked me so kindly if I were comfortable in my little nest, +that I trusted him. I was as proud as a peacock when he said he was +honored in being allowed to carry me, because usually he had nothing but +vegetables in his basket. When we reached The Briars I told father I had +had a delightful ride, and so he gave the negro a little present that +made him grin more than ever, and he went off singing merrily at the top +of his voice." + +Thus Betsy recalled her first impression of St. Helena. + +If Mr. Balcombe and the rest of the family at The Briars were surprised +at the news of Napoleon's approach, people on the island in general were +equally astonished. No communication had reached Governor Wilks, no +letter of instructions as to what should be done with the illustrious +prisoner. + +The captain of the _Icarus_ could only tell the residents of St. Helena +that Napoleon was near and that the Second Battalion of the Fifty-third +Regiment had embarked with the squadron. Even in those days, when there +were no cables to flash the news of coming events, when there were no +swift steamboats to act as heralds, it seems strange that in more than +seven months no news of the escape from Elba had reached the little +island. + +Now, when the people of St. Helena heard the news, they were greatly +disturbed. They were afraid that the coming of Napoleon might cause +changes in their government, and they were so fond of the Governor that +they did not wish to lose him. + +Their fears were well grounded, for when Sir George Cockburn landed it +was found that he had received an appointment that gave him the chief +civil and military power on the island, while Governor Wilks took +secondary rank. Later it was learned that on account of the distinction +of the prisoner, a governor of higher rank than Colonel Wilks would be +sent from England to supersede him, a governor who held his appointment +directly from the Crown. + +Two or three days after the visit of the officer to The Briars, Betsy +and her brothers and sister were in a state of great excitement. + +"Ah, I hope papa will not be killed," cried little Alexander. + +"How silly you are!" responded the older Jane. "Why should he be +killed?" + +"Because Napoleon is such a monster. If he should suddenly take out his +sword--" + +"Yes, or open his mouth and swallow papa, how terrible it would be!" +added Betsy mockingly. + +"Of course Bonaparte is a monster, but he would never dare hurt any one +on this island, especially an Englishman. Don't worry. Papa will come +home safely enough, but I wish he would hurry, so we could hear all +about the wretch." + +Later in the day the children gathered eagerly around their father, who +had returned from his visit to the ships. + +"Oh, papa, what was he like?" asked each in turn. + +"Who, Napoleon?" + +"Of course. We wish to hear about him. Didn't you see him? Didn't you +see anybody there?" + +"I could hardly visit a fleet without seeing some one." + +"Is it a large fleet?" + +"Yes, it would be called large in any part of the world." + +"How large is it?" + +"Besides the _Northumberland_ there are several other men-of-war, and +the transports with the Fifty-third Regiment." + +"But did you see Napoleon?" asked one of the children, returning to the +subject of greatest interest. + +"I did not see General Bonaparte," replied the father, pausing to see +the effect of his words on the children. Then, as he noted their +expression of disappointment, he quickly added: "But I saw some of the +others,--some of his suite." + +"Oh, tell us about it!" + +"There is little to tell. After paying my respects to Sir George +Cockburn, I was introduced to Madame Bertrand and Madame Montholon, and +then to the rest of Napoleon's suite." + +"What were they like?" asked one of the girls eagerly, as if she +expected her father to describe a group of strange beings. + +"Like any travellers, my child, who had had a long voyage, from the +effects of which they were anxious to rest." + +"Oh, I wish you had seen Napoleon!" + +"I am likely to see him soon, and you may, also, as he is to land +to-night." + +At this news the children were silent. To have Napoleon on the island +was not a pleasant prospect. They were not so sure now that they cared +to see him. + +"But where will he live, papa, when he comes ashore?" ventured Jane at +last. "Will they put him in a dungeon?" + +"Certainly not, my child. He is to live at Longwood, but as the house +needs to be put in repair, he will stay for a while with Mr. Porteous." + +"When will he come ashore?" asked Betsy timidly. Now that her father had +spoken so reassuringly of Napoleon, she was curious to see him, at least +from a safe distance. + +"He will land to-night,--after dark, I imagine, to escape the gaze of +the crowd;" and their father, turning from the children, went toward the +house. + +As he left them, the young people began an animated discussion of +Napoleon. They were already getting used to the idea that he was to live +on St. Helena and that he was an ordinary human being, not unlike the +British officials of high rank sent out by the Crown. + +"As he cannot possibly hurt us, why shouldn't we go to the valley to see +him land?" asked Betsy. + +"Why shouldn't we?" echoed Jane. So it happened, when they had asked +their parents, that the older children were permitted to go to Jamestown +to see Napoleon land. When they reached the wharf it was dusk and crowds +of people were gathered on every side. + +"I did not know there were so many people on the island," whispered +Betsy, as she pressed closer to her sister. "Do you suppose he will be +in the first boat?" + +"I don't know. But see, it is coming!" + +"Yes, little ladies," said a bystander, "Bonaparte will surely be in the +first boat." + +"Here it is, here it is," cried Betsy. "Look, Jane, look!" + +Even as she spoke, the passengers from the longboat were coming ashore, +and although it was seven o'clock in the evening, there was still enough +light to enable the watchers to see the figures of those who were +landing. + +The girls strained their eyes. Three men marched slowly up from the +ship's boat. "See," cried Betsy, "probably Napoleon is in the middle." + +"That little man, and in an overcoat!" + +"Yes, for there is something flashing, probably a diamond." + +"A man with a diamond! How foolish!" objected Jane. + +[Illustration: JAMESTOWN] + +"But it is, indeed it is!" + +"I wish people wouldn't crowd so." + +"They've got to move back. I'm glad of it. The sentries are standing +with fixed bayonets to keep more people from rushing down from the +town." + +If Napoleon had landed earlier in the day, he would have been greeted by +an even greater crowd, for people had been gathering on the Marina from +the earliest hours; but disappointed that he was not to land until after +sunset, most of them had gone home. Still, however, a large enough crowd +had gathered to make it necessary for the sentries to use some force to +keep them in order. + +In spite of the crowd, the sisters felt that they had been rewarded for +their trouble, for when they reached home they learned that the little +man in the green coat was indeed the dreaded monster. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A DISTINGUISHED TENANT + + +The next morning Betsy rose early. The night before the family had sat +up later than their custom, talking about the arrival of the ship and +the distinguished prisoners. + +"Are General Bertrand and Count Montholon prisoners too?" asked one of +the girls. + +"No, my dear; I understand that they are at liberty to leave St. Helena +whenever they wish. Of course while they are here they must obey +whatever rules are made for them, but they would not be here if they had +not chosen to share the fate of Napoleon." + +"That is very noble," said Jane, "to leave one's home for the sake of +such a man as Napoleon;" and the conversation changed into a discussion +of the reasons that had induced those Frenchmen to follow their leader. +The next morning Betsy awoke feeling that something unusual had +happened. + +Her little brothers plied her and Jane with questions about the landing +of the Frenchmen. + +"I wish we lived close to the town," complained Alexander, "that we +might hear more about Napoleon." + +"Look, look!" cried Betsy, before the little fellow had finished +speaking. "What is that on the side of the mountain?" + +Following the direction of her finger, the other children broke into +excited cries. "The French, it must be the French! There are horses with +men on them. There, see the swords flash! They must be guarding a +prisoner." + +"Oh, I suppose it is a prisoner. But what is that white thing?" + +"It is a plume; you can see that for yourself. Let us get a spyglass." + +For some time the children watched the little procession curving around +the mountain-side, high above them. + +"It makes me think of a great serpent winding along," said Betsy. + +"It doesn't look like a serpent, through the glass. There are five men +on horseback. One of them has a cocked hat. It must be Napoleon, though +he wears no greatcoat." + +"They're going to Longwood. That's what it is. Papa says he's to live +there. I wonder how he'll like it after all his palaces in Europe." + +"I'm glad he won't live near us. I should never dare leave the house, if +he lived near." + +"Who's he?" + +"Napoleon, of course." + +The morning passed. The children thought of little but Napoleon. They +talked to each other of his victories and were proud that Englishmen had +overthrown him. + +Early in the afternoon two gentlemen called, Dr. Warden of the +_Northumberland_ and Dr. O'Meara of the garrison. + +"Oh, have you seen him?" + +"Seen whom?" + +"Why, Napoleon; don't tease us,--Napoleon Bonaparte." + +"Well, then, since you are so curious, yes, we have seen him." Dr. +Warden smiled, for he was surgeon of the ship that had brought Napoleon. + +"Oh, was he perfectly awful? Weren't you frightened?" + +"If we were frightened, I tried not to show it. Napoleon seemed +harmless. He did not even try to bayonet us," replied Dr. O'Meara. + +"But how did he look?" + +"He hadn't horns or hoofs; at least, we didn't see them, and on the +whole he was charming, though he seemed tired. You girls will like him." + +"Oh, no!" cried Betsy. "I shake and shiver whenever I think of him. If +ever I look at him it will be only at a distance, but I could never, +never speak to him." + +"Mark my words, you will change your mind, Miss Betsy," cried one of the +two as he turned away. + +About four o'clock that same afternoon, when it was approaching dusk in +the little valley, one of the children reported that the same horsemen +they had seen in the morning were again winding around the mountain. + +Soon the whole family gathered outside, and as they looked, to their +great astonishment they observed the procession halt at the mountain +pass above the house, and then, after a few minutes' pause, begin to +descend the mountain toward the cottage. + +"Oh, mamma, do you suppose they are coming here? I must go and hide +myself," cried the excitable Betsy. + +"No, my dear, you will do nothing of the kind. I am surprised that a +great girl should be so foolish." + +"But Napoleon is coming, don't you understand, Napoleon. I could not +bear to look at him." + +"You will look at him and speak to him, if he comes here. It will be a +good chance for you to put your French to use." + +Poor Betsy! Up to this time she had been proud of the French acquired +during a visit to England a few years before, which she had +conscientiously kept up by conversation with a French servant. + +It seemed hard that she was now to be called on to do a disagreeable +thing just because of this accomplishment. Of course she could not +disobey her mother, and in spite of her fright she really had some +curiosity to see the distinguished guest. + +Not long after the party first came in sight, the French and their +escort were at the gate of The Briars. As there was no carriage road to +the house, all, except Napoleon, got off their horses. He rode over the +grass, while his horse's feet cut into the turf. His horse was jet +black, with arched neck, and as he pranced along he seemed to feel +conscious of his own importance in carrying so distinguished a man as +the Emperor. + +"He's handsome," whispered Jane to Betsy. + +"The horse?" + +"No, Napoleon; just look at those jewels and ribbons on his coat--and I +never saw so beautiful a saddlecloth. It is embroidered with gold." + +Before more could be said, Mr. and Mrs. Balcombe were moving forward to +meet Sir George Cockburn and his distinguished companion. The sisters +closely followed their parents, and after the older people had been +presented to Napoleon the turn of the girls came. Betsy, looking up, was +impressed by the charm of Napoleon's smile. She saw that his hair was +brown and silky fine; his eyes were a brilliant hazel. She also noticed +one slight defect,--that his even teeth were dark, the result, she +afterwards learned, of his habit of using much licorice. + +The children at first were surprised to find Napoleon neither as tall +nor as impressive as he had appeared on horseback. When they looked in +his face they decided that he was very attractive, and when he spoke his +smile and kindly manner at once won their hearts. From that moment Betsy +forgot that she had ever considered him an ogre. To herself she called +him the handsomest man she had ever seen. + +"This is a most beautiful situation," he said to Betsy's mother. "One +could be almost happy here!" he added with a sigh. + +"Then perhaps you will honor us with a visit until Longwood is ready," +interposed Mr. Balcombe. "I understand that you prefer this to the town, +and I have already put some rooms at Sir George Cockburn's disposal." + +"I do prefer it." + +"Then the rooms are at your service." + +Strange language this to a prisoner,--the children may have thought as +they listened,--to give him a choice of abode. Later they learned why +their father had put the matter in this way. They heard how wretched it +made the Emperor to think of returning to the small house where he had +lodged in the town and where people stared into the windows, as if he +were some kind of wild animal. When he found that Longwood would not be +ready for him for several weeks, he had at once declared his +unwillingness to return to Jamestown. The glimpse of The Briars that he +had had from a distance pleased him greatly, and he had asked if it +might not be possible to lodge him there. Mr. Balcombe, as an official +of the Government, having placed some rooms at the disposal of the +Admiral, Sir George Cockburn, was now anxious to put Napoleon at his +ease about occupying them. + +The Balcombe children were greatly stirred up when they found that +Napoleon was to be their neighbor, for the rooms to be assigned him were +near, but not in, the main house. Their fear of the Emperor had almost +wholly disappeared. + +Continuing to praise the view, Napoleon asked that some chairs be +brought out on the lawn. + +"Come, Mademoiselle," he said to Betsy in French, "sit by me and talk. +You speak French?" + +"Yes, sir," replied Betsy with apparent calmness, though her heart was +beating violently. + +"Who taught you?" + +"I learned in England, when I was at school." + +"That is well, and what else did you study? Geography, I hope." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then you can tell me what is the capital of France?" + +"Paris, monsieur." + +"Of Italy?" + +"Rome." + +"Of Russia?" + +"St. Petersburg." + +He looked up quickly. "St. Petersburg now; it was Moscow." + +Then he asked, sternly and abruptly, "_Qui l'a brule?_" ["Who burned +it?"] + +Betsy trembled. There was something terrifying now in his expression, as +well as in the tones of his voice. She could not find words to reply as +she recalled what she had heard about the burning of the great Russian +city and the question as to whether the French or the Russians had set +it on fire. + +"_Qui l'a brule?_" repeated Napoleon. + +But there was a twinkle in his eye and a smile in his voice that +encouraged Betsy to venture a stammering "I don't know, sir." + +"_Oui, oui_," he responded, laughing heartily. "_Vous savez tres bien. +C'est moi qui l'a brule._" ["Yes, yes, you understand well. It is I who +burned it."] + +Then Betsy ventured further: + +"I believe, sir, the Russians burned it to get rid of the French." + +Again Napoleon laughed and, instead of being angry, seemed pleased that +the little girl knew something about the Russian campaign. + +Now while Napoleon was sitting in the garden or walking about the +beautiful grounds, all was confusion and excitement within The Briars. +Betsy's mother, like any other good English housewife, was naturally +somewhat taken aback at having suddenly to make plans to entertain +Napoleon and part of his suite. Even though the English Government might +pay for his board, she must still regard him as her guest, and in the +small time at her disposal do all that she could to make him +comfortable. + +Rooms, therefore, must be rearranged and what furniture could be spared +from the rest of the house must be put into Napoleon's apartments. So, +in the short space of a few hours, the dreaded Emperor of the French, +the ogre feared by the children, had become the neighbor, almost the +inmate of a happy English household--English, in spite of its distance, +many thousands of miles away, from the islands of Great Britain. + +It was evening when Napoleon came back to the house with the family. +Here again his conversation was chiefly with Betsy, as her fluent French +pleased him. Her parents could use the language only with difficulty. + +"Do you like music?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"But I suppose that you are too young to play." + +This rather piqued Betsy. + +"I can both sing and play." + +"Then sing to me." + +Thereupon Betsy, seating herself at the little harpsichord, sang in a +sweet, full voice "Ye Banks and Braes." + +"That is the prettiest English air I have ever heard." + +"It is a Scotch air," said Betsy timidly. + +"I thought it too pretty to be English. Their music is vile,--the worst +in the world. Do you know any French songs? Ah, I wish you could sing +_Vive Henri Quatre_." + +"No, sir; I know no French songs." + +Upon this the Emperor began to hum the air, and in a fit of abstraction, +rising from his chair, marched around the room, keeping time to the tune +he was singing. + +"Now what do you think of that, Miss Betsy?" he asked abruptly. Betsy +hesitated between her love of truth and her desire to please the +Emperor. + +"I do not think I like it," she said at last, rather gently. "I cannot +make out the air." + +She might also have added that the great Emperor's voice was far from +musical. Neither then nor at other times when he tried to sing could she +tell just what tune he thought he was rendering. + +When he discussed music she understood him better and she saw that he +was a good critic. "French music," he said, "is almost as bad as +English. Only Italians know how to produce an opera properly;" and he +sighed heavily, remembering perhaps that his own opera days were over. + +Not long after Betsy had finished "Ye Banks and Braes," word was brought +to Napoleon that his rooms were ready, and with a kindly word or two he +bade good night to his young friend. + +The little girl's dreams that night were, we can well imagine, quite +unlike any she had ever had before. But if she dreamed of the Emperor it +is certain that she did not regard him as an ogre. His wonderful +personality had gained her heart. Henceforth she was to be his loyal +friend as well as his neighbor. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +FROM WATERLOO TO ST. HELENA + + +The events that ended in the voyage of the fallen Emperor to St. Helena, +if told in full, would make a long story. The battle of Waterloo, +however, is a good starting place, the battle that decided the peace of +Europe after its long years of war, when the Allied Powers, led by the +Duke of Wellington, defeated the French, who had rallied around Napoleon +for a last stand. + +Napoleon, when he saw that the day was lost for him and the French, +fought desperately, hoping perhaps to meet death. But he seemed to have +a charmed life, and, though he plunged into the thick of the fight, he +was not even wounded. + +Some of his friends advised him to continue the struggle, but he saw +that this might mean civil war for France as well as a long contest +against the Allies. He cared too much for France to drag her into +further wars. Some say that in giving up he could not help +himself,--that what he did he had to do. Be that as it may, for a second +time he signed the Act of Abdication, and after proclaiming his son +Napoleon II, he left Paris. First he went to Malmaison, once the +beautiful home of Josephine, where a few friends joined him. + +When the Allies were approaching Paris, Napoleon offered his services to +the Provisional Government, promising to retire when the enemy was +driven away. But the men now at the head of affairs at Paris were afraid +to give authority of any kind to Napoleon, even for a limited time. He +had broken one promise, he might break another, and they refused his +offer. + +Napoleon now thought of America. Certain Americans in Paris had offered +him help. One shipping merchant, a Massachusetts man, had an excellent +plan, which, had Napoleon followed it, might have resulted in his +reaching America safely. But Napoleon delayed, and although he did not +know it at the time, when he left Malmaison for Rochefort on June 29 he +was too late. Up to the last he hoped to reach a vessel that would carry +him safely to the United States. It is said that he gave up the plan +proposed by the American shipping merchant because he would not desert +his friends, and for the time there seemed to be no way of providing for +them. + +It takes strength of mind for a man to decide to live out his destiny +rather than run away from life. Napoleon now decided to make the best of +things. With British ships practically blockading the coast, he saw that +to try to escape was hopeless. He heard with dismay that Paris had +surrendered to the Allies, and that the Provisional Government, that +might have helped him, had dissolved. His last effort was to suggest +sending a flag of truce by Generals Savary and Las Cases to Captain +Maitland, commander of the British squadron, asking to be allowed to +pass out of the harbor. He gave his word of honor that he would then go +directly to America. Captain Maitland replied that even if he himself +could grant this request, Napoleon's vessel would be attacked as soon as +it had left the harbor. Napoleon at last had to admit that the end had +come when the report was brought him that Louis XVIII was again seated +on the throne of France. He therefore again sent two officers to Captain +Maitland, offering to surrender on condition that no harm should come to +his person or property. Another condition was that he should be allowed +to live where he pleased in England as a private individual. The officer +replied that he could not make terms, but that he would probably take +Napoleon and his suite to England as soon as he should receive word from +the Prince Regent. This answer was disappointing to Napoleon, but there +was nothing now for him to do except to set out for the _Bellerophon_, +Captain Maitland's ship, with the flag of truce. + +"I come to claim the protection of your prince and your laws," he said +in French, as he advanced on the quarter-deck to meet Captain Maitland. + +Soon after this he wrote the following letter in French to the Prince +Regent: + + ROYAL HIGHNESS: + + Exposed to the factions which divide my country and to the + enmity of the great Powers of Europe, I have terminated my + political career, and I come like Themistocles to throw myself + on the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under + the safeguard of their laws and claim protection of your Royal + Highness, the most powerful, the most constant, and the most + generous of my enemies. + + NAPOLEON. + +It is not to be supposed that all this time Napoleon's friends were +indifferent to his fate. Those who were near enough to communicate with +him made various suggestions. + +[Illustration: THE EMBARKATION ON BOARD THE _BELLEROPHON_] + +At Rochefort his brother Joseph offered to disguise himself and change +places with him, so that the Emperor might get away in the same vessel +in which he himself was preparing to escape. Had Napoleon agreed to this +plan, he would probably have been as successful as Joseph in reaching +America. + +Some young and brave French officers are said to have offered themselves +as the crew of a rowing boat to carry Napoleon safely through the +blockading fleet. There would have been some risk in carrying out this +proposal of stealing through the blockade, but it had a fair chance of +success. + +There were also swift neutral vessels not far away, on more than one of +which he had friends. But although, with three of his suite, he did +embark on a Danish ship, on second thoughts he decided not to venture +farther, and returned to shore. He might have accepted the suggestion of +the captain of a French frigate then at the Ile d'Aix, who begged +Napoleon to take the chance of intrusting himself to him. He would, he +said, attack a British ship near by, and while the attention of other +vessels was fixed on the encounter, a second French frigate with +Napoleon on board would carry him far outside the harbor to safety. But +this offer, too, was put aside. The admirers of Napoleon, who look back +on his days of indecision at Rochefort, wonder at the change in the man, +who by his policy of delay brought on himself his sad exile on the +barren island. + +Yet it is easy to see that even though half willing to try flight, +Napoleon really could not bring himself to the position of a fugitive, +afraid to face his enemies. It was nobler to confront danger, as he had +confronted it often on the battlefield. It was not strange that he +should hope to find appreciation of his courage, even in the hearts of +his enemies. + +It was the fifteenth of July when Napoleon embarked on the +_Bellerophon_, and a week afterwards he was in Plymouth Harbor. Too +late, to his great consternation, he found that the British regarded him +as a prisoner. He was helpless; he had no weapons but words, for armed +vessels surrounded him and the few friends who followed him counted for +nothing against his foes. + +On the thirtieth of July, General Bonaparte--the British refused him the +title of Emperor--was notified that the British Government had chosen +St. Helena as his future residence, whither a limited number of his +friends might accompany him. On receiving this word, Napoleon's +indignation was loudly expressed. He replied, that he was not the +prisoner, but the guest of England, and that it was an outrage against +him to condemn him to exile into which he would not willingly go. It was +at once evident, however, that, willing or unwilling, he must embark for +his distant prison. From Plymouth he was taken to Torbay, where, on the +eleventh of August, the _Bellerophon_ met the _Northumberland_, on which +the illustrious prisoner was to be taken to St. Helena. + +When Napoleon received Lord Keith and Sir George Cockburn on the deck of +the _Bellerophon_ he wore a green coat with red facings, epaulets, white +waistcoat and breeches, silk stockings, the star of the Legion of Honor, +and a _chapeau gris_ with the tricolored cockade. At first the Emperor +spoke bitterly of the action of the British Government, but at last he +abruptly asked Lord Keith for his advice. The latter replied it would be +best for Napoleon to submit with good grace. Napoleon then agreed to go +on board the _Northumberland_ at ten the next morning. Later he recalled +his consent and again talked bitterly of his fate, but at last he +controlled himself and agreed to submit. + +The next day, after all the stores and provisions and the personal +belongings of Napoleon and his suite were on board, the +_Northumberland_, with its distinguished prisoner, set sail for St. +Helena. + +With Napoleon went a fairly large suite, consisting of the following +persons: + +Grand Mareschal Comte de Bertrand, Madame de Bertrand and three +children, one woman servant and her child, one man servant; General +Comte de Montholon, Madame de Montholon and a child, one woman servant; +Comte de las Cases and his son of thirteen; General Gorgaud; three +_valets de chambre_ and three footmen, a cook, a _lampiste_, an usher, a +steward, _chef d'office_. + +Among the things that made up the rather large store of baggage that +Napoleon took with him to St. Helena, besides his clothing and more +personal belongings, were two table services of silver, a number of +articles of gold, a beautiful toilet service of silver, including water +basin and ewer, cases of books, and his special beds. Although money +could do little for him in his new home, since all his expenses would be +met by the British Government, it is known that he had with him a large +amount of money. + +It is useless now to discuss what would have been the result had his +enemies been kinder to Napoleon. If he had been permitted to settle down +in England as he wished, as a country gentleman, would this have +satisfied him? Even if he had made no attempt to recover the throne of +France for himself, might he not have put forth efforts to have his son +acknowledged Emperor? At the time of his father's downfall, the little +King of Rome was hardly more than a baby, but as years passed on he +could never have lived contentedly with his grandfather, the Austrian +Emperor, knowing that his father was as near as England. In the name of +the young Napoleon, Europe might again have been plunged into a great +war. + +Yet, without looking toward the future, Great Britain was only too sure +that the time had come to punish one who had always been the avowed +enemy of England. It is true that England had suffered less than any +other of the Powers at the hands of Napoleon, because he had never +invaded her territory, but in no country was Napoleon so hated. +Thousands of Englishmen had shed their blood in the wars carried on +against him by the Allies, and by the mass of the English people he was +regarded as a monster. Although the so-called Napoleonic wars had their +origin in causes that Napoleon could not have controlled, he was +regarded as the one being responsible for the twenty years' upheaval in +Europe. + +When it was announced that the British Cabinet had decided to send him +into exile, many, perhaps the majority, thought the punishment too +light. They would have had him treated as a rebel and immediately hanged +or beheaded. Yet while the mass of the English people hated Napoleon, +Englishmen who had ever met him were apt to be his firm friends, or at +least his admirers. + +Captain Maitland, of the _Bellerophon_, said that he had inquiries made +of the crew as to their opinion of him, and this was the result: "They +may abuse that man as much as they please, but if the people of England +knew him as well as we do, they would not touch a hair of his head." + +Though Napoleon had surrendered to Great Britain alone, the Allied +Powers, desiring Great Britain to be responsible for him, approved her +course. + +During the voyage of ten weeks toward St. Helena, Napoleon suffered +little from sea-sickness after the first few days. He breakfasted in his +own cabin at ten or eleven o'clock. Before he dined he generally played +a game of chess, and remained at dinner, in compliment to the Admiral, +about an hour. After he had his coffee he left the others to walk with +Count Bertrand or Count Las Cases on the quarter-deck. He often spoke to +those officers who could understand French. At first he showed little +interest in the occupations of those about him, but in time he engaged +in more general conversation and was especially inclined to talk to Mr. +Warden, the _Northumberland_ surgeon, about the prevailing complaints on +board the ship and his methods of treating the sick. After a while he +turned to his own books and spent most of the day reading or in +dictating to Las Cases. On the twenty-third of August the +_Northumberland_ crossed the equator. Before this the Admiral had amused +himself trying to frighten the French, telling them of the rough +ceremony practised by the sailors, who always undertook to present to +Neptune all persons on board who had never before crossed the line. It +happened, however, that in this instance all made a special effort to be +courteous. While the sailors presented to Neptune were shaved with huge +razors and a lather of pitch, the French were introduced politely with +compliments, and the Emperor was treated especially well. + +Napoleon seemed amused by this novel performance, and later he wished to +have one hundred napoleons divided among the sailors. He was made, +however, to feel his altered position when, after some discussion, the +Admiral courteously but decidedly refused his request. + +There were probably few on the _Northumberland_ who did not deeply +sympathize with the fallen Emperor. On this long, monotonous voyage, +when his only amusements were conversation and an occasional evening +game of whist with his friends, he seemed to be trying to make the best +of the situation. + +On the morning when the _Northumberland_ approached St. Helena, the +Emperor dressed early, and going up on deck stepped forward on the +gangway. It was the fifteenth of October when the ship, after its long +voyage, lay at anchor. The Emperor, standing on the gangway with Las +Cases behind him, looked through his glass at the shore. Directly in +front he saw a little village, surrounded by barren and naked hills, +reaching toward the clouds. Wherever he looked, on every platform, at +every aperture, on every hill, was a cannon. Las Cases, watching his +face intently, could perceive no change of expression, for Napoleon now +had full control of himself. Unmoved he could look on the island that +was to be his prison, perhaps his grave. He did not stay long on deck, +but, turning about, asked Las Cases to lead the way to his cabin. There +they went on with their usual occupation, waiting until they should be +told that the time for landing had come. + +During the long voyage Napoleon had won the regard of most persons on +the ship. The _Northumberland_ was terribly crowded, but while others +grumbled, he made no complaint of the great discomfort, although he, +like the others, was affected by it. Already he had begun to practise +that stoicism which, on the whole, was the keynote of his life at St. +Helena. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +NAPOLEON AT THE BRIARS + + +Napoleon quickly fitted himself into his place in his new surroundings. +So adaptable was he that the children soon ceased to regard him as a +stranger, nor were they inclined to criticise his habits, although in +most respects his ways were quite unlike those of the Balcombe family. +For example, he did not breakfast as they did. After rising at eight +o'clock, he satisfied himself with a cup of coffee and had his first +hearty meal, breakfast or luncheon as they variously called it, at one. +It was nine o'clock in the evening before he dined, and eleven when he +withdrew to his own room. + +The Pavilion, the building that chiefly formed his new abode, was a +short distance from the main building of The Briars. It had one good +room on the ground floor, and two garrets. Napoleon selected this +Pavilion, not because it was really more convenient for him, but because +by occupying it he would less disturb the Balcombe family than by taking +quarters in the main house. + +Las Cases and his son were in one of the garrets, and Napoleon's chief +_valet de chambre_ and others of his household were in the second. The +rooms were so crowded that some of the party had to sleep on the floor +of the little hall. The Pavilion had been built by Betsy's father as a +ballroom, and had a certain stateliness. The large room opened on a +lawn, neatly fenced around, and in the centre of the lawn was a marquee, +connected with the house by a covered way. The marquee had two +compartments. The inner one was Napoleon's bedroom, and in the other +General Gorgaud slept. There was little but the beds in the marquee. +General Gorgaud slept on a small tent bed with green silk hangings, +which Napoleon had had with him in all his campaigns. + +Between the two divisions of the marquee some of the servants of +Napoleon had carved a huge crown in the green turf, on which the Emperor +was obliged to step as he passed through. + +At first Count Bertrand and Count Montholon with their families were +lodged at Mr. Porteous's house in the town, where a suitable table was +prepared for them in the French style. They could go to The Briars +whenever they wished, accompanied by a British officer or Dr. O'Meara, +who was appointed physician to Napoleon; or, followed by a soldier, they +were permitted to visit any part of the island except the forts and +batteries. + +A captain of artillery resided at The Briars, and at first a sergeant +and soldiers were also stationed there. But the presence of the soldiers +was evidently needless, as well as so disagreeable to the family that, +on hearing various remonstrances, Sir George Cockburn ordered them away. + +But for the presence of the artillery officer, Napoleon during his stay +at The Briars might almost have forgotten that he was a prisoner. He and +his suite appreciated the unfailing kindness of Mr. Balcombe and his +family, who from the first left nothing undone for the comfort of the +exiles. During the early days of his stay the dinner for the French +people at The Briars was sent out from town, but soon Mr. Balcombe +fitted up a little kitchen, connected with the Pavilion, where +Napoleon's accomplished cook had every opportunity to display his skill. +Very often after dinner Napoleon obligingly went outside for a walk, +that his attendants might finish their dinner in the room that he had +left. + +Soon after his arrival Napoleon was visited by Colonel Wilks, Governor +of St. Helena, Mrs. Wilks, and other officials of the island, and some +of the leading citizens and their families. He had not yet begun to +seclude himself, and he and his companions seemed to be trying to make +the best of their situation. Then and later evening parties were +occasionally given by the French without much appearance of restraint. +Napoleon accepted no invitations except those given by his friends at +The Briars, and in one or two unusual cases, but the others went +sometimes to the well-attended balls given by Sir George Cockburn. + +Madames Bertrand and Montholon and the rest of Napoleon's suite, for +whom there was not room at The Briars, often came to see him there, and +remained during the day. To them he was still _le grand empereur_. His +every look was watched, every wish was anticipated, and they showed him +great reverence. Some have thought that in dealing with them he insisted +too much on the etiquette of a court, but certainly none of the suite +complained of formality. + +Napoleon was always polite to guests at The Briars, and once went to a +large party given by Mr. Balcombe, pleasing every one by his urbanity. +When guests were introduced he always asked their profession, and then +turned the conversation in that direction. People were always surprised +at the extent of his information. Officers and others on the way from +China sought introductions and were seldom refused. + +Indeed in those first months his attitude to people was very different +from what it was later. Not infrequently he himself invited people to +dine with him. + +Most of Napoleon's suite shared with him a feeling of friendliness for +the Balcombe family. Las Cases, however, was always ready to criticise +Miss Betsy, whose hoydenish ways he could never understand. One evening, +when she was turning over the leaves of Estille's "Floriant," seeing +that Gaston de Foix was called General, she asked Napoleon whether he +was satisfied with him and whether he had escaped or was still living. +This question shocked Las Cases, for it seemed to him extraordinary that +a girl should imagine that the famous Gaston de Foix had been a general +under Napoleon. + +But this was not a very strange mistake for a little English girl to +make. It is to be feared that Las Cases always took a certain pleasure +in correcting the faults of the young Balcombes, or in reporting them to +their parents. + +From the first Napoleon claimed more of the society of Betsy than of the +other members of the family, and so agreeable were his manners toward +her that the little girl soon began to regard him as a companion of her +own, with whom she could be perfectly at ease, rather than as one much +older. + +"His spirits were very good, and he was at times almost boyish in his +love of mirth and glee, not unmixed sometimes with a tinge of malice," +wrote Betsy years later. + +"Jane," said Betsy to her sister, not long after Napoleon's arrival, +"the Emperor has invited us to dine with him. What fun it will be!" + +"I don't know. I am afraid it will be terribly solemn." + +"Oh, no; I am not afraid of that. The Emperor isn't solemn. You ought to +get acquainted with him, and you wouldn't think so." + +Jane shook her head dubiously. + +"I am half afraid of him. I don't see how you can dare to trifle so with +him. What were you laughing at yesterday when Lucy was here? I thought +the Emperor looked rather silly." + +"Well, perhaps he did, if you put it that way," responded the blunt +Betsy. "Only Lucy was sillier. I thought she would drag me to the ground +when I told her the Emperor was coming across the lawn." + +"Then why did you run and bring him up to her? I saw you do it." + +"I needn't have done that. I did more harm than good. I told her he +wasn't the cruel creature she thought him. But I oughtn't to have told +the Emperor she was afraid of him. At least, I wouldn't have done so had +I known how he would act, for he brushed up his hair so it stood out +like a savage's, and when he came up to Lucy he gave a queer growl so +that she screamed until mamma thought she might have hysterics and +hurried her out into the house." + +"It was ridiculous for a man to act like a child," responded the sedate +Jane, who had not acquired Betsy's admiration for Napoleon. + +"It was more ridiculous for her to scream. Napoleon laughed so at her +that I had to take her part. 'I thought you a kind of an ogre, too,' I +said, 'before I knew you.' 'Perhaps you think I couldn't frighten you +now,' he answered, 'but see;' and then he brushed his hair up higher and +made faces, and he looked so queer that I could only laugh at him. 'So I +can't frighten you!' he said, and then he howled and howled, and at last +seemed disappointed that I wasn't alarmed. 'It's a Cossack howl,' he +explained, 'and ought to terrify you!' To tell you the truth, it was +something terrible, but though I didn't like it I wouldn't flinch. Of +course it was all in fun, for he is really very kind-hearted," concluded +Betsy. + +"All the same I don't enjoy the thought of having dinner with him," +responded the practical Jane. "I've half a mind not to go." + +"Oh, Jane, that would never do! What would the Emperor think? After you +have been invited, too. Besides, mother wouldn't let you stay away. An +invitation from royalty is a command." + +"But Napoleon isn't--" + +"Hush," cried Betsy, not wishing to hear her new friend belittled. She +always took offence if any one called him prisoner. + +In spite of her professed distaste for the dinner, Jane would have been +disappointed had she been obliged to stay at home. She set out gayly +enough, proud in her secret heart that she was to have the honor of +being in the company of the great man. + +Nine o'clock, Napoleon's dinner hour, was late for the little girls. As +they entered his apartment the Emperor greeted them cordially, meeting +them with extended hands, and a moment after, Cipriani, his _maitre +d'hotel_, stood at the door. + +"_Le diner de votre Majeste est servi._" Whereupon Napoleon, with a girl +on each side, led the way after Cipriani, who walked backward, followed +by the rest of his suite, who were dining with him. + +Hardly had they taken their places when Napoleon began to quiz Betsy on +the fondness of the English for "rosbif and plum pudding." + +"It is better than eating frogs." + +"Oh, my dear Mees, how you wrong us!" + +"Ah, but see here!" cried Betsy, and she brought him a caricature of a +long, lean Frenchman with his mouth open, his tongue out, and a frog on +the tip of it, ready to jump down his throat. Under it was written, "A +Frenchman's Dinner." + +The Emperor laughed loudly at this. "You are impertinent," he cried, +pinching Betsy's ear. "I must show this to the petit Las Cases. He will +not love you so much for laughing at his countrymen." + +Upon this Betsy turned very red. The Emperor had touched a vulnerable +point. The young Las Cases, a boy of fourteen, was now at dinner with +them, and Napoleon had found that he could easily tease Betsy about him. + +"He will not want a wife," continued Napoleon, "who makes fun of him;" +and Betsy, inwardly enraged, could only maintain a dignified silence. + +The Emperor gazed intently at his young friend, and later, when they +rose from the table, he called young Las Cases. + +"Come, kiss her; this is your revenge." + +Betsy looked about vainly for a means of escape. But the Emperor had +already closed his hands over hers, holding them so that she had no +chance to get away, while young Las Cases, with a mischievous smile, +approached and kissed her. + +As soon as her hands were at liberty, Betsy boxed the boy's ears and +awaited her chance to pay Napoleon off. + +There was no inside hall to go from Napoleon's apartments to the rest of +the house, and it was necessary to pass outside along a steep, narrow +path, wide enough for only one at a time. + +An idea flashed into the mind of mischievous Betsy as Napoleon led the +way, followed by Count Las Cases, his son, and last by Jane. + +Betsy let the others get ahead of her, and waited when they were about +ten yards distant. Then with might and main she dashed ahead, running +with full force against the luckless Jane, who fell with extended hand +upon young Las Cases. He in turn struck against his father, and the +latter, to his dismay, against Napoleon. + +The latter could hardly hold his footing, while Betsy in the rear, +delighted with the success of her plan, jumped and screamed with +pleasure. + +The Emperor said nothing, but Las Cases, horror-struck at the insult +offered his master, became furiously angry as Betsy's laughter fell on +his ear. + +Turning back, he caught her roughly by the shoulder and pushed her +against the rocky bank. It was now Betsy's turn to be angry. + +"Oh, sir, he has hurt me!" + +"Never mind," replied Napoleon; "to please you, I will hold him while +you punish him." + +Thereupon it was young Las Cases's place to tremble. While the great man +held him by the hands, Betsy gleefully boxed his ears until he begged +for mercy. + +"Stop, stop!" he cried. + +"No, I will not. This has all been your fault. If you hadn't kissed +me--" + +"There, there," at last called the Emperor to the boy, "I will let you +go, but you must run as fast as you can. If you cannot run faster than +Betsy, you deserve to be beaten again." + +The young French page did not wait for a second warning, but starting +off at a run travelled as fast as he could, with Betsy in full pursuit. +Napoleon, watching them, laughed heartily and clapped his hands as the +two raced around the grounds. The little encounter amused him, but Las +Cases the elder took the matter more seriously. + +Betsy wrote, "From that moment Las Cases never liked me, after this +adventure, and used to call me a little rude hoyden." + +The next afternoon Betsy and Jane joined the Emperor, accompanied by +General Gorgaud, in a walk in a meadow. + +"Look, Betsy!" cried Jane, "there are the cows I saw the other day. I am +half afraid of them." + +"Nonsense! How silly!" cried the intrepid Betsy. "Afraid of a cow!" and +she repeated her sister's fear to Napoleon. The latter, professing to be +surprised and amused at Jane's fears, joined with Betsy in a laugh at +her sister's expense. But even the dread of ridicule had little effect +on Jane. + +"Oh, Betsy," she cried, "I am sure one of those cows is coming at us!" + +Looking up, Betsy had to admit that her sister might be right. One of +the cows was rushing toward them with her head down, as if ready to +attack the party. It was no time for words, and Napoleon, feeling it no +disgrace to retreat in the presence of such an enemy, jumped nimbly over +a wall and, standing behind it, was thus protected against the enemy. + +General Gorgaud did not run, but standing with drawn sword exclaimed, +"This is the second time I have saved the Emperor's life." + +From behind his wall Napoleon laughed loudly at Gorgaud's boast. + +"You ought to have put yourself in the position to repel cavalry," he +cried. + +"But really, Monsieur," said Betsy, "it was you who terrified the cows, +for the moment you disappeared over the wall the animal became calm and +tranquil." + +"Well, well," cried Napoleon, again laughing, "it is a pity she could +not carry out her good intentions. Evidently she wished to save the +English Government the expense and trouble of keeping me." + +"Betsy," said the sedate Jane a little later, when she had a chance to +talk to her sister alone, "you ought not to speak so to the Emperor. You +treat him like a child." + +"Well, he seems like one of us, doesn't he, Jane? I always feel as if he +were one of us, a brother of our own age, and I am sure he is much +happier than if we acted as if we were afraid of him. But still, if you +like, I will walk very solemnly now." + +So Betsy walked along beside her sister with a slow and mincing step, +her face as long as if she had lost her best friend. As she approached +the Emperor he noticed the change. + +"_Eh, bien! qu'as tu, Mademoiselle Betsee?_" he asked. "Has le petit Las +Cases proved inconstant? If he have, bring him to me." + +Instantly Betsy's new resolves melted away and for the rest of the walk +she and Napoleon were in their usual mood of good comradeship. + +The next morning, when Napoleon joined the family circle at The Briars, +one of Betsy's little brothers, hardly more than a baby, sat on +Napoleon's knee, and began to amuse himself as usual by playing with the +glittering decorations and orders that Napoleon wore. + +"Come, Mees Betsee," he cried, "there is no pleasing this child. You +must come and cut off these jewels to satisfy him." + +"Oh, I have something better to do now!" cried little Alexander, jumping +from Napoleon's knee and picking up a pack of cards. "Look!" he +continued, pointing to the figure of a Grand Mogul on the back of each +card, "look, Bony, this is you." + +At first the Emperor, with his imperfect knowledge of English, did not +exactly understand the child's meaning. When he did, instead of taking +offence, he only smiled as he turned to Betsy, saying, "But what does he +mean by calling me 'Bony'?" + +"Ah," replied Betsy in French, "it is short for Bonaparte." Las Cases, +however, trying to improve on the little girl's definition, interpreted +the word literally, "a bony person." + +Napoleon laughed at this reply, adding, "_Je ne suis pas osseux_," and +this was all. Alexander was not reproved for his familiarity. + +It was true that Bonaparte was far from thin or bony, and Betsy had +often admired his plump hand, which she had more than once called the +prettiest in the world. Its knuckles were dimpled like a baby's, the +fingers taper and beautifully formed, and the nails perfect. + +"Your hand does not look large and strong enough to hold a sword," she +said to him one day. + +"Ah, but it is," said one of his suite, who was present. Drawing his own +sabre from its scabbard, he pointed to a stain on it, saying, "This is +the blood of an Englishman." + +"Sheathe your sword," cried the Emperor. "It is bad taste to boast, +particularly before ladies. But if you will pardon me," and he looked +toward the others in the room, "I will show you a sword of mine." + +Then from its embossed sheath Napoleon drew a wonderful sword with a +handle in the shape of a golden fleur-de-lis. The sheath itself was +hardly less remarkable, made of a single piece of tortoise shell, +studded with golden bees. + +The children were delighted when the Emperor permitted them to touch the +wonderful weapon. It was the most beautiful sword they had ever seen. + +As Betsy held the sword in her hands, unluckily she remembered a recent +incident in which she had been at a great disadvantage under the +Emperor's teasing. Now was her chance to get even with her tormentor. + +With her usual heedlessness of consequences she drew out the sword and +began to make passes at Napoleon until she had driven him into a corner. + +"You must say your prayers," she said, "for I am going to kill you." + +"Oh, Betsy, how can you!" remonstrated the more prudent Jane, rushing to +the Emperor's assistance. "I will go and tell father." + +But Betsy only laughed at her. + +"I don't care," she cried. "People tease me when they like. Now it is my +turn;" and she continued to thrust the sword dangerously near Napoleon's +face, until her strength was exhausted, and her arm fell at her side. +Count Las Cases, the dignified chamberlain, who had entered the room +during the encounter, looked on indignantly. He did not quite dare to +interfere, although his indignation was plainly expressed in his face. +Already he had taken a deep dislike to the little girl, and to him the +sword incident seemed the climax of her misbehavior. If looks could +kill, she would have perished on the spot. + +Although the Frenchman's expression had not the power to annihilate +Betsy, something in his look warned her that she had gone far enough. +Daring though she was, she decided that her wisest course was to give up +the weapon. As she handed the sword back to him, Napoleon playfully +pinched her ear. + +It happened, unluckily, however, that Betsy's ear had been bored only +the day before. The pinch consequently caused her some pain. Without +venturing to resist the Emperor's touch, she gave a sharp exclamation. +She knew that he had not intended to hurt her. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +BETSY'S BALL-GOWN + + +When the little flurry over the sword had ended, Napoleon seemed lost in +thought, and the children wondered what he was thinking of. Perhaps the +laughing ways of these young people reminded him of his little son, +whose growth from babyhood to youth he was destined never to see. Some +such thought must have been in his mind when he turned to one of his +attendants, saying: + +"I believe that these children would like to see some of my +_bijouterie_. Go bring me those miniatures of the King of Rome." + +In a short time the messenger returned, laden with little boxes, while +the children loudly expressed their delight. They knew the story of the +young Napoleon, once the pride of the French nation, on whom had been +conferred the title King of Rome. They knew that he had gone to live +with the Austrian Emperor, father of his mother, Maria Louisa, and +perhaps some of them had heard of his stout resistance to those who came +to take him away from his beautiful home, the Tuileries. Already they +had seen some of the portraits of the little boy, brought by Napoleon to +St. Helena, and they were pleased by the idea of seeing others of the +collection. + +So they gathered around the Emperor as children will when something +interesting is to be shown them. + +"How lovely!" cried Jane, gazing at the miniature she was first allowed +to hold in her hand. + +It was indeed a beautiful picture, showing a baby asleep in his cradle, +which was in the shape of a helmet of Mars. Above his head the banner of +France was waving and in his tiny right hand was a small globe. + +"What does it mean?" asked Betsy, a little timidly now, as she noted the +expression of mingled pride and sadness in Napoleon's face. + +"Ah, those are the symbols of greatness. He is to be a great warrior and +rule the world." + +"Yes--in a minute," murmured Betsy, as one of the boys whispered to her +to translate "_Je prie le bon Dieu pour mon pere, ma mere, et ma +patrie_," inscribed beneath a picture of the child on a snuffbox cover, +which showed the little fellow in prayer before a crucifix. Then they +both looked at another miniature portraying him riding one lamb, while +he was decking another with ribbons. + +"Ah!" mused the Emperor again sadly. "Those were real lambs. They were +given him by the inhabitants of Paris,--a hint, I suppose, that they +would rather have peace than war." + +"And this is his mother," continued the Emperor, as a woman, far less +handsome than Josephine, was shown in the miniature with the boy, +surrounded by a halo of roses and clouds. + +"She is beautiful," exclaimed Napoleon; "but I will show you the most +beautiful woman in the world." + +The girls echoed his words. "I never saw any one so beautiful in my +life," cried Betsy, gazing on the portrait of a young, charming woman. + +"And you never will," avowed Napoleon. + +"The Princess of--" queried one of the French. + +"My sister Pauline," said Napoleon, "and you show good taste in admiring +her. She is probably one of the loveliest women ever created." + +"But now," he continued, when they had seen all the pictures, "let us go +down to the cottage and play whist." + +Turning reluctantly from the miniatures, the children walked down to the +cottage and soon were ready to play. + +But the cards did not deal smoothly enough. "Go off there by yourself," +said Napoleon to young Las Cases, "and deal until the cards run better. +And now, Mees Betsy, tell me about your _robe de bal_." + +Betsy's face flushed with pleasure. "Do you really want to see it? I +will go upstairs and get it." + +To Betsy the ball to be given soon by Sir George Cockburn was a +wonderful affair. It was considered a great event by all the people of +the island, but for Betsy it had a special significance, because it +would be her very first ball. In England, at her age, her parents would +not have thought of letting her go to a ball, but amusements were so few +at St. Helena that to keep her home would have seemed cruel. + +At first her parents had objected to her going, but when Napoleon saw +her in tears one day and learned why, he asked her father to let her go, +and thus she gained her father's consent. + +It is not strange then that the little girl took a great interest in her +gown for the ball, and since she felt indebted to the Emperor for his +intercession, she was pleased that he expressed an interest in her +costume. + +So she ran upstairs light-heartedly to get the new gown, and in a few +minutes returned with it on her arm. + +"It is very pretty," cried the Emperor, examining the gown critically; +and all the others, except the stern Las Cases, had a word of +commendation for it. + +It was a delicately pretty gown, trimmed with soft roses. Even if it had +not been her first ball-gown, Betsy's pride in it would have been +justified; but as things were, no cynical person could have found fault +with her for picturing to herself what a fine impression she would make +at this first appearance at a grown-up function. + +The Emperor's praises were particularly gratifying, because he had a way +of ridiculing any detail of dress that he did not like. + +"Oh, Mees Betsee," he would cry, "why do you wear trousers? You look +just like a boy;" and any one who has seen pictures of girls in +pantalets will admit that they merited criticism. Or again he would say: + +"If I were governor I would make a law against ladies wearing those +ugly, short waists. Why do you wear them, Mees Betsee?" + +It was, therefore, delightful to the young girl that he approved her +ball-gown. + +After sufficient praise had been given the dress, the four sat down to +play, Napoleon and Jane against Las Cases and Betsy. + +"Mademoiselle Betsee," said the Emperor, "I tire of sugar-plums. I bet +you a napoleon on the game. What will you put against it?" + +"I have no money," replied Betsy, a little shyly for her. "I have +nothing worth a napoleon except--oh, yes--my little pagoda. Will that +do?" + +The Emperor laughed. "Yes, that will do, and I will try to get it." + +So they began in merry spirits. + +"There, there," cried Betsy after a minute or two, "that isn't fair. You +mustn't show your cards to Jane." + +"But this is such a good one." Napoleon's eye twinkled. + +"Well, it isn't fair," added Betsy with the excitement in her tone often +observable in vivacious natures. As the cards were shuffled she +repeated, "Remember, you mustn't look at your cards until they are all +dealt." + +"But it seems so long to wait." + +"Then I won't play. You revoked on purpose." + +"Did I? Then I must hide my guilt;" and Napoleon mixed all the cards +indiscriminately together, while Betsy tried to hold his hands to +prevent further mischief, as she pointed out what he had done. + +Napoleon, amused by Betsy's indignation, laughed until the tears came. + +"Mees Betsy, Mees Betsy, I am surprised. I played so fair, and you have +cheated so; you must pay me the forfeit, the pagoda." + +"No, Monsieur, you revoked." + +"Oh, but Mees Betsy, but you are _mechante_ and a cheat. Ah, but I will +keep you from going to the ball!" + +While they were playing Betsy had quite forgotten the pretty gown that +she had laid carefully on the sofa. Now, all too late, she realized its +danger, for the Emperor, suddenly turning toward the sofa, seized it, +and before she could stop him ran out of the room with it, toward the +Pavilion. + +Betsy in alarm quickly followed, but though she went fast, Napoleon went +faster, and had locked himself in his room before she reached him. + +Poor Betsy was now thoroughly frightened. She was sure that her pretty +gown, with its trimmings of soft roses, would be destroyed. + +"Oh, give it to me, please!" she cried in English, as she knocked upon +his door. But the Emperor made no reply. Then she made her appeal in +French, using every beseeching word she knew to get him to return it. +Still his only answer was a mocking laugh, repeated several times, and +an occasional word of refusal. Nor did any one else come to Betsy's +assistance. As short a time as the French had lived at The Briars there +was hardly one of them on whom Betsy had not played some trick, and even +the members of her own family were unsympathetic when a message was +brought her from Napoleon that he intended to keep her dress and that +she might as well make up her mind she could not go to the ball. + +Poor Betsy! At night, after many wakeful hours, she cried herself to +sleep. When morning came things did not seem so black. She felt sure +that the Emperor would not do what he had no right to do, keep her +pretty dress. He would surely send it back to her. But the morning wore +away, and, contrary to his habit, Napoleon did not come near his +neighbors of The Briars. Betsy sent several strongly appealing messages, +but to them all came only one reply: + +"The Emperor is sleeping, and cannot be disturbed." + +So strong indeed was the dignity with which Napoleon had hedged himself, +that even the daring Betsy did not venture to intrude upon him when he +was resting. + +Afternoon came, and at last it was almost time to start for the valley. +The family were to ride there on horseback, carrying their ball-dresses +in tin cases, and they were to dress at the house of a friend. + +The horses were brought around, the black boys came up with the tin +cases that held the dresses--the dresses of the rest of the party--but +nothing of poor Betsy's. The little girl's cup was full to overflowing; +she, the courageous, began to cry. + +She turned to one of the servants: + +"Has my dress been packed?" + +"Of course not; we didn't have it to pack." + +"Then I cannot go." + +Her tears had ceased. She was now too angry to cry longer. + +"I will go anyway," she said on second thought. "I will dance in my +morning frock, and then you will all feel sorry, for I will tell every +one how I have been treated." + +At this moment a figure was seen running down the lawn. It was Napoleon, +and Betsy gave a scream of delight as she saw that in his arms he +carried her dress. + +Her face brightened and she hastened to meet him. + +"Here, Mees Betsy," he cried; "I have brought your dress. I hope you are +a good girl now, and that you will like the ball; and mind you dance +with Gorgaud." + +"Yes, yes!" said Betsy, too happy to get her dress to oppose any +suggestion, although General Gorgaud was no favorite of hers and she had +a long-standing feud with him. + +"You will find your roses still fresh," said the Emperor. "I ordered +them arranged and pulled out, in case any were crushed." + +To the little girl's delight, when she examined her gown she found that +no harm had been done it, in spite of the rough treatment it had +received at Napoleon's hands. + +"I wish you were going, sire," she said politely, as he walked beside +the horses to the end of the bridle path. + +"Ah, balls are not for me," he replied, shaking his head. Then he +stopped. + +"Whose house is that?" he asked, pointing to a house in the valley far +beneath. "It is beautifully situated," he continued; "some time I shall +visit it. Come, Las Cases, we must not detain the party." + +"We must hurry on," whispered one of those on horseback. + +"Good-bye, good-bye," and Napoleon and the elder Las Cases went down the +mountain toward the house that he had seen in the distance, while Betsy +and the others rode on toward the ball. + +Next day Napoleon said that he had been charmed with the beautiful place +in the valley that he and Las Cases had visited after he had seen the +others ride away to the ball. He had found the owner of the place, Mr. +Hodgdon, very agreeable, and at last he had ridden home on an Arab horse +that the latter had lent him. + +Before Napoleon withdrew within his shell he was not only inclined to +receive visitors but to pay visits. Betsy and Jane were riding gayly +along one day when they came unexpectedly upon Napoleon, also on +horseback. + +"Where have you been?" asked the venturesome Betsy. + +"To Candy Bay," replied Napoleon, without resenting her inquisitiveness. + +"Oh, didn't you think Fairyland just the most perfect place?" + +"Yes, indeed, I was delighted with it and with its venerable host, Mr. +D. He is a typical Englishman of the highest type." + +"Yes, and only think, he is over seventy years old and yet has never +left the island. I don't know what St. Helena would do without him," +said Jane. + +"I call him the good genius of the valley," added Betsy. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +A HORSE TAMER + + +One morning, not long after the ball, Betsy took a slight revenge on the +Emperor. She had a certain favor to ask of him, and she had gone to look +for him in his favorite retreat in his garden, the Grapery, near a large +pond of clear water, full of gold and silver fish. Though called a +grapery, vines of many different kinds twined over the trellis-work, +while the grapevines were chiefly over an arbor at the end. + +In the sultriest weather this little arbor was cool and pleasant, and +here Napoleon was in the habit of taking his books and papers when he +wished to work out of doors. + +He had no regular hour for rising, and sometimes he would go there as +early as four o'clock and write until breakfast, or dictate to Las +Cases. No one was permitted to intrude on him there, no one but Betsy +occasionally, and then it could hardly be called intruding, for she +usually went at the Emperor's request, or, as it might be said, she had +a general invitation. When Betsy said, "Come and unlock the garden +door," Napoleon stopped, even in the middle of the sentence he might be +dictating, and she was always admitted. This general invitation, +however, might have been withdrawn if Betsy had not been too sensible to +interrupt the Emperor often. She was careful not to abuse what was for +her a special privilege. + +On this particular morning she went to the arbor door with some +hesitation. One of her friends from the valley, a very charming girl, +had come to pass the morning with her. + +"Now, Betsy," she had said, "I hear that you are a great favorite with +Napoleon and you must introduce me, for I am just dying to see him." + +"I do not think I can," replied Betsy. "It is a very hot morning and I +saw him go early to the arbor. I do not like to disturb him when he is +busy." + +"Busy! How can a prisoner be busy? It cannot matter whether he is idle +or busy." + +"He is not a prisoner, at least we don't call him so," retorted Betsy +indignantly, "and he is writing books." + +"Oh, I suppose you know best, but if you cannot be obliging, I shall be +mortified when I go home to say that I did not see him. I heard you knew +him so well, that I supposed you wouldn't mind introducing me." + +Thus put on her mettle, Betsy yielded against her better judgment and +went down to the arbor. + +At first there was no answer to her knock. Napoleon had fallen asleep +over his papers. At last she succeeded in arousing him. "What do you +want?" he asked rather gruffly as he came to the little door. + +"Let me in, and you will know." + +"No, tell me first what you want and then I will let you in." + +Betsy was not so sure of this, but since she could not help it, she had +to explain her errand. + +"I wish to introduce a young lady to you." + +"Oh, no, indeed; I am not well." + +"But she will be so disappointed,--and she is so pretty." + +"Not like the lady I was obliged to say agreeable things to yesterday?" + +"Oh, no, she is very different. She is really young and handsome." + +"Very well, then, since you have promised, I suppose I must go, but come +in for a minute,"--this not very politely, it must be admitted. As Betsy +entered the little enclosure she rushed to the table and rather rudely +snatched up some of the papers on which Napoleon had been at work. + +"Now," she said, "for your ill-nature in making me stand so long at the +door, I shall keep these and find out all your secrets." + +The Emperor looked at Betsy with some alarm. He did not like to see his +papers in her hands. + +"Put them down instantly," he cried. + +"No, no," rejoined Betsy, running around the garden with the papers held +high above her head. The Emperor looked at her sternly. + +"Very well! Unless you obey me at once, I shall no longer be your +friend." + +[Illustration] + +Hardly ever before had Betsy heard Napoleon speak so severely. She saw +that he was in earnest and that she must obey. She saw, too, that she +was in danger of losing his regard, and even without looking far ahead +she realized that he might not go to her friend, if her own foolishness +continued longer. So, giving up her trophies, she seized the Emperor's +hand and led him to the house. + +Now that he had yielded to Betsy's wishes, Napoleon was most courteous +to her guest. He talked graciously to the young lady, complimented her +on her beauty, and when she was ready to go home helped her on her +horse. + +"She is a very pretty girl," he said later to Betsy, "but she has the +airs of a _marchande de modes_." + +In thus intruding on Napoleon in his arbor study, Betsy had shown a +rashness that no one else in the family would have ventured to imitate. +One day, however, Betsy aided an intruder, whose behavior the Emperor +could not resent although he was disturbed by it. + +It happened in this way. One morning while Napoleon was busy in his +outdoor study making notes, Betsy was romping about in the garden near +by. + +"Come, Tom Pipes!" she called loudly; and a second later a beautiful +Newfoundland dog rushed to her side. Tom Pipes belonged to Sir George +Cockburn, the Admiral, and was well known to every one at The Briars, as +he was in the habit of accompanying his master on his occasional visits +to Mr. Balcombe's house. After his long run up the mountainous road +under the hot sun, Tom Pipes was always delighted to reach The Briars, +for the place had many ponds and little streams, into which the +intelligent dog would plunge for a swim. + +On this particular day, Tom needed no second word from Betsy to make him +accept her invitation to take a dip in the pond, stocked with gold and +silver fish, that was near Napoleon's arbor. The dog bathed and swam and +amused himself in the water, and at last clambered up the bank. A moment +later, as if tired from his exertions, he lay down by Napoleon's side. +Napoleon, like every one else at The Briars, knew and admired the dog, +and if he noticed Tom Pipes's approach had no objection to it. He was so +absorbed in his work, however, that he probably was hardly aware of the +nearness of the creature. After a few minutes' rest, Tom Pipes realized +that he had not completed his toilet. So, rising to his feet, he began +to shake himself vigorously. Instantly a shower of water bespattered +Napoleon's face and clothing, and drenched the papers on the table. The +sheet on which he was writing was entirely spoiled, and he himself +looked rather ridiculous, as he tried to brush off the drops of water. +In spite of his annoyance, Napoleon could not help laughing, for +although he scolded and did his best to drive Tom Pipes away, the dog +could not understand him. The two had been shipmates on the +_Northumberland_, and the dog was so delighted to see Napoleon again +that instead of running away, he kept jumping on him, leaving on the +Emperor's clothing repeated imprints of his wet and muddy paws. + +While all this was happening, Betsy, looking on, was convulsed with +laughter. She had not had this particular ending in mind when she had +called Tom Pipes to play with her, but no deliberate practical joke of +hers had ever been more amusing to her; and the best part of it was that +the Emperor could not really blame her nor punish Tom Pipes. + +Very often, however, it was not Betsy who got the best of a practical +joke. Not infrequently she lost her temper over little things that were +not worth minding, and Napoleon, to whom she was a constant source of +amusement, could not forbear teasing her, just to see how she would take +his fun. One day, looking over Betsy's shoulder, Napoleon discovered +that her translation was not finished. Her father required this bit of +work from her every day, and now Napoleon saw a way to pay her back in +some of her own coin. + +Taking the paper from Betsy, and holding it aloft, the Emperor +approached Mr. Balcombe, who was now mounting his horse for a ride. + +"Balcombe," he cried, "_voila le theme de Mdlle. Betsee. Qu'elle a bien +travaille!_" he concluded sarcastically. + +Betsy's father looked at the sheet of paper which was quite blank, and, +entering into the spirit of the thing with Napoleon, he professed to be +very angry. Calling Betsy to him, he reproved her severely. + +"If your translation is not ready when I return home to dinner, I will +punish you severely." Mortified by this reproof, Betsy cherished plans +of retaliation against the Emperor, which she carried out when she +pinioned him in the corner with her sword. + +Yet after all she deserved the reproof, since her father had made a +rigid rule that his daughters should have a translation from English +into French ready every morning before the hour when Napoleon visited +The Briars. He rightly considered it a great privilege for the young +girls that the great man should be willing to look at their French +themes, with a view to improving their use of his language. + +One morning the sisters observed Archambaud, Napoleon's groom, leading a +beautiful horse in front of the house. + +"That is the Arab they have bought for him to ride." + +"I shouldn't think he'd care to ride that horse," responded the timid +Jane. "See how he rears and plunges." + +"He's afraid of that white cloth on the lawn." + +"Yes, but they've put it there on purpose, to break him of the habit of +shying." + +While they were speaking, Napoleon approached. + +"Sir," said the confident Betsy, "I don't believe you can ride that +horse." + +"I! Don't you think me a good rider?" + +"Yes; I think you look better on horseback than any one I have ever +seen." + +"Only _look_!" Napoleon was trying to draw her out. + +"But you really ride better than anyone else, as I told you the other +day when you rode around the lawn. I didn't suppose any one could make a +horse wheel in such a narrow circle." + +"Yet you think this Arab could conquer me!" + +"But it looks so ugly,--I mean its disposition." + +The Emperor, without replying directly, called Archambaud to him and +bade him dismount, while he took his seat on the fiery horse. The girls +looked on in horror, but Napoleon only smiled the more, as he compelled +the horse to pass the cloth and continued his discipline until he made +the creature put his foot on it. + +Archambaud gazed open-mouthed, hardly knowing whether to laugh or to +cry. The Emperor persevered, and in a short time the horse was +absolutely obedient to him, and the groom, though chagrined at his own +failure, was pleased by the Emperor's success. + +"Ah," said Napoleon, dismounting, "it would be a strange horse that did +not understand me. There was one that I rode once one hundred and +twenty-nine miles in one day. My mother was ill, and I had to do it; but +the horse, poor thing, died in the course of the night." + +"And you?" asked Betsy. + +"Ah, I was fatigued, but in or out of the saddle makes little difference +to me. I could almost sleep in the saddle. But, come, young ladies," he +continued, "I came here to invite you to see my china. It is all +unpacked." + +The girls followed the Emperor toward the house, and "Oh!" and "Ah!" +they exclaimed loudly as they looked at the beautiful dishes lately +arrived from France. Among them there were plates that had cost +twenty-five napoleons, each of them painted by a great artist. It was a +beautiful set, given to the Emperor by the people of Paris, and the +pictures were chiefly battle scenes commemorating his great victories. + +Before one of these paintings, Betsy stood enraptured. It represented a +slim youth, who looked almost tall, standing on a bridge and evidently +cheering others on, while nearer him were the dead and dying. + +"And this was really you?" exclaimed Betsy, for she recognized the +standing figure. + +"Yes," replied Napoleon, sighing, as if for his dead youth. "I was that +boy. That was almost the beginning. I was more slender then than now." + +"This is the ibis?" asked Betsy, pointing to a bird that appeared on +many plates. + +"Yes; these are mostly pictures of Egypt;" and the ibis led him to a +long discourse on the Egyptian campaign. + +"But don't go to Egypt, Miss Betsy," he concluded. "You will catch +ophthalmia and spoil your eyes." + +"_Pourquoi avez-vous tourne turque?_" ["Why did you turn Turk?"] +interposed Betsy abruptly. + +"What is that to you?" he asked, laughing. The question referred to his +having become a Mahometan, but at first it was not clear to Napoleon +what she meant. + +"I mean, why did you change your religion?" Betsy explained. + +"Fighting is a soldier's religion," he replied. "I never changed that. +The other is the affair of women and priests. _Quant a moi_, I always +adopt the religion of the country I am in. And now," he said at last, +"you have seen all the plates, and there are your little brothers coming +up to find out what our Santini has made for them." + +Santini was Napoleon's lamplighter, a clever little fellow, who could +make all kinds of toys and was always ready to play amusing tricks to +entertain the children. + +"What has he now?" the little boys asked as the man approached with a +box under his arm. + +The children jumped about excitedly. Even the girls were curious, as, +taking the box from under his arm, Santini displayed a tiny carriage to +which were harnessed two pairs of mice. In spite of Santini's efforts, +they did not at once start off, as he had expected, to draw the +carriage, and the boys appealed to the Emperor. + +"Pinch the tails of the leaders, and then they will go," commanded +Napoleon. + +The boys obeyed, and to the great delight of the children the mice +started off at full speed. As they watched the carriage and the +scampering steeds, the children shouted and clapped their hands. + + * * * * * + +One morning Betsy stood before Napoleon with an expression of +disappointment on her pretty face. + +"Of course I thought you meant it." + +"But you are a foolish child." + +"Why shouldn't you give a ball before you leave The Briars? Not a very +great one, but just large enough for me to dance at. Soon you will be +away, at Longwood. I thought you promised." + +"You must have known I was in fun." + +At last Betsy noted a tone in the Emperor's voice that warned her to go +no further. + +"But since you are so disappointed," said Napoleon kindly, "you may have +whatever you wish to ask of me. _Dites-moi, que veux-tu que je fosse +Mdlle. Betsee pour te consoler?_" ["Tell me, what do you wish me to do +to console you?"] + +Betsy's face brightened. + +"Let us play the game of blindman's buff you have so often promised. +Then I will forgive you for not having the ball, and never speak of it +again." + +"Blindman's buff, as you describe it, did not seem to be just the game +for me. Can't you think of something else?" + +"But you promised, and your room is splendid for it, and it wouldn't be +any fun without you." + +Seeing that resistance was useless, the Emperor at last consented to +play. He began by binding his fine white handkerchief over Betsy's eyes. + +"Can you see?" + +"I cannot see you." + +But Betsy, although she spoke truly in saying that she could not see the +Emperor, could yet detect a glimmer of light. Napoleon waved his hands +before her eyes, and the shadows and rush of air made her start. + +"Ah, leetle monkey, you can see me!" he exclaimed, and he put another +handkerchief over her eyes. + +Then, with Betsy in the middle of the room, the game began. Soon the +young girl felt some one pull her nose roughly. She knew who had touched +her, for, as he crept toward her, she recognized Napoleon's footsteps. +As she darted forward, he bounded away just as her hand touched his. +Then, as she groped about, Napoleon pulled her ear. She was sure that +she had recognized him and putting out her hand she cried triumphantly: + +"I have you, I have you! Now it is your turn." + +When Betsy uncovered her eyes she was mortified to find that it was her +sister she had captured. Napoleon, it was true, had pulled her ear, but +he had accomplished this by reaching his hand over Jane's head. Every +one now laughed at Betsy. + +"Come," said Napoleon, "as you have made such a great mistake, you must +pay the penalty and remain blindfolded." + +The Emperor continued to tease and quiz, pulling Betsy's ear or her +dress, and always managing to escape being caught. + +At last, when the fun was at its height, a servant, entering, announced +that some one had called to see the Emperor. So the young people were +left to themselves for a while. The game was at an end. + +"Now, Mees Betsy," exclaimed the Emperor, when he returned to the room, +"you and all the other players must come and dine with me." + +"But we have already dined." + +"Yet you must come. Now, Navarre," said the Emperor, when they had +reached the marquee, "Mees Betsy is very fond of creams. Bring some for +her." + +"I cannot eat them," protested Betsy. + +"But you told me you were so fond of them. Come, it is not kind to +refuse." + +"But really I cannot eat." + +"Oh, nonsense!" + +Betsy made the effort, and ate half of a delicious cream. + +"That is not enough. I will feed you, little _bambino_, I will feed +you;" and with spoon in hand Napoleon actually began to feed the little +girl, laughing steadily at her as he did so. + +Only by running away did Betsy at last escape, and even then the Emperor +called after her: + +"Stop, Mees Betsy, do stay and eat another. You know you told me you +liked them." + +The next day Marchand brought to the sisters a box of bonbons with the +Emperor's compliments, and with them came some of the famous creams for +"Mdlle. Betsee." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +OFF FOR LONGWOOD + + +New Year's Day was approaching, the day which French people love to +celebrate by making gifts to their friends and paying compliments. + +On this first New Year's morning of Napoleon's exile on St. Helena, +Betsy, looking from her window, saw young Tristram Montholon and Henri +Bertrand approaching. + +"Look, Jane," she cried excitedly, "they are carrying something; do you +suppose--" + +But without finishing her question or waiting for Jane to answer, Betsy +had taken the shortest way to gratify her curiosity by running to greet +the boys. Immediately the two little fellows saluted her with New Year +wishes and before she could ask a question had presented each +sister--for Jane had followed her--with a beautiful crystal basket. + +"Something Piron made for you," the boys explained; and the fingers of +the two girls trembled with excitement as they began to uncover the +contents of the baskets. Piron, Napoleon's _confiseur_, could do the +most remarkable things. There was nothing he could not reproduce in +sugar--palaces, triumphal arches, all kinds of curious structures--all +looking too good to eat. Already Betsy and Jane had received presents +from the Emperor, products of Piron's skill, accompanied usually by some +pleasant message. But this New Year's gift surpassed their expectations, +for when they tore off the white satin napkin, inside the baskets they +saw that delicious bonbons were heaped within them on Sevres plates, a +plate for each girl. + +"Cupidons for the Graces," was Napoleon's message accompanying the +kindly gift. + +The first of the new year brought a certain regret to the family at The +Briars and to Napoleon as well. His new home at Longwood was nearly +ready for him, and this meant that he should see much less of the +charming family to which he had become attached. Longwood was several +miles away, and the chance was that there he would be guarded more +closely and that it might be harder for the girls to see him. + +For the two months before New Year's, Longwood was as busy a place as a +dock-yard in war. The Admiral was often there, hurrying lazy workmen. +Every day two or three hundred seamen carried timber and other building +materials and furniture to Longwood. Although Napoleon was in no hurry +to go there--indeed, he did not wish to go there at all--he watched the +workmen with great interest, as he observed them climbing up the heights +between Longwood and The Briars. He would really have preferred to make +The Briars his home, and he tried to get the Government to buy it for +him, but for reasons, perhaps political, this could not be accomplished. +Longwood, in situation, was bleak and unshaded, and so exposed that it +was not likely he could ever have a garden such as that at The Briars. +Water had to be brought from a distance of three miles, and the houses +that were to be remodelled for the French were known to be damp and +unhealthy. The farmhouses which Napoleon was to occupy were very plain +and have even been called a collection of huts. The expenditure of much +money could not make the place really comfortable. + +Napoleon had now been on the island nearly three months. No longer was +he regarded by any one with dread, at least by any one who had come +under his immediate influence. By the Balcombe family he was esteemed an +amiable friend. They had had the chance to see him under all kinds of +conditions, and if they did not regard him as exactly perfect, their +feeling for him was one not only of great sympathy but respect. + +As the time for his departure approached he came more often to the +drawing-room at The Briars. + +"Ah," he said, half sadly, to the family, "I would rather stay here than +go to Longwood. I could never have imagined it possible to be happy on +such a horrible rock as St. Helena." + +One day General Bertrand, coming over from Longwood, told Napoleon the +house smelled so of paint that it was not fit for him at present. All +Napoleon's friends knew his great dislike for unpleasant odors, and that +paint was especially disagreeable to him. + +When the Emperor heard this report of the condition of Longwood, his +rage almost choked him. He walked up and down the lawn, gesticulating +wildly. + +"I will not live in a house that smells of paint. It is most horrible. I +will send to the Admiral and refuse to go." + +Betsy had hardly ever seen him display such temper as he now showed, +declaiming against the lack of consideration shown by the Governor. This +excitement was a result probably of his general dislike for his new +home. Although first interested in the workmen, toward the end he began +to complain of the fifes and drums with which the soldier workmen urged +themselves on as they wound their way up the hill. He had disliked +Longwood from the day when he had first seen it, just after his arrival +on the island, and what he heard about it had not changed his opinion. +No family, it was said, had ever lived there longer than a few months, +so unwholesome was its climate. This came from the situation of the +place--a plain on the top of a mountain, eighteen hundred feet high. It +was on the windward side of the island, and only for a month or six +weeks in the year was the weather pleasant. For three or four weeks it +had the sun directly overhead; the rest of the year was wet and +disagreeable. In the course of a single day there could be extreme +changes of heat and cold. + +At last the day of departure came. Sir George Cockburn and all the +Emperor's suite, some of whom lived at a distance from The Briars, came +over to escort him. The younger members of the family stood around the +house, showing their sadness very plainly. + +"You must not cry, Mdlle. Betsee," said Napoleon kindly. "You must come +to see me next week, and very often." + +"Oh, yes, I want to, but that will depend on my father." + +Then Napoleon turned to Mr. Balcombe. "Balcombe, you must bring Misses +Jane and Betsee next week to see me, eh? When will you ride up to +Longwood?" + +"Indeed, I will bring them soon," responded Mr. Balcombe. + +"But where is your mother?" added the Emperor, casting his eye over the +group that had gathered to bid him good-bye. + +"She sent her kind regards to you," replied Betsy, "but is sorry that +she is not well enough to come down." + +"Then I will go up to her;" and Napoleon impulsively ran upstairs before +word could be given of his approach. + +When Napoleon entered her room, Mrs. Balcombe was lying down. The girls, +who had followed him, saw him sit down on the edge of her bed as he +thanked her very warmly for all her attention to him. + +"I should have preferred to stay at The Briars. I am sorry to go to +Longwood," he said; and then he handed a little package to her, saying, +"Now please give this to your husband as a mark of my friendship." +"This" proved to be a beautiful gold snuffbox. + +As he turned to leave the room, Napoleon saw the red-eyed Betsy standing +near the door. + +"Here, my dear," he said, putting something in her hand, "you can give +this as a _gage d'amour_ to petit Las Cases." + +Betsy had no heart now to reply to a jest that ordinarily would have +brought out a spirited reply. But with the beautiful bon-bonniere in her +hand, she ran out of the room and took a post at a window where she +could see Napoleon. Her tears continued to flow and she found that she +could not bear to look longer at the departing Emperor. At last she had +to run to her own room, where, throwing herself on a bed, she wept +bitterly for a long time. + +It was true, as Betsy knew, that Longwood was not so very far from The +Briars, and that it was not likely that she would be restrained from +going there sometimes. Yet in spite of this knowledge the little girl +realized that she had lost a great deal by the departure of the Emperor +from her father's house. + +Friends, and enemies too, of Napoleon in Europe would have been amazed +at that moment to know that the man who so short a time before had been +dreaded as the commander of one of the world's greatest armies, was now +bewailed by a little girl as a lost playmate, for as playmate and friend +Betsy had certainly come to regard him, and she regretted his removal to +Longwood, not only because it was farther away, but because he was +likely to be hedged in with a greater ceremony that might prevent her +from seeing much of him. + +Mr. Balcombe went with Napoleon to Longwood, and when he returned the +girls asked eagerly how the Emperor liked the new residence. + +"He seemed out of spirits. He went soon to his own room and shut himself +in;" and at this report they sympathized with his loneliness. + +Betsy and Jane, fortunately, were not to be shut off altogether from +their friend. Their father was purveyor to the Emperor, and this meant +that he had a general order to visit Longwood and could take his +daughters with him. Thus it happened that hardly a week passed without +their going there to call, to their own great delight as well as to the +satisfaction of Napoleon, who never tired of them. + +Usually their visits were so timed that they could breakfast with the +Emperor at one, and for the most part they found him much the same as he +had been at The Briars. After a while, however, they could not help +noticing that he was less cheerful than formerly. + +About a week after his departure, Betsy and her mother and sister made +their first visit to Longwood to call on the Emperor. + +"Ah, there he is," Betsy cried; and looking ahead, they saw him seated +on the steps of the billiard-room, talking to little Tristram Montholon. +The moment Napoleon caught sight of them, he hastened toward them. +Saluting them pleasantly, he kissed Mrs. Balcombe and Jane on each +cheek, while he pinched Betsy's ear, as he said: "Ah, Mdlle. Betsee, +_etes-vous sage_, eh, eh?" + +Then, with the eagerness of a boy anxious to display a new toy, he +added, "What do you think of the place? I must show you over it. Come, +follow me!" + +So the Emperor walked ahead of Mrs. Balcombe and her daughters, leading +them first to his bedroom. Betsy thought this room small and cheerless, +though she did not say so to Napoleon. + +As she looked about she observed that the walls were covered with fluted +nankeen, that on the wall were many family pictures that she recognized, +while the bed was the well-known camp bed with the green silk hangings, +the bed Napoleon had used in his Marengo and Austerlitz campaigns. +There, on one side, was the silver wash-hand basin and ewer, and on the +mantelpiece over the bed was a portrait of Maria Louisa, so placed as to +be the first thing to meet Napoleon's eye when he awoke in the morning. +Off the bedroom was a small chamber with a bath that he showed to them. +A dressing-room, dining-room, billiard and drawing room made up the +Emperor's own special suite. The billiard-room, which had been built +according to Sir George Cockburn's orders, was large and well +proportioned. It was the best apartment in the house, and the girls +expressed their admiration for it, although Betsy, when her eye fell on +the billiard table and balls, thought the game a foolish one for men to +play. + +"Now to the kitchen!" Napoleon exclaimed, at last. "M. Piron will be so +pleased. Aha, Piron, here is Mees Betsee; you know how she loves creams. +Send her some and some bonbons. See, _regardez, mademoiselle, voila un +mouton pour mon diner, dont on fait une lanterne_," pointing to the lean +carcass of a sheep hanging up in the kitchen, in which the French +servants had placed a candle which shone through. "But I know," he +continued, "you are dying to see the baby;" and the sisters went with +him to Madame Montholon's apartment to see her six-weeks-old girl. + +Napoleon took his little god-daughter in his arms. + +"Oh, you will let it fall!" cried Betsy as he dandled it clumsily. + +"No, no! See, it will let me do anything with it;" and he pinched little +Lili's nose and chin until she cried. + +"You do not know how to hold a baby," protested Betsy. + +"But I ought to know," responded Napoleon with a twinkle of amusement in +his eye. "Often and often I have nursed the King of Rome when he was +younger than Lili." + +After leaving the baby and Madame Montholon, the little girls went with +Napoleon to the garden outside. + +"It is not like The Briars," the Emperor said, shaking his head sadly. + +"I should say not;" and Betsy looked from the bare surroundings of the +house to the rugged mountain near by with its scraggly vegetation of +wild samphire, prickly pears and aloes, its iron-covered rocks, with +sharp cliffs and mysterious caves overshadowing the house. + +Napoleon's momentary sadness may have come from his casual allusion to +his son, the little King of Rome, the child whom he was never to see +again. Those who observed him when any allusion was made to his child +were always sure that Napoleon's heart held great fatherly affection. +Once when he had been a trifle downcast, Dr. O'Meara told him an +anecdote he had heard about the child. Immediately Napoleon smiled with +great animation and his face brightened. At other times when the +conversation turned on the child, he grew perceptibly sadder. + +His love for his own child made Napoleon undoubtedly more interested in +all children, and he was never ashamed, as some men are, to show this +interest in the children of his friends. + +This first visit to Longwood was in every way delightful to the sisters, +not only because there was much to see that was new to them in the +arrangement of the house and grounds, but because they found the Emperor +in one of his most boyish moods. + +"Now, ladies," he said, as the time for their return approached, "send +your horses off. They can meet you at Hutsgate, and I will take a drive +with you, if you will honor my jaunting car." + +Hutsgate was the residence of Madame Bertrand, where Mrs. Balcombe and +her daughters intended to call before returning to The Briars. + +"Yes," answered Betsy after a moment's hesitation, "we will drive with +you." She was not fond of driving, but did not dare to expose her +timidity to the ridicule of the Emperor. + +Hardly, however, had they started off when she felt that her fears were +justified. The daring Archambaud was their charioteer, and he drove +three unbroken Cape horses abreast. + +"This is the most dangerous road for driving on the island. No wonder +they call it the Devil's Punchbowl," cried poor Betsy. As she spoke, the +carriage seemed to be tipping over the edge of the declivity. Those +nearer the edge were in mortal terror, and the others looked as if they +would be crushed against the huge rock. + +"You are not frightened, are you, Mees Betsee?" asked Napoleon +mischievously. "Of course it is a narrow road; I only hope the horses +are not running away. They seem rather wild." + +Thankful enough was Betsy to arrive at Madame Bertrand's without +accident, and when she started for home she was more than eager to mount +her own quiet pony, Tom. She was not fond of driving over the dangerous +roads, and for a jaunting car she had a special dislike. Napoleon, +knowing this, could not resist the opportunity to tease her. Betsy, +indeed, was not the only one whom he liked to terrify by getting +Archambaud to display his reckless driving. It seemed, indeed, as if his +guest, as well as the Emperor, always took his life in his hands when +driving in the jaunting car. + +On a second visit not long after the first, when Betsy and Jane arrived +at Longwood, they found the Emperor firing at a target. He put the +pistol in Betsy's hands, saying, "Ah, _la Petite Tirailleuse_, I will +form a company of sharpshooters and you shall be captain." + +A little later he took her to the billiard-room and showed her the +billiard table. + +"It is a silly game for men," she said in her positive way, "too much +like marbles. I wouldn't play it." + +"Oh, do try," urged the Emperor; but wilful Betsy replied only by aiming +the ball at his fingers, as he rested his hand on the board. + +Later, however, the sisters learned to play the game, and at the +billiard table they passed many an hour. + +Napoleon himself taught Betsy how to handle a cue, but, when tired of +the lesson, she would often aim at his fingers, and she was always +delighted when a well-directed shot made him cry out. + +The visits of Betsy and her sisters gave pleasure to the fallen great +man; still, as time went on, they could not help noticing that he was +less and less buoyant. In their presence he tried to lay aside his +troubles, and continued unfailingly kind. + +He and the new Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, were always at swords' points, +and this wore on his spirits. Moreover, the health of Napoleon was +impaired, and as he realized this he grew more and more gloomy. + +Sir Hudson Lowe was very particular that the passes issued for visitors +should be used only as they had been made out. + +One day Betsy went to Longwood with a pass that prescribed a visit to +General Bertrand. But when Betsy, wandering about, caught sight of +Napoleon in the billiard-room, she could not resist the temptation of +playing a game with him. Her father vainly tried to remonstrate with +her. Far from listening to him, she bounded off. + +Instead of playing billiards, however, Napoleon asked her to read to him +from a book that he had lately received from England. It was by Dr. +Warden, surgeon of the _Northumberland_, describing in English +Napoleon's voyage to St. Helena. Napoleon had not made great headway in +reading English, and Betsy went through several chapters with him, +turning them into her French that he might better understand. + +Napoleon listened attentively to her reading. "Dr. Warden's word is a +very true one," he said. + +Betsy finished her stay at Longwood this day by remaining awhile with +Madame Bertrand. + +The news of Betsy's visit to Napoleon without the requisite permission +reached the Governor's ears; and Mr. Balcombe was severely reproved. In +fact, he nearly lost his position. The Governor from the first insisted +that Mr. Balcombe always acted in the interest of Napoleon, and hence, +as he viewed it in his narrow-mindedness, against the interests of the +English Government. Thus we can see that Napoleon's young neighbor was +wrong in doing things that drew on her father the Governor's reproof. + +"My dears," said Mr. Balcombe one morning, "I am going to Longwood +to-morrow, and the Emperor has expressly asked me to bring you. He has +something curious to show you." + +"What can it be?" the girls asked each other. This special invitation, +promising a special pleasure, made them eager to start when the next +morning came. + +When they reached Longwood with their father they found Napoleon +examining a machine whose use they could guess. + +"Come, come, young ladies," the great man cried, when he caught sight of +them, "come see me make ice. You have not been here for a long time, +Mees Betsy, what is the matter?" + +"I have been ill,--a sunstroke." + +"Oh, I am sorry! What foolish thing did you do?" + +"Oh, Jane and I walked with Captain M. to call on Mrs. Wilks. We went +over the mountain, two thousand feet, and also across Francis Plain, and +down into the valley, up the mountain ridges." + +Napoleon expressed his astonishment at the extent of their walk. + +"Yes, we were nearly dead when we reached Plantation House, but the Lady +Governess and her daughter there were so kind, and at noon we went to +Fairyland." + +When Betsy had told her story, Napoleon explained the air-pumps and the +process of ice-making. He was evidently proud of his own proficiency. + +"Now, Mr. Balcombe, get an elementary chemistry for Miss Betsy and make +her study every day, and the good O'Meara shall be her examiner." + +While he talked Napoleon was watching the machine. + +"Do try my ice," he exclaimed at last, when he had a cupful. + +"Here, Mees Betsee, take this!" and he put a large piece in her mouth. + +"Oh, Mees Betsee, why make such faces?" + +This was the first ice that had ever been seen on the island, and those +who had never been off St. Helena were naturally amazed when it was +shown to them. + +"It can't be frozen water," exclaimed Miss de F., a young St. Helena +lady who had accompanied the Balcombes on this visit to Longwood; and +she had to hold a piece in her hand before she believed it. Then she +gave a little scream. The glassy substance was so cold at first that she +was ready to drop it. A moment later when it began to melt and the water +streamed down her fingers, she realized that she had actually seen a +very strange thing, the turning of water into ice by artificial means. + +Betsy long remembered the day when she had first seen the wonderful ice +machine, and perhaps her remembrance of it was intensified because on +that same morning Napoleon permitted her to cut from his coat an +embroidered bugle, and the coat was the one he had worn at Waterloo. +Napoleon himself was as pleased as a child with the ice machine, and to +more than one person expressed his regret that he had not had it in +Egypt, where its use would have saved the lives of many suffering +soldiers. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE GOVERNOR'S RULES + + +After Napoleon had been at St. Helena a few months, newspapers from +England began to arrive with narratives of many of the happenings at The +Briars. + +One journal contained a letter from the Marquis de Montchenu, describing +all the romping games at The Briars, such as the game of blindman's +buff, the sword scare, and other things in which the children had taken +part. + +Special comments were made on the manners of Betsy, and the writer said, +"She is the wildest little girl I have ever met; she seems _folle_." +This letter had been translated into French and German journals, so that +Betsy Balcombe's name was now widely known. + +Mr. Balcombe was greatly enraged by this letter, and wished to call the +Marquis to account for his ill nature, but Mrs. Balcombe persuaded him +to desist from extreme measures, and in the end the Marquis himself made +an apology. + +Napoleon found some amusement in Betsy's fierce anger against the +critical Frenchman. One day Dr. O'Meara called at The Briars, on the way +to St. James Valley, with a message from Napoleon to tell Betsy how she +could revenge herself on the tale-bearer. + +The Marquis, a noble of the old school, was in the habit of wearing an +elaborate wig with a long cue. + +"Mees Betsy, if you will burn off the cue with caustic, I will reward +you with the prettiest fan in Solomon's shop, if you will send the +pigtail to me," suggested Napoleon to Betsy as a plan of revenge. + +"_Eh, bien_," said the Emperor, when next he saw Betsy, "Mdlle. Betsy, +_as tu obei mes ordres et gagne l'eventail_?" ["Have you obeyed my +orders and won the fan?"] + +"Oh, sire, how I wanted to do it, but my brother would not let me!" + +"Ah, Mees Betsy," and Napoleon pinched her ear, "_tu commences a etre +sage_. Here, O'Meara, have you brought the fan I promised Miss Betsy?" + +"No, sire, there were none pretty enough for her in Solomon's shop." + +Betsy's face grew serious. + +"Do not look sad," expostulated Napoleon. "You shall have something +prettier than a fan;" and Betsy, comprehending, wondered what the +present would be that he evidently intended to give her. + +In a few days a package came to The Briars, addressed to Betsy. Opening +it, she saw a ring of brilliants, forming the letter N, surmounted by a +small eagle. + +This was a wonderful gift for a little girl, and at first she could +hardly believe that it was for her. Later she found there was no +mistake. It was really hers, and she kept it always. + +Although Betsy was not permitted to carry out Napoleon's proposed plan +of revenge on the tale-telling Marquis, she expressed her feelings in a +way of her own by relating to Napoleon an anecdote about him. + +"The Marquis," she said, "is extremely fond of cauliflower, a vegetable +that is very hard to get here on the island. Well, the other day, he +dined with us and we had the most delicious cauliflower. Somehow he +didn't see it until it was being removed and then he cried to his +aide-de-camp, who had neglected to point it out, '_Bete, pourquoi-ne m'a +tu pas dit qu'il-y-avait des choux fleurs?_' ['Idiot, why didn't you +tell me that there was cauliflower?'] Now, wasn't he greedy?" asked +Betsy, glad enough to have a story to tell that placed the Marquis at a +disadvantage. + +The Marquis de Montchenu, for whom Betsy had professed this dislike, was +one of the three Commissioners sent by the Allied Powers to keep watch +on Napoleon. The other two were the Baron Sturmer, representing Austria, +and Count Balmain, sent by Russia. While England provided the prison and +jailer for Napoleon, these Commissioners were asked to observe +everything and report to their respective countries. France and Austria +had ordered their Commissioners to see Napoleon in their official +capacity every day in order to assure themselves that he was actually +alive. Baron Balmain was instructed by Russia neither to seek nor avoid +an occasion to see him. To describe the vain efforts of the French and +Austrian Commissioners to see Napoleon would make an entertaining story. +Napoleon's orders to his household were not to admit any one presenting +a pass from the British authorities. But as Sir Hudson Lowe would permit +no one to go to Longwood without a pass from him, those who wished to +see Napoleon were in a dilemma. + +Things were not bettered when Napoleon wrote Sir Hudson Lowe, desiring +him not to present any one to him, as in future he would receive no +visitors. He acted as if he thought it his duty to shut himself up, in +order that public opinion might be turned against the narrow-mindedness +of the Governor. After this few of the people of St. Helena tried to +call on him. From delicacy of feeling, or because they feared his anger, +civilians and military residents avoided Longwood. Only the two +Commissioners and the resident English officer made an effort to see him +daily, and their efforts, merely to get a glance at him through window +or door, were most absurd. The officer sometimes saw him, but the +Commissioners never had the privilege. The Marquis de Montchenu beheld +him at last only when he lay dead. Baron Sturmer and Baron Balmain left +St. Helena while Napoleon was still alive without having met him. + +As to Betsy Balcombe, though she had her own opinion, on account of her +father's position she could not express herself strongly about Sir +Hudson Lowe. + +"Has any one run away with a favorite _robe de bal_, or is the pet black +nurse, old Sarah, dead?" asked Napoleon one day, detecting a serious +look on Betsy's face. "What can have occurred?" + +Betsy's face did not brighten. + +"I am feeling very sad," she said, "because Mrs. Wilks, our kind +Lady-Governess, has gone away. Every one was at the boat to see her go, +and at the castle. It was like a funeral, no one with a dry eye, and all +saying, 'God bless you, and a safe and happy voyage home.'" + +Betsy paused for a moment, then continued: "Then they all followed the +Governor and his family to the barge that was to take them to Havana, +and groups of grief-stricken ladies wandered under the peepul trees of +Sisters' Walk, watching the vessel." + +"Did you cry too?" asked Napoleon. + +"Indeed I did." + +"I regret," added Napoleon, "that I had not known the Lady-Governess; +she must have been so amiable." + +Napoleon, as well as Betsy, probably realized that but for his coming +the people of St. Helena might have retained their popular Governor, +Mark Wilks. Before the arrival of Napoleon, the Governor of St. Helena +was paid by the East India Company, though appointed by the Crown; but +with so important a personage as Napoleon held there in captivity, it +seemed wisest that full responsibility for him should be laid on the +English Government. It was therefore decided, as we have before seen, +that as soon as possible a Governor of higher rank should be sent out in +place of Governor Wilks. The change at this time seemed unfortunate for +the people of St. Helena. In Governor Wilks they had found an officer +who had their interests more at heart than any preceding Governor. Could +he have been Napoleon's custodian, the Emperor's exile would have been +very much happier than it was with Sir Hudson Lowe in charge. + +Betsy, like all who came in contact with Napoleon, sympathized deeply +with his annoyance at the restrictions imposed on him by Sir Hudson +Lowe. The story of the discussion between Napoleon's friends and the +supporters of the Governor would be a long one to tell, but the fact +remains, when all is said in Sir Hudson Lowe's favor, that he was far +too narrow-minded for the important position that he held. Sir Hudson +Lowe was a brave man and had served honorably in many wars, but the +responsibility of guarding the fallen Emperor was too great for him, and +his behavior toward the exile was in every way unfortunate. + +Napoleon had been on the island just six months when Sir Hudson Lowe +arrived. From the first he seemed possessed by the idea that Napoleon +was constantly watching for some chance to escape. To those nearest +Napoleon at St. Helena, the Governor's fears that he might escape seemed +absurd. From the island posts approaching ships were seen twenty-four +leagues off. Two ships of war were always cruising to windward and +leeward. Only guard-boats were allowed out at night. All fishing boats +were numbered and had to anchor every evening at sunset under the +supervision of a lieutenant of the navy. No foreign vessels were +permitted to anchor unless under great distress, and then no one from +them could land until an officer and a party from the British ships went +on board to take charge while they stayed. If he had cared to try +flight, Napoleon could hardly have made his escape. + +In the very beginning, when Lord Bathurst issued instructions for the +custody of Napoleon, he expressed the earnest desire of the Prince +Regent that no greater personal restraint might be employed than was +necessary to make sure that Napoleon was securely held on the island. + +Sir Hudson Lowe, however, in carrying out the instructions of the +British Government, interpreted them as meaning that he should have +constant information about all Napoleon's doings. To accomplish this +was, of course, impossible, and his vain efforts made him the +laughing-stock of the English as well as the French. In his very first +interview with Napoleon the new Governor managed to offend him +seriously, and Napoleon after this was so unwilling to see him that the +two met only five times more during the five years that intervened until +Napoleon's death; and these five interviews were all within the first +three months after Sir Hudson Lowe's arrival. + +Under the most favorable conditions Sir Hudson Lowe could hardly have +been popular with the islanders themselves. Governor Wilks, his +predecessor, had been unusually loved, and his charming wife and +daughter had a firm hold on the affections of all the people of St. +Helena. Betsy, as we have seen, was extremely fond of Mrs. Wilks, whom +she called the "Lady-Governess," and she had a young girl's admiration +for the beautiful Miss Wilks, whose praises she continually sang to +Napoleon. One day, not long before Miss Wilks left the island, Napoleon +showed Betsy a portrait that General Gorgaud had drawn from memory of +Miss Wilks, saying, "You think Miss Wilks beautiful. Gorgaud thinks so +too, and this is his portrait from memory." + +"Ah," replied Betsy, gazing at the portrait, "she is far more beautiful; +and she is so clever and amiable." + +"You are certainly enthusiastic, and I quite long to see her," responded +Napoleon, evidently appreciative of Betsy's enthusiasm for her friend. + +During the first months of Napoleon's exile, Colonel Wilks continued to +act as Governor, but the direct custody of Napoleon was the business of +Sir George Cockburn, who had brought the illustrious prisoner on the +_Northumberland_ from England. Not long after Napoleon went to Longwood +an amusing incident happened, resulting from the panic of Captain +Poppleton, the orderly officer whose duty it was to guard Napoleon on +his rides. + +The two sisters were sitting at dinner, with their father and Admiral +Cockburn. + +"See," cried Betsy to Jane, "here comes Captain Poppleton, looking as if +he had lost his wits. Why is he alone? Don't you remember that he set +out with the Emperor and Generals Bertrand, Montholon, and Gorgaud?" + +"But you wouldn't expect them all to march in, when we have company, +too," whispered Jane, looking toward the end of the table where her +father was talking with his especial guest, the Admiral, Sir George +Cockburn. + +Before the girls could speculate further, Captain Poppleton broke out +excitedly: + +"Oh, sir, I have lost the Emperor." + +All looked up, but the Admiral, whom Captain Poppleton addressed, did +not change expression as the officer continued: + +"We were riding along one of the paths on the side of the mountain, when +suddenly the Emperor turned short around to the left and almost flew up +the mountain. None of the generals accompanied him. I started, but I +could not follow. My horse would not take the steep ascent. So I came +back to you. If there is a plot--" + +"Nonsense!" cried the Admiral, and his tone was echoed by Mr. Balcombe. +It was natural that Captain Poppleton should feel alarm at the sudden +disappearance. But the Admiral was made of sterner stuff. "Go back to +Longwood," he said quietly to the officer. "You will find Napoleon +there." + +This proved to be the case, for when he reached Longwood the Emperor was +at dinner, and he laughed at poor Captain Poppleton for his fears. + +If Betsy had ventured to express herself regarding the trouble between +Sir Hudson Lowe and the Emperor in this, she certainly would not have +favored the former. + +"What do you really think," she asked her father one day, "about this +quarrel between the Governor and the Emperor?" + +Mr. Balcombe very properly, as an officer of the Government, was not +inclined to give a direct reply. But Betsy understood him, when he said: + +"Their disputes are generally on subjects so trivial that they hardly +seem worth quarrelling about." + +But she realized that to Napoleon these disputes were not trivial when +she came upon him one day reading an English book. Looking at it, as he +held it before her, she saw that it was a copy of "AEsop's Fables," a +book that in a translation children often use to improve their knowledge +of French. + +The page was open at "The Sick Lion." This is the famous account of the +lion that, when lying sick, receives visits from many other animals who, +instead of sympathizing, exult over his downfall. The lion makes no +complaint until a donkey kicks him in the face. "I could have borne +anything but this," he said. + +As Betsy looked at the open page, Napoleon, pointing to the woodcut, +said, "It is myself and your Governor." His expression showed the depth +of his feeling on the subject. + +In little ways Betsy was disappointed by the regulations made for +Napoleon by Sir Hudson Lowe. She was exceedingly anxious, for example, +that Napoleon should see a huge boa constrictor that a captain of an +incoming vessel had brought to the island. + +"It is a most wonderful creature," she said, as she described it to the +Emperor. "They put a live goat into its cage, and I really believe that +it swallowed it whole, for I could see the poor thing's horns poking +almost through the boa constrictor's skin." + +The Emperor smiled as Betsy told her tale. "Your boa constrictor sounds +like the Marquis de Montchenu, or, rather, the latter, from the amount +of food I have heard he consumes, must resemble a boa constrictor." + +"He really does," responded Betsy. "Oh, I wish you could see him--not +the Marquis, but the boa constrictor." + +"I should like to see it; I will ask them to have it brought here to +me." + +As Betsy herself also desired this, she was naturally disappointed when +those in authority decided that the boa constrictor could not be shown +to Napoleon. + +Napoleon was not the only one on the island affected by the many +regulations made for his safety in the matter of sentries. The question +of passes, always troublesome to visitors, and the fact that after the +sunset gun had been fired no one could pass the sentries without giving +the countersign, were annoyances to all on the island. Once Betsy +herself had an experience that was far from agreeable, although she was +not the only one to suffer, as the incident concerned many others. + +As might be supposed, picnics were a favorite form of diversion with the +people of St. Helena, and they were particularly delightful when, as +usually happened, young and old took part in them. One day there was a +large picnic near the celebrated Friar's Valley. The Balcombes and all +their friends were to go to it. + +The day proved pleasant fortunately, for the journey was difficult. +After amusing themselves for hours, the party was at last surprised to +hear the sunset gun from Ladder Hill. They found that none of the party +had the countersign for the night, and they knew that if they ventured +forth without it they would be made prisoners. This was one of the many +strict rules made by the Governor to prevent the mishap of helpers +coming to Napoleon after dark. + +At last some of them decided that it was better to make an effort to +reach home rather than spend the night outdoors. Betsy and her parents +were among those who ventured to go toward home. + +It was a starlight night, but the road was bad. Mr. Balcombe at last +hailed a light. + +"Who goes there?" cried the sentry. + +"A friend." + +"Advance, friend, and give the countersign." + +Now this was just what none of the party could do, and as protests were +useless, they all had to spend the night in the guard-room, where they +were half eaten by fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects. + +Those who had stayed on the picnic grounds laughed well at the more +venturous who had gone ahead. Napoleon, when he heard the story, was +highly diverted, pleased to have so good a chance to blame the +Government. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +ALL KINDS OF FUN + + +Any one who had looked in on the sisters one day would have seen that +they were greatly excited. Just at this time they were visiting Madame +Bertrand, and during their stay a ball was to be given. + +Plans that promised much pleasure for them had been made. They were to +dine with the Emperor, and then go on to Deadwood in his carriage. + +"Don't jerk so, please," cried Betsy, while the maid was arranging her +hair. + +"But you must have this Chinese coiffure, if you are going to the ball. +You would not wish to go looking like a little girl." + +"Oh, no," responded Betsy faintly, inwardly rebellious, as her hair was +jerked and strained on top of her head. She was willing to bear pain for +the sake of appearing well, but when she looked in the glass she thought +that she had never seen anything so hideous as the coiffure that the +maid had arranged with such care. She no longer desired to appear like a +young lady. Her hair had been drawn back so tight that her eyes were +fairly starting from the socket. Had there been time she would have +pulled the coiffure down, and indeed she was ready to cry with vexation, +but she did not really dare to disarrange it now, for she dreaded the +Emperor's ridicule. How he would laugh at the funny Chinese coiffure! In +a few minutes she was to appear before him. + +To her great surprise, when she and her sister entered the dining-room, +the Emperor spared her, saying only: + +"Mees Betsy, this is the only time I have ever seen you look really +neat; but I don't like your frock. What is the matter?" + +Poor Betsy! She was almost upset by the Emperor's tone. She looked at +him closely, and decided that he meant just what he said. She had +thought her little frock so pretty. Now, what could be the matter with +it? + +The Emperor understood her look of inquiry and answered in words. + +"It is too short," he said. "You must have it made long before the +ball." + +He was certainly in earnest, and the young girl was really troubled. +"But I cannot do anything to it," she protested; "there is not time." + +"Oh, but no one will wish to dance with you." + +"It isn't as bad as that!" + +"But it is." + +Betsy knew that Napoleon meant what he said. He knew more about balls +and ball-gowns than any young girl on the island. Indeed, if his +criticism had not been based on his knowledge of the customs of the +modish world, Betsy would still have been inclined to trust to his +judgment; for though at times she seemed to trifle with his wishes, in +her heart she was always ready to please him. + +So now, as sensitive as any more conventional girl to the impression she +might make at a ball, Betsy ran off to find Josephine, the maid. + +Josephine shook her head when Betsy first told her tale of woe, but at +last she consented to remedy the defect by lengthening the frock. There +was but one thing to do, and consequently some of the tucks were let +down. + +Neither Betsy nor the maid was proud of the result of their efforts. The +effect was not good, and Betsy had to take what consolation she could +from the fact that she had obeyed Napoleon. + +A dinner with the Emperor was always delightful to Betsy and Jane, and +this one was no exception. When it was over the Emperor rose abruptly +and all went with him to the drawing-room. There the delectable coffee +for which Le Page was famous was brought in, and Betsy, feeling more +grown up than ever, drank a cup into which, disdaining tongs, she +dropped a lump of sugar. + +Soon the carriage was announced, and all set out, Madame Bertrand ahead, +carrying her baby, next little Arthur, then Mrs. Balcombe, and finally +Betsy and Jane and General Gorgaud. + +When the signal was given, the spirited Cape steeds tore away, dashing +from side to side, while Madame Bertrand screamed loudly to Archambaud +to stop, though without avail, until the carriage ran into a gumwood +tree. + +Except for the shaking up and the fright, none of the party was injured, +and when the door was opened all scrambled hastily out. Nothing would +induce them to intrust themselves again to the carriage and the reckless +Archambaud, and though the rain was falling heavily they preferred to +walk over the muddy road to Deadwood. They had nearly a mile to go, and +it was especially hard for Madame Bertrand, whose baby would not be +carried. + +Betsy, though she knew that she herself probably looked equally absurd, +could not help laughing when she saw Madame Bertrand arrayed in one of +Mrs. Balcombe's dresses, half a yard too short and small in every way, +which she had to borrow while her own clothes were drying. + +But the ball itself was pleasant and all felt repaid for going, even +though they had to walk home in the mist. + +The next morning, as ever, Betsy was the victim of Napoleon's raillery. + +"So you had a good time last evening, Mees Betsy. I hear you danced very +well and looked well, and might have been Baroness Sturmer's younger +sister, you looked so much like her." + +This compliment pleased Betsy mightily, as doubtless Napoleon realized, +for the little English girl thought Baroness Sturmer, wife of the +Austrian Commissioner, the prettiest woman she had ever seen. + +Not long after breakfast the visitors from The Briars and several from +Longwood went to the town and to the _Newcastle_ in the bay, on board of +which Sir Pultney and Lady Malcom were to give a breakfast in honor of +Lord Amherst. + +When next the sisters visited Longwood, "Ah, Mees Betsee," cried +Napoleon, "I have heard great stories of you. You locked up little Miss +P. the other day, while the other ladies were being shipped over the +side of the frigate to return to shore. When they missed her Captain G. +had to go back to rescue her." + +As Betsy did not deny this charge, Napoleon, turning to her father, +exclaimed: + +"Balcombe, you must set her a task." + +"Indeed I must," responded Betsy's father gravely. + +"But I have been punished enough," protested Betsy. "Lady Lowe scolded +me, too, and desired me to use my reason and not to be childish. I +wondered at her lack of perception in giving me credit for what I never +possessed. But I did admire Lord Amherst," she added, a few minutes +later. + +"He must be a very fascinating man," responded Napoleon, "so to have +impressed your youthful fancy." + +The kindness that Madame Montholon showed Betsy in allowing her maid to +arrange the young girl's hair in a style suitable for a ball, an +undoubted kindness in spite of the discomfort it produced, was in a line +with many other things that she and Madame Bertrand did for the Balcombe +girls. Madame Bertrand was particularly fond of Betsy and often invited +her to her house. She advised her about her studies and, to a certain +extent, supervised some of them. Madame Bertrand had many +accomplishments, some of which she tried to impart to Betsy. Singing was +one of them, and under her instruction Betsy made considerable progress. +Napoleon sometimes listened to their little concerts in the drawing-room +at Longwood. One evening when Betsy was to sing a part from "Les +Styriens," the piano was so out of tune that Napoleon was greatly +distressed. He at once sent for Mr. Guiness, the bandmaster of the +_General Kid_, then in St. James's Harbor, the only man at hand who +could properly tune it, and was naturally annoyed when the Governor +expressed his unwillingness to have Mr. Guiness come. + +Of all those who accompanied Napoleon to St. Helena, Madame Bertrand had +made, perhaps, the greatest sacrifices. She was born in Martinique and +was partly of Irish descent, through her father, whose name was Dillon. +In spite of her warm devotion to Napoleon, she almost went out of her +mind when she heard that he was doomed to imprisonment in St. Helena and +that her husband would follow him. Later, however, she became resigned +and did not try to dissuade her husband from accompanying the fallen +Emperor. Undoubtedly she thought of her children and all that they would +lose in living so far from France, but when they were at last in their +new home she bore inconveniences patiently and tried in every way to +make life pleasant for those around her. + +"Come," said Napoleon one day when Betsy was wandering around the +Longwood grounds, "come, and I will show you some pretty toys." + +Following the Emperor to the billiard-room, she saw upon the table some +gorgeously carved chessmen sent to him by Mr. Elphinstone. Each piece +was perfect. The castles, surmounting lifelike elephants, were filled +with warriors discharging arrows. The knights, cased in armor, were on +beautifully caparisoned horses. The mitred bishops were in flowing +robes, and the pawns each represented a man of a different nation. The +carving was wonderful. Such work had never before left China, and Betsy +saw that Napoleon was as pleased as a child with a new plaything. + +"I have just finished a game of chess with Lady Malcom," he said, "and +she has beaten me because I paid more attention to the men than the +game." + +Besides the chessmen Mr. Elphinstone had sent workboxes and card +counters with the various tradespeople of China minutely carved on them. + +Betsy's interest in these beautiful things was increased by hearing how +Mr. Elphinstone happened to think of sending gifts to Napoleon. He +wished to show his gratitude for Napoleon's kindness to his brother, +severely wounded on the field of Waterloo. Napoleon, it seems, +perceiving the wounded man and hearing that he was faint from loss of +blood, sent to him a goblet of wine from his own canteen. + +"The chessmen are too pretty for St. Helena," said Napoleon; "I must +send them to the King of Rome." + +Among Mr. Elphinstone's presents, Napoleon showed Betsy a superb ivory +tea-chest, which when opened showed a perfect model of the city of +Canton. Beneath it were packages of fine tea, done up in fantastic +shapes. + +"Ah," said Napoleon, turning to Betsy, "this reminds me that when I was +Emperor I did not permit any tea in my dominion, except that grown in +Switzerland. No one could tell the difference from the Chinese tea. I +also cultivated the beet-root to make sugar, instead of depending on +foreign goods." + +Napoleon was probably no less pleased with the chessmen because each +piece had a small eagle carved on it. When Sir Hudson Lowe heard of the +eagles he regretted that they had escaped his notice, and that he had +given permission for the gifts to be received at Longwood. + +Among the Emperor's treasures were many rare coins and seals which he +often permitted his little neighbor to handle and examine. Yet even +while she appreciated this special privilege, Betsy could not let her +sense of obligation entirely suppress her love of mischief. + +Once, for instance, when Betsy approached a table at which Napoleon was +seated, the little girl, unperceived by him, saw that he was in the act +of sealing a letter with one of his precious seals. The temptation was +too strong to resist, and she surprised Napoleon by joggling his arm. +This sudden movement caused a drop of hot sealing wax to fall on his +hand, and as a blister was the result, the pain for the moment must have +been extreme. Nevertheless, Napoleon said hardly a word of reproof, and +his patience was so remarkable that Betsy immediately apologized for her +mischief. + +Yet it was not unusual for Napoleon to show patience when teased. In all +his sports with the children, even when they took liberties that their +parents would have disapproved, Betsy never saw him show any temper. He +never fell back on his rank or age, but always professed to be one of +themselves, a good comrade, claiming only for his own part the right to +tease them when he chose. + +What wonder that Las Cases, the dignified Chamberlain, sometimes stood +aghast at the merry pranks shared by his illustrious master and his +young friends; but even with the eyes of the disapproving Las Cases upon +her, Betsy always enjoyed her visits to Longwood. Often some pleasant +surprise awaited her on her arrival there. + +Napoleon was interested in the various legends of St. Helena, and these +legends are very numerous. Nearly every rock and valley and bit of water +has some story connected with it. The Friar's Valley, for example, takes +its name from a huge rock fashioned by nature into the figure of a monk +with his cowl thrown back, wearing a flowing robe and a rosary. +Immediately around are sterile rocks, some many hundred feet high, some +with aloes growing from the fissures. + +Napoleon sometimes rode into this valley, and one day he turned to +Betsy: + +"Mees Betsee, have you ever seen 'Will-o'-the-Wisp' that they say lights +the friar's lantern?" + +"Oh, yes; my mother used to send me over there for purer air, and my old +nurse had a cottage overlooking the vale. She was teaching me the +alphabet, and when I did not arrange my letters properly she would +threaten me with the friar." + +The story, as Betsy had often heard it, was that the friar had been a +good Franciscan monk, but he fell in love with a girl in a mountain +cottage, whom he met while she was tending goats. She asked him to help +her find something that she had lost, and thus attracted his attention. +Later he made love to her and she promised to marry him if he would give +up his faith. So the man broke his vows to the Church; but, when he was +to be married, as he was clasping the bride's hand, there was a fearful +crash: the chapel disappeared and with it all those who were taking part +in the unholy wedding. + +"Have you noticed," asked Betsy of Napoleon, coming on him when out +riding, "those three queer sugar-loaf rocks that they call 'Lot's Wife +and Daughters'?" + +"Yes," responded Napoleon, "I have seen them." + +"Well," persisted Betsy, "do you know the story about them?" + +"No, I do not." + +"Then I must tell you. More than fifty years ago there were two slaves +on the island who hated to work and to obey their masters, so they hid +themselves in a cave, halfway up the cliff on the top of which we now +see Lot's wife. Every night they used to go down and steal whatever they +could lay their hands on. For a long time people could not find out +where they lived, but at last they were tracked to their cave. No one +could reach them, however, because they rolled stones down toward all +who tried to climb up the cliff." + +Napoleon listened attentively, and Betsy continued: + +"At last it was thought necessary to send a party of soldiers to fire on +them, if they refused to surrender, but before this was done one of the +besiegers managed to climb the cliff on the other side. He reached a +point opposite the cave and higher up, so that he could roll down stones +toward the slaves. When one of these wretched creatures was standing on +the edge of the cliff he was killed by one of the rocks rolled from +above, and the other who was with him was severely injured; and now," +concluded Betsy solemnly, "if you go there at the right time, the +islanders say that you will see the murdered slave rushing around at +night just as he used to when alive." + +Napoleon, after hearing Betsy's legend, said: "When I ride that way +again I shall certainly look at the sugar-loaf mountain with much +greater interest than ever before." + +Undoubtedly these various legends, which Betsy had heard from her +earliest childhood, tended to make her superstitious. Napoleon soon +found that she was easily frightened, and took advantage of this fact +sometimes to tease her unmercifully. When he arrived at The Briars, one +of Betsy's little brothers had as tutor an elderly man named Huff. The +coming of Napoleon had a strange effect on the tutor's brain. Among +other delusions, he believed that it was to fall on him to free the +Emperor from his imprisonment and restore him to his throne again. Old +Huff, as they called him, talked constantly on this subject and no one +could reason with him. It was evident that the poor fellow was mad, but +before it was decided to put him under guardianship he found a chance to +kill himself, although he was closely watched. According to custom, he +was buried at a spot where three crossroads meet. This happened to be a +place near The Briars, and, in consequence, poor Betsy was far from +happy. Napoleon, aware of her fears, would call out, just before she +said good night to the household, "Mees Betsee, ole Huff, ole Huff." + +Poor Betsy! She was indeed unhappy, and after these words lay long awake +at night, and in the end often scrambled into her mother's room and +stayed there until morning. + +One evening, when Betsy and her mother and her sister Jane were sitting +on the cottage porch enjoying the refreshing evening breeze, a strange +noise made Betsy turn her head, and in an instant she had risen to her +feet with a loud scream. In front of them now walked a figure dressed in +white, not a very terrifying sight, except to one of Betsy's nervous +temperament. + +[Illustration: THE BRIARS. From an old print] + +Mrs. Balcombe at once understood the situation, for at the moment of the +figure's appearance she had heard a smothered laugh that she recognized +as Napoleon's. Advancing to the white figure, she turned back the +covering, and underneath appeared the black face of a little slave, +grinning from ear to ear. + +"What brought you here?" asked Mrs. Balcombe sternly. + +"To frighten Miss Betsy;" and the black girl pointed toward Napoleon, +who had now come forward to see what effect his trick had had upon his +young neighbor. + +This little ghost scene had a wider effect than Napoleon intended, for +it put the idea of playing ghost into the heads of other servants. One +of the Balcombe slaves had lately run away and could not be found. The +family suspected that he was hiding not far off, because every night +pigs, poultry, bread, and other provisions were stolen in quantities, by +whom nobody could tell. After a while Napoleon began to complain of +thefts, but when the various black servants were questioned they all +said that the thief must be a ghostly white figure that they saw +skipping around the valley from rock to rock. That they believed what +they said was shown by the alarm they showed, for none of them would go +out alone by night. + +"I believe that it really and truly is old Huff's ghost," insisted +Betsy. + +"You can't believe such a foolish thing; indeed, I should think you +would know better after what happened the other evening, when you +allowed yourself to be terrified by a little black girl," said her +mother reprovingly. She added, "You look pale, Betsy. What is the +trouble?" + +"I can't help it. I may be foolish," responded poor Betsy, "but for +nights and nights I have been afraid to close my eyes." + +"All on account of the ghost," thought Mrs. Balcombe, wishing that Betsy +were less nervous. + +Mr. Balcombe and some friends now undertook to catch the thief, feeling +sure that he would prove to be a substantial individual. After long +watching, one night they saw a figure move stealthily across the valley +toward the house. They called upon it to stop, but when it neither +obeyed nor answered, they felt obliged to shoot. A loud scream followed +the report of the gun, and when they came upon the fallen figure they +discovered the runaway slave Alley. He was badly hurt, although not +fatally, and they did what they could for him. The next morning the +whole party went to the cave to which Alley directed them. Napoleon +accompanied them and was much interested in what he saw. + +It reminded him of the catacombs of Paris, he exclaimed, as he looked +about at the heaps of bones which the slave had placed in neatly +arranged piles after he had gorged himself with food. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE SERIOUS SIDE + + +As Betsy grew to know Napoleon better, she sometimes observed in his +conversation and manner a sadness that she had not noticed earlier. This +slight melancholy was especially evident when the conversation touched +on Josephine or the little King of Rome. Often Napoleon gazed intently +at Mrs. Balcombe, explaining as he did so that it was because she +reminded him strongly of Josephine. He loved to talk of Josephine, +especially with Madame Bertrand, who was a native of Martinique and was +said also to be a distant relative of the Empress. + +One day, for example, Madame Bertrand, in Betsy's presence, brought out +a miniature of Josephine. The Emperor seemed deeply moved as he gazed at +it. + +"It is the most perfect likeness of her that I have ever seen." + +"It is for you, sir," said Madame Bertrand simply. + +Thanking her warmly, Napoleon added, "I will keep it until my death." + +On this occasion the Emperor was especially inclined to talk about his +first wife, and Betsy, hearing him, wondered that he had been willing to +separate himself from her. + +"Josephine," he said, "was the most feminine woman I have ever +known--all charm and sweetness and grace. _Era la dama la piu graziosa +in Francia._" Then he continued: "Josephine was the goddess of the +toilet. All fashions came from her. Besides this she was humane and +always thoughtful of others. She was the best of women. Although the +English and the Bourbons allow that I did some good, yet they generally +qualify it by saying that it was chiefly through the instrumentality of +Josephine. But the fact is that she never interfered in politics. Great +as my veneration was for her, I could not bear to have it thought that +she in any way ruled my public actions." + +Napoleon's praises of Josephine continued to flow on. + +"She was the greatest patroness of the arts known in France for years; +but though I loved to attend to her whims, yet I always acted to please +the nation, and whenever I obtained a fine statue or valuable picture I +sent it to the Museum for the people's benefit. Josephine was grace +personified. She never acted inelegantly during the whole time we lived +together. Her toilet was perfection, and she resisted the inroads of +time, to all appearances, by exquisite taste." + +Napoleon spoke with deep emotion, "She was the best of women!" + +Then, as if in answer to Betsy's unspoken question, he said: + +"It was only political motives that led me to give her up. Nothing else +would have separated me from a wife so tenderly loved. Thank God, she +died without witnessing my last misfortune!" + +From Josephine Napoleon turned to Maria Louisa, his second wife, the +mother of his son, of whom he spoke tenderly and affectionately: + +"She was an amiable and good wife. She would have followed me here, but +they would not let her." + +Napoleon next called Betsy's attention to one or two portraits of Maria +Louisa, but Betsy, though she made no criticism, thought then, as she +had thought at other times when studying the face of Maria Louisa, that +the Austrian Princess was at a disadvantage when contrasted with the +members of Napoleon's family, all of whom were handsome and looked +intellectual. + +This conversation about Josephine and Maria Louisa was interrupted by +the arrival of a visitor, Count Piontkowski, lately arrived from Europe. +He was a Pole who had fought under Napoleon, and his love for his fallen +leader had led him to follow into exile. + +Napoleon himself had no clear remembrance of the Pole as an individual, +and he was therefore the more deeply gratified by the spirit of devotion +that had induced Piontkowski to make the long voyage to St. Helena for +the sake of being near his old commander. + +The long interview with the newcomer undoubtedly brought before +Napoleon's mind many sad memories, and when he returned to them Betsy +and the others noticed that he was in unusually low spirits. As he +looked again at the portraits of Josephine and Maria Louisa he grew more +and more dejected, and at last, excusing himself, he went to bed much +earlier than usual, leaving the rest of the party under the influence of +his melancholy. + +When the second New Year came around, Napoleon was in less than his +usual good spirits. It was not to Betsy, however, but to Dr. O'Meara +that he said in reply to the physician's "Happy New Year": + +"Perhaps the next one will find me better situated. Perhaps I shall be +dead, which will be better still. Worse than this cannot be." + +It was not the Emperor's habit to show his sadness for any great length +of time. On this second New Year's the sisters were to go over to +Longwood to carry their New Year greeting and to dine with Madame +Bertrand. + +When they first arrived at the house Betsy was disappointed that +Napoleon was nowhere in sight and she wondered that no message or +present came from him, for she knew that the French made a special +festival of New Year's and recalled the generosity of the Emperor just a +year before. + +Still there was much to see and enjoy in Madame Bertrand's apartment, +and she and Jane were examining with admiration the presents of Madame +Bertrand and her family, when Napoleon himself entered the room. In each +hand he was carefully carrying a beautiful Sevres cup. As the girls drew +near to look at them, they saw that on one was a portrait of Napoleon +himself, representing him in Turkish costume, and on the other the +figure of an Egyptian woman drawing water. + +"Here, Mdlles. Betsee and Jane," he exclaimed, "are two cups for you. +Accept them as a mark of the friendship I entertain for you both and for +your kindness to Madame Bertrand." + +Charmed with his beautiful presents, the girls thanked Napoleon warmly. +Betsy, indeed, was so delighted with her cup that she would not let it +go out of her hands, and when at last the time for her departure came +she wrapped it in many folds of cotton to carry it home--at considerable +risk even then, as the journey was made on horseback. + +Betsy was a keen observer, and although she was fond of paying Napoleon +back in his own coin when he teased her, she appreciated the depth of +his feelings in his more serious moments. + +One beautiful day, when she went over to Longwood, she was impressed by +the brilliancy of the atmosphere, which is, indeed, one of the charms of +St. Helena. Standing on the rocks she watched the waves breaking and +sparkling at their base and noted the sea beyond, glistening like a +sheet of quicksilver. With her spirits especially buoyant under the +influence of the wonderful day, she went up to St. Denis, one of the +Emperor's suite. + +"Where is the Emperor?" she asked gayly. "I want to see him." + +The Frenchman shook his head so gravely that for the moment the smile +left Betsy's face and she wondered if any misfortune had happened. After +a moment of silence, St. Denis replied: + +"The Emperor is watching the _Conqueror_, which is now coming in." The +_Conqueror_ was the vessel bearing the flag of Admiral Pamplin, who was +to succeed Admiral Malcom. "You will find the Emperor," continued St. +Denis, "near Madame Bertrand's, but he is in no mood for badinage +to-day." + +If the Frenchman had meant to keep Betsy away from Napoleon, he was not +successful. In spite of his warning Betsy went on toward the cottage. As +soon as she saw the Emperor, she herself came under the influence of his +mood. He was standing on a cliff with General Bertrand, looking out +toward sea, where the _Conqueror_ was still but a speck on the horizon. +Betsy was impressed by the intense melancholy of the exiled Emperor's +expression, as he stood there stern and silent. His eyes were bent sadly +upon the vessel as it came in, beating up proudly to windward. + +For some time not a word was uttered by any of the three. Even the +talkative Betsy was silent. At last Napoleon spoke: + +"They manage the vessel beautifully; the English are certainly kings +upon the sea," he said. Then his melancholy tone changed to one of +sarcasm. "I wonder what they think of our beautiful island! They cannot +be much elated by the sight of my gigantic walls." + +At this moment Betsy did not venture a retort, as was generally the case +when Napoleon railed at her beloved St. Helena. Betsy was alive to all +the beauties of the place, while Napoleon, naturally, saw only its +faults. When Betsy defended the island and waxed eloquent over its +beauties, sometimes he would simply laugh at her impertinence, while at +others, pinching her ear in his favorite fashion, he would say: + +"Mees Betsee, how can you possibly dare to have an opinion on the +subject?" + +This glimpse of Napoleon, sadly watching the _Conqueror_, was not the +only occasion when Betsy had an opportunity to see the more serious side +of the man whom she admired. Although she was only a young girl, she was +able sometimes by her intelligent questions to draw from him an +explanation of much discussed things in his past. There was, for +example, the oft-repeated story that Napoleon had sanctioned the +butchery of Turkish troops at Jaffa and the poisoning of the sick in the +hospitals. + +If the Emperor was vexed with Betsy for touching on forbidden ground, he +did not show his feeling, but entered into an explanation that his young +neighbor was able long afterwards to repeat in his own words. "Before +leaving Jaffa," said Napoleon, "and when many of the sick had been +embarked, I was informed that there were some in the hospital severely +wounded, dangerously ill, and unfit to be moved at any risk. I desired +my medical men to hold a consultation as to what steps had best be taken +with regard to the unfortunate sufferers and to send in their opinions +to me. The result of this consultation was that seven-eighths of the +soldiers were considered past recovery, and that in all probability few +would be alive at the expiration of twenty hours." + +Betsy listened attentively, as Napoleon showed how difficult it was to +decide whether it was not more cruel to leave these helpless men to the +mercy of the Turks than to end their misery by a dose of opium: "I +should have desired such a relief for myself under the same +circumstances and I considered it would be an act of mercy to anticipate +their fate by only a few hours. My physician did not enter into my views +of the case, and disapproved of the proposal, saying it was his business +to cure, not to kill. Accordingly I left a rear-guard to protect these +unhappy men from the enemy. They remained until Nature had paid her last +debt and released the expiring soldiers from their agony." + +As his auditors did not look convinced of the correctness of his views, +Napoleon turned to Dr. O'Meara, who was of the party. + +"I ask you, O'Meara, to place yourself in the situation of one of these +men. Were it demanded of you which fate you would select, either to be +left to suffer the tortures of those miscreants or to have opium +administered to you, which fate would you rather choose? If my own +son--and I believe I love my son as well as any father loves his +child--were in a similar situation, I should advise it to be done. If so +situated myself I should insist upon it, if I had sense enough and +strength to demand it." + +Without waiting for comment from the others, Napoleon added that if he +had been capable of secretly poisoning his soldiers or of the barbarity +ascribed to him of driving his carriage over the mutilated bodies of the +wounded, his troops would never have fought under him with the +enthusiasm and reverence they uniformly displayed. "No, no, I should have +been shot long ago. Even my wounded would have tried to pull a trigger +to despatch me." + +The Emperor spoke so earnestly that no one could doubt he meant what he +said. Even though they believed that the Turkish prisoners had been +treated with great cruelty, his hearers saw that ambition or a feeling +of necessity had been the impelling motive of the officers who +sanctioned or ordered the cruelty. + +Napoleon's conversations with Betsy were of course carried on largely in +French, and but for the little girl's fluency in this language she would +probably have seen much less of the great man. Napoleon himself made a +real effort to learn English. Not only did he study with Las Cases, but +he tried to practise the language with Betsy and her sister. In +conversation, however, he never became very proficient, his +pronunciation was droll, and he was inclined to translate things very +literally. Betsy was less patient than her sister with Napoleon's +English. By his expressed desire she and Jane were always to correct his +mistakes, yet often, in the midst of his efforts, she would run off +without deigning to help him. + +"Ah, Mdlle. Betsee," he would then cry in French, "you are a stupid +little creature; when will you become wise?" + +Although Napoleon persevered with his English lessons with Las Cases, he +never proceeded much further than to read the newspapers. English books +presented many difficulties, and yet much of the literature that came +his way was in this language. Here again Betsy was able to make herself +very useful by translating books or newspapers for him, and sometimes +she went further and gave him in condensed form the contents of a great +many pages. Even after he went to Longwood, when Betsy went over there +to call on Madame Bertrand, Napoleon would summon her to help him +understand some newly arrived English book. + +From Napoleon's own admission to one of his own suite, after he had been +in St. Helena a year or two, we can judge that his progress in English +had not been very rapid. One morning, after the arrival of a number of +French books, he said: + +"What a pleasure I have enjoyed! I can read forty pages of French in the +time that it would require to read two of English." + +The Emperor enjoyed talking with Betsy, for the little girl was a great +reader herself, and he had the faculty of drawing from her whatever +information she had on a given subject. Occasionally she thoughtlessly +questioned Napoleon on topics that she might better have avoided. + +One Sunday, for example, at Madame Bertrand's, he found the girls poring +over a book. + +"What are you doing?" he asked abruptly. + +"Learning the collect," replied Betsy. "My father is always very angry +if I do not know it." Then she added, not very courteously, "I suppose +you never learned a collect or anything religious in your life, for I +know that you do not believe in the existence of a God." + +"You have been told an untruth," replied Napoleon impatiently, evidently +displeased with Betsy. "When you are wiser you will understand that no +one can doubt the existence of a God." + +"But you believe in predestination?" + +"Whatever a man's destiny calls him to do, that he must fulfil," was the +Emperor's response. + +Young though she was, Betsy understood the seriousness that underlay the +superficial gayety most in evidence when Napoleon met her. She decided +that he was not the cold, calculating man that most people thought him, +but rather a man of deep feeling, capable of strong attachments. + +One day, not long after he had left The Briars, a lady approached Betsy, +who was in the grounds outside the house. + +As she dismounted from her horse Betsy had recognized her as a French +woman of high position, whose husband was one of the diplomatists then +at St. Helena. + +"Will you be so good," she said almost timidly to the little girl, "as +to show me the part of the cottage occupied by the Emperor?" + +"With pleasure," responded Betsy, leading the way to the Pavilion. The +lady looked about her with great interest. + +"Look!" said Betsy, pointing to the spot where the marquee had stood. +"Look at this crown in the turf!" + +The lady gazed for some minutes at this empty symbol of the power once +held by the Emperor. The thoughts that it brought up overpowered her. +Losing all self-control, she sank to her knees, sobbing hysterically. +Forgetful of Betsy, she continued to weep so bitterly that the little +girl started for the cottage that she might get her mother, or some one +else of the household, to bring restoratives. + +"Stop, stop!" cried the lady, as if realizing her purpose. "Do not call +any one. I shall be myself in a moment." Then, in a voice still filled +with emotion, she added, "Please do me the favor of never mentioning +this to any one. All French people feel as I do. They all treasure +Napoleon's memory as I do, and would willingly die for him." + +Betsy gave the required promise and waited patiently until the lady had +recovered her self-possession. Then the latter asked innumerable +questions of the little girl about the life of Napoleon and his suite at +The Briars. + +Several times the visitor repeated, "How happy it must have made you to +be with the Emperor!" + +When she rode away after her long interview, she put a thick veil over +her face to hide the fact that she had been weeping. + +Betsy was true to her word, and although her family, one after another, +asked her why the visitor had made so long a stay, she merely replied +that she had been interested in the Pavilion. But the scene made a deep +impression on the little girl, as showing the remarkable hold of +Napoleon on the hearts of those who had been his subjects. Moreover she +judged, and truly too, that a man for whom such deep feeling was shown +must himself have been of a kind and sympathetic nature. + +It is true that she did not need the testimony of any outsider to assure +her of Napoleon's amiability. She was well acquainted with his general +kindliness; she knew of many of his gracious acts, and the charm of his +manner toward all young people had made a deep impression upon her. + +Another thing that she noticed convinced Betsy of the softer qualities +of Napoleon's nature. This was the firm devotion of the little band of +Frenchmen and French women who had followed him to St. Helena. They had +made great sacrifices in sharing the exile of Napoleon. There was so +little to hope for, in the way of reward for this devotion, that no +reasonable person could doubt their disinterestedness. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE EMPEROR'S VISITORS + + +"Who danced the best at the Governor's ball?" Napoleon asked Betsy one +day. + +"Mrs. Wilks, the Governor's lady." + +This was before the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe. + +"What sort of dances are in fashion there?" + +"Quadrilles, country dances. Mr. C. brought them to St. Helena." + +"Oh, he is a great dandy!" + +"Yes; he will sit with his feet above his head an hour before dressing, +the more readily to squeeze them into tight shoes. He wore an epaulette +nearly down to his elbow, and his sword hilt was embroidered with golden +oak leaves. The same embroidery confined his stockings, on each knee, +like the order of the garter. When he first arrived he was disgusted +that St. Helena ladies knew only kitchen dances and reels, and finally +he drilled quadrilles and other new dances into them." + +Betsy's description of the young dandy amused Napoleon. "Bring him to +Longwood some day," he said. + +A pass was obtained for the young man and Napoleon received him most +politely. "I hear from Mees Betsee that you are a great dandy,--and what +a fine coat!" + +The young man, who had been in some fear of the Emperor, felt better. + +"You are more fortunate than myself," continued Napoleon, "for I have to +wear my coat turned." Although this was true, it was only because there +was no cloth his shade of green on the island. + +On the whole Napoleon liked the young dandy, especially as he spoke +French fluently. + +But Napoleon was not always glad, or even willing, to receive visitors. +In fact, after the first few months on the island, he practically +refused to allow strangers to be presented to him, unless there was some +special reason for his seeing them. + +One day, when Napoleon was still at The Briars, the girls were walking +with him down Pomegranate Walk, which led to the garden, when he heard +strangers' voices. He did not wish to meet them, and began to run away, +but, unluckily, when he reached the garden gate he found it locked. +Napoleon was not likely to turn aside from anything he had undertaken to +do, and as the voices drew nearer, too impatient to wait, he insisted on +jumping over the gate fence. There was a prickly pear on top, the thorns +of which caught him so that at first he could not extricate himself. +Then he had to descend rather ignominiously on the garden side, before +the strangers appeared. The thorns had really done considerable damage, +and it took no little skill on Dr. O'Meara's part to extract them. + +To Betsy's friends Napoleon was apt to be more obliging than to others, +and tourists, many of whom stayed over at St. Helena on their way to or +from Africa or India, frequently sought her services to effect an +introduction. + +"Sir," said Betsy to Napoleon one day, "may I present a lady to you? She +is just here from India. Her husband has high rank." + +Napoleon was not fond of women visitors, but he gave his consent to +Betsy's request. + +At the appointed time the lady from India appeared, gowned in crimson +velvet bordered with pearls. Her black hair was braided and adorned with +pearls, and butterflies of diamonds and emeralds and rubies. She was one +of the plainest women Betsy had ever seen, and she was fearful of the +impression she would make on Napoleon. + +After Napoleon had asked the usual questions, "Are you married?" and +"How many children have you?" he looked closely at her to see what +compliment he could best pay her. + +At length, after a pause that might have embarrassed a less complacent +woman, he said politely, "Madame, you have the most luxuriant hair." + +That the lady from India had fine hair was so evident a fact, that she +need not have been so exceedingly pleased by Napoleon's compliment. Yet +she was so overcome by it that when she returned to England she sent +letters to the newspapers speaking of the Emperor's great admiration for +her. + +Napoleon, in reality, did not at all like this visitor, and when she had +gone he said severely to the young girl: + +"You shall introduce me to no more ladies." His tone was so unusually +severe that Betsy did not dare confess what really was the case, that +she had brought Mrs. S. to see Napoleon merely to tease him, knowing +that it was positively disagreeable to him to meet very plain women. + +Betsy one day came to him full of excitement over a traveller whom she +had just seen. + +"Oh, he is extraordinary; queerer than any one I have ever met here. His +long black beard reaches to his waist, and he wears a regular mandarin's +dress." + +"An Englishman dressed like a Chinaman?" + +"Yes! You know he has been there so long, and he has done the most +wonderful things! Why, he has even travelled to Thibet and talked to the +Grand Lama." + +The Emperor's interest was aroused. + +"I have always wished to hear something about the Grand Lama," he said, +"especially about the way he is worshipped, for I believe that much I +have read is fabulous. I should like to see this traveller." + +"I knew you would," cried Betsy, "and he is anxious to see you, too. He +was a prisoner of war once in France, and he says you treated him very +kindly; so he has brought you some presents, and if--" + +"Yes, and if he can get a pass--" + +The sentence was left unfinished. But Mr. Manning obtained a pass to see +the Emperor and presented him with a number of curious things that he +had collected in his travels. + +"The Lama," he said in answer to a question, "when I saw him, was a very +intelligent boy of seven, and I went through the same form of worship as +the others who were introduced into his presence." + +"Were you not afraid of being seized as a spy?" asked Napoleon. + +The traveller hesitated, as if not quite pleased by the question. Then, +with a laugh, he pointed to his dress and beard, as if they were a +sufficient answer. + +"Did you pass for an Englishman?" persisted the Emperor. "The shape of +your nose is too good for a Tartar." + +"No," replied Mr. Manning; "I was generally taken for a Hindoo." The +bystanders, looking at his fine eyes and regular features, could easily +understand that in the role of a Hindoo he must certainly have been +successful. + +The conversation between the two--the Emperor and the traveller--lasted +for some time. + +"Travellers," said Napoleon, "are privileged to tell marvellous stories, +but I hope you are not doing this in describing to me all the wonders of +Thibet." + +Then he continued his questions, asking much about the Lama, and the +customs and religion of his people. His queries showed that he already +possessed a fund of information about this strange country, and Mr. +Manning finally said, "You have as much information on Thibet as I have +myself." + +Napoleon accepted the compliment, but the many questions that he +continued to ask, especially concerning the Chinese and their language +and habits, showed that he was quite willing to admit Mr. Manning's +greater knowledge of the Orient. + +When the unusually long interview had ended, Napoleon turned to Betsy +with an expression in which sadness was mingled with satisfaction. + +"This conversation," he cried, "has given me more pleasure than anything +I have experienced for many long months." + +Betsy, realizing the Emperor's capacity for finding entertainment in +hearing about the small things that made up the life of St. Helena, +always gratified him by describing the little festivities in which she +took part, or even the larger affairs of which she knew only by what +others told her. Like all places garrisoned by British regiments, there +was always much going on, as the phrase is, on the island, and the +gossip of the place, usually harmless enough in itself, never failed to +entertain him. + +Sometimes he tried to draw from the little girl information that for one +reason or another she did not care to give him--sometimes merely to +tease him, sometimes because she feared that what she said might disturb +him. + +"So you have been calling on Lady Lowe at Plantation House," he said, +after one of her visits to the wife of the Governor. "Tell me, does she +ask about your visits to Longwood?" + +"There, that is just the kind of thing she asks me. I am sure to be +questioned what we say and do in your presence;" and beyond this Betsy +would give Napoleon little satisfaction. + +"Who is the most beautiful woman on the island?" he asked on another +occasion. + +"Madame Bertrand," replied Betsy, never at a loss for an answer, "is +more beautiful than any one I have ever seen. Every one else seems +insignificant beside her. Why, when my father saw her on the +_Northumberland_ he was very much struck by her. Her features may not be +strictly beautiful, but her expression is intellectual. Besides, her +bearing is so queenlike and dignified!" + +"But don't you think Madame Montholon pretty?" + +"No," responded Betsy unhesitatingly, in spite of the fact that she had +much regard for Madame Montholon. + +"Marchand," cried Napoleon, apparently changing the subject, "bring me +my snuffbox,--you know which." + +The faithful Marchand obeyed, and when he returned Napoleon took the +snuffbox from his hands to show the girls--for Jane was with Betsy--a +miniature on the lid. + +It was a portrait of Madame Montholon, taken many years earlier. + +"Yes, it is like her," Betsy admitted, "and beautiful, too." + +"She was just like that when she was young," responded the Emperor. + +Although Napoleon was fond of teasing Betsy, whenever he found that he +could serve her in any way he never failed to show himself a true +friend. + +Once Dr. O'Meara came upon Betsy alone in the garden with tears in her +eyes. To his inquiry as to the cause of her sorrow, she pouted, and at +first hesitated in her reply. On second thoughts she exclaimed, "It is +too mean! Just because I didn't do my lessons yesterday, to keep me home +from the races!" + +"Were you warned?" + +"Oh, yes, but I did not expect to be punished." + +"Probably this isn't the first time, and your parents are bound to make +you remember." + +"Oh, it is my father, and it's the meanest thing! He has lent Tom to +somebody. My pony is not in the stable. Who could have been so mean as +to borrow the only pony that I can ride? All the others have ridden off, +and there is no way for me to go." + +Dr. O'Meara listened sympathetically. Probably he did not exactly +understand the situation or he would hardly have encouraged a young girl +to disobey her parents. It was quite natural that to Betsy, the lover of +gayety, her punishment seemed greater than she deserved. Every one that +she knew was going to the races, for the Deadwood races, instituted by +John Rous, were made a kind of festival by the people of the island. +Since every one she knew had gone to Deadwood, there was no horse at +hand that she could borrow. For the moment Napoleon's little neighbor +was troubled by no sense of duty; the only question was how to reach +Deadwood. + +Dr. O'Meara, after Betsy had poured out her soul to him, rode on towards +Longwood at a rapid pace. Not long afterwards her heart leaped with joy +when she saw Dr. O'Meara winding down the mountain, followed by a slave +with a superb gray horse. At once she recognized Mameluke, one of +Napoleon's stable, and, as the horses drew nearer, she saw that above +his crimson saddlecloth Mameluke wore a lady's saddle. Even before Dr. +O'Meara spoke, she understood what his quick return meant. + +"Here, Miss Betsy, cheer up," he cried when he drew near the little +girl. "This horse is for you. When the Emperor heard of your +disappointment, he ordered the quietest horse in his stable to be sent +to you." + +Regardless of consequences to herself, pleased by the good-natured +attention of the Emperor, light-hearted Betsy on Mameluke went to the +races. Perhaps she would have hesitated had she known that her father, +rather than she herself, was to be the sufferer by her heedless act, for +afterwards it gave her great pain to learn that Mr. Balcombe had been +severely reprimanded by Governor Lowe for having committed a breach of +discipline in letting his daughter borrow a horse belonging to the +Longwood establishment. + +But for the time Betsy had the fun of the races, and the next day she +went over to Longwood to thank Napoleon. + +"Aha, Mees Betsee," he said after their first greeting, "perhaps you do +not know that I too saw the races." + +"But I did not see you there." + +"Ah, where were your eyes? You were not thinking of me; but they were +amusing." + +After a little more teasing, Betsy learned that Napoleon had seen the +Deadwood races from an upper window of General Gorgaud's house. + +"You were so amused," he added, "that you forgot to be afraid. I have +told your father you should never be encouraged in foolish fears." + +"I wish you had been really there!" + +"Ah, gayety is not for me." Napoleon's face became grave. + +Betsy, noticing this, added quickly, "But you are coming to my birthday +fete." + +"Surely! It will not be far away at Rous Cottage." + +The day of the birthday was bright and fair, and as large numbers of +guests had assembled, Rous Cottage, which had been chosen for this +picnic fete, was named for the gallant flag officer of the +_Northumberland_, whom Napoleon admired and called "a very brave man." + +In the earlier part of the celebration, Betsy, flying among her friends, +was too much absorbed to notice that Napoleon had not come, but when she +missed him she began to look eagerly in the direction in which she might +expect to see him appear. He had said he would come to the party, and +Betsy expected him to keep his promise, though it was an unheard-of +thing for him to mingle in a gay crowd. + +After a while she was delighted to see him in the distance, riding along +the hills. Soon she saw that he was no longer riding. His horse was at a +standstill. What could this mean? Presently a messenger from the Emperor +appeared to say that he would content himself by looking on. + +The young hostess was not satisfied with this. Rushing off to the hill +where Napoleon waited, she stood before him. + +"This is not keeping your promise. You said you would come, indeed you +did, and you should not disappoint me on my birthday." + +Napoleon smiled at his young friend, but he spoke with decision: + +"No; I won't come down to be stared at by a crowd who wish to gratify +their curiosity by a sight of me." + +Betsy begged and pleaded, using every effort to make him change his +mind, but he was firm. Nothing could change him. + +A friend in England had sent Betsy a huge birthday cake, ornamented with +a large eagle. That she should have had a cake decorated with this +imperial emblem occasioned much comment on the island. In fact, in the +eyes of some, Mr. Balcombe and his family were under more or less of a +cloud on account of their open admiration for the illustrious prisoner +of St. Helena. When Betsy found that her words made no impression on +Napoleon, she left him for a few moments, only to return with a slice of +the cake. + +"You must eat this thick slice," she said, holding it out to him. "It is +the least you can do for getting us into this disgrace. Some people +think it almost treason when they see the eagle on the cake." + +Napoleon ate the cake with evident appreciation. Then he pinched Betsy's +ear in his usual familiar fashion, saying as he did so, "Saucy +simpleton!" As he galloped away Betsy could not help smiling, as she +heard him singing, or rather trying to sing in his most unmusical voice, +"_Vive, Henri Quatre_." + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THOUGHTLESS BETSY + + +Sometimes, without intending to hurt Napoleon's feelings, heedless Betsy +must often have come near wounding him. One day, for example, she showed +him a toy that had lately come to St. Helena from Europe. It represented +a toy emperor climbing a ladder, each rung of which was a country. When +he reached the top he sat for an instant astride the world, and then +went headlong down the other side, until he landed at last on St. +Helena. + +Napoleon himself did not reprove Betsy for her rudeness, but Mr. +Balcombe was disturbed and angry when he heard of it. Betsy, he decided, +was altogether too fond of playing foolish tricks, and he resolved to +teach her a lesson that she could not forget. + +Calling her to him, after he had expressed his displeasure for what she +had done, "Betsy," he said in his severest tone, "you are to spend the +night in the cellar, and every night for a week you shall sleep there. +You must be taught respect for your elders. It is to punish you for your +rudeness to Napoleon that I am resolved to punish you in this way." + +Poor Betsy shivered at her father's words. Bold though she was in the +face of danger by day, darkness always had great terrors for her, and to +spend the night underground was a punishment she felt she could hardly +bear. Her protests, however, were useless. Her father locked her in the +dark cellar and left her there. Betsy's experiences that night were +terrible. Rats made the cellar their home, and, as they jumped about in +the darkness, they tumbled the bottles of wine about, making a terrible +noise. Betsy was so frightened that to defend herself from them she +picked up bottle after bottle to hurl against them. At last they were +driven away, but there was no sleep for Betsy on the bed that had been +prepared for her. At dawn a faint light came through the windows, just +enough to show her what havoc she had made. Broken bottles lay about her +everywhere and in every direction ran rivulets of wine. + +At last she fell into a heavy stupor, and in this condition a slave, who +had been sent with her breakfast, found her. Alarmed at the sight of +Betsy, apparently half dead, the slave ran to summon Mr. Balcombe. When +he hurried to the cellar, Mr. Balcombe was naturally shocked by what he +saw. He had not thought of rats, and he was only too thankful that Betsy +had escaped serious injury. He not only did not reprove her for the +destruction of the claret, but forgave her for her offence against +Napoleon. + +As to Napoleon, "It was too great a punishment," he said, "for so little +an offence." Then he laughed heartily as the lively Betsy, now quite +herself again, gave a vivid account of her battle with the rats. "Ah, +the rats!" he added; "a big one jumped out of my hat one day, as I was +about to put it on. It startled me." + +Some time after this adventure in the cellar, Mr. Balcombe again had +occasion to punish Betsy and again he thought of the cellar. + +"No, not the cellar!" remonstrated Napoleon. But Mr. Balcombe was +obdurate. He had decided that Betsy should have a week's imprisonment +there, staying by day but released at night that she might sleep in her +own room. + +So Betsy went daily to her cell. She managed to vary the monotony of her +prison life by sitting close to the grating of the open window, and +while she sat there, the picture of dejection, Napoleon, approaching the +window, daily expressed a half-mocking sympathy with her. For a time +Betsy maintained an appearance of dignity and injured innocence, but in +the end the Emperor, by mimicking her doleful expression, usually +succeeded in making her laugh. + +"Sewing!" he exclaimed in surprise, when he visited Betsy on the third +day of her imprisonment. + +"Yes," responded Betsy; "I am making a dress for myself." + +"Ah, they indeed are cruel--" + +Like all Betsy's acquaintances, Napoleon knew that she had no strong +love for sewing and the ordinary domestic duties. She was at the age +when boyish sports were much more fun than the occupations that older +people prescribed for girls. + +"But no one required me to sew. I am sewing because I wish to." + +The Emperor expressed his surprise at this announcement. + +"Yes," continued Betsy; "I did not know what else to do. It is +frightfully dull here, so I begged old black Sarah to find me some work, +and this is what she brought." Betsy held up the partly made dress with +considerable pride. + +It is to Betsy's credit that she finished the dress old Sarah had +brought her, although her fit of industry did not outlast her week's +imprisonment. + +"You should keep Mees Betsee's prison livery," said Napoleon to Mrs. +Balcombe, "and show it to her occasionally, when you think that she is +on the point of doing something foolish that ought to be punished." + +"Prison livery" was Napoleon's name for the dress that Betsy had made +during her week in the cell. + +Betsy, however, was only one of many persons who had disagreeable +experiences with the rats of St. Helena. A sleeping slave, for example, +had a part of his leg bitten off. One of Count Bertrand's horses in the +stable had been severely bitten, and Dr. O'Meara had once had to defend +himself from the rodents by hurling his bootjack repeatedly at them. +Other tales of fierce rats had been told, and in consequence Betsy, when +she thought of her escape from real harm, had good cause for +congratulation. + +The battle of the rats happened while Napoleon was still living at The +Briars, and though Betsy long remembered it, it cannot be said that she +altogether profited by the lesson that it should have conveyed to her. +Later, when Napoleon was living at Longwood, Betsy, visiting at Madame +Bertrand's, occupied herself with practising a song that was a favorite +with one of the ladies of the garrison. + +Betsy sang and played very well, and Napoleon, hearing the new song, +praised the air though he did not understand the words. Now it happened +that the song was a monody on the death of the Duc d'Enghien, for whose +death Napoleon had been greatly blamed by friends as well as by foes. + +"What is the song?" Napoleon asked. + +A tactful girl would have devised some answer to spare Napoleon's +feelings. But thoughtless Betsy, without a word, turned to the front +page of the sheet of music, on which was a picture of a man standing in +a ditch, his eyes bandaged and a lantern hanging from his waist, while +soldiers were aiming their muskets at him. + +"What is it?" asked Napoleon, to whom the picture conveyed no meaning. + +"It represents the murder of the Duc d'Enghien," replied Betsy. + +Napoleon examined the picture more closely. Then, turning to the young +girl: + +"What do you know of the Duc d'Enghien?" + +"That you are considered the murderer of that illustrious prince," +replied Betsy, with great lack of consideration. + +"It is true," responded Napoleon, "that I ordered his execution, for he +was a conspirator and had landed troops in the pay of the Bourbons to +assassinate me. In the face of such a conspiracy, the most politic thing +was to put a Bourbon prince to death so that the Bourbons would not +again try to take my life. The prisoner was tried for having taken arms +against the Republic, and was executed according to law. But he was not +shot in a ditch nor at night. All was open and known to the public." + +This talk about the Duc d'Enghien led Napoleon to tell Betsy of many +thrilling experiences of his own in escaping death at the hands of +would-be assassins. + +At another time Betsy ran up to Napoleon, crying, "Why is your face so +swollen and inflamed?" + +"Oh," replied Napoleon, assuming a doleful look, "Dr. O'Meara has just +drawn a tooth and I have had much pain." + +"What!" exclaimed Betsy in the role of mentor. "You to complain of +pain--the pain of so trifling an operation, though you have gone through +battles innumerable with storms of bullets whizzing, some of which must +have touched you. I am ashamed. But give me the tooth, and I will get +Mr. Solomon to set it as an ear-ring." + +Napoleon, listening to Betsy, was evidently amused by her tone of +assumed severity, and laughing heartily, replied: "See how I laugh, even +while I suffer. Ah, Mees Betsee, I fear you will never cut your wisdom +tooth." + +Although Betsy saw more of Napoleon than the other children, they were +all fond of him; but it is to be feared that Betsy's example was not the +best in the world for her little brothers, who were much younger than +she. One day, for example, Napoleon had given little Alexander a pretty +box made by Piron, filled with his delicious bonbons. + +"When my brother had eaten all his sugar-plums," said Betsy, "and was +grieving over his exhausted store, he unluckily chanced to espy a +pill-box. He thereupon took some pills from the box and offered them to +the Emperor. Napoleon helped himself, thinking they were sugar-plums, +and began eating. He soon ejected them with coughing and nausea." + +Las Cases, it is needless to say, reported this to Mr. Balcombe, who +whipped Alexander soundly. Nobody can deny that the little boy merited +the punishment. + +A favorite jest of Napoleon was to cry, "Now, Mdlle. Betsee, I hope you +have been a good child and learned your lessons." + +Then Betsy would redden and toss her head, for, like most girls in their +early teens, she wished to be thought older than she was. This habit of +teasing was one that Napoleon had found time to indulge in even when he +was at the height of his power. He was very fond of children, and some +one has said that no case is known in which he refused to grant a favor +when a child was asked to be the messenger. He was fond of his nieces +and nephews, and devoted to his step-children. Few brothers have ever +been kinder to their brothers and sisters than Napoleon to his. When he +was only sixteen, he began to take a great interest in the education of +his brother Lucien, who was six years younger. When he was a lieutenant +in the army, he made real sacrifices for Louis, who was twelve years +old. Yet, in spite of his love for them, he teased them just as he +teased Betsy. Every one knows how he used to fondle the little King of +Rome and carry him around in his arms while he was dictating to his +secretaries. One who knew him writes: + +"It used to be a real holiday for the Emperor when Queen Hortense came +to see her mother, bringing her two children. Napoleon would take them +in his arms, caress them, often tease them, and burst into laughter as +if he had been of their own age, when, according to his custom, he had +smeared their faces with jam or cream." + +Sometimes, however, he went too far, even with his young relatives. Once +when he had playfully pulled the ears of his nephew, little Achille +Murat, the boy protested, "You are a naughty, wicked man," to the great +amusement of his uncle. + +But if Napoleon was inclined to tease the young people at The Briars, he +was also ready to do pleasant things for them. He certainly entered into +the feelings of young people. With them he became a child, and an +amusing one. Many were the games he played with Betsy and her brothers +and sister, not only blindman's buff but puss in the corner and other +quieter games. + +Betsy was not the only one of the Balcombe family whom Napoleon loved to +tease. Jane, the elder sister, was the more dignified and it was +therefore easier to embarrass her. Toward the end of her stay at St. +Helena, an English surgeon, Dr. Stokoe, was sent to the island. He was +much the senior of Jane, but, because the two were seen much together, +the gossips of St. Helena thought that he wished to marry her. + +Napoleon himself occasionally teased Jane about Dr. Stokoe, and +professed to think that Mr. Balcombe was a cruel father, standing in the +way of his daughter's happiness. "Why have you refused your daughter to +the surgeon of the flagship?" he would ask mischievously, adding, +"_C'est un brave homme_." + +Napoleon's capacity for seeing the humorous side of things kept up his +spirits wonderfully during his first year or two of exile. Betsy's +enjoyment of a joke, even of a practical joke, was perhaps the strongest +bond between the Emperor and his little neighbor. + +"Come," he would say, "come, Mees Betsee, sit down and sing like our +dear departed friend." By this term Napoleon referred to a certain lady +who believed herself to be the possessor of a very fine voice. To +exhibit her prowess this lady would sit down and sing Italian airs in an +affected style. At the end of a performance the lady expected, and +received, the Emperor's compliments; but when at last she was away and +out of hearing, he roared with laughter as Betsy, at the piano, imitated +the lady's affectations. + +With his eyes closed he would pretend that he really believed he was +listening to the operatic lady, and end by thanking Betsy gravely for +the pleasure she had given. + +Napoleon himself was a good mimic. He amused the Balcombe family greatly +by his imitation of London cockney street cries. + +"Mees Jane," he asked one evening, "have you ever heard the London +cries?" + +"No, sir, never," she replied. + +"Then I must let you hear them;" and without waiting further, he began +to make a series of shrill sounds. At first it was difficult to +distinguish the words, for Napoleon's droll accent could hardly be +called good English. His intonation, however, was perfect, and exactly +represented the street venders crying their wares. + +"You must have been in London, unknown to any one," cried Jane; "for if +you haven't been there, I don't see how you could have got those cries +so perfectly." + +In suggesting that Napoleon might have been in London incognito, Jane +was only repeating what then had wide currency--that Napoleon in the +height of his power had slipped away from Paris, letting no one know +that he was to cross the Channel, to spend a few days in London, +studying the English and their ways. + +To the inquisitive Jane, however, Napoleon gave no information as to the +truth of this belief. + +"I was much entertained," he said, "by one of my buffos, who introduced +London street cries into a comedy that he got up in Paris." + +This mention of the theatre led Napoleon to speak of Talma. "He was the +truest actor to nature that ever trod the boards," he said. + +"Talma?" repeated Betsy, catching the actor's name. "Oh, I remember; +they used to say that you took lessons from him how to sit on the +throne." + +"I have often heard that myself," responded Napoleon, "and I even +mentioned it once to Talma himself as a sign that I was considered to +hold myself well on it." + +Napoleon often displayed his powers of mimicry, to the great +entertainment of the children. + +A large ball, given by Sir George Bingham in return for the civilities +that had been shown the Fifty-third Regiment, took place not far from +Longwood, and practically every one on the island was invited. + +"It was the very prettiest affair I ever saw," said Betsy, "and you +ought to have seen it." + +Glancing at Napoleon, she thought she caught a certain meaning in the +smile with which he greeted her remark. "I really believe you _were_ +there," she exclaimed. "Some one told us you were going to take a peep +at us incognito, but I did not see you." + +Without deigning to reply, Napoleon began an ungraceful imitation of the +saraband, a dance that had been seen at this ball for the first time in +St. Helena. The young lady who waltzed in this dance had been very +awkward, and Napoleon's imitation of her movements was so perfect that +the girls were sure he had really seen her. Moreover he had so many +accurate criticisms to make of the people at the ball, and of the ball +in all its details, that no doubt was left in their minds that he had +been an actual looker-on. + +Napoleon thoroughly appreciated the humor of others, and was much +amused, for example, by a remark of Madame Bertrand's that he repeated +to Betsy. + +Madame Bertrand's son, Arthur, was about a month old when Napoleon asked +Betsy if she had seen the little fellow, adding, "You must hear the +clever way in which Madame Bertrand introduced the baby to me: 'Allow me +to present to your Majesty a subject who has dared to enter the gates of +Longwood without a pass from Sir Hudson Lowe.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +LONGWOOD DAYS + + +Many a time when in the company of Napoleon and the members of his +suite, Betsy must have realized that this pleasant intercourse could not +last always. + +Few people remained indefinitely long at St. Helena,--few people, +indeed, besides the natives and the one life prisoner, the Emperor +Napoleon. Betsy, however, had no desire to leave her beloved island. She +loved its climate and its scenery, and she was happy with the many +people who were her friends. It was a gay little place, with numerous +officers quartered there with their families,--a much gayer place than +it would have been had not the British Government thought it necessary +to make it a great military stronghold for the safeguarding of the +Emperor,--a much gayer place than it had been before Napoleon's arrival. + +[Illustration: LONGWOOD] + +Almost every day some form of amusement offered itself--races, balls, +picnics, and sham fights. There was also a pretty little theatre on the +island, established by the popular Commissary General, where amateur +plays were performed by the officers, to the great entertainment of all +who saw them. + +Madame Montholon and Madame Bertrand and, to a certain extent, the +gentlemen of the Emperor's suite entered more or less into the +festivities of the place. It was only Napoleon who always stayed at home +alone. Betsy, who was an especial favorite of Madame Bertrand, was often +at Longwood, and very often the latter was the young girl's chaperon at +balls or other entertainments. + +Yet even when no special gayety was in view, Betsy enjoyed her visits to +Longwood, and the ingenuous girl with her frank speech certainly +brightened the lives of the exiles. As for Betsy herself it was a great +advantage for her to be so much in the society of these French people, +with their cultivation and gayety. On cool evenings chairs were brought +out on the lawn leading to the billiard-room, and there the Countess of +Montholon and Madame Bertrand, with their husbands and children, would +spend the hour after sunset listening to the crickets, of which there +were thousands. Sometimes they sat on the lawn in the moonlight, gazing +long at the sky, which at St. Helena is of a peculiarly deep blue. + +Doubtless at such times the hearts of the poor exiles were far away +among home scenes in France, and even lively Betsy for the time was +quiet and subdued. + +One splendid starry night, as they were all on the lawn near the +billiard-room steps after a very sultry day, they heard a sound as if +heavy wagons were lumbering over the ground beneath. Those nearer the +house thought that it was about to fall about their heads. Dr. O'Meara +and Major Blakeney, Captain of the Guard, hastening from the room, +expected to find the ladies half dead with fright. All the household, +some from their beds, rushed out, looking wonderingly into the sky, and +little Tristram Montholon ran to his mother, screaming that some one had +tried to throw him out of his bed. + +This was in September, and the strange rumbling was caused by an +earthquake, the first one in St. Helena for a long time. Many feared for +their friends in the valleys with the sharp precipices, but fortunately +in the end it was shown that there had been no loss of life. + +Napoleon was in bed at the time of the shock. + +"Ah Mees Betsee," he asked the next morning, "were you frightened by the +_tremblement de terre_? You look pale and quiet." + +Betsy admitted that she had had a little fear at the earthquake. + +"I thought," said Napoleon, turning to General Bertrand, "that the +_Conqueror_ had blown up in the harbor; but the second or third shock +showed that it was an earthquake." + +The _Conqueror_ was the seventy-four gun ship whose arrival Betsy had +seen Napoleon observe with great interest. + +Betsy, for several nights after the earthquake, was too frightened to go +to bed, and in a day or two she was ill with a severe cold, caught while +sitting on the veranda. In this case, as always in illness, Napoleon was +sympathetic, blaming the climate and adding that the houses ought to +have plenty of fireplaces to protect people from sudden changes. + +"What would be the use of fireplaces," asked Betsy, "when we have no +coals?" + +"Then burn the orange trees," responded Napoleon. + +From this remark Betsy saw that for some reason the Emperor was not in +good humor, for he was one of those who realized the need of more trees +on St. Helena, and later--if he had not then begun--devoted much time +and money to planting trees in the neighborhood of Longwood. Perhaps the +presence of the _Conqueror_ in the harbor disturbed him, since this was +the vessel that had brought Admiral Pamplin, who was to relieve Admiral +Malcom. Sir Pultney Malcom had come to St. Helena with Napoleon, and the +two had grown to be very good friends. The Admiral, a courteous old man, +with exquisite, kindly manners, showed great consideration for the +exile. He paid Napoleon many visits, sent him newspapers, and so far as +he could tried to protect him from various annoying things said or done +by Governor Lowe. + +It was not strange, then, that Napoleon should feel depressed at the +thought of Admiral Malcom's departure, and, in consequence, seem a +little more brusque than usual with Betsy in talking of her cold. + +Napoleon well understood the value of regular occupation and spent many +hours daily in reading and writing. He had few of the works of reference +that he needed for his historical work, yet he persevered in spite of +all difficulties. In the end he really had something to show, volumes of +military commentaries, essays on great generals and historical sketches, +chiefly of the time of the French Republic. These writings may not all +be perfectly accurate, but they show a wonderful memory and grasp of +facts. The inaccuracies, indeed, are chiefly such as must result when a +man writes without the proper documents and books to verify his +statements. + +The Memoirs left by Napoleon, the many volumes of conversations +collected by his friends on subjects of general interest, as well as +those books that relate to the military profession, show the wonderful +strength of his mind. His temperate habits were, of course, a great help +in carrying out the broad plans that he made for hard work. He took +little wine, and then only used it as a medicine. + +Napoleon's hours for rising and going to bed were very irregular. Often +on moonlight nights he would rise at three o'clock, and when at The +Briars he would go to the garden before Toby was up, getting the key +from the place where the old slave had hidden it. He would then have an +early breakfast of fresh fruits. + +Not infrequently, in those early days of his stay at St. Helena, Betsy +would see him in the early morning riding around the lawn on his +beautiful horse Hope, and when she talked with him she would learn that +already he had that day dictated a number of letters. Hope was the first +horse Napoleon rode on the island, and it pleased him to think that this +name was an augury. + +When it came to his bed hour, Napoleon's habits were most uncertain. +Frequently, when he was restless, he would have Marchand read him to +sleep. + +At times when he was ill he resented the doctor's efforts to get him to +take medicine. He had original ideas on the best treatment of the sick, +and believed strongly in the efficacy of the salt-water bath. + +However heterodox his views on any subject, Napoleon seldom hesitated to +express them, at least to those in whom he had confidence. + +"I have no faith whatever in medicine," said Napoleon one day to a very +clever medical man who was on the island. "My own remedies are +starvation and the warm bath. Churchmen," he added, "are often +hypocrites, because too much is expected of them. Politicians must have +a conventional conscience, and soldiers are cut-throats and robbers. But +surgeons are neither too good nor too bad; their mission is to benefit +mankind, and they have opportunities to study human nature as well as +science. I have a higher opinion of the surgical profession than of any +other. The practice of the law," he concluded, "is too severe for poor +human nature, for he who distorts truth and exults at the success of +injustice at last will hardly know right from wrong." + + * * * * * + +Napoleon liked sailors, and often talked with those who conducted +fatigue parties around the island. + +One day he asked the girls if they had met one active young reefer, who +happened to belong to a distinguished family. + +"He is one of the few combinations of high birth and intelligence I have +ever seen." + +"We know him," was the reply, "and he is one of the most popular men in +the ward-room. Oh, how funny he was when we first knew him!" added +Betsy. "He was coming back from the Admiral's ball. We met an old cart, +and he was surrounded by brother middies, all shouting, 'Lord W.'s +carriage stops the way.' Well, we couldn't get past, as the cart had +been dragged inside the arch through which we were to pass. Afterwards +this same young man had a narrow escape. He was rowing guard when hailed +by sentry. On account of the surf, the sentry could not hear him give +the password, and so he fired among the crew." + +"Yes, he can do anything. Sir Pultney Malcom put him in charge of the +government farm, and said he had never seen such vegetables produced on +the sterile rocks of St. Helena." + +"Whatever British sailors take in hand," said Napoleon, "they never +leave undone." + + * * * * * + +A marble bust of the King of Rome was sent to Napoleon, probably by +Maria Louisa. Napoleon gazed on it with proud satisfaction and he seemed +pleased with the praises of Betsy and her mother. + +"You ought to be proud to be the father of so beautiful a boy," said +Mrs. Balcombe. + +Smiles lit Napoleon's face, and Betsy, child though she was, was +impressed by his expression of paternal fondness. + +The bust was of white marble and executed by Caracci, and it bore the +names Napoleon Francois Charles Joseph. The child was shown wearing the +Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. It had been brought from Leghorn by +the gunner of a ship bound to St. Helena, and although it had come so +mysteriously, people generally understood that Maria Louisa herself had +taken the trouble to have it sent in this way to Napoleon, her husband. + +"Now, come," said Madame Bertrand, after the sisters had spent some time +admiring Napoleon's gifts, "let me show you my presents;" for the ship +that had brought the bust brought things also to others of the French +exiles. These were chiefly for Countess Bertrand and Countess Montholon +from Lady Holland, who often remembered them in this way. + +"La bonne Lady Holland," as Napoleon called her, was one of the few +English women not afraid to show her sympathy with Napoleon and those +who had followed him to St. Helena. He was very grateful for her +attentions to him now when he was abandoned by the world. "All members +of the family of Fox," he said, "abound in liberal, generous sentiments. +Fox was sincere in his intentions, and had he lived England would not +have been devastated by war. He was the only minister who rightly +understood the interests of his country." To show that he had always +appreciated Fox, Napoleon told of a visit that the latter with his wife +paid to St. Cloud. By mistake he opened the door of a private room, and +he was surprised to see there his own statue among those of +distinguished citizens of the world, Hampden, Washington, Cicero, Lord +Chatham and his son. + +The regulation that an officer must accompany him on his rides was a +continued annoyance to Napoleon. At first he submitted, and rode off, +painfully realizing that a representative of his jailers constantly kept +his eye on him. After a time he decided that he would not ride if he +could not ride alone, and during the last four years of his life he was +not on a horse. As he had depended on riding for exercise during the +greater part of his life, he now suffered from giving it up. He not only +began to grow extremely stout, but his general health became poorer. + +It disturbed Napoleon greatly that the English always addressed him as +"General Bonaparte." The title "Emperor" would have been so barren on +St. Helena that it is hard to understand why Napoleon should have cared +much about it. He might easily have been as philosophic about this as he +was about other things. + +Soon after his arrival Sir Hudson Lowe addressed a card of invitation to +"General Bonaparte." + +"Send this card to General Bonaparte," said Napoleon to Count Bertrand. +"The last I heard of him was at the Pyramids and Mt. Tabor." Yet +Napoleon was never happier, never better loved by the French people, +than when, as General Bonaparte, he was received with the greatest +enthusiasm on his return from his Italian campaign. + +The English, on their part, were foolish in objecting to the use of a +title to which he once had had a perfect right, with all its power and +dignity. Now, deprived of the substance, there was no reason for +forbidding him the pleasure of treasuring the shadow. Sir George +Cockburn seems to have been almost childish in writing to Count +Bertrand: + +"I have no cognizance of any Emperor being actually upon this island, or +of any person possessing such dignity (as stated by you) having come +here." + +Language like this was far more absurd than Napoleon's obstinacy on the +subject. Even his good friend, Admiral Malcom, could not change his +views. In the course of a conversation on the subject of letting him +have the title "Emperor," Malcom said decidedly: + +"Still, it would be impossible to treat you as a sovereign." + +"Why, they might leave me my honors to amuse me. It would do no harm on +this rock." + +"But you would have to be styled Emperor." + +"No; they could not do that. I have abdicated." + +"But you object to be called General." + +"That is because I am no longer a general,--not since I returned from +Egypt,--but why not call me 'Napoleon'?" + +It was a long and painful discussion, and it did not end even with +Napoleon's death. The British Government, since Napoleon was securely in +its power, could have afforded to let him wear the title that had once +been his by right, even though on St. Helena it would have shown itself +an almost foolishly vain ornament. The foreign Commissioners were told +by the countries that they represented to give him this title, but the +Act of Parliament dealing with the distinguished prisoner had called him +"Napoleon Bonaparte," and this, or "General Bonaparte," he was to be to +all who had dealings with him at St. Helena. + +Within his own circle--and in this circle the Balcombe family may be +included--he was ever "the Emperor." + + * * * * * + +Napoleon often showed great kindness to the sick. For example, when a +certain officer, Captain Meynell, was ill under Mr. Balcombe's roof at +The Briars, Napoleon sent Cipriani, his _maitre d'hotel_, daily to +inquire about him, and seemed really concerned when he asked about him. + +Not long after he left The Briars, Betsy had a severe illness. When +Napoleon heard of this he sent constantly to inquire for her, and the +messenger usually brought her some delicacy made by Piron. + +Napoleon's kindness of heart was also shown by his attitude toward the +Malay slave, named Toby, who had care of the beautiful garden at The +Briars. When no one was in it the garden was kept locked and the key was +left in Toby's hands. Toby and Napoleon speedily became friends, and the +black man always spoke of the Emperor as "that good man, Bony." He +always placed the key of the garden where Napoleon could reach it under +the wicket. The black man was original and entertaining, and so +autocratic that no one at The Briars ever disputed his authority. His +story was rather pathetic. + +He had been enticed from his native place many years before, brought to +St. Helena by the English, smuggled on shore and illegally sold as a +slave, let out to whoever would hire him, and his earnings chiefly +appropriated to his master. Napoleon perhaps recognized in Toby a +kindred spirit, or at least felt a common bond in the fact that both had +been brought unwillingly to the island. Certainly he liked him, and, +when he had heard his story, wished to buy and free him. But for +political reasons, when Mr. Balcombe made Napoleon's wishes known to Sir +Hudson Lowe, he could not get his consent. + +Toby, however, was grateful to Napoleon for his wish to help him, and +continued his devoted admirer. On going from The Briars, Napoleon +presented Toby with twenty-nine napoleons and always inquired for his +health. When Napoleon left The Briars, Toby often arranged bouquets and +fruits to go to Longwood,--"to that good man, Bony." + +Toby, from all accounts, was an attractive fellow. His countenance had a +frank and benevolent expression. His eyes were animated and sparkling, +his aspect not abject, but prepossessing. So at least he appeared to +Betsy, and one day she was interested to hear Napoleon reflecting upon +him: + +"What, after all, is a poor prisoner but a machine? As for poor Toby, he +endures his misfortunes very quietly; he stoops to his work, and spends +his days in innocent tranquillity. This man, after all, had his family +and his happiness and his liberty, and it was a horrible act of cruelty +to bring him here to languish in the fetters of his slavery." + +Toby, however, was not the only slave on St. Helena. Not long after the +first discovery of the island by the Portuguese, Juan Denova Castella, a +nobleman, was exiled there for desertion and had to spend four years in +complete solitude, except for a few slaves that he was allowed to have +with him. The Portuguese did not colonize St. Helena, and after a time +the Dutch held it for many years. When they had deserted it, the East +India Company, with plenty of capital, took possession and naturally +fell back on slave labor to cultivate the fields. When the Dutch saw +that St. Helena was likely to prove profitable to the English they tried +to get it back again, but the effort was unsuccessful, and since 1666 it +has been counted an English possession. At one time a law was passed +restricting the importation of slaves, for the colonists had begun to +fear that they might outnumber the Europeans. There was, however, an old +law that every Madagascar ship should leave one slave to work the +company's plantations. The slaves were often troublesome, but the +cruelty with which they were treated was inexcusable. Probably many a +poor creature on the island had been stolen from his home, just as we +know poor Toby had been stolen. + +After the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe, the new Governor reminded the +people of St. Helena that their island was the last British possession +to retain slavery. Various plans were proposed for doing away with it, +and at last, at his suggestion, it was agreed that after Christmas Day, +1818, all children born of slave women should be considered free. Thus +the great evil gradually ceased. + +This good action on the part of Sir Hudson Lowe--that he helped gain +freedom for the slaves--made him no better liked by Napoleon and his +friends. From the first, indeed, the Governor was suspicious of +Napoleon's friends, and the fear that they were plotting for Napoleon's +escape was one of the reasons, probably, for the regulations that +greatly annoyed Napoleon. It seemed as if he wished Napoleon to be +surrounded entirely by English, for one of his early acts was to tell +the French that they were at liberty to leave St. Helena whenever they +wished. Every facility, he said, would be offered them to return to +Europe. Had he known human nature better, Sir Hudson Lowe would have +realized that persons who had given up so much to follow Napoleon would +hardly desert him merely because conditions on the island did not suit +them. + +At last, on one pretext or another, he contrived to have several of +Napoleon's attendants sent away,--Santini, the clever little +lamplighter, the jack-of-all-trades, who had so often amused Betsy's +small brothers with his toys; Rousseau, his artificer; and Archambaud, +his coachman, whose reckless driving of the jaunting car always struck +terror to Betsy's heart. Most important of all, however, was the +departure of Count Las Cases, who had never failed to frown on Betsy's +hoydenish pranks. With Count Las Cases went his son, the boy about whom +Napoleon had loved to tease Betsy. It was before the end of Napoleon's +first year at Longwood that these two were sent away on the charge of +bribing a young native of St. Helena to carry a letter to Europe for +them. This would not have been a serious offence, except for the reason +that the Governor had made a regulation that no letter should be sent to +Europe without passing through his hands. + +For a time Las Cases and his son were in prison on the island. Later +they were despatched to the Cape of Good Hope, where they were detained +seven months and at last sent to England. + +"Let them take away all my Frenchmen," said Napoleon sadly, after the +departure of Las Cases. "I do not want them." He especially missed Las +Cases, since it was to him that he daily dictated the material for his +Memoirs. + +Not long after the departure of Las Cases, Napoleon was greatly +disturbed because the Governor would not let him receive a visit from a +botanist just arrived from Europe, who was known lately to have seen +Maria Louisa and the little King of Rome. Betsy sympathized with him in +his indignation at this and other needless restrictions. + +Sometimes, however, she felt like laughing at him. + +"Where is the Emperor, where is the Emperor?" she asked one morning, +when staying at Longwood after a ball. + +At first no one could inform her, but at last some one said, "Go over +there; he is building a ditch." + +Going in the direction indicated, the young girl found Napoleon +superintending the building of a trench that he was having constructed, +so that he might have a place where he could walk unobserved. + +"Do not laugh!" he said, after Betsy had come upon him, standing with +folded arms and downcast gaze. "Do not laugh! I must have a walk of my +own, where no one can look at me when I go out." + +Even though she smiled, Betsy understood Napoleon's feeling. In his +early days at The Briars, when he was permitted to walk out unattended, +Napoleon was fond of strolling some distance from the cottage. Later +when he could not go far without the watchful eye of an officer upon +him, he almost gave up walking. At a certain hour of the afternoon, as +it was known that he took a short walk along a straight path not far +from the house, the curious often stationed themselves at a distance +where they could observe him. On account of this annoying observation, +Napoleon conceived the plan of digging a ditch or trench. The ditch +served at least one purpose: while it was digging it gave Napoleon +plenty of occupation in directing the workmen. When it was finished it +is said that he never used it as a promenade. + +His unwillingness to take exercise resulted in a serious illness. During +this time Betsy and her sister did not see him, but whenever they met +Dr. O'Meara they eagerly questioned him about their friend. "I would +rather die at once than walk, as you prescribe." These were the words of +Napoleon that Dr. O'Meara reported to the sisters. "I have tried +persuasion of every kind, but I cannot get him to take exercise," he +said, "although I have told him that this is the only thing that can +possibly cure him. I urged him to let me call in another surgeon, so +that if he should grow no better, too much blame need not fall on me, +and what was his reply?" + +Dr. O'Meara paused for a moment, and then repeated Napoleon's exact +words: "If all the physicians in the world were collected, they would +but repeat what you have already advised me--to take constant exercise +on horseback. I am well aware of the truth of what you say, but if I +were to call in another surgeon, it would be like sending a physician to +a starving man instead of giving him a loaf of bread. I have no +objection to your making known to him my state of health, if it be any +satisfaction to you; but I know that he will say, 'Exercise.' As long as +this strict surveillance is enforced, I will never stir." + +In vain Dr. O'Meara repeated his arguments. Napoleon had but one reply, +"Would you have me render myself liable to insult from the sentries +surrounding my house, as Madame Bertrand was, some days ago?" + +"Jane," said Betsy, who always saw the funny side of things, "what a +fine caricature this would have made for the London print +shops--Napoleon stopped at the gates by a sentinel, charging him with a +fixed bayonet! How the Londoners would laugh! No, I don't blame Napoleon +for staying indoors." + +But when Betsy saw the Emperor after this illness, her heart was filled +with pity. His skin was a waxy yellow and his cheeks hung in deep +pouches. His ankles were terribly swollen, and he could not stand +without the support of a table on one side and the shoulder of an +attendant on the other. + +As Betsy looked at him, tears fell from her eyes and she could hardly +keep from sobbing aloud. + +"Ah!" said Napoleon kindly. "Do not cry, Mees Betsee. I am almost +well--and the good O'Meara will surely cure me." + +Upon this Betsy became more cheerful, but later, when they were out of +the Emperor's hearing, Mrs. Balcombe shook her head sorrowfully, as she +turned to Betsy, saying, "He has the stamp of death on his brow." + +Had Napoleon been less obstinate, within the eight miles of enclosure +allotted him he might certainly have taken enough exercise of various +kinds to preserve his health. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE PARTING + + +At last the time came when Napoleon and his young neighbor must part. +The health of Betsy's mother, Mrs. Balcombe, was not good, and the +family decided to go home to England. Mr. Balcombe obtained six months' +leave, but, although the family professed to expect to return, in their +secret hearts they felt that they were bidding good-bye to St. Helena. + +A day or two before sailing Betsy and Jane went over to Longwood to say +farewell to Napoleon. They found him in the billiard-room, as usual, +surrounded by books. There was sadness in his voice as he talked about +their departure. + +"I hope your mother's health will soon be restored," he said. "Give her +my kindest regards and best wishes for the journey. Soon you will be +sailing away towards England, leaving me to die on this miserable rock. +Look at those dreadful mountains--they are my prison walls. You will +soon hear that the Emperor Napoleon is dead." + +At these melancholy words the emotional Betsy burst into tears and +Jane's eyes grew moist. Betsy sobbed as if her heart would break, and +Napoleon, greatly moved, tried to comfort her. Betsy felt for her +handkerchief, only to find that she had left it in her side-saddle +pocket. So Napoleon, holding his own toward her, said, "Take it, and +keep it in remembrance of this sad day." + +The sisters went the rounds of Longwood, bidding good-bye to all that +was dear to them. Later they dined with Napoleon, but Betsy was still so +overcome with grief that she could hardly swallow. + +"Take some bonbons," said Napoleon kindly. + +"I cannot," she cried. "My throat has a swelling, and I cannot eat!" + +When at last they were ready to go, the Emperor embraced the two sisters +with great affection. + +"Do not forget me!" he said. "I thank you for your kindness and +friendship, and all my happy hours in your society." + +The two sisters could hardly reply. + +"Mees Betsee," he added, after a moment's pause, "what would you like to +have in remembrance?" + +"A lock of your hair," sobbed the young girl, "better than anything +else." + +"Marchand shall bring the scissors, then;" and the devoted Marchand, +promptly obeying, severed four locks for the four older members of the +Balcombe family. + +Not long before they left, Napoleon in a conversation with Mr. Balcombe +said: + +"I fear that your resignation of your employment in this island is +caused by the quarrels and annoyances drawn upon you by the relation +established between your family and Longwood, in consequence of the +hospitality which you showed on my first arrival in St. Helena. I would +not wish you to regret having known me." + +Although Mr. Balcombe did not exactly confirm what Napoleon said about +the reason for his withdrawal from St. Helena, he knew that to a great +extent it was true. For a long time Sir Hudson Lowe had been +dissatisfied with the intimacy existing between Napoleon and the +Balcombes. While he admitted that he had no tangible cause for +complaint, he was constantly watching for one, and was always ready to +call Mr. Balcombe to account for what he considered partiality for the +illustrious exile. As the Governor himself put it, he was not without +suspicion that his relations with Longwood were not limited to the +ostensible duties of his office. The Governor at this time was very +suspicious of Dr. O'Meara, and as Mr. Balcombe and he were intimate +friends, the former was naturally regarded also with disfavor. + +More than once had Betsy's careless behavior drawn a reprimand upon her +father. But for the Governor's feeling against him, Mr. Balcombe and his +family might have been on St. Helena during the last sad days of +Napoleon. + +As it was, they went back to England the middle of March, 1818, little +more than three years before Napoleon's death. Their ship was the +Winchelsea store-ship, on its way from China, and on the same vessel +went General Gorgaud, the bachelor of Napoleon's suite, a pompous, +though brave man, for whom Betsy had no especial liking. General Gorgaud +knew that he would never return to St. Helena. Mr. Balcombe had obtained +a six months' leave from his official duties, but he, too, may have felt +as the vessel sailed away that he was unlikely ever again to look upon +its frowning walls. + +As to Betsy, Napoleon's young neighbor, the tears that fell from her +eyes when she said her last good-bye to the Emperor were not the last +that she shed for him. As the years went by she ever listened eagerly to +all the news that came from St. Helena, until the final mournful tidings +in the early summer of 1821, that Napoleon had died on the fifth of May. + +"I am sure," said Betsy long afterwards, "after seeing Napoleon in every +possible mood and in his most unguarded moments, I know that the idea of +acting a part never entered his head. I had the most complete conviction +of his want of guile, and the thorough goodness and amiability of his +heart." + +Betsy was a keen observer of human nature, and another of her judgments +is worth remembering: "That this impression of his amiability and +goodness was common to almost all who approached him is proved by the +devotion of his followers at St. Helena. They had then nothing more to +expect from him, and only entailed misery on themselves by adhering to +his fortunes." + +It is indeed a fact worth remembering, that Napoleon's suite, in spite +of the fact that to a great extent Napoleon obliged them to practise the +rigid etiquette of a court, were all devoted to him. It is true that +they had to stand in his presence and in certain ways keep up a ceremony +that seemed absurd in an establishment as simple as that of Longwood; +but there were many hours of relaxation. In these hours of relaxation +Napoleon played cards with his friends, or chess, or--after he went to +Longwood--billiards. He was fond of reading aloud, and not infrequently +favored his friends with a long reading. Sometimes he indulged in +declamation, for he was rather proud of the fact that he had learned +something of this art from the great Talma. In his later years at +Longwood he devised ways of getting his needed exercise indoors and +worked almost too vigorously at gardening. + +An old St. Helena newspaper has an account of his exertions in his +garden, not long before his death, which has a pathos of its own: "A few +weeks before his death the Emperor labored with a spade in his garden so +long and so severely as to be faint with fatigue. Some one suggested the +probable injury to his health. 'No,' said he, 'it cannot injure my +health; that is lost beyond all hope. It will but shorten my days.'" + +The disease from which Napoleon died was one that he had inherited from +his father,--one, indeed, for which there is no cure. So it cannot be +said with certainty that his life might have been prolonged if he had +been more careful to get enough, and only enough, of the right kind of +exercise. Yet though his life may have had to run in its natural course, +his last years would have been much happier if there had been no +friction between him and the Governor of St. Helena. + +The last three years of Napoleon's life were undoubtedly the loneliest +he had known. He missed Las Cases, Gorgaud, the Balcombes, and O'Meara, +whom the Governor was at last able to get out of the way. Napoleon kept +himself busy with his gardening and his books, and when, in 1819, the +Government began to build a new house for him, he spent much time +watching its progress, although with true forebodings he often said that +he should never live to occupy it. + +He still refused to take exercise, and once in a fit of depression +stayed in the house for three months. Thus his health continued to +suffer and he grew stout and clumsy. When he did go out he was apt to +drive around the eight miles of his enclosure at breakneck speed, in a +carriage drawn by six horses. In October, 1820, he sent word to Sir +William Doveton that he would be glad to breakfast with him. Sir William +was, of course, happy to receive his distinguished guest, and breakfast +was served on the lawn to Napoleon and Generals Bertrand and Montholon. +The breakfast in the society of Sir William Doveton and his family +passed off pleasantly, and Napoleon started to walk home. Unluckily he +had not the strength to carry out his good intentions, and on the way +back to Longwood he had to stop at a cottage by the way to rest, while +his carriage was sent for. + +Betsy would have been glad, if the fact had ever come to her ears, to +learn that in his last year or two Napoleon had another little friend +who to a certain degree could fill the place in his affections always +ready for children. This was the young daughter of a soldier of the +garrison, little Julia, nine years old, who was intelligent and +companionable. + +When he knew that Julia was coming to see him, Napoleon always had +fruits and sweetmeats ready for her. Not long before he died he hung a +gold watch and chain around Julia's neck, saying, "Wear this for my +sake." On the cover he had scratched an inscription with his penknife, +"The Emperor to his little friend Julia." When she visited him they sat +or walked in the garden, and Napoleon found some amusement in giving her +drawing lessons from nature. One fine morning in April, when Julia +appeared, Napoleon invited her inside the house where the breakfast +table was laid. Standing by the table, he filled her little basket with +fruit and sweet things, and at last put a bottle of wine in the basket, +saying, "For your father to drink my health in." + +Alas! it was too late for any one to wish Napoleon good health. Not long +after he had suggested the toast for Julia's father, he had to go to +bed. Whatever others thought, he was sure that he would never rise. He +probably knew that the end was near. The very end came suddenly, and +many on St. Helena, who had not known of the seriousness of his +condition, were greatly surprised to hear of his death on the fifth of +May. + +Before the funeral Napoleon's body lay in state, and naval and military +officers and many others were permitted to view it. When Sir Hudson Lowe +looked at Napoleon immediately after his death, he was impressed by the +nobility of the dead man's expression. "His face in death," he wrote to +Lord Bathurst, "was the most beautiful I have ever seen." Yet even to +the dead Napoleon the Governor maintained the same attitude as to the +living, for when it came to the question of the inscription to be placed +on the Emperor's coffin, he would not permit the simple "Napoleon" with +dates and places of birth and death, but insisted that in addition it +should bear the surname "Bonaparte." + +British soldiers carried Napoleon from the house to the car that was to +bear him to the burial place; but the horses that drew the car were four +that had belonged to the late Emperor. Orders had been issued to conduct +his funeral as that of a general of the highest rank. In consequence the +left side of the road from Longwood to the grave was lined with troops. +It was a solemn and impressive procession that moved along as escort, +paying the last earthly honors to Napoleon, on whose coffin lay his +sword and the mantle of Marengo. + +Napoleon had always wished to be buried in France, but toward the end of +his life, when it seemed unlikely that his wish could be gratified, he +gave directions as to the spot in St. Helena that he preferred. This was +a romantic and picturesque enclosure in a ravine not very far from +Longwood. Often, when out walking, the Emperor had stopped there to +quench his thirst at a small spring. The little valley was shaded with +Norfolk pines, firs, and other trees, and here, near the spring, under +the shade of two great willow trees, Napoleon's body was laid to rest. +As it was lowered into the grave three discharges from eleven pieces of +musketry were fired. + +As his sorrowing attendants turned away, how overwhelmingly sad must the +reflections of the two of Napoleon's personal suite have been! Only +Montholon and Bertrand were there at the last, though Marchand and other +attendants still remained. Montholon, when a boy of ten, had known +Napoleon in Corsica, and Bertrand had long been one of his +officers,--"the best engineer officer I have ever known," said Napoleon. + +Now their years of faithful devotion were at an end. With heavy hearts +they turned their backs on the lonely grave under the willow trees and +soon they sailed away to the great world, their hearts filled with +memories of Napoleon. + +Nineteen years after Napoleon's death a French frigate, _La Belle +Poule_, commanded by the Prince of Joinville, arrived off Jamestown. The +wheel had turned, and the friends and admirers of Napoleon were on top. + +Even Great Britain was not unwilling that the dead Napoleon should have +the honor that was his due. The frigate had come for the body of +Napoleon to give it proper honors in France. On _La Belle Poule_ were +Count Bertrand, his son Arthur, born at St. Helena, General Gorgaud, the +young Las Cases, and the faithful Marchand. + +The body of Napoleon was taken from the tomb under the willow trees and +borne back to France. Every one knows of the magnificent funeral given +their dead hero by the impulsive French. Every one has heard how +countless throngs filled the streets of Paris, how the military display +has seldom been equalled, as the catafalque, preceded by a riderless +horse, went slowly along the tree-lined boulevards. The wonderful tomb +of Napoleon in the Hotel des Invalides is known to many, but there are +few in comparison who have visited the little enclosure at the bottom of +the deep ravine where the Emperor's body lay for a score of years. Yet, +in the days of wooden ships, when St. Helena was the place where +captains had to call to re-provision their vessels, many a passenger on +going ashore hastened to Napoleon's grave, and while the world stands +the secluded valley will continue to claim the interest of Napoleon's +admirers. The vault itself is now covered with a broad, flat stone, +without inscription, and its cemented surface is cracked in places. +There is a hedge around the fence and a sentry box at the entrance of +the enclosure. Here there is a notice to the effect that the grave is +now the property of the French Republic, and in the sentry box an +attendant keeps a book and registers the names of all who visit the spot +where once lay the body of Napoleon. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE PANORAMA + + +Who can blame Betsy for Being Heavy-hearted on that day in early spring +when she sailed away from St. Helena, toward the colder country that was +her real home? Even though her parents and her brothers and sister were +with her, she felt that she was leaving behind much that was dear. She +loved the lonely, mountainous island where she had lived so long. She +believed that no other flowers or fruits could equal those produced on +its tropical soil. She felt that no new friends could compare with those +from whom she had just parted. + +More than this, although she tried to persuade herself that in the +future she might revisit St. Helena, she could hardly believe that when +that day arrived, Napoleon would still be there to receive her with his +accustomed cordiality. + +Indeed, as a true friend of the Emperor's, Betsy could scarcely wish to +find him there on that indefinite day of her return, since that would +mean long-continued captivity for him. Rather, if she hoped to see him +again, the young girl more probably imagined that after no very long +time some change in the sentiments of those in power might result in +freeing him from his galling bondage. + +Though we to-day may not be certain just what form Betsy's thoughts took +on that monotonous homeward voyage, we can be sure that Napoleon had no +small part in them. Already she knew the chief facts in his meteoric +career; and her vivid fancy must have brought before her many scenes in +which he had had part. + +Like Betsy, you and I may see the panorama of Napoleon's life unfold in +a series of pictures melting into one another, some clearer than the +others, yet all leaving an ineffaceable impression. + +First, there is the thin, pale, serious-eyed boy running half wild over +the hills of his native Corsica. He is an affectionate brother--this +young Napoleon--to the six younger brothers and sisters, and a close +companion of Joseph, only a year older. He is devoted to his +high-spirited and energetic mother, once the beautiful Letitia Ramolino, +whose life, since her marriage, has been so hard. He is dutiful to his +father, the improvident, though ambitious Charles Marie de Buonaparte. +Yet, although dutiful, he resents his father's lack of patriotism in +seeking favors from the Frenchmen in authority in Corsica, for the boy, +born only a year after Corsica had passed under French rule, had small +love for those outsiders who had made it impossible for his native +island to gain independence. + +One of our pictures would show us Napoleon, a timid boy in the military +school at Brienne, where his father had secured a place for him by +showing he was of noble descent. The boy works hard at his tasks, his +teachers commend his industry, while calling him reserved and obstinate. + +The young Napoleon is not happy in the society of his one hundred and +twenty fellow-pupils, who, like himself, are supported by the Government +at Brienne. They are largely the sons of poor nobles--vain and +indolent--and they love to tease the timid boy. + +"I am tired of poverty and the jeers of insolent scholars. If fortune +refuses to smile upon me, take me from Brienne, and make me if you will +a mechanic." In spite of this letter, the father wisely keeps the little +boy at Brienne, and gradually he makes friends, especially among the +teachers. + +"I have seen a spark here which cannot be too carefully cultivated," +writes the aged Chevalier de Keralio, an inspector of the school, who is +anxious to have Napoleon sent to the military school at Paris. + +Our pictures are now painted in somewhat brighter colors. + +For although at Paris the young Napoleon is not perfectly contented, he +knows that he is on the way to a modest independence. He is surrounded +by foolish young men with whose extravagance he cannot keep up. But only +his sympathetic sister Elizabeth at St. Cyr hears him complain of the +difficulties that beset him. + +Napoleon is naturally happier when at the early age of sixteen he finds +himself a second lieutenant in the army. He rejoices at the prospect of +helping his family out of his meagre income of less than two hundred and +fifty dollars a year. But his responsibility is suddenly increased when +Charles Bonaparte, his father, dies. The family is worse off than +before, and when Joseph cannot straighten out their tangled affairs, +Napoleon decides to undertake the task. + +After eight years of absence we see Napoleon on leave from his regiment, +returning to Corsica. He has hard work before him. There are four little +children under nine, Louis, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome, at home with +their widowed mother. There are two, Lucien and Elizabeth, away at +school. Only Joseph and Napoleon are on their feet, and on Napoleon, the +stronger character, falls the brunt of the burden. + +When the young lieutenant goes back to the army he takes Louis with him. +He tutors him in mathematics, he shares his all with him. He deprives +himself of many things really necessary to his position in order to help +his family. + +"I breakfast on dry bread," he writes. He stints himself for his family, +he stints himself still further to have a little money for the books +that he needs. + +The claims of the family are pressing. Again Napoleon has leave of +absence. In Corsica he tries in vain to get something for his mother +from what is left of their property,--from salt works, from a mulberry +plantation belonging to the estate. + +It is five or six years since the death of Charles Bonaparte. Napoleon +has been away from his post too long. In 1792, after an absence from his +regiment of fifteen months, he loses his place in the army. + +The picture now before us is a dark one. The young man is discouraged. +Hardly knowing where to turn, he drifts toward Paris. + +For two or three years he has been uncertain which side to take in the +Revolution on which France is entering. Many things incline him toward +the King's party. He is in Paris on that memorable June 10 when the King +is deposed. He sees the terrible events of the 10th of August. While he +sympathizes with the King, he perceives that the great question is one +of the nation rather than the individual. + +Intelligent young men are greatly needed in the army. Napoleon's ability +is known. He receives a captain's commission, signed by the King, though +really given by the Revolutionary Government. Soon he is at Toulon, +where, by acting on his advice, the French drive the English from the +harbor in December, 1793. + +The young man's prospects are brightening. There are only a few shadows +on the picture. A revolution in Corsica drives his family to France, and +while he feels his responsibility, Napoleon cannot yet do much for them. + +Napoleon's talents impress all who come in contact with him. The time +approaches when he is to reap the reward for all his years of patient +study. Young Robespierre calls attention to his transcendent merit. +Though he is not a Terrorist, he has many friends in the party, and +after the fall of Robespierre the young Corsican spends nearly a +fortnight in prison. Once more he loses his place in the army, in which +he has been commissioned General. Discouraged, with nothing to do in +Paris, he thinks of accepting an office from the Sultan. But Fortune is +soon to favor him again. Not so very long after his release from prison +we gaze on a thrilling scene. It is the 13th Vendemiaire, year III, or +October 15, 1795. The Directory under which the Government of France is +now carried on has to face a revolt of the people and the National +Guard. General Barras, who had observed Napoleon's great ability at +Toulon, summons the young officer to help the Directory. Napoleon orders +the artillery to sweep the Sections. + +By this use of cannon, with fearful slaughter, the smaller force of the +Government conquers the uprising. Next day Napoleon is mentioned by the +Commander-in-Chief for his distinguished services, and shortly he +becomes General-in-Chief of the Army of the Interior. + +Picture after picture passes quickly before us, and always Napoleon is +in the foreground. We see him now for the first time really enjoying +society. The brusque and rather timid young officer is lionized in the +drawing-room of Madame Tallien. There he meets the beautiful Josephine, +widow of Alexandre de Beauharnais, and soon asks her to marry him. + +It is said that Napoleon first became interested in Josephine through +her sending her son Eugene to ask him to secure for him the sword of his +father who had been put to death during the Reign of Terror. But whether +the story is true or not, certainly Napoleon always has the greatest +affection for Eugene and his sister Hortense. Napoleon's family are now +in Paris. They share equally in the prosperity that has come to him. He +lavishes on his mother all that she will accept. It pains him that +neither she nor his brothers and sisters are pleased with his marriage. + +Two days after the wedding, Napoleon leaves Josephine to cross the +Apennines as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. We see the +Italians running before those whom they had contemptuously called the +"rag heroes." The French win victory after victory. Arcola, Lodi, +Milan--eighteen pitched battles, forty-seven smaller engagements. +Everywhere Napoleon is the idol, not only of his own soldiers, but of a +large number of Italians, who hope through him to gain political +liberty. + +When, after the Treaty of Campo Formio, Napoleon returns to Paris in +December, 1797, France is at his feet, rejoicing in the glory that comes +to her through victories, rejoicing in the treasures of art that the +young conqueror had brought back to adorn the Paris museums. + +The scene changes--Napoleon is setting out for Egypt. He hopes to weaken +England by attacking her power in the East. He hopes to strengthen +himself in the eyes of the French by winning new victories. For idolized +though he is by the French people, he realizes their fickleness, and he +knows that the Directory is jealous of him. This expedition has not the +brilliancy of the Italian campaign. He does not succeed in disabling the +British, the French fleet meets fearful disaster. On land the French +army suffers terribly from pestilence. But Napoleon has many scientific +men with him on this expedition, and science gains greatly by this +Egyptian campaign. Then by chance he learns that there is the utmost +political discontent in France. Almost secretly he sails away from +Egypt. We see him in Paris by the middle of October, 1799. His enemies +are astonished. But Napoleon's hour has come. The famous _coup d'etat_ +follows, and in less than two months after his return from Egypt, +Napoleon has become temporary Dictator of France. His title is First +Consul, but many shake their heads and murmur that Napoleon, instead of +serving the term prescribed by law, means to make himself Consul for +life. + +Yet whatever Napoleon's ambitions may be, it is clear that France needs +a strong man at the head of the Government. Then as we observe the clear +eye and firm bearing of the young Corsican, it is evident that no one +abler than he can be found to direct the work of upbuilding the country. + +Our picture of France shows no longer a scene of confusion, of chaos, +although much must be done before the Republic can hold her own--except +in war--with other great nations. + +Napoleon is tired of war, but those Powers to whom he suggests peace are +not ready to accept his overtures. They are more willing to listen to +him after his Austrian campaign, when Marengo and Luneville are added to +the French victories. + +The Peace of Amiens gives Europe a breathing spell--for no one believes +that this peace will last forever. + +Perhaps among all our pictures of Napoleon there is hardly one more +pleasing than this of his First Consulate, when we see him walking among +his gorgeously attired officers, noticeable for the simplicity of his +attire. For in spite of the example of extravagant dress set by others, +he is content with the plain uniform of a colonel of grenadiers or of +the light infantry. + +"His address is the finest I have ever seen," writes one who meets him +at this time, "and said by those who have travelled to exceed not only +every Prince and Potentate now in being, but even all those whose memory +has come down to us.... While he speaks, his features are still more +expressive than his words." + +This is the Napoleon whom Betsy knew--this man whose simple, pleasing +manners drew every one to him--every one at least whom he wished to +attract. Had he cared to make the effort he might even have won Sir +Hudson Lowe. + +For in those earlier days, before his downfall, many an Englishman, with +a deeply rooted prejudice against Napoleon, on visiting Paris, like the +writer of the above, found his prejudices melt away like snow in summer. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE LAST PICTURES + + +Our pictures change little as they show the next stage of Napoleon's +progress. For when in the summer of 1801 he is made Consul for life, he +appears still to be the same ardent lover of liberty that he was when he +became First Consul. He is still the idol of the French people--as well +he may be--for what ruler has ever done so much for them? When once +things are in his own hands he codifies the laws, gives security to all +forms of religion, and organizes the educational system of France. He +does everything possible for the rebuilding of the state. He regulates +taxes, that the burden may fall equitably on all classes. He helps +manufactures of every kind. He proves himself a masterly road-builder. +He establishes museums, and orders the construction of great public +buildings. In peace he seems to be greater even than he has shown +himself in war. He encourages literature, art, and music, and makes +Paris so beautiful that its citizens are justified in their pride. + +He surrounds himself with capable men. In no way does he more clearly +show his own superiority than by letting it be seen that he is free from +jealousy. He is always ready to reward publicly those who help him in +any of his undertakings. Not all Napoleon's plans are carried out during +his Consulship, but they are begun with such vigor that no one doubts +that they will be completed. The country is the better for his firm +hand. Yet in some ways we admired him more in his earlier years. His +ambition now casts a shadow that should warn him that the middle way is +the best. + +In one way at least Napoleon's ambitions do not get the better of him. +As he advances in power he does not forget old friends. They share his +prosperity, these schoolmates and associates of his earlier years. They +are given honors that some of them find it hard to wear gracefully. + +"Here we are at the Tuileries," he exclaims to an old friend, when made +Consul for life. "We must remain here." + +In the short breathing spell made possible by the Peace of Amiens, +France accomplishes more in all directions than the other countries of +Europe. Yet those whose sight is clearest may, perhaps, see a cloud +likely to deepen and blur the picture. Does it come from England, now +making great efforts to gather her strength for a long contest? Or does +the growing ambition of Napoleon mean the overthrow of the very things +he is working for? + +Though the gorgeous spectacle of the Imperial Coronation in the great +Cathedral has seldom been surpassed, we incline to turn away from it. It +had been better for Napoleon to remain First Consul rather than to make +himself Emperor. His plain gray suit became him better than this +trailing cloak of purple velvet embroidered in gold and trimmed with +ermine. We recognize the golden bees, and the insignia of the Legion of +Honor, but the diamond collar and the great Pitt diamond blazing in the +pommel of his sword seem unsuited to the young Corsican who once +delighted in simplicity. The laurel wreath that he first wears suits him +better than the Imperial crown that he takes from the hands of the Pope +and places on his own head. But the Pope has anointed him, and Napoleon +is now Emperor of that shadowy Holy Roman Empire, for which in the past +rivers of blood have been shed. + +Is Napoleon really happier now than when he roamed, a fearless boy, over +the rough hills of Corsica? Is Josephine as contented wearing the crown +of an Empress as she was wandering light-hearted in the forests of +Martinique? Josephine is indeed fond of jewels and beautiful clothes, +and nothing could be more splendid than her coronation robe of white +satin and silver and gold, with its ornaments of pearls and diamonds. +But Josephine has a long memory. She often recalls the poverty of her +childhood, of her early married life. When Empress she tells one of the +ladies in attendance on her that no present ever made her happier than a +pair of shoes given her for Hortense, her little daughter, who otherwise +would have had to go barefoot part of her voyage from Martinique to +France. + +Josephine is a sensible woman. She is not ashamed of her early poverty. +Like Napoleon she had suffered during the Revolution and had even for a +time been thrown into prison. Like Napoleon she, too, had sometimes not +known when she should get her next meal. She had even had to borrow +money to pay her rent. She had suffered everything, when the execution +of her first husband, Alexandre de Beauharnais, during the Reign of +Terror, had left her and her two children destitute. + +All the circumstances of her past life may not have flashed before +Josephine's mind at the moment of the Coronation. Yet it is not +improbable that wearing the crown and realizing the responsibilities of +her new position, she may have sighed for a day of freedom from care, +such as she had known in Martinique. + +On that December day in 1805 when Napoleon puts on the Imperial crown +more than three years have passed since England signed the short-lived +Peace of Amiens. The war that is now renewed between France and England +is to continue until Waterloo. As Emperor, however, Napoleon seems to be +master of Europe. All the European courts, except England, Russia, and +Sweden, acknowledge his new title. + +So we turn to a new picture. It is the eve of Austerlitz. Napoleon walks +among the soldiers, who are resting in camp, awaiting the struggle. When +his men recognize him, they surround him, they rush ahead of him, +holding aloft long poles on which are fastened burning wisps of straw. + +"It is the anniversary of the Coronation," they shout as they light his +way. The next day when they measure their strength with Russia and +Austria, the soldiers of the Empire are victorious. Another scene now +stands out vividly. Alexander of Russia is coming to meet Napoleon. At +Tilsit on a raft in the river Niemen the two Emperors greet each other +with a kiss. + +"I hate the English as much as you," cries the impulsive Alexander. "I +will be your second in all that you do against them." + +The next day we see the King of Prussia arriving half-heartedly at +Tilsit. Friedland has done its work, and for the time Prussia is +humbled. + +Brilliant though the panorama of Napoleon's life is after Tilsit, we +view with wonder rather than approval the striking pictures as they +present themselves one by one. We observe the wild enthusiasm of the +French people for their Emperor after Ulm and Austerlitz and +Hohenlinden. Even the battle of Trafalgar--a victory for England--does +not dampen their ardor. But Napoleon himself grows careful, and tries to +keep from the army the news of his loss on the sea. + +Prussia is humbled, Austria wishes to make terms, Napoleon has some +successes in Spain, and he hopes to injure England. Though we may not +discover this at first, his interference in the affairs of Spain hastens +the Emperor's downfall. Although he succeeds in having his brother +Joseph made King of Spain, he cannot keep him on the throne. + +His ambition increases. His family try to persuade him to divorce +Josephine, that he may strengthen himself by a second marriage with some +royal princess. + +We look at the family group of the Bonapartes. With Napoleon at the +height of his power, we count the titles. + +Joseph, at first King of Naples, is King of Spain; Louis, King of +Holland; Jerome, King of Westphalia; Lucien, a Prince of the Empire, +later repudiates the title; Eliza, Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Pauline, +Princess Borghese; and Caroline is Queen of Naples; Josephine's +daughter, Hortense, is Queen of Holland; and Eugene, her son, is a +Prince. Old Madame Bonaparte, the devoted mother, is not sure that the +glory of the family will last forever. Of the treasures lavished on her +by Napoleon, she puts aside a portion that may be of service when the +possible rainy day comes. + +Josephine is the idol of the French people. But Bonaparte ambition +extends even to them. In these uncertain days France might be stronger +if its Emperor were free to marry into a Royal family. + +We note Josephine's anxiety as she studies Napoleon. But she sees no +change in his love for her children. Eugene is his adopted heir. +Hortense is married to Napoleon's brother Louis. Josephine hopes that +those who advise the Royal Alliance may not prevail. Her tears are +useless, and when Napoleon decides she has to yield. + +The first of April, 1810, less than five years from the date of the +Coronation, Napoleon is the centre of another brilliant ceremony. This +is the day of his marriage with Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of +Austria. A year later fickle Paris is in a state of feverish excitement +over the birth of the King of Rome. Napoleon, rejoicing in his little +son, seems at the height of his power. + +Looking at Napoleon now, we must admit that he has become an autocrat. +Yet he is not a despot in the ordinary sense. Though he may like power +in itself, for what it brings to him, he cares still for the prosperity +of France. The country needs his strong guidance. Outside of France he +has enemies on all sides. While he does not admit it, things are against +him in Spain; and then, as if losing his head, he decides to march into +Russia. The Emperor of Russia is now his bitter enemy. The kiss of +Tilsit was soon wiped away. + +If we could, we would close our eyes to the next terrible scene. Before +us marches the best of the young manhood of France--hundreds of +thousands of men--to a certain death. Here is the greatest army of the +time, and at Borodino we see "the bloodiest fight of the century." For +the French the victory is almost worse than a defeat, since they are +thus beguiled farther into Russia. No one can paint adequately the +horrors of that bitter campaign. Of the hundreds of thousands who had +crossed the Niemen a few months earlier, only twenty thousand +frost-bitten spectres stagger again over the bridge in the middle of +December. + +Napoleon's thoughts are gloomy enough as he rides desperately back to +France, leaving his fragment of an army in charge of Murat. No one +envies him now, with the world against him. Soon he hears that Joseph +has been driven from Spain. Already he feels the strength of the +coalition formed to overthrow him. Does he realize that Austria is no +longer his friend--that Prussia is ready to fall upon him? All Germany +is waking to new life, and to a great extent its energy is the result of +the teachings of Napoleon himself. We see him struggling to hold his +own, unwilling to admit that he has lost anything. There is likely to be +discontent in France. The flower of French youth has gone with the army, +and there are hardly men enough to till the ground. We glance hastily at +the passing pictures. The victory at Dresden is more than balanced by +the disasters at Kulm and Leipzig. The campaign of 1813 is fatal to +Napoleon, who still trusts to his star. + +So we pass on to the last scenes of the panorama. + +It is a Sunday in January, 1814. Napoleon is in Paris, intending in a +few days to go to the front. He and the Empress are holding a reception +at the Tuileries, and there is a brilliant throng in the great salon. +All eyes are on the Emperor and Empress as they enter the apartment. +Napoleon holds by the hand a fair-haired boy of three, the little King +of Rome. The child wears the uniform of the National Guard of Paris. +Courtiers, crowding around the group, bow and smile. But as he scans +their faces with his keen eye, Napoleon reads who are his enemies, who +his friends. There are many officers of the National Guard present, and +it is to them perhaps that the Emperor especially addresses himself. + +"Gentlemen," he cries, "I am about to set out for the army. I intrust to +you what I hold dearest in the world--my wife and my son." + +Although those present do not dream that the end of Napoleon's reign is +so near, they show great emotion. Tears fall and sobs are heard on all +sides as his appeal reaches their hearts. Many of those present at the +Tuileries this afternoon--even those nearest him--will never see +Napoleon again. + +In less than two days the Emperor bids his last farewell to Maria Louisa +and their little son. The Empress is to be Regent during his absence. +Joseph is appointed Lieutenant of France. + +Then we look on the sad picture of Napoleon's last campaign, when he +meets his match in the dogged Blucher. Before the end of February, +Napoleon has to admit that he is conquered. He accepts the terms made by +the Allies. They give him the island of Elba for a time, with money +enough to keep up a certain small grandeur. Pensions are provided for +Maria Louisa and the King of Rome, and even for the other Bonapartes. + +It is a curious spectacle--Napoleon amusing himself with Elba, as if it +were a big toy. One day he increases his standing army, the next he +annexes a neighboring island. His mother and some of his family are with +him, but Maria Louisa has returned to her father with the little King of +Rome. + +But Napoleon and his friends have been making their plans, and we are +dazzled, as the world was then, by his rapid march across France, by the +demonstrations of his soldiers and the vigor of the short, sharp +campaign and the greatness of Wellington's victory. Yet Quatre Bras and +Waterloo are soon overshadowed by the rock of St. Helena. + +Betsy Balcombe, Napoleon's young neighbor, well knew the story of +Napoleon. She could see as plainly as we can to-day the pictures +revealed in the panorama of his life. Perhaps she stood too near him, +perhaps she was too young to draw the lesson that we of to-day draw from +his meteoric career. Perhaps her sympathy for him in all that he had to +bear at St. Helena blinded her to the fact that he was himself to a +certain extent to blame for his own downfall. He reached too far, his +ambition was too great. As First Consul, depending on the votes of the +people, he might have been stronger than he was as Emperor. The good +that he did France was fairly balanced by the fearful loss of life in +his long wars. + +Napoleon's one thought was to carry out his own plans without counting +the cost in men. Yet putting aside the question of the vast loss of life +in his wars and the sorrow that resulted, we may see that his career was +not wholly bad for Europe. + +Although ambition and selfishness may have prompted much that he did, he +really wished to promote the welfare of France. To-day that country is +farther ahead than would have been possible but for Napoleon. Many of +the institutions that have most advanced her originated with the First +Emperor. Other countries besides France benefited by Napoleon's energy. +He showed several of them how to realize their ideals of independence. + +It is true that the constitutions he gave to various states of +Europe--as well as to France--after his downfall were for a time +cancelled. Still, in the end, his ideas prevailed, and except for +Napoleon not only a French Republic would have been slower in +establishing itself, but also a free Italy, and even a United Germany +might have arrived less quickly. + +The sadness of Napoleon's last years modified the judgments of many who +had been his bitter enemies. His personal charm made those who knew him +forget the general selfishness of his whole career. Yet in weighing all +that can be said for and against him, it would be unfair to have the +balance against him. That Napoleon whom Betsy Balcombe knew at The +Briars--fun-loving and considerate of those about him--was as truly +Napoleon as the man before whom many had trembled--whom his enemies had +so criticised--to look at him as his young neighbor looked at him is to +understand a little the secret of his influence. + + +THE END. + + + + +HELEN LEAH REED'S "BRENDA" BOOKS + + + The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls + of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and + wholesome.--_The Outlook, New York._ + + Miss Reed's girls have all the impulses and likes of real girls + as their characters are developing, and her record of their + thoughts and actions reads like a chapter snatched from the + page of life.--_Boston Herald._ + +BRENDA, HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB + +Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. + + One of the most natural books for girls. It is a careful study + of schoolgirl life in a large city, somewhat unique in its + way.--_Minneapolis Journal._ + +BRENDA'S SUMMER AT ROCKLEY + +Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith. + + It is a wholesome book, telling of a merry and healthy + vacation.--_Dial_, Chicago. + +BRENDA'S COUSIN AT RADCLIFFE + +_A College Story for Girls_ + +Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. + + No better college story has been written.--_Providence News._ + + Miss Reed is herself a Radcliffe woman, and she has made a + sympathetic and accurate study of the woman's college at + Cambridge.--_Chicago Evening Post._ + + The author is one of the best equipped of our writers for girls + of larger growth. Her stories are strong, intelligent, and + wholesome.--_The Outlook_, N. Y. + + The book has the background of old Cambridge, a little of + Harvard, and Boston in the distance.... The heroine is a fine + girl, and the other characters are girls of many varieties and + from many places.--_New York Commercial Advertiser._ + + She brings out all sides of the life, and, while making much of + the fun and good fellowship, does not let it be forgotten that + work and growth are the end and object of it all.--_Chicago + Tribune._ + + +BRENDA'S BARGAIN + +Illustrated by Ellen Bernard Thompson. + + The story deals with social settlement work, under conditions + with which the author is familiar.--_The Bookman_, New York. + + +AMY IN ACADIA + +Illustrated by Katherine Pyle. + + A splendid tale for girls, carefully written, interesting and + full of information concerning the romantic region made famous + by the vicissitudes of Evangeline.--_Toronto Globe._ + + +BRENDA'S WARD + +Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. + + The story details the experience of a Chicago girl at school in + Boston, and very absorbing those experiences are--full of + action and diversity.--_Chicago Post._ + + Pictures a Western girl's school life in Boston, and the story + is told with spirit and fine sentiment.... The girls whose + lives are told of are merry and of wholesome + temperament.--_Portland_ (Ore.) _Oregonian_. + + The story is full of seeing, doing, enjoying, and + accomplishing.--_Kansas City Star._ + + The tale throughout is sweet and wholesome.... The character + sketching is consistent and firm, and the dialogue + natural.--_Boston Transcript._ + + The young Western girl who enters Brenda's life is sweet and + charming, and will appeal to all.--_Philadelphia Ledger._ + + The characters are all brimful of wholesome human interest with + Brenda as a paramount attraction.--_Pittsburg Bulletin._ + + A new Brenda book is always sure of a welcome.... Of all the + stories for girls these books rank among the best. The movement + of these narratives is rapid, there is an abundance of natural + and entertaining incident, and the characters are sharply drawn + and developed with masterly skill and rare powers of + sympathetic analysis.--_Kennebec_ (Me.) _Journal_. + + * * * * * + +IRMA AND NAP + +_A Story for Younger Girls_ + +Illustrated by Clara E. Atwood. + + A brightly written story about children from eleven to thirteen + years of age, who live in a suburban town, and attend a public + grammar school. The book is full of incident of school and home + life. + + The story deals with real life, and is told in the simple and + natural style which characterized Miss Reed's popular "Brenda" + stories.--_Washington Post._ + + There are little people in this sweetly written story with whom + all will feel at once that they have been long acquainted, so + real do they seem, as well as their plans, their play, and + their school and home and everyday life.--_Boston Courier._ + + Her children are real; her style also is natural and + pleasing.--_The Outlook_, New York. + + Miss Reed's children are perfectly natural and act as real + girls would under the same circumstances. Nap is a lively + little dog, who takes an important part in the development of + the story.--_Christian Register_, Boston. + + A clever story, not a bit preachy, but with much influence for + right living in evidence throughout.--_Chicago Evening Post._ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Napoleon's Young Neighbor, by Helen Leah Reed + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S YOUNG NEIGHBOR *** + +***** This file should be named 35037.txt or 35037.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/0/3/35037/ + +Produced by Heather Clark, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +book was produced from scanned images of public domain +material from the Google Print project.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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