t//)e 
 
 HOYT COLLECTION 
 
 OF FRENCH HISTORY 
 
 PRESENTED TO 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA LIBRARY 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HOYT 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2019 with funding from 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 https://archive.org/details/expositionofsomeOOomea 
 
MR. O’MEARA’S 
 
 EXPOSITION OF THE TRANSACTIONS, 
 
 THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE 
 
 AT ST. HELENA, 
 
 SUBSEQUENT TO 
 
 THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR HUDSON LOWE. 
 

 
 / 
 
 
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 A 
 
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 . 
 
 » 
 
 ♦ 
 
 CHARLES WOOD, Printer, 
 Foppin’s Court, Fleet Street, London. 
 
 \ 
 
aN 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 OF SOME OF 
 
 THE TRANSACTIONS, THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE 
 
 AT 
 
 ST. HELENA, 
 
 SINCE 
 
 s • 
 
 THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR HUDSON LOWE 
 
 AS GOVERNOR OF THAT ISLAND ; 
 
 IN 
 
 ANSWER TO AN ANONYMOUS PAMPHLET, 
 
 \ 
 
 ENTITLED, 
 
 FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE TREATMENT 
 OF NAPOLEON BON A PART E,” &C. 
 
 CORROBORATED BY 
 
 VARIOUS OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, CORRESPONDENCE, &c. 
 
 BY BARRY E. O’MEARA, 
 
 LATE SURGEON TO NAPOLEON. 
 
 *cronJj (saition. 
 
 “ Some build rather upon the abusing of others, and (as we now say) 
 putting tricks upon them, than upon the soundness of their own proceedings. ’ 
 
 Lord Bacon’s Essays. 
 
 “ I will be hang’d, if some eternal villain, 
 
 Some busy and insinuating rogue, 
 
 Some cogging cozening slave, to get some office, 
 
 Have not devis’d this slander! ” 
 
 Othello, Act iv. Scene ii. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOll JAMES RIDGW AY, PICCADILL Y. 
 
 MDCCCXIX, 
 

 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface. .......xv 
 
 Object of the present Publication, viz. by a true statement of 
 certain transactions in St. Helena, since Sir Hudson 
 Loive’s appointment there as Governor, to repel the calum¬ 
 nies and expose the falsehoods contained in the " Facts 
 illustrative of the Treatment of Napoleon Bonaparte,’* 
 fyc .....*......;. . | 
 
 Refutation of the statement given in the “ Facts,” relative 
 
 to the “ animal treatment” of Napoleon. .».♦*. .i.n 8 
 
 ' 1 \ I 
 
 List of Napoleon’s household.... a. .. 4 ..* 10 
 
 Supplies allowed for the Establishment at Longwood by Sir 
 
 Hudson Lowe, from October, 1816, to June, 1817.... i 12 
 
 Statement of the extta expenditure of the French at Long- 
 wood for provisions, in consequence of the insufficiency of 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's allowance ..a,, a ... l-l* 
 
 Extract from an official communication transmitted by the 
 Author to the Secretary of the Admiralty, on the in¬ 
 sufficiency of the Supplies allowed for Longwood .* 15 
 
 Observation of Napoleon on Lord Bathurst’s Speech in the 
 
 House of Lords, on the 18 th of May, 1817. 20 
 
 Paltry cletails entered into by Sir Hudson Lowe respecting 
 
 the expenditure at Longwood ...... 21 
 
 a 3 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Falsehood of the account, contained in the “Facts,” re¬ 
 specting the fertility and climate of Longwood, and the 
 limits allowed to Bonaparte for exercise ..... 23 
 
 I he insulting conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe the true reason 
 for Bonaparte confining himself within the house .. 26 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe's menaces the cause of the clandestine 
 correspondence carried on by the French at Long- 
 wood . 28 
 
 An exposure of the fabrications of the author of the 
 
 “ Facts” relative to the “ garden ' of Longwood .. 30 
 
 Mis-statement in the “ Facts,” as to the posting of sentinels 
 
 within sight of Longwood.. .. 34 
 
 True statement respecting the practice of sighting Napo¬ 
 leon ... 36 
 
 Exposure of the system pursued respecting the supply of 
 
 newspapers to Longwood . 36 
 
 Impartiality of abuse exhibited by the author of the “ Facts” 38 
 
 His slanderous insinuations against Sir Robert Wilson . 39 
 
 Whimsical reason given by the author of the “ Facts,” for 
 supposing Bonaparte to be in health; with a correct 
 statement of the progress of his disorder . 40 
 
 Alarming state of Bonaparte's health in July, 1817, with 
 the official letter written by the Author on that subject 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe . 42 
 
 Remarks on the climate of St. Helena, and its deleterious 
 
 effects on our troops stationed there...., ... 45 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 » • 
 VII 
 
 Page 
 
 any of. his patients ...... 53 
 
 Defence of Napoleon against the moralists, who regret that 
 
 he will not commit suicide . 55 
 
 \ 
 
 Fictitious views of Longwood ivith which the “ Facts” 
 
 are embellished . 57 
 
 An instance of Sir Hudson Lowe's civility, as stated by the 
 
 author of the “ Facts,” explained . 59 
 
 Folly of the charge brought against Count Montholon and 
 the other followers of Napoleon by the author of the 
 “ Facts'” . 63 
 
 Deliberate falsehood of the author of the “ Facts,” respect¬ 
 ing the burning of Bonaparte's manuscripts . 64 - 
 
 Scandals of the author of the “ Facts” relating to Countesses 
 
 Bertrand and Montholon . 65 
 
 Statement of income and expenditure at Longwood, in an¬ 
 swer to the slanders contained in the <( Facts ” ... 66 
 
 Shameful conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe, in delaying the dis¬ 
 counting of the French bills . 69 
 
 Other mis-statements of the author of the “ Facts ” con ected 7 1 
 
 Remarks on the refusal of Bonaparte to recognise the Com¬ 
 missioners of the Allied Powers . 7 3 
 
 Conduct of Lieutenant Colonel Lyster towards the author, 
 
 and his subsequent attack on Count Bertrand . < 5 
 
 Letter from the Author to Lieutenant Colonel Lyster t 
 respecting the unwarrantable conduct oj the tatter . 
 
via 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Reply of Lieutenant Colonel Lyster, in answer to the fore- 
 going . 
 
 The Author s answer to the Lieutenant Colonel, with the 
 prudent determination of the latter .. 80 
 
 Protest of Count Bertrand against false reports of Lieu - 
 
 tenant Colonel Lyster, 4'c.... 82 
 
 Letter of Lieutenant Colonel Lyster to Count Ber- 
 
 trand ... 86 
 
 Letter from Count Bertrand to Sir Hudson Lowe, respect¬ 
 ing Lieutenant Colonel Lyster ... 87 
 
 Letter front Sir Hudson Lowe to Count Bertrand, an¬ 
 nouncing the removal of Lieutenant Colonel Lyster from 
 Longwood .. 88 
 
 Examination of the conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe, in for¬ 
 bidding the English officers to speak to Count Bertrand, 
 on the ground of the latter having refused to accept a 
 challenge .... 90 
 
 Attempt of the author of the “ Facts'* to vilify Madame 
 Bertrand ........ 
 
 Other instances of veracity contained in that work . 
 
 Attack made in the " Facts** on the Author of this work; 
 
 with an answer to his calumnies .. 95 
 
 Sketch of the Life of the Author, as a reply to the slan¬ 
 ders of the author of the “ Facts'* .. 96 
 
 Recommendatory testimony to the character of the Author 
 from Mr. Green, inspector of army hospitals in the West 
 Indies, and from Sir John Talbot, K.C.B. ... 101 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 IX 
 
 Page 
 
 Similar testimony from Captain Maitland, of the Belle - 
 
 rophon .... 102 
 
 Infamous attempt of the author of the “ Facts’* to represent 
 
 the Author as a partisan of tlte French Government . 104 
 
 Defence of the Author against the serious charge of 
 
 being intimate with Mr. Lewis Solomon ... 105 
 
 History of the snuff box purchased for Mr. Boys, with an 
 
 exposure of Mr. Vernon’s conduct on that occasion . 107 
 
 Extract of a letter from Mr. Holmes to Mr. Goulbourn, 
 explanatory of his conduct as agent in London for 
 the Author; and exposing the unwarrantable practices 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe with respect to the Author’s cor¬ 
 respondence . 113 
 
 Explanation of the circimstances relating to the letter ad¬ 
 dressed “ James Forbes, Esq.” .113 
 
 True history of the bulletins respecting Bonaparte’s health ; 
 with the practices of Sir Hudson Lowe relating to that 
 subject . 120 
 
 Answer to the statement in the “ Facts,” relating to visitors 
 at Longwood; with some instances of the hypocritical 
 pretences of those who have the charge of Napoleon . 124 
 
 Remarks on the amiable character given by the author of 
 
 the “ Facts” to Sir Hudson Lowe .... 128 
 
 Misrepresentation of the conduct of Bonaparte, contained 
 
 in the “ Facts,” and a true statement of the case . 130 
 
 Falsehood of that author’s assertion, respecting the desire 
 
 expressed for the residence of a priest at Longwood .. 132 
 
 / 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Farther misrepresentations in that work respecting the cli¬ 
 mate of St. Helena .*... 133 
 
 Enormous expense of provisions at St. Helena . 137 
 
 Costs of our establishment at St. Helena, in answer to the 
 remarks cantained in the ,f Facts,” on the beneficial con¬ 
 sequences arising from our holding that island.... .. 139* 
 
 Answer to the calumnies respecting the author of the Let¬ 
 ters from St. Helenafyc .. 141 
 
 Explanation of his assertion, respecting certain officers 
 
 visiting Longivood ..... 142 
 
 Falsehood of the statement in the “ Facts,” as to Bonaparte 
 
 abusing the English nation ..... 144 
 
 Remarks on the excellent character given by the author of 
 
 the ** Facts ” of his own book ....... 144 
 
 Instances of the capricious and annoying conduct pursued 
 towards Napoleon and his followers, and all those who 
 are inclined to treat them as human beings, in answer to 
 the statement on that subject in the “ Facts”. . 145 
 
 Oppressive conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe, with regard to 
 
 Mr. Hobhouse*s work upon France .. 14(3 
 
 Practices of the Governor and his agents on the importa¬ 
 tion of books and newspapers at St. Helena . 143 
 
 I 
 
 Other unwarrantable measures pursued by that officer for the 
 
 annoyance of Napoleon ... 150 
 
 Brutal conduct oj Sir Hudson Lowe towards Madame 
 
 Bertrand ......... 152 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Page 
 
 System carried on at St. Helena with regard to persons 
 
 convicted of treating the French with civility . 155 
 
 Duplicity of Sir Hudson Lowers conduct toivards Count de 
 Las Cases, on the departure of the latter from St. He¬ 
 lena ... 150 
 
 Description of the new house building for Napoleon .. 159 
 
 Unjust and oppressive conduct adopted by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe towards the Author, on his departure from St. He¬ 
 lena ... 160 
 
 Robbery of the Author s baggage, which had been taken 
 from the custody of his servants .... 163 
 
 Lettei' from the Author to Rear Admiral Vlampin , com¬ 
 plaining of the outrageous conduct pursued towards him 
 by the Governor . 16i 
 
 Reply of Rear Admiral Plampin to the foregoing . 166 
 
 Answer of the Author to the Rear Admiral, explanatory 
 
 Of his conduct .... 167 
 
 Letter from the Governor’s Secretary to the Author, 
 summoning him on shore ; with the oppressive conduct of 
 the Governor on that occasion . 16S*> 
 
 Determination of the Author to proceed at law against his 
 
 plunderers ... 170 
 
 Farther information respecting Bonaparte’s state of health 
 
 since the Author left Longwood . 17 l 
 
 Proposals made by Count Bertrand to Mr. Stokoe, with re¬ 
 gard to the latter becoming physician to Napoleon . 172 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 • • 
 
 Xll 
 
 Pagtf 
 
 Report by Mr. Stokoe to Count Bertrand on the state of 
 
 Bonaparte's health ................ 174 
 
 Second Report from the same on the same subject .......... 175 
 
 Third Report from the same on the same subject .......... 176 
 
 Fourth Report from the same on the same subject .... 178 
 
 Oppressive conduct pursued towards Mr. Stokoe, for fur¬ 
 nishing Count Bertrand with a written statement of Na¬ 
 poleon's health .*..... 179 
 
 Letter from Major Gorrequer to Captain Nichols , refusing 
 
 to suffer Mr. Stokoe*s residence at Longwood .. 180 
 
 Remarks on the observations made by the author of the 
 “ Facts concerning the “ Letters from Count de Las 
 Cases" . 182 
 
 Abuse by the the author of the “ Facts " on those who com¬ 
 plain of the oppressive syste?n carried on against Bona¬ 
 parte . 183 
 
 / 
 
 Lady Lowe's commiseration of the unfortunate situation of 
 
 Madame Bertrand . 186 
 
 Anxiety of Sir Hudson Lowe to abide by the strict letter of 
 his instructions, where they inculcate any thing like 
 severity . 188 
 
 A refutation of the imputation cast on Bonaparte by the 
 
 author of the C( Facts” . I^o 
 
 v 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 • • • 
 Xlll 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Page 
 
 No. I. Letter from Count Bertrand to the Author, with 
 
 Translation ...... 197 
 
 T V r 
 
 No. II. Letter from the Author to Count Bertrand, in 
 
 reply to the preceding ..................... 19S 
 
 No. III. Letter from the Author to Major Gorre - 
 
 quer... , t ..........,.* 199 
 
 No. IV. Letter and Report from the Author to Sir 
 
 Hudson Lowe ....... . . . ............, 199 
 
 No. V. Extract of a Letter from Major Gorrequer to 
 
 the Author,.,, .,.... 200 
 
 No. VI. Bulletin of Bonaparte 1 s health .. 202 
 
 No. VII. Bulletin of the same .... 202 
 
 No. VIII. Letter from the Author to Major Gorre- 
 
 ^uer..,,,......... 203 
 
 No. IX. Proclamation by Sir Hudson Lowe ... 20.5 
 
 No. X. Order to Mr. Weston, to superintend the removal 
 
 of the Author from St. Helena .... 209 
 
 No. XI. Letter from the Author to Mr. Brooke, the 
 
 Colonial Secretary ...... 208 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 No. XII. Deposition of John Wyatt, servant to the 
 Author . 
 
 Page 
 
 209 
 
 No. XIII. Original of the conditions proposed by the 
 
 French for the regulation of Mr, Stokoe's duty as physi¬ 
 cian to Napoleon..., . 213 
 
 No. XIV. Note from Count Montholon to Sir Hudson 
 
 Lowe. ...... 211 
 
 m 
 
 f 
 
\ 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 % 
 
 Since the publication of the First Edition, 
 
 ^ ¥ f • * , • • 
 
 I have been enabled to procure some addi¬ 
 tional intelligence of the state of Napoleon's 
 
 i 
 
 health to a very late period. Mr. Laroche, 
 an Englishman, and formerly cook to Lord 
 Amherst and to Sir Hudson Lowe, who 
 was also employed as such to Napoleon, 
 from July, 1818, until the 3d of March, 1819, 
 
 ♦ s * 
 
 arrived in London a few days past. Being 
 desirous of obtaining every authentic infor¬ 
 mation, I inquired of him the state of affairs 
 since my departure from Longwood, and 
 was informed, that Napoleon's complaint had 
 deteriorated considerably since Mr. Stokoe 
 
 had been compelled to abandon the treat- 
 
 b 
 
XVI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 ment of his patient; that his legs were 
 swelled, his appetite very deficient, and his 
 general appearance so much altered for the 
 worse, that, to use Mr. Laroche's own ex¬ 
 pression, 46 his countenance resembled that of a 
 dying person and the state of debility such, 
 that he was occasionally obliged to support 
 himself with a stick, when crossing his 
 apartment. Having requested some infor¬ 
 mation from him* concerning the quality of 
 the provisions, which had been supplied to the 
 French since my departure, he replied, that 
 the mutton was in general so bad, that a 
 week did not pass in which he had not been 
 obliged to send it back to the purveyor % 
 sometimes even for two and three days in 
 succession (after it had been inspected by 
 the orderly officer), rarely, however, re¬ 
 ceiving any of a better quality in return. 
 That the beef in general was extremely bad ; 
 and the poultry so lean and inferior in qua¬ 
 lity, that the maitre d'hotel, convinced by ex- 
 
 * The present purveyor was appointed by Sir Hudson 
 
 IvOwe, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xvii 
 
 perience of the inutility of making any re¬ 
 presentation or remonstrance to the Go¬ 
 vernor, had endeavoured to establish a little 
 stock yard at Longwood at the expense of 
 the French themselves. Mr. Laroche far¬ 
 ther states, that the bad quality of the meat, 
 vegetables, &c., supplied to Longwood, was 
 not occasioned by the impossibility of pro¬ 
 curing better in the island, but because the 
 Governor or his agents would not pay the 
 prices, which were demanded by the farmers, 
 for provisions of a quality equal in goodness 
 to such as he had seen supplied for the table 
 at Plantation House, when he was cook to 
 Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 By information received from him, it ap¬ 
 pears, that the disgraceful examination of the 
 ladies' apparel is still continued, as well as 
 the other inquisitorial proceedings described 
 in my Reply to the “ Facts." The new 
 house constructing for Napoleon is built in 
 a pit sunk fifteen feet deep in the earth , the root 
 of the house being barely elevated above the 
 side of the excavation, The pretext alleged 
 
Xviii PREFACE. 
 
 for this was, “ to shelter its inhabitants from 
 the bleak wind/’ He states, that it is situ¬ 
 ated about one hundred yards from the old 
 building, in a spot totally destitute of trees , 
 and devoid of water ! Mr. Laroche is now in 
 London; and those who are desirous of as¬ 
 certaining the authenticity of the details con¬ 
 tained in the work published by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe's apologist, may not find it difficult to 
 satisfy their curiosity. 
 
 London, 
 May 24, IS 19. 
 
AN 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 OF SOME OF 
 
 THE TRANSACTIONS, THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE 
 
 AT 
 
 ST.. HELENA, 
 
 8$c. 8$c. 
 
 WHILE occupied in preparing my Narrative and 
 Official Correspondence for the press, and looking 
 forward with impatient anxiety to that inquiry, 
 which can alone enable the British nation to de¬ 
 cide on the transactions at St. Helena, subsequent 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe’s appointment and arrival 
 there, a pamphlet has appeared, under the specious 
 title of “ Facts illustrative of the Treatment of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte in St. Helena , being the 
 Result of minute Inquiries and personal Research 
 in that Island.” As this production lays claim to 
 public attention, on the score of strict veracity, 
 while it is in reality made the vehicle of slander, 
 calumny, and misrepresentation, I have been in¬ 
 duced to suspend the publication of my larger 
 work, as much for the purpose of repelling the 
 
 B 
 
attack, which is made on my own character, as to 
 show the nation what degree of confidence ought 
 to be placed in statements, thus anonymously ob¬ 
 truded on its notice, without any other claims to 
 credibility, than those derived from plausible pro^ 
 fessions, and bold assertions, totally unsupported 
 by proofs. Although there is probably no country 
 in Europe whose credulity is more liable to be 
 imposed on than our own, yet it is consoling to 
 reflect, that none possesses a greater share of 
 public and private virtue, or is endowed wfith a 
 higher sense of truth and justice. Nothing but a 
 firm reliance on these distinguishing attributes of 
 the British people, could ever have persuaded me 
 to remain so long silent under the accumulated 
 weight of calumny and oppression, so unsparingly 
 heaped upon me since the period of my incur¬ 
 ring the displeasure of Sir Hudson Lowe, for 
 reasons, which will be fully stated in the work to 
 which I have alluded. 
 
 Perfectly aware of all those methods which 
 have been put in practice to pervert truth, and 
 deceive the public as to the real nature of the 
 St. Helena transactions, I am by no means sur¬ 
 prised at the appearance of this pamphlet, or at the 
 pains that have been taken to give so spurious a 
 bantling the features of legitimacy. Whatever 
 legal notice I may feel myself obliged to take 
 hereafter of some passages in the work, its publi¬ 
 cation has obliged me to embrace the opportunity 
 
3 
 
 it afforded of exposing falsehood, and answering 
 calumnies ; which, if privately circulated, might 
 perhaps have induced the less candid portion of 
 the community to condemn me unheard. It was 
 not enough, that, in addition to the grossest per¬ 
 sonal indignity experienced while endeavouring 
 conscientiously to discharge my duty at St. Helena, 
 I should on my arrival in England be ignomini- 
 ously deprived of rank, and erased from the list of 
 Naval Surgeons without the shadow of a trial; 
 hut the press, devoted to the interests of minis¬ 
 ters, must also unite to asperse me, recurring 
 to scurrility and detraction in their malignant 
 efforts, till the assassin’s last blow is attempted 
 to be struck in this anonymous pamphlet, wherein 
 I am indirectly accused of treason to the sove¬ 
 reign, whom I have faithfully served, and to that 
 country, which I shall ever revere, no matter by 
 whom it is governed. 
 
 It is essential, even in the present stage of the 
 transaction, to know, that no explanation has 
 been required from me, or opportunity allowed of 
 stating the grounds of my opinion, although more 
 than once requested; so far from it, that the 
 only notice taken of my representation to the 
 Admiralty has been one, which effectually pre¬ 
 cluded the possibility of my resorting to the or¬ 
 dinary mode of proving the truth of my as¬ 
 sertions. 
 
 In proceeding to comment on some of the most 
 
 n 2 / 
 
prominent allegations put forth in this publication, 
 and freely acknowledging that I have no preten¬ 
 tions to such wit and learning as the author of it so 
 profusely displays, much less his predilection for 
 the picturesque and poetical, I will not yield a 
 particle to him, in my just claims to the attention 
 of that public, whose credence he so confidently 
 anticipates; for although I have no prescriptive 
 right to make the reader believe in the following 
 statements, yet my name is not withheld ; and I 
 owe it no less to the interests of truth, than my 
 respect for public opinion, to engage, that if the 
 long sought for inquiry is ever granted, I am pre¬ 
 pared to substantiate them either at the bar of 
 Parliament, or before any other court of justice in 
 the kingdom. Having premised my assertions by 
 the foregoing declaration, it is left for the un¬ 
 biassed and impartial of every party to draw their 
 own conclusions, and decide between anonymous 
 calumny, and open representation. 
 
 As the situation in which 1 have been so unex¬ 
 pectedly placed may become that of any other 
 individual in the service, though arising from 
 different circumstances, and the treatment of Napo- 
 poleon Bonaparte is a subject upon which our 
 national character is, even by the admissions of 
 this writer, deeply involved, I shall make no apo¬ 
 logy for coming forward on the present occasion ; 
 nor is it necessary to cite any stronger motives, to 
 insure the reader’s attentive consideration. 
 
5 
 
 As my promised Narrative will contain a de¬ 
 tailed account of the principal occurrences at 
 St. Helena, up to the period of my departure, 
 followed by an extensive official correspondence 
 and other documents, it is unnecessarv to extend 
 my observations beyond what may be required to 
 contradict and refute the author of the pamphlet 
 in question, so that, should there be any apparent 
 ambiguity, or some points not sufficiently eluci¬ 
 dated in the present Reply, necessarily drawn up 
 with considerable haste, the public may rely on 
 full and satisfactory explanations being afforded 
 by a perusal of the Narrative, to which this is 
 merely a precursor. 
 
 Having opened his subject by informing the 
 
 i 
 
 reader, that a desire to afford his countrymen 
 some information on that “ which cannot fail to 
 be considered an highly interesting subject,” apo¬ 
 logizing for venturing to print, as if the reasons 
 assigned were not a sufficient excuse, the author 
 quaintly observes, u Affairs not c germane to the 
 matter/ and in themselves wholly unimportant and 
 uninteresting to the generality of readers, having 
 thrown me upon the island of St. Helena, I deter¬ 
 mined to appropriate the period of my stay in the 
 colony to a close investigation of the treatment of 
 that man, on whom for years the eyes of Europe 
 were fixed, as on a meteor.” 
 
 Thus, then, a writer, who sits down to give the 
 public information of “ an highly interesting na- 
 
6 
 
 \ 
 
 ture,” and who not only contradicts statements, that 
 have been frequently reiterated during the last 
 three years, but attempts to vilify all those who 
 differ in opinion with him, or have laboured to 
 obtain justice, begins by telling the reader, that 
 those affairs, which led to his being on the island, 
 are “ wholly unimportant and uninteresting to the 
 generality of readers.” There is something so 
 truly preposterous in this effort to make the source, 
 from whence important information, and the most 
 serious accusations proceed, a matter of total indif¬ 
 ference to the public, that I will not so far trifle 
 with the understanding of my reader, as to point 
 out its self-evident fallacy; nor should 1 have 
 noticed such an absurd proposition, but from its 
 tendency to prove the author’s anxiety to obtain 
 credit for assertions, which, he well knew, would 
 excite doubts and suspicion in the most superficial 
 reasoner. Without stopping to inquire who this 
 writer may be, I venture to predict, that, whenever 
 his name is made public, it will be found, that the 
 motive for concealing it originated in any thing 
 but the patriotism and public spirit, which he so 
 modestly arrogates to himself in the introductory 
 pages. Determined to obtain implicit belief, and 
 prodigal in professions, the second formidable ap¬ 
 peal to attention is thus expressed : “ In the foh 
 lowing communication, I claim one only merit— 
 veracity. It is to the correctness of my state¬ 
 ments I boldly pledge myself, and I defy any man 
 
7 
 
 BREATHING TO CHARGE ME, IN THE COURSE OF 
 
 THESE PAGES, WITH EQUIVOCATION, PERVERSION 
 
 ' % 
 
 OF FACT, OR MISREPRESENTATION OF CIRCUM¬ 
 STANCE:” after which striking passage, the para¬ 
 graph closes with the following modest climax. 
 (( I trust I shall deprecate the severity of criticism, 
 by the humility of my pretensions*.” How the 
 foregoing pledge has been redeemed, and what 
 right the author has to deprecate criticism, I shall 
 now proceed to show. 
 
 * It is evident, that the author has, throughout his work, had 
 no less a personage than Captain Lemuel Gulliver in view, 
 and> largely as he has borrowed from that celebrated traveller, 
 it is greatly to be regretted, that, instead of a paraphrase on 
 the declaration contained in the beginning of Lemuel’s 
 twelfth chapter, he had not favoured us with the original, 
 which I beg leave to insert for the information of those, who 
 have not the said work at hand. “ I have perused several 
 books of travels in my younger days; but having since gone 
 over most parts of the globe, and been able to contradict 
 many fabulous accounts from my own observation, it hath 
 given me a great disgust against this part of reading, and some 
 indignation, to see the credibility of mankind so impudently 
 abused. Therefore, since my acquaintance were pleased to 
 think my poor endeavours might not be unacceptable to my 
 country, I imposed on myself as a maxim, never to be swerved 
 from, that I would strictly adhere to truth ; neither, indeed, can I 
 be ever under the least temptation to vary from it, while 1 retain 
 in my mind the lectures and example of my noble master, and 
 the other illustrious Houyhnhnms, of whom I had so long the 
 honour to be an humble hearer.” Now as the “ facts” will 
 no doubt soon go into a Second Edition , would not the fore¬ 
 going passage form an excel lent/ourM motto for the title page? 
 
8 
 
 Having cursorily mentioned the titles of some 
 works, which appear to have stimulated him in 
 assuming the “ task of an inquisitor,” the first 
 philanthropic pursuit, in which our author en¬ 
 gages, is an inquiry into what he calls the “ ani¬ 
 mal treatment” of Napoleon, which includes the 
 quality and quantity of provisions furnished to the 
 Longwood establishment. His observation on this 
 subject is particularly worthy of remark. C£ I can 
 only say, that, from experience, having several days 
 partaken of beef, veal, and mutton, parts of the 
 animals forwarded for Bonaparte’s use, I do posi¬ 
 tively declare, that I never saw such excellent 
 meat any where out of Europe, and very seldom 
 tasted better in it.” 
 
 In reply to this I have merely to observe, that, 
 until the month of October 1817, the meat was in 
 general of a very bad quality. At that period 
 Sir Hud son Lowe ordered island bullocks to be 
 slaughtered for Longwood; previous to it, no 
 amelioration whatever had taken place, although 
 frequent representations of the badness of the pro¬ 
 visions were made, both by the orderly officer and 
 myself. The meat, which this writer boasts so 
 much of, might have been good at Plantation 
 House, where it appears he resided , as Sir Hudson 
 Lowe had cattle stall fed at the stock yard of 
 that mansion ; but I positively assert, that none 
 of such a quality as the author describes was ever 
 sent to Longwood, during my residence there. 
 

 Till the period above mentioned, the purveyor 
 had peremptory orders to supply Benguilla beef 
 (which cost three pence per lb.) to Long- 
 wood, while the market price of island beef was 
 eighteen pence. So far, indeed, had the rage 
 for economy been carried, after Sir Hudson Lowe's 
 arrival, that when the purveyor ventured to exceed, 
 to however trifling an amount, the sum of five shil¬ 
 lings and eight pence halfpenny daily allowed to 
 provide Napoleon’s table with fish, be was sure to 
 receive an official letter on the subject, demand¬ 
 ing his reasons, prohibiting a repetition of it, and 
 sometimes threatening to make him pay the over¬ 
 plus himself! 
 
 As to “ the abundance of beautiful pasture,” 
 which the author has been the first and only 
 person to discover in St. Helena, the assertion is 
 too palpably erroneous to deserve notice, except 
 for the purpose of illustrating his inventive 
 powers. 
 
 Previous to the insertion of his “ items," it is 
 stated, “ The establishment consists of Bonaparte, 
 Count and Countess Bertrand, and three children 
 (I believe), Count and Countess Montholon, and 
 two children, six men servants, and the female 
 attendants on the ladies.” The accuracy of the 
 above bungling and evasive statement will be seen 
 by a reference to the following list, including those 
 who really composed the establishment at the 
 period alluded to. 
 
10 
 
 NAPOLEON’S HOUSEHOLD. 
 
 Gentilini. 
 
 Archambaud. 
 
 Marchand. 
 
 St. Denis. 
 
 Pieron. 
 
 Novarre. 
 
 Four Chinese Servants in the house, to replace the French and 
 English ones, who were sent away: the former, by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe. 
 
 Two Chinese in the Kitchen. 
 
 English Cook. 
 English Gardener. 
 
 Count Bertrand. 
 
 Madame Bertrand. 
 
 Four Children. 
 
 French Servant. 
 
 Adele. 
 
 Mary Hall. 
 
 Mrs. Davy. 
 
 One English Soldier, Servant. 
 One Chinese. 
 
 Count Montholon. 
 Madame Montholon. 
 Three Children. 
 Josephine. 
 
 Mrs. M c Grath. 
 
 Mrs. Hitchcock. 
 
 Another Female Servant. 
 One Male Servant. 
 
 One Chinese. 
 
 Stable: Three English Servants. 
 
 Total, Forty-one. 
 
 So that, instead of about twenty individuals, im¬ 
 plied by the author, the real number was forty- 
 one ! We are next told, that the statement of 
 supplies was not selected for any particular reason, 
 but taken accidentally from a bundle of papers to 
 which the author had access, through the kindness 
 of a gentleman to whom he mentioned the object 
 of his inquiry. It is hoped, that this kind gentle¬ 
 man will be made known on a future day, other¬ 
 wise some of our author’s readers will be apt to 
 doubt whether such a personage ever existed, ex¬ 
 cept in his own fertile imagination. 
 
 I have, however, every reason to Relieve, that 
 
11 
 
 this statement is greatly exaggerated* though I 
 have not an account of the articles furnished dur¬ 
 ing that month *. The general accuracy of these 
 items may be inferred from the positive fact of no 
 draught beer having been ever supplied by Go¬ 
 vernment. Sir Hudson Lowe sometimes caused a 
 great increase of some articles to be sent to Long- 
 wood (without its being demanded by the French) 
 for some weeks; after which, it was as suddenly 
 
 to • 
 
 decreased. The quantity of champaign was fixed 
 by General Montholon, because Sir Hudson Lowe 
 restricted the proportion of vin de grave and of 
 champaign to one bottle per diem. The following 
 is a Schedule of the quantities fixed by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe in October* 181(5, allowing for some reduc¬ 
 tion made on the departure of Count Las Cases. 
 I have also annexed an account of the daily extra 
 expenditure paid by the French themselves. 
 
 * In June, 1818 , several cases of wine arrived at St. He¬ 
 lena, as a present from the Princess Borghese, a part of which 
 the Governor, after a delay of near three weeks, condescended 
 to send up to the place of exile, while the rest was deposited 
 in the Government stores. This important fact will perhaps 
 account to the public for the liberal allowance of French wine 
 stated in the items, while it clearly shows the author’s jnotives 
 for selecting the particular document of that month, in illus¬ 
 tration of his general system of deception and imposture. 
 Although, unlike Sir Hudson Lowe and some of his friends 
 at St. Helena, 1 do not consider “ a good dinner and a bottle 
 of wine” as the only ingredients necessary to insure the hap¬ 
 piness of a man, who is deprived of his liberty; yet it is only 
 *>y following the author’s most trifling as well as important 
 details, that my remarks would be regarded as a sufficient reply 
 to his misrepresentations and calumnies, 
 
12 
 
 C. (No. i.) 
 
 SUPPLIES ALLOWED BY GOVERNMENT 
 
 TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AT LONGWOOD, 
 Consisting of Forty-Jive Persons , 
 
 FROM OCTOBER, 1816, TO JUNE, 18 17- 
 
 DAILY. 
 
 Meat, Beef and Mutton included (lbs.) 
 
 Fowls (No.). 
 
 Bread (lbs.) .. 
 
 Butter (lbs.) ... 
 
 Lard (lbs.) . 
 
 Sallad Oil (pints) . 
 
 Sugarcandy (lbs.). 
 
 Coffee (lbs.) . 
 
 Tea, Green (lbs.) . 
 
 Tea, Black (lbs.). 
 
 Candles, Wax (lbs.) . 
 
 Eggs (No.) . 
 
 Common Sugar (lbs.) ... 
 
 Cheese (lbs.) . 
 
 Vinegar (quarts). 
 
 Flour (lbs.) . 
 
 Salt Meat (lbs.). 
 
 Fire Wood (cwt.) . 
 
 Porter, or Ale (bottles). 
 
 Vegetables (in value) . 
 
 Fruit (in value). 
 
 Confectionary (in value) . 
 
 82 
 
 6 
 
 66 
 
 ** 
 
 Q 
 
 O 
 
 W 
 
 Si 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 x. 
 
 2 • 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 30 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 11 . 
 
 105 ! 
 
 85 . 
 
 ✓ 
 
f 
 
 13 
 
 PER FORTNIGHT. 
 
 Ducks (No.) ... 
 
 Turkeys (No.) ..... 
 
 Geese (No.)... 
 
 Loaf Sugar (loaves) . 
 
 Fine Rice (bag)...... 
 
 Hams (not to exceed 14 lbs. each) . 
 
 Coals (bushels) . 
 
 Fish (in value) . 
 
 Milk (in value). 
 
 Fresh Butter, Salt, Mustard, Pepper, Capers, Lamp Oil, 
 Peas ..... not to exceed in value 
 
 J 8 
 2 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 ’ a 
 , 2 
 . 45 
 80. 
 98s. 
 
 71 . 
 
 WINE, DAILY. 
 
 Champaign, or Vin de Grave (bottles) .... 
 
 Madeira (bottles) .. 
 
 Constantia (bottles). 
 
 Claret* (bottles).. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 N. B. After the departure of the Count de Las Cases and 
 Piontkowski, the meat was reduced to 72 lbs. daily, and the 
 number of fowls to Jive. 
 
 * Cape and TenerifFe Wine for the Servants, at the rate of a 
 bottle a day, was also given by Government, not included in 
 the Schedule; being one pint more than the quantity daily 
 allowed to the soldiers and sailors stationed at St. Helena. 
 
14 
 
 C. (No. 2.) 
 
 MAY, 1817. 
 
 DAILY EXTRA EXPENDITURE, PAID BY 
 
 THE FRENCH. 
 
 One dozen of Eggs. 0 5 0 
 
 Eight pounds of Butter, at 3s. per pound . 14 0 
 
 Two pounds of Wax Candles, at 3s. (5d . 0 7 0 
 
 Three Fowls, at 6s. each,.,... 0 18 0 
 
 Four pounds of Sugarcandy . 0 8 0 
 
 . * 
 
 Two pounds of Loaf Sugar.. 0 6 0 
 
 One pound of Cheese . 0 .3 0 
 
 Vegetables .. 0 10 0 
 
 Two pounds of Salt Pork . 0 2 6 
 
 One pound of Lard. 0 10 
 
 One bottle of Oil. 0 8 0 
 
 One pound of Rice, and one of Flour . 0 10 
 
 Five pounds of Common Sugar . 0 16 
 
 One bottle of Vinegar... 0 10 
 
 Paper for Kitchen, and Packthread. 0 10 
 
 Four loaves of Bread, at Is. 6d. each........... 0 6 0 
 
 £.5 3 0 
 
 WEEKLY EXTRA, DITTO. 
 
 <£, s. d . 
 
 Two Turkeys . 3 0 0 
 
 One Ham ... 3 0 0 
 
 One Roasting Pig.. 011 0 
 
 One Bottle of Pickles....»... 0 12 0 
 
 Three Bottles of Olives . I 4 0 
 
 £.S 7 0 
 
 The above Expenditure does not contain the quantity of 
 Meat bought by the French, amounting to from three to five 
 Sheep weekly, and two Calves monthly. 
 
15 
 
 The only conclusion, which can be drawn by 
 a comparison between the allowance of provision* 
 now furnished by Sir Hudson Lowe (if the- scale 
 in the Facts be correct), and what he formerly 
 allowed when the household was composed of 
 ten French individuals more than there are at 
 present, is, either that there was a great deal too 
 little provided until Napoleon had been nearly 
 three years on the island, or that now there is 
 a great deal too much ! 
 
 This subject will he farther illustrated by an 
 extract from the official communication, which 
 I had the honour of transmitting to the Secretary 
 of the Admiralty on my return to England, and 
 in pursuance of their Lordship’s directions. 
 
 <c On the 30th of September, 1816, Sir Hudson 
 Lowe reduced the allowance of provisions, wines, 
 &c., to the amount described in the Scale marked 
 C, No. 1, the quantities fixed in which, were desig¬ 
 nated by himself, although his aide de camp, Major 
 Gorrequer, was informed by General Montholon, 
 in my presence, of the total insufficiency of the 
 quantities fixed by Sir Hudson Lowe, which was 
 confirmed to him and his aide de camp, both by 
 the orderly officer and myself; and he was also 
 told by us, that the maitre d’hotel had ordered a 
 quantity of plate to be broken up, in order to 
 provide money for the purchases of the necessaries 
 of life, a sufficient quantity of which was not 
 allowed by him. No farther steps were however 
 adopted by Sir Hudson Lowe than ordering, that 
 
# 
 
 V 
 
 16 
 
 the money derived from the sale of the plate 
 (amounting, in the first instance, to about two 
 hundred and thirty-eight pounds) should not he 
 received by them, hut be deposited in the hands of 
 the purveyor, to he drawn from time to time, in 
 small sums. An explanation given to him by the 
 inaitre d’hotel, on the 30th of December, 1816, in 
 which the deficiencies were specifically and indi¬ 
 vidually enumerated, and an account given to him 
 of each and every article purchased, produced no 
 other amelioration or augmentation than counter¬ 
 manding an order he had just given for a farther 
 reduction in the quantity of the bread on the 
 departure of Count de Las Cases. A similar 
 explanation had been also frequently given to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe by myself, more particularly on the 
 4th of December, 1816, on which day I enume¬ 
 rated to him the deficiencies, and the articles 
 purchased by them. Sir Thomas Reade, however, 
 was directed to assist the inaitre d’hotel, in pro¬ 
 curing the provisions which he purchased with the 
 plate money (which plate was bought by the 
 Governor himself, who fixed the price of it at 
 five shillings the ounce) ; and an order was given 
 in writing, by the Governor’s directions, to Mr. 
 Brearne, the Company’s farmer, to supply the 
 French monthly with a stipulated quantity of veal 
 at their own expense (a compliance with which 
 caused him subsequently to he turned out of his 
 situation hv Sir Hudson Lowe, which act was 
 disapproved by the directors of the East India 
 
17 
 
 Company, and Mr. Breame has since been rein¬ 
 stated). Mr. Balcombe, the purveyor, having 
 been rigidly restricted by Sir Hudson Lowe to a 
 certain price in the purchase of sheep, the mutton 
 was frequently of a very bad quality, as no good 
 sheep were to be obtained from the farmers at the 
 price fixed by him, although good ones were to be 
 purchased at a considerable increase. Simitar 
 restrictions in the price of the poultry, also, fre¬ 
 quently prevented any of good quality arriving at 
 Longwood. The beef, until Sir Hudson Lowe 
 thought proper, in October, 18!7> to order, that 
 island bullocks should be slaughtered, was almost 
 invariably of a bad quality ; and notwithstanding 
 the frequent representations to that effect made, 
 both by the orderly officer and myself, no amelio- 
 ration of consequence took place until that period; 
 and the meat, originally bad in quality, from being 
 carted up in the sun, was often on its arrival 
 putrid and unfit for use. The same took place, 
 also, with many other eatables, and several articles 
 indispensable to the table were frequently of bad 
 quality, in consequence of Sir Hudson Lowe 
 having compelled the purveyor to purchase da¬ 
 maged and musty provisions out of the Company’s 
 stores, because they were to be obtained much 
 cheaper there than good and merchantable articles 
 of the same kind could be purchased in the shops. 
 In doing this, he acted directly contrary to the 
 system established by Sir George Cockburn, who 
 had ordered the purveyor to provide invariably the 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 best articles for the French, at any price by which 
 they might be obtained. The bread, also, was in 
 general extremely bad ; and the water invariably 
 so during the summer months. Soon after Sir 
 Hudson Lowe’s arrival, fresh butter was no longer 
 sent to Napoleon Bonaparte; and I have been 
 credibly informed, that the milk of the cows, spe¬ 
 cifically destined for that purpose by Sir George 
 Cockbnrn, was ordered by Sir Hudson Lowe to be 
 sent to his own house. 
 
 “ Any savings made by the French, in articles 
 allowed by the Governor, and not consumed by 
 them (the English confectionary, for example), 
 were ordered by Sir Hudson Lowe to be credited 
 to the account of Government, instead of allowing 
 the French to balance, by means of them (as they 
 desired), any increased consumption in other ar¬ 
 ticles beyond the amount indicated by the scale.” 
 
 The distress produced amongst the French, by 
 the reduction alluded to in the foregoing extract 
 (especially in Count Bertrand’s family), was very 
 great. The number of mouths to be fed was fortif- 
 five> independent of Chinese; and at this time 
 Count Bertrand lived in a little cottage at Hut’s 
 Gate, about a mile from Longwood; and the 
 scarcity of provisions, combined with the uncer¬ 
 tainty of the time of their arrival, was such, that 
 Countess Bertrand has been occasionally obliged 
 to send to the officer of the Hut’s Gate guard, to 
 borrow a little bread for her children’s breakfast, 
 and wood to cook their victuals, as nothing of the 
 
19 
 
 kind could be purchased nearer than James’ Town, 
 five miles distant. To obtain permission to pro¬ 
 ceed thither, moreover, was not to be effected 
 without having first obtained a pass from some of 
 the Governor’s agents. In consequence of the 
 ambiguity and obscurity of the orders given to 
 the sentinels, the men, who brought the provi¬ 
 sions, were often denied permission to enter, 
 and servants, bearing medicines for the sick, met 
 with similar treatment. Such was the terror in¬ 
 spired by the consciousness of responsibility, that 
 the sentinels frequently stopped, catechized, and 
 detained Count Bertrand and his family, even 
 when entering their own door. 
 
 It may be necessary to explain to such of my 
 readers as have not visited the continent, that the 
 French mode of living differs entirely from our 
 own. The French breakfast, like the East India 
 tiffin, consists of soups, hot joints, fowls, ragouts, 
 with wine, &c., being, in fact, nearly the same as 
 the dinner, except that in the latter a greater 
 number of dishes are served up. This necessarily 
 caused the consumption of nearly a double quan¬ 
 tity of meat. In order to make a soupe consomme , 
 about thirty pounds of the bad St. Helena meat 
 were required by the cook, after which forty-two 
 pounds remained for breakfast and dinner, to be 
 divided amongst four separate families, consisting 
 of forty persons *. All this was minutely and re¬ 
 peatedly explained to Sir Hudson Lowe, without any 
 
 * A diminution of five persons took place in the establish¬ 
 ment after the departure of Count de Las Cases, Piontkowski, &c. 
 
 C 2 
 
I 
 
 20 
 
 effect, however, until the arrival of the newspapers 
 containing the discussion in the House of Peers 
 upon Lord Holland’s motion on the 18th of 
 March, 1817* The representations contained in 
 Lord Bathurst’s Speech, in reply to Lord Hol¬ 
 land upon that occasion, appeared to produce 
 some degree of embarrassment and shame, even 
 in Sir Hudson Lowe himself, as he endeavoured 
 to explain them away by stating, cc that his Lord¬ 
 ship’s speech had not been correctly reported in 
 the newspapers which had arrived (viz. the Cou¬ 
 rier, Times, Star, and Morning Chronicle); that 
 he had received no official statement of it from 
 Lord Bathurst, which he had no doubt would be 
 materially different from any which had appeared 
 in the newspapers.” For my own part, I most 
 solemnly declare, that I would have infinitely pre¬ 
 ferred going into action with the enemy, to enter¬ 
 ing Napoleon’s room, when sent for in order to 
 explain some passages in his Lordship’s speech. 
 For the first time in my life, I felt ashamed 
 of being a Briton; and in my embarrassment 
 thought, that the best excuse I could offer was to 
 avail myself of the one invented by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. 
 
 a Je vois,” said Napoleon, “ avec plaisir, 
 qlu’en s’adressant au parlement, a sa nation 
 et 'a l’Europe, le minister Anglais a justifie' 
 
 sa CONDUITE ATROCE ENVERS MOI AVEC DES MEN- 
 SONGLS, TR1STE RESSOURCE GLUI NE DURE PAS LONG 
 TEMPS.” 
 
 The details to which Sir ‘Hudson Lowe de- 
 
21 
 
 s^ended, are difficult to be paralleled. On one 
 occasion he observed to General Montliolon, in my 
 presence, that he thought the consumption of 
 basket salt was too great at Longwood ; that much 
 more was used than at Plantation House; and 
 therefore he desired, that, for the future, common 
 salt ( sel gris ) should be substituted as much as 
 possible for it. To the same officer he also sub¬ 
 sequently observed, that, <c upon inspecting the 
 washing bills of the families at Longwood, it ap¬ 
 peared to him there was a charge to a large 
 amount for the washing of shirts (at this time, by 
 a regulation of Sir George Cockburn, the whole 
 expense of washing was defrayed by Government, 
 but was subsequently abridged by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe); and that, upon making a calculation, he 
 found the proportion exceeded one per diem, for 
 each person, which he thought very extravagant; 
 and begged to remark, that he himself was con¬ 
 tent with one daily, which he deemed quite suffi¬ 
 cient. In a similar manner, and prior to the depar¬ 
 ture of Count de Las Cases, he wanted to regulate 
 the number of fires at Longwood, where there 
 were Jive families, by those burned at Plantation 
 House, where there was only owe, without taking 
 into consideration, that the French were natives ol 
 a warmer and much drier climate than that of 
 England, and consequently more susceptible of the 
 effects of cold and humidity. Upon the origin and 
 motives, which could induce a Governor and Lieu¬ 
 tenant General to audit and scrutinize washing 
 
bills it is for his panegyrist, the author of the 
 “ Facts,” to explain. 
 
 The author states, that he has visited the stores 
 at Hut’s Gate, which, he says, are fitted up and 
 arranged expressly for Longwood, and contain 
 every article of the first quality from London. It 
 must be satisfactory to learn, that Sir Hudson 
 Lowe has, after three years residence on the island, 
 at last discovered the utility and necessity of a 
 measure, which was strongly recommended to him 
 by various persons, and amongst others by myself, 
 immediately after his arrival at St. Helena. 
 
 In the next sentence, the bread is described to 
 • be made of the very best flour, and excellent, and 
 the water “ pure, fine, and clear.” Now the 
 bread, while I was there, was, in general, of a 
 quality quite the reverse, so much so, indeed, that 
 I occasionally felt it my duty to take a piece of 
 that which was baked for Napoleon to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, in order that he might convince himself of 
 its excessive badness; and Napoleon for several 
 months made use of American biscuit, bought by 
 his maitre d’hotel in lieu of it. Sir Hudson Lowe 
 endeavoured to excuse the badness of its quality by 
 abusing Carr, the baker, who very naturally re¬ 
 plied, that it was extremely hard for him to be 
 found fault with, because he could not succeed in 
 making good bread out of bad flour ! The water, 
 conveyed to the butts at Longwood in the pipe 
 lately constructed, is, during a great part of two or 
 three of the hot months, extremely turbid, nau- 
 
I 
 
 23 
 
 seous, and thick, and, I have no doubt, contributes 
 to produce the dysentery, so prevalent upon the 
 island. So scarce is it then, that the soldiers of 
 the 66th regiment are obliged to furnish numerous 
 fatigue parties, in order to drag a supply of it 
 from Wells Cottage and Miss Mason’s, about three 
 miles from their camp, as many of the mounted 
 officers in St. Helena have reason to remember, 
 from the falls they received, in consequence of 
 their horses being frightened by the number of 
 casks rolling along the road. The so much boasted 
 “ pure, fine, and clear water,’’ is brought to Long- 
 wood by a servant of their own , and paid by them 
 for that purpose. 
 
 In page 10, the author very wittily observes, that 
 (C the little man is living on a fertile plain,” and 
 that the shade, afforded by the wood attached to 
 Napoleon’s residence, is so luxuriant, that the house 
 is imperceptible at three hundred yards, “ among 
 the trees which spring healthily from turf, as fine 
 and fresh as ever was trodden.” The cc fertile plain,” 
 is situated upon the summit of a mountain, from one 
 thousand eight hundred to two thousand feet above 
 the level of the sea; and in so exposed, unpromising, 
 and bleak a spot, that, with the exception of Long- 
 wood House, and that of the Company’s farmer, 
 the whole of it was uninhabited , until the arrival of 
 Napoleon, and presented little else than a barren, 
 melancholy waste, although probably too good, in 
 the opinions of Sir Hudson Lowe and his fulsome 
 adulator, for the fallen Emperor. 
 
24 
 
 The fact is, that the “ long wood” is al¬ 
 most wholly composed of a species of gum wood 
 (Conyza Gummifera), as stated by Mr. Secretary 
 Brooke, in his History of St. Helena, published in 
 1808 , page 258 , who, speaking of Longwood, 
 says, “ the gum wood, however, is the only kind 
 of tree which grows there.” The gum wood is 
 a tree, which, in consequence of the leaves being 
 chiefly confined to the ends of the branchlets, does 
 not afford that thick foliage, so necessary to inter¬ 
 cept the rays of the sun. This is amply proved by 
 the tree’s not furnishing even a sufficiency of shade 
 to preserve the grass, that grows round the trunk, 
 in a state of partial verdure, during the hot season ; 
 to which, the distance they are planted from each 
 other also materially contributes. Gum wood is 
 chiefly used as fuel, and affords food for millions 
 of large blue flies, that are very fond of a saccha¬ 
 rine juice, which at certain seasons of the year 
 exudes from the tree, and whose visits, in myriads, 
 are most irksomely frequent at Longwood. 
 
 As if the author had not done ample justice to 
 the “ fertile plain” and “ luxuriant shade,” he pro¬ 
 ceeds to say, “ The country surrounding it (Long¬ 
 wood) is beautifully adapted for riding or driving; 
 the whole of which, to the extent of twelve or 
 thirteen miles, Napoleon has the undisturbed 
 
 PRIVILEGE OF ENJOYING UNSEEN AND UNAT¬ 
 TENDED.” 
 
 Lq the above assertion, which I should have 
 deemed truly extraordinary, had it proceeded from 
 
25 
 
 any other writer than the author of the “ Facts/’ 
 it is hoped the following statements will be consi¬ 
 dered as a sufficient refutation. 
 
 Pursuant to the regulation established by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, in October, 1816, Napoleon was 
 ordered, even within the limits allotted to him, not 
 to stir off the high road, not to speak to any person 
 he met, nor to enter any house, unless in the pre¬ 
 sence of a British officer, who had directions to 
 interfere whenever he thought proper; and even 
 those, who procured passports from the Governor 
 to see him, were prohibited from conversing with 
 any of his suite, while the persons received at 
 Longwood were obliged to make a report of the 
 conversations which they had held with Bonaparte, 
 or the other prisoners. 
 
 This may account for the perverted details and 
 calumnious paragraphs which have appeared since 
 Napoleon’s confinement, evidently furnished by 
 persons who had some intercourse with Longwood. 
 
 So that the space of twelve or thirteen miles, 
 described by the author, was no more than a 
 line intersecting a large space, and if Napoleon 
 had moved off the high road, only for a few mi¬ 
 nutes, any of the numerous sentinels posted on it 
 would be fully justified in shooting him for an 
 attempt to escape ; an event very likely to have 
 happened, during the rapidity of his movements on 
 horseback, when he did ride out (before Sir Hud¬ 
 son’s arrival), and the ambiguity of the orders 
 
which has been given to the soldiers subsequent to 
 that event. 
 
 Napoleon’s reasons for confining himself were, 
 in order to prevent the possibility of his being 
 stopped, insulted, and detained, by the sentinels, 
 as had happened to all the members of his suite, 
 who ventured out (not even excepting the ladies), 
 either caused by the blunders of private soldiers, 
 the ambiguity and obscurity of orders given to 
 them, or otherwise. General Gourgaud, in parti¬ 
 cular, was, during his rides within the limits, 
 stopped almost daily, upon the high road, by the 
 sentinels, and detained until (to use a seaman’s 
 expression) he had been overhauled by the sergeant 
 or corporal commanding the guard. 
 
 Previous to Sir Hudson Lowe’s arrival at St He¬ 
 lena, some degreee of social intercourse existed be*» 
 tween Longwood and the respectable inhabitants, 
 and others residing upon the island, and instead of 
 “ shunning as a basilisk” the very sight of the 
 British uniform, a v week scarcely passed, that 
 officers clothed in that uniform did not dine at 
 Napoleon’s table, Napoleon himself frequently 
 rode out on horseback, or in a carriage, by means 
 of which his person became familiar to the sol¬ 
 diers, and others who were entrusted with the 
 charge of him. It is a fact, which deserves to be 
 recorded, that during the time this system was in 
 force, not a single letter was sent from Longwood, 
 unless through the regular Government channels. 
 
27 
 
 The state of affairs, if not wholly agreeable, was at 
 # least tolerable, and some regard was paid to de¬ 
 cency. Immediately after Sir George Cockburn’s 
 departure, Sir Hudson Lowe changed every thing 
 which had been established by his predecessor, 
 approved of by Government, that had given suf¬ 
 ficient satisfaction to the French, and lasted nine 
 months, without having produced the least incon¬ 
 venience ; in lieu of this, he introduced a system 
 of restrictions without a parallel in British history , 
 denying at first that he had altered any thing, but 
 subsequently asserting to the inhabitants of Long** 
 wood, that Sir George Cockburn had, previous 
 to his departure, acknowledged to him, that 
 great inconvenience was produced by the system 
 then in force ; that he (Sir George Cockburn) had 
 then suggested, and strongly recommended, the 
 rigorous alterations which he had since been com* 
 pelled to put in execution. This artifice failed 
 however in producing the intended effect, as nobody 
 at Longwood gave the smallest credit to his asser¬ 
 tions. In the mean time, Napoleon confined him 1 
 self to the house, conceiving, and with good reason, 
 that submitting to avail himself of the privilege 
 of going out under such conditions, as those im¬ 
 posed by Sir Hudson Lowe, would be no less de¬ 
 grading to his character than mortifying to his 
 feelings, while it must in his case, particularly, 
 give ample ground to calumniators like the au¬ 
 thor of the “ Facts,” to display their malignity, 
 
 by representing him as a man, who, through a 
 
 - 
 
28 
 
 pusillanimous fear of death, was glad to sacrifice 
 his future reputation, and submit to every species 
 of degradation, even to that of being led about like 
 a wild beast by his keeper, in order to purchase 
 a few years more of a dishonourable existence in 
 captivity. This state of confinement and inacti¬ 
 vity, combined with the effects of the climate, want 
 of society and amusement, and the vexations in¬ 
 flicted on him, could not fail to produce disease on 
 a man, who, during the preceding part of his life, 
 had his mental and bodily faculties so actively and 
 continually employed; consequently hepatitis, with 
 its usual train of distressing symptoms, followed. 
 
 When complaints were made by the pri¬ 
 soners of the treatment they received from Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, the latter frequently replied, either 
 by verbal insinuations of turning them off the 
 island, or by enclosing them such extracts as the 
 following from Lord Bathurst’s Correspondence. 
 
 u It appears very desirable, that the officers, who 
 are allowed to continue with him, should clearly 
 understand, that their protracted residence at' 
 St. Helena is an act of indulgence shown by the 
 Prince Regent, for the purpose of rendering the 
 confinement of General Bonaparte as little irksome 
 to him as the circumstances of the case will admit. 
 They therefore ought to be fully aware, that any 
 abuse of this indulgence , either on his part, or on 
 theirs, will require an alteration in the system 
 which his Royal Highness has been desirous of 
 
29 
 
 adopting in this particular. Had they understood 
 their real situation , it cannot be imagined, that 
 they would have ventured to send you the decla¬ 
 rations, of which you transmitted to me the 
 copies.” 
 
 London, July 9, 1816. 
 
 “ With respect to his followers, they cannot he 
 too frequently reminded, that their continuance 
 in the island is an act of indulgence, on the part 
 of the British Government; and you will inform 
 them, that you have received strict instructions to 
 remove them from the person of General Bona¬ 
 parte, if they shall not conduct themselves with 
 that respect , which your situation demands , and 
 with that strict attention to your regulations , which 
 is the indispensable condition on which their resi¬ 
 dence on the island is permitted 
 July 17, 1816. 
 
 cc I have received and laid before the Prince 
 Regent your dispatch, No. 23, of the 29 th of 
 August. 
 
 “ Whatever doubt you may have felt as to the 
 mode in which you are required to conduct your¬ 
 self towards the attendants of General Bonaparte, 
 will have been effectually removed by my dispatch 
 of the 17 th of July. 
 
 “ If an opportunity should offer, you will not 
 fail to assure General Bonaparte, that, if the conti¬ 
 nued attendance of these persons is desirable to 
 
30 
 
 him, it is only to be secured by their evincing a 
 proper respect for your situation and authority . 
 
 (Signed) Bathurst.’* 
 
 V ' 
 
 In consequence of these menaces, they adopted 
 the plan of forwarding their complaints to Eng¬ 
 land, by private channels, with the hope of ob¬ 
 taining redress. 
 
 In the same page the author describes, cc the 
 raging wind, as the refreshing South East Trade, 
 which renders the climate healthy and temperate, 
 and the blights, which accrue to the vegetation, 
 from its paralysing effects, exhibit their influence 
 in a most surprising manner, in the luxuriant pro¬ 
 duce of a kitchen garden, which, although the 
 Count affirms, that no such convenient appendage 
 ever could be established at Longwood, covers at 
 this moment about three or four acres of ground, 
 within two hundred yards of the house, and under 
 the superintendance of a man of the name of 
 Porteous, produces remarkable fine vegetables.” 
 
 Now at page 126 , the author forgets himself, and 
 
 \ 
 
 betrays the truth by slipping out, <c that all the 
 houses in St. Helena are carefully contrived so 
 as to have the front towards the South Hast shel¬ 
 tered" Sheltered from what! From this refreshing 
 South East \Trade ; which he before stated to pro¬ 
 duce such beneficent effects on health. The truth 
 is, that Longwood is one of the most unpleasant 
 situations on the island. On the summit of a 
 plain, some parts of which are elevated two thou- 
 
 
31 
 
 sand feet above the level of the ocean, it is 
 exposed to a constant South East wind, charged 
 with humidity, and enveloped in fogs and rain for 
 the greatest part of the year, as can be proved by 
 the journal of the thermometer kept there. Many 
 a time have I commiserated the unfortunate senti¬ 
 nels, while shivering under a piercing blast rushing 
 from the sea, and driving the rain along with an 
 impetus , which drenches the best great coat in a 
 few minutes. For about one month in the twelve, 
 there is fine weather; for two, a powerful vertical 
 sun prevails, with the usual concomitants of the 
 tropics, and for eight or nine, I have no hesitation 
 in saying, the weather at Longwood is the most 
 disagreeable that can well be conceived. Gene¬ 
 rally enveloped in fog or rain, the sky occasionally 
 clears up, and the rays of the sun beam forth. 
 These appearances are, however, very transitory, as 
 in a short time the hemisphere becomes again ob¬ 
 scured, thick fogs cover the “ fertile plain,” and 
 heavy rain impetuously forced along by the strong 
 South East Ti'ade , drenches whoever had been 
 induced, by the delusive appearance of sunshine, 
 to venture on a walk. These changes of tempe¬ 
 rature often occur several times in the course of a 
 day, and are one great cause of the unhealthiness 
 of the island. The soil of Longwood is a tena¬ 
 cious argillaceous clay, which in wet weather col¬ 
 lects and adheres in such a mass to the shoes of 
 the pedestrian, as materially to impede his pro¬ 
 gress, and to render a promenade any thing but 
 
# 
 
 32 
 
 agreeable. That this is a correct sketch of the 
 general state of the weather in the upper regions 
 of St. Helena, I am convinced all those, who have 
 resided for some months in that island, will corro¬ 
 borate. I do not mean to appeal to transitory 
 passengers, who, like the author of this pamphlet, 
 have during their short stay lived at Plantation 
 House (the shady scenery about which is really 
 beautiful, while the house is elegant and commo¬ 
 dious) ; and who on a fine day have been brought 
 out to admire the picturesque scenery, and listen 
 to florid descriptions of the fineness of the climate, 
 which artifice I know to have been practised more 
 than once. How well the author of the u Facts” 
 has availed himself of these descriptions, couleur de 
 rose , may be seen by a reference to the fascinating 
 plates that embellish his book, two of which, in 
 point of accuracy , and extraneous decoration, 
 would not disgrace the talents of a second 
 Dr. Syntax. 
 
 The garden, which the author evidently wishes 
 to impress upon the minds of his readers as form¬ 
 ing a part of Longwood, is situate in Deadwood, 
 six hundred yards from the house , in a deep ravine , 
 completely sheltered from the “ refreshing South 
 East Trade;” and the vegetables which it pro¬ 
 duces are sold for the profit of the East India 
 Company. Moreover, water has been lately brought 
 to irrigate this garden, which no entreaties could 
 ever induce Sir Hudson Lowe to bring for that 
 purpose to Longwood. So far from Longwood 
 
33 
 
 garden being productive, almost every crop, which 
 it was endeavoured to raise on it, has failed 
 (even that of barley*, which at Napoleon’s request 
 w r as sown there, in order to try if something re¬ 
 sembling verdure could be made to spring from it); 
 the principal cause of which failure arose from its 
 being exposed to the “ refreshing South East 
 Trade;” to some peculiarity of soil; and to the de¬ 
 struction of the young plants by a species of black 
 grub, an insect, whose voracitv and mischievous 
 qualities are so v T ell described in Major General Beat- 
 son’s Tracts on St. Helena, and so tenacious of life, 
 that “ even a strong solution of tobacco or of 
 alkali” is said to fail in destroying it. The only 
 plant which thrives at Longwood is the spurge, a 
 most offensive weed, whose noisome leaves have 
 been converted by the poetical genius of the author 
 into sweet smelling flowers! This statement, of 
 the bad effects produced by exposure to the “ re¬ 
 freshing South East Trade,” is confirmed by 
 Mr. Secretary Brooke, in his History of St. Helena, 
 page 288. (S But it is only in the most sheltered 
 spots of the island that the oak attains perfection ; 
 in exposed situations, the trade wind, Honing 
 continually in the same direction , produces very 
 baneful ejfects upon this, as upon most other trees 
 not indigenous to the soil.” Mr. Brooke is now 
 senior member of the council of St. Helena. 
 
 * il Governor Dunbar was unwearied in his exertions to 
 watch over the resources and fertility of the island. Experi¬ 
 ment* in the cultivation of oats, barley, and wheat, at Long- 
 
 D 
 
H 
 
 
 In page 14 , another mistatement occurs, and by 
 the way of rendering it more conspicuous, it is 
 printed in capitals, viz. “ that no sentinels what¬ 
 soever are placed within sight of the house during the 
 day, where they can be visible to him.” As it hap¬ 
 pens, there is a sentinel constantly within ten yards 
 of the house, on the path leading past the South wing 
 of the building, in which are General Montholon’s 
 apartments ; and he is placed in so public a situa¬ 
 tion as to render it impossible for any person, who 
 visits Longwood, to avoid seeing him*. 
 
 Napol eon’s “ rooted antipathy to red coats” was cer¬ 
 tainly strongly marked by his having invited some of 
 them to dine with him almost every week, before Sir 
 Hudson Lowe's arrival; that is to say, before they 
 were prevented from visiting him ; by the request, 
 which be made, to have all the officers of the 53 d, 
 and 66th regiments, as well as those of the squadron, 
 introduced to him, and by the polite manner in which 
 he always received them. It is next asserted, that 
 “ an objection having been stated by some of his 
 followers to his using the high road to James’ 
 Town rather than Huts Gate, because there was 
 
 wood, gave rise to such hopes of success, that a barn was 
 erected there; but, on a failure of subsequent crops, it was 
 converted into a residence for the Lieutenant Governor. This 
 disappointment is supposed to have arisen either from drought, 
 or some peculiarity of the climate or soil, and not, as has some¬ 
 times been asserted, from the depredations of rats.” Brooke’s 
 History of St. Helena, page 255. 
 
 * This sentinel has orders to stop and examine all persons, 
 except staff officers, who attempt to pass in that direction. 
 
nn English picquet there, Sir Hudson Lowe 
 instantly directed the picquet to be removed out of 
 sight of the road.” This is also a misrepresentation. 
 Complaints were made, that person of his suite, 
 
 who went so far, was stopped and detained by the 
 sentinels, until examined and released by the ser- 
 jeants, or corporals, commanding the picquets. 
 For nearly two years Sir Hudson Lowe paid no at¬ 
 tention whatever to them. At last, however, he 
 removed the picquet about forty vards farther; and, 
 if posting a guard upon the top of a hill is to place 
 it out of sight, this was doing so effectually. To 
 any person acquainted with the relative situation 
 of Deadwood and Longwood, it must be evident, 
 that the barracks there could not be placed en¬ 
 tirely out of view from a house at Longwood, at 
 least unless they stood in the ravine, not inaptly 
 denominated the Devil’s punch bowl, close to it. 
 
 The captain, also, who lives at Longwood, is 
 placed there as a guard over his person, and has or¬ 
 ders to satisfy himself of Napoleon’s actual presence 
 twice in the twenty-four hour's, and not solely to act 
 as an orderly officer in attendance upon him, should 
 he wish to pass the limits, as stated by the author; 
 for he has declared, that he will never go out with 
 him, and never has passed the limits since the arri¬ 
 val of Sir Hudson Lowe : it will also he seen, by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe’s restrictions of the 9 th of October, 
 1816 , that it was specifically stated, “should he (Na¬ 
 poleon) he desirous of passing the limits, an officer 
 
of the Governors personal staff will be prepared to 
 attend and the orderly officer was only permitted 
 to perform that office, “ should time not admit.” 
 
 Alluding to the remarks, which he asserts to 
 have been made, relative to sighting Napoleon, the 
 author observes, “ So cautiously is the daily view 
 taken of him, that unless he has been told the 
 lact by his minion, it is very probable, that he is as 
 little aware of the circumstance as he may be of 
 the signal.” This is another palpable misrepre¬ 
 sentation, as Sir Hudson Loive himself told Count 
 Bertrand, that the orderly captain must see Bona¬ 
 parte twice a day; and even wanted to insist, that 
 this officer should enter his room when he was 
 sick, which was one of the first causes of dispute 
 between them, in May, 1816; in fact, every action 
 of Napoleon is narrowly watched, and as scrupu¬ 
 lously reported. 
 
 In page 17, Count Bertrand is made to say, that 
 he could at all times ensure the safe delivery of 
 letters to their address in Europe. It is, however, 
 well worthv of remark, that none were sent bv 
 private channels, until Sir Hudson Lowe threatened 
 to turn the French in Napoleon's suite off the 
 island, if they made any more complaints against 
 him. 
 
 To prove the impolicy of allowing newspapers 
 to be received at Longwood, the author enters 
 into a minute account of an advertisement, in cy- 
 pher, which appeared in the Antigallican, Novem- 
 
37 
 
 ber 3 , 1816. When the whole of the facts con¬ 
 nected with this carious circumstance are before 
 the public, it will be for every impartial man to 
 draw his own conclusion, and say how far the 
 author’s humane intention, of depriving the pri¬ 
 soners of papers, is proved necessary. 
 
 In the first place, not a single number of the Anti- 
 gallican, except one, ever arrived at Longwood, until 
 May or June, 1818 ; and that one was sent there 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe’s directions, under the fol¬ 
 lowing circumstances, then inexplicable. Shortly 
 after the publication of Mr. Warden’s book, a 
 letter addressed to “ General Bonaparte” appeared 
 in the Antigallican. This paper was given to me by 
 Sir Thomas Reade in his own house , in July, 181 7 , 
 
 WITH DIRECTIONS TO DELIVER IT TO NaPOLEON. 
 
 On the 3d of November, 1816, says the author, 
 an advertisement appeared in cypher in that paper 
 (with the key of which it appears the writer of 
 the Facts is perfectly acquainted) ; by comparing 
 this with the circumstance of the Antigallican 
 having been purposely sent up by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe to Longwood, it will not perhaps be 
 considered unjust to infer, that the whole was a 
 plan devised by the author s friends as a pretext to 
 excuse the system which had been adopted towards 
 Napoleon, of withdrawing from him every number 
 of the Times and other newspapers, in which there 
 appeared any article, that might be supposed calcu¬ 
 lated to afford him some consolation. 
 
38 
 
 In order to illustrate this mysterious subject still 
 farther, it is worth the readers while to observe, 
 that on the 23d of August, 1816, complaints were 
 officially made, by Count Montholon, to Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe, stating, that only a few unconnected 
 numbers of the Times were sent to Longwood ; 
 and that the first advertisement, in cypher, ap¬ 
 peared in the above named paper, on the 20 th of 
 October following . It should also be kept in 
 mind, as a very curious fact, that the noble secre¬ 
 tary of state for the home department made a 
 point of alluding to this important discovery, in 
 liis Speech relative to the treatment of Napoleon, 
 March 17? 1817? in reply to the manly and elo¬ 
 quent appeal of Lord Holland. 
 
 The manner in which Mr. Goldsmith has re¬ 
 plied to the author’s insinuations, merits attention, 
 and clearly explains the way his paper was made 
 the vehicle of some designing persons*. 
 
 Notwithstanding his professions of impartiality 
 and tenderness, the author does not even allow 
 infancy to escape his scurrility or censure; he 
 cannot therefore endeavour to prove, that St. Helena 
 is a healthy spot, without bestowing the epithet of 
 “ traitors ” on Count Bertrand’s children. This 
 malignant spirit, and indiscriminate abuse of alt 
 the prisoners, savours strongly of those sentiments 
 
 * The British Monitor, formerly the Antigallican, of April \ 
 and April 11, contain some strictures on the “ Facts/* toge¬ 
 ther with a well merited castigation of their author. 
 
39 
 
 which are known to influence some of the inmates 
 and visitors of Plantation House, where the writer 
 has doubtless taken his initiative degrees. 
 
 With respect to St. Helena’s being “ positively 
 and decidedly healthy,” I have merely to say, that, 
 during my residence at Longwood, there was not 
 a single individual of Napoleon’s suite (with the 
 exception of Count Bertrand), who had not 
 been seriously, and most of them dangerously 
 ill; either with fever, dysentery, inflammation of 
 the bowels, or liver; to many of them the assist¬ 
 ance of other practitioners on the island was called 
 in by me. All of Count Bertrand’s and General 
 Montholon’s children had been dangerously ill; 
 and three deaths occurred at Longwood from in¬ 
 flammations of the bowels, and dysentery, in as 
 many weeks. 
 
 An error of the press, by which the 6‘tli regiment 
 was printed for the 66*th in the Letters from the 
 Cape, is brought forward to invalidate the state¬ 
 ments contained in that volume, relative to the 
 unhealtliiness of the St. Helena climate. Having 
 corrected the mistake, I beg leave farther to observe, 
 in reply to the author’s insinuations, that fifty-six 
 men died in the second battalion of that regiment, 
 during the first thirteen months after their arrival 
 in the island, chiefly from dysentery and hepatitis. 
 
 In page 21, the author endeavours to ac¬ 
 quire a little importance, by an attempt to depre¬ 
 ciate the character of a distinguished and gallant 
 officer. The ludicrous impertinence with which 
 
40 
 
 this histrionic personage exclaims, “ I know him,” 
 towards the end of that bombastic paragraph, is 
 truly farcical*. 
 
 The author states, that he endeavoured to make 
 himself as well acquainted as possible with the 
 state of Bonaparte’s health, which he asserts (from 
 a declaration said by him to have been made in 
 Longwood House) never to have been better since 
 his arrival there. Now in the very next page he 
 states, that Napoleon had refused to see the me¬ 
 dical man appointed by Sir Hudson Lowe to attend 
 him. It may, therefore, be naturally asked, how he 
 could become acquainted with the real state of the 
 former’s health ? The author, however, explains 
 
 * Those who really know Sir Robert Wilson, and are at 
 this moment applauding his patriotic efforts in the House of 
 Commons, without forgetting an act of heroic humanity, to 
 which the public voice of Europe has done ample justice, will 
 not fail to characterize the insinuation relative to Santini’s 
 pamphlet, as an infamous tissue of slander , well worthy the 
 venal and unprincipled source, in which it has originated. 
 Having asked the publisher of that statement, whether there 
 was a particle of truth in the authors inuendos, Mr. Ridgway 
 requested, that I would give the following certificate a place in 
 the present publication. 
 
 I do hereby certify , that Santinis work was translated by a per¬ 
 son regularly employed by me, and who was paid by me for that 
 translation. 
 
 (Signed) James Ridgway. 
 
 Aprif3, 1819. 
 
 The above attempt to vilify the character of the gallant 
 general is only one amongst many, which I shall have occasion 
 to notice in the course of this Reply. 
 
41 
 
 it in page 22, and in a way which, to do him jus¬ 
 tice, has the merit of novelty to recommend it, viz . 
 “ On the 10th of November he was in the 
 varhandha adjoining his billiard room, with a red 
 nightcap on his head ”—a most extraordinary crite¬ 
 rion, certainly, for pronouncing that a man was in 
 excellent health ! It is added, that, “ on the 12th 
 of the same month, he was walking and whistling 
 in the same place, with every appearance of ex¬ 
 cellent spirits.” As to the first proof of health, 
 the red nightcap , it unfortunately happens for the 
 author of these “ Facts,” that Napoleon never 
 wears a nightcap of any colour; and as to the 
 excellent state of health which he is made to be in, 
 I can positively aver, that Napoleon Bonaparte had 
 been, for some months previous to my departure 
 from St. Helena, affected with symptoms of con - 
 firmed hepatitis; and that, after having given pur¬ 
 gatives, and the other remedies usually prescribed 
 in such cases, a fair trial, instead of diminishing, I 
 found that the symptoms of his disease aggravated 
 daily. Apprehensive, therefore, that the result 
 might be fatal, as had so frequently occurred to 
 others afflicted with the same complaint, subsequent 
 to my arrival in the island, I prevailed upon Na¬ 
 poleon to allow me to employ mercurial prepara¬ 
 tions, which were accordingly commenced on the 
 11th of June, 1817, and continued, with some in¬ 
 terruptions, principally produced by a severe ca¬ 
 tarrh, caused by the dampness and bad state of his 
 
apartments, the floors of which are level with the 
 external ground, until my removal from Long- 
 w'ood on the *25th of July following. 
 
 On the 10th of July alarming symptoms having 
 appeared, and being anxious about the fate of my 
 patient, as w 7 ell as my own reputation, reflecting 
 on the insinuations which had been made to me, 
 and the great responsibility attached to the charge of 
 such a patient, I became scrupulously cautious, and 
 insisted upon obtaining, what I had before most 
 forcibly urged the necessity of, viz. the advice and 
 assistance of other professional men ; and for that 
 purpose proposed to cal! in any of the following 
 medical gentlemen, namely, Messrs. Baxter, Sto- 
 koe, Livingtone, Henry, and Veiling, recommend¬ 
 ing the tW'O first from their seniority of rank. 
 Napoleon, however, manifested great repugnance 
 to Mr. Baxter, whom he designated as having 
 been “ Chirurgien Major d un regiment dont Sir 
 Hudson Lowe avoit etc Colonel et parcequ il 
 a assiste a la redaction des faux bul¬ 
 letins sans avoir vu le malade” and for other 
 reasons, but consented to see Mr. Stokoe, who was 
 sent for early in the morning. On his arrival, he 
 examined the medical journal of Napoleon’s treat¬ 
 ment ; but being apprehensive of the resentment, 
 which might be wreaked upon him, if bis opinion, 
 after seeing Napoleon, were not in unison with the 
 views of others, and possessed of too much honour 
 to sacrifice truth to interested motives, he begged 
 
43 
 
 leave to decline seeing Napoleon., unless in the 
 presence of some other surgeon, specifically chosen 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe. After having attentively con¬ 
 sidered the journal, however, he gave it as his opi¬ 
 nion, that the complaint was Hepatitis, and recom¬ 
 mended a continuance of the mercurial plan. The 
 same day, I was sent for by Sir Hudson Lowe to make 
 verbal reports (the latter having, as soon as Napo- 
 
 i 
 
 Jeon's complaint assumed a serious appearance, not 
 only prohibited me from making him written ones, 
 but sent back those which I had transmitted to 
 him); but not conceiving myself justified in leav¬ 
 ing Napoleon in the alarming state he then was, I 
 wrote the following Letter to Major Gorrequfcr, 
 his aide de camp, for the information of the Go¬ 
 vernor, who w T as himself then recovering from a 
 severe fit of illness. 
 
 Longwood, July 10, ISIS. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 The progress of hepatitis, with which 
 Napoleon Bonaparte has been affected for some 
 months, having increased in a manner alarming to 
 me, I commenced administering preparations of 
 mercury to him on the 11th of June last, which 
 were continued until the 27 th, when, in conse¬ 
 quence of effects produced by the humidity of the 
 season, and also perceiving, that considerable 
 nervous sensibility and irritability was produced by 
 the use of it, I judged it necessary to discontinue 
 the remedy; but having, on the 2d of July, oh- 
 
44 
 
 served, that the above-mentioned appearances were 
 ameliorated, I commenced mercurials again, which 
 produced a considerable degree of nervous agita¬ 
 tion, and last night especially he was very ill. 
 This morning I was called to see him at half past 
 five, the valet de chambre finding him in an 
 alarming state. I explained to him, as forcibly as 
 I could ; the necessity of calling a consultation, 
 and proposed to send for the two first medical 
 men in this island, viz. Mr. Baxter and Mr. Sto- 
 koe. He manifested a repugnance to call in 
 Mr. Baxter; but he at last authorized me to send 
 for Mr. Stokoe ; for which purpose I wrote to him 
 a letter on the spot, and awoke Captain Blakeney, 
 in order to have it sent. Since that time I have 
 seen him three times, and have found considerable 
 debility to prevail. 
 
 Mr. Stokoe came up about three o’clock, not with 
 a view of entering into a consultation, or of seeing 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, but to excuse himself on the 
 plea of the responsibility being too great, and not 
 wishing to run the risk of u getting himself into 
 any scrapes He had also some conversation with 
 Count Bertrand. 
 
 My chief reason for calling in Mr. Stokoe was, 
 to obtain his opinion, relative to the propriety of 
 continuing the mercurial treatment. I am not ap¬ 
 prehensive of any immediate danger of Ins life, and 
 the question hung upon the treatment it was ad¬ 
 visable to pursue; on one side, to guard against 
 
45 
 
 the deleterious effects of the remedy upon the deli¬ 
 cacy of his organs, and, on the other, the necessity 
 there was to administer it in a manner so as effec¬ 
 tually to eradicate the disease. 
 
 « 
 
 I must, therefore, beg to remain at Longwood 
 to-morrow, and, indeed, not to leave it until he 
 recovers from effects, chiefly caused by debility and 
 the administration of the mercury necessary for the 
 cure of his complaints. 
 
 I beg of you to submit the above for the consi¬ 
 deration of the Governor, and remain, 
 
 Sir, &c. 
 
 Barry E. O'Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 Upon the so much extolled climate of St. He¬ 
 lena, I hope the following remarks, founded upon 
 actual observation and experience, will not be 
 deemed superfluous on the present occasion; and 
 to render it more intelligible to the unprofessional 
 reader, I beg leave to offer a few preliminary obser¬ 
 vations. 
 
 To sudden diurnal vicissitudes of temperature, 
 especially when accompanied with rain or humi¬ 
 dity, may be ascribed the greatest part of the 
 diseases which affect the human constitution. Ra¬ 
 pid transitions from heat to cold, render the extreme 
 vessels on the surface of the body torpid, impelling at 
 the same time a quantity of blood upon some of the 
 internal organs. Sudden atmospherical changes in¬ 
 jure, by the consent of parts between the exterior and 
 
46 
 
 the interior, producing, in some climates, such as that 
 of England, affections of the lungs; in tropical ones, 
 where the biliary system is so liable to derange¬ 
 ment, affections of the liver. The great sympathy 
 existing between the skin, liver, and intestines, has 
 never been more strongly characterized than by 
 the number of violent and fatal affections of the 
 two latter organs, which have occurred, and daily 
 occur, in St. Helena, where the atmospherical vi¬ 
 cissitudes are so frequent and rapid, and where 
 such humidity prevails. 
 
 The interior of St. Helena is chiefly formed of 
 successions of high, steep, and unequal ridges of 
 hills, the most elevated of which are two thousand 
 six hundred feet above the level of the ocean, di¬ 
 vided by deep, narrow, and long ravines, some of 
 which, at the bottom, are not more than a few feet 
 above tbe level of the sea; whoever, therefore, 
 wishes to take a ride of a few miles, must calculate 
 on passing through different climates every hall 
 hour. One moment becalmed in the bottom of the 
 ravines, he experiences the heat of the torrid zone, 
 in a latitude of 15° 55' south; a moment after- 
 wards, crossing the aperture of some chasm, 
 perspiring from every pore, the temporary lull is 
 succeeded by a sudden and bleak blast from the 
 mountains, the effects of which, when combined 
 with the humidity accompanying it, are to produce 
 a rapid evaporation and abstraction of animal heat 
 from the surface of the body, thereby driving the 
 blood from it to tbe interior. Emerging from the 
 
47 
 
 valley, covered with perspiration, a similar cutting 
 blast strikes you on reaching the summit of the 
 mountains, producing the same effects. 
 
 Reckoning one degree of reduced temperature 
 for every two hundred feet of elevation, there will 
 be found a difference of ten degrees temperature 
 between Longwood, which is about two thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea, and the town; to 
 which may be added two or three degrees more, 
 arising from the sharp South East wind, loaded 
 with humidity, which generally prevails in the 
 high regions, and the consequent effect of the rapid 
 evaporation, which will make the difference jof 
 temperature between it and the vallies amount to 
 twelve or thirteen degrees ; which is actually 
 the case. Add to the foregoing, the frequent vi¬ 
 cissitudes of temperature*, at one moment assailed 
 by a shower of rain and fog, to which the strength 
 of the wind communicates such an impetus as to 
 cause it to penetrate the best great coat in a few 
 minutes; shortly afterwards, the sky brightens, the 
 weather clears up, and the scorching rays of a 
 tropical sun beam forth. This continues for a 
 short time, and is suddenly followed by a repeti- 
 
 * The range of the thermometer at Longwood is from 
 53° Fahrenheit to 80° in the shade: though I have seen it 
 for a short time (and that very rarely) as high as 86°, about 
 the hour of three in the afternoon, when the rays of the Sun 
 were directed upon the North-west front, of the house. In the 
 admiral’s house, which is situated in the centre ol James’Town, 
 its ran^e is from (56° to 100°. 
 
48 
 
 tion of fog, rain, and mist*. This alternate drench¬ 
 ing and scorching is, of itself, sufficient (as every 
 medical man will allow) to produce the most vio¬ 
 lent inflammatory affections of the viscera, particu¬ 
 larly in those of the abdomen. 
 
 Thus, it appears, that St. Helena, in addition to the 
 general causes of insalubrity to Europeans, which are 
 inseparable from a tropical climate,has also local and 
 peculiar causes for being particularly unhealthy, as 
 the great mortality, to be hereafter described, amply 
 proves. The most trifling cold, or irregularity, is 
 frequently succeeded by a violent attack of dysen¬ 
 tery, inflammation of the bowels, or fever, proving 
 fatal in a few days, if the most active and effica¬ 
 cious practice is not instantly adopted. A surfeit 
 in a child, which in Europe would require nothing 
 more than a little warm water to produce evacua¬ 
 tion, there, becomes a formidable disease, requiring 
 the most powerful remedies, and, if neglected only 
 for a few hours, terminates fatally. To Europeans, 
 the climate is peculiarly unfriendly; and, indeed, 
 it is unfavourable to longevity in all subjects, even 
 the natives, as, by an examination of the parish 
 registers, it will be seen, that very few persons 
 
 * *' Hence it appears, that St. Helena, during these last three 
 years, had its full share of rain, and in much greater quantity 
 than usually falls in London, which, by an average of eleven 
 years, is no more than 21,25 inches, whereas the average of 
 four years at St. Helena was 33,33 inches.'” Major General 
 Beacon’s introductory chapter, relative to the island of St. He¬ 
 lena, page xxxvi. 
 
49 
 
 
 pass their forty-fifth year*. The most prevalent 
 complaints amongst the human species are, dysen¬ 
 teries, inflammations of the bowels, liver affections, 
 and fevers, all of them of a violent type. Dysente¬ 
 ries, especially, and liver affections (which are in¬ 
 deed frequently combined), appear in the most 
 concentrated and fatal forms, baffling the prompt 
 exhibition of the most active and powerful reme¬ 
 dies; and, in spite of the acknowledged skill and 
 experience of several able practitioners there, ter¬ 
 minate fatally, in a proportion never before wit¬ 
 nessed in any British colony. During the first 
 twelve or thirteen months, after its arrival at St. 
 Helena, the second battalion of the 66th regiment 
 lost, by these diseases, fifty-six men, out of a 
 strength of six hundred and thirty, being one in 
 eleven ; and, still more recently, the Conqueror, 
 which ship arrived in July, I8I7, has lost, in 
 eighteen months, almost entirely by the same 
 complaints, one hundred and ten men, out of a 
 complement of six hundred, besides one hundred 
 
 * The reader is particularly requested, to compare the fol¬ 
 lowing extract from a very authentic source, and corroborative 
 of my own opinion, with the author’s observations on the same 
 subject. — “ The only endemic disorders, to which the natives 
 are subject, are of the catarrhal kind : these, as they belong to the 
 inflammatory class, may, in some measure, account, notwith¬ 
 standing their general robust health, for the few instances , 
 among the islanders, of longevity; according to the information 
 of a professional friend, who has assisted this account with his 
 opinion and judgment.” Vide Brooke’s History of St: Helena, 
 page 34. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 and seven invalided and sent to England, being 
 more than a third of her complement. The num¬ 
 ber of deaths in the two battalions of the 66th 
 regiment, I cannot positively state, but believe 
 it to have exceeded one hundred and twenty 
 men. A reference to the official returns will, 
 however, easily elucidate this point. In the West 
 Indies, the proportion of deaths to the strength was, 
 in the year 1814, as one to twenty-five, and of deaths 
 to diseases as one to thirty-six and two-thirds. Yet 
 how trifling does the mortality there appear, when 
 compared with that of St. Helena. At the latter 
 place, it is so great, that the Governor and Admiral, 
 apprehensive of the effects which might be produced 
 by a longer residence in the island, and, doubtless, 
 desirous of alleviating their miseries as far as they 
 could, sent upwards of seventy of the sick in one 
 month to England and the Cape. Above half of 
 those sent to the last named place (who were the 
 worst cases), have no doubt been ere now laid in 
 their “ quiet graves.” 
 
 The Conqueror was also sent to cruize to wind¬ 
 ward of the island for six weeks, without, however, 
 much benefit having accrued from the measure. It 
 is worthy of observation, that the Racoon’s ship’s 
 company had suffered severely from dysentery and 
 hepatitis, while stationed at St. Helena; but when 
 sent to the Cape they recovered, and became very 
 healthy, which state of health continued as long 
 as the vessel remained there; but, on her return to 
 St. Helena, dysentery and hepatitis again appeared, 
 
51 
 
 arid a heavy Sick list followed* ! Another strong 
 proof of the effects of the climate in producing 
 dysentery is to be found in the instance of the 
 female Convict ship, Friendship, which vessel ar¬ 
 rived at St. Helena from England, in November, 
 1817. She remained eight or ten days to water. 
 Dysentery soon made its appearance, and, in the 
 course of four or five weeks, above one hundred 
 cases of it had occurred ; yet, previous to her 
 touching at St. Helena, not a single case of that 
 complaint had taken place. 
 
 The undeserved reputation for salubrity, which 
 St. Helena has hitherto enjoyed, has probably 
 arisen from its being so little known, except to 
 seamen, and others, who, arriving after long 
 voyages, were enchanted to find themselves on 
 shore anywhere, like Dampier’s sailors; and who, 
 during the few days they remained, found them¬ 
 selves relieved from scorbutic complaints by the 
 
 * The loss of life amongst the crews of the following small 
 ships, whilst they were on the St. Helena station, is also very 
 great, viz. twenty-four in the Mosquito , complement one hun¬ 
 dred men; sixteen in the Racoon, one hundred men; eleven 
 in the Leveret, seventy-five men; fifteen in the Griffon, eighty- 
 five men : besides numbers invalided, on account of the same 
 complaints, and sent to England. It is well known to naval 
 officers, that, unless in very sickly stations, small vessels are 
 generally very healthy, frequently not losing a man in a'year. 
 I was myself surgeon of a sloop of war in the West Indies, in 
 which ship not a single death occurred during twelve months, 
 though exposed, for a considerable portion ol that time, to the 
 influence of the noxious climate of Surinam. I can vouch for 
 the accuracy of the above statement, as to the deaths in the 
 squadron. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 use of the watercresses, with which it abounds, 
 and from its population being small, and chiefly 
 composed of natives, who, of course, did not suffer 
 so much from the effects of the climate they were 
 born in, as strangers* Until the arrival of the 
 state prisoner, very few Europeans resided for a 
 continuance upon the island; and I can asse$, 
 from personal observation, that the greatest number 
 of those now there, even of the officers, have suf¬ 
 fered attacks, more or less severe, either of dysen¬ 
 tery or hepatitis; in which number, I regret to say, 
 I was myself included ; and that the opinion of 
 the medical officers, who have had the best oppor¬ 
 tunity of forming a correct opinion from actual 
 experience on the island, is, that the climate is 
 extremely unhealthy; and, especially, that hepa-^ 
 titis and dysentery prevail to an extent, and with a 
 severity, not to be paralleled even in India. In 
 order to convince the public, that I neither anv 
 singular in my opinions, nor inclined to exaggerate 
 facts, I beg leave to refer the reader to a medical 
 inaugural Dissertation upon Dysentery and Hepa¬ 
 titis in St. Helena, composed for the degree of 
 doctor in medicine in Trinity college, Dublin ; a 
 college surpassed by none in profound medical 
 knowledge and learning, and I believe unequalled 
 in the severity of the examination, which the can¬ 
 didate is obliged to undergo. The essay in ques¬ 
 tion was written by Dr. Leigh, formerly surgeon 
 to the second battalion of the 66th regiment*. 
 
 * As the author of this ingenious tract has passed some time 
 in a tropical climate, I cannot help quoting one paragraph, in 
 
53 
 
 At my departure from St. Helena, very little 
 amelioration was produced in Napoleon’s disease; 
 and being aware, that he would not see any medi¬ 
 cal person imposed upon him by Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 and suspecting, from the experience of the past, 
 that means would be taken to prevent any person 
 of his own choice from attending him, when I 
 received Sir Hudson Lowe’s order, on the 25th of 
 July, to quit Longwood “ forthwith , without seeing 
 any of my patients ,” I conceived, that humanity, 
 the duties of the profession, and the actual state of 
 my principal patient, then very ill, and requiring a 
 daily administration of medicines, forbade a com¬ 
 pliance with such a command. Proceeding to 
 Napoleon’s apartment, I communicated the cir¬ 
 cumstance of my being ordered to quit Longwood, 
 gave my advice for a continuance of the remedies 
 he was then taking, and the system which I 
 thought he should pursue, recommended him to 
 choose a surgeon from amongst some gentlemen 
 whom I named, took my leave, and departed, after 
 having furnished his valet de chamhre with a sup¬ 
 ply of the medicine, which he had been taking for 
 some weeks; which Sir Hudson Lowe characterized 
 as cc a breach of an order, and a refusal to acknow- 
 
 support of my own remarks, which are also the result of the 
 most attentive observation. “ Est nullus morbus perniciosor 
 dysenteria exercitibus in omnibus pdrtibus orbis terrarum 
 degentibus; sed in tropicis regionibus grassatur vi maxima 
 inter milites et alios ex Europa: et videtur intimus nexus, 
 inter hanc et hepatitidem existere, nam soepb conjunguntur* 
 et raro accidit unum esse epidemicum sine altero/* Dissertatio, 
 Medica, p. 15. 
 
54 
 
 ledge the authority by which it was given.” To 
 this I shall merely remark, that having been em¬ 
 ployed in a civil capacity at St. Helena, in a similar 
 manner to other naval officers in the employ of 
 the Excise or the Customs, l was not subject to 
 ordinary military discipline, nor bound to obey 
 any arbitrary orders, especially when their execu¬ 
 tion would have involved a violation of humanity, 
 and a palpable breach of Christian charity! 
 
 It well becomes the writer of these “ Facts,” to 
 say, that all the fabrications about pains in his 
 chest, and swellings in his legs, are so many 
 political stage tricks. If there were any doubts 
 on the reports, which I felt it my bounden duty to 
 make relative to Napoleon’s state of health, why 
 not adopt those measures, which could alone dis¬ 
 prove my assertions ? Those, who employed the 
 libeller, will probably direct him to say the same 
 
 of what occurred previous to Dr. Stokoe’s recent 
 
 / 
 
 arrival. 
 
 That Napoleon’s objection to see Dr. Verling 
 does not arise from the reasons assigned by this 
 writer is amply proved by the circumstance 
 of his not calling in that gentleman’s aid on the 
 late occasion, when visited by a serious, not to say 
 alarming attack of apoplexy. Had Napoleon pos¬ 
 sessed no other motive, but prejudice arising from 
 the policy so absurdly dwelt upon by the author, 
 is it likely, that he would have sent five miles for 
 a medical man, with the uncertainty, too, of that 
 person’s being permitted to obey the summons, 
 while there was a physician in the same house } 
 
I 
 
 55 
 
 As to the real cause of Napoleon’s not seeing the 
 medical advisers nominated by Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 it will doubtless be amply elucidated on some 
 future occasion ; suffice it for me to say, that a 
 cause exists, nor can it ever be removed, while 
 those, who glory in their personal hatred of the 
 fallen chief, are suffered to have the care of his 
 person. 
 
 We are next informed, after the example of 
 some well-known Editors, who are more than 
 suspected of being paid for abusing the fallen 
 Emperor, that “ Bonaparte is no Roman.” This 
 wonderful discovery, upon which the changes have 
 been rung to satiety, is followed by a tirade , 
 wherein a simile is introduced, that seems to 
 - have been suggested by some event of the au¬ 
 thor’s own life. Napoleon’s best claims to 
 the character of true bravery are, as it hap¬ 
 pens, at least in the estimation of all good men, 
 derived from his not having had recourse to the 
 alternative of falling on his sword ; for, however 
 consoling such an act of cowardice might have 
 been to a certain party in Europe, under whose 
 banners this corrupt scribbler has drawn the dag¬ 
 ger, it would neither have coincided with the views 
 of him, who re-established religious worship in 
 France, or manifested any degree of heroism in 
 itself. 
 
 If there are a few solitary cases, in which 
 the comparatively barbarous chiefs of anticpiity 
 gained a momentary eclat by self-destruction, how 
 
56 
 
 many more resorted to it in obedience to an absurd 
 philosophical dogma, long since happily exploded, 
 and now so universally condemned by the common 
 voice of civilized nations ? Leaving the true esti¬ 
 mate of Napoleon Bonaparte’s character to history, 
 to which it so properly belongs, I cannot help 
 observing, that I am amongst the number of those, 
 who applaud the late Ruler of France for not 
 dishonouring himself, and gratifying the malignity 
 of little minds, by flying in the face of Heaven, as 
 recommended from so many quarters, deeply in¬ 
 terested in his death. 
 
 With this opinion, which, 1 need scarcely say, 
 is by no means singular, and a recollection of 
 Lord Wellington’s testimony, relative to the man¬ 
 ner in which Napoleon conducted the battle of 
 Waterloo, I should have left the quotation from 
 Macrobius to some hero of a modern tragedy, and 
 put an infinitely more nervous and manly expres¬ 
 sion into the fallen chief’s mouth : 
 
 The coward sneaks to death, the brave live on! 
 
 While, however, I admire the constancy, with 
 which Napoleon has borne his sufferings at St. 
 Helena, where I witnessed them, together with 
 those of his followers, it is proper to add, that I 
 have every reason to believe he would not only 
 view his approaching dissolution with pleasure, but 
 consider it as one of the greatest blessings Pro¬ 
 vidence could bestow. But when we recollect, 
 that suicide is considered as a crime under all 
 
57 
 
 circumstances, what would the sane part of man¬ 
 kind say, were Napoleon to give this final triumph 
 to his enemies, by committing it in his present 
 situation ? 
 
 To those, who have read the last Letters of 
 Count de Las Cases *, there can be nothing 
 extraordinary in <c his (Napoleon’s) determined 
 abstinence from riding a privilege, which has 
 all the appearance of a boon from Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. Whether it would be decorous for Napo¬ 
 leon to receive any thing like one at that officer’s 
 hands, it is for the impartial reader to decide. 
 Had Napoleon attached so much importance to 
 life as the author wishes to make the public 
 believe, there is little doubt but he would have 
 embraced the above permission, under restrictions 
 still more degrading than those already imposed. 
 
 “ The refusal to play his favourite game of 
 billiards” furnishes the ground of another asser¬ 
 tion, not less devoid of truth than the preceding 
 ones. Having first assured the public, that Na¬ 
 poleon never refused to play billiards, I should 
 add the fact of this room’s being the only decent 
 or airy apartment in the house, and that it was in 
 consequence converted into a study, where he used 
 chiefly to dictate his Memoirs. 
 
 “ The gardens teeming with flowers” only exist 
 in the fictitious view, which forms the frontis- 
 
 * See page 76 of that highly interesting volume, and let the 
 eloquent paragraph it contains be compared with the fourth and 
 fifth articles cf the Restrictions printed in the Appendix. 
 
58 
 
 piece to these “ Facts.” This is so embellished 
 with parterres, trees, and shrubs, as to render the 
 inscription underneath, of “ Longivood House , 
 from the Flower Garden,” very necessary indeed. 
 To crown this barefaced attempt at imposture, the 
 third plate represents a house, which was not in 
 existence at the date of the authors alleged visit 
 to St. Helena, viz. November, 1818; and that, 
 according even to his mode of stating things, 
 was only to be ready in the present month (April). 
 It would have also been satisfactory to many of 
 his readers, all of whom are called upon to exa¬ 
 mine these views, had they seen the original artist’s 
 name appended to them. If it should be after¬ 
 wards found, that these “ fairy scenes” are from 
 the flattering pencil of a person, who holds a staff 
 situation under Sir Hudson Lowe, and who dines 
 occasionally at his table, the mystery of the in¬ 
 ventive and picturesque, which forms so large a 
 portion of them, is at once unravelled. 
 
 Most of my readers may perhaps recollect, that 
 shortly after Napoleon was transferred to St. He¬ 
 lena, the ministerial papers were filled with pompous 
 descriptions of the “ Wooden Palace,” which they 
 stated as having been sent out to St. Helena, by the 
 British Government: very fine drawings of this 
 imaginary edifice were, I have been told, even ex¬ 
 hibited in the print shops. It is now high time to 
 inform him, that, instead of the said splendid 
 palace, immense logs of timber, great quantities 
 of bricks, &c., and an enormous weight of 
 
59 
 
 iron bars, for encircling the Captive, were sent 
 there. 
 
 I am willing to admit, that Plate I, bound up 
 by mistake I presume to face page 55 of this catch* 
 penny, resembles Longwood, making due allow¬ 
 ance for some extraneous embellishments and ad¬ 
 ditions 4 , but a more straggling, dreary, or com¬ 
 fortless looking barn it is scarcely possible to con¬ 
 ceive. Its general appearance has been aptly 
 compared to that of an old coat, outgrown by the 
 wearer, and which had been eked out with shreds 
 and patches of different coloured cloth, of a size 
 sufficient to cover him*. 
 
 In page 26 it is stated, that Sir Hudson Lowe 
 immediately offered to hire for him (Napoleon), 
 as a summer retreat, the delightful residence of 
 Miss Mason. This offer was illusory, and merely 
 made to have the appearance of doing something, 
 while in reality nothing was done. (Similar to 
 the offer of permitting fifty persons, the choice of 
 Bonaparte, to enter Longwood.) The house was 
 totally inadequate in point of size, containing only 
 
 * That there is no exaggeration, in calling this wretched 
 habitation a barn , will be seen bv a reference to the note in 
 page 34. 
 
 The Reader may be able to form a correct idea of the 
 
 9 
 
 comfort and accommodation afforded by “Longwood House,’’ 
 when he is informed, that Napoleon’s bed room is so small and 
 low as to have rendered it necessary to cut off the dome upon 
 the bedstead sent out by Government for his use before it could 
 be put up in his bedchamber. 
 
60 
 
 four rooms (two of which were in a state of ruin), 
 into which Sir Hudson Lowe wanted to put Na- 
 poleon, his domestics, either Count Bertrand or 
 Montholons family, and the orderly officer, form¬ 
 ing in the whole twenty-two persons. It was in¬ 
 timated to Sir Hudson Lowe, that, if he intended 
 to build a new house, the situation upon which 
 that of Miss Mason’s was built might be desirable 
 from the shade and water it afforded, neither of 
 which existed at Long wood : to this, however, no 
 attention was paid. 
 
 The above act of apparent civility, upon which 
 the author lays considerable stress, reminds 
 me of Napoleon’s allusion to Sir Hudson Lowe’s 
 favourite maxim, of striking with one hand 
 while he caresses with the other * ! so forcibly il¬ 
 lustrated by what occurred in 1816*, when minis¬ 
 ters, anxious to contribute to Napoleon’s amuse¬ 
 ment, and probably aware of his partiality for the 
 sports of the field, sent out two beautiful fowling 
 pieces, of Forsyth’s manufacture, which were duly 
 forwarded to Long wood, with a polite note from 
 his Excellency the Governor, in which this proof 
 of solicitude on the part of Government was com¬ 
 municated for the “ information of General Bona¬ 
 parte.” Soon after this act of civility, Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe prohibited Napoleon from stirring off 
 the high road; so that, however well disposed, 
 the Captive could only have made use of the guns 
 
 Vide Letters from Count de Las Cases, page CO. 
 
61 
 
 for the destruction of the rats, which infest Long- 
 wood and its vicinity in such countless numbers*. 
 
 * The rats are so numerous at Longwood, and so fearless, 
 that they often assemble, even in the clay time, in flocks, ta 
 feed when the offal of the kitchen is thrown out, and have not 
 unaptly been compared to broods of young chickens collected 
 about the parent hen. The floors of Longwood were so perfo¬ 
 rated with their holes, as to resemble a sieve. Over these the 
 ; *. > 
 
 servants had nailed pieces of tin, to keep them out. Napoleons’ 
 dining room was particularly infested with them ; and it is a 
 fact, that one of these noxious animals sprung out of his hat 
 when he was going to put it on one day after dinner. The devas¬ 
 tations committed by them were almost incredible, and latterly 
 rat hunting became a favourite sport at Longwood. The chase 
 was performed in the following manner: a little before dark the 
 holes were uncovered, and entrance afforded to the game: soon 
 after, five or six of the servants rushed in, with lights, sticks, 
 and followed by dogs, covered the holes as fast as possible, and 
 attacked the rats, who, when driven to desperation, made a 
 vigorous defence, assailed the dogs, and sometimes even the 
 men, by running up their legs and biting them. Sixteen were 
 killed in this manner in less than half an hour in one of the 
 rooms. 
 
 The wretched and ruinous state of the building, the roofs and 
 ceilings of which are penetrated in every room by the rain; 
 and the apartments being principally separated by wooden 
 partitions, facilitates greatly the entrance of these reptiles. The 
 French officers, and the ladies, have been repeatedly compelled* 
 by the dropping in of the rain, to get up several times in the 
 night, to shift their own and their children’s beds to different 
 parts of the rooms, in order to escape being deluged. This is 
 partly caused by the bad construction of the roofs, which are in 
 a great measure formed of boards and brown paper, smeared 
 over with a composition of pitch and tar, which, when melted 
 by the rays of the sun, runs off, and leaves open a number of 
 chinks, through which the rain finds an easy admission. This 
 
I 
 
 62 ' 
 
 ; I ; % 7r ‘ % 
 
 When the principle, upon which Napoleon’s im- 
 prisoment is attempted to be justified (not to men* 
 tion the extreme harshness of his treatment), is 
 duly considered, is there any thing so very strange, 
 as this writer would infer, in his manifesting a de¬ 
 sire to get removed to a less unhealthy region ? 
 By the way of not soaring above the author s own 
 level, and anxious to show that I can also resort 
 to a simile, si parva licet componere magnis, might 
 I be permitted to ask him, whether, if by any of 
 those fortuitous events, which occasionally trans¬ 
 fer some of our fashionable idlers from the pavde 
 of Bond Street into one of the well known houses 
 in Chancery Lane, or a still longer residence in 
 the Borough, there would be any want of “ dignity ’ 
 in the youth thus incarcerated wishing to breathe 
 the air of Highgate or Brighton ? 
 
 -anch’io son pittore! 
 
 Is it necessary for me to remind the author of 
 these Facts, that the comparison contained in 
 page 28 is no less vulgar than unhappy ? Who 
 knows, however, but that some former recollections, 
 and those not of a very agreeable nature, may 
 have given rise to this allusion, which was resorted 
 
 may be pronounced irremediable, as every day, m which there 
 are a few hours of sunshine, produces new leaks. My own 
 room was very frequently inundated; but having been inured 
 to wet and hardships, by several years* service on board ships 
 of war, I was neither so susceptible of its inconvenience, nor of 
 the injury to health likely to be caused by it, as the other 
 inmates of Lonwood. 
 
 w 
 
63 
 
 to in the absence of a more felicitous illustra¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Amongst the numerous improbabilites with 
 which the Facts abound, that of Napoleon’s fol¬ 
 lowers being likely openly to speak of the system 
 he is said to have so long adopted, admitting that 
 there was any truth in the assertion, is pre¬ 
 eminently conspicuous. None but those, who, in 
 possessing no fidelity themselves, think all the 
 rest of mankind equally selfish and ungenerous, 
 would for a moment imagine, that the men, who 
 followed the fallen Emperor into exile, and have 
 since shared his sufferings, could be capable of be¬ 
 traying a circumstance, which, in compromising 
 their integrity, must naturally militate against the 
 chances of that system producing removal. As if 
 the author were determined to fulfil the old adage, 
 that one misrepresentation generally requires others 
 to support it, Count Montholon is made to tell 
 the French Commissioner , above all others, that the 
 inmates of Longwood were determined not to be 
 satisfied at St. Helena. “ As it is not the policy ,” 
 independently of there being no adequate motive 
 assigned for such an extraordinary avowal on the 
 Count’s part, we must suppose him totally devoid 
 of common sense, thus to expose himself, not to 
 mention his old master, where no possible good 
 and much harm might arise from the confession of 
 such a resolution. 
 
 It is totally impossible for any thing to be far¬ 
 ther from truth than the following assertion, con- 
 
64 
 
 tained in page 30. Speaking of the manuscripts 
 seized amongst the papers of Count de Las Cases, 
 which are noticed in page ^ of his Letters, the 
 author observes, c( Bonaparte claimed them, and 
 they were immediately sent to him; on the re¬ 
 ceipt of them, without opening, he threw them 
 both into the fire, and commenced his task of re¬ 
 writing them, with renewed vigour and acti¬ 
 vity” 
 
 Now from the cool and deliberate way in which 
 the above statement is made, the most incredulous 
 reader would doubtless be induced to pause before 
 he rejected the veracity of so positive an assertion. 
 Although the circumstance alluded to is extremely 
 unimportant in itself, and the “effect” produced by 
 throwing a bundle of manuscript in the fire would 
 naturally have been confined to his confidential 
 friends or domestics, and consequently lost upon 
 the public, let the following incontrovertible state 
 of the case be compared with the above quota- 
 tion. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe detained the manuscripts for 
 seventeen days, notwithstanding repeated requests 
 to return them had been made, both through myself 
 and by Count Bertrand. On receiving them, Na¬ 
 poleon said, that, as he had no guarantee against 
 this violence of Sir Hudson Lowe, and did not 
 know the moment he might come, under some 
 pretence or another, and seize all the papers at 
 Longwood; “ a little more would have induced 
 him to burn all his manuscripts,” and I saw the 
 
65 
 
 very volumes, which this vituperator of the female 
 sex asserts were burned, a few weeks previous 
 to my departure from Longwood. 
 
 With the exception of a worn out story from 
 Joe Miller, two pages are, in this part of the au^ 
 thor’s <c highly important information,” devoted 
 to retailing some observations on the Countesses 
 Bertrand and Montholon, in which, misrepresen¬ 
 tation, scandal, and ribaldry, are combined in the 
 waiter’s best style. Considering the professions with 
 which his book is introduced to public notice, it 
 was natural to suppose, that such insignificant tales 
 as those would have been suffered to remain in 
 
 i u * . f 
 
 merited obscurity, particularly as they tend in no 
 degree to elucidate the great object of his publi¬ 
 cation. To what then are we to attribute this fre¬ 
 quent disposition to vilify two inoffensive ladies, if 
 not to a character and motives, which cannot fail 
 to make this writer utterly contemptible in the eyes 
 of his country, justly celebrated throughout the 
 civilized world, for its respect and deference to 
 the female sex ? I have already had occasion to 
 notice an attack on the children of Count Ber¬ 
 trand ; and this is not the last time which I shall 
 be called upon to trouble the reader with a few 
 more words on a similar topic. These ebullitions 
 of a low bred and rancorous mind are followed 
 by a ridiculous story about the Countess Bertrand’s 
 borrowing two shillings from a soldier s wife ; after 
 which the author states, that the families at Long- 
 wood receive four hundred pounds sterling per 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 month, every article, either necessary, or of luxury, 
 being furnished them. The inaccuracy of this as¬ 
 sertion can only be equalled by that relative to 
 “ Bonaparte’s political sale of plate, with ten thou¬ 
 sand pounds at command , besides the favourite neck-* 
 lace of the Princess Hortense.” The following is 
 an account of the private expenditure of the fami¬ 
 lies at Longwood. 
 
 * Francs. 
 
 For the clothing, and other personal expenses of nye 
 
 principals, anil seven children.,.,. 5,000 
 
 Wages for the French domestics.... 2,750 
 
 To provide against the insufficiency of the provisions, 
 
 and the badness of their quality. 3,328 
 
 Unforeseen expenses... 650 
 
 Total 11,728 
 
 This sum is distributed in the following man¬ 
 ner : one thousand francs per month, for the 
 toilet, and personal expenses of Napoleon ; two 
 thousand francs, for the clothing, washing, and 
 other personal and private expenses of Count Ber¬ 
 trand’s family, consisting of two principals, fonr 
 children, and seven domestics. The servants 
 wages, who are chiefly English, amount to above 
 three hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and the 
 washing to about the same* ; two thousand francs 
 for General Montholon’s family, composed of two 
 principals, three children, and six servants, who~are 
 chiefly English, and whose wages amount to about 
 three hundred pounds per annum. That the reader 
 
 * The price of washing at St. Helena bears an exact pro¬ 
 portion to the enormous price of provisions. 
 
67 
 
 may be able to form an idea of the enormous wages 
 paid at St. Helena, I will subjoin a list of the 
 amount paid to some of those, who were at Long- 
 wood when I left the island. 
 
 Wages of the French servant left on the Island for 
 that purpose by Baron Sturmer, per annum... 
 
 Adele, his wife. 
 
 laid by Countess Bertrand to a soldier’s wife, for 
 
 nursing Adeie’s child, 51. 10 s. per month. 
 
 Mary Hall. 
 
 IVlrs. Datev..... 
 
 Cook.. 
 
 
 <£332 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 MONTHOLON FAMILY. 
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. M'Grath, nurse, 6/. IQs. per month. 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Mrs. Hitchcock... 
 
 
 / 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Josephine... 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Frank, besides clothing and washing... 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 
 <£243 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 A statement, containing an account of the items of 
 the sum intended to provide against the insufficiency 
 of the provisions, amounting to three thousand three 
 hundred and twenty-eight francs, was taken by 
 Major Gorrequer to Sir Hudson Lowe, on the 8th 
 of April, 1818, of which the following is a copy; 
 showing the expenditure for the tables at Long- 
 wood at that period, over and above the govern¬ 
 ment allowance, which had been considerably in¬ 
 creased after Lord Holland’s motion in the House 
 of Peers had been made known in St. Helena. 
 
 r 2 
 
 <£ . St d * 
 
 80 0 0 
 50 0 0 
 
 6(3 0 0 
 
 50 0 0 
 
 50 0 0 
 
 36 0 0 
 
68 
 
 Francs. 
 
 Meat, fifteen roasting joints........... 360 
 
 Thirty fowls. 212 
 
 Sixty pounds of butter... 200 
 
 Forty-five of lard... 54 
 
 Maccaroni, vermicelli, &c. 120 
 
 Coffee.;. 100 
 
 One cwt. of sugar. 120 
 
 Spices of different kinds, vinegar. 150 
 
 Six hams, at seventy-two francs each, one with another. 432 
 
 Thirty bottles of oil. 200 
 
 Fifteen bottles of olives...<. 90 
 
 Fifteen ditto of capers or girkins. 90 
 
 Vegetables, one with another.;. 600 
 
 Twelve bottles of syrups, orange flower water, es¬ 
 sences, and other trifling expenses. 200 
 
 Purchases of crockery, glass ware, &c., to keep up the 
 
 stock. 200 
 
 Gratifications, and other trifling expenses. 200 
 
 Total. 3328 
 
 Notwithstanding the enormous amount of the 
 wages I have just mentioned, it was frequently 
 with the greatest difficulty that I, have been able 
 to procure a nurse, or a servant of any description, 
 for the inhabitants of Longwood; such was the 
 aversion which they felt to enter as servants in 
 what they called a gaol, that I have been often 
 obliged to make every possible interest with 
 the commanding officers and others, and their 
 ladies, to prevail on some of the soldiers' wives to 
 come to Longwood as nurses (as a favour) at such 
 a salary as seven pounds ten shillings per month *, a 
 bottle of porter daily, and, what doubtless will as- 
 
 * Madame Montholon was twice compelled to give wages to 
 this amount. 
 
69 
 
 tonish English mothers, a bottle of wine daily ! 
 washing paid, &c. This condition, however, was 
 a sine qua non , and circumstances rendered a com¬ 
 pliance with it necessary, both with respect to the 
 nurses, and all the other domestics. 
 
 Instead of having ten thousand pounds at com¬ 
 mand, , money was so scarce at Long wood (until 
 Count Las Cases made over four thousand pounds to 
 Count Bertrand in December, 1316) that the latter 
 has been so reduced, as to be glad to accept the loan 
 of so small a sum as twenty-five pounds from myself. 
 Whilst I was in St. Helena, the discounting of the 
 bills, which Bertrand drew, was frequently retarded 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe, for two months at a time. 
 This might probably have been intended to operate 
 upon the French domestics, already so disgusted 
 by the restrictions, the isolated state in which they 
 were placed, secluded from society, and the bad¬ 
 ness of the climate, in order to render them 
 still more so by the want of their wages, and thus 
 compel them to abandon their master. 
 
 This inference is greatly strengthened by what 
 has taken place since my departure. I have been 
 credibly informed, and have seen official documents 
 to prove, that since November, 1818, Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe has given orders, that no more bills of 
 exchange should be discounted for the French, 
 alledging as a pretext for such conduct, that they 
 must wait until he receives intimation from Eng¬ 
 land, that the last bill drawn by them has been 
 honoured, that is to say , for five months . Now it is 
 well known, that, although momentary difliculties 
 
70 
 
 have arisen in the payment of some of them, 
 yet they have been ultimately paid by Count 
 Las Cases, and that their future payment has 
 been also guaranteed to Messrs. Baring and 
 Co., by one of the first hankers in Frankfort. 
 On the 13th of January, 181p, a demand was 
 made by General Montholon, through Captain 
 Nichols, the orderly officer at Longwood, to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, 1st. Either that Mr. Ibbetson, the 
 commissary general, should be allowed to discount 
 their bills monthly, as he had been in the habit of 
 doing since April, 1818; or that, according to 
 Lord Bathurst’s letter, some commercial house 
 should be permitted to communicate with them, and 
 to discount their bills of exchange. 2d. Or that 
 the English Government, pursuant to the en¬ 
 gagements which it had made, should provide^ 
 with their own money for the expenses already 
 described. 3d. That if the Governor refuses to 
 comply with these propositions, he may authorize 
 some merchant to come to Longwood to pur¬ 
 chase the remains of the plate belonging to Na¬ 
 poleon. None of these proposals have been com¬ 
 plied with, and the distress produced by Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe’s refusal has been excessive. To shut 
 up families, composed of persons advanced in life, 
 of ladies, and young children, in a prison, upon 
 an island near six thousand miles from their 
 friends ; to deprive them of the means of obtain¬ 
 ing their own money, in order to provide for their 
 wants; to refuse to supply those wants, either in 
 kind, or by lending money to purchase them ; and 
 
71 
 
 to deny the prisoners permission to sell their va¬ 
 luables to procure it, is, I believe, without a 
 parallel in the history of England, or of any other 
 nation in the world! 
 
 It was doubtless a similar line of policy that dic¬ 
 tated the taking away from Mr. Barber, of the 
 Cambridge store ship, in February, 1818 , two por¬ 
 traits of Young Napoleon, which he had brought 
 out to sell to the father ; meanly pretending, that 
 the reason he took them was, <c to send them him¬ 
 self to Bonaparte,” but in reality to prevent a 
 father s having an opportunity of retracing the 
 lineaments of an only and a beloved son ! for the 
 pictures never reached Long wood ! 
 
 The story of the knee buckles, Mr. Warden 
 and General Gourgaud, is so little cc germane to 
 the matter/' as our author observes in the begin¬ 
 ning of his book, and withal so indicative of the 
 mountain in labour, that the reader will, no doubt, 
 gladly dispense with any comment upon such su¬ 
 perlative niaiseries . It is, besides, a curious fact, 
 that cowards, when they are not personally con¬ 
 cerned, always require more to be done by others, 
 than brave men would under similar circum¬ 
 stances. 
 
 Without having been able to discover quite so 
 much of Napoleon’s peculiarities as the author, I 
 am fully justified in flatly contradicting his asser¬ 
 tion about the wine glasses. This novel sort of 
 amusement appears more likely to have been 
 adopted at some of the Bacchanalian orgies at 
 Plantation House. It is well known, that the 
 
7'2 
 
 French do not drink wine after dinner; that Bona¬ 
 parte is particularly temperate; and that e\ery thing 
 is removed from the table in less than half an hour, 
 from the time of his sitting down. How Sir Hrd- 
 son Lowe could be informed of Napoleon’s actions 
 while alone, it is for the author, who is doubtless 
 in the Lieutenant General’s confidence, to explain. 
 
 Page 06 is ushered in with another tissue of mis¬ 
 representation, not less palpable than any other 
 contained in the whole compilation. In the first 
 place, the cook did not go to Long wood to com¬ 
 plain, he went (contrary to directions from Gene¬ 
 ral Montholon) to demand from Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 whether a letter from Count Bertrand to Cardinal 
 Fesch, containing a request that another cook 
 might be sent out to St. Helena (as his otVn 
 health, and that of his assistant, had been $0 
 much impaired by the climate as to render any 
 farther residence in it dangerous for them)- had 
 been forwarded, and when his successor might be 
 expected. Having taken this step upon himself, in 
 direct opposition to the orders he had received, 
 and having also, after his interview with Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe, been guilty of some impertinence io 
 General Montholon, he was dismissed from his 
 situation, but remained some days at Longwood, 
 without however officiating in his former employ¬ 
 ment of cook. 
 
 The circumstance relative to Albey is precisely 
 as follows : happening to be at Longwood when 
 he came there, I know, that Napoleon never saw 
 him; and so far from the question described by 
 
73 
 
 the author having been asked. General Montliolon, 
 die only officer of Napoleon’s suite, who saw him, 
 was with difficulty made to understand what he 
 said, as the man could speak nothing but German, 
 and some broken English ; which, together w T ith 
 Aibey’s not wishing to be forced away against his 
 will, from his master, Baron Stunner, was ihe 
 reason of his not being hired. The closing anec¬ 
 dote, about Lieutenant Colonel Dodgtn, is equally 
 true. Will the writer of these anecdotes inform the 
 public, what English regiments served against 
 Bonaparte in Egypt* ? 
 
 In the author’s zeal to serve his patrons, he 
 frequently “ o’ersteps the modesty of nature,” by 
 paying compliments, which, I venture to assert, 
 his friends would very willingly dispense with ; of 
 this description is the reply, for which he gives 
 Lieutenant Colonel Dodgin credit. Had there been 
 a particle of truth in the expression, it was one 
 to which no English gentleman could have given 
 utterance, without violating the rules of humanity 
 and decorum. 
 
 In page 45 the author observes, after some re¬ 
 marks about the commissioners appointed to reside 
 in St. Helena by the allied powers, that “ they 
 are shut out by his (Napoleon’s) whim and sulki¬ 
 ness, from the opportunity of seeing the only per¬ 
 son in the island they have any thing to do with.” 
 In putting forth this liberal assertion, why does 
 the writer conceal, that Napoleon had repeatedly 
 
 * The reader need not be told, that Napoleon left that coun* 
 try before our arniy landed at Alexandria. 
 
74 
 
 offered to receive the commissioners as private 
 individuals, in the same manner as he had received 
 other visitors f and that he caused Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe to be informed, that he would not re¬ 
 ceive his own son in his presence. Who hut such 
 a reasoner as this could express any surprise at the 
 fallen Emperors not recognizing the official capa¬ 
 city of persons, who were sent out to increase the 
 number of his keepers ? On the other hand, I 
 perfectly agree with the author, that their presence 
 is not only “ a matter of perfect indifference,” but 
 extremely to be regretted, inasmuch as that, by 
 witnessing the aggravated vexations practised to¬ 
 wards the inmates of Longvvood, not to mention 
 the unprecedented system established on the island 
 generally, our national character on the Conti¬ 
 nent cannot fail to have experienced great addi¬ 
 tional obloquy; for it is not to be imagined that 
 these commissioners could remain silent at what 
 they saw passing daily before their eyes, or omit 
 giving a minute account of it to their respective 
 courts. Viewing the subject in this light, the sooner 
 they are withdrawn the better. 
 
 To say that the influence of Count Bertrand 
 over Napoleon is the only cause of the latter’s not 
 cultivating an intimacy with the “ said commissi¬ 
 oners,” is worthy of the writer, and as great an 
 absurdity as he has uttered. If a degree of political 
 consistency, and persevering fidelity, almost unex¬ 
 ampled in modern times, gives the Count a claim 
 to the hatred of such a writer as the author of 
 these “ Facts,” no man on earth is more justly 
 
 / 
 
/ 
 
 75 
 
 entitled to it. I was not therefore by any means 
 surprised at seeing the scurrilous manner in which 
 the Count’s name is introduced to public notice : 
 and as the author seems to attach great impor¬ 
 tance to this part of his publication, particularly 
 by the pains taken to explain what occurred be¬ 
 tween him and Colonel Lyster, “ the old and valued 
 acquaintance of Sir Hudson Lowe” I hope to be 
 excused for dwelling somewhat longer on the cir¬ 
 cumstances of that transaction, than might have 
 been otherwise justifiable. Before I proceed to 
 state the real nature of the case, it may be as well 
 to observe, in reply to the author’s misrepresenta¬ 
 tion, “ that no officer, having business to transact 
 with him (Count Bertrand), will do it, unless in 
 the presence of a third person,” that this is a 
 precaution, which has been adopted, from neces¬ 
 sity, with the inmates of another residence besides 
 Long wood. There is an officer of high rank in 
 St. Helena, whose character for “ point black de¬ 
 nials of conversation, hardly dry on the lip,” and 
 verbal orders, is so palpably notorious, as to have 
 obliged another officer under his command to note 
 down his orders, together with the time, place, 
 and persons present, which, upon denial shortly 
 after, were shown to him. 
 
 On the 20th of July, 1818, Lieutenant Colonel 
 Lyster, who formerly belonged to the same regi¬ 
 ment with Sir Hudson Lowe, and who now holds 
 the temporary and local rank of lieutenant colonel, 
 by virtue of his sinecure office of inspector of militia, 
 with a salary of one thousand pounds per annum, 
 
 i 
 
Was sent by Sir Hudson Lowe as orderly officer to 
 Longwood : be was accompanied by a Lieutenant 
 Jackson of the staff corps, who had been previously 
 employed as the surveillant of General Gourgaud, 
 from the time of the latter’s leaving Longwood, 
 until he finally quitted the island. Lieutenant 
 Colonel Lyster was sent, by directions of the Adju¬ 
 tant General, Sir Thomas Reade, to Longwood, 
 with orders to take possession, in my absence , of 
 the quarters, which had been until then allotted 
 for the orderly officer and surgeon ; which he ex¬ 
 ecuted by seizing upon (when I was not present, 
 and without having given any previous intimation) 
 the common mess and store rooms, mess articles, 
 all which had been furnished by his Majesty’s 
 Government for the joint mess of the orderly 
 officer and surgeon. On my arrival at Longwood, 
 I found his servants busily employed in removing 
 my effects out of doors ; the lieutenant colonel 
 concluded his proceedings of that day, by unequi¬ 
 vocally avowing the nature, both of his own and 
 Lieutenant Jackson’s employment, to General Mon- 
 tholon ; to whom he observed, when asked if there 
 were two orderly officers, and for what purpose 
 Lieutenant Jackson was sent to Longwood ? “ Par- 
 ceque quatre yeux sont mienx que deux .” His out¬ 
 rageous conduct with regard to myself compelled 
 me to send him the following letter:— 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Longwood, 21st July, 1818. 
 
 Having reflected upon the unprece¬ 
 dented and outrageous conduct, which was put in 
 
execution toward roe yesterday, 1 feel necessitated 
 to make the following observations upon it. 
 
 On my return from the town, where I had re- 
 ceived a subpoena to attend as a witness, I found 
 that you, during my absence, had appropriated to 
 yourself, without any previous intimation or warn¬ 
 ing having been given to me, not only the rooms 
 usually occupied by your predecessor, Captain 
 Blakeney, but the common mess room, and the 
 store room of the orderly officer and surgeon ; and 
 as only such articles of plate, glass, &c., as 
 were my private property (the detention of which 
 would, by the laws, subject you to a criminal pro¬ 
 secution), have been sent to me, I am bound to 
 conclude, that a similar seizure has been made of 
 the mess articles furnished by bis Majesty’s Go¬ 
 vernment, for the orderly officer and surgeon at 
 Longwood. This proceeding was followed by an 
 intimation, that your intention was not to mess 
 with me, as your three predecessors had done. 
 
 The customary rules of politeness and good 
 breeding subsisting between gentlemen would (were 
 I a person in an inferior, and even in a low situa¬ 
 tion, instead of being, as 1 am, a British officer, as 
 well as yourself) have suggested to a person, pos¬ 
 sessing the feelings of a gentleman, the propriety 
 of giving a previous intimation to me of such in¬ 
 tentions, before precipitately dispossessing me of 
 my share of the mess and store rooms, &c. &c., 
 and thereby obliging me to return, at an unseason¬ 
 able hour, to town, in order to procure a dinner. 
 
 Such extraordinary and indelicate proceedings 
 
78 
 
 astonish me; and I beg to know (prior to coming 
 to any final determination), whether they have 
 been caused by a blind obedience to a superior au¬ 
 thority, or were the effects of your own proper 
 judgment and impulse. 
 
 1 am, Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 (Signed) Barry E. O’Meara, 
 
 Surgeon, Royal Navy. 
 
 Lieut. Colonel Lyster, Longivood. 
 
 Reply. 
 
 Long wood, July 1st. 
 
 SlR; 
 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your letter, of this morning’s date. As it con¬ 
 tains a great variety of matter, shall proceed to 
 answer it in the briefest manner possible. 
 
 You commence by saying, that, during your ab¬ 
 sence, I appropriated to myself the mess room, &c, 
 &c., without giving you any previous notice. Now 
 altho’ your language in the remaining part of the 
 paragraph is extremely violent, and would well jus¬ 
 tify my refusal to answer it; yet to show how much 
 you misconceived this business, I shall just give a 
 simple detail of the true state of the case.—In the 
 first place (previous to my leaving James’ Town), 
 I was desired by the Adj 1 Gen* 1 to require Captain 
 Blakeney to deliver over to me all the rooms be¬ 
 longing to the orderly officer’s quarters, stationed 
 at Longvvood. On my arrival here, I requested he 
 would point them out to me, which he did, and they 
 are those which I at present occupy, together with 
 
7 9 
 
 the stoore r'oom adjoining. Capt’n Blakeney then 
 called your servant, and desired him to take your 
 things away. A short time after this, Lieutenant 
 Jackson ask’d your man (without my knowledge) 
 to lend a few things we were in want of, as our own 
 baggage had not arrived. From this transaction 
 you found the indelicate insinuation, that I had 
 laid myself open to a prosecution at law.—In re¬ 
 spect to the mess you talk of, I never knew there 
 was one establish’d here; on the contrary, I un¬ 
 derstood Capt’n Blakeney dined with his reg’t; 
 but even if there had, surely I’m not account¬ 
 able to any man, why I prefer keeping a table to 
 myself.— 
 
 I now come to your last paragraph, in which 
 you ask, whether my conduct has been caused by a 
 blind obedience to a superior authory, or the 
 effect of my own judgment. 
 
 I must distinctly state, that I should have the 
 strongest objections to mess ivith an officer , who lies 
 so heavily under the displeasure of the Governor , 
 as I should be liable to hear observations, which 
 would inevitably destroy all the pleasures of social 
 intercourse*. 
 
 I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 (Signed) T. Lyster, 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel. 
 
 J3. O'Meara, Esq. 
 
 To the equivocation displayed in the above 
 epistle, I answered as follows :— 
 
 * I shall make no apology to the Lieutenant Colonel for 
 haring preserved his orthography, verbatim. 
 
80 
 
 Longwood, 22d July, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 As you cannot deny the circumstance 
 of your having, in my absence, seized upon tha 
 common mess and store rooms for the orderly 
 officer and surgeon, without having given me any 
 previous intimation, you endeavour to slur it over 
 by stating, that you, by directions of the Adjutant 
 General, obtained possession of all the orderly 
 officer’s quarters; and you conclude your second 
 paragraph by making an assertion, which, for ef¬ 
 frontery, is, I believe, until now, without a parallel, 
 even in St. Helena; viz . “ that vou never knei; 
 there was such a mess established here*.” 
 
 This is about as correct as your wilful miscon¬ 
 struction of a sentence in my letter, in which you 
 assert, that “ I found the indelicate insinuation, 
 that you had laid yourself open to a prosecution 
 at law.” I said, that had you detained the ar¬ 
 ticles of private property, which were not detained, 
 and which had been selected out, and were the 
 only objects sent to me, such conduct would have 
 laid you open to a criminal prosecution; which is 
 directly contrary to the misrepresentation made of 
 it by you. 
 
 As to living at the same table with you , Sir, I 
 never coveted it; I merely wanted to receive, what I 1 
 had a right to expect, and what I did not expe- 
 
 * There were very few officers in St. Helena, who had not 
 dined at the mess, which the Lieutenant Colonel pretended he 
 did not know had existed. His coadjutor. Lieutenant Jackson, 
 had repeatedly dined there. 
 
81 
 
 rience from you, viz. gentlemanlike treatment! 
 With respect to the insinuations, with which you 
 conclude your letter, I must remark, that, before 
 hazarding them, you ought to have had some 
 basis whereupon to ground them. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c. 
 
 (Signed) Barry E. O’Meara, 
 
 Surgeon, R. N. 
 
 To Lieutenant Colonel Lyster, Longivood. 
 
 Reply. 
 
 Longwood, July 23 d. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Your letter of yesterday’s date is 
 worded in so very insolent and ungentlemanlike 
 language, that I do not think it worthy of an 
 answer, especially as I am placed here as supe¬ 
 rior officer, in the discharge of a most important 
 
 duty. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 I therefore feel myself imperiously call’d upon 
 to lay your two letters before his Excellency the 
 Governor, with my answer. 
 
 I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 T. Lyster. 
 
 i . . •> 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel. 
 
 To B . O’AJcara, Esq. 
 
 On the same day, Lieutenant Colonel Lyster 
 gave orders to the officers ol the guard to examine 
 minutely every bundle, packet, or parcel, entering 
 or going out of Longwood, not excepting even the 
 wearing apparel of the ladies; giving as a reason. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 f 
 
 that, if this were not done, “ perad venture Bonaparte 
 might be able to get some books 5” and declaring, 
 “ that he wished him (Bonaparte) in the possession 
 of the Devil!” His intruding, uninvited, upon 
 Madame Montholon, and the declaration which he 
 made there, of his intention to spend a great part of 
 his time in their house, came rather mal apropos , after 
 his avowal of “ quatre yeux sont mieux que deuxT 
 On the 22 d, the following protest against the 
 farther residence of this gentleman at Longwood, 
 was, pursuant to the orders of Napoleon , written 
 by Count Bertrand, and addressed to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. 
 
 Longwood, ce 22 Juillet, 1818. 
 
 Monsieur le Gouverneur; 
 
 Ma lettre dat£e du 20 , £tait une r^ponse 
 a la lettre que vous m’avez fait l’honneur de m’^crire 
 le 16 de ce mois. Celle-ci est une nSponse h votre 
 lettre du 12 , et a celle dat£e du 21 . Si vous ne 
 voulez pas, Monsieur, qu’on vous reponde, n’ecrivez 
 pas. 
 
 1 °. L’outrage que vous avez fait faire a l’Empe- 
 reur par son jardinier-domestique de sa maison, il 
 y a trois mois, a 6t6 fait sous ses propres yeux. 
 II la vu, les temoignages de qui que ce soit sont 
 done insignitiants, les certificats que vous avez 
 envoyes ne contredisent pas le fait. Depuis, ce jar- 
 dinier a exerce plusieurs fois le meme ministere a 
 la porte, de la maison. Nier le fait ce n’est pas 
 donner V assurance que ccla n’aura plus lieu, mais 
 e’est dire au contraire que cela aura encore lieu. 
 
83 
 
 2°. L/empechement que vous avez mis par vos 
 insinuations et vos ordres secrets a ce que Mr. 
 Stockoe, chirurgien du Conquerant, assistat l’Em- 
 pereur dans sa maladie et ce pour lui imposer Mr. 
 Baxter, qui a et£ votre chirurgien, quand vous com- 
 maudiez ce bataillon Italien, et qui depuis a assist^ 
 a ia redaction de faux bulletins, les persecutions 
 que vous avez fait et que vous faites tons les jours 
 contre le Docteur O’Meara, pour l’obliger a s’en 
 aller; l’etat de foiblesse, de maladie de l’Empereur 
 suite de vos mauvaises proc6d£s, ne justifient que 
 trop les assertions contenues dans mes lettres. 
 
 3°. Mr. Lyster, que vous imposez comme officier 
 d’ordonnance, qui n’est plus au service, qui n’a de 
 commission que pour commander les milices, qui 
 ne fait pas partie de votre arm£e Anglaise, qui 
 n’appartient a aucun corps, qui est votre creature 
 depuis grand nombres d’ann£es et dans votre de- 
 pendance absolue, qui signera tout ce que vous lui 
 dicteiez, s’imaginera tout ce que vous voudrez, dira 
 tout ce qu’il vous plaira, n’aura d’autre volonte et 
 d’autre conscience que la votre, c’est a dire, celle 
 d’un ennemi declare, vous est plus commode sans 
 doute qu’une honnetet^ reconnue d’un capitaine 
 que tient k un corps, a une fortune et a une con¬ 
 science a lui. 
 
 Au nom de l’Ernpereur Napoleon, je suis charg6 
 de protester. 
 
 1°. Contre toute violation de l’enceinte par des 
 domestiques ouvriers ou autres que vous revetiriez 
 secretement de l’autorite publique. 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 2° Contre les insultes que seraient faites au 
 Docteur O’Meara, pour l’obliger a s’en aller d’ici, 
 et contre les empechements publics ou secrets que 
 vous avez mis ou que vous mettriez a ce que Napo¬ 
 leon se fit assister dans sa maladie comrne consul* 
 tant, par l’officier de sant6 en qui il aurait con- 
 fiance, accredit^ au service de sa Majeste Britan- 
 nique, ou reconnu pour exercer publiquement ses 
 fonctions dans l’isle. 
 
 3° Contre les t^moignages, les rapports, les Merits 
 de l’officier des milices Lyster, qui n’est plac£ a 
 Longwood, que pour etre un instrument de haine 
 et de vengeance. 
 
 Je demande que ma lettre du 20, et celle-ci 
 soient mises sous les yeux de votre Gouverrtement. 
 
 J’ai l’lionneur d’etre, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 (Signd) Le Comte Bertrand*. 
 
 Au Gouvei'neur Sir Hudson Loive. 
 
 * Translation. 
 
 Longwood, 22d of July, 1818. 
 
 Sin; 
 
 I\Iy letter, dated the 20th, was an answer to the 
 letter, which you did me the honour to write to me on the 16th 
 instant; the present is in reply to your letter of the 12th, and 
 to that dated the 21st. If, Sir, you do not wish answers, cease 
 to write. 
 
 1st. The insult you caused to be shown the Emperor, by his 
 gardener, one of his domestic servants, three months ago, took 
 place under his own eyes; he witnessed it himself; the evi¬ 
 dence of any body else, therefore, is insignificant. The certifi¬ 
 cates you have sent do not contradict the fact. Since then the 
 same gardener has frequently exercised the same duty at the 
 door ot the house. To deny the fact, is not giving an assurance 
 
85 
 
 Qn receiving the above, Sir Hudson Lowe sent 
 for Colonel Lyster, to whom he showed Count 
 Bertrand’s letter. The Colonel, on his return to 
 Longwood, wrote the following one to the Count, 
 which was delivered to him by the hands of Lieu¬ 
 tenant Jackson :— 
 
 that it shall not be repeated; but, on the contrary, shows that 
 it will. 
 
 2d. The hindrance you have occasioned, by your iminuations, 
 and your secret orders to the surgeon of the Conqueror, for Mr. 
 Stockoe’s assisting the Emperor in his disorder, with the view of 
 imposing upon himMr. Baxter, who was your surgeon, when you 
 commanded that Italian corps, and who has since had the drawing 
 up of false bulletins; the persecution you have exercised, and 
 daily exercise, towards poctor O’Meara, to oblige him to leave 
 the Emperor; the latter’s debility and disorder, the result of 
 your harsh proceedings; but too strongly justify the asser¬ 
 tions contained in my letters. 
 
 3d. Mr. Lyster, whom you imposed on us as orderly officer, 
 who is no longer in the service, and who holds no other com¬ 
 mission than a command in the militia; a person, who forms 
 no part of the English army ; w ho belongs to no corps; who 
 has been your creature for many years, and is altogether de¬ 
 pendent upon you; who will sign whatever you dictate, or 
 conceive whatever you require; will say whatever you please, 
 having no other will, no other conscience, than yours; that is 
 to say, that of an avowed enemy; is more convenient to you, 
 no doubt, than the acknowledged probity of a captain, who 
 belongs to a regular regiment, and who has to lose a reputation 
 and a conscience of his own. 
 
 In the name of the Emperor Napoleon, I am directed tp 
 protest;—- 
 
 1st. Against all violation of the boundary by the domestics, 
 workmen, or others, whom you may secretly clothe with the 
 garb of public authority. 
 
86 
 
 Longwootl, 24th July, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 I have seen a letter of yours, addressed 
 to his Excellency the Governor, in which you take 
 the liberty of vilifying my character, in the most 
 
 false , infamous , and wanton manner. You say. 
 Sir, that I am his creature, ready to execute any 
 order, be it ever so atrocious. This can only be the 
 invention of your own mind, as it is impossible for 
 you to know any thing of the sentiments which 
 occupy my breast. Were I disposed to retaliate 
 on the sycophant of the far famed Corsican , Eu¬ 
 rope knows too well I have most ample grounds 
 for it; but I disdain such conduct. I shall, there¬ 
 fore, only briefly say, that if you have the smallest 
 spark remaining of that nice sense of honour (for 
 which your nation is so justly celebrated), you can¬ 
 not refuse to give the satisfaction of a gentleman 
 
 2d. Against the injuries done to Dr. O’Meara, to oblige him 
 to leave this place; and against the obstructions, open or co¬ 
 vert, which you have occasioned, or may occasion, to prevent 
 Napoleon’s being assisted in his disorder with the advice and 
 opinion of a medical practitioner, in whom he may have confi¬ 
 dence; accredited to that service by his Britannic Majesty, or 
 admitted publicly to exercise his functions in the island. 
 
 3d. Against the testimony, reports, and writings of the 
 militia officer, Lyster, who is only stationed at Longwood as an 
 instrument of hatred and vengeance. 
 
 1 demand, that my letter of the 20th, and the present one, be 
 laid before your Government. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) Count Bertrand. 
 To Governor Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
8 / 
 
 to an officer, who has served his country for these 
 last thirty-four years, with zeal and fidelity. 
 Should you decline this, I shall be obliged to pub¬ 
 lish yon to the world as the vilest coward , as well 
 as the basest calumniator. I pledge my honour, that 
 the Governor has not the slightest idea of the step 
 I have taken, nor any other person, but the frieud 
 employed in delivering this letter. If you have no 
 pistols, I can procure them, and the business may 
 be settled with the utmost secrecy, at such time 
 and place as you may wish to appoint. 
 
 1 remain. Sir, your’s, &c. 
 
 T. Lyster, 
 
 Lieut. Colonel, B, M. Service. 
 
 To Count Bertrand, tyc. fyc. ftp. 
 
 Longivood. 
 
 On the next morning, a still more opprobrious 
 letter was written by Lieutenant Colonel Lyster to 
 Count Bertrand, and on the 25tli of July that 
 gentleman was removed from Longwood; as will 
 appear from the following letters : — 
 
 Longwood, ce 25 Juillet, 1818. 
 
 Monsieur le Gouverneur ; 
 
 J’ai l’honneur de vous envoyer une 
 
 lettre que je recois # . 
 
 Ce vieillard me parait en demence. 
 
 * A copy of Lieutenant Colonel Lysterh letter. 
 
88 
 
 11 ne peut avoir connaissance de in a corrcspon- 
 dance officielle que par vos ordres. 
 
 Je ne Ini reponds ni le lui repondrai. 
 
 II n’est qu’un mandataire, et, si son principal, 
 officier general, veut me demander raison, je snis 
 pret a lui faire lionneur. 
 
 J’ai rhonneur d’etre, See. See. 
 
 (Sign<3) Le Comte Bertrand*. 
 
 A Monsieur le Lieut. General 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 
 Plantation House, July 23, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 I have this day received your letter 
 of yesterday’s date, and feel extremely concerned, 
 that Lieutenant Colonel Lyster should have so far 
 given ivay to the impulse of his wounded feelings , 
 as to have addressed such a letter to yon, as that, 
 of which you have sent me the copy. 
 
 * Translation. 
 
 Longwood, July 25, 1818. 
 
 Sir; 
 
 I have the honour to send you a letter, which I 
 have received. This old man appears to be out of his senses. 
 
 He cannot be acquainted with my official correspondence, 
 except by your orders. 
 
 I have not answered him, nor shall I answer him. He is 
 merely a second: and should his principal, being a general 
 
 OFFICER, REQUIRE ME TO EXPLAIN, I AM READY TO MEET HIM. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &,c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) Count Bertrand. 
 
 To Lieutenant General Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
89 
 
 At the same time, I beg to observe, that I do 
 not feel myself hound to conceal from the know¬ 
 ledge of any British officer employed in a situation 
 of such important trust, any defamatory imputa¬ 
 tion, which may be endeavoured to be cast upon 
 him in the execution of it; nor can 1 avoid consi- 
 de ring you as responsible for any consequence, that 
 may result from hazarding such injurious reflec¬ 
 tions as you have done, particularly when writing 
 in your own name*. After being repeatedly in¬ 
 formed, I do not consider a letter addressed to me 
 in that form as official. 
 
 I beg nevertheless to express my earnest hope, 
 that the letter you have l'eceived may, from its irri¬ 
 tating tendency, not have been made known to 
 the person on whom you are attending; and if it 
 shouid have been communicated, that you will 
 assure him of my extreme displeasure at its having 
 been transmitted. 
 
 i 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Lyster will, in consequence, 
 be withdrawn from any further duty at Long- 
 wood. i 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, and 
 Most humble Servant, 
 
 (Signed) H. Lowe. 
 
 To Lieutenant General Count Bertrand, 
 
 Longvjood. 
 
 * Count Bertrand’s letter specifically says, <* An nom dg 
 FEmpereur. 
 
90 
 
 When, in April, 1818, I wrote a letter to Count 
 Bertrand, simply announcing my resignation and 
 motives, it was pronounced by Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 in his judicial capacity of Governor, as highly cri¬ 
 minal and punishable: in this instance, however, 
 a most indecent provocation to commit murder, 
 because given by two officers employed by himself 
 on a most delicate service, is not only tolerated, 
 but attempted to be extenuated by him ; and I 
 trust, that the reader need scarcely be requested to 
 compare the conduct manifested by Lieutenant Co¬ 
 lonel Lyster, in such an attack upon a prisoner , 
 with the forbearance displayed by the same indi¬ 
 vidual a few hours before : then f less fastidious, 
 his duty imperiously required him to appeal to 
 his protector, Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to make any comment 
 on the charge of cowardice, preferred against 
 Count Bertrand, as it is sufficiently refuted by • 
 his letter of the 25th of July (cautiously con¬ 
 cealed by the author of the “ Facts”), wherein 
 the Governor is explicitly informed of the Count’s 
 readiness to give satisfaction to the principal , while 
 
 he declines having any communication with an 
 
 * 
 
 officer, whom he regarded as a mere instrument. 
 
 Since my removal from St. Helena I have been 
 credibly informed, not by an anonymous author, 
 that Sir Hudson Lowe caused the officers of the 
 66th regiment to be assembled by Brigadier General 
 Sir George Bingham, who was ordered to prohibit 
 them from speaking to Count Bertrand, and the 
 
91 
 
 pretext alleged was, ec that the Count had refused 
 to accept of a challenge Sir Hudson Lowe is 
 civil governor of St. Helena, and sits as judge at 
 the quarter sessions, which are regularly held in 
 that island ; and he is also vested with the power 
 of remitting or of carrying into execution sentences 
 of death, pronounced by himself in his judicial 
 capacity. Although the Council of St. Helena is 
 composed of the Governor and two other members, 
 still, by the existing constitution of the colony, if 
 the two last differ in opinion with the Governor, 
 and vote against him, his single vote carries the 
 point in discussion ; and the only resource left for 
 them is the privilege of being permitted to enter a 
 dissent upon the records, which, however, has no 
 influence upon the judgment pronounced. It is 
 for the public to decide, whether Sir Hudson Lowe 
 (whose most bounden duty it was, as civil go¬ 
 vernor and chief justice of St. Helena, to prevent 
 any breach of the peace, or to punish the violators 
 pf it), in his conduct towards Count Bertrand, 
 was actuated by those upright principles of justice 
 and impartiality, which ought to govern a judge; 
 or whether it was dictated by a spirit of unneces¬ 
 sary hostility against an old and highly respected 
 soldier, whose body is covered with the scars 
 received during a service of thirty years for his 
 Country, and who, when Sir Hudson Low'e was a 
 subordinate officer attached to Blucher’s army, was 
 a lieutenant general, and commanded the army 
 opposed to the Prussian leader. 
 
92 
 
 In page 47 , and the two following, we are 
 favoured with a long detail, to prove the inaccu- 
 * racy of a statement, which appeared in the public 
 papers, relative to the breaking up of a carriage, sent 
 from the Cape of Good Hope for Count Bertrand. 
 Amidst the many stubborn facts and unanswerable 
 statements, which have been made since the ap¬ 
 pointment of Sir Hudson Lowe to the government 
 of St. Helena, no wonder if the opportunity thus 
 afforded should have been taken ample advantage 
 of; and in congratulating the author on his soli¬ 
 tary triumph, it will be for the public to judge, 
 whether, after the open acknowledgment of Count 
 Bertrand to the orderly officer at Longwood, 
 thanking Sir Thomas Reade for ££ his attention,” 
 there is a shadow of probability of such a story 
 having ever emanated from that place*. 
 
 If any thing were wanting to excite public 
 scorn, the author could not fail doing so by the 
 manner in which he alludes to the Countess Ber¬ 
 trand in page 49 . I do not complain of such re¬ 
 peated efforts to vilify and degrade the sex, for, in 
 the estimation of Englishmen, they return with 
 tenfold weight on the calumniator’s own head. 
 It is, however, no more than a common act of 
 justice to say, that the assertions, with respect to 
 the above lady, are no less foreign to truth than 
 
 * I find, upon farther inquiry, that the letter containing the 
 information was brought home in the Ceres merchantman, and 
 that the captain of that vessel repeated the same story, as if he 
 had witnessed the transaction, 
 
 / 
 
93 
 
 disgraceful to tlieir author. When I add, that, in 
 addition to Madame Bertrand’s being very gene¬ 
 rally considered as an uncommonly fine woman, 
 her address and manners are of the most elegant 
 and fascinating description, what will the reader 
 think of a writer, who could hazard the expression 
 to which I have been thus called upon to reply ? 
 
 The nature of her application to Dr. Verling, 
 if ever induced to make one, which 1 disbelieve 
 in toto , will be, no doubt, fully explained on 
 some future occasion. 
 
 « The total indifference of all the inhabitants, 
 as to Bonaparte’s movements or pursuits,” could, 
 if the statement contained a particle of truth, be 
 very easily accounted for. As to his movements: 
 since Sir Hudson Lowe’s arrival, Napoleon has 
 never been out of Longwood grounds, except once, 
 on or about the 4th of May, 1816. Under such 
 circumstances, what portion of the inhabitants 
 w r as there in a condition to make any observation 
 on his “ movements ?” The reason for his name 
 not being mentioned may he traced to the follow¬ 
 ing declaration of Sir Thomas Reade, viz. “ that 
 no person had any business to mention Bonaparte s 
 name , or to make him a subject of conversation, 
 much less presume to pass their observations upon 
 any restrictions, which the Governor might think 
 proper to inflict upon him, as he (Bonaparte) was 
 outlawed by the act of Congress; and that no 
 person had any business to speak to any of his 
 followers, who, by their own consent, were sub- 
 
94 
 
 jected to the same restrictions as him.'* The effect 
 of such a declaration, coming, as it did, from a 
 Governor, whose power is almost unlimited, may 
 be readily conceived, even by those who have only 
 heard how that power has been executed, through 
 the public papers and official communications. 
 
 When the tirade in page 52, and its accompany¬ 
 ing quotation from J. B. Rousseau, are compared 
 with the author’s declaration about veracity in 
 page 3, and the following passage, which is intro¬ 
 duced immediately after the above eloquent mor- 
 ceau —“ but I entered St. Helena : I commenced 
 my notes on what I saw; influenced, prepossessed 
 in favour of insulted, fallen greatness, and pitying 
 Napoleon”—it is scarcely possible for the dispas¬ 
 sionate reader to avoid applying one of this writers 
 own mottos to such tergiversation. 
 
 D’un mensonge aussi noii* justement irrite 
 
 Je devrois faire ici parler la verifce! 
 
 Having devoted a few pages to abusing the 
 “ collection of memoranda,” to which Sir Thomas 
 Reade’s letter to Count Bertrand gave rise, and 
 dwelt with peculiar emphasis on his humanity, 
 tenderness, and love of truth , the author renews 
 his favourite topic, by once more launching out in 
 praise of the comforts and situation of Longwood. 
 These panegyrics are accompanied by a view, so 
 beautified and embellished, that it has excited both 
 laughter and ridicule on the part of several com¬ 
 petent judges, whose opinions I made a point of 
 
95 
 
 asking on the subject. Here I beg leave to repeat, 
 that the building, represented in the above view, 
 was not in existence at the time he left St. Helena, 
 when the foundation had been only just laid ; and, 
 like others who labour in the same honourable 
 vocation, by confounding dates and occurrences, 
 he taxes Napoleon with a want of truth, in asserting, 
 that the new house was not commenced, although 
 the memoranda, to which he alludes, were written, 
 on the 25th of April, ISIS; and on my departure 
 from St. Helena, on the 2d of August following, 
 not a stone of the foundation had been laid. 
 
 “ Bonaparte’s favourite valet,” according to the 
 author, invariably sleeps in an inner closet. Now this 
 is another misrepresentation, as the person alluded 
 to, Marchand, never sleeps there. St. Denis and 
 Novarre, second valets de chambre, alternately keep 
 watch in a hall leading from the bath room to the 
 common passage of the house, and Marchand sleeps 
 in an attic. 
 
 In page 59? line 1, Sir Hudson Lowe’s apologist 
 commences his attack upon me by a direct falsehood. 
 He asserts, that I was the volunteer surgeon of the 
 Bellerophon, who accompanied Bonaparte to St. 
 Helena when the fact is, that the appointment 
 was not of my own seeking, but accepted in conse¬ 
 quence of advice to that effect from the Right Ho¬ 
 nourable Admiral Lord Keith, whose words, when 
 he sent for and recommended me to comply with 
 Count Bertrand’s application for that purpose, 
 were, “ It is not in my power to order you to ac- 
 
cept of it, as is out of the naval service, and is 
 a business altogether extraordinary, and must be 
 voluntary on your part; but I, as commander in 
 chief, will authorize you to accept of it, and I ad¬ 
 vise you most strongly to do so ; as I am con¬ 
 vinced the Government will be obliged to you, 
 and it is a situation, which may be held with pro¬ 
 priety and honour by an Englishman.” 
 
 In the next page this falsehood is followed by 
 another, stating, that I had said, a few days sub¬ 
 sequent to the arrival of the Northumberland at 
 St. Helena, in presence of a lady named Knipe, 
 u that Napoleon was an oppressed man, and that 
 it was the duty of every body to assist him.” To 
 refute this, it is enough to say, that, at the time 
 alluded to by this slanderer, Sir Hudson Lowe had 
 not arrived at St. Helena . 
 
 The calumnious insinuations and assertions, con¬ 
 tained in the following pages, viz. 6’l to 62 inclu¬ 
 sive, have reluctantly compelled me to lay before 
 the public some particulars of my early life, which, 
 under any other circumstances, might be consi¬ 
 dered as obtrusive and presumptuous in so hum¬ 
 ble an individual. 
 
 I am the son of an old, and, I believe, highly re¬ 
 spected officer, avIio served his Majesty for a num¬ 
 ber of years in the 29th regiment, along with the 
 present Earl of Harrington, in North America. 
 He was honoured with a special mark of royal 
 favour by his present Majesty, who was graci- 
 
97 
 
 ously pleased to grant him a pension for the loy¬ 
 alty and gallantry he displayed, in seizing with his 
 own hands two of the leaders of an armed mob in 
 the North of Ireland, who afterwards suffered the 
 fate they merited, and expiated their crimes; as 
 also for other services rendered by him, in support 
 of the honour and interests of his sovereign. After 
 having studied my profession for some years, under 
 the auspices of Mr. Leake, city surgeon, a gentle¬ 
 man, as highly respected in his public capacity as 
 he is esteemed in private life by all who have the 
 pleasure of knowing him, and attended the lectures, 
 delivered upon its various branches in Trinity Col¬ 
 lege, and the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, 
 I entered the 6*2d regiment, as an assistant sur¬ 
 geon, in the beginning of the year 1804 , at the 
 age of eighteen. With this highly disciplined regi¬ 
 ment I proceeded, in 1806, to Sicily, and subse¬ 
 quently to Egypt, our corps forming a part of the 
 expedition, commanded by Major General M c Ken- 
 zie Fraser. We remained in that country for 
 some months, and then returned to Sicily. Shortly 
 after our arrival at Messina, I was detached from 
 the regiment by Mr. Green *, then deputy inspector 
 of hospitals, and head of the medical department 
 in Sicily, who had been pleased to approve of my 
 services while in Egypt, and sent over to Calabria, 
 
 * It is impossible to name this inestimable man, without 
 being reminded of all that is praiseworthy in public and private 
 life, united to professional talents, which are of the highest 
 description. 
 
 II 
 
98 
 
 which was then nearly conquered by the French 
 under General Lamarque, as senior medical officer 
 to the English forces there, commanded by Lieu¬ 
 tenant Colonel Robertson. In this situation I re¬ 
 mained until our troops were compelled to retire 
 to the castle of Scylla, which, garrisoned by two 
 hundred and thirty men, sustained a six weeks’ 
 investment by six thousand men, under the above 
 named general. After nine days bombardment and 
 battering in breach, the fort being reduced to a 
 heap of ruins, and a breach nearly made, while 
 there was a mine in a state of forwardness under 
 the right bastion, the garrison were compelled to 
 quit it in boats, at midday, and under a heavy fire 
 from the besiegers. During the attack, Colonel 
 Robertson was pleased to express his satisfaction 
 at my conduct. Both him and the officers, had 
 subsequently, the honour of receiving the thanks of 
 liis Royal Highness the Duke of York, for their 
 gallantry and exertions on this occasion. 
 
 Some months after an aff air of honour occurred, be¬ 
 tween Captain, now Lieutenant Colonel Roberts, and 
 Captain Crookshank of the regiment ; the latter 
 an old schoolfellow, and highly esteemed friend, to 
 whom I was under many obligations. Having asked 
 my advice, I felt myself bound not to withhold it 
 in a situation of peculiar delicacy; and although 
 this affair was terminated without any injury to 
 either party, a result to which I had the consola¬ 
 tion of reflecting I greatly contributed, Lieutenant 
 General Sir John Stewart, then commander of the 
 
99 
 
 Forces, thought proper to declare, that the challenger 
 and his second should both quit the service, alledging, 
 as a pretext for so severe a measure, the necessity 
 which he said existed of making an example, in 
 order to put a stop to the practice of duelling, 
 then very prevalent in Sicily. In pursuance of 
 this I was brought to a court martial at Messina, 
 in Sicily, in 1808, and necessarily cashiered by the 
 sentence of the court, as the articles of war are 
 peremptory upon that subject. My conduct while 
 in the army, however, was such, that, on my arrival 
 at Malta, I was introduced by Mr. Green to Ad¬ 
 miral Sir Alexander Ball, to whom he gave me 
 such recommendations as he thought I deserved, 
 which caused my immediate appointment to be 
 assistant surgeon of the Ventura schooner. I 
 was subsequently presented by him to the Right 
 Honourable Lord Collingwood, who was pleased 
 to notice me, and to order (after three months’ ser¬ 
 vice) that I should be promoted to the situation of 
 acting surgeon of the Sabine sloop of war, Captain 
 Donnor, in which vessel I arrived in England to¬ 
 wards the latter end of 1809; but the regulations 
 of the naval service requiring, that no assistant 
 surgeon should be promoted to the place of sur¬ 
 geon until he had served two years in the navy, pre- 
 vented my being confirmed as such, and I was 
 sent back again to the Mediterranean in the VictO' 
 rious, Captain Sir John Talbot, K.C.R. On my 
 arrival there, I found, that Sir Alexander Ball was 
 dead; and Lord Collingwood having died shortly 
 
 a 2 
 
100 
 
 after, I was left without the patronage I had rea¬ 
 son to hope would be bestowed upon me, by those 
 two highly distinguished characters. In pursu¬ 
 ance of Sir John Talbot’s order, I was next at¬ 
 tached, at Messina, in Captain Coffin’s boat, to the 
 flotilla, which served against the army of Murat in 
 1810. I remained about four months in this service* 
 during which time attacks were made almost daily 
 by us upon the Neapolitan flotilla, moored under 
 the batteries on the opposite coast. After the dis¬ 
 persion of that army I returned to the Victorious, 
 in which ship I remained until after her having 
 captured the Rivoli. That my conduct was not 
 that of a traitor to his country, as insinuated by the 
 author of the “ Facts,” in page 6l and 62, is, I 
 trust, evident from the above faithful statement of 
 my services, and from the flattering notice taken 
 of my name by Captain Sir John Talbot, an 
 officer of so distinguished a character, and so well 
 known by the services he has rendered to his country, 
 as well as the injuries he caused to its enemies, as 
 t6 render any encomium of mine superfluous. In 
 his public despatches, which announced the cap¬ 
 ture of the Rivoli, of Seventy-four guns and eight 
 hundred and fifty men, by the Victorious, whose 
 complement was above three hundred men less, 
 and after an action, which, for severity and obsti¬ 
 nacy, does not find many parallels even in the an¬ 
 nals of the British navy, this gallant officer ob¬ 
 serves, “The number of wounded, and the severity 
 of their wounds, has caused Mr. Baird, the sur- 
 
101 
 
 geon, and Mr, O’Meara, the only assistant on 
 board, very great fatigue. Mr. O’Meara has passed 
 for a surgeon these last three years, and merits 
 every promotion 
 
 That my conduct while in the army was not 
 wholly devoid of merit, and that my departure 
 from the 62d was regretted by most of the officers 
 of that regiment, may be inferred from the very 
 flattering reception I experienced from the corps 
 on my return to Sicily, in I809 and 1810 , and 
 from the following letter from Mr. Green, now 
 inspector of army hospitals in the West Indies, 
 to Dr. Franklin, principal inspector of the army 
 medical board in London, 
 
 Malta, May 6, 1812. 
 
 My dear Sir ; 
 
 Mr. O’Meara, whom you must recol¬ 
 lect in the 62d regiment, and who was really in 
 my opinion dealt rigidly with, has requested of 
 me to introduce, him to you once more. I am 
 happy to say, that he has not forfeited my good 
 opinion of him. In a most severe action he has 
 proved himself to be a w T ell informed professional 
 man ; and by his good conduct, during near three 
 years as an assistant surgeon on board the Victo¬ 
 rious, seventy-four, he has gained the esteem of his 
 
 * Extract of Captain Talbot’s dispatch, dated 3d of-March, 
 1812, transmitted by Sir Edward Pellew to J. W. Croker, Esq., 
 on the 29th of the same month, and gazetted the 8th of May, 
 1 S12. 
 
102 
 
 captain and officers. Captain Talbot has men-? 
 tioned him in his public dispatch in very hand¬ 
 some terms. 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 R. Green. 
 
 Since leaving Sir John Talbot, I have had the 
 honour of serving in the West Indies for some 
 time, during the late contest with America, and 
 in three different ships, with Captain Frederick 
 Maitland, an officer, whose name stands conspi¬ 
 cuously forward in the records of British gal¬ 
 lantry; and whose talents were eminently displayed 
 by the successful manner in which he blockaded 
 Napoleon in July, 1815, with a force, that, in less 
 able hands, would have been totally inadequate to 
 such a service. I remained with this excellent 
 officer until I was directed to accompany Napor 
 leon to St. Helena, in the manner already stated. 
 Captain Maitland’s opinion of my conduct and 
 character will be seen by a perusal of the follow¬ 
 ing letter to Dr. Harness. 
 
 November 5 . 1814. 
 
 * ' * 
 
 Dear Sir ; 
 
 The attention and meritorious con¬ 
 duct of Mr. Barry O’Meara, while surgeon with 
 me, in the Goliath, calls upon me, as an act of 
 justice to him, and of benefit to the service, to 
 state, that, during the fifteen years I have com¬ 
 manded some one of his Majesty’s ships, I have never 
 
 i 
 
103 
 
 had the pleasure of sailing with an officer in his 
 situation, who so fully met my expectations. Not 
 being a judge of his professional abilities, though 
 I have every reason to believe them of the first 
 class, and know that to be the opinion of some of 
 the oldest and most respectable surgeons in the 
 Navy, I shall only state, that, during a period of 
 very bad weather, which occasioned the Goliath to 
 be extremely sickly, his attention and tenderness 
 to the men was such as to call forth my warmest 
 approbation, and the grateful affection of both 
 officers and men. Were it probable, that I should 
 soon obtain another appointment, 1 know of no 
 man in the service I should wish to have as sur¬ 
 geon so much as Mr. O’Meara ; as, however, in 
 the present state of the war that is not likely, I 
 trust you will do me the favour of giving him an 
 appointment, as an encouragement to young men 
 of his description. And believe me, dear Sir, 
 With much respect, 
 
 Yours, most sincerely, 
 
 Frederick L. Maitland. 
 
 I feel that some farther apology is necessary 
 for all these details ; but when the nature of the 
 attack, made on all that a man should cherish and 
 esteem in society, is considered, I rely with confi¬ 
 dence, rather on the sympathy than disapprobation 
 of the public, for thus endeavouring to render 
 myself that justice, which has been repeatedly 
 denied to me in other quarters. 
 
104 
 
 Although it is, I trust, unnecessary to make any 
 very detailed reply to the author’s diabolical at¬ 
 tempt to identify me with a person of the same 
 name, mentioned in the “ Secret History of the 
 Cabinet of Saint Cloud,” as a partisan of the 
 French government, in Ireland, I am particularly 
 anxious, that the mode and manner of making the 
 above charge, should be carefully examined by 
 every lover of justice; and in the event of the au¬ 
 thor’s not coming forward to disavow the accuracy 
 of his self-evident insinuations, I shall consider 
 inyself bound to. follow the advice of those, who 
 have recommended the adoption of legal measures, 
 for the more perfect justification of my character, 
 and punishment of the offender. 
 
 Had this attack not been intended as a cool and 
 deliberate effort to destroy my reputation, the 
 writer would surely have taken the trouble ot 
 asking those, who furnished him with his other 
 “ Facts,” what my probable age might be ? in 
 which case, even such a writer as I have been 
 called upon to answer, would not have considered 
 a boy of twelve years old, and occupied in learning 
 the fi rst rudiments of his education, as a likely 
 person to act either in the capacity of a spy or 
 partisan*. 
 
 * The Editor of the British Monitor, who was the author of 
 the work quoted by this traducer, observes, in the article of 
 his paper already alluded to, “ In justice to Mr. O’Meara, of 
 whom I never entertained a very favourable opinion till now, 
 I hereby declare, that he is not the person I alluded to in my 
 <c Scci'et History of the Cabinet of Bonaparte.’' 
 
105 
 
 In page 62, I am accused of an intimacy with 
 Mr. Lewis Solomon ; an intimacy with a trades¬ 
 man, who I have every reason to believe a most 
 respectable character, is rather an extraordinary 
 crime for an Englishman to accuse another of; 
 allowing it to be the fact, which, however, is not 
 the case : my intimacy with Mr. Lewis Solomon 
 only consisted in my having frequently purchased 
 articles in his shop, and paying hirn for them 
 whenever he sent in his bill. Furnishing news¬ 
 papers for my private amusement at Longwood,” 
 is also, I suppose, considered to be a heinous of¬ 
 fence, as it is printed in capitals. The truth is, 
 that, until the month of May or June, 1818, I 
 never saw more than one number of the Antigal- 
 lican in St. Helena (as stated in a former page). 
 At that time, I saw several numbers of this paper 
 in Mr. Solomon’s shop, which had been just re¬ 
 turned to him from Sir Thomas Reade, to whom 
 Mr. Solomon had lent them. 1 borrowed a few of 
 these, and begged some more, which he could not 
 accommodate me with, as he informed me they 
 were first promised to the Adjutant General. 
 
 As if the above pretended intimacy was a crime 
 of the first magnitude, upon which something very 
 important depended, the author thinks he has fully 
 proved it by a long story, relative to a snuff box, 
 which Napoleon was desirous of presenting to Mr. 
 Roys, one of the island chaplains, in testimony of 
 his attending the remains of M. Cipriani to the 
 grave. Much has been already said on this subject. 
 
106 
 
 I consider myself bound therefore to trespass on the 
 reader’s indulgence, by relating the facts iu the 
 way they really occurred; and I have no doubt 
 the gentleman, whose name has been thus brought 
 forward to public notice, will not refuse to corro¬ 
 borate them, if called on for that purpose. But in 
 every case, the candid and impartial will know how 
 to appreciate the motives, which could have induced 
 the author and his friends to attach such wonderful 
 consequences to this insignificant affair. 
 
 M. Cipriani had been attended in the illness, 
 which caused his death, by Mr. Baxter and Mr. 
 Henry, of the 66th, in addition to myself. After 
 his demise, General Montholon was desirous of 
 testifying the high sense entertained of their con¬ 
 duct by the French, and requested me to purchase 
 something handsome in the town, for the purpose 
 of being presented to them; as I had assured him, 
 that I was convinced any fees for professional at¬ 
 tendance would be refused by both. Accordingly 
 I purchased, from Mr. Lewis Solomon, a silver 
 breakfast set for each ; and a day or two afterwards 
 informed Mr. Baxter, at Plantation House, of Ge¬ 
 neral Montholon’s intentions, and that the present 
 would he sent to his house in a short time. Three 
 days afterwards, Mr. Baxter informed me, that he 
 had consulted Sir Hudson Lowe upon the subject, 
 and that he should be obliged to decline receiving 
 it; he, therefore, begged of me to prevent its being 
 sent to him. No intimation whatsoever was made 
 to me, either by Mr. Baxter or Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 
107 
 
 of there being any impropriety in my serving as a 
 channel for these little presents. 
 
 General Montholon, who wished to manifest 
 the satisfaction which the French felt at the 
 liberality of the tenets of our church, which 
 permitted a Catholic to be buried in Pro¬ 
 testant consecrated ground, and with Protestant 
 rites, begged of me to purchase a snuff box for 
 each of the clergymen. I bought one, which I 
 thought would answer the purpose, at the shop of 
 Mr. Saul Solomon; and, as Mr. Boys was upon 
 the point of sailing for England, it was delivered 
 by me to him, with General Montholon’s compli¬ 
 ments ; explaining, at the same time, that when a 
 similar one could be procured, it would be sent to 
 Mr. Vernon. Upon receiving the box, Mr. Boys 
 showed it to Mr. Vernon, and informed him, that 
 a similar present was intended for him, as soon as 
 General Montholon had an opportunity of pur¬ 
 chasing one from the shops. Being, however, 
 subsequently desirous of obtaining from General 
 Montholon a complimentary letter, explanatory of 
 the reasons why the box had been presented, he 
 returned it to me, with a letter, in which he begged 
 that I would give it to General Montholon, with a 
 request, that it should be sent to him through the 
 channel of the Governor, when the box intended 
 for Mr. Vernon was forwarded. This letter and 
 the box were left, publicly, at Mr. Lewis Solomon’s 
 shop, where both were seen by several officers; 
 amongst others, by Mr. Baxter. A copy of the 
 
108 
 
 letter to me lie inclosed to Mr. Vernon, as a 
 friend; without, however, as stated in the “ Facts,” 
 desiring him to acquaint the Governor of its con¬ 
 tents. I did not receive either the box or the letter 
 for some days after Mr. Boys’ departure. Upon the 
 receipt of them, I immediately returned the box to 
 General Montholon, and 1 communicated Mr. 
 Boys’ wish, which he refused to comply with ; al¬ 
 ledging, that by so doing, he should establish a 
 precedent for tradesmen to refuse receiving pay¬ 
 ment for articles purchased at their shops; or for 
 the accoucheur, who attended his wife, to decline re¬ 
 ceiving his fees, unless given through the Governor ; 
 and that the restrictions were already sufficiently 
 severe and obnoxious, without any farther increase 
 being made in their number. Two or three days 
 after Mr. Boys’ departure, Mr. Vernon went to Mr. 
 Baxter and Sir Thomas Reade, to whom he re¬ 
 counted, that Mr. Boys had clandestinely received 
 a snuff box from Bonaparte , and that 1 was the 
 bearer of it. It may be proper to inform the 
 reader, that Mr. Boys is the senior chaplain at 
 St. Helena, the salary of which is four or five hun¬ 
 dred a year more than that of the junior, unat¬ 
 tended with the drudgery of superintending the 
 instruction of the boys and girls in the Company’s 
 school; of which Mr. Vernon was often heard to 
 complain ; and that, upon the demise, removal, or 
 dismission, of the senior chaplain, the junior neces¬ 
 sarily succeeds to his situation . Mr. Vernon was 
 immediately sent for, and interrogated by Sir Hud- 
 
109 
 
 son Lowe, to whom he reported, that he had in his 
 possession the copy of a letter from Mr. Boys to 
 me*. An hour or two after this interview with the 
 Governor, Mr. Vernon called upon me at the Old 
 Post Office, in James’ Town, and said he had some 
 important information to communicate, which he 
 commenced by asking me, if I had heard any thing 
 relative to the box that Mr. Boys had received ? I 
 replied, “ Nothing whatsoever.” He answered, 
 “ Then you soon will; for Boys unfortunately told 
 Firmin')* the whole story, and, somehow or another, 
 it got to Sir Thomas Reade’s ears, and from thence 
 
 * Mr. Vernon, when he lived at Plantation House, was in 
 the habit of occasionally paying a visit to Count Bertrand’s 
 family, ostensibly for the purpose of assisting the Count in the 
 Selection of books for the education of his children. On these 
 occasions, he did not scruple to censure, in very severe terms, 
 the line of conduct which had been adopted towards them; 
 and in February, 1817, he informed Count and Countess Ber¬ 
 trand, that both himself and his wife would come very often to 
 see them, were it not that the Governor obliged every person, who 
 visited Longwood, to undergo a long interrogation prior to grant¬ 
 ing a pass, and that, on their return, they were obliged to make a 
 report of every thing they had seen, said, or heard; that himself 
 and his wife, “ etant honnctes gens! ” did not like to comply 
 with a regulation of so dishonourable a nature. This assertion 
 of Mr. Vernon’s was perfectly correct; but the circumstance 
 was, until then, unknown to the French, though it afterwards 
 formed one of the observations upon Lord Bathurst’s Speech. 
 Perhaps Mr. Vernon was conscious of having exceeded his 
 mission, and was desirous of making some atonement to the 
 Governor, by impeaching his “ camardde .” 
 
 f Island schoolmaster to the East India Company, and a 
 very respectable character. 
 
110 
 
 to the Governor, who sent for me this morning* 
 and I was weak enough to tell him, that I had a 
 copy of Boys’ letter to you; which I am now very 
 sorry for . It was very foolish of Boys to make a 
 confidant of any one” I replied, “ Although the 
 circumstance of Mr. Boys having received the box 
 was of so simple and innocent a nature, and more¬ 
 over so creditable to the Protestant religion, that 
 there was no necessity for making a secret of it to 
 any person, except a man of so crooked a turn of 
 mind as Sir Hudson Lowe, who, according to his 
 usual custom, would probably have applied the 
 most criminal intentions to the most innocent ac¬ 
 tion ; it is very unfortunate that he has acted as 
 you say; for he could not have taken a more sure 
 method of making known the whole affair, and 
 perhaps of ruining himself for ever. The Governor 
 will not fail to pervert the whole business, and 
 snake such a clandestine representation of it as 
 may, perhaps, be of material injury to Mr Boys, as 
 he has already done to others. As to myself, I 
 care not about it; for he can do no more than 
 order me off the island; an event I have expected 
 for a long time, and which I am fully prepared 
 for.” Mr. Vernon then repeated, in very strong 
 terms, his concern at the mischief which might 
 accrue from, what he called, “ this unfortunate 
 a fair” to Mr. Boys and myself: professing, at the 
 same time, the greatest friendship to both ok 
 us, and his regret that he had been weak enough 
 to tell Sir Hudson Lowe that he had a copy of 
 
Ill 
 
 Mr. Bovs’ letter. He then said, as if he had un- 
 expectedly discovered a satisfactory expedient* 
 If I had known what the Governor wanted, I 
 would have destroyed the letter ; even as it is, I 
 trill endeavour to lose it. There is a soldier to he 
 buried at Deadwood this day; and, although it is 
 not my turn of duty, I will go up and bury his 
 corpse, and endeavour to lose the letter in the way, 
 in order that I may be able to tell the Governor, 
 with truth , that I have it not in my possession.’' 
 To this extraordinary speech I answered, “ That 
 is a very foolish way of getting rid of it; because, 
 if you lose it on the road, it will be picked up by 
 some person, and most probably brought to Sir 
 Thom as Reade, or to some of his satellites. You 
 had better destroy it, or give it to me, and I will 
 tear it up before your face ; then there can be no 
 scruples upon your conscience, to prevent your 
 saying, that it is destroyed, or that you have it 
 not.” Mr. Vernon declined to do this; but re¬ 
 peated, that he would endeavour to lose it on the 
 road to Deadwood ; adding, that perhaps the Go¬ 
 vernor would forget to ask him for it; professing 
 great concern at Mr. Boys’ having been so foolish 
 as to write to him, and to make a confidant of such 
 a man as Firmin. I replied, that, considering lie 
 had to deal with a man, who put a bad construc¬ 
 tion upon every thing, it was unfortunate Mr. Boys 
 had written ; as what had passed in conversation 
 between us, could not be productive of injury; but 
 that what had been written, would remain to serve 
 
112 
 
 as a text for perversions, which would inevitably 
 he put on it, by a man ol such a disposition as Sir 
 Hudson Lowe. This is the substance of the con¬ 
 versation which passed between Mr. Vernon and 
 myself; to the truth of which I am ready to make 
 oath. Immediately after it, this clergyman went 
 to the Governor , with whom he remained for a 
 considerable time; and I have been credibly in¬ 
 formed, that he subsequently made a written re¬ 
 port, at the Governor’s house, of a conversation 
 stated by him to have taken place with me; a copy 
 of which document was forwarded by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe to London; but of which no notice, or in¬ 
 formation, was ever furnished to me bv Sir Hud- 
 son Lowe. On the contrary, all knowledge of it 
 was concealed by him from me, during my resi¬ 
 dence upon the island. Previous to this, Mr. 
 V ernon had been in the habit of frequently con¬ 
 versing with me, and of giving his opinion verv 
 freely upon the system which was pursued on the 
 island, and particularly on Sir Thomas Reade’s 
 actions. There is no necessity for much com¬ 
 ment upon his conduct; the reader will not fail 
 to draw his own conclusions. If Mr. Vernon con¬ 
 ceived, that Mr. Boys, in receiving the box, had 
 received the wages of corruption, or had acted in 
 any manner against his allegiance, he betrayed the 
 interests and honour of his country by not going 
 on the spot, and communicating it to the Go¬ 
 vernor ; by concealing it until after Mr. Boys’ 
 departure, and divulging it at a time when the 
 
t 
 
 113 
 
 latter was not present to defend himself; like a 
 double traitor, lie at once betrayed his country 
 
 AND Ills FRIEND ! 
 
 From the tone of self congratulation, and ludi¬ 
 crous confidence, with which the author of the 
 “ Facts” ushers in his remarks about a letter and 
 parcel, addressed to cc James Forbes, Esq..” but 
 intended for me, he was, doubtless, perfectly satis¬ 
 fied, that nothing more was necessary to complete 
 the long catalogue of <c treasons, stratagems, and 
 broils,” to which my name had been so clearly ap¬ 
 pended in the preceding pages. Fortunately, as 
 one of the author’s mottos has told the public, 
 iC og?ii medaglia ha il sno I'everso” It, therefore, 
 only remains for the reader to compare the follow¬ 
 ing extract from a letter, addressed by Mr. Holmes, 
 of Lyons 1 Inn, to Mr. Gonlburn, dated January 26, 
 I8I9, with the author's conclusion in page 68. 
 
 “ It is impossible for me, Sir, to misconceive 
 the meaning intended to be conveyed by the words, 
 ‘clandestine correspondence;’ and as this is the 
 first time Lord Bathurst has given me an opportu¬ 
 nity of explaining why, what you are pleased to 
 style, c clandestine correspondence/ existed, I 
 avail myself of it, for the purpose of proving to 
 his Lordship, that the necessity of it became una¬ 
 voidable, in consecpience of a most illegal and in¬ 
 decent outrage committed by some person, in 
 opening a letter of mine, addressed to Dr. O’Meara. 
 
 “ On the 8 th August, 181 /, i addressed a letter 
 
 
 1 
 
114 
 
 to Lord Bathurst, wherein I stated, that I had 
 written several times to my client, Dr. O’Meara, 
 from whom I never obtained a reply. And that, 
 from having heard from him on subjects uncon¬ 
 nected with the purport of my communications, l 
 conceived my letters had miscarried; and I re¬ 
 quested his Lordship would do me the honour to 
 forward my letters, and begged his directions as to 
 the manner in which they should be sent to Mr. 
 O’Meara, whether sealed or unsealed. 
 
 ‘ c You were pleased to reply to this letter, 
 on the 11th of the same month; and you ac- 
 quainted me, that Lord Bathurst was not aware of 
 any reason why Mr. O’Meara had not received my 
 letters, and that 1 might depend upon any I might 
 have occasion to write, in future, being forwarded, 
 if I sent them undercover to his Lordship; and 
 you concluded your letter, by observing, that it 
 was not necessary my letters should be sent un¬ 
 sealed. 
 
 “ With this assurance from Lord Bathurst, of 
 the sacred nature of my correspondence, I wrote, 
 on the 14th of August, 1817, to Mr. O’Meara, in 
 confidence, and on matters connected with his 
 private affairs alone, and sent it on the same dav 
 to Lord Bathurst, with a request, that it should be 
 conveyed. 
 
 m 
 
 cc Judge, Sir, of rny surprise and indignation, 
 on receiving a letter from Dr. O’Meara, dated 27th 
 February, 1818, informing me, that the letter above 
 mentioned, of the 14tiiof August, 1817, was sent 
 
to him from Plantation House, on the 31st of De¬ 
 cember, 1817, with the seal broken open, and a 
 note from Colonel Wynyard, stating, that it was 
 received in that state by the Governor*. 
 
 ce I would wish not to do my Lord Bathurst, or 
 his department, so much injustice, as to suppose, 
 for a moment, after your having written to me to 
 send my correspondence sealed, that my letters were 
 opened in this country. No, Sir, I think such an 
 illegal and ungentlemanly proceeding, could only 
 have been adopted by a man, whose known conduct 
 justifies such suspicions. 
 
 “ I appeal, through you, Sir, to Lord Bathurst, 
 to know whether such conduct as this, did not jus¬ 
 tify me in endeavouring to secure, by private 
 means, the safe delivery of my letters to Dr. 
 O’Meara. The Act of Parliament for the detention 
 of Napoleon Bonaparte forbade it not; the local 
 regulations of St. Helena were unknown to me. But 
 after all, Sir, what is the injury done, or likely to 
 be done, by my private communications? In what 
 have I so materially erred, that Lord Bathurst 
 should think proper so far to interfere with my 
 occupation, as to think me an unfit person to exe¬ 
 cute commissions, entrusted to my care in the usual 
 course of business ? Surely his Lordship must 
 have been misled by false representation, or he 
 would not so unceremoniously have condemned 
 me unheard; and with this feeling I avail myself of 
 
 * The contents of the letter, which had been thus broken 
 open, were afterwards disseminated in the island. 
 
116 
 
 'the opportunity now afforded to me, to give hb 
 Lordship such explanation of my conduct, as will 
 sufficiently manifest the innocent nature of my 
 correspondence. 
 
 “ It can scarcely be unknown to his Lordship, 
 that, for a considerable time, Count Bertrand has 
 been obliged to expend from three to five hundred 
 pounds sterling, monthly, partly in the purchase ot 
 the necessaries of life, of which Sir Hudson Lowe 
 refused to supply a quantity sufficient for the con¬ 
 sumption of the French, and partly in the domestic 
 comforts and private expenses of the families at 
 Longwood. The money arising from the sale of 
 Napoleon Bonaparte’s plate, which had been 
 broken up at St. Helena, in order to relieve their 
 necessities; with four thousand pounds, lent by 
 Count Las Cases; together with nine or ten thou¬ 
 sand pounds, the only tangible property of Count 
 Bertrand (and which had been deposited in the 
 hands of Messrs. Baring, Brothers, and Co.), hav¬ 
 ing been exhausted ; several hills, drawn by Count 
 Bertrand, upon a respectable house in London, 
 were protested. As the French were prevented 
 access to their own resources, application was 
 made to me, as an agent, to endeavour to ascer¬ 
 tain the state of some funds, which were sup¬ 
 posed to exist; or, if that should be found 
 impracticable, to discover if they had not rela¬ 
 tions, who, when informed of their necessities, 
 would offer pecuniary assistance, to a certain ex¬ 
 tent, viz. five hundred pounds per month, being 
 
'117 
 
 the amount of the sum which had been calculated 
 
 t 
 
 by them to be absolutely necessary (over and above 
 the allowance furnished by Sir Hudson Lowe) for 
 the maintenance, &c., of the families at Longwood. 
 And in order to prevent any further protesting of 
 Count Bertrand’s bills, I was requested to accept 
 bills, drawn by him, to the amount of one thou¬ 
 sand eight hundred pounds, at the rate of two 
 hundred pounds per month ; and I was also de¬ 
 sired to send out, occasionally, books, pamphlets, 
 and newspapers. 
 
 a In order to guarantee me from suffering any 
 loss, such communications were made to me as 
 enabled me to ascertain, that a sum, not exceeding- 
 three thousand pounds sterling, would be depo¬ 
 sited in my hands; and l was also directed to 
 » 
 
 obtain some information touching the state of the 
 funds. Those communications were wholly of a 
 private nature, and altogether foreign to politics. 
 
 I felt a pleasure in the task committed to my 
 charge, and happy in the thought, that I might, 
 perhaps, contribute to alleviate their sufferings. I 
 immediately wrote to St. Helena the letters, to 
 which so much unmerited importance has been 
 attached, and without any hesitation consented to 
 honour bills drawn upon me as far as one thousand 
 eight hundred pounds, ibis, Sir, is the history ot 
 my correspondence ; and it I have committed a 
 crime in what I have done, it is a crime of so ho¬ 
 nourable and humane a nature, that, it placed 
 again in a similar situation, I' should not hesitate 
 to repeat it. 
 
118 
 
 <f Had Lord Bathurst condescended to have 
 granted me an interview, after the receipt of my 
 letter of the 14th November last, I would have 
 convinced his Lordship, that my object was to 
 furnish to the French prisoners such comforts as 
 they could not procure at St. Helena, either from 
 want of sufficient pecuniary means, the locality 
 and remoteness of that island, or were denied to 
 them by Sir Hudson Lowe. 
 
 cc I am aware, that Count Las Cases has often 
 requested that books, pamphlets, &c., should be 
 sent out to Napoleon Bonaparte, and also, that he 
 is grieved to hear from Count Bertrand, that only 
 twenty seven volumes of new publications, with 
 fifteen numbers of the cc Lettres Normandes et 
 Champanoises,” have been received at Longwood, 
 for nearly two years ; and that even some of those 
 were books, which had been published during the 
 reign of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. I am aware, 
 also, that books, pamphlets, and newspapers, which 
 you declared, in your letter of the 1st of April, 
 1818, it was your intention to send out to Napo¬ 
 leon Bonaparte, had not arrived at Longwood, so 
 late as the middle of last August; and that Napo¬ 
 leon Bonaparte never receives any French news¬ 
 papers, although in your said letter you state, that 
 the Journal de Commerce, and some other French 
 newspapers, will be regularly forwarded for the 
 use of General Bonaparte. Moreover, as in your 
 letter of the 28th February, you inform the Count, 
 that you would, from time to time, apply to him for 
 payment of the hooks you might send out to St. 
 
119 
 
 Helena; and as he knew that those which had 
 been promised had not arrived at Longwood, it 
 was not extraordinary that he felt it incumbent 
 upon him to employ an agent in London to pur¬ 
 chase and send out such books, &c., as he ordered ; 
 and having applied to me for that purpose, surely 
 my employment cannot be deemed either unneces¬ 
 sary or inexpedient*. 
 
 “ The books alluded to in my former letters, I 
 am willing to send, for examination, to any person 
 Lord Bathurst may think proper to appoint, and 
 to be shipped by that person (or any other his 
 Lordship may select) for St. Helena; I also pledge 
 my honour, that they contain no letters, nor papers, 
 nor clandestine information, of any description 
 whatsoever; and I am ready to give his Lordship 
 any security he may desire, in support of my vera¬ 
 city. 
 
 “ If Lord Bathurst will do me the honour to 
 name a bookseller, I will, in future, order books to 
 be sent by him, in any manner his Lordship may 
 direct, bar the use of Napoleon Bonaparte; and my 
 sole interference in the business shall be the or¬ 
 dering and paying for them-} - .” 
 
 I trust that the foregoing explanations, added to 
 those which are yet to follow, will be a sufficient 
 
 ■* As stated in one of Air. Goulburn’s letters, to be the opi¬ 
 nion of Lord Bathurst. 
 
 f A compliance with this proposal was refused on the 
 part of Lord Bathurst, by Mr. Goulburn’s letter, dated the 
 27th of January, 1819. 
 
120 
 
 excuse for my not dwelling on the vulgar and in¬ 
 flated interrogatory with which the author closes 
 the attack more immediately levelled at myself. 
 Sir Hudson Lowe would have doubtless, according 
 to his own and this writer’s notions of equity, 
 “ been fully justified” in even doing more than he 
 has to blast my character, and wound my feelings; 
 but, thank Heaven, there is such a tribunal as 
 public opinion in England, and having been 
 driven to the alternative of appealing to it, I am 
 perfectly prepared to stand or fall by its decision. 
 
 In his t>8th page, the author of the “ Facts” ob ■ 
 serves ; tc As for the bulletins issued about Bona¬ 
 parte's health, to deceive the prince and people 
 of England, I confess I never heard of them.” 
 This miserable subterfuge is evidently the last re¬ 
 source of a person, conscious of having been guilty 
 of underhand practices, and solicitous to throw off 
 imputations of a nature not to be easily extenuated. 
 At Plantation House, the subject was, doubtless, 
 rather irksome, and not likely to have been often 
 made the theme of discussion. By means of the 
 transposition of persons, dates, and circumstances, 
 his instructor has misrepresented to him what he 
 knew to be true, by describing the memoranda 
 upon Sir Thomas Reade’s letter, written and sent 
 to the Governor on the 25th of April, 1818, as 
 having been applied to I)r. Verling, an assistant 
 surgeon of the artillery, then attending the sick of 
 his own detachment, in James’ Town; and who 
 was not sent to Longwoad by Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 nutil the 25tli of July of the same year, that is to 
 
121 
 
 say, eighty-nine days, after the memoranda had 
 been sent to the Governor. 
 
 The true history of this extraordinary transac¬ 
 tion is as follows. In 1816 Sir Hudson Lowe 
 ordered me to make out, whenever he thought pro¬ 
 per, bulletins of the state of Napoleon’s health, 
 from whose knowledge he desired that they might 
 be concealed, and which he sometimes caused to 
 be altered. In September, 1817, Napoleon having 
 fallen seriously ill, bulletins were made daily (by 
 Sir Hudson Lowe’s order), and Napoleon became 
 acquainted with their formation in the beginning 
 of October, through authorised persons. He did 
 not like this practice, and thought it was very ex 
 traordinary, that his private surgeon should be ob¬ 
 liged to make bulletins of the state of his complaints, 
 unknown to him ; and informed me, that, unless 
 1 gave my word of honour I would write no more, 
 without having first obtained his consent (or if he 
 was so ill as to render it improper to consult him, 
 that of Count Bertrand), and also that I should 
 leave the originals in the hands of one of his 
 suite, he would receive me 110 more. I did not 
 like to enter into this engagement, without 
 first acquainting Sir Hudson Lowe, who returned 
 an evasive answer, and made Napoleon wait a 
 considerable time for a decisive reply. After the 
 latter had been several days without seeing me, Sir 
 Hudson Lowe authorised me to tell him, that no 
 more bulletins should be asked from me, without 
 first making him (Napoleon) acquainted with the 
 demand. Some difficulties had presented them* 
 
122 
 
 * 
 
 selves in the compilation of the bulletins, Sir Hud¬ 
 son Lowe insisted, that Napoleon should be styled 
 General Bonaparte in them : after some discussion 
 on the subject however, Count Bertrand autho¬ 
 rised me to drop all titles, and to make use of the 
 word “ patient This I communicated verbally 
 to Sir Hudson Lowe, on the 15th of October, 
 181/. All difficulties appeared to be removed by 
 this proposal, and as the originals must have 
 been left in Count Bertrand’s hands, there could 
 have been no possibility of causing any falsification 
 of them. Sir Hudson Lowe, however, did not 
 approve of this proposal, and refused to comply 
 with it, consequently no more bulletins w T ere made 
 by me. Sir Hudson Lowe then had recourse to an 
 expedient, perfectly consistent with other mea¬ 
 sures, which he had introduced in St. Helena, but 
 which I believe cannot be justified by any principle 
 of probity. 
 
 He caused surreptitious bulletins to be 
 
 MADE, AND EMPLOYED FOR THAT FURPOSE A SUR¬ 
 GEON, WHO NEVER SAW THE PATIENT, AND WHO, 
 CONSEQUENTLY, COULD NOT BE A JUDGE OF HIS 
 COMPLAINT ; WHICH BULLETINS WERE SENT TO 
 
 England, and the different courts of Eu¬ 
 rope, by Sir Hudson Lowe, and by the Com¬ 
 missioners of the Allied Powers (to whom 
 
 THEY WERE FURNISHED BY SlR HUDSON Lowe), 
 FROM NOVEMBER, 1817j UNTIL APRIL ISIS; at 
 which period a discovery of the transaction was 
 made to the French bv one of the Commissioners 
 of the Allied Powers (from whom Sir Hudson 
 
123 
 
 Lowe had kept secret the mysterious nature of the 
 measure which he had caused to be adopted) hav¬ 
 ing accidentally said to General Montholon, “ We 
 saw in the bulletin of this morning, that Napoleon 
 was so and so:” this led to an explanation amongst 
 the parties most interested, and a discovery was 
 made of the expedient, which had been adopted by 
 the Governor*. 
 
 When I resumed my medical functions at 
 Longwood, on the f)th of May, 1818, Napoleon, 
 in order to put a stop to the fabrication of any 
 more bulletins, required that I should make out & 
 report o i the state of his health weekly (or oftener 
 if necessary), a copy of which should be given to 
 the Governor, if he required it. This I imme- 
 
 * Sir Hudson Lowe, when he could no longer avoid giving 
 some reasons for such conduct, endeavoured to slur it over by 
 alledging to Count Bertrand, “ that the false bulletins were 
 merely repetitions of my conversations with Mr. Baxter.If 
 so, why conceal them from me, why make a mystery of them ? 
 In order to have rendered them authentic, surely they ought 
 to have been shown to the only medical man, who saw the 
 patient, whose disease they pretended to describe! It is unne¬ 
 cessary to make many observations upon such mysterious con¬ 
 duct; to those who are animated by honest or upright motives, 
 nothing more than the truth is wanting. 
 
 To remove any doubts that might arise on the part of the 
 public, relative to the above highly important circumstance, 
 so'strikingly illustrative of the system pursued at St. Helena, 
 as well as to prevent the possibility of denial by those, who 
 are so deeply implicated in the transaction, which I have 
 felt it my bounden duty to explain, some of the most im¬ 
 portant official documents connected with it will be found in 
 the Appendix, No. I to VIII. 
 
tllately communicated to Sir Hudson Lowe, who 
 not only did not require it, but prohibited me 
 from making any written report whatsoever to him; 
 and even sent back those which I wrote to him, 
 compelling me to come to Plantation House, 
 whenever he thought proper to send for me, to 
 make verbal reports, in the presence of a witness of 
 his own selection , not failing, according to his gene¬ 
 ral custom, to vent his spleen on me, whenever the 
 caprice or malice of the moment stimulated him. 
 
 Still pursuing his plan of mystification , and de¬ 
 termined not to deviate from it, the author of the 
 “ Facts” states, in pages 69 and 70, that Napoleon 
 has the uncontrolled privilege of riding, and is per¬ 
 mitted to receive company. Thus confounding, 
 as in the instance of the bulletins, Napoleon’s note, 
 written on the 25th of April, 1818, with circum¬ 
 stances which occurred three months after that 
 letter had been sent to Sir Hudson Lowe, and 
 with the arrival of Dr. Verling at Long wood, 
 July 25th of the same year. Upon the subject of 
 being allowed to receive company, I have to ob¬ 
 serve, that visits between the officers, inhabitants, 
 passengers, and the prisoners at Longvvood, are 
 effectually prevented, either by direct prohibitions, 
 as issued to the officers of the 66th regiment*, by 
 
 * Directly a ship of war arrives on the station, the officers 
 belonging to it, previous to being permitted to go on shore, 
 are officially prohibited, in writing, from all communication 
 whatsoever with the exiles. In some instances, the Governor 
 endeavoured to obtain admission for favourites of his own at 
 Longwood, or for persons whose known sentiments were deci¬ 
 dedly hostile to Napoleon. 
 
123 
 
 the proclamations, insinuations and threats made 
 to individuals, and by an apprehension of render¬ 
 ing themselves suspected, or by their being ex¬ 
 pected and required to make a report of their 
 conversations to the Governor. Two marked ex¬ 
 amples, clearly showing, that any amelioration, 
 however plausible it may seem, is really only got 
 up to have the appearance of doing something to 
 benefit the prisoner’s situation, while in reality no¬ 
 thing is done, will be found in the following in¬ 
 stances. 
 
 On the 9th of May, 18IS, a letter was received 
 by Count Bertrand, from Sir Hudson Lowe, con¬ 
 taining extracts from a letter of Earl Bathurst, 
 dated 1st January, 1818, and offering to grant per¬ 
 mission for fifty persons, the choice of Napoleon 
 himself (subject to the approbation of the Gover¬ 
 nor), to visit Longwood, without any other pass 
 than his invitation being required; also containing 
 directions, that, in summer, the sentinels should not 
 be placed round the house until nine o’clock. Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, about the same time that he sent. 
 
 4 
 
 this letter, published a proclamation, in which he 
 prohibited any communication whatsoever with the 
 foreign persons under detention. He also conti¬ 
 nued to post the sentinels, as usual, at six o’clock - y 
 gave written orders at the guard room to allow the 
 French to pass until nine o’clock, while verbal ones 
 were daily given to the sentinels not to allow them 
 to go out after sunset (six o’clock); and caused the 
 officers of the 66th regiment to be prohibited from 
 
I 
 
 V26 
 
 speaking to the French, under pain of being re¬ 
 ported to him. 
 
 The other instance will serve to point out, even 
 in a still stronger light, that every supposed im¬ 
 provement, however specious it may appear, is 
 merely illusory *, while it clearly manifests the un¬ 
 derstanding which subsists between some of the 
 principal characters in St. Helena. In the latter 
 end of December, 1818, an officer of his Majesty’s 
 ship Favorite, who was invited to Plantation 
 House, in the course of conversation there with 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, asked the latter, if a report that 
 he had heard, of Lord Bathurst having accorded 
 permission for fifty persons to visit Napoleon, were 
 true; as, if so, he intended to apply, in conjunction 
 with some of his brother officers, to be included 
 amongst that number. Sir Hudson Lowe, in reply, 
 admitted the truth of the report, and said, that he 
 was very willing to give the applicant a pass for 
 that purpose, whenever he thought proper to ask 
 for one, protesting, in a most pathetic strain, “ his 
 sorrow , that Bonaparte did not see any person ,” in 
 which he was joined by Sir Thomas Reade, who 
 was present. On the 28th of December (two or 
 three days afterwards). Lieutenants Pearce and 
 Booth, and Surgeon Hall, of the Favorite, waited 
 (in consequence of this declaration of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe’s) upon Sir Thomas Reade, and requested a 
 pass to proceed to Longwood. After some hesita¬ 
 tion, the Sicilian knight said, that it was not in his 
 power to grant them what they desired; that they 
 
must apply to the Admiral; upon whom they ac¬ 
 cordingly waited. After explaining the purpose 
 they came for, they underwent a long interroga¬ 
 tion from Admiral Plampin, as to the object of 
 their visit to Longwood ; and, finally, obtained a 
 pass to proceed there, upon one condition, how¬ 
 ever, viz. “ That they should give their word of 
 honour to the Admiral not to go near Napoleon , even 
 if the latter should send for them.” Upon this con¬ 
 dition, they paid their first and last visit to the 
 captives. Such are the means employed by the 
 Governor of St. Helena, to debar Napoleon from 
 receiving visitors, and at the same time to make it 
 appear the act of another ! 
 
 An additional proof of these gentlemen's enter¬ 
 ing into the spirit of each other’s views is furnished 
 by what occurred to myself. Having been fre¬ 
 quently desired by Sir Hudson Lowe (when I 
 remonstrated against his ill treatment) to appeal to 
 Admiral Plampin, who, he observed, was ready to 
 hear what I had to say*, I accordingly, on the 
 12th of April, 1818, proceeded to that officer's 
 residence, in order to lay my grievances before 
 him, and to ask his advice. The Admiral, who 
 was walking with his lady, on the lawn before the 
 house, retired to his apartment, as soon as he per¬ 
 ceived my approach. I then explained to Mr. 
 Elliott, his secretary, the nature of my business, 
 and requested the honour of an interview with 
 the Admiral, who, upon my request being com¬ 
 municated to him, refused to see mes and some 
 weeks afterwards, Sir Hudson Lowe made “ the 
 
128 
 
 having purposely neglected to appeal to my own 
 Commander in Chief,” an article of accusation 
 against me, and a proof that “ my cause zvas 
 badr 
 
 In page 71, as on some other occasions, the 
 author replies to a question, put by himself, relative 
 to the “ferocious smilef which Napoleon is repre¬ 
 sented as having attributed to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 and his Adjutant. General *. Though I will not 
 go quite so far as the writer, in affirming what the 
 original expression, “ on souritf does not positively 
 imply, I am convinced, that every unbiassed and 
 impartial observer, who had witnessed the vexations 
 experienced by the inmates at Longwood, subse¬ 
 quent to the above officer’s arrival, would justify 
 very strong language on their part, particularly 
 when it is considered, that all other means of re¬ 
 dress seemed unattainable. 
 
 The best possible comment I can make on the 
 oft-repeated professions of purity and impartiality, 
 together with the enthusiastic praises lavished on 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, contained in the author’s follow¬ 
 ing pages, will be found in a perusal of the various 
 incontrovertible facts, stated towards the close of 
 these Remarks, illustrative of the Lieutenant Gene¬ 
 ral’s treatment of the prisoners under his charge, 
 
 * From the author’s allusion to the frequency of Sir Thomas 
 Reade’s smiling, he is doubtless very well acquainted with that 
 officer, and can, perhaps, inform the public, whether “ Sir 
 Thomas*’ smiled in saving, that the Allied Powers had 
 missed their aim; and that they ought to have strangled Young 
 Napoleon 
 
129 
 
 and myself. By comparing that treatment with 
 this writer’s fulsome encomiums, the public will he 
 able to form a judgment of its own, uninfluenced 
 by all that sophistry can suggest on the one hand, 
 or misrepresentation devise on the other. 
 
 Fertile as the author is in discovering that which 
 no one ever dreamt of before, and which the evi¬ 
 dence of facts, no less than palpable notoriety, 
 flatly contradicts, it need not excite surprize, if 
 he, who indiscriminately vilifies every individual, 
 and of both sexes (not excepting Count Bertrand’s 
 children ), forming a part of Napoleon’s suite, should 
 have found humanity, and all the other virtues, 
 centered in the person, for whose justification his 
 book is evidently written. The author has, how¬ 
 ever, totally mistaken the character of his country¬ 
 men, if he can, for a moment, suppose, that the 
 British public will be satisfied with a general enu¬ 
 meration of Sir Hudson Lowe’s virtues, unattended 
 by any instances , wherein those peerless qualities 
 have been exercised : nay, he cannot possibly be¬ 
 lieve, that any reflecting man could have perused 
 his inflated paragraphs, in which adulation and 
 flattery the most gross are blended, without re¬ 
 quiring some illustrations of that “ noble munifi¬ 
 cence,” “ friendship,” and “ charity,” so eminently 
 conspicuous in the character of his friend, or patron. 
 I venture to add, that one single instance of those 
 virtues being put into practice by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, would have had more effect on the public 
 opinion of his country than volumes of panegyric, 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 such as I have noticed. In the absence of those 
 proofs, I cannot help considering the author’s 
 praises as so many invitations to inquiry on the 
 part of his readers; and until they have ascertained 
 upon what specific grounds these unusual compli¬ 
 ments are paid, some will regard them rather in the 
 light of ingenious satires, than serious applause. 
 What, for example, can be more vague and unsa¬ 
 tisfactory than the following trite observation, with 
 which the author’s encomium in this part of his 
 book terminates. “ The instances of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe’s munificence, to which I have alluded, I 
 could easily record, but the feelings of others are to 
 be spared. Justice demanded that I should say 
 thus much, delicacy forbids my saying more.” 
 
 When the general character of the author’s 
 book, the mysterious and anonymous shape his 
 statements come before the public, together with 
 “ the merest chance in the world, which placed himia 
 St. Helena,” are coupled with the cause he espouses, 
 the above passage opens a wide field for conjec¬ 
 ture, while it fully justifies suspicions, no less inju¬ 
 rious to the party, whose measures he defends, than 
 derogatory to his own principles and honesty. A 
 short time will probably clear up the circumstances 
 connected with this publication : until that period 
 arrives, it would be premature to carry conjecture 
 any farther. 
 
 Returning to the “ Facts,” the author observes, 
 page 77, “ On one occasion, when Sir Thomas 
 Reade (who is Deputy Adjutant General) went to 
 
131 
 
 him to make some communication, Bonaparte 
 began, with his characteristic impetuosity, to foam 
 and grunt; on which Sir Thomas told him, that he 
 hoped he would not fly into a passion.” What 
 was the fact in this case, so completely distorted by 
 the author? Sir Thomas Reade told me, after his 
 interview with Napoleon, that, “ as his mission 
 was of so unpleasant a nature, couched in very 
 strong language*, he was surprized at Bonaparte's 
 being so very civil to him ; instead of being of¬ 
 fended, he laughed, asked him, What news ? and 
 
 * Sir Thomas Reade allowed me to read the paper; the con¬ 
 tents of which were as follows: “ That the Longwood esta¬ 
 blishment should be diminished in number four persons (without 
 specifying any individuals, except Piontkowski), who were to 
 be sent to the Cape of Good Hope, forthwith. That those who 
 were permitted to remain must sign a form, dictated to them 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe, purporting their willingness to submit 
 to any restrictions, which he might think proper to impose upon 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, without adding any comment or remarks 
 of their own. That those who would not sign this, should be 
 sent to the Cape directly. Any of those who remained in St. 
 Helena, reflecting on, or abusing , the Government they were under, 
 cr otherwise behaving ill, should be forthwith turned off the island, 
 and sent to the Cape, from whence no facility would be allowed 
 them of returning to Europe. That they should be subject to 
 the British laws, and particularly to those Acts which declared 
 the aiding and abetting of Napoleon Bonaparte to escape, an 
 act of felony, and punishable by death, and that they would be 
 tried and punished accordingly, should they be discovered 
 making any such attempts. Also a demand for the payment of 
 the price of the books sent out to Napoleon, and an intimation 
 of the Governor’s desire, that an officer appointed by him should 
 be always present when any strangers visited Napoleon.” 
 
 K C Z 
 
132 
 
 other questions of a similar nature; merely re¬ 
 marking, when the disagreeable communication 
 had been verbally translated by Count Las Cases, 
 “ Piu mi si persequiterd , meglio andrd , e mostrcra 
 al mondo chc rabbia di persecuzione, fra poco tempo 
 mi si levera tutti gli altri , e qualche mattma, m'a 
 mazzeranno .” Such were the knight’s own words. 
 
 Having informed the public, that Napoleon does 
 not , and cannot consider himself as tyrannically 
 treated, the author asserts, in speaking of the 
 <f Longwood Courtf that, “ none of them have 
 ever expressed the slightest desire for religious assist¬ 
 ance.” This is decidedly false; as Count Las Cases 
 applied for a priest in 1816, shortly after Sir Hudson 
 Lowe’s arrival; and Count Bertrand repeated the 
 application again, in February or March, 1818. 
 I have also been informed, that Lord Bathurst, 
 when asked by Count Bertrand’s father, or some 
 other relative, to grant permission for a priest to 
 proceed to St. Helena, for the purpose of instruct¬ 
 ing the former’s children, replied, that he would 
 not allow any person of that description to go to 
 that colony, who had not already passed his sixtieth 
 year; which was nearly tantamount to a refusal. 
 I have frequently seen Madame Bertrand (who is 
 stigmatised by this writer, as being of no religion) 
 deeply lament the want of a religious instructor at 
 Longwood, and complain of the barbarity mani¬ 
 fested in the refusal to permit a catholic clergyman 
 to proceed to St. Helena. All the time Counts 
 Bertrand and Montholon can devote to it, is em- 
 
133 
 
 ployed by them in teaching their children, and in¬ 
 culcating the necessity of religious duties. Count 
 Bertrand*, in particular, is occupied almost inces¬ 
 santly in the education of his three charming chil¬ 
 dren ; and under his instruction solely, two of the 
 boys are very far advanced in Latin, arithmetic, 
 &c. The beautiful little Hortense has also made a 
 considerable progress. The time absorbed by these 
 laudable pursuits is the cause of his not visiting 
 the town more frequently, instead of the slanderous 
 insinuation conveyed in page 47. 
 
 After confessing that he has read none of the 
 works which have been written on St. Helena, the 
 author enters into an elaborate and picturesque de¬ 
 scription of the island’s natural beauties, improve¬ 
 ments caused by Sir Hudson Lowe’s measures, &c. 
 It is evident, that all the powers of his inventive 
 fancy have been brought into play on this occasion 5 
 and however calculated such absurd exaggerations 
 are to impose on the credulity of the unthinking 
 and ignorant, the excessive pains taken to impress 
 the public with an idea of their correctness, when 
 compared with the accounts of other writers, affords 
 a presumptive proof of the author’s determination 
 to keep all the inconveniences, whether natural or 
 artificial, to which the island is exposed, totally out 
 of sight. This is amply proved by his frequent 
 recurrence to the advantages enjoyed there, 
 without noticing a single fact of an opposite 
 nature. 
 
 
 General Montholon’s children are much younger. 
 
- 134 
 
 Having already given some account of the island 
 and its climate, the authenticity of which I am 
 fully prepared to prove, I shall, at present, content 
 myself with finally replying to the author’s state¬ 
 ments upon this subject, by quoting the opinion of 
 two writers. Amongst those, whom he has not con¬ 
 sulted, Mr. Secretary Brooke, already mentioned, 
 in speaking of St. Helena, very truly observes: — 
 “ The island, however, is not to be considered as 
 possessing a general fertility. The greater part of 
 it is a barren , reluctant waste . Even in the best cul¬ 
 tivated and richest spots, that often make abundant 
 returns, the expectations of the gardener are fre¬ 
 quently disappointed ; and from occasional causes 
 in the earth or the atmosphere, his labour is de¬ 
 feated, and his crops often fail*.” 
 
 These remarks may be still farther corroborated 
 b y a reference to the late highly respected Go¬ 
 vernor Major General Beatson’s Tracts, published 
 evidently with a view of extolling St. Helena, and 
 enhancing its value as a colony. Speaking of 
 Longwood, he observes, “In former times it was 
 covered with wood, and was, therefore, called the 
 * great wood.’ ” A little farther on, and after some 
 warm expressions in praise of its plain, the General 
 adds, €€ About a mile and a half to the eastward of 
 Longwood House, there are the remains of many 
 gum wood trees; nothing is left but the roots, and 
 a few inches of bark.” 
 
 In a report of the Governor and Council, made in 
 
 * Brooke’s History of St. Helena, page 18. 
 
1716 , which follows, it is stated, amongst other 
 things connected with the disabilities of this spot, 
 
 “ there are no springs of water, but what are salt and 
 brackish.” Having in another of his tracts endea¬ 
 voured to prove, that the island was once covered 
 with “ huge forests ,” and lamented how few ves¬ 
 tiges are now to be seen, the major general 
 very satisfactorily accounts for there being no pos¬ 
 sibility of trees springing up, while exposed to the 
 ravages of numerous flocks of goats, sheep, &c. 
 
 <f Even the leaves of the old trees, when within 
 reach, do not escape their ravages. The young trees 
 having been in this manner cut off, and the parent 
 trees having perished through age, it is no wonder 
 there should be no succession ; and this is the ob¬ 
 vious cause, that, since the period of the introduc¬ 
 tion of goats, this formerly woody island has been 
 
 WHOLLY DENUDED.” 
 
 When these extracts from authors of known cre¬ 
 dibility are compared with the fabulous description 
 of the enchanting scenery given by the author of 
 the “ Facts,” it will not appear unjust to infer, 
 that his account has been taken from the history 
 of a fictitious island, placed by the writer of Oliver 
 Cleveland within five or six hours sail of St. He¬ 
 lena; and as several of my readers may not have 
 access to so good a library as that of Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, I will transcribe a few extracts from that 
 romance, upon which the author seems to have 
 founded his description of St. Helena, and the cli¬ 
 mate. “ C’&oit ur.e plaine dont la largeur <Stoit 
 
136 
 
 d’euviron quatre lieues, sur cinq ou six de longeur. 
 Elle paroissoit environn^e de tous cotds par des 
 rochers semblables k celui que nous venions de 
 traverser. Us etoient moins hants que roides et 
 escarp^s. La vue etoit ainsi bornee de toutes 
 parts. Mais Vunivers ria rien de plus agreable que 
 ce qui s’offrit a mes regards dans ce petit espace. 
 Toutelacampagne me par ut un jar din enchant d. 
 L’art et la nature sernbloient reunis pour rembellir. 
 C’etoit des allees d'arbres d perte de vue , de petits 
 bois, un melange bien ordonne de prairies et de terres 
 cultivees , des maisons d’un cote et de l’autre, qui 
 se repondoient avec symdtrie, et qui paroissoient 
 aussi bien disposees pour le plaisir des yeux que 
 pour la commodite des babitans. 
 
 “ Le soleil qui commen^it a rdpandre ses rayons 
 donnoit un air si riant a toutes les parties de cette 
 belle campagne, que je me crus, transport^ dans 
 un nouveau monde, et je ne pouvois rassassier 
 Faviditd de mes regards. 
 
 “ La nature nous aide, car elle n’est nulle part 
 plus liberale et plus feconde. Depuistant d’annees 
 que notre ^tablisment est formd, nous n’avons 
 point connu d’autre saison qq’un continuel prin- 
 tems, qui est toujours accompagne des richesses de 
 Pautomne*.” 
 
 • , •, ■ i 
 
 As another proof of the excellence of the cli¬ 
 mate, and health of the inhabitants (vide page 89), 
 the author states, that, “ the figure of a girl of fif- 
 
 * Histoire cT01iver Cleveland, par l’Abbe Prevost, p. 290. 
 
137 
 
 teen in St, Helena, is that of a mother at thirty any 
 where else* !" It is for the most superficial reader 
 to say, whether a stronger proof of the deleterious 
 effect of a climate on the human frame could well 
 
 • « ' ■ t 
 
 be cited. 
 
 It is also worth while comparing the author’s 
 description of <£ the abundance of beautiful pas¬ 
 ture, a country most beautifully fertile for miles 
 on every side, thickly studded with highly culti¬ 
 vated farms, views almost unequalled for boldness 
 of scenery, richness of foliage, verdure, cultivation, 
 well stocked farms,” with what this rival of his pro* 
 totj'pe, Oliver Cleveland, discloses in page 93, viz. 
 “ The price of every article of consumption is at 
 least three hundred per cent, dearer than in Eng¬ 
 land ; and, as far as provisions are concerned, five 
 hundred per cent, dearer than in India. In Ma¬ 
 dras a sheep will cost about half a crown, in 
 St. Helena the price of a consumptive duck is ten 
 shillings l' 1 and afterwards, “ that a captain in the 
 navy, while on this irksome station, where 
 neither credit nor profit can accrue to him, should 
 be obliged to consolidate half a week’s income in 
 
 * The description given by the author of the beauty of the 
 St. Helena ladies, appears to have been suggested by the fol¬ 
 lowing passage in Cleveland. 
 
 “ II cst vrai que nos filles sont des creatures toutes par- 
 faites; il semble que la nature en les formant, mette en charmes 
 tout ce qu'elle auroit du employer de plus pour produire un 
 ga^on.” Histoire de Cleveland, vol. i, p. 298. 
 
J 38 
 
 the purchase of a roasted turkey and couple of 
 
 boiled fowls! ” 
 
 The above palpable proofs of this writer’s bare¬ 
 faced inconsistencies, remind me of the sophisti¬ 
 cated remarks contained in page 56 of his 
 <c Facts,” wherein he states, “ that it must have 
 been a very highly favoured general, of great inte¬ 
 rest and personal connection with the continental 
 crowned heads, who would, in addition to such a 
 retreat, have received from his king a stipend of 
 little less than twenty thousand pounds per annum 
 to maintain an establishment.” Although this may 
 appear somewhat plausible at first sight, let us 
 dispassionately examine the question. Is not 
 Napoleon son in law to the Emperor of Austria; 
 and is he not related by ties of consanguinity to 
 
 t 
 
 almost all the sovereigns of Europe; amongst 
 others, to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent of 
 England? As to the stipend of twenty thousand 
 pounds per annum, from the author’s own admission, 
 “ the price of every article of consumption is at least 
 three hundred per cent, dearer than in England;” 
 that stipend, which he thinks so liberal, is reduced 
 to six thousand seven hundred pounds per annum. 
 
 In page 87 the author states, that, “ since Bo¬ 
 naparte’s detention the East India Company 
 have established stores, whence the military and 
 others are supplied with all articles of English and 
 Indian produce, at a moderate rate.” T his is also 
 a misrepresentation, as the stores in question were 
 
139 
 
 established long before Napoleon was born. In 
 page 91 he states, that the price of every article 
 of life in the island is exorbitant . In page 80, he 
 also asserts, the inhabitants of the country (i. e. 
 St. Helena), are in general greatly benefited by 
 the arrival of the detenus , troops, &c. It is an un¬ 
 deniable fact, that the residence of Napoleon on 
 the island has caused incalculable mischief to the 
 East India Company, and to the greatest part of 
 the inhabitants, besides costing about five hundred 
 thousand pounds sterling, if not more, annually 
 to the English nation, to defray the expenses in¬ 
 curred for the maintenance of the garrison, a nu¬ 
 merous staff, a seventy-four and large naval squa¬ 
 dron, the enormous cost of transport, wear and 
 tear of ships, and Napoleon’s household ; not for¬ 
 getting the many new places created, and sine¬ 
 cures enjoyed by favourites ; amongst others, two 
 situations, amounting to about one thousand eight 
 hundred pounds annually, by Sir Thomas Reade, who 
 is deputy adjutant general and inspector of police, 
 and that of Lieutenant Colonel Lyster, of about one 
 thousand pounds, Mr. Baxter and Lieu tenant Colonel 
 Wynyard, about one thousand pounds each, &c. &e. 
 &c. I should but ill discharge my duty to the public 
 were I to omit observing, that Brigadier General 
 Sir George Bingham, second in command, and 
 Lieutenant Colonel of the 53d regiment, only re¬ 
 ceived about one thousand four hundred pounds per 
 annum, while Sir Thomas Reade, a captain in the 
 2 ?th regiment, enjoys salaries amounting to one 
 
140 
 
 thousand eight hundred pounds per annum, besides 
 other advantages!! 
 
 Had the remarks contained in page 95, on the 
 dearness and scarcity of provisions, with the ex¬ 
 treme hardship of obliging naval officers to exist 
 on their ordinary pay, while that of the army 
 is nearly doubled, originated in any other source 
 than the author of these “ Facts,” it is reasonable 
 to hope, they would have excited that degree of 
 attention, to which they are so justly entitled. 
 Strange as it may appear, I perfectly coincide 
 with the writer on the above interesting subject; 
 and by way of an attempt to obtain a little credit 
 for the modern Munchausen, I am induced to add 
 this singular fact; a young gentleman named War- 
 dle, a midshipman' in his Majesty's ship Racoon, 
 who was in 1817 gazzetted to an ensigncy in the 
 66 th regiment, quartered at St. Helena, upon dis¬ 
 embarking to join that corps, was in the receipt of 
 as much pay as the captain of the ship from which 
 he had been just discharged; and that, according to 
 the St. Helena regulations, an army lieutenant of 
 seven years standing receives more pay in one 
 month, than a lieutenant of the navy's quarterly 
 bill for three months ! !! 
 
 It is necessary to state, that the army enjoy the 
 same advantages in procuring stock and provisions 
 from the Cape of Good Hope as are granted to 
 the navy. A certain portion of tonnage being 
 allotted in the storeships and transports to the 
 former, equivalent to that of the navy. 
 
141 
 
 Although I have no longer the honour of be¬ 
 longing to the naval service, I do not on that ac¬ 
 count feel less zealously attached to the real inte¬ 
 rests of my country; interests which can never 
 be so well consulted, or securely maintained, as 
 in cherishing and rewarding the only legitimate, 
 and by far the most powerful source of our national 
 greatness, wealth, and prosperity ! 
 
 In page 97, the author, with equal confidence 
 and falsehood, points out a gentleman as having 
 written the Letters from St. Helena, and whom he 
 describes as being a lieutenant upon the half pay 
 of our navy. In his usual strain of calumny he pro¬ 
 ceeds to traduce that individual’s character by as¬ 
 serting, that he violated his parole of honour, while 
 a prisoner of war in France. This is a gross mis¬ 
 representation, as the presumed author was, at the 
 time he describes, closely confined at Bitche, and 
 not on his parole . It was also from Bitche that 
 he effected his escape. He is moreover a person 
 of too much honour to purchase his liberty by a 
 breach of parole, or to compromise his honour by 
 retailing such falsehoods and scurrility as are to 
 be found in almost every page of the “ Facts.” 
 
 As the author of the <c Facts” has not refuted 
 a single assertion made in the Letters from St. He¬ 
 lena, for a very excellent reason, namely, that the 
 facts contained in them are incontrovertible, and 
 the details authentic and correct, though he has 
 endeavoured to cavil at some passages, and to 
 make it appear, that because Napoleon was in toie- 
 
142 
 
 rable health in July, 1817, he must necessarily 
 have been equally so in April, 1818, joined with 
 some scurrilous attacks and insinuations against 
 Sir Pulteney and Lady Malcolm, I shall not waste 
 any farther time on his observations upon that 
 pamphlet, except to state, that the assertion in 
 page 107, in italics , viz,, “ he gave the gunner an 
 order upon London for the amount immediately/’ 
 is a deliberate falsehood, as Sir Hudson Lowe with¬ 
 held Count Bertrand’s order for three hundred pounds - 
 from the gunner, sent it to the secretary of state’s 
 office, and merely gave the man a certificate, that 
 he had received a bill of such an amount for 
 him. The consequence was, that he did not re¬ 
 ceive the bill for fourteen months afterwards, at 
 which time the funds, which had been deposited in 
 the hands of the person it was drawn upon, were 
 exhausted , and the bill zvas protested. 
 
 In page 119, he denies the truth of a letter 
 which appeared in the Morning Chronicle, stating 
 that persons have been prohibited from speaking 
 to Madame Bertrand ; and asserts, in proof of his 
 assertion, that he saw Lieutenant Jackson of the 
 staff corps, Doctor Verling of the artillery, and 
 Captain Nichols of the 66th, walking with Ma¬ 
 dame Bertrand. These officers are privileged per¬ 
 sons, and all three attached to Longwood, by order 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe; viz. Doctor Verling, as sur¬ 
 geon, Captain Nicols, as orderly officer, and Lieu¬ 
 tenant Jackson, as superintendant of works erecting 
 there. What other employments this last named 
 
143 
 
 gentleman may enjoy at Long wood, at present, I 
 know not; at my departure from St. Helena, one 
 was to attend upon the French officers when they 
 went to James’ Town. lam also credibly informed, 
 and believe it to be true, that Madame Bertrand 
 has made a remonstrance to Sir Hudson Lowe 
 about the officers of the 66th regiment having 
 been prohibited to speak to her. Moreover, before 
 my departure from the island. Lieutenant Colonel 
 Lascelles interdicted divers officers of that regi¬ 
 ment from holding any intercourse with the 
 French. A tradesman cannot present his account, 
 or the washerwoman her bill , without their having 
 first undergone an inspection and examination by 
 the Governor himself, or some of his agents; nor 
 can the English servants, male or female , belong¬ 
 ing to the establishment, bring to their maslers or 
 mistresses the most trifling articles they have pur¬ 
 chased by their direction in the town; without their 
 having gone through the ceremony of being in¬ 
 spected by the orderly officer, and sometimes by 
 the Adjutant General, Sir Thomas Reade; the 
 same degrading ceremony must be observed in 
 sending every thing from Longwood to the town, 
 or elsewhere; from which not even the clothes of 
 the ladies, when going to the wash, are exempted: 
 those of Countess Bertrand have been examined by 
 Sir Thomas Reade in a manner, which would, I am 
 sure, have been repugnant to the feelings of a Prus¬ 
 sian corporal. 
 
 In page 124, Sir Hudson Lowe is made by 
 
144 
 
 his panegyrist to utter a fine sentiment in 
 Italian to Napoleon, and in the note it is asserted 
 that Napoleon and the Governor always conversed 
 in that language. Both these assertions are un¬ 
 true; Napoleon and Sir Hudson Lowe never con¬ 
 versed in Italian, except at the first interviews of 
 the four or five, which Sir Hudson Lowe has held 
 with him; and as to the torrent of abuse against 
 the English nation , which is attributed to Napoleon, 
 if his telling Sir Hudson Lowe, that, “ by the act 
 of the English Parliament it was decreed that he 
 should be treated as a prisoner of war , but that he 
 (Sir Hudson) treated him worse than a galley slave y 
 or a condemned criminal, as the latter were per- 
 ’ mitted to receive newspapers, or any printed books 
 they might wish to obtain, which Sir Hudson 
 Lowe would not permit him to have,”—was a torrent 
 of the grossest scurrility on England and its inha¬ 
 bitants, what I have just related certainly comes 
 under the above denomination. A gallant and 
 highly distinguished naval officer was present at 
 this interview. 
 
 In page 120, the author of the <c Facts” takes 
 leave of his readers, by assuring them that, on a re¬ 
 examination of his statements, he sees no one fact 
 recorded, which is not on the best authority ; his 
 subsequent appeals to credibility are doubtless of a 
 very powerful nature, in his own estimation ; but in 
 alluding to the publications which have appeared, 
 relative to the transactions at St. Helena, he should 
 have admitted, that a part of what he designates 
 
145 
 
 under the epithet of falsehoods, were contained in 
 official statements prepared at Longwood, under 
 Napoleon’s own eyes; and although I cannot think 
 it possible for the public to allow such an “ anony¬ 
 mous defence” as his to influence its final judg¬ 
 ment upon the important question of the fallen 
 Emperor’s detention and treatment, I am re¬ 
 luctantly prevented from also terminating these re¬ 
 marks, by a desire to put the nation in possession 
 of some more details, connected with the system of 
 government established by Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 which are, as observed in a former page, not only 
 intended to serve as a reply to all this author’s 
 panegyrics on the lieutenant general’s amiable 
 qualifications, but in answer to the gratuitous ob¬ 
 servations contained in page 121 of the <c Facts,” 
 where this writer’s almost unprecedented effort to 
 deceive his country is crowned by a statement. 
 That the treatment of Napoleon Bonaparte in 
 St. Helena, so far from being capricious or annoy- 
 
 f • . 
 
 ing, is in every respect (with proper regard to his 
 security) mild and gentle; that, as I have shown, 
 the minutest attention is paid to the most trifling of 
 his whims and fancies; that, as I think I have 
 satisfactorily proved, his table is abundantly and 
 luxuriously supplied: his stables filled with the 
 best horses in the island, —that every accommodation 
 is afforded to him in his residence, which is plea¬ 
 sant and commodious.” 
 
 Having perused the foregoing paragraph, match¬ 
 less for effrontery and falsehood, the reader is ear* 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 nestly requested to keep it in mind, while he ac¬ 
 companies me in the following detached particu¬ 
 lars, selected from that mass of materials which my 
 residence in St. Helena enabled me to collect. 
 
 In July, 1816, Mr. Hobhouse sent a copy of 
 his work upon France to Lieutenant General Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, with a request that it might be pre¬ 
 sented to Napoleon. It was however withheld, and 
 concealed from the latter’s knowledge until a dis¬ 
 covery of the circumstance was made by an 
 officer of rank, who had seen the book acci¬ 
 dentally at Plantation House. Finding concealment 
 no longer possible. Sir Hudson Lowe then said, 
 Cf that he had detained it, because it had not passed 
 through the Secretary of State’s office*, and also 
 because Lord Castlereagh's political conduct teas 
 freely censured in it; Sir Hudson Lowe observed, 
 “ that he had no idea of allowing General Bona¬ 
 parte to know, that works of such a nature were 
 permitted to be printed and sold in England, 
 much less to allow him to peruse a publication in 
 which Lord Castlereagh was spoken ill of” The 
 discovery made of the transaction by the gallant 
 
 * I have been informed, that, on some occasions, when ap¬ 
 plications have been made to Earl Bathurst in this country to 
 send out presents and other little articles to the French at 
 Longwood, his lordship has replied, that nothing more was 
 necessary than to send them to Sir Hudson Lowe, who would, 
 without any interference of his lordship or his office, forward 
 them to the persons for whom they were destined. The fate 
 they were likely to meet there may be judged from that which 
 Mr. Hobhouse’s book experienced. 
 
147 
 
 \ 
 
 officer alluded to was purely accidental and 
 without guile: having seen the work upon the 
 table at Plantation House, and heard there, that 
 it had been sent by the author for Napoleon, he 
 mentioned the circumstance unthinkingly at Long- 
 wood in the course of conversation, not supposing 
 that the Governor of St. Helena would have de¬ 
 prived his prisoner of the slender satisfaction which 
 he might derive from the perusal of a work, that 
 gave due credit to his military talents. This piece 
 of inadvertence, however, was considered by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe to be of so heinous a nature, as to 
 cause him to make a report of the affair, unknown 
 to the officer, to Lord Bathurst, in which the con¬ 
 duct of the person complained of was represented 
 in a most disadvantageous light, as may be inferred 
 from the declarations triumphantly made by both 
 Sir Hudson Lowe and Sir Thomas Reade to divers 
 passengers on their way to England, who made 
 inquiries about the officer in question. “ Oh, 
 
 Colonel-; he is done for; when you arrive 
 
 in England you may find him there, but, by G—, 
 you will not find his name on the army list.” 
 Fortunately, however, the present illustrious com¬ 
 mander in chief does not allow himself to be in¬ 
 fluenced by such characters, and the galiant officec 
 still remains upon the list of that army, ot which 
 he is a distinguished ornament, as the many 
 honourable wounds he has received in the service 
 of his country bear ample testimony. A similar 
 report, to the discredit of an artillery officer, w'as 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 also made by Sir Hudson Lowe, because he had 
 presumed to listen to Las Cases reading an ex¬ 
 tract of Count Montholon’s letter of the 23d of 
 August, 1816, and was attended with a similar re¬ 
 sult. 
 
 When merchant ships arrive at St. Helena from 
 England, the captains are obliged to submit a list 
 of all their books, pamphlets, &c., to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, an 1 all books of a political nature are spe¬ 
 cifically required to be sent to him, before they 
 are permitted to expose them for sale. The whole 
 of the copies of interesting works, particularly any 
 numbers of the Edinburgh Review , are bought up 
 by Sir Hudson Lowe and Sir Thomas Reade, pre¬ 
 tending, sometimes, that they are purchased for the 
 use of Napoleon, but in reality to deprive him of 
 any possibility of procuring them, as occurred on the 
 arrival of the Mangles* and Phoenix store ships, on 
 
 * In this instance five copies of one work were bought by 
 Sir Hudson Lowe and Sir Thomas Reade, from Captain Bunn 
 of the Mangles, pretending that so many were purchased for 
 the purpose of sending two or three of them to “ Bonaparte/’ 
 to whom it is almost unnecessary to say, not a single one of- 
 them was ever sent. 
 
 Since the arrival of Sir Hudson Lowe at St. Helena, in 
 April, 1816, at which time some cases of books were brought 
 out in the Phaeton, until the end of August, 1818, only thirty - 
 four volumes of books have been sent out by the British 
 Government to Longwood, and no French newspapers of any 
 description whatsoever. Amongst the above mentioned thirty - 
 four volumes sent out as new publications, several consisted 
 of works published during the time Napoleon was seated upon 
 the throne of France. Whether this proceeded from inadver- 
 
149 
 
 the 6th and 7th of June, 1818. They are in a 
 similar manner, and for the same reasons, com¬ 
 pelled to deliver to the Governor, or his agents, 
 whatever newspapers they may have in their pos¬ 
 session on their arrival at the island. Even the 
 newspapers sent out by his Majesty’s Government 
 were first examined by Sir Hudson Lowe, and 
 only such as he pleased sent to Longwood, some¬ 
 times withholding the numbers for ten or twelve 
 days in succession. This fact I personally ascer¬ 
 tained at Plantation House and at Longwood. 
 Newspapers arriving for British individuals were 
 seized at the post office, and taken to the Gover¬ 
 nor, and no person was allowed to lend them books 
 or newspapers. I was myself prohibited, by Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, from lending them any, or com¬ 
 municating to Napoleon, or the members of his 
 suite, any information derived by me from books 916 
 
 tence and inattention, or was a scurvy piece of wit, on the part 
 of some of the underlings of Lord Bathurst’s office, is left for 
 the reader to decide; Napoleon merely observed, “ c est unc 
 bassesse dont je nc croyais pas MeME Lord Bathurst capa¬ 
 ble” 
 
 * Sir Hudson Lowe also endeavoured to compel me to 
 make him a report of every book I purchased, or received ; and 
 on the 12th of September, 1817, spoke to me in a manner very 
 unusual amongst gentlemen for having in my possession the 
 following pamphlets, without acquainting him, viz . 
 
 The British Ladies Magazine.January, 1817. 
 
 New Monthly Magazine.January, 1817. 
 
 European Magazine...,......December, lSJ(j. 
 
150 
 
 f 
 
 and newspapers, on pain of being considered a 
 
 cc bearer of unauthorized communications” (which 
 
 \ 
 
 by one of his proclamations he had rendered felo¬ 
 nious ), and punished accordingly*. 
 
 Articles of dress, &c., for the use of Napoleon 
 and his suite, and ordered in London, through the 
 channel of Sir Hudson Lowe, were not sent up to 
 Longwood, until several weeks had elapsed after 
 their arrival at St. Helena, as occurred in the in¬ 
 stances of the Mangles and Lady Carrington store 
 ships, when cases, brought out by the former vessel 
 on the 7th of June, were not sent to Longwood 
 until late in July following ; and some brought by 
 the latter on the 28th of June (all of them con¬ 
 taining articles of which the French were much in 
 want) not until the 30th of July, notwithstanding 
 that frequent applications had been made to get 
 them sent up. 
 
 The workmen, sent out by his Majesty’s Govern¬ 
 ment for Longwood, were taken away before they 
 had half finished their work, for the accommoda¬ 
 tion of Sir Hudson Lowe, Sir Thomas Reade, 
 
 Eclectic Review. January, 1817. 
 
 Gentleman’s Magazine.December, 1816. 
 
 Monthly Review..........December, 1816 . 
 
 Ackerman’s Repository...January, 1817. 
 
 All of which he obliged me to send forthwith to his own house, 
 where they have been since detained . 
 
 * This curious document in which the Governor of St. He¬ 
 lena has assumed the authority of Parliament, will be found 
 in the Appendix. 
 
151 
 
 and others; so that jobs, which would only 
 require a few days to execute them, were not 
 finished for many months, as occurred in the in¬ 
 stance of a “ fauteuil de malade demanded for 
 Napoleon on the 28th of October, 1816 and only 
 finished in May, 1818. Several of the move¬ 
 ables, and other articles sent by his Majesty’s 
 Government, for the use of Napoleon, con¬ 
 sisting of sofas, wardrobes, sets of washing appa¬ 
 ratus, bedsteads, curtains, beds, chairs, were seen 
 at Plantation House and the Alarm House, 
 and a dozen of the shirts , sent oat. for the per¬ 
 sonal wear of Napoleon, were seen, in 1816, in the 
 possession of a person generally supposed to be a 
 relation of Sir Hudson Lowe’s. 
 
 It should be recorded, that these circumstances 
 occurred at a time when the French were pur¬ 
 chasing, at an enormous price, articles of a similar 
 nature. 
 
 The eagerness with which every opportunity of de¬ 
 priving Napoleon of any object which might tend to 
 beguile the hours of his imprisonment isseiztd, may 
 be conceived by the perusal of the following Tact. 
 Napoleon, during his illness, occasionally solaced 
 himself by looking through a spy glass, out of the 
 windows of bis room. Being desirous oi preserving 
 uninjured the telescope, which had been his com¬ 
 panion at the battles of Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, 
 Wagram, &c., in order to bequeath it. to his son, he 
 desired me to purchase the best glass I could pro¬ 
 cure for him, as soon as the store ships, which were 
 
152 
 
 daily expected, arrived from England. In June, 
 1818, I saw a very handsome brass one, mounted 
 upon a stand, and consequently well adapted for 
 the use of an invalid, at a shop which had been 
 opened a few days before, by Captain Thompson, 
 of the store ship Phoenix; I examined it, and told 
 the proprietor, that I would purchase it, provided 
 it was approved of at Longwood. Upon my return 
 there, I informed Napoleon I had procured a glass, 
 which 1 thought would be found suitable in every 
 respect; and the following morning, the maitre 
 d’hotel made an agreement to purchase it for six¬ 
 teen pounds, and ordered it to be sent to a trades¬ 
 man to be cleaned, and the glasses placed in 
 proper order. In order to deprive Napoleon of 
 this trifling article, Sir Thomas Reade* offered, 
 clandestinely, an addition of four pounds to the 
 price agreed on by the maitre d’hotel, and thereby 
 procured the telescope for the Governor; at the 
 same time prohibiting the vender from revealing 
 the name of the purchaser. 
 
 The manner in which Sir Hudson Lowe commu¬ 
 nicated to Madame Bertrand the intelligence of 
 her mother’s death, will also enable the reader duly 
 
 * In December, 1816 , it was humanely suggested by this 
 gentleman, that it would be right to deprive Napoleon ol* his 
 books, if he did not comply with the Governor’s wishes. This 
 occurred when Napoleon had answered the application made to 
 him from Sir Hudson Lowe to receive the visits of some of his 
 favourites, by pertinently observing, “ Les gens qui sont dans tm 
 tombeau ne resolvent pas de visites!” 
 
153 
 
 to appreciate the character of this “ excellent 
 man,” “ in whose heart valour, friendship, and 
 charity, flourish/* When the news of the above 
 event first arrived at St. Helena, Madame Bertrand 
 (then pregnant, and who had suffered severely be¬ 
 fore from the effects of a fausse coucJie) was not 
 in a fit state to support such afflicting intelligence. 
 A professional representation to this effect was offi¬ 
 cially made by me to Sir Hudson Lowe, accompa¬ 
 nied with a request from Count Bertrand, that, 
 until the Countess’s mind should be properly pre¬ 
 pared for the communication of the melancholy 
 event, all letters arriving from Europe, for himself 
 or her, should no longer be sent to his house, 
 but left at the orderly officer’s quarters, who 
 would send for the Count, and deliver them pri¬ 
 vately to him, in order thus to prevent Madame 
 Bertrand from getting acquainted with the arrival 
 of letters, and consequently demanding to see 
 their contents. Sir Hudson Lowe was also in¬ 
 formed by me, that intimation should be given to 
 him, when it was thought that Madame Bertrand 
 was sufficiently prepared to have the matter broken 
 to her. A similar request was also made to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe by the orderly officer, on the part of 
 Count Bertrand. Sir Hudson Lowe complied with 
 this intreaty, until the period of Baron Stunner 
 the Austrian commissioner’s departure, from St. 
 Helena, for Europe. The Baroness Stunner is a 
 young and beautiful Frenchwoman, and Madame 
 Bertrand (who had not seen her for a considerable 
 
154 
 
 time) publicly declared her intentions of paying that 
 lady a farewell visit, prior to her departure, which 
 was to take place in a few days. At this time 
 (26th of June, 1818) the Lady Carrington store 
 ship arrived at St. Helena, on board of which was 
 a young woman, named Mary Hall, who (with the 
 permission of Lord Bathurst) had been sent out by 
 Lady Jerningham to her niece, Madame Bertrand, 
 as an upper servant. She was the bearer of an 
 open letter from Lady Jerningham to the Countess, 
 in the beginning of which the death of the latter’s 
 mother was mentioned, as a subject of no 
 novelty. Sir Hudson Lowe took this letter from 
 the young woman, read, enclosed, and addressed it, 
 with his own hand , to Madame Bertrand , and it was 
 delivered to her in the absence of her husband ! To 
 describe the shock produced by the sudden and 
 abrupt communication of the death of an idolized 
 mother, upon the unprepared mind of a daughter, 
 possessed of such exquisite sensibility, and in a 
 state of great debility from previous illness, is a 
 task, which I feel myself wholly unequal to per¬ 
 form > suffice it to say, that violent tits of hysterics, 
 threatening her very existence*, and a severe ill¬ 
 ness, of several days continuance, were the conse¬ 
 quences ; and by the effects of which she was con¬ 
 fined to her house at the time of my departure. It 
 
 * Fortunately, Madame Bertrand had miscarried a second 
 time, a few days before. I say, fortunately, as had that event 
 not occurred, in all probability the consequences produced by 
 such an abrupt communication would have been fatal. 
 
155 
 
 is almost needless for me to add, that the amiable 
 sufferer's intended visit to Madame Stiirmer was 
 thus most effechially frustrated. 
 
 Persons found guilty of civility, or expressions of 
 compassion for the captives, were subsequently 
 visited with severe marks of displeasure, of which 
 many instances could be produced. The following 
 will assist the reader in forming a just idea of the 
 system which is carried on in that ill-fated island. 
 Captain Cook, of his Majesty store ship Tortoise, 
 arrived at St. Helena, from England, in March, 
 1817, a period during which the French were 
 on short allowance. Some time after his arrival, 
 he obtained a pass with some difficulty, and paid 
 a visit to Madame Bertrand. A day or two after¬ 
 wards he sent up a present to Longwood, consisting 
 of three English hams and a keg of American bis¬ 
 cuits*; a few days subsequent to this act of polite¬ 
 ness, he dined at Mr. Balcombe’s house in the 
 country, in company with Sir Thomas Reade, who 
 he requested after dinner to furnish him with the 
 countersign, without which no person in St. Helena 
 could pass after nine o’clock. The Adjutant Ge¬ 
 neral, who, it is almost needless to say, prepares all 
 paroles and watchwords, purposely gave Captain 
 Cook a false countersign, with the design, as he 
 
 boasted the following day, of getting “ the d-d 
 
 fellow, who had given the biscuit to Madame Ber¬ 
 trand, seizea by the sentinels, and lodged in the 
 
 * At this time, the bread which was sent to Longwood was 
 of a very bad quality. 
 
156 
 
 guard room, with the soldiers, for the night.” 
 Fortunately for Captain Cook, however, a gentle¬ 
 man (Mr. Berry) happened to be present, who had 
 occasion to return by the same road, and who had 
 procured the real countersign from the Town 
 Major, which completely foiled this intended piece 
 of malice on the part of the Adjutant General. . A 
 respectable gentleman, Mr. Prince, was turned off 
 the island, and compelled to abandon his agency, 
 the share he had in the goods of two large shops, 
 and several debts to a great amount, because he 
 had been unfortunate enough to furnish Madame 
 Bertrand with some necessaries upon credit, and 
 had accommodated General Bertrand with one 
 hundred and fifty pounds, in sums not greater than 
 twenty-five pounds at a time, although permission 
 to lend that sum had been previously received both 
 from Sir George Cockburn and Sir Hudson Lowe 
 himself *. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe’s conduct towards Count Las 
 Cases, after his departure from St. Helena, well de¬ 
 serves to be recorded. After the Count’s arrest, 
 and during the time he was held in confinement by 
 the Governor, the latter requested him to enume¬ 
 rate the hardships complained of by the inhabitants 
 at Longwood, which the Count accordingly com¬ 
 mitted to paper. When about to leave the island, 
 
 * I have been informed that this gentleman, who is purser 
 of the honourable company’s ship Orwell, was not permitted to 
 go on shore in February last, when his ship touched at St. He¬ 
 lena, to recover debts to a large amount! 
 
157 
 
 he proposed to Sir Hudson Lowe, that, as the state¬ 
 ment he had written was unknown to the French 
 at Longwood, it was essential, for the purposes of 
 justice, that they should be fully acquainted with 
 it, at the same time that its contents were made 
 known to Sir Hudson Lowe himself. To this end, 
 he proposed, that the statement containing the 
 grievances at Longwood should be sealed up and 
 sent to Brigadier General Sir George Bingham, 
 upon the express condition, that it should be com¬ 
 municated with equal impartiality and simulta¬ 
 neously to Sir Hudson Lowe and the prisoners at 
 Longwood. This was agreed to by both parties, 
 and Sir Hudson Lowe pledged his honour to Count 
 Bertrand and Count Las Cases, in the presence (if I 
 am not mistaken) of Sir George Bingham, that it 
 should be punctually executed. SoonaftertheCount’s 
 departure, Sir Hudson Lowe obtained possession of 
 the manuscript, which he opened and read, taking 
 care, however, not to communicate a syllable of its 
 contents to any of the inhabitants of Longwood. 
 Availing himself of the information, thus clandes¬ 
 tinely obtained, he had recourse to an artifice, per¬ 
 fectly consistent with the usual system pursued in 
 St. Hel ena. Fie directed me to inform Napoleon, 
 that Count de Las Cases, while in detention, had 
 confessed that the French were very well treated; 
 that they had only vioral restrictions to complain 
 of; and that both himself and the rest of the French 
 in Napoleon’s suite, had made a practice of poison¬ 
 ing their master’s mind against him, by calumnies 
 and misrepresentations; adding, that the fact was 
 
158 
 
 indisputable, as he had the acknowledgment of it 
 in Count Las Cases’s own hand writing, of which 
 he quoted a sentence, which he desired me to re¬ 
 peat to Napoleon, viz. “ We had made the Em¬ 
 peror see every thing par une voile de sang” 
 (through a sanguinary medium). On hearing this, 
 Napoleon immediately replied, “ Ma foi , quand on 
 voit le bourreau , on voit toajours du sang!” adding, 
 with that acuteness of discernment which forms so 
 conspicuous a feature in his character, “ that his 
 opinion was, either that the whole was a fabrication 
 of Sir Hudson Lowe’s, or else that he had misre¬ 
 presented and garbled some passages in Count de 
 Las Cases’s letter. That the Count most un¬ 
 doubtedly had felt much grieved at the treatment 
 he witnessed, as he was a man possessed of a feel¬ 
 ing and sensible hearty and one who had always 
 
 REPRESENTED THE ENGLISH NATION TO HIM IN THE 
 MOST ENTHUSIASTIC TERMS OF ADMIRATION. That 
 
 he had certainly expressed himself freely upon be¬ 
 holding conduct so opposite to the liberality and 
 generosity which he had always attributed to the 
 British; but that the treatment inflicted was of so 
 barbarous a nature, in itself, as not to need the 
 comments of any person to point it out.” The 
 event fully proved the justness of the opinion which 
 Napoleon had formed, as the only parts of the letter 
 ever communicated to Longwood were the forego¬ 
 ing, together with the following extract, viz. “ He 
 (the Emperor) had wavered (avoit Jlotte ) a long time 
 after we had, on our parts, severely expressed ourselves 
 as to your conduct,” accompanied with accusations 
 
159 
 
 in writing against Count de Las Cases, charging 
 him with having confessed that he had purposely 
 misrepresented the Governor’s conduct. An ample 
 and satisfactory account is given of this transaction 
 in the Count’s Letters, already quoted. 
 
 Notwithstanding an elaborate note in page 125-6, 
 wherein the author describes the new house pre¬ 
 paring for Napoleon under such favourable colours, 
 I have no hesitation in saying, that it is placed in 
 a situation nearly as bleak and exposed as that of 
 the old bam; is equally destitute of shade or water; 
 while the spot, chosen to erect it on, is decidedly 
 contrary to the known desire of Napoleon, who, 
 when applied to for his opinion on the subject by 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, replied, through Generals Mon- 
 tholon, Bertrand, and myself, that, “ if he intended 
 to build a new house, let him build it in a place 
 where there was shade, verdure, and water, and 
 sheltered from the sharp trade wind.” That the ap¬ 
 plication, thus made to Napoleon, was a mere 
 mockery, is evident from the result, which he had 
 so clearly foreseen. Moreover, when finished, the 
 insalubrity of a new and damp building will be 
 united to all the local inconveniences of the old 
 residence. In January last, Napoleon, who had 
 not been out of the house for near six months be¬ 
 fore, walked out and viewed the new building con¬ 
 structing for him. After considering it with atten¬ 
 tion, he desired General Montholon to communi¬ 
 cate to the orderly officer, that he would never in¬ 
 habit it. u Si die est pour lui ” said General Mon¬ 
 tholon to Captain Nichols, “ comme cda ?i’est pas 
 
160 
 
 douteux , il me charge de vous declarer qu'ellc est 
 tout a fait inconvenable et qu'il ne Uhabitera jamais ' 
 Had it been the intention of Sir Hudson Lowe, or 
 Lord Bathurst, to have rendered Napoleon as com¬ 
 fortable as this wretched island might allow, he 
 would have been accommodated either in Planta¬ 
 tion House (the only good mansion on the island); 
 or at least a house could have been built for him at 
 Rosemary Hall, or Colonel Smith’s, where there 
 is some shade and water, and which are sheltered 
 from the bleak South-east wind. 
 
 Napoleon, in consequence of the great sensi¬ 
 bility of the membranes of his nose, fauces, &c. 
 (a fact well known to all those who have ever 
 been about his person), is extremely susceptible 
 of catarrh, of which complaint he has had several 
 attacks, some of a very violent nature. For this rea¬ 
 son, the unsheltered and bleak situation of Long- 
 wood renders it most obviously an improper and un¬ 
 healthy residence for him, as was evinced by the fre¬ 
 quent severe colds, and other inflammatory affections, 
 which he experienced when he did go out. The 
 deleterious effects of the sharp trade wind even 
 upon vegetable life, in exposed situations like 
 
 Longwood, has been satisfactorily proved in page 
 
 % 
 
 33, on the authority of the actual senior member 
 of the Council of St. Helena, and clearly manifests, 
 that any attempt to procure shade there , by means 
 of trees, must be fruitless. 
 
 Some remarkable occurrences, attendant upon my 
 departure from St. Helena, tend so strongly to mani¬ 
 fest the manner in which justice is administered in 
 
161 
 
 that colony, that I feel it incumbent upon me to lay 
 them before the public. While occupied, on the 
 25th of July, 1818, in preparing the medicines, 
 which I left with Napoleon’s valet de chambre, 
 and in explaining to him the manner in which they 
 should be administered to his master, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Wynyard (Sir Hudson Lowe’s military 
 secretary) went to my apartments, and, without 
 my knowledge, took upon himself to order my ser¬ 
 vants to pack up my effects, which they were 
 compelled to do with the utmost precipitation, and 
 in open trunks. On returning to my apartment, 
 I put what money I had in gold, amounting to 
 about two hundred pounds, in my pocket, and 
 consigned six or seven hundred dollars to Captain 
 Blakeney, the orderly officer, with a request that 
 he would send them to me on the following morning. 
 I also took two snuff boxes, given to me by Napo¬ 
 leon, and hung a valuable cameo to my watch chain. 
 Several other articles of jewellery, some of consider¬ 
 able value, I put into my writing desk, in the pre¬ 
 sence of three witnesses, and then left Longwood, 
 after having received a specific promise from Lieu¬ 
 tenant Colonel Wynyard (to whom, in the presence 
 of my servants, I had explained the insecure and open 
 state of my trunks), that one of them should be per¬ 
 mitted to remain with my baggage at Hut’s Gate, 
 farther than which, the Lieutenant Colonel informed 
 me he would not allow it to be taken that night. In¬ 
 stead of this promise being fulfilled, the moment I de¬ 
 parted from Longwood, Lieutenant Colonel Wyn- 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 yard galloped on to Hut’s Gate, where he waited 
 until the arrival of my baggage, which he com¬ 
 pelled my servants to give up to some person in 
 the government employ, and to proceed themselves 
 to town forthwith, directing, however, one of 
 them to return in the morning, with a promise 
 that it should then be delivered to him. Accord¬ 
 ingly the next day Jones, my groom, went up in 
 obedience to these directions, and pursuant to a 
 signal made to that effect from Plantation House; 
 but, upon his arrival, instead of receiving my 
 baggage, he was seized, thrown into the guard 
 room, and imprisoned there, without being per¬ 
 mitted even to see my property. 
 
 The following day I reported myself to Rear 
 Admiral Piampin, by whose secretary (Mr. Elliot) 
 I was informed, by the Admiral’s directions, that I 
 was to proceed to England in the Griffon sloop of 
 war; permission was then given to me, by the Ad¬ 
 miral, to remain on shore until that ship was ready 
 to sail. On my return to town, being desirous to 
 see whatever surgeon might be appointed to attend 
 at Long wood, I wrote to Major Gorrequer, for the 
 Governor’s information, acquainting him that I 
 had recommended to Napoleon four medical gen¬ 
 tlemen, from amongst whom I had advised him to 
 choose a surgeon. This letter was returned to me, 
 unopened , the following morning. Soon after 
 having despatched it, Mr. Weston, the gaoler of 
 the common prison of the island , came and informed 
 me, that he was ordered by Sir Hudson Lowe , u to 
 
163 
 
 set me off the island in an hour's time , and that I 
 must not proceed farther up the town than the spot 
 on which I was then standing.” I demanded his 
 authority; he showed me a written order to that 
 effect, of which he allowed me to take a copy, 
 and which he attested himself*. No farther com¬ 
 munication with any friend was allowed me; and 
 a signal having been made for a lieutenant of the 
 Griffon, I proceeded on board of that vessel, guarded 
 by the gaoler, and dogged by two police spies, after 
 having preferred a complaint to Mr. Brooke, the 
 actual senior member of council, against the ille¬ 
 gality of the measures adopted towards me. 
 
 The following morning I received intimation, 
 that my baggage had been secretly rummaged, 
 and my papers examined at Hut's Gate. None of 
 my creditors or debtors were allowed access to me, 
 nor was I permitted to proceed on shore to them, 
 in order to settle my accounts; and an officer of 
 the 66th regiment, who (by application of Briga¬ 
 dier General Sir George Bingham to the Governor) 
 was allowed to transact my affairs, was not per- 
 mitted to come on board, in order to obtain the 
 necessary information for that purpose from me. 
 Several of the army officers, and of the most 
 respectable inhabitants, who applied for permission 
 to come on board to see me, were refused with 
 asperity and menaces; but as it was not in Sir 
 Hudson Lowe's power to prevent naval officers 
 
 * A copy of this order will be found in the Appendix, 
 No. X; also of the letter written to Mr. Brooke, No. XI. 
 
 M 2 
 
I 
 
 164 
 
 from visiting me, he was obliged to content himself 
 with placing a spy on Ladder Hill, with orders to 
 report the names of all the persons who visited the 
 Griffon, amongst whom were to be found nearly 
 the whole of the officers of the squadron, of all 
 ranks. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 28th, after having been kept 
 three days destitute of clothes, part of my baggage 
 was sent to me. Upon opening my writing desk, in 
 the presence of Lieutenant Parker, of the Griffon, I 
 found that advantage had been taken, while it was 
 in the custody of the Governor's agents, in whose 
 possession it remained from the time Lieutenant Co¬ 
 lonel Wynyard took charge of it, until delivered to 
 my servant, on the 27th instant, in the presence of 
 Lieutenants Codd and Reardon, of the 66th regi¬ 
 ment, TO TAKE OUT OF IT ALL THE JEWELLERY, 
 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A CORNELIAN NECKLACE 
 OF TRIFLING VALUE. 
 
 After having minutely examined my trunks, I 
 wrote the following letter to Rear Admiral Plampin. 
 
 H. M. Ship Griffon, 30 th July, 1818 . 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 It is with considerable regret that I 
 feel myself obliged to address you upon the losses 
 which I have sustained, in consequence of the un¬ 
 precedented and arbitrary proceedings which have 
 been adopted towards me by the civil authority of 
 St. Helena. 
 
 My baggage, which, by Lieutenant Colonel 
 
165 
 
 WynyarcTs directions was removed from Long- 
 wood, on Saturday, the 25th, at eight o’clock at 
 night, was taken to Hut’s Gate, detained there until 
 Monday, my servants forced away from it (not¬ 
 withstanding Colonel Wynyard’s promise of the 
 contrary at Long wood, and although he was in¬ 
 formed that there were no locks upon my trunks, 
 &c. &c.), clandestinely rummaged, my writing 
 desk opened, and plundered of the following va¬ 
 luable articles, viz, a gold watch chain and several 
 gold seals and key, a very valuable carved onyx 
 brooch set in gold, a gold hand-shaped ditto, a 
 valuable brilliant, a gold ring set with diamonds, 
 one with aqua marina, another with a cat’s eye; 
 and other articles of jewellery, &c., to a large 
 amount; some of them being inestimable to me, 
 in consequence of having received them as presents. 
 
 What losses in money I may have sustained I 
 know not, as I am ignorant of the number of dollars 
 I possessed*. 
 
 I cannot pretend. Sir, to judge of the intentions 
 of those who countenanced such perpetrations; 
 but I conceive, that every principle of probity 
 would have ordained, that, if an examination was 
 deemed necessary, such should have taken place, 
 either in my own presence, my servant’s, or of 
 some person authorized by me; and that one of my 
 
 * It is not meant to be insinuated, that Captain Blakeney 
 had any share in the above transactions, farther than taking 
 charge of and remitting the money which was received by 
 Lieutenant Reardon, 66th regiment. 
 
1 66 
 
 domestics ought to have been allowed to remain 
 with my effects, after they had been removed from 
 Longvvood. 
 
 I forbear to mention the severe losses which I 
 have sustained, in consequence of the precipitate 
 inode in which I was hurried off the island, the in¬ 
 sulting manner of it, and the general arbitrary and 
 barbarous treatment, which I have suffered ; but I 
 have thought it my duty to lay before you, Sir, as 
 commander in chief of the service to which I be¬ 
 long, the foregoing slight sketch of some of the 
 losses I have sustained ; more especially, as a letter 
 I have addressed to Major Gorrequer, Acting Mi¬ 
 litary Secretary, has been returned to me unopened a 
 and I am bound to conclude thereby, that any 
 further remonstrance, or complaint, on my part, 
 would meet with similar treatment. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara* 
 Surgeon R. N. 
 
 To Rear Admiral Plampin, Commander 
 in Chief, fyc. St. Helena . 
 
 Reply. 
 
 Admiral’s Office, St. Helena, 30th July, 
 quarter before three, P. M. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 I have this moment received your 
 letter, of this day’s date, complaining of certain 
 
167 
 
 losses you have sustained, in consequence of your 
 baggage not having been taken proper care of, 
 when removing from Longwood; also complaining 
 of the mode in which you were sent off the island; 
 for neither of which circumstances can I consider 
 myself responsible. I have, however, caused a 
 copy of your letter to be taken, which I shall 
 instantly enclose to his Excellency the Go 
 vernor. 
 
 I cannot conclude this, without expressing my 
 surprize, that you should not have made this com¬ 
 munication to me sooner, more especially as the 
 departure of the Griffon has been hourly expected 
 to take place ever since yesterday noon. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Rob. Plampin, 
 
 Rear Admiral, Commander in Chief. 
 
 To Mr. Tarry O’Meara, late Surgeon to 
 
 General Bonaparte, H. M, S. Griffon . 
 
 On receipt of the above, I addressed another 
 letter to the Rear Admiral, and of which the fol¬ 
 lowing is a copy :— 
 
 H. M. Ship Griffon, St Helena, 
 30th July, 1818, four P. M. 
 
 In explanation, I have the honour to 
 inform you, that the delay in forwarding to you the 
 statement, detailed in my letter of this day’s date. 
 
168 
 
 was caused by my servant (who is a material evi¬ 
 dence), not having been permitted to come on 
 board until mid-day yesterday, at which time also 
 the remainder of my luggage arrived, the examina¬ 
 tion of which on board, in order to ascertain if any 
 of the articles, supposed to be stolen, had been, 
 during the rummaging, thrown into the other 
 trunks, took up a considerable time, as I did not 
 like to hazard any assertion which was not founded 
 upon fact. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 
 , _ * 
 
 Surgeon R. N. 
 
 To Rear Admiral Plampin, 
 
 Commander in Chief, fyc. 
 
 On the Slst I was summoned on shore, by the 
 following letter, to attend a court of inquiry, which 
 had been ordered to sit at the Castle. 
 
 St. Helena, 31st July, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Rear Admiral Plampin having referred 
 to the consideration of the Governor a letter you 
 have addressed to him, dated 31st July, stating 
 certain losses which you mention to have sustained 
 on the occasion of the removal of your baggage 
 from Longwood to the town, I am directed by his 
 Excellency the Governor to inform you, that the 
 acting magistrate, who is now sitting, will receive 
 
169 
 
 your deposition of the facts stated in your letter to 
 the admiral. 
 
 The civil officer, who will deliver this letter to 
 you, will accompany you to the Castle, where the 
 magistrate is now sitting. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) Thomas H. Brooke^ 
 
 Secretary to Government. 
 
 To Barry O'Meara, Esq. 
 
 Scarcely had I proceeded half way up the 
 marino, in obedience to this summons, ere I was 
 arrested by a sentinel, who had orders to that 
 effect from Sir Hudson Lowe, and detained until 
 released by Town Major Cole, although I was 
 accompanied by the civil officer, who brought 
 the summons. At the castle I was interrogated 
 on oath by the acting magistrate, and my answers 
 taken down in writing, rut a copy of my depo¬ 
 sition WAS, BY ORDER OF SlR HUDSON LOWE, 
 refused to be given to me, and my servant, 
 who applied for a copy of his, received a similar 
 answer. Whether any steps may have been taken 
 for the recovery of my property, or to discover 
 and punish the delinquents, I know not, as I 
 have never received any farther intelligence on the 
 subject. A copy of the affidavit made by my ser¬ 
 vant, on his arrival in London, will be found in the 
 Appendix, No. XII. 
 
l^o 
 
 Independent of the loss caused by the above men¬ 
 tioned robbery, I sustained another of upwards of 
 two hundred pounds, in consequence of not having 
 been permitted to enter into explanations with my 
 creditors, relative to many articles of necessaries, 
 which I had bought for the inmates of Longwood, 
 but which had been charged to my account*. 
 
 Notwithstanding the silence which has been so 
 scrupulously maintained by the authorities to 
 whom the plunder of my effects was represented, I 
 do not despair of obtaining ultimate satisfaction, 
 much less abandon my claims to the protection of 
 those laws, which have been so glaringly violated 
 by some persons still unknown ; but whom I shall 
 take the most effectual means within my reach of 
 exposing to legal punishment, and holding up to 
 thatjpublic scorn, which their infamous conduct so 
 justly merits. 
 
 Such are a few specimens of the system esta¬ 
 blished by Sir Hudson Lowe in St. Helena, form¬ 
 ing but a small part of those which might be cited 
 to illustrate the character of one, whom the author 
 of the “ Facts” represents as “ a being not only 
 amiable in the highest degree in private life and 
 general society, but, with a rigid sense of duty, 
 feelingly alive to the peculiar situation of his pri¬ 
 soner, and actively employed in the contrivance of 
 comforts for him!” With the foregoing details, 
 
 * As I was not allowed to enter into explanations with the 
 parties, I preferred paying some of the bills myself, rather 
 than run the risk of making an improper charge. 
 
171 
 
 and the observations which I have felt myself 
 called upon to accompany them, before the pub¬ 
 lic, there are ample material^ whereon to ground 
 its final decision. I should therefore have thought 
 it high time to close these Remarks, already ex¬ 
 tended far beyond the original intention, were it 
 not that the importance of the subject., and a de¬ 
 sire to make the nation fully acquainted with all 
 the circumstances, having any relation to a matter 
 in which its character for honour and hu nanity is 
 deeply involved, induces me to communicate 
 some highly important information, that has re¬ 
 cently arrived in England from the scene of Napo¬ 
 leon’s imprisonment. 
 
 Since my compulsory removal from the island, 
 in July, 1818 , until January, 1819, an interruption 
 of the medical treatment o< Napoleon for five months 
 took plage, as he would not receive the Mirgeon 
 attempted to be imposed upon him by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. Subsequently to that period General Mon- 
 tholon’s agent in London lias received a copy of 
 a note addressed by him to Sir Hudson Lowe, 
 dated the 19th of January, lb!9*, and some bul¬ 
 letins, and other official documents, with a perusal 
 of which he has favoured me. By these it appears, 
 that Napoleon bad four or five times experienced 
 symptoms foreboding an attack of apoplexy in the 
 course of different nights; and on the 17th of Ja¬ 
 nuary last, one of so alarming a nature, that they 
 
 * A copy of this important document will be found in the 
 Appendix, No. XIV. 
 
172 
 
 imagined, for a moment, dissolution had taken 
 place. Upon his reviving a little, Count Bertrand 
 proposed to him to call in Dr. Verling, which he 
 refused, “ cette seule proposition (says General Mon- 
 tholon in his note to Sir Hudson Lowe) altera sa 
 phisionomie et accrut le mal dans le moment .” General 
 Bertrand then called in Mr. Stokoe at one o’clock 
 in the morning, he did not arrive until four hours 
 afterwards, as the orderly officer was not autho¬ 
 rized to send for him, without asking leave of the 
 Governor. Then the admiral, who lived a mile 
 and a half from the town, was to be consulted, and 
 his permission obtained prior to sending on board 
 the Conqueror for the surgeon, which added greatly 
 to the delay. On the latter’s arrival at Longwood, 
 he proceeded to Count Bertrand, who proposed (as 
 Napoleon was very ill) that Mr. Stokoe should re¬ 
 place me as surgeon to Napoleon, and submitted to 
 him the seven following articles (which were also 
 sent to the Governor). 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 Articles to replace Mr . O' Meara, and give Mr . Sto¬ 
 koe the character of surgeon to Napoleon . 
 
 1st, Doctor Stokoe is considered as surgeon to 
 Napoleon, and as filling the place of the French 
 surgeon, mentioned in the decree of the British 
 Government, dated the 15th of August, 1815. 
 
 2d. He is not to be taken away without the con¬ 
 sent of Napoleon, at least by a simple order of the 
 
173 
 
 Governor, and especially as long as the disease 
 continues. 
 
 Sd. During the time that he fulfils the func¬ 
 tions of physician, he is not to be subjected to any 
 military discipline or duty, but to be considered as 
 an Englishman, holding a civil employment. 
 
 4th. He is not to be obliged to render an account 
 to any person of the state of Napoleon’s health. 
 He will write every eight days, or oftener if neces¬ 
 sary, a bulletin of Napoleon’s health ; of which he 
 is to make two copies, one to be given to one of 
 the officers at Longwood, and the other to the 
 Governor, whenever he desires it. 
 
 5th. No person whatsoever is to intermeddle in 
 his medical functions, and no restrictions upon his 
 communications with Napoleon and the French, 
 either by writing or verbally, by day or by night, 
 are to be imposed upon him. 
 
 6th. He is not to be obliged to render an ac¬ 
 count of what he sees or hears at Longwood, un¬ 
 less any thing which, in his judgment, might com¬ 
 promise his oath of allegiance to his country and 
 his sovereign. 
 
 7th. Doctor Stokoe engages to serve Napoleon 
 in his profession, independent of all prejudice or 
 party spirit, and as if he were his own country¬ 
 man ; and not to make any bulletin or report 
 of his complaints, without giving him the ori¬ 
 ginal. 
 
 8th. In accepting these conditions, Mr. Stokoe 
 is to preserve the integrity of all his rights as an 
 
174 
 
 English citizen and officer. He demands to re¬ 
 ceive from the Admiralty the same pay as his pre¬ 
 decessor, and not to be assimilated in any thing 
 to the French prisoners. The whole of the above 
 to be done with the permission of his chief, Jlear 
 Admiral Plampin*. 
 
 Longwood, 17th of January, 1819. 
 
 He accepted the conditions, provided the admiral 
 gave his consent , and was introduced to Napoleon, 
 whom he found in the state described in the fol¬ 
 lowing Report No. I, which he left at Longwood, 
 and a copy of which he gave to the admiral. 
 
 Report No. I. 
 
 Longwood, 17th of January, 1819. 
 
 On my visit to Longwood this morning, I found 
 Napoleon in a very weak state, complaining of 
 considerable pain in the right side, in the region 
 of the liver, with shooting pains in the shoulder. 
 About midnight he had been suddenly seized with 
 violent pains in the head, succeeded by vertigo and 
 syncope, which continued nearly a quarter of an 
 hour; soon after his recovery from this state, he 
 had recourse to the warm bath, which produced 
 violent perspiration, and relieved him conside¬ 
 rably. 
 
 From the evident tendency of a determination 
 of blood to the head, it will be highly necessary 
 
 The original will be found in the Appendix, No. XIII. 
 
 i 
 
175 
 
 that a medical man should be near his person, in 
 order that immediate assistance may be afforded in 
 case of a recurrence of the above alarming symp¬ 
 toms, as well as for the daily treatment of chronic 
 hepatitis , which the above symptoms indicate. 
 
 (Signed) John Stokoe, 
 
 Surgeon, H. M,S. Conqueror. 
 
 To Count Bertrand. 
 
 He was not permitted to remain at Longwood 
 with his patient, but obliged to return to town, 
 where he was interrogated minutely upon every 
 thing which he had seen, said, or heard at Long- 
 wood. The next day he was sent for again by 
 Count Bertrand, and after some difficulty obtained 
 a pass from Admiral Plampin, by whom (as he 
 had the day before declined reporting the conversa¬ 
 tions he had with his patient, unless they had some 
 relation to the political situation of the prisoner), 
 he was prohibited from holding any communication or 
 intercourse , except medical , with either Napoleon 
 himself or any of his suite ! 
 
 On his arrival at Longwood he found that Napo¬ 
 leon had passed the night without any alarming 
 symptoms, but that he appeared to be more debili¬ 
 tated. He gave his opinion of the nature of his 
 complaint as follows. 
 
 “ It appears from the symptoms of chronic 
 hepatitis, the first appearance of which he ex¬ 
 perienced about sixteen months ago, that this 
 is the principal cause of the present derange- 
 
 
176 
 
 ment in his health; and although they are de* 
 scribed as having increased considerably of late, 
 yet, judging from present appearances, I do not 
 apprehend any immediate imminent danger; al¬ 
 though it must be presumed, that in a climate, 
 where the above disease is so prevalent, it will 
 eventually shorten his life. 
 
 The most alarming symptoms are those which 
 were experienced last night, a recurrence of which 
 may soon prove fatal, particularly if medical as¬ 
 sistance is not at hand. 
 
 (Signed) John Stokoe, 
 
 Surgeon, H. M.S. Conqueror. 
 
 Longwood, 18th of January, 1819.” 
 
 At three in the morning of the 19th he was 
 called in again to see Napoleon, whom he found 
 very ill, and in a state of high fever, as will be seen 
 by a perusal of his Report No. Ill, a copy of 
 which was given to Admiral Plampin. 
 
 Report No. III. 
 
 Soon after my arrival at Longwood yesterday I 
 was desired to attend Napoleon Bonaparte. Count 
 Bertrand impatiently demanded the cause of my 
 long absence. I replied, that the Admiral had not 
 received the official communication from Long¬ 
 wood (on which alone he could grant me a pass¬ 
 port) until late in the afternoon. I found him in 
 a state of fever, with considerable heat of skin; 
 and an increasing pain in the head. He had had no 
 
motion for twenty-four hours, and fearing a return 
 of the attack of Saturday night I advised his losing 
 some blood, and taking an active purgative imme¬ 
 diately; to both of which he appeared to have very 
 great repugnance, and said he would first try the 
 effect of a lavement. 
 
 About three this morning I was called upon by 
 Count Bertrand, who desired me to accompany 
 him to Napoleon. I found none of the symptoms 
 abated, and the head ache increased. I strongly 
 urged the necessity of bleeding, which he sub¬ 
 mitted to, and which was attended with almost 
 immediate relief; he took also a large dose of 
 Cheltenham salts. 
 
 On this occasion I took an opportunity of exa¬ 
 mining more particularly the region of the liver, 
 and am now fully persuaded of the diseased state of 
 that viscus. I have in consequence recommended a 
 course of mercury, with other medicines, in the 
 form which may be best suited to the constitution 
 of the Patient. 
 
 (Signed) John Stokoe. 
 
 Longwood, January 20, 1819. 
 
 On the other side of the Report was written 
 the form of the remedies prescribed, with di¬ 
 rections of the manner in which they should be 
 taken. 
 
 The reader will perceive, that the correctness of 
 the opinion I had formed of Napoleon’s malady is 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 completely confirmed by the evidence of a surgeon 
 of great experience, known respectability, and one 
 who was in the daily habit of treating numbers 
 afflicted with the same disease. 
 
 In the mean time, Admiral Plampin had a long 
 
 interview with Sir Hudson Lowe. The treatment 
 
 * * • 
 
 which Mr. Stokoe received from the latter officer, 
 after this interview, it appears, was of such a nature 
 as to oblige him candidly to state, in the following 
 manner, that his visits there would be no longer 
 permitted. 
 
 Report No. IV. 
 
 St. Helena, January 21, 1819. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 From the occurrences of to-day, I have 
 strong reason to suspect that my visits to Long- 
 wood will be suspended, either by an order from 
 my superiors to that effect, or that the duty will 
 be rendered so unpleasant to me, as to compel me 
 to decline it: in either case, I may not have an 
 opportunity of communicating with you on a 
 subject in which I now feel myself deeply inte¬ 
 rested. 
 
 I therefore request you will use your utmost en¬ 
 deavours to induce the Patient to adopt a course of 
 medicine, which will afford a hope of avoiding the 
 danger he is now threatened with. 
 
 'Hepatitis in any shape is a disease not to be 
 
179 
 
 trifled with in the climate of St. Helena; and al¬ 
 though the symptoms he has experienced for a 
 long time indicate the chronic stage, there is no 
 knowing how soon it may change its type, and 
 become fatal. The torpid state of the liver, 
 with the frequent constipated state of the bowels 
 and derangement of the digestive organs, may tend 
 also to increase the natural determination of blood 
 to the head, which showed itself in those alarming 
 symptoms of Saturday night. 
 
 I therefore intreat you (if I am not allowed the 
 honour of prescribing for him myself) to use every 
 means in your power to obtain his consent for 
 Dr. Verling to do so. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 (Signed) John Stokoe. 
 
 To Lieutenant General Count Bertrand, 
 
 $’C. fyc. S)'c. Longivood. 
 
 Mr. Stokoe then urged the necessity of a course 
 of medicine, stating, that he had already prepared 
 some and would send more from James’ Town, with 
 instructions; to which Napoleon replied, “ that he 
 would take no medicine, except from the hands of 
 his own surgeon.” 
 
 Two or three days subsequent to this Mr. Stokoe 
 was informed, by order of Admiral Plampin, that 
 he must either quit St. Helena forthwith , or be 
 
180 
 
 tried by a court martial, for having given written 
 documents to the French, which, according to him, 
 was a disobedience of orders. These written docu¬ 
 ments consisted of the reports of the state of 
 Napoleon’s health, and directions to which he was 
 advised to conform, copies of which were given by 
 Mr, Stokoe to Admiral Plampin, It is necessary 
 to state, that Mr. Stokoe was refused permission to 
 remain at Longwood with his patient, as will ap¬ 
 pear on a perusal of the following letter. 
 
 St. Helena, Jan. 18, 1819. 
 
 Si R ; 
 
 In reference to the verbal communica¬ 
 tion which Count Bertrand made to you yesterday, 
 I am directed, by the Governor, to acquaint you, 
 that having conferred with Rear Admiral Plampin, 
 in respect to the continuance of Mr. Stokoe’s me¬ 
 dical attendance at Longwood, the Admiral has 
 acquainted him, that he cannot dispense with Mr, 
 Stokoe's service in the squadron , so far as to admit 
 of his being entirety excused from it ; nor could he 
 release Mr. Stokoe from the obedience due to 
 him, as Naval Commander in Chief, without the 
 sanction of the Lords Commissioners of the Ad¬ 
 miralty. 
 
 The Governor himself will have no objection to 
 Mr. Stokoe affording his medical assistance to Na¬ 
 poleon Bonaparte, whenever so required; but he is 
 desirous, in such cases, that Mr, Stokoe's professional 
 
181 
 
 visits should be made in conjunction ivith the physician , 
 who is at present in attendance at Longwood , follow¬ 
 ing, as near as possible , the instructions on this 
 head . 
 
 The unsigned paper you sent to me is returned 
 herewith, to be delivered back to Count Bertrand, 
 as well on account of the imperial title being used 
 in the heading of it, and its having no signature, 
 as also because the first part of this letter renders 
 any deliberation on the proposals it contains un¬ 
 necessary. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient humble servant, 
 (Signed) G. Gorrequer, Major, 
 
 Acting Military Secretary. 
 
 To Captain Nicholls, 
 
 Orderly Officer, Longwood. 
 
 A True Copy. 
 
 (Signed) J. Nicholls, 
 
 Capt. 66th Regt. 
 
 it is very natural to suppose, that the great 
 responsibility felt in attending such a patient as 
 Napoleon, would point out to any medical man the 
 imperious necessity of giving written directions, in 
 order to prevent the possibility of any mistake be¬ 
 ing made in the administration of the remedies; 
 and to show hereafter, in case of a fatal event, that 
 the mode of practice, which had been adopted, 
 was correct.; and also that no mystery had been 
 
182 
 
 made use of with the French, in the treatment of 
 their fallen master. 
 
 There is but little necessity for any comment 
 upon such conduct. The imputations which are 
 likely to be cast upon the nation by Sir Hudson 
 Lowe’s having removed,, in succession, the only 
 medical men in whom Napoleon had confidence, 
 at the moment when he was labouring under a for¬ 
 midable disease, in a climate where it was weekly 
 sending numbers to the grave; and moreover, di¬ 
 rectly after Napoleon had experienced an attack of 
 apoplexy , a repetition of which, if immediate medi¬ 
 cal assistance was not at hand, would most probably 
 prove fatal, are too obvious to escape the observa¬ 
 tion of the public, which will not fail to form its 
 judgment, in spite of all that either anonymous 
 compilers, or the more accredited agents of misre¬ 
 presentation and calumny can advance. 
 
 From the persevering efforts and undeviating 
 malignity with which the author of the " Facts” 
 had hitherto laboured to distort truth, and bestow 
 undeserved praises on some, while others, no mat¬ 
 ter what their age, sex, or condition might be, were 
 mercilessly vilified and traduced, it is not by any 
 means surprising, that the last pages of his pam¬ 
 phlet, including the addenda, called forth by the 
 recent very interesting publication of Count de Las 
 Cases, should be made up of precisely the same 
 materials as those already offered to public notice. 
 In these we are again presented with cavilling* vi- 
 
183 
 
 tupcration, and falsehood, not to be exceeded in 
 any other part of this writer’s unprincipled farrago; 
 and if I had not dwelt at such length on the pre¬ 
 ceding statements of his book, there is an ample 
 field for additional comment on several passages 
 contained between page 120, where he takes leave 
 of the public, and 140, in which his labours close. 
 Some few remarks seem, however, requisite ; and in 
 making them I shall be as brief as possible, feel¬ 
 ing, that I have probably not only devoted in¬ 
 finitely too much space to the contradiction of such 
 palpable absurdities, but greatly trespassed on the 
 patience of my reader. 
 
 Not content with the abuse so profusely lavished 
 on the prisoners at St. Helena, the author has 
 omitted no opportunity of attempting to depreciate 
 the merits of those exalted characters in England, 
 who, jealous for the honour of their country, and 
 the rights of humanity, have endeavoured to pre¬ 
 vent both from being violated with impunity, in 
 our treatment of Napoleon. Faithful to his system 
 of malevolent detraction, an allusion, no less marked 
 by audacity than time-serving impertinence, is ha¬ 
 zarded in page 128 ; wherein, as might be natu¬ 
 rally expected from such a writer, two distinguished 
 characters, foremost in all that is calculated to pro¬ 
 mote the best interests of the nation, are re¬ 
 flected on in a manner that evidently betrays the 
 envy of a party, whose lost popularity, aided by 
 characteristic littleness of soul, renders the well 
 
 i 
 
184 
 
 earned fame of others a source of perpetual suffer¬ 
 ing to themselves. 
 
 Invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimus ! 
 
 As the tenor of their public conduct and pre-emi¬ 
 nent services in the cause of all that can be dear to 
 Englishmen, is a sufficient reply to this jaundiced 
 calumniator’s insinuations, it is unnecessary for 
 me to say any thing more on the subject, or dwell 
 minutely upon the insinuations made by the au¬ 
 thor of the <s Facts,” against some other highly 
 esteemed characters. Had not the general nature 
 of his publication, added to the observation on the 
 ladies of Longwood, together with the conduct 
 actually adopted towards them at St. Helena, pre¬ 
 pared the reader for still greater outrages upon 
 female delicacy, I should have probably been led 
 to enter into an examination of some of his calum¬ 
 nies. It is equally unnecessary to dilate on the 
 manifest injustice and extreme impolicy of a 
 •writer, who professes to defend the measures of 
 administration, endeavouring by insinuations, the 
 meaning of which cannot be mistaken, to wound 
 the feelings, not only of irreproachable and truly 
 meritorious officers, but of their consorts. 
 
 Had the author really felt, as he jesuitically 
 professes, u that there is a sacredness about the 
 very name of an English woman, which makes it 
 a kind of sacrilege to hold her up to public notice, 
 
185 
 
 even to meet with public, approbation /” is it likely 
 he would have thus shamefully violated the doctrine 
 laid down by himself, and for no earthly cause 
 than a line of conduct on the part of those who 
 gave rise to his brutal censures, which every feeling 
 heart in the empire will not fail to honour with 
 applause ? 
 
 The author's giving the above fine sentiment , as 
 a reason for withholding many traits of female ex¬ 
 cellence, is well worthy of the logic displayed in 
 the other parts of his rhodomontade produc¬ 
 tion ! 
 
 Fully approving of the sentiments to which he 
 has paid so little attention, I shall most assuredly 
 not follow his example, even to relate some in¬ 
 stances of females indulging feelings of that huma¬ 
 nity, to which the author of the “ Facts” is un¬ 
 questionably a total stranger. 
 
 In the note above alluded to, the author of the 
 “ Facts” proceeds to relate some marks of atten¬ 
 tion, stated by him as having been made to the 
 wishes of Madame Bertrand, with a view of proving 
 that “ no improper animosity was kindled, either 
 in his (Sir Hudson Lowe’s) breast, or that of any of 
 his family.” I am fully aware that farces of this 
 description have been frequently got up at Planta¬ 
 tion House, which, if the author was ever inclined 
 to turn his cacoethes scribendi in that profitable di¬ 
 rection, might furnish him with some very useful 
 hints. The writer forgot to inform his readers, 
 
186 
 
 that these dramatic scenes were also exhibited at 
 the very time Sir Hudson Lowe’s restrictions had 
 reduced the Countess Bertrand and her family to a 
 state of the greatest distress; when they had de¬ 
 prived her of society; prohibited the shopkeepers 
 from giving her credit for a gown; and that her 
 wearing apparel was subjected to inspection. At 
 such a time, advantage was often taken of a fa¬ 
 vourable morneut, when passengers of rank, on their 
 way to England, happened to be at Plantation House: 
 on these occasions some of the individuals most in¬ 
 terested in preventing the twelve thousand per 
 annum from passing into other hands, had recourse to 
 a favourite maxim with hypocrites of every descrip¬ 
 tion, of expressing the utmost sympathy and com¬ 
 miseration for the inmates at Longwood. Now, as 
 1 really feel both respect and admiration for the 
 lovely sex to which Lady Lowe belongs, I freely 
 exonerate her ladyship from participating in the 
 deception, or favouring the unworthy subterfuges of 
 those around her; if, therefore, she was ever heard 
 to say, on such occasions as those I have men¬ 
 tioned, “ My dear, 1 hope you sent to inquire how 
 Madame Bertrand was this morning ! Can we do 
 any thing for her? Poor woman ! how much she 
 is to be pitied!” it must have been the pure 
 emanation of a truly Christian spirit; not a preme¬ 
 ditated effort to deceive, for the purpose of aiding 
 the tortuous designs of others. 
 
 In his notice of Count de Las Cases’s last work. 
 
187 
 
 the author recurs to the affair of Count Bertrand 
 and Lieutenant Colonel Lyster. This subject ha% 
 I trust, been satisfactorily elucidated in the pre¬ 
 ceding part of my Remarks; and, with due sub¬ 
 mission to the author, it is one of those unhappy 
 topics, which every additional mooting can only 
 tend to render less honourable to the party, whose 
 cause he so vainly endeavours to defend. 
 
 The Count’s observation relative to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe’s being “ a man, who never thinks beyond 
 the letter of his instructions,” is made the ground 
 of acquittal, in favour of the Lieutenant General; 
 whereas every one, who has considered, or taken 
 any pains to ascertain the nature of his measures, 
 well knows, that this expression of Count de Las 
 Cases applied to a particular case, in which the 
 Governor had an ample plea for swerving from his 
 instructions; and that, whenever any measures oi 
 coercion required a departure from them, they were 
 unhesitatingly abandoned ; as a proof of which, I 
 need only refer the reader to the Count’s state¬ 
 ments, so clearly explained in his letters, not to men* 
 
 , tion the various other facts that have transpired 
 relative to the transactions in St. Helena. Does 
 this writer want to be informed, that a man, who 
 adheres to the letter of his instructions in all that 
 implies harshness and severity, while he was never 
 known to exceed them, except for the purpose of 
 increasing that harshness, cannot claim the merit 
 attributed to him on this occasion? On the con* 
 
188 
 
 trary, such a mode of proceeding will, doubtless, be 
 construed into a' want of humanity on the one hand, 
 and a lamentable absence of talent on the other. 
 
 It was to be expected, that in his anxiety to 
 serve a tottering and iniquitous cause, the author’s 
 concluding remarks would be framed so as to steel 
 the hearts and blunt the sensibility of the nation 
 with regard to the fallen Emperor, whose perpetual 
 detention is recommended, with all the obdurate 
 inflexibility of a being, who not only exults in the 
 perpetration of crimes himself, but like the arch 
 fiend, whose prototype he may be justly called, 
 delights in the guilt of others. But, however much 
 gratified the author of the “ Facts” may have been 
 at this opportunity of shedding the venom of his 
 little mind and pitiless heart, the nation which he 
 addresses are not so devoid of humanity, or insen¬ 
 sible to the heavy responsibility arising from a per¬ 
 severance in a course of injustice, as to be guided 
 in its judgment by all that the hirelings of party 
 can suggest. And in contradistinction to this wri¬ 
 ter’s closing invocation, would it not be as just to 
 say. Countrymen, whoever ye trust, believe 
 
 NO MAN WHO WOULD SULLY YOUR RENOWN, AND 
 BLAST YOUR NAME, BY THE EXERCISE OF CRUELTY 
 AND INJUSTICE : ON THE CONTRARY, LET THE 
 CURSES OF AN OUTRAGED WORLD, “ NOT LOUD, 
 BUT DEEP,” BE ON THE HEAD OF HIM, WHO 
 
 COULD THUS WANTONLY TRIFLE WITH YOUR FEEL- 
 
 / 
 
 INGS, AND DESTROY YOUR REPUTATION ; 
 
 \ 
 
189 
 
 The universal burst of public opinion, which 
 lias led to Ministers sending Mr. Stokoe back to 
 St. Helena, amply proves, that those principles of 
 justice, to which Napoleon Bonaparte continues to 
 appeal, are not extinct in the British nation, how¬ 
 ever they may have been deviated from by a few 
 isolated individuals. 
 
 Whatever arguments the author may have thought 
 proper to introduce, in support of his efforts to pre¬ 
 vent any amelioration in the treatment or condition 
 of Napoleon, it is evident, that the sentiments of 
 the nation have undergone a considerable change 
 on this highly important subject. If there still 
 exists a difference of opinion as to the policy of 
 thus depriving a former sovereign, so nearly allied 
 to many reigning crowned heads, of his liberty; 
 while others regard the precedent as fraught with 
 perils to legitimacy*; there can be but one 
 feeling as to the mode in which he has been 
 treated since his imprisonment, or the corroding 
 nature of the climate selected for the scene of his 
 detention. When this general opinion is coupled 
 with the various other considerations, which so irre- 
 
 % 
 
 * I have, since my return from St. Helena, heard a very en¬ 
 lightened Frenchman observe, amongst other remarks on the 
 politics of the day, with which no man is better acquainted, 
 “ Les Rois d' Europe se tuent a Sainte Helene /” The importance 
 of this singular observation is not lessened by the fact of the 
 person, who made it, having been a political opponent of Na¬ 
 poleon’s, during a great part of his reign. 
 
V 
 
 190 * . 
 
 sistibly force themselves on the minds of those who 
 examine the question with any degree of candour, 
 no wonder if the great and generous sentiments, 
 which have always characterized the majority of 
 the British nation, should be so clearly manifested 
 on the present occasion. This will account for the 
 very eloquent and spirited manner, in which some 
 of the most distinguished political writers of the 
 day have treated the subject within the last six 
 months, and more particularly since the recent 
 publication of Count de las Cases appeared. 
 
 Without venturing to anticipate what course the 
 wisdom of Parliament may suggest, on a question in 
 which our national character is so deeply involved, 
 
 I am convinced, in reply to the dogmatical author of 
 the “ Facts/ 9 that the fallen Emperor has no wish 
 beyond the desire attributed to him by the Count. 
 
 If, as this libeller insinuates, a spirit of revenge 
 formed the ruling principle in Napoleon’s cha¬ 
 racter, he had ample opportunities of displaying it 
 to the world, during his unprecedented successes 
 over the continental sovereigns. But the fact is, . 
 the state of Europe no less than a total deteriora¬ 
 tion in his physical powers, not to mention the 
 time of life at which he has now arrived, renders 
 future tranquillity an object of exclusive solicitude 
 to the fallen Ruler. Such at least is the conviction 
 produced on my mind, by the various conversa¬ 
 tions that took place on the subject of his present 
 reflections and future views, during my residence 
 
191 
 
 at Long wood ; and although I am not so weak as 
 to imagine it will have any weight with the au¬ 
 thor’s friends , I should not have been justified in 
 omitting this opportunity of adverting to the cir¬ 
 cumstance, for the information of other, and less 
 prejudiced reasoners. 
 
 Having, in all I have felt myself bound to say, 
 offered nothing but facts, by far the greatest part 
 of which may be proved by credible witnesses, let 
 those, who deny my assertions, have recourse to the 
 legal mode of disproving them ; no verbal criti¬ 
 cism or written statements will satisfy the country, 
 after the foregoing invitation. The public have 
 heard quite enough from the parties more imme¬ 
 diately interested; they now look for inquiry. 
 
 It will doubtless create some surprise on the 
 part of some readers, that I should have attached 
 so much importance to the assertions of an anony¬ 
 mous writer. If they consider the peculiar dif¬ 
 ficulty of my situation, the pains that have been 
 taken to lower and even criminate me in public 
 opinion, together with the importance of the 
 subject, upon which this pamphlet has been 
 written, as far at least as it regards our national 
 character, I trust a considerable portion of that 
 surprise will cease. 
 
 As it is evident, that the greater part of this 
 pamphlet must have been dictated by the Go¬ 
 vernor of St. Helena, and that the work itself has 
 received the support of the ministerial press, of 
 
192 
 
 wliat consequence is it, who the compiler and 
 editor in this country may be ? Whether a greedy 
 expectant, working his way into place, or some 
 ruined profligate, who, after having betrayed his 
 trust, endeavours to evade the offended majesty 
 of the laws, by an attempt to bolster up the 
 views of imbecility and oppression, is alike in¬ 
 different to the public : the important fact of his 
 book being ushered into notice by the sanction 
 of ministers, identifies him with them; consti¬ 
 tuting him, if not the organ, at least an agent of 
 administration. 
 
 With respect to the two persons, upon whose 
 assertions and conduct I have been principally 
 called upon to animadvert and contradict in the 
 foregoing pages, they have no cause, or indeed 
 any right whatever to be surprised at the steps I 
 have taken to bring them thus before the bar of 
 their country. From one, I have experienced 
 insults, oppression, and indignity ; from the other, 
 abuse, slander, and calumny. It is said, that a 
 worm will turn if trod upon; but what accumu¬ 
 lated injuries have I not sustained ! Represented 
 in the foulest light to his Majesty’s Government, 
 and deprived of my hard earned bread, without 
 the shadow of a trial; not allowed to explain the 
 motives of my conduct, or expose that of others, 
 it was doubtless anticipated, by those who had 
 meditated my ruin, that I should also tamely 
 submit to be branded as a traitor! 
 
J 93 
 
 They are now undeceived on this point: insensible 
 to shame, as they have been callous to the voice 
 of humanity, I leave them for the present to 
 those reflections, which their own conduct has 
 generated; and console myself by repeating a 
 memorable saying of Napoleon, when dwelling 
 on the character of the one, which is equally appli¬ 
 cable to them both: “ S’il echappe'a la justice 
 
 DE LA LOI, au’lL VIOLE, IL n’eCHAPPERA PAS V A 
 LA JUSTICE DE L’OPINION DE TOUS LES HOMMES 
 
 eclaire's et sensibles!” 
 
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APPENDIX; 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, 
 
 REFERRED TO IN THE PRECEDING REMARKS, 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE OF TIIE TRANSACTIONS AT ST. HELENA, 
 
 SUBSEQUENT TO 
 
 THE APPOINTMENT OF SIR HUDSON LOWE 
 
 TO BE 
 
 GOVERNOR OF THAT ISLAND. 
 
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X 
 
 i; 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Lettre du Comte Bertrand au Docteur O'Meara. 
 
 Longwood, 9 Mai, 1818. 
 
 Monsieur ; 
 
 Depuis le mois d’Octobre vous avez cessd de faire 
 des bulletins, ce qui a donnd lieu d’en faire de faux. L*Em- 
 pereur desire que vous ne rendiez compte k qui que ce soit de 
 1’dtat de sa sant£, si ce n’est au Gouverneur s’il le requiert; 
 surtout que vous n’en parliez a aucun M^degin ; et pour 
 couper court k tout ce tripotage, que vous redigiez toutes les 
 semaines ou plus souvent si cela est necessaire, un bulletin de 
 sa sant£, dont vous me remettrez Foriginal et dont vous 
 pouvez envoyer la copie au Gouverneur s’il la desire. 
 
 Aussitdt que vous m’aurez repondu sur cet article, vous 
 pouvez reprendre vos fonctions de Mdde^in de Napoleon, 
 qui en a besoin, puisque la restriction du 10 Avril est 
 levde, et que vous agissez volontairement et sans y £tre 
 i:ontraint. 
 
 J’ai l’honneur d’etre, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 (Sign£) Le Comte Bertrand. 
 
 Translation. 
 
 Letter from Count Bertrand to Doctor O'Meara . 
 
 Longvvood, May 9, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Since the month of October you have discontinued 
 issuing bulletins; hence an opportunity has been afforded lor 
 
198 
 
 false ones to be made. The Emperor desires you will give 
 no aeeount of his health to any person whatever, excepting 
 to the Governor, if he demands it; and particularly, that you 
 do not speak to any other doctor upon the subject. To put 
 an end to all this manoeuvring, he also desires you will draw up 
 every week, or oftener if necessary, a bulletin of his health, 
 the original of which you are to hand to me, and you may 
 send a copy to the Governor, if he desires it. 
 
 As soon as you send me your answer upon this point, you 
 may resume your functions of physician to Napoleon, who 
 requires your assistance; since the restriction of the 10th of 
 April is at length removed, by which you can act voluntarily 
 and without constraint. 
 
 * 1 have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 (Signed) Count Bertrand. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Letter from Mr . O'Meara to Count Bertrand , in reply to 
 
 the jtreceding. 
 
 Longwood, May 10, 1818. 
 
 Sir; 
 
 In answer to your letter, bearing date the Oth of 
 May, ISIS, which I did not receive until this day; I have 
 the honour to inform you, that I cannot refuse a compliance 
 with the two propositions contained in it, which, with a copy 
 of this answer, I will immediately forward to his Excellency 
 the Governor. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 To Lieut. General Count Bertrand, 
 $c. #c. fyc. 
 
1.99 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Letter from Mr. O'Meara to Major Gorrequer ; Sir 
 Hudson Lowes Military Secretary. 
 
 Longwood, May 10, 1818. 
 4 o'clock P.M. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 I have the honour to inclose you a letter, which I 
 have this moment received from Count Bertrand, with the 
 answer; which I beg you will lay before his Excellency the 
 Governor. 
 
 I remain, Sir, &c. 
 
 Barry E* O'Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 To Major Gorrequer, Act. Mil. Sec. 
 fyc. tyc. fyc. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Letter and Report from Mr. O'Meara to Sir Hudson 
 
 Lowe. 
 
 Longwood, May 10, 1818. 
 
 6 o'clock P.M. 
 
 Sir; 
 
 I have the honour to inform your Excellency, that 
 at half past five o’clock Napoleon Bonaparte sent for me, 
 being the first time I have seen him since the 14th of last 
 month. I found him in his room, in the state I have de¬ 
 scribed, which I took down upon leaving it. As he wished 
 me to send a statement of my opinion to General Bertrand, 
 I have thought proper to send a copy of it for your Excel¬ 
 lency's information. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara* 
 Surgeon. 
 
 To his Excellency Lieut. Gen. Sir Hudson 
 
 Loive, K. C. B. $c. fyc. fyc. Governor. 
 
200 
 
 Report. 
 
 Since the 10th of last month, the state of the Patient's 
 health has become a little worse* The pain in the right 
 hypochondriac region is more constant, and a little more 
 severe, accompanied with frequent pain above the acromion. 
 The disease is evidently hepatitis, in an insidious form. His 
 rest at night is extremely bad; appetite deficient; his bowels 
 are very costive, and he has experienced frequent griping. 
 The pain, however, was neither constant nor severe. His 
 legs are nearly the natural size : his gums are better and 
 more florid. The salt water baths have afforded relief. He 
 stands in need first of frequent and active purgatives, exercise 
 on horseback, and subsequently of some preparation of 
 mercury. 
 
 ft 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Major Gorrequer to Mr . 
 
 O'Meara, 
 
 Plantation House, May 10, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Having informed the Governor you had inclosed to 
 me some correspondence between yourself and Count Ber¬ 
 trand, he has directed me to return the same forthwith; to 
 say all such correspondence is illegal , and that it is besides 
 a direct disobedience of the annexed order, conveyed to you 
 in Sir Thomas Reade’s letter of the 10th January, to which 
 order, and to Sir Thomas Reade’s letter of the 7th instant, 
 he refers you for your future guidance. 
 
 After acquainting the Governor you had acceded to certain 
 propositions made to you in Count Bertrand’s letter, he said 
 
201 
 
 it must have been, in such case, directly counter to the 
 orders, &c. 
 
 (Signed) G. Gorrequer, 
 
 Major. 
 
 2Extract from Sir Thomas Reade s Letter , dated 
 
 January IS), IS 18. 
 
 When the Governor requires written reports from you, he 
 will acquaint you of the form in which he wishes to receive 
 them; and he desires you will not again presume to address 
 to him , in an official manner , any observations made to you 
 by Count Bertrand, or even by Napoleon Bonaparte himself; 
 unless, after their having been verbally communicated, he 
 should require you so to do. 
 
 (Signed) T. Reade, 
 
 D. Adj. General. 
 
 P. S. Just as I was sending off this letter, the Governor 
 was extremely surprised at receiving from you the copy of 
 some report you had addressed to Count Bertrand; it is 
 returned herewith. 
 
 Extract of a Letter from Sir Thomas Reade , dated 
 
 St. Helena , May 15, 1818. 
 
 I am directed by the Governor to acquaint you, &c. 
 
 You will report to the Governor in person , except in 
 case of such very serious illness as may prevent your quitting 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, when you will acquaint the orderly 
 officer, &c. 
 
 (Signed) T. Reade, 
 
 D. Adj. General. 
 
202 
 
 No. VI. 
 
 Bulletin relative to the State of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte’s Health . 
 
 Loogwood, June 7, 1818. 
 
 The Patient’s complaint has been worse during the last 
 week. The pain on the right side has been constant, and 
 more soreness has been felt on pressure being made upon 
 the right hypochondrium. I am of opinion, that the adminis¬ 
 tration of mercurial preparations is indispensable; and that 
 any farther delay in their exhibition will be attended with 
 dangerous consequences, and for which I do not consider 
 myself in any manner responsible. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 Bulletin on the same, 
 
 Longwood, June 14, 1818. 
 
 During this week the pain in the right side has been more 
 severe than before, and the Patient has passed the greatest 
 part of his time in bed ; which is partly to be attributed to 
 the delicacy of the nervous system, in consequence of 
 want of exercise,’ and especially from having shut him¬ 
 self up in a small apartment for near six weeks. The 
 nervous system has been also more than commonly agitated 
 by the mercurial preparations, which it has been indispensable 
 administer on the 11th. 
 
 Whatever objections the Patient may have to going out, it 
 is absolutely necessary for him to give them up, and to take 
 
203 
 
 
 two or three hours’ exercise on horseback daily,'or at least to 
 go out of his room and walk in the open air, even for half an 
 hour; as it is probable, by neglecting this advice, his system 
 may become so delicate as not to be able to resist external 
 impressions. 
 
 The actual state of circumstances renders it extremely 
 desirable to have the opinion of another medical man; and I 
 therefore renew the request I have so often made verbally of 
 calling in one. If the Patient perseveres in his unwilling¬ 
 ness to call in Mr. Baxter, there are four or five other skilful 
 medical officers belonging to the army and navy, amongst 
 whom a choice might be made. So many causes tend to 
 complicate the disease, that I think it most imperatively 
 necessary to obtain the opinion of another professional 
 man*. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon. 
 
 No. VtIL 
 
 Letter from Mr. O' Blear a to Major Gorrequer. 
 
 Longwood, June 29, 1818. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 Being unwell, and having taken medicine, T am not in 
 a state fit to mount on horseback to day. As I suppose that 
 his Excellency the Governor has sent for me in order to 
 inquire into the state of Napoleon Bonaparte’s health, I have 
 to state, that the progress of the complaint still continues; 
 
 * Several other Bulletins of a similar description to the 
 above were written by me, some of which I have not been able 
 to find since the rummaging of my papers at Hut’s Gate, as 
 described in the Remarks, p. 103. B. E. O’M. 
 
204 
 
 and I beg of you to lay before him the statement on the 
 other side of this letter; and to submit for his Excellency’s 
 consideration, that I feel that verbal reports are not suffi¬ 
 cient for my responsibility; and to beg of him to annul his 
 prohibition against my furnishing him with written reports of 
 the state of the disease. I presume, that, in justice, his 
 Excellency may allow me to give him written ones, which I 
 can have the honour either to deliver personally, or to send to 
 him when called for. 
 
 I remain. Sir, &c. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon, 
 
 To Major Gorrequcr, Act . Mil. Sec. 
 fyc. be. fyc. 
 
 Statement referred to. 
 
 The progress of hepatitis in Napoleon Bonaparte has 
 increased since the time I had the honour of verbally 
 reporting to his Excellency, that he had consented to com¬ 
 mence mercurial preparations, which as yet have not pro¬ 
 duced any beneficial effects, and which I have been obliged 
 to discontinue from the 27 th, in consequence of a severe 
 catarrhal affection, caused by the extreme humidity of his 
 rooms. There is more debility present, and he has been 
 confined to bed for the greatest part of his time daily. 
 
 (Signed) Barry E. O’Meara, 
 
 Surgeon. 
 
 Longwood, June 29, 1818. 
 
205 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 Proclamation referred to, page 150 of the Remark?, 
 in which the authority of Parliament is assumed by 
 the Governor of St. Helena . 
 
 Proclamation by Lieutenant General Sir Hudson 
 Lowe, K. C. B. Governor and Commander in 
 Chief, for the Honourable East India Company, 
 of the Island of St. Helena, and commanding 
 His Majesty’s Forces on the said Island. 
 
 By virtue of the powers and authority vested in me by a 
 Warrant in the King’s Majesty’s name, bearing date the 
 12th day of April in the present year, and in the fifty-sixth 
 year of his Majesty’s reign, authorizing and commanding me 
 to detain in custody Napoleon Bonaparte, and him to deal 
 with and treat as a Prisoner of War, under such restrictions, 
 and in such manner as shall have been, or shall be from 
 time to time signified to me under the hand of one of his 
 Majesty’s principal Secretaries of State, and to prevent the 
 rescue or escape of the said Napoleon Bonaparte; in the due 
 execution whereof, all his Majesty’s officers, civil, naval, and 
 military, and all his loving subjects, whom it may concern, 
 are required to be aiding and assisting as occasion there may¬ 
 be; public notice is hereby given, that two Acts have been 
 passed in the present session of the British Parliament, the 
 one for detaining in custody the said Napoleon Bonaparte, 
 and adjudging capital punishment on those who may he 
 assisting in his escape; and the other for regulating the 
 intercourse of shipping with the Island of St. Helena during 
 the time Napoleon Bonaparte shall be detained in custody. 
 
 Copies of these two Acts are hereunto annexed. 
 
 In furtherance of the objects for which these Acts have 
 been passed, it is hereby publicly made known, that the 
 
206 
 
 various regulations hitherto issued on this island, in regard to 
 the safe custody of the said Napoleon Bonaparte, and of the 
 prevention of any undue correspondence or communication 
 with him, his followers, and attendants, are to remain in full 
 force. 
 
 It is farther made known, that if, after this notice, any 
 person or persons whatever shall infringe the regulations 
 established for his custody, or shall hold correspondence or 
 communication with him, his followers, or attendants, 
 who are by their own acquiescence placed under the same 
 restrictions as himself, or shall receive from or deliver any 
 letters or communication to him or them, without the express 
 authorization of the Governor, or the officer commanding 
 on the Island for the time being, signified to them in 
 writing under his hand; such person or persons will he 
 considered as having acted against the provisions ami 
 express objects of the said Acts of Parliament, and he 
 proceeded against accordingly . And should, from any 
 infraction of the rules established for his custody, or from 
 any correspondence or communication with either him, his 
 followers, or attendants, the escape or rescue of the said 
 Napoleon Bonaparte he effected, such person or persons 
 will, after this notice, he considered as having been know¬ 
 ingly instrumental to, and assisting in the same, and he 
 prosecuted with all the rigour which the law enacts . 
 
 It is farther declared, that if any person or persons shall 
 have any information of any attempted rescue or means of 
 escape, and shall not make an immediate communication of 
 the same to the Governor, or officer commanding for the 
 time being, or shall not do his or their utmost to prevent the 
 same taking effect, they will be regarded as having connived 
 at and assisted in the said rescue or escape, and his or their 
 offence be judged by the laws. 
 
 Any person or persons who may receive letters or commu¬ 
 nications for the said Napoleon Bonaparte, his followers, 
 
207 
 
 or attendants , and shall not immediately deliver or make 
 known the same to the Governor, or officer commanding for 
 the time being; or who shall furnish the said Napoleon 
 Bonaparte, his followers, or attendants, with money, or any 
 other means whatever, whereby his escape might be furthered, 
 will be considered in like manner to have been assisting 
 in the same, and ivill be proceeded against accordingly . 
 
 All letters or communications for or from the said 
 Napoleon, any of his followers or attendants, whether sealed 
 or open, are to be forwarded to the Governor without loss of 
 time, in the same state in which they may have been 
 received. 
 
 And whereas it is not the object of the regulation hereby 
 promulgated, to induce any unusual or unnecessary rigour, 
 but to enforce the due execution of the rules heretofore 
 established, and to prevent the ill effects which might result 
 from ignorance and inconsiderateness, as well as design; it is 
 in consequence made known to all those persons, whose duty 
 calls upon them to attend near the place where the said 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, his followers, or attendants, reside, or 
 who have business which has any relation to them, that they 
 will be furnished, upon due application, with regular licences 
 and authorities from the Governor of the island, signed with 
 his hand. And nothing is to be construed from the Acts of 
 Parliament, or these regulations, as warranting any violent or 
 improper demeanor against him or them, so long as he or 
 they observe the restrictions under which the laws and the 
 instructions of his Majesty’s Government has placed them. 
 
 Given under my hand in James’ Town, in the Island of 
 St. Helena, the 2Sth day of June, 1816. 
 
 (Signed) Hudson Lowe, 
 Governor and Commander in Chief. 
 
 By command of the Governor, 
 
 (Signed) G. Gorrequer, 
 
 Acting Military Secretary. 
 
208 
 
 No. X. 
 
 (Copy.) 
 
 To Mi\ Charles Weston , Marshall *. 
 
 Sir; 
 
 It is the Governor’s command, that you wait im¬ 
 mediately on Mr. O’Meara, late surgeon in attendance on 
 General Bonaparte, and inform him, that he is forthwith to 
 quit this island ; the necessary time will be granted to him 
 for packing up his baggage, and you will see this order ex¬ 
 ecuted within an hour after you have received it. 
 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servant, 
 
 Thos. H. Brooke, 
 Secretary to Government. 
 
 St. Helena, 26 July, 1818 . 
 
 A true Copy, C. Weston, Marshall. 
 
 No. XL 
 (Copy.) 
 
 James’ Valley, July 26, 1818, 
 
 5 o’clock P. M. 
 
 Sir ; 
 
 I have just received an intimation from Mr. Weston, 
 that it is the Governor’s direction for him to see me off within 
 the course of an hour. This step, prior to allowing my bag¬ 
 gage, bedding, or the money which I delivered to Captain 
 Blakeney, to reach me, is of a piece with the rest of the pro¬ 
 ceedings adopted towards me. 
 
 I must observe, that I hold the giver of this order respon- 
 
 * Mr. Weston is also gaoler of the common prison* 
 
209 
 
 sible to the tradesmen, whom he thus prevents from receiving 
 the money due to them by me; and that I will take such 
 steps as the law enacts against any person seizing upon, ap¬ 
 propriating to any purpose, or disposing of my property; and 
 for all and every loss I may sustain by the illegal and arbi¬ 
 trary proceedings which have been put in execution against 
 me. 
 
 I have the honour, &c. 
 
 Barry E. O’Meara, 
 Surgeon R. N. 
 
 To T. H. Brooke, Esquire, 
 
 Secretary to Government. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 Deposition of John Wyatt , Servant to Mr . O'Meara. 
 
 London, to wit. 
 
 John Wyatt, late of St. Helena, but now of Arun¬ 
 del Street in the Strand, servant to Dr. O’Meara of said 
 place, maketh oath and saith; That on Saturday, the twenty- 
 fifth day of July, in the present year one thousand eight hun¬ 
 dred and eighteen, he being then at Longwood in the said 
 island of St. Helena, in the apartments of his said master, 
 he was ordered, at about half past four or five of the clock in 
 the afternoon of that day, by Colonel Wynyard, to immedi¬ 
 ately pack up the baggage and effects belonging to his 
 master, the said Doctor O’Meara, preparatory to his then 
 intended departure from the said island of St. Helena, That 
 he, this deponent, accordingly proceeded to pack up his said 
 master’s baggage and effects, in one packing case and three 
 trunks, two of which last mentioned he was obliged to bor¬ 
 row for that purpose, not being allowed time to purchase 
 proper articles to effect their removal in. That whilst so 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 employed in packing the said baggage and effects, the said 
 Colonel Wynyard came several times into the room where 
 this Deponent was engaged as aforesaid, to superintend him 
 therein ; and before he, this deponent, had completed the said 
 packing, the said Colonel Wynyard directed this deponent to 
 go all over the premises in search of the said Doctor 
 O'Meara, he the said Colonel Wynyard having immediate oc¬ 
 casion to see him. That he, this deponent, returned in about 
 twenty minutes, not having been able to find his said master, 
 and resumed the packing of the baggage. That at about half 
 past six of the clock of the said afternoon, the said Doctor 
 O’Meara came into the room, and having collected together 
 his money, a gold watch chain, and seals, and several articles 
 of jewellery, packed the money, consisting in dollars, in cloths, 
 and delivered the same to Captain Blakeney of the G6th regi¬ 
 ment; and put the said gold watch chain, seals, and articles 
 of jewellery, into his, Doctor O’Meara’s, writing desk. That 
 he, this deponent, completed the packing of the said baggage 
 and effects at half past seven o’clock, and lashed and secured 
 the same with cords, in the best and safest way he possibly 
 could; and in consequence of the request of the said Doctor 
 O’Meara, that one of the servants might be allowed to sleep 
 that night at Hut’s Gate in the said island, where the said 
 baggage was to be deposited, the said Colonel Wynyard 
 promised that one of his, the said Doctor O’Meara’s, servants 
 should certainly remain in charge of the said baggage. That 
 the said Doctor O’Meara having left this deponent in charge 
 of the said baggage at Longwood, he, this deponent, was sent 
 away therewith by the said Captain Blakeney, without being 
 allowed time to collect his own baggage; and orders were at 
 the same time given to the sentinels, not to allow him, this 
 deponent, to enter the premises again. That having, in com¬ 
 pany with his fellow servant William Jones, arrived at Ilut’s 
 Gate with the said baggage, consisting of one packing case, 
 
211 
 
 three trunks, five hags of books, and the above mentioned 
 writing desk, at half past eight o’clock, or thereabouts, he, this 
 deponent, was ordered by the said Colonel Wynyard to de¬ 
 liver the same up to the storekeeper stationed there, of the 
 name of White, and to resign the charge thereof to him, and 
 then to proceed into James’ Town ; which he, this deponent, 
 and the said William Jones accordingly did, and there slept, 
 upon an assurance from the said Colonel Wynyard, that the 
 baggage should be sent down to him at James’ Town the 
 next morning. And this deponent further maketh oath and 
 saith, that the next day, Sunday the twenty-sixth day of the 
 said month of July, so far from being put in possession of the 
 said baggage again, as promised, he, this deponent, was con¬ 
 fined as a prisoner to the town, and was not allowed to leave 
 it to go and look after the said baggage; but that a pass was 
 given to the said William Jones to go, attended by a guard, 
 to Longwood, and fetch the remaining effects of the said 
 Doctor O’Meara, and the baggage of himself and this depo¬ 
 nent. That he, this deponent, has been informed, and in his 
 conscience believes, that the said William Jones, on his 
 arrival at Longwood, was refused admission into the premises 
 there, and was closely confined in the guard room, from about 
 eleven of the clock in the morning until about three of the 
 clock in the afternooon; and was then sent back to James’ 
 Town, also under a guard, without having been permitted to 
 see the said baggage left at Hut’s Gate as aforesaid, or any 
 of the domestics at Longwood. That when the said William 
 Jones returned, this deponent and he were ordered to remain 
 at the Town Major’s office to sleep that night, without being 
 supplied with either bed, bedding, or covering. And this 
 deponent further maketh oath and saith, that at twelve of the 
 clock on the following day, Monday the twenty seventh of 
 the said month of July, the baggage of the said Doctor 
 O’Meara was brought down by the Commissary General’s 
 mule carts, and delivered into the care of him, this deponent, 
 

 212 
 
 in the presence of Provost Corporal Regan, who ordered this 
 deponent to unpack the same from the old trunks into new 
 ones, which had been bought by the said Doctor O’Meara. 
 That he, this deponent, accordingly proceeded to unpack the 
 said baggage, as desired, and then found and observed, that 
 one of the trunks, which contained papers, had been opened, 
 and the papers disturbed after he, this deponent, had left 
 them; and also that the cordage, with which he, this depo¬ 
 nent, had fastened the writing desk, had been removed and 
 taken away, since the said writing desk had been left by him, 
 this deponent, at Hut’s Gate aforesaid. And, finally, this 
 deponent maketh oath and saith, that the said baggage re¬ 
 mained during Monday night aforesaid at the Town Major’s 
 office, under lock and key; and at twelve o’clock on Tues¬ 
 day, the twenty-eighth of the said month of July, in conse¬ 
 quence of the orders of Lieutenant Reardon of his Majesty’s 
 66th Regiment of Infantry, the said baggage was put, in 
 presence of this deponent, and in charge of the said Provost 
 Corporal Regan, into a boat to be conveyed to the said 
 Doctor O’Meara on board his Majesty’s gun brig or sloop 
 Griffon, then laying off Ruperts’ Valley: That he, the said 
 Provost Corporal Regan, would not allow this deponent to 
 accompany the same baggage, unless he engaged not to land 
 again, which he, this deponent, could not consent to, as he 
 was at that time without his own baggage ; but that after¬ 
 wards he obtained his baggage, and some articles of clothing. 
 He this deponent, in the evening of the said last mentioned 
 day, proceeded on board the said guu brig or sloop Griffon. 
 And all this is true, saith the said deponent, So help him 
 God. 
 
 (Signed) John Wyatt. 
 
 Sworn at the Mansion House, Lon¬ 
 don, this 23 rd day of October, 
 
 1818 , before me, 
 
 (Signed) C. Smith, Mayor. 
 
213 
 
 No. XL 
 
 Original of the Conditions printed in page VJ2 of the 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Articles pour remplacer Mr. O’Meara, et donner a Mr. 
 
 Stokoe le caract&re de Medecin de Napoleon. 
 
 1*. Le Docteur Stokoe est considere comme le chirurgien 
 de Napoleon, etlui tiendra lieudu chirurgien Fran^aisdont il 
 est fait mention au decret da Gouvernement Rritannique du 
 15 Aoust, 1815. 
 
 2®. 11 ne pourra pas £tre otd sans le consentement de 
 Napoleon, du moins par un simple ordre du Gouverneur, et 
 surtout pendant le temps que durera la maladie. 
 
 3°. II ne sera soumis pendant le temps qu’il remplira l«s 
 fonctions de medecin de Napoleon a aucune discipline ou 
 devoir militaire et sera consider^ comme un employ^ civil 
 Anglais. 
 
 4°. II ne devra rendre compte a qui que ce soit de la sant£ 
 de Napoleon. II redigera tous le 8 jours et plus sou vent si 
 cela est necessaire un bulletin de la santd de Napoleon, dont 
 il fera 2 exemplaires Tun pour 6tre remis a un des officiers de 
 Longwood, et l’autre au Gouverneur lorsquil le desirera. 
 
 5°. Qui que ce soit ne s’ingerera dans ses fonctions medi- 
 cales; il ne lui sera impost aucune restriction pour ses com¬ 
 munications avec Napoleon et les Fran^ais, soit par ecrit, soit 
 verbalement, soit le jour soit la nuit. 
 
 6°. Il ne sera tenu de rendre compte de ce qu’il verra ou 
 entendra a Longwood qu’autant qu’il jugera, que cela com- 
 promettroit son serment d’allegiance envers sa patrie ou son 
 souverain. 
 
 7°. Le Docteur Stokoe prend l’engagement, de servir dans 
 son office aupres Napoleon; independemment de toute pre¬ 
 vention ou esprit de parti et comme s’il etoit son compatriote, 
 
214 
 
 de ne faire aucun bulletin ni aucune relation de ses maladies 
 sans lui en remettre Toriginal. 
 
 8°. Mr. Stokoe en acceptant ces conditions preserve l’inte- 
 grite de tous ses droits de citoyen et d’officier Anglais, il 
 demande a recevoir de l’amirautd le m6me traitement que 
 son predecesseur et n’entend etre assimild en lien aux Prison- 
 niers FranQais, le tout avec la permission de son chef Je 
 Rear Admiral Plampin. 
 
 Longwood, ce 17 Janvier, 1819. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 Note addresse au Gouvcrneur Sir Hudson Lowe , par le 
 Comte de Montholon , le 19 Janvier , 1819. 
 
 II faut que le Docteur Stokoe demeure a Longwood s’il 
 doit suivre le traitement interrompu depuis le depart de 
 Mr. O’Meara, e’est a dire depuis 6 mois ce quia fort accru 
 l’hepatie dont les premiers symptomes se sont fait voir il y a 
 16 mois; tout le systeme de la vie est derange, il est n£ees- 
 saire qu’il voye le malade plusieurs fois par jour. 
 
 Depuis 6 mois l’attaque d’aujour d’hui est la cinquieme, 
 toutes ont eu lien de nuit, le Comte Bertrand ou le Comte 
 de Montholon s’y sont trouve, aupr&s du malade sans aucun 
 homme de l’art; mais elles n’ont jamais £te si graves que 
 elle de l’autre nuit ou ils ont un moment ddsespere de sa 
 vie; le Comte Bertrand otirit alors de faire entrer le Docteur 
 Verling; le malade s’y refusa; cette seule proposition altera 
 sa phisionomie et accrut le mal dans le moment. C’est ce 
 qui porta le Comte Bertrand a faire appeller a 2 h. du matin 
 le Docteur Stokoe qui arriva quatre heures apres; l’oflicier 
 d'ordonnance n’est pas autorisd a ecrire en ville; il a fallu 
 qu’il demande la permission au Gouverneur ce qui a double 
 le chernin , le docteur est arrive trop tard. Mais heureuse- 
 
215 
 
 ment la force du temperament du malade 1’avoit emport^ sur 
 le crise; ainsi se trouve verifi6 ce qu’est dit dans la lettre 
 de 26 Juillet, 18IS, du Comte de Montholon au Gouverneur, 
 lorsque le Docteur O’Meara a 6t6 arrache de Longwood mais 
 etoit encore en ville. “ Que m£me au rale de la mort il 
 ne recevra des sains , ni prendra des remedes que 
 des mains de son medecin propre, et si on l 'en prive 
 il ne recevra personne et se tiendra comme assassin£ par 
 vous*' 
 
 Lorsque le Docteur Stokoe est arrive il s’est rendu chez le 
 Comte Bertrand; celui-ci lui proposa *de remplacer Mr. 
 O Meara et le pr^senta les 7 articles qui ont £t6 envoy^s au 
 Gouverneur; il accepta (avec la permission de son chef) il 
 fut alors introduit chez le malade. Le Gouverneur, ne 
 pouvait empecher directement ou indirectement cette trans¬ 
 action sans jetter entierement le masque. 
 
 Ainsi le traitement de la maladie qui est interrompu depuis 
 6 mois est encore ajourne jusqu’a l’arrivde du medecin Fran*- 
 ^ais. L’hepatie fera plus de ravages encore que pendant cette 
 derniere periode; et si enfin elle devient incurable qui aura tu€ 
 I’Empereur ! Ce qui s’est pass£ depuis 6 mois, fait craindre 
 qu’il n’ait une crise par mois et s’il fait appeller Mr. Stokoe, 
 il arrivera trop tard! Si un jour il trouve le malade mort 
 qui l’aura tue ? Le monde et l’histoire le diront 
 a haute voix !!! 
 
 Longwood, ce 19 Janvier, 1819. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 CHARLES WOOD, Printer, 
 Popping Court, Fleet Street, London. 
 
Published by J. Rid gw ay > Piccadilly. 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE COUNT DE LAS CASES: 
 
 Consisting of a Second Letter to Prince Lncien Bonaparte, in 
 which is Contained an Account of the Circumstances attending 
 his Arrest and Removal from St. Helena; and a Letter to Sir 
 Hudson Lowe, comprising an Historical Detail of the whole of 
 that Offfi er’s Government at St. Helena, and his Oppressive 
 Conduct towards Napoleon and his Suite : with an Appendix 
 of Official Correspondence, between Sir Hudson Lowe and 
 Count de Las Cases. To which is prefixed, a Copious Intro¬ 
 duction; and the whole interspersed with Explanatory Notes. 
 Price 8s. boards. 
 
 THE 
 
 CAMPAIGN 
 
 O F 
 
 MDCCCXV; 
 
 Or a Narrative of the Military Operations which took place 
 in France and Belgium during THE HUNDRED DAYS. 
 Written at St. Helena by GENERAL GOURGAUD. Illus¬ 
 trated with a Map of the principal Theatre of the War. 
 Price 10s. boards. 
 
 AN 
 
 APPEAL TO THE BRITISH NATION, 
 
 ON TIIE TREATMENT EXPERIENCED BY 
 
 NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, 
 
 In the Island of ST. HELENA. By M. SANTINI, Huissier da 
 Cabinet de l’Empereur; with an authentic Copy of the Official 
 Memoir dictated by Napoleon, and delivered to Sir Hudson 
 Lowe. Fourth Edition, augmented with a Preface, &c. &c. 
 Price 3s. 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; 
 
 In REPLY to MR. WARDEN ; with Extracts from the Great 
 Work now compiling for Publication under the Inspection 
 of NAPOLEON. Third Edition, 8s, Boards. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
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 LIBRARY 
 
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