Chinese, in all probability they would not have been contented there, but would subsequently require similar ceremonies to those insisted upon by the Japanese, and complied with so disgracefully by the Dutch; that, besides, Lord Amherst had offered to render the same obeisance to the Emperor as he would have done to his own King. He replied, It is quite a different thing. One is a mere ceremony performed by all the great men of the nation to their chief, and the other was a national degradation required of strangers, and of strangers only. It is my opinion that whatever is the custom of a nation, and is practiced by the first characters of that nation toward their chief can not degrade strangers who perform the same. Different nations have different customs. In England, at Court, you kiss the King's hand. Such a thing in France would be considered ridiculous, and the persons who did it held up to public scorn; but still the French embassador who did so in England would not be considered as having degraded himself by so doing. In England, some hundred years back, the King was served kneeling; the same ceremony now takes place in Spain. In Italy you kiss the Pope's toe; yet no person is considered degraded by having done so. A man going into a country must comply with the ceremonies in use there; and it would have been no degradation whatever for Lord Amherst to have submitted to such ceremonies before the Emperor of China as are performed by the first mandarin of that empire. You say that he was willing to render such respect as that paid to your own King. You have no right to send a man to China, to tell them that they must perform such and such ceremonies because such are practiced in England. Suppose now, for example's sake, that it was the custom in England, instead of kissing the King's hand, that he should . . . . .! Why, then, the Emperor of China, forsooth, must .... because it was the practice in England! If I,' continued he, had sent an embassador to China, I would have ordered him to make himself acquainted with the ceremonies performed before the Emperor by the first mandarin, and to do the same himself, if required. I would either have done this, or not sent one at all. Now, perhaps, through this piece of

coglioneria," you will lose the friendship of a flourishing nation, and great commercial advantages.' I said that we could easily compel the Chinese to good terms by means of a few ships of war; that, for example, we could deprive them altogether of salt by two or three cruizers properly stationed. He replied, To go to war with an immense empire like China, possessing so many resources and so distant from you, would be the worst thing you have done for a series of years. They would be compelled to adopt measures to defend themselves against you, and you would teach them their own strength. They would get artificers and shipbuilders, and every thing else necessary, from France, America, and even from London, and in the course of time defeat you.1 If I,' continued he, had any thing to do with your Cabinet, I would strongly oppose such a ruinous measure.' Shortly afterward I entered upon the subject of universal dominion with him and his meditated views upon England. I said that we had thought for a length of time that nothing short of universal dominion would have satisfied his ambition, and that it was his positive intention to have united England to France as a province. He replied, 'As to universal dominion, I certainly aimed at rendering France the most powerful of all; but so far from desiring more, it was my intention to have formed Italy into an independent kingdom, and to have given it to my second son, as I had hopes of having another. There are natural bounds to France which I did not intend to pass. With respect to uniting England to France, I had no idea of the kind.' Here I observed that he had said to me that perhaps he might have done so if he had succeeded in his invasion. He replied, 'No, no; you must have misunderstood me. I intended, if I had succeeded in my projected descent, to have abolished the monarchy, and to have established a republic. I would have separated Ireland, from England, and made her an independent republic. I would have made them both republics, and independent of each other. I would have sown the seeds of republicanism in

The remainder of the conversation given in the text is omitted in the "Voice."

their "morale," and then left them to themselves to manage things between them as well as they could. As to annexing England to France, upon mature deliberation I conceived that it would have been impossible to have united two nations so dissimilar in ideas, and that it would have been as difficult to effect as to have brought together India and Europe.' He also said that, after Amiens, he would have concluded a good peace with England-that is to say, a peace which would establish the commercial relations of the two countries upon a similar and equal footing: for example, that, if a million in value of English colonial or other goods was taken by France, the value of a million in French products should in like manner be taken by England."

On sending the preceding letter to Earl Bathurst, Sir Hudson Lowe remarked

Though the accompanying letter contains some expressions that, under any other possible circumstances, I could never presume to present to your Lordship's perusal, yet the fidelity with which they are given, and their great originality, will, I hope, plead my excuse for the transmission. Dr. O'Meara had informed me of the conversations that had occurred; and, with that readiness he always manifests on such occasions, immediately wrote them down for me."

The reports of the orderly officer during this month show. that Bonaparte at this time did not neglect walking exercise, and that his health was good. Thus:

"March 5. General Bonaparte was in the garden for some time yesterday evening appeared to be in very good spirits. Madame Bertrand is much pleased with the piano. 26th. General Bonaparte was out for an hour and a half yesterday evening. Walked in the woods with the two ladies, and afterward sat in the front of the house until after sunset."

To the transactions in March must be added three instances of gross misconduct on the part of British subjects, which have been recently brought to light by the revelations of Count Montholon. He says that, when Napoleon wished to

send some notes to Europe which he had written on Mr. Warden's book, he took advantage of the offer of an officer of the garrison who was returning to England; and that on another occasion the captain of an East-Indiaman, who had been presented at Longwood, proposed to place his ship at Bonaparte's disposal for his escape. About the same time an officer of the garrison suggested a plan for Napoleon's evasion, the success of which, according to Montholon, was certain, and the details are given. And yet the historians of the Captivity complain of the needless severity of the Regulations!

On the 17th of March an important debate took place in the House of Lords respecting the treatment of Bonaparte. The newspapers containing the speeches of Lord Holland and Lord Bathurst, on that occasion, reached St. Helena in June; and Napoleon dictated some severe remarks upon the speech of the latter, which were afterward published, and are given at the end of the work, together with Sir Hudson Lowe's comments upon them.

1 "Récits," vol. ii. p. 97.

* Ibid. p. 100.

CHAPTER XIV.

STORY OF THE BUST OF NAPOLEON'S SON-MR. ELPHINSTONE'S PRESENT, AND CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING IT-SANTINI'S PAMPHLET, APPEAL TO THE BRITISH NATION"-NEWSPA

PERS AT LONGWOOD-PROPOSAL THAT ADMIRAL SIR PULTENEY MALCOLM SHOULD MEDIATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NAPOLEON AND THE GOVERNOR-ARRIVAL OF ADMIRAL PLAMPIN-LORD AMHERST'S INTERVIEW WITH BONAPARTE -INTERROGATORY OF CAPTAIN POPPLETON, THE ORDERLY

OFFICER.

FEW incidents occurred in April or May this year, and hardly any which would interest the reader. Bonaparte sometimes amused himself with chess, and at the end of March played two games with Lady Malcolm, who had the honor of winning the first from him. He used to walk in the evening, and, returning home, sat in front of the house until it was dusk. When the races took place he was a spectator of them through his spy-glass, and, seeing Captain Poppleton. pass by, sent Count Montholon to ask him who was the winner. On the 11th of May O'Meara writes to Sir Thomas Reade and tells him that the weather is very bad, but that Bonaparte is in very good humor; and a day or two afterward he acknowledges the receipt of some oranges, which he says he has sent in to Napoleon, and knows that nothing can be more acceptable. He adds that General Gourgaud was quite in raptures with a lady who had paid them a visit, and that Madame Bertrand pronounced her to be a perfect Frenchwoman in appearance, "which is the ne plus ultra of compliment from a Frenchwoman."

But these friendly and gossiping communications from O'Meara were soon to come to an end, and the quarrels between him and the Governor were not far distant which converted him into an enemy, and in after years produced the