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former period of her eventful history. With every opportunity of gratifying his revenge, and in opposition to the advice of his most intimate counsellors, not a single individual was subjected to execution or imprisonment. The lives and the property even of the most conspicuous enemies of the house of Bourbon were held as sacred. His dethronement was occasioned by the facility of his temper and the goodness of his intentions. He had not sufficient firmness to reject the counsels of his favourites, and possessed too much virtue to yield to the profligate wishes of his army and his people. Had he forgotten his professions, and done violence to his conscience; had he adopted the system of martial despotism, and pursued the career of lawless ambition, he might have continued to reign, the idol of the French, and the terror of surrounding nations.

The personal friends of Napoleon, in France, were more enthusiastic than numerous. He was beloved only by a few of the principal officers, whom he most had favoured; the others were afterwards attached to his cause by their love of war and plunder, and by their respect for his military talents. They would have followed, at the moment, any leader, who would have given them as fair a promise of the gratification of their favourite propensities. The republicans and the constitutionalists regarded him with mingled dread and aversion. Fouché, who must have been intimately acquainted with the principles and views of all parties, asserts in his second memorial that "It was not from attachment to Buonaparte, it was still less from fidelity to his cause, that in the month of March a part of France was seen to associate itself with his destinies. He owed his successes entirely to our discords, which made him be regarded by some as a liberator, and by others as an instrument: and this instrument gave us much more reason for fear than for hope." In another paper, addressed to the confederate powers, after the second abdication of Napoleon, Fouché remarks, " Why should the truth be now concealed. An imprudent and overwhelming zeal for the rules and maxims of the ancient monarchy led to the commission of many faults, Alarms of more than one de

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scription were the result, as well as a fluctuation of opinion and a disaffection towards the government. That moral opposition which was known to the whole of Europe did not escape the calculations of Buonaparte, and he had no need of any other exhortation to throw himself into the midst of this discontent and these elements of discord."

The individuals attached to his interests consisted of all who had been indebted to his kindness for their wealth or political consequence, and who were reduced to insignificance or comparative poverty by his abdication functionaries whom the king had imprudently deprived of those emoluments which they had enjoyed during twenty years; and soldiers languishing in indolence and penury. A large proportion also of the French community: the licentious, the profane, and the votaries of pleasure, were impatient to be relieved from the rigid, austere, and devout regulations adopted by the Bourbons. The observance of Sunday, and at tendance on public worship, had long been a novelty to the majority of the citizens of Paris, and they dreaded the influence of a government which should subject their habits and amusements to religious restraints.

We have already narrated the circumstances attending the exile of Napoleon to the isle of Elba. The reluctance with which he followed the commissioners, and the tears in which he was always surprised when for a moment he was left alone, shewed that he considered his loss of empire as final, and his political life as terminated beyond the hope of a revival. He no sooner arrived at his new sovereignty than all the energies of his mind were directed to complete the fortifications of his capital, to add to its embellishment, and to improve the agriculture and resources of the island. His days passed away in the most pleasant occupations. All · his hours were filled up. That indefatigable activity which in other times he applied to the vastest conceptions of genius, he employed on the island of Elba in studying the embellishment of the retreat which he had cho

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He rose before day, passed the hours till seven or eight o'clock in his library, and then took some repose. He afterwards went

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out and visited all the works, and spent much time in the middle of his workmen, among whom were many soldiers of the guard. Two Italian architects traced, according to his orders, plans of buildings on which he had determined. Whatever was the state of the weather his majesty visited his country house of St. Martin, in the environs of Porto Ferrajo. There, as in the city, the emperor was occupied with the interior management of his house, requiring an exact, account from the persons he employed, and entering into the most trifling details of domestic and rural economy. After breakfast he reviewed his little army. He required the greatest exact ness in their exercises and manoeuvres, and enforced the strictest discipline. After the review he mounted his horse for his morning rides. Among his principal officers and attendants were marshal Bertrand and general Drouet, who scarcely ever quitted him. On his way he gave audience to all whom he met. He listened to every complaint, and redressed every well supported case of injury. He then returned to dinner. All who were admitted to his table were treated with the most perfect kindness and cordiality. Napoleon appeared to have discovered the secret of becoming a simple individual without descending from his dignity, and the conversation had all the careless freedom which could be enjoyed in the most familiar society. He early announced that he would hold a court and receive ladies twice a week. The first was held on the 7th of May, 1814, and a great concourse attended their new sovereign. Buonaparte at first paid great attention to the women, especially to the handsome ones, and asked them, in his rapid way, whether they were married? how many children they had? and who their husbands were? To the last question he received one universal answer. Every lady, according to her own representation, was married to a merchant, but when it came to be further explained that they were merchant butchers, and merchant bakers, his imperial majesty permitted some expressions of dissatisfaction to escape him, and hastily retired.

On the 4th of June there was a ball on board the British frigate in the harbour, in honour of the king's birth day: the whole

beauty and fashion of Elba were assembled, and dancing with great glee, when about midnight Buonaparte came, unexpected and unescorted, in his barge, to join the festivity. He was very affable, and visited every part of the ship, and all the amusements which had been prepared for the different classes of persons. he

On his birth day, the 15th of August, ordered the mayor to give a ball, and for this purpose a temporary structure, capable of holding 300 persons, was to be erected, the expence of the whole entertainment, and the building, to be defrayed by the inhabitants themselves. These were unpropitious auspices under which to commence a ball, and accordingly nothing could have more completely failed. His aunt, the two ladies of honour, and madam Bertrand arrived, but only 30 of the fair islanders were present, and Buonaparte, acquainted with the circumstance, did not attend.

On the highest hill of the island was a little church, in an almost inaccessible situation. One of his party observed that it was a most inconvenient site for a church, ás no congregation could attend it. "It is on that account," said Buonaparte, " more convenient to the parson, who may preach what stuff he pleases without fear of contradiction." As they descended the hill, and met some peasants with their goats, who asked for charity, Buonaparte told a story which the present circumstances brought to his recollection.When he was crossing the great St. Bernard, previously to the battle of Marengo, he met a goat herd, and entered into conversation with him. The goat herd, little suspecting to whom he was speaking, lamented his own hard lot, and envied the riches of his neighbours, who actually possessed cows and cornfields. Buonaparte enquired, if some fairy were to offer to gratify all his wishes, what he would ask. The poor peasant expressed, in his own opinion, some very extravagant desires, such as a dozen of cows, a good farmhouse, &c. Buonaparte, afterwards, recollected the incident, and astonished the goat herd by the fulfilment of all his wishes.

When the emperor received the visit of any stranger, which frequently happened, he entertained him with grace and familiarity.

He conversed with philosophers and learned men, of the Institute, and of the Royal Society of London, on the recent discoveries in natural philosophy, chemistry, galvanism, and nosology. He congratulated the rich the rich English landholders on the progress of their agriculture, and the liberality of their country's laws, and talked with the military of the historical memoirs which he was writing of his campaigns.

The following interesting conversation is recorded by a gentleman who visited him in December, 1814.

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"I found him standing by the fire, dressed in a very shabby uniform, with the grand cordon of the legion of honour. On being introduced to him, he bluntly asked me, with a sharp piercing voice, Where did you come from? From France, sire.' His tone and manner were immediately changed. With the utmost affability he asked, What do they say of me in France? Speak freely.'— The great mass of the people is decidedly attached to the Bourbons, but many remember you with affection, particularly the

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and I acknowledged that he was right, and the men were left behind, but not poisoned. From Egypt,' he said, I returned to Paris, where I lived for some time in private. One day I saw in the paper a decree of the convention, naming Buonaparte commander-inchief of the army. I bought the paper, and gave three-pence for it, not having the least idea it referred to myself. I went to a coffee-house and began to inquire who this Buonaparte was, saying, that I was not aware of having a namesake so lucky. No one knew. I walked down to where the convention sat. The doors of the house were crowded. I was soon recognized, and saluted with the shout, "Buonaparte, our little general, for ever." I now found a vacant throne, and no one ready to fill it. I seized on it. Was I wrong? I am satisfied with what I have done, and have the consolation to know that I have increased, rather than diminished the happiness of France.'

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"He then began his o n'history, and went through it from his first signalizing himself at Toulon to his campaign in Egypt, on which he enlarged with much complacency. I ventured to ask him whether he had authorised the massacre at Jaffa. He acknow- He then began about the Bourbons.ledged that he had; but vindicated his con- Lewis XVIII. is a good man; he has some duct on the score of the previous treachery talent; does he apply much?" Six hours of those very Turks, who had been released a day. Much may be done in six hours. on parole, and who had again been taken in Monsieur has the manners of a gentleman, arms against him. He said that he had only but he has no application. The dukes of ten thousand men with him, and that he Angouleme and Berri are no great things; could neither retain the prisoners, nor, with--they are mere nothings.' He seemed to out the certainty of his own destruction, dismiss them, as they would again have fought against him; and that he was therefore compelled to order all who were taken at Jaffa to be shot. I do not repent the action,' he added, for in war whatever is expedient and useful is lawful.'

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know little of the duke of Orleans, and when informed that he possessed superior talents, application and decision, he expressed considerable surprise and much emotion. He then spoke of the emperor Alexander. 'He is a mere shuttlecock, and yet you have no idea how artful he is. The king of Prussia is a good man. He thinks himself very wise, but in reality he is exceedingly weak, yet he is a good man notwithstanding that.' He next spoke of Talleyrand with the utmost asperity, and maliciously attributed to him crimes of which he was never guilty. He

professed himself friendly to universal toleration;-had favoured the Jews partly on principle; had built churches for all sects; blamed the restrictions on Roman Catholics in England as unworthy a great nation; declared that he had murdered neither Wright nor Pichegru. In good faith,' said he, they were in prison, and there they died. Pichegru was without talent, without head.Moreau had almost made me repent of my clemency towards him; but no! I would not have injured his life. But I have been too merciful. This has been my ruin. Had I spilled more blood, I might yet have filled the throne of France.'

In another conversation a visitor said, 'Your majesty has been much reproached on the subject of Moscow.' You are right, I committed a great error there.' What object had you in view in the conquest of Moscow?' To become master of the continent.' And what then?' To compel your nation to be just. Whither are you going?' To Naples.' You will see Murat there. That man has no head. He has not one military idea, except on the field of battle. When he has received his orders, he piques himself on performing them. He is a god until five o'clock at night. What will become of him? You will pass by Rome. The pope is an obstinate old monk.'

Lord Bentinck, lord Douglas, and a great number of other English gentlemen, were admitted, courted, and frequently treated with fetes and exhibitions of fire-works. They all returned with a deep impression of his intellectual superiority, and of his personal courtesy. One of them accompanied Napoleon to the works of Porto Ferrajo. They met the grand marshal, who was coming from the port and going towards the palace, with papers under his arm. "Are they French journals ?" "Yes, sire." Am I well cut up?" "No, sire, there is no mention of your majesty to-day." "Come then, we shall have it to-morrow. It is an intermitting fever; but the fits will pass away."

But all his thoughts and conversation were not as light and pleasant as these. Sometimes he would indulge in accounts of the last campaign, of his own views and hopes, of the defection of the marshals, of the capture

of Paris, and of his abdication. On these topics he would descant from hour to hour with the utmost vehemence, exhibiting in very rapid succession traits of eloquence, of military genius, of indignation, and of petu lant vanity. With regard to the audience to whom he addressed these tirades, he was far from scrupulous, and hardly any auditor who approached in his moments of agitation was excluded from his confidence.

The number of works begun and finished in the space of ten months, under the ex-emperor's superintendance, might have seemed to indicate that he regarded Elba as his final and permanent residence. His palace at Porto Ferrajo was seated on a rock, between ports Falcone and Etoile, on the Moulins Bastion. On his arrival it consisted of two principal wings, which served for lodgings to the superior officers of engineers and artillery. The emperor caused the interior of these wings to be decorated, and the centre building, by which they were united, to be raised. He drew the plans himself, dictated the internal arrangement, and superintended the details. From the windows he had a complete view of the whole country. He saw all that was passing in the town, and no vessel, however small, could enter the port without his perceiving it. The front room formed one of the apartments intended for the princess Pauline on the first story.Napoleon," says a French author, with an air of wise importance, as if the subject were of consequence," occupied the ground floor. His mother had a small private house in the town." The Emperor apparently forgot the delusions of the active world in the tranquil pleasures of calm retirement, and, as far as could be judged from his demeanour, found some consolation for all his misfortunes, and for the ingratitude of the French nation, in amusing and benevolent pursuits.

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But about the middle of autumn a striking change was observable in his habits and demeanour. He had, until that period, evinced an apparent resignation to his fate. His discourse was rational, and his conduct consistent. He displayed the greatest predilection for the constant presence and society of sir Neil Campbell, the British accredited agent at Elba. It seemed as if he had no

thing to conceal, and his conversation was frank, loquacious, and even indiscreet. At this moment he received a visit from some of his family and friends who had just left Paris. From that hour he became restless and dissatisfied. He shunned the company of the British officer, and excluded himself from all society. The greater portion of the day was employed in assiduous study or solitary contemplation, and his intimate companions dared not intrude on his retirement. He frequently wandered along the shore with folded arms, and unequal and agitated step, while the embellishments of Porto Ferrajo, and the improvements of the island, were no longer remembered.

The conduct of that division of the Bourbons which supported the doctrines of divine right and absolute authority, and the weakness of the immediate representatives of the king, conspired to facilitate every ambitious design that Napoleon might have formed or matured in his solitude. Monsieur, previous to the arrival of his brother, in 1814, had humanely, but hastily, proclaimed that the droits reunis, or consolidated duties of excise, should be abolished. This pledge, so solemnly but incautiously given, on a subject of peculiar importance, made a powerful impression on all the commercial towns, and naturally promoted the popularity of the royal cause. But, on opening the budget for the present year, it was discovered that the finances were in a state of so much disorder that the government could not exist without the tax; and Louis was compelled to continue a burthen which Monsieur had neither right nor authority to abolish. The conduct of the sovereign, in permitting the resumption of these duties, was represented as a flagrant instance of perfidy and oppres

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The jealousy in which the priesthood were held, and the indifference of the people to religious edicts and ceremonies, were exasperated by a singular and disgraceful occurrence. Mademoiselle Raucour, a celebrated actress, and a woman of respectable character, died at the age of sixty. Her corpse, attended by a train of carriages, and a large concourse of people, was brought for interment to the church of St. Roque. By the

rigorous ordinances of the catholic worship, actors and actresses are in a state of excommunication; a stigma which deprived them of the benefits of Christian burial. Many years had passed since this barbarous exclusion had been enforced, an exclusion condemned by the catholics themselves, and peculiarly absurd and unjust, in a people who were enthusiastically fond of theatrical performances, and who worshipped a Vestris or a Talma with as much enthusiasm as a Fenelon, or a Durell.

The attendants on the remains of mademoiselle Raucour were astonished and dismayed when they found the gates of the church locked against them, and admission positively refused; and their surprise was succeeded by general indignation. The cries of fury and vengeance, from an outrageous multitude, were heard in every part of the capital, and every avenue within a quarter of a mile of the scene was blocked up by the populace. The doors of the church were forced, but no priest appeared. A message was therefore sent to the king, supplicating the interposition of his majesty, and an answer was immediately returned, that the affair belonged to the jurisdiction of the church, and that the interference of the king with the spiritual authorities was impossible. The tumult increased, and the danger of insurrection became every inoment more visible, when a second deputation proceeded to the Thuilleries. At the same time a declaration was communicated to the court, on the part of all the actors, actresses, and performers, in Paris, that if the remains of mademoiselle Raucour were not instantly admitted to the privileges of Christian sepulture, they would in a body read their recantation, and adopt the Lutheran or Calvanistic faith. It is not difficult to determine whether the imprudence of the king, or the profligate and impudent disregard of all religious principle, displayed in the declaration of the performers, was most deserving of reprehension. The bigotted, yet well meaning, policy of Louis might be excused, but the shameless defiance of every religious feeling, and the open avowal of a resolution to change their belief, from simple motives of resentment and convenience, deserved the most severe reproba

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