Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 10.djvu/203

 10 s. x. AUG. 29, iocs.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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General Montholm, in full dress, received him in the ante-room.

"General Montholm whispered in my ear that I was to take my seat at table between the Emperor and the Grand Marshal. I had Napoleon on my right, and the Marshal on my left, and there was a vacant chair that had the air of ceremonious empti- ness as a reserved seat for Maria Louisa. A bottle of claret and a decanter of water were placed by each plate ; but there was no drinking to each other at dinner ; and if you did not help yourself during the time it lasted, the opportunity would be lost, as the wine vanished with the eatables. The service of porcelain far exceeds in beauty whatever of that kind I have beheld. The silver plate is massive, and decorated with eagles in curious abundance ; the gold service appeared with the dessert. The entertainment lasted about an hour, and so frequent were the questions of my host that, from the per- plexity I suffered in conjuring up answers to them, I scarce knew what I ate or what I drank. I will endeavour to give you a general specimen of his convivial inquiries.

"Napoleon asked: 'Have you visited General Gourgon ? ' ' Yes, General. I came to Longwood for that purpose.' ' How have you found him? "Extremely ill.' ' What is his disorder?' ' Dysentery.' ' Where is its seat?' 'In the intestines.' ' What has been the cause ? ' ' Heat of climate on a constitution peculiarly predis- posed Had he been bled in the first instance,

it is probable that the disease would have been less violent.' 'What remedy is now proposed?' 'It will be necessary to have recourse to mercury.' ' That is a bad medicine ? ' ' Experience has taught me the contrary.' 'Did Hippocrates use it?' 'I believe not.'' Yet he is considered as among the first physicians. Does not Nature endeavour to expel morbific matter, and may not the present painful struggles be an effort of Nature to rid her- self of what is obnoxious ? ' 'I have been taught to assist Nature.' ' Could you not do so without having recourse to this dangerous mineral ? ' ' Ex- perience has taught me that mercury is infallible.' J t Then go on with your mercury.' "

The General's disorder assumed a very dangerous appearance, and the symptoms seemed to indicate a fatal termination ; his spirits were so sunk that he refused to take the only medicine that promised the least chance of relief.

" ' What ridiculous behaviour is this,' said Napo- leon to him, ' and what are these silly fears of your

own creation ? How often have you faced Death

in the field of battle without the least sensation of fear ! and now you are resolved to yield to his power. What a childish obstinacy ! Play the fool no longer, I beg of you, but submit to the remedies with cheerfulness.' This reproach softened the patient's obstinacy; he became submissive to the regimen prescribed, and recovered."

Some six weeks elapsed before Mr. Warden again visited Longwood. Las Cases met him, and said that his master had expressed surprise at his absence. "We have not seen you since your resuscitation of General Gourgon. I wish very much to consult you about the health of my son." This

led Mr. Warden to obtain a passport, and his interviews and conversations with Napo- leon were frequent. On one occasion, having been invited to breakfast, he says :

" On entering the room I observed the back of a sofa turned towards me, and on advancing I saw Napoleon lying at full length on it. The moment his eye met mine he exclaimed in English, in a tone of good-humoured vivacity, 'Ah, Warden, how do you do?' He stretched out his hand, saying, 'I have got a fever.' I immediately applied my hand to the wrist, and observing both from the regularity of the pulsation and the jocular expression of his countenance that he was exercising a little of his pleasantry, I expressed my wish that his health may always remain the same. ' I certainly enjoy/ he said, 'a very good state of health, which I attribute to a rigorous observance of regimen. My appetite is such that I feel as if I could eat at any time of the day ; but I am regular in my meals, and always leave off eating with an appetite ; besides, as you know, I never drink strong wines.' "

The conversation was prolonged, and branched off into a variety of subjects. He asked the doctor if he remembered the history of Capt. Wright. He answered, " Perfectly well ; and it is a prevalent opinion in England that you ordered him to be murdered in the Temple." Napoleon emphatically denied this, and concluded a long speech by most solemnly asserting that Capt. Wright died in the Temple, by his own hand, as described in the Moniteur, and at a much earlier period than has generally been believed. His assertion, he- said, was founded on documents which he had examined.

Now, to the surgeon's utter astonishment, he turned to the subject of the Duke d'En- ghien's death. He became very animated. He began as follows :

" At this eventful period of my life I had suc- ceeded in restoring order and tranquillity to a king- dom torn asunder by faction and deluged in blood. That nation had placed me at their head. I came riot as your Cromwell did, or your third Richard. No such thing. I found a crown in the kennel : I cleansed it from its filth, and placed it on my head."

He referred to a plot against him, the object of which, he said, was to destroy him.

" It emanated from the capital of your country, with the Count d'Artois at the head of it. To the west he sent the Duke de Berri, and to the east the

Duke d'Enghien The moment was big with evil,

and I felt myself on a tottering eminence, and I resolved to hurl the thunder back on the Bourbons, even in the metropolis of the British Empire." He went on to say that the Duke d'Enghien was accessory to the confederacy, and al- though the resident of a neutral territory, the urgency of the case, his own safety, and the public tranquillity, justified the proceeding. He accordingly ordered the