The Tragedy of St. Helena | Page 2

composed about him, and the airs given to
them, always pathetic and touching, were sung by the sailors in a way
which showed that they wanted it to be known that they had no hand in,
and disavowed, the crime that was committed. As an example, I give
four verses of the chanty "Boney was a Warrior," as it was sung in the
days I speak of. It is jargon, but none the less interesting.
"They sent him to St. Helena! Oh! aye, Oh! They sent him to St.
Helena, John France Wa! (François.)
Oh! Boney was ill-treated! Oh! aye, Oh! Oh! Boney was ill-treated,
John France Wa!
Oh! Boney's heart was broken! Oh! aye, Oh! Oh! Boney's heart was
broken! John France Wa!
But Boney was an Emperor! Oh! aye, Oh! But Boney was an Emperor!
John France Wa!"
--and so on.
Although at that time I had, in common with others, anti-Napoleonic
ideas, I was impressed by the views of the sailors. Later in life, when

on the eve of a long voyage, nearly forty years ago, I happened to see
Scott's "Life of Napoleon" on a bookstall, and being desirous of having
my opinion confirmed, I bought it. A careful reading of this book was
the means of convincing me of the fact that "Boney was ill-treated,"
and this in face of the so-called evidence which Sir Walter Scott had so
obviously collected for the purpose of exonerating the then English
Government.
The new idea presented to my mind led me to take up a course of
serious reading, which comprised all the "Lives" of Napoleon on which
I could lay my hands, all the St. Helena Journals, and the commentaries
which have been written since their publication. As my knowledge of
the great drama increased, I found my pro-Napoleonic ideas increasing
in fervour. Like the Psalmist when musing on the wickedness of man,
"my heart was hot within me, and at the last I spake with my tongue."
I may here state in passing that there is no public figure who lived
before or since his time who is surrounded with anything approaching
the colossal amount of literature which is centred on this man whose
dazzling achievements amazed the world. Paradoxical though it may
appear now, in the years to come, when the impartial student has
familiarised himself with the most adverse criticisms, he will see in this
literature much of the hand of enmity, cowardice, and delusion and, as
conviction forces itself upon him, there evolve therefrom the revelation
of a senseless travesty of justice.
I offer no apology for the opinions contained in this book, which have
been arrived at as the result of many years of study and exhaustive
reading. I give the volume to the public as it is, in the hope that it may
attract in other ways to a fair examination of Napoleon's complex and
fascinating character.
WALTER RUNCIMAN.
_December 3, 1910._

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
THE ABODE OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER II
THE MAN OF THE REVOLUTION--CRITICISM,
CONTEMPORARY AND OTHERWISE

CHAPTER III
THREE GENERATIONS: MADAME LA MÈRE, MARIE LOUISE,
AND THE KING OF ROME

CHAPTER IV
THE OLIGARCHY, THEIR AGENTS AND APOLOGISTS

CHAPTER V
MESDAMES DE STAËL AND DE REMUSAT

CHAPTER VI
JOSEPHINE

CHAPTER VII
RELIGIOUS NOTIONS OF NAPOLEON
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF EVENTS AND DATES HAVING REFERENCE TO
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
INDEX

CHAPTER I
THE ABODE OF DARKNESS
In Clause 2 of his last will, dated Longwood, April 15, 1821, the
Emperor Napoleon states: "It is my wish that my ashes may repose on

the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom I have
loved so well."
At London, September 21, 1821, Count Bertrand and Count Montholon
addressed the following letter to the King of England:--
"SIRE,--We now fulfil a sacred duty imposed on us by the Emperor
Napoleon's last wishes--we claim his ashes. Your Ministers, Sire, are
aware of his desire to repose in the midst of the people whom he loved
so well. His wishes were communicated to the Governor of St. Helena,
but that officer, without paying any regard to our protestations, caused
him to be interred in that land of exile. His mother, listening to nothing
but her grief, implores from you, Sire, demands from you, the ashes of
her son; she demands from you the feeble consolation of watering his
tomb with her tears. If on his barren rock as when on his throne, he was
a terror of the world, when dead, his glory alone should survive him.
We are, with respect, &c, &c,
(Signed) COUNT BERTRAND.
COUNT MONTHOLON."
In reply to this touching act of devotion to their dead chief the English
Ambassador at Paris wrote in December, 1821, that the English
Government only considered