The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French. By Sir Walter Scott.

738 LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
other small vessels, sometimes present, and some- might have failed by accident, but it was so jwl, -
times detached, as the service might require. Cap- ciously laid as to have every chance of being suc.
tain Maitland, who commanded the Bellerophon, is cessfid; and it seems that Napoleon received no
a man of high character in his profession, of birth, encouragement from the commanders of the frigates
of firmness of mind, and of the most indisputable to try the event of a forcible escape.
honour. It is necessary to mention these circum- The scheme of a secret flighlt was next meditated.
stances, because the national character of England A chasse-mar6e, a peculiar species of vessel, used
herself is deeply concerned and identified with that only in the coasting trade, was to be fitted up and
of Captain Maitland, in the narrative which follows. manned with young probationers of the navy, equivaThe several orders under which this officer acted, lent to our midshipmen. This, it was thought, might
expressed the utmost anxiety about intercepting elude the vigilance of such British crizers as were
Bonaparte's fight, and canvassed the different pro- in shore; but then it must have been a suspicious
b)abilities concerning its direction. His attention was object at sea, and the possibility of its being able to
at a later date particularly directed to the frigates in make the voyage to America, was considered as
Aix Roads, and the report concerning their destina- precarious. A Danish corvette was next purchased,
tion. Admiral Hotham writes to Captain Maitland, and as, in leaving the harbour, it was certain she
8th July, 1815, the following order:- would be brought to and examined by the English,
" The lords commissioners of the admiralty having a place of concealment was contrived, being a cask
every reason to believe that Napoleon Bonaparte supplied with air-tubes, to be stowed in the hold of
meditates his escape, with his family, from France the vessel, in which it was intended Napoleon
to America, you are hereby required and directed, should lie concealed. But the extreme rigour with
in pursuance of orders from their lordships, signified which the search was likely to be prosecuted, and
to me by Admiral the Right IEonourable Viscount the corpulence of Bonaparte, which would not perKeith, to keep the most vigilant look-out, for the mit him to remain long in a close or constrained posipurpose of intercepting him; and to make the strictest tion, made them lay aside this as well as other
search of any vessel you may fall in with; and if hopeless contrivances.
you should be so fortunate as to intercept him, you There were undoubtedly at this time many proare to transfer him and his family to the ship you posals made to the ex-elmperor by the army, who,
command, and there keeping him in careful custody, compelled to retreat behind the Loire, were still
return to the nearest port in England (going into animated by a thirst of revenge, and a sense of inTorbay in preference to Plymouth), with all possible jured honour. There is no doubt that they would
expedition; and, on your arrival, you are not to per- have received Napoleon with acclamation; but if
mit any communication whatever with the shore, he could not, or would not, pursue a course so desexcept as hereinafter directed; and you will'be held perate in 1814, when be had still a considerable
responsible for keeping the whole transaction a army, and a respectable extent ofterritory remaining,
profound secret, until you receive their lordships' it must have seemed much more ineligible in 1815;
further orders. when his numbers were so much more dispropor" In case you should arrive at a port where there tioned than they had formerly been, and when his
is a flag-officer, you are to send to acquaint him with best generals had embraced the cause of the Bourthe circumstances, strictly charging the officer, sent bons, or fled out of France. Napoleon's condition,
on shore with your letter, not to divulge its contents; had he enlbraced this alternative, would have been
and if there should be no flag-officer at the port that of the chief of a roving tribe of warriors
where you arrive, you are to send one letter express struggling for existence, with equal misery to themto the secretary of the admiralty, and another to selves and the countries through which they wan
Admiral Lord Keith, with strict injunctions of se- dered, until at length broken down and destroyed
clecy to each officer who may be the bearer of by superior force.
them." Rejecting this expedient, the only alternative
iVe give these orders at full length, to show that which remnaitned was to surrender his person, either
they left Captain Maitland no authority to make to the allied powers as a body, or to any one of:ollditions or stipulations of surrender, or to treat them in particular. The former course would have
Napoleon otherwise than as an ordinary prisoner of been difficult, unless Napoleon had adopted the idea
war. of resorting to it earlier, which, in the view of his
C(aptain Maitland proceeded to exercise all the escape by sea, he had omitted to do. Neither had
vililance which an occasion so interesting demanded; he time to negotiate with any of the allied soveir,.d it was soon evident, that the presence of the reigns, or of traveling hack to Paris for the purpose,
lBtelerophon was an absolute bar to Napoleon's with any chance of personal safety, for the royalists
escape by mneans of the frigates, unless it should be were now everywhere holding the ascendancy, and
attempted by open force. In this latter case, the snore than one of his generals had been attacked
British officer had formed his plan of bearing down and killed by themn.
upon and disabling the one vessel, and throwing on He was cooped up, therefore, in Bochefort, alboard of her a hundred men selected for the purpose, though the white flag was already about to be hoisted
while the Bellerophllon set sail with all speed in pur- there, and the commandant respectfully hinted the
suit of her consort, and thus made sure of both. He necessity of his departure. It must have been anhad also two small vessels, the Slaney and Phoebe, ticipated by Napoleon, that he might be soon devwhich lie could attach to the pursuit of the frigate, htrived of the cover of the batteries of the Isle d'Aix.
No as at least to keep her ill view. This plan The fact is (though we believe not generally known),