第915章

(W. Forsyth， "History of the Captivity of Napoleon at Saint Helena， from the letters and journals of Sir Hudson Lowe，" III.， 306.)[6] Madame de Rémusat， II.， 46.

[7] "Les Cahiers de Coignat." 191. "At Posen， already， I saw him mount his horse in such a fury as to land on the other side and then give his groom a cut of the whip."[8] Madame de Rémusat， I.， 222.

[9] Especially the letters addressed to Cardinal Consalvi and to the Préfet of Montenotte (I am indebted to M. d'Haussonville for this information). - Besides， he is lavish of the same expressions in conversation. On a tour through Normandy， he sends for the bishop of Séez and thus publicly addresses him： "Instead of merging the parties， you distinguish between constitutionalists and non-constitutionalists.

Miserable fool！ You are a poor subject， - hand in your resignation at once！" - To the grand-vicars he says， "Which of you governs your bishop - who is at best a fool？ " - As M. Legallois is pointed out to him， who had of late been absent. "Fuck， where were you then？" "With my family." "With a bishop who is merely a damned fool， why are you so often away， etc.？" (D'Haussonville，VI.， 176， and Roederer， vol. III.)[10] Madame de Rémusat - I.， 101； II.， 338.

[11] Ibid.， I.， 224. - M. de Meneval， I.， 112， 347； III.， 120： " On account of the extraordinary event of his marriage， he sent a handwritten letter to his future father-in-law (the Emperor of Austria). It was a grand affair for him. Finally， after a great effort， he succeeded in penning a letter that was readable." -Meneval， nevertheless， was obliged "to correct the defective letters without letting the corrections be too plainly seen."[12] For example， at Bayonne and at Warsaw (De Pradt)； the outrageous and never-to-be forgotten scene which， on his return from Spain， occurred with Talleyrand - ("Souvenirs"， by PASQUIER Etienne-Dennis， duc， Chancelier de France. Librarie Plon， Paris 1893. I.， 357)； -The gratuitous insult of M. de Metternich， in 1813， the last word of their interview ("Souvenirs du feu duc de Broglie，" I.， 230) . - Cf.

his not less gratuitous and hazardous confidential communications to Miot de Melito， in 1797， and his five conversations with Sir Hudson Lowe， immediately recorded by a witness， Major Gorrequer. (W. Forsyth， I.，147， 161， 200.)[13] De Pradt， preface X[14] Pelet de la Lozére， p. 7. - Mollien， "Mémoires，" II.， 222. -"Souvenirs du feu duc de Broglie，" I.， 66， 69.

[15] "Madame de Rémusat，" I.， 121： I have it from Corvisart that the pulsations of his arteries are fewer than is usual with men. He never experienced what is commonly called giddiness." With him， the nervous apparatus is perfect in all its functions， incomparable for receiving， recording， registering， combining， and reflecting， but other organs suffer a reaction and are very sensitive." (De Ségur， VI.， 15 and 16， note of Drs. Yvan and Mestivier， his physicians.) "To preserve the equilibrium it was necessary with him that the skin should always fulfill its functions； as soon as the tissues were affected by any moral or atmospheric cause . . . . irritation， cough， ischuria." Hence his need of frequent prolonged and very hot baths. "The spasm was generally shared by the stomach and the bladder. If in the stomach， he had a nervous cough which exhausted his moral and physical energies." Such was the case between the eve of the battle of Moscow and the morning after his entry into Moscow： "a constant dry cough， difficult and intermittent breathing； the pulse sluggish， weak， and irregular； the urine thick and sedimentary， drop by drop and painful；the lower part of the legs and the feet extremely oedematous."Already， in 1806， at Warsaw， "after violent convulsions in the stomach，" he declared to the Count de Loban， "that he bore within him the germs of a premature death， and that he would die of the same disease as his father's." (De Ségur，VI.， 82.) After the victory of Dresden， having eaten a ragout containing garlic， he is seized with such violent gripings as to make him think he was poisoned， and he makes a retrograde movement， which causes the loss of Vandamme's division， and， consequently， the ruin of 1813. "Souvenirs"， by Pasquier， Etienne-Dennis， duc， chancelier de France. Librarie Plon， Paris 1893， (narrative of Daru， an eye-witness.) - This susceptibility of the nerves and stomach is hereditary with him and shows itself in early youth. "One day， at Brienne， obliged to drop on his knees， as a punishment， on the sill of the refectory， he is seized with sudden vomiting and a violent nervous attack." De Segur， I.， 71. - It is well known that he died of a cancer in the stomach， like his father Charles Bonaparte. His grandfather Joseph Bonaparte， his uncle Fesch， his brother Lucien， and his sister Caroline died of the same， or of an analogous disease.

[16] Meneval， I.， 269. Constant， "Mémoires，" V.， 62. De Ségur， VI.， 114， 117.

[17] Marshal Marmont， "Mémoires，" I.， 306. Bourrienne， II.， 119：

"When off the political field he was sensitive， kind， open to pity."[18] Pelet de la Lozére， p.7. De Champagny， " Souvenirs，" p.103. At first， the emotion was much stronger. "He had the fatal news for nearly three hours； he had given vent to his despair alone by himself.

He summoned me . . . . plaintive cries involuntarily escaped him."[19] Madame de Rémusat， I.， 121， 342 ； II.， 50 ； III.， 61， 294， 312.

[20] De Ségur， V.， 348.