第2章

Inthesucceedingdebates，then，variousopinionsweregivenwithregardtotheplacetobeselectedfortheEmperor"ssepulture。

"Somedemanded，"saysaneloquentanonymousCaptainintheNavywhohaswrittenan"ItineraryfromToulontoSt。Helena，""thatthecoffinshouldbedepositedunderthebronzetakenfromtheenemybytheFrencharmy——undertheColumnofthePlaceVendome。Theideawasafineone。Thisisthemostgloriousmonumentthatwaseverraisedinaconqueror"shonor。Thiscolumnhasbeenmeltedoutofforeigncannon。Thesesamecannonshavefurrowedthebosomsofourbraveswithnoblecicatrices;andthismetal——conqueredbythesoldierfirst，bytheartistafterwards——hasallowedtobeimprintedonitsfrontitsowndefeatandourglory。Napoleonmightsleepinpeaceunderthisaudacioustrophy。But，wouldhisashesfindasheltersufficientlyvastbeneaththispedestal？AndhispuissantstatuedominatingParis，beamswithsufficientgrandeuronthisplace:whereasthewheelsofcarriagesandthefeetofpassengerswouldprofanethefunerealsanctityofthespotintramplingonthesoilsonearhishead。"

Youmustnottakethisdescription，dearestAmelia，"atthefootoftheletter，"astheFrenchphraseit，butyouwillherehaveamasterlyexpositionoftheargumentsforandagainsttheburialoftheEmperorundertheColumnofthePlaceVendome。Theideawasafineone，granted;but，likeallotherideas，itwasopentoobjections。Youmustnotfancythatthecannon，orratherthecannon—balls，wereinthehabitoffurrowingthebosomsofFrenchbraves，oranyotherbraves，withcicatrices:onthecontrary，itisaknownfactthatcannon—ballsmakewounds，andnotcicatrices（which，mydear，arewoundspartiallyhealed）;nay，thatamangenerallydiesafterreceivingonesuchprojectileonhischest，muchmoreafterhavinghisbosomfurrowedbyascoreofthem。No，mylove;nobosom，howeverheroic，canstandsuchapplications，andtheauthoronlymeansthattheFrenchsoldiersfacedthecannonandtookthem。Nor，mylove，mustyousupposethatthecolumnwasmelted:itwasthecannonwasmelted，notthecolumn;butsuchphrasesareoftenusedbyoratorswhentheywishtogiveaparticularforceandemphasistotheiropinions。

Well，again，althoughNapoleonmighthavesleptinpeaceunder"thisaudacioustrophy，"howcouldhedosoandcarriagesgorattlingbyallnight，andpeoplewithgreatironheelstotheirbootspassclatteringoverthestones？NorindeedcoulditbeexpectedthatamanwhosereputationstretchesfromthePyramidstotheKremlin，shouldfindacolumnofwhichthebaseisonlyfive—and—twentyfeetsquare，asheltervastenoughforhisbones。Inaword，then，althoughtheproposaltoburyNapoleonunderthecolumnwasingenious，itwasfoundnottosuit;whereuponsomebodyelseproposedtheMadelaine。

"Itwasproposed，"saysthebefore—quotedauthorwithhisusualfelicity，"toconsecratetheMadelainetohisexiledmanes"——thatis，tohisboneswhentheywerenotinexileanylonger。"Heoughttohave，itwassaid，atempleentire。Hisgloryfillstheworld。

Hisbonescouldnotcontainthemselvesinthecoffinofaman——inthetombofaking！"InthiscasewhatwasMaryMagdalentodo？

"Thisproposition，Iamhappytosay，wasrejected，andanewone——

thatofthePresidentoftheCounciladopted。Napoleonandhisbravesoughtnottoquiteachother。UndertheimmensegildeddomeoftheInvalideshewouldfindasanctuaryworthyofhimself。A

domeimitatesthevaultofheaven，andthatvaultalone"（meaningofcoursetheothervault）"shoulddominateabovehishead。HisoldmutilatedGuardshallwatcharoundhim:thelastveteran，ashehasshedhisbloodinhiscombats，shallbreathehislastsighnearhistomb，andallthesetombsshallsleepunderthetatteredstandardsthathavebeenwonfromallthenationsofEurope。"

Theoriginalwordsare"sousleslambeauxcriblesdesdrapeauxcueillischeztouteslesnations;"inEnglish，"undertheriddledragsoftheflagsthathavebeenculledorplucked"（likerosesorbuttercups）"inallthenations。"Sweet，innocentflowersofvictory！theretheyare，mydear，sureenough，andaprettyconsiderablehortussiccusmayanymanexaminewhochoosestowalktotheInvalides。Theburial—placebeingthusagreedon，theexpeditionwasprepared，andonthe7thJulythe"BellePoule"

frigate，incompanywith"LaFavorite"corvette，quittedToulonharbor。Acoupleofsteamers，the"Trident"andthe"Ocean，"

escortedtheshipsasfarasGibraltar，andthereleftthemtopursuetheirvoyage。

Thetwoshipsquittedtheharborinthesightofavastconcourseofpeople，andinthemidstofagreatroaringofcannons。Previoustothedepartureofthe"BellePoule，"theBishopofFrejuswentonboard，andgavetothecenotaph，inwhichtheEmperor"sremainsweretobedeposited，hisepiscopalbenediction。Napoleon"soldfriendsandfollowers，thetwoBertrands，Gourgaud，EmanuelLasCases，"companionsinexile，orsonsofthecompanionsinexileoftheprisoneroftheinfameHudson，"saysaFrenchwriter，werepassengersonboardthefrigate。Marchand，Denis，Pierret，Novaret，hisoldandfaithfulservants，werelikewiseinthevessel。ItwascommandedbyhisRoyalHighnessFrancisFerdinandPhilipLouisMaried"Orleans，PrincedeJoinville，ayoungprincetwo—and—twentyyearsofage，whowasalreadydistinguishedintheserviceofhiscountryandking。

Onthe8thofOctober，afteravoyageofsix—and—sixtydays，the"BellePoule"arrivedinJamesTownharbor;andonitsarrival，asonitsdeparturefromFrance，agreatfiringofgunstookplace。

First，the"Oreste"Frenchbrig—of—warbeganroaringoutasalutationtothefrigate;thenthe"Dolphin"Englishschoonergaveherone—and—twentyguns;thenthefrigatereturnedthecomplimentofthe"Dolphin"schooner;thensheblazedoutwithone—and—twentygunsmore，asamarkofparticularpolitenesstotheshore——whichkindnessthefortsacknowledgedbysimilardetonations。

Theselittlecomplimentsconcludedonbothsides，LieutenantMiddlemore，sonandaide—de—campoftheGovernorofSt。Helena，cameonboardtheFrenchfrigate，andbroughthisfather"sbestrespectstohisRoyalHighness。TheGovernorwasathomeill，andforcedtokeephisroom;buthehadmadehishouseatJamesTownreadyforCaptainJoinvilleandhissuite，andbeggedthattheywouldmakeuseofitduringtheirstay。

Onthe9th，H。R。H。thePrinceofJoinvilleputonhisfulluniformandlanded，incompanywithGeneralsBertrandandGourgaud，BaronLasCases，M。Marchand，M。Coquereau，thechaplainoftheexpedition，andM。deRohanChabot，whoactedaschiefmourner。AllthegarrisonwereunderarmstoreceivetheillustriousPrinceandtheothermembersoftheexpedition——whoforthwithrepairedtoPlantationHouse，andhadaconferencewiththeGovernorregardingtheirmission。

Onthe10th，11th，12th，theseconferencescontinued:thecrewsoftheFrenchshipswerepermittedtocomeonshoreandseethetombofNapoleon。Bertrand，Gourgaud，LasCaseswanderedabouttheislandandrevisitedthespotstowhichtheyhadbeenpartialinthelifetimeoftheEmperor。

The15thOctoberwasfixedonforthedayoftheexhumation:thatdayfive—andtwentyyears，theEmperorNapoleonfirstsethisfootupontheisland。

Onthedaypreviousallthingshadbeenmadeready:thegrandcoffinsandornamentsbroughtfromFrance，andthearticlesnecessaryfortheoperationwerecarriedtothevalleyoftheTomb。

Theoperationscommencedatmidnight。Thewell—knownfriendsofNapoleonbeforenamedandsomeotherattendantsofhis，thechaplainandhisacolytes，thedoctorofthe"BellePoule，"thecaptainsoftheFrenchships，andCaptainAlexanderoftheEngineers，theEnglishCommissioner，attendedthedisinterment。HisRoyalhighnessPrincedeJoinvillecouldnotbepresentbecausetheworkmenwereunderEnglishcommand。

Themenworkedforninehoursincessantly，whenatlengththeearthwasentirelyremovedfromthevault，allthehorizontalstrataofmasonrydemolished，andthelargeslabwhichcoveredtheplacewherethestonesarcophaguslay，removedbyacrane。Thisoutercoffinofstonewasperfect，andcouldscarcelybesaidtobedamp。

"AssoonastheAbbeCoquereauhadrecitedtheprayers，thecoffinwasremovedwiththegreatestcare，andcarriedbytheengineer