第4章

"DuringthewholetimethatthemissionremainedatJamesTown，thebestunderstandingneverceasedtoexistbetweenthepopulationoftheislandandtheFrench。ThePrincedeJoinvilleandhiscompanionsmetinallquartersandatalltimeswiththegreatestgood—willandthewarmesttestimonialsofsympathy。Theauthoritiesandtheinhabitantsmusthavefelt，nodoubt，greatregretatseeingtakenawayfromtheirislandthecoffinthathadrendereditsocelebrated;buttheyrepressedtheirfeelingswithacourtesythatdoeshonortothefranknessoftheircharacter。"

II。

ONTHEVOYAGEFROMST。HELENATOPARIS。

Onthe18thOctobertheFrenchfrigatequittedtheislandwithitspreciousburdenonboard。

HisRoyalHighnesstheCaptainacknowledgedcordiallythekindnessandattentionwhichheandhiscrewhadreceivedfromtheEnglishauthoritiesandtheinhabitantsoftheIslandofSt。Helena;nay，promisedapensiontoanoldsoldierwhohadbeenformanyyearstheguardianoftheimperialtomb，andwentsofarastotakeintoconsiderationthepetitionofacertainlodging—housekeeper，whoprayedforacompensationforthelosswhichtheremovaloftheEmperor"sbodywouldoccasiontoher。AndalthoughitwasnottobeexpectedthatthegreatFrenchnationshouldforegoitsnaturaldesireofrecoveringtheremainsofaherosodeartoitforthesakeoftheindividualinterestofthelandladyinquestion，itmusthavebeensatisfactorytohertofind，thatthepeculiarityofherpositionwassodelicatelyappreciatedbytheaugustPrincewhocommandedtheexpedition，andcarriedawaywithhimanimaedimidiumsuae——thehalfofthegenteelindependencewhichshederivedfromthesituationofherhotel。Inaword，politenessandfriendshipcouldnotbecarriedfarther。ThePrince"srealmandthelandlady"swereboundtogetherbytheclosesttiesofamity。M。ThierswasMinisterofFrance，thegreatpatronoftheEnglishalliance。AtLondonM。GuizotwastheworthyrepresentativeoftheFrenchgood—

willtowardstheBritishpeople;andtheremarkfrequentlymadebyouroratorsatpublicdinners，that"FranceandEngland，whileunited，mightdefytheworld，"wasconsideredaslikelytoholdgoodformanyyearstocome，——theunionthatis。Asfordefyingtheworld，thatwasneitherherenorthere;nordidEnglishpoliticianseverdreamofdoinganysuchthing，exceptperhapsatthetenthglassofportat"Freemason"sTavern。"

Little，however，didMrs。Corbett，theSt。Helenalandlady，littledidhisRoyalHighnessPrinceFerdinandPhilipMariedeJoinvilleknowwhatwasgoingoninEuropeallthistime（whenIsayinEurope，ImeaninTurkey，Syria，andEgypt）;howclouds，infact，weregatheringuponwhatyoucallthepoliticalhorizon;andhowtempestswererisingthatweretoblowtopiecesourAnglo—Gallictempleoffriendship。Oh，butitissadtothinkthatasinglewickedoldTurkshouldbethemeansofsettingourtwoChristiannationsbytheears！

Yes，mylove，thisdisreputableoldmanhadbeenforsometimepasttheobjectofthedisinterestedattentionofthegreatsovereignsofEurope。TheEmperorNicolas（amoralcharacter，thoughfollowingtheGreeksuperstition，andadoredforhismildnessandbenevolenceofdisposition），theEmperorFerdinand，theKingofPrussia，andourowngraciousQueen，hadtakensuchjustoffenceathisconductanddisobediencetowardsayoungandinterestingsovereign，whoseauthorityhehaddisregarded，whosefleethehadkidnapped，whosefairprovinceshehadpouncedupon，thattheydeterminedtocometotheaidofAbdulMedjidtheFirst，EmperoroftheTurks，andbringhisrebelliousvassaltoreason。InthisprojecttheFrenchnationwasinvitedtojoin;buttheyrefusedtheinvitation，saying，thatitwasnecessaryforthemaintenanceofthebalanceofpowerinEuropethathisHighnessMehemetAlishouldkeeppossessionofwhatbyhookorbycrookhehadgotten，andthattheywouldhavenohandininjuringhim。Butwhycontinuethisargument，whichyouhavereadinthenewspapersformanymonthspast？You，mydear，mustknowaswellasI，thatthebalanceofpowerinEuropecouldnotpossiblybemaintainedinanysuchway;andthough，tobesure，forthelastfifteenyears，theprogressoftheoldrobberhasnotmademuchdifferencetousintheneighborhoodofRussellSquare，andthebattleofNezibdidnotintheleastaffectourtaxes，ourhomes，ourinstitutions，orthepriceofbutcher"smeat，yetthereisnoknowingwhatMIGHThavehappenedhadMehemetAlibeenallowedtoremainquietlyashewas:andthebalanceofpowerinEuropemighthavebeen——thedeuceknowswhere。

Here，then，inanutshell，youhavethewholematterindispute。

WhileMrs。CorbettandthePrincedeJoinvillewereinnocentlyinterchangingcomplimentsatSt。Helena，——bang！bang！CommodoreNapierwaspouringbroadsidesintoTyreandSidon;ourgallantnavywasstormingbreachesandroutingarmies;ColonelHodgeshadseizeduponthegreenstandardofIbrahimPacha;andthepowder—magazineofSt。JohnofAcrewasblownupsky—high，witheighteenhundredEgyptiansoldiersincompanywithit。TheFrenchsaidthatl"orAnglaishadachievedallthesesuccesses，andnodoubtbelievedthatthepoorfellowsatAcrewerebribedtoaman。

Itmusthavebeenparticularlyunpleasanttoahigh—mindednationliketheFrench——attheverymomentwhentheEgyptianaffairandthebalanceofEuropehadbeensettledinthisabruptway——tofindoutallofasuddenthatthePashaofEgyptwastheirdearestfriendandally。Theyhadsufferedinthepersonoftheirfriend;andthough，seeingthatthedisputewasended，andtheterritoryoutofhishand，theycouldnothopetogetitbackforhim，ortoaidhiminanysubstantialway，yetMonsieurThiersdetermined，justasamarkofpolitenesstothePasha，tofightallEuropeformaltreatinghim，——allEurope，Englandincluded。Hewasbentonwar，andanimmensemajorityofthenationwentwithhim。Hecalledforamillionofsoldiers，andwouldhavehadthemtoo，hadnottheKingbeenagainsttheprojectanddelayedthecompletionofitatleastforatime。

OfthesegreatEuropeandisputesCaptainJoinvillereceivedanotificationwhilehewasatseaonboardhisfrigate:aswefindbytheofficialaccountwhichhasbeenpublishedofhismission。

"SomedaysafterquittingSt。Helena，"saysthatdocument，"theexpeditionfellinwithashipcomingfromEurope，andwasthusmadeacquaintedwiththewarlikerumorsthenafloat，bywhichacollisionwiththeEnglishmarinewasrenderedpossible。ThePrincedeJoinvilleimmediatelyassembledtheofficersofthe"BellePoule，"

todeliberateonaneventsounexpectedandimportant。

"Thecouncilofwarhavingexpresseditsopinionthatitwasnecessaryatalleventstoprepareforanenergeticdefence，preparationsweremadetoplaceinbatteryallthegunsthatthefrigatecouldbringtobearagainsttheenemy。Theprovisionalcabinsthathadbeenfittedupinthebatteryweredemolished，thepartitionsremoved，and，withalltheelegantfurnitureofthecabins，flungintothesea。ThePrincedeJoinvillewasthefirst"toexecutehimself，"andthefrigatesoonfounditselfarmedwithsixoreightmoreguns。

"Thatpartoftheshipwherethesecabinshadpreviouslybeen，wentbythenameofLacedaemon;everythingluxuriousbeingbanishedtomakewayforwhatwasuseful。

"Indeed，allpersonswhowereonboardagreeinsayingthatMonseigneurthePrincedeJoinvillemostworthilyacquittedhimselfofthegreatandhonorablemissionwhichhadbeenconfidedtohim。

AllaffirmnotonlythatthecommandantoftheexpeditiondideverythingatSt。HelenawhichasaFrenchmanhewasboundtodoinorderthattheremainsoftheEmperorshouldreceiveallthehonorsduetothem，butmoreoverthatheaccomplishedhismissionwithallthemeasuredsolemnity，allthepiousandseveredignity，thatthesonoftheEmperorhimselfwouldhaveshownuponalikeoccasion。

ThecommandanthadalsocomprehendedthattheremainsoftheEmperormustneverfallintothehandsofthestranger，andbeinghimselfdecidedrathertosinkhisshipthantogiveuphispreciousdeposit，hehadinspiredeveryoneabouthimwiththesameenergeticresolutionthathehadhimselftaken"AGAINSTANEXTREME

EVENTUALITY。""

Monseigneur，mydear，isreallyoneofthefinestyoungfellowsitispossibletosee。Atall，broad—chested，slim—waisted，brown—

faced，dark—eyedyoungprince，withagreatbeard（andothermartialqualitiesnodoubt）beyondhisyears。AshestrodeintotheChapeloftheInvalidesonTuesdayattheheadofhismen，hemadenosmallimpression，Icantellyou，upontheladiesassembledtowitnesstheceremony。Norarethecrewofthe"BellePoule"lessagreeabletolookatthantheircommander。Amoreclean，smart，active，well—