from persons in public situations to send home accounts of what is passing here, and the approbation given to his letters at the Board as confidentially communicated to him by Mr. Finlaison. as I had been in the habit of obeying those receiyed from the Board of Admiralty, under whose orders I naturally was, I had not thought it improper to communicate to them such information and anecdotes as I thought they might be pleased with, and concluded with submitting to To which the author has appended these him that it would be much better for me to notes: The following extract from the postscript to a letter from O'Meara to Mr. Finlaison, written on the 14th of October, this year, will show the persevering efforts made to send this letter clandestinely to England, and also the necessity for the closest vigilance on the part of the governor. It proves also that, after all, O'Meara did send to England a copy of Montholon's letter. "This letter De Las Cases and Montholon have resign the situation, which I was ready to do. To this he replied, he was far from desiring such a step, and said that the subject altogether required some deliberation, and thus the matter rests. Until, however, I have received directions from you not to correspond, I will continue to do 80, or will, as I told him, resign a situation always delicate, and now peculiarly and embarrassingly so. 66 5. That this clandestine correspondence, this espionnage, was carried on without the knowledge of Sir Hudson Lowe, who was very angry when he found it out. Let us recapitulate the startling revelations been endeavoring by all means in their power to of this clandestine correspondence. 1. In the send to England. De Las Cases showed it and Preface quoted before, Mr. Forsyth vouches explained it to Captain Shaw of the Terma- for the genuineness of the Finlaison and gant,' and, I believe, offered a copy to Captain O'Meara, or what some would call the Wilson Gray of the Artillery, and Lieutenant Louis of Croker, correspondence. 2. That O'Meara, the Northumberland, to whom also a copy was in violation of professional confidence, wrote offered, which he refused taking, as Sir Hudson to the Admiralty his notes on the sayings expressed his earnest wish to me that it should and confidential thoughts of Napoleon. 3. not be sent even to the Admiralty; as, he said, That his letters were a feast to very great he had not given the admiral a copy of it, per- folk" in England. 4. That Mr. Wilson haps it would be as well not to allow it to come Croker encouraged O'Meara to provide ample to his knowledge that I had sent it, though I conceive it a duty incumbent on me to furnish provender for the "feast." Mr. Croker with all the intelligence possible through you, and which I shall not fail to do in every one of my letters." It was a mistake of Sir Hudson Lowe to suppose that O'Meara corresponded with Mr. Croker, then the secretary This is certainly one of the most serious of the Admiralty. The latter merely received" revelations" that have appeared amongst and communicated to the cabinet the letters which Mr. Finlaison put into his hands. What mere special pleading it is for Mr. Forsyth to say that O'Meara did not correspond with Mr. Croker! Surely it ought not to necessary for laymen to remind a lawyer of the maxim, "Qui facit per alium facit per se." But the scandal gets deeper at every step. The following passage from a letter to Finlaison tells very favorably for Sir Hudson Lowe, while it puts parties nearer home deeper be in the mire: our copious historical memoirs of the last few years. It is fortunate that Mr. Wilson Croker is still living, as he will doubtless be able to cast further light upon the whole subject. What is very curious in the matter is, that though the government of the day suffered sorely from the effects of O'Meara's "Voice from St. Helena," with a word of the revelations in this work they might have destroyed their antagonist's character. But his destruction by such a process would have been most dangerous to his enemies. His reviewer in the Quarterly assailed him in all the moods and I told Sir Hudson, this day, that Montholon tenses of vituperation-but he took special had done so, and that he had given me the letter. care to avoid the name of Finlaison, and the He was very much displeased at the idea of its previous services in which O'Meara had been being made known, and also with me for having used. Though in the power of the governread it, so that I was obliged, in my own defence, ment, O'Meara wrote with great audacity, as to make known to him that I was authorized to he knew well that he had government also in make communications respecting Bonaparte to his grasp, and that official people could not the Admiralty. He appeared surprised and blast him without awfully scorching themannoyed at this, and said that it was not proper; selves. If such scandal as this had oozed out that the Admiralty had nothing to do with what in those days, what invectives would have took place respecting him; that he did not communicate it to the Duke of York; that it ought of scorn from Lord Althorp come from Henry Brougham, and quiet bursts not even to be made known to any of the cabinet of emphatic rebukes from young Lord John to say nothing. ministers, except the secretary of state, with whom he corresponded himself, and that he Russell and the leaders of the Opposition of would make some arrangements accordingly. that time! What a brilliant political satire He added, that my correspondence ought to go the author of "Tom Crib's Memorial to Conthrough him. I replied, very respectfully, that, gress" and "The Twopenny Post-Bag" would have written on a theme so fertile in sugges tion! These revelations are so very interesting a chapter in the "Curiosities of Literature," that we have taken this rapid survey in our desire not to withhold them from the early notice of our readers. On the subject of Napoleon himself the work is not so interesting as we expected; but its historical importance is of the highest value and whether we agree or not with the various conclusions to which its author would fain lead the reader, it amply deserves and will reward the careful perusal of every person who is interested in the subject of Napoleon. From the Literary Gazette. AN appeal for justice to an injured man is seldom made to Englishmen in vain. Even when it is too late to redress the wrongs of the living, we are unwilling to let a cloud rest unfairly on the memory of the dead. Such an appeal is now made in behalf of Sir Hudson Lowe. The larger question of the policy of the British government towards Napoleon as their prisoner is amply illustrated in these volumes, but the immediate object is a defence of the personal and official conduct of the governor of St. Helena. On this subject there has always been much discussion, and, as it now appears, studied and malignant misrepresentation. It is only to be regretted that so long a delay has taken place in the publication of these official reports, and that English historians have given currency to much calumny and falsehood. Even Sir Walter Scott and Sir Archibald Alison, with all their tory prejudices in behalf of the English ministry of the time, have given up the defence of Sir Hudson Lowe. What has been uniformly asserted has come to be universally believed, and while with Frenchmen the name of the gaoler of Napoleon" is the symbol of everything cruel and base, Englishmen have been too ready to speak of him with feelings of shame and disapproval. It was no doubt a fatal mistake of the governor not to publish during his lifetime a refutation of the charges against him. He wearied the government with applications for redress, when he might, by printing the documents in his possession, have fully vindicated his character. Ten years have now passed since his death, and the true state of the case is at length made known from his letters and journals. Although it is too late now to atone for much of the injury that has been done, it is not too late to vindicate the memory of an injured man, nor is it too late for truth and justice to correct the errors that have found place in this memorable episode of modern history. So far as the French are concerned we fear that little effect will be produced by the present publication. On them no part of the history of Napoleon has made so deep and mournful an impression as the sad tale of his reverse and his exile. The mysterious seclusion of the remote sea-girt prison, the dark hints of harsh and ungenerous treatment, and then the death of the emperor, alleged to be hastened by the cruelty of" his gaoler," struck a horror into the minds of Frenchmen at the conduct of all who had been in any way accessory to his fate, which no explanation nor documents will ever be able to mitigate, far less to efface. This horror and detestation have been concentrated on him who was the instrument of the English government in the supposed cruelty. It is almost part of a Frenchman's creed to believe all that is evil of Sir Hudson Lowe. He is the bête noire of their imagination. Nor is this feeling confined to Napoleonists. Victor Hugo, in his philippic against "Napoléon le Petit," reaches the climax of his invective, when he exclaims: "Pire que Hudson Lowe! Hudson Lowe n'etait qu'un geolier, Hudson Lowe n'etait qu'un bourreau: l'homme qui assassine véritablement Napoléon c'est Louis Napoléon; Hudson Lowe n'avait tué que sa vie, Louis Napoléon tue sa gloire." Our own Lord Chief Justice Campbell, in his "Lives of the Chancellors," in speaking of Lord Eldon says: "As things were managed, I am afraid it will be said that Napoleon was treated in the nineteenth century with the same cruel spirit as the Maid of Orleans in the fifteenth; and there may be tragedies on the death of Napoleon in which Sir Hudson Lowe will be the sbirro, and even Lord Eldon may be introduced as the stern old councillor who decreed the hero's imprisonment." This anticipation has been realized. When the accession of Louis Napoleon revived the recollections of the emperor, a piece was produced, Napoleon in Exile, in which the " bourreau" and "geolier" was presented to the execration of the angry Parisians. We can hardly be surprised at this, when we consider the popular estimate of Sir Hudson Lowe by his own countrymen. So recently as 1833 an incident occurred in the House of Lords which shows the odium attaching to his name. In a debate on the Irish Coercion Bill, Lord Teynham, after saying that, he was willing to intrust extraordinary powers to the then Lord-Lieut,, the Marquis of Normanby, yet it was necessary to legislate with reference to those who might succeed him "Now suppose," tinued Lord Teynham, "the noble marquis were to be succeeded in the government of Ireland by a Sir Hudson Lowe." Here the speaker was called to order, and the Duke of Wellington immediately rose : con I do not rise to oppose the motion of the noble lord, or to state any objection to the proposition Having referred to the just and generous defence of Sir Hudson Lowe by the Duke of Wellington, we give along with it a passagè from M. Lamartine's "History of the Restoration," which Mr. Forsyth quotes, with some judicious and honorable comments: of the lord-lieutenant being assisted by six privy | sion to which you refer, in repelling a very gross councillors; but I do rise for the purpose of de- and marked insinuation against an officer, in his fending the character of a highly respectable absence, for whom I entertained the highest reofficer, not a member of this House, from the spect and regard. The discussion ended in a gross imputation thrown upon him (by implica-way that must be highly satisfactory to all your tion) by the noble lord; and certainly a grosser friends. Ever, my dear general, yours most one I never heard uttered within these walls. faithfully, When the noble lord pays a tribute of respect to "WELLINGTON. the present lord-lieutenant of Ireland, I have "Lieut.-General Sir Hudson Lowe." no doubt that all noble lords concur in the same opinion he has expressed of that noble marquis; but when he says "the noble marquis may he succeeded by some Sir Hudson Lowe," I beg to know what the noble lord means. I have the honor to know Sir Hudson Lowe, and I will say, in this House or elsewhere, wherever it may be, that there is not in the army a more respectable officer than Sir Hudson Lowe, nor has his maj- From a French writer we might naturally exesty a more faithful subject. pect on this subject nothing but panegyric upon Lord Teynham. Really, my lords, I had Napoleon and invective against Sir Hudson Lowe. no intention of aspersing the private character One author of that nation, however, has honoraof Sir Hudson Lowe. No doubt the testimony bly distinguished himself by the impartial tone in the noble duke bears to it is perfectly correct. which he has criticized the conduct of the govBut as regards his public conduct while govern-ernor and his captive. Lamartine has done or of St. Helena, I say, and will maintain it as a peer of Parliament, that he is cried out upon by all the people of Europe as a person not fit to be trusted with power." 46 Earl Bathurst. "Perhaps it is conferring too much importance on the matter to offer any answer to the noble lord's remarks; but after his observations on the late governor of St. Helena, that he so conducted himself in that capacity as to have been found fault with in every part of Europe; I deny that such was the case; the charge is directly false. Sir Hudson Lowe behaved, in his very responsible capacity, in a manner highly to his credit; all well-informed persons on the continent of Europe knew what his conduct was, and approved it." homage to truth, and, so far as he had the means of forming a just judgment, has taken pains to arrive at it. He has fully penetrated the motives of Napoleon in keeping up his quarrel with Sir Hudson Lowe, and, if he has formed a wrong estimate in some respects of the character of the latter and misconstrued his actions, we must remember that he was obliged to winnow out the facts of the case from the heap of calumny and falsehood with which the enemies of that offcer have loaded his memory, and that he had not access to the materials which would have enabled him to correct in many points his opinion. In the following passage he thus speaks of the governor of St. Helena and Napoleon :"He" (that is the latter) "pursued slowly and obstiA day or two afterwards Lord Teynham made nately the suicide of his captivity. The arrival the following apology for his unwarrantable at St. Helena of a new governor, Sir Hudson attack:- "In rising to present two petitions on Lowe, riveted more closely his voluntary chains. the subject of tithes, I beg to state. what I That governor, whom the myrmidons of Napoleon, should have stated more explicitly on a former and Napoleon himself, attacked with groundless evening (if I had not been called to order, or and passionate charges, such as the hallucinarather interrupted, upon my making an observa- tions of captivity alone could inspire-treated tion in which I mentioned the name of that gal- by them as a petty constable and assassin - had lant officer, Sir Hudson Lowe) I now beg to neither criminal intent against his captive in his state that it was not my intention to impute thoughts, nor insult towards the unfortunate in improper conduct to, or to make any reflection his heart. But, crushed under the load of reupon, that individual. I merely used the name sponsibility which weighed on him lest he might of that gallant person hypothetically, in order to suffer to escape the disturber whom Europe had show the danger of placing any portion of his given him to guard, narrow in his ideas, jealous majesty's subjects under military power, upon in his regulations, nervously tenacious of forms, an uncertainty into whose hands that power deficient in tact, and odious to his captive from might hereafter fall. I trust, therefore, that the the very nature of his functions, he wearied Nafriends of the gallant general in this House will poleon with restrictions, superintendence, orders, believe - and that through them he may be in-visits, and even marks of respect. He soon imformed that it was not my intention to bring any accusation against him." Sir Hudson Lowe wrote and thanked the duke for his prompt and generous defence, and his grace replied in the following note : parted to the duties of the governor of the island and guardian of an European hostage the appearance and rudeness of a gaoler. Nevertheless, although he may be reproached with impropriety, he cannot be charged with ill-usage. He was the occasion rather than the cause of the unhappy end of Napoleon. In reading with at'My dear General - I have received your let- tention the correspondence and notes exchanged ter of the 20th. I assure you that I considered on every pretext between the attendants on Nathat I did no more than my duty, upon the occa-poleon and Sir Hudson Lowe, one is confounded "S. Saye, Feb. 21, 1833. at the insults, the provocations, and the invectives with which the captive and his friends outraged the governor at every turn. Napoleon at that time sought to excite by cries of pain the pity of the English Parliament, and to furnish a grievance to the speakers of the opposition against the ministry, in order to obtain a removal nearer to Europe. The desire of provoking insults by insult, and of afterwards exhibiting these insults as crimes to the indignation of the continent, and of making Sir Hudson Lowe the Pilate of this Napoleonic Calvary, is plainly evident in all those letters." No doubt the portrait of the governor is here harshly drawn, and some of the particulars are incorrect. For instance, when Lamartine speaks of Sir Hudson Lowe wearying Napoleon with visits, he seems not to be aware, or to have forgotten, that during the whole of the six years of the captivity the governor had only five interviews with his prisoner; and that Napoleon rudely and discourteously refused, after insulting him to his face with the grossest language of abuse, to see or have any intercourse with him again. Nor was there anything in his conduct or demeanor, as the reader will see, which can justify the application to him of the odious epithat of gaoler. But this question will appear in its true light as our narrative proceeds, and we need not anticipate here the judgment which will be formed on the facts of the captivity. Reserving for another article our remarks on the general subject of Napoleon's captivity, and his treatment by the British government, we at present confine ourselves to the conduct of Sir Hudson Lowe, the true account of which, and the explanation of the false impression prevailing concerning it, we can present to the satisfaction of our readers. A few details of the previous history of the governor will prepare for the better appreciation of his character: Sir Hudson Lowe was, as he himself tells us in a fragment of an autobiography which he left, born in the army. His father was an Englishman, a native of Lincolnshire, who obtained a medical appointment early in life with the troops that served in Germany during the Seven Years' War. After the breaking out of the war of the French Revolution, he was appointed surgeonmajor and head of the medical department in the garrison of Gibraltar, the duties of which he continued to discharge until his death in 1801. Sir Hudson Lowe, the subject of the present memoir, was born in the town of Galway on the 28th of July, 1769. Shortly after his birth his father's regiment, the 50th, was ordered to the West Indies, and he was taken out with it. On his return to England, and while still at school, before he had attained his twelfth year, he was appointed to an ensigncy in the East Devon Militia, and actually passed a review in military uniform at that age. In the autumn of the year 1787 he obtained a king's commission as ensign in the 50th regiment, which was at that time stationed at Gibraltar, the governor being the celebrated Sir George Augustus Eliott, afterwards created Lord Heathfield. After having been more than four years upon garrison duty, during which time, he says, every third or fourth night was passed on guard, with no other appliances for repose, between the reliefs of sentries, than a blanket on boards and a pillow resting generally upon a stone, Lieutenant Lowe obtained leave of absence, and travelled in France and Italy, whereby he acquired a proficiency in the languages of those countries, which was of singular use to him in after life. On his return to Gibraltar the war had broken out afresh, and he proceeded with his regiment to Corsica, where he was actively engaged in service until the 60th was ordered to garrison Ajaccio. The future governor of St. Helena was thus quartered in the same town with the Bonaparte family, none of whom, however, he seems to have met. At On the evacuation of Corsica, Lieutenant Lowe accompanied his regiment to Porto Ferrajo, in Elba. In 1795 he was promoted to a company; and was soon after appointed deputy judge-advocate to the troops. From Elba the 50th proceeded to Lisbon, and remained quartered nearly two years in Portugal, at Fort St. Juliens. the expiration of that period. it was ordered to Minorca, which was then commanded by General Fox, and to this island flocked a large body of emigrants from Corsica, who were organized into a small corps called the Corsican Rangers. With this body of troops Sir Hudson Lowe's fate and fortunes became intimately connected. The charge of the newly-raised corps was intrusted to him. In August, 1800, being then about two hundred strong, they were sent to Gibraltar for the purpose of joining the expedition of Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby. The command of the corps was given to Captain Lowe, with the temporary rank of major; and it formed part of the reserve commanded by Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. The army landed at Aboukir on the 8th of March, and the Corsican Rangers formed on the right of the guards. The corps was warmly engaged, and sustained in several conflicts heavy loss. While in Egypt, Major Lowe sent his father, who was then surgeon-major to the garrison at Gibraltar, clear and detailed aocounts of events as they occurred, and they are too well known to justify relation here. He was present at the battle of Alexandria, on the 21st of March, 1801, and during the campaign was the means of saving Sir Sidney Smith's life. A picket having mistaken Sir Sidney for a French officer, for his wearing a cocked hat (the English army then wearing round hats), they levelled their pieces at him, when Major Lowe struck up their muskets, and saved him. He received the first proposals for the surrender of Cairo, commanded the rear-guard of the escort to the French army on its march to Rosetta, and was present at the advances against and surrender of Alexandria. His zeal and ability in command of the outposts, on various occasions, obtained for him that flattering en comium from General Moore "Lowe, when | but Colonel Lowe positively refused to accept of you're at the outposts, I always feel sure of a any other conditions than to evacuate his post good night's rest." And the same gallant and with arms and baggage, and after his return to distinguished officer, when writing on the 27th the town he drew up proposals for surrendering of October, 1801, to Major Lowe's father, thus the island, and forwarded them to General Laspoke of the son :— In Sir Ralph Abercromby marque, who ultimately, and after some hesitahe lost, in common with many others, a good tion and difficulty, accepted them. On the 20th, friend; but, however, his conduct has been so Colonel Lowe evacuated the town with his troops conspicuously good, that I hope he will meet and marched to the Marina, the place of embarkwith the reward he merits." ation, with all the honors of war. Of his subsequent services in Portugal, in Sicily and Naples, full account is given in the memoir which occupies one of Mr. Forsyth's chapters. The loss of the island of Capri, through the misconduct of the Maltese troops under his command, is the only untoward event in Sir Hudson Lowe's military career. But his gallant defence of the fort with the Corsican allies, only eight or ten British artillerymen being in his whole force, received high official praise, and everything It deserves to be mentioned, that, when General Lamarque required the restitution of several of the foreigners who had enlisted in the British service while prisoners of war, Colonel Lowe peremptorily refused. "You may shoot me, but I will never give up a single man, was his spirited reply to the general's demand. " Colonel Lowe next served with Sir John ed governor of some of the Greek Islands, inStuart at Naples, and was afterwards appointcluding Cephalonia and Ithaca, from which the French had been driven :— recorded of his own conduct in the whole affair is of the most honorable kind. When Colonel Lowe framed the provisional governthe French with a superior force had gained possession of the town ment, and presided over the civil as well as military administration of these islands for nearly two years, without ever claiming or reNext morning a flag of truce brought a sum-ceiving any remuneration for the extraordinary mons from General Lamarque to Colonel Lowe duties with which he was charged. to surrender the forts and batteries of Capri. duties were of a difficult nature, requiring He said. temper, firmness, and administrative talents. "I hold a commanding position, and as soon as my artillery shall be placed I will destroy Capri, and it will be no longer time to negotiate. At this moment I may treat you with less severity.' To this Colonel Lowe gallantly replied "I acknowledge all the advantages which your present commanding positions afford you. Defence may therefore be more difficult, but it is not the less incumbent on me. Your propositions of rigor or favor on such an occasion must be alike indifferent to an officer whose conduct will never be influenced by any other considerations than those of his duty." A close siege then commenced, and the defence was kept up till a French flotilla with reinforcements appeared, when another flag of truce was sent, with an intimation that General Lamarque wished to have a personal interview with the English commandant: Those He was also frequently engaged in correspondence with the Turkish authorities on the coast of Albania and with the British Resident at Yanina. Sir John Stuart placed him in direct communication with Ali Pasha, with whom he had a personal interview, and received an offer from him to land thirty thousand Albanians in Italy, to effect a diversion for the purpose of preventing the invasion of Sicily by Murat. On the 1st of January, 1812, Lieutenant-Colonel Lowe obtained the rank of full colonel, and in the following month was permitted to return to England on leave of absence. "I was then,' he In 1813, Colonel Lowe was sent as one of the British commissioners to the allied armies. Accordingly Colonel Lowe proceeded to meet He joined the Russian army under the Emthe general. The latter demanded the immedi-peror Alexander in Poland. At the battle of ate surrender of the place, and that the garrison Bautzen, on the 21st and 22d of May, he first should become prisoners of war, except only saw his future prisoner. In October he joined Colonel Lowe himself and five or six of his the allied armies under the command of officers, whom he would allow to return to Sicily. Blucher, and was present at the battle of He expressed his astonishment that they had not Leipsic, of which he wrote a long and able quitted the island instead of persisting in main- account. But it is needless further to refer to taining a post which was not tenable against his services until the close of the great conticannon. Colonel Lowe replied that no dis tinction could be allowed between the troops and nental war. An honorable record is here their commander or officers, and that the term given of them, and the letters from distin"prisoners of war" would not be admitted into guished men testify to the estimation in which any convention that might be framed. General he was held. Some of these men still survive, Lamarque then proposed several modifications; such as Lord Cathcart and Lord Hardinge, |