English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2)Ashton, John
History
English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. Volume 2 (of 2)
Ashton, John
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821 -- Caricatures and cartoons
On April 11 the treaty of abdication was signed by the allies, and by
it Napoleon was to keep his title of Emperor, and have the sovereignty
of the Island of Elba, where, however, he must permanently reside. He
was guaranteed a revenue of 6,000,000 francs. Josephine and the other
members of the Emperor’s family were to have 2,000,000 francs divided
amongst them; and Maria Louisa and the King of Rome were to have the
Duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla.
But, when all was finished, he felt his position too hard to bear.
He would have recalled his abdication--but it was too late. Tom from
his high estate, separated from his wife and child, deserted by the
creatures of his bounty, life was not worth living for; existence was
wretched, and he tried to put an end to it by poison on the night of
April 12. Baron Fain, in ‘The Manuscript of 1814,’ gives a good account
of this occurrence, but not nearly as graphic as does Madame Junot:--
‘Throughout the day his conversation turned on subjects of the most
gloomy kind, and he dwelt much on suicide. He spoke so frequently on
the subject, that Marchand,[40] his first _valet de chambre_, and
Constant were struck with it. They consulted together, and both,
with common consent, removed from the Emperor’s chamber an Arabian
poniard, and the balls from his pistol-case. The Duke of Bassano had
also remarked this continued allusion to suicide, notwithstanding
his efforts to divert Napoleon’s thoughts from it. The Duke spoke to
Marchand, after he had taken leave of the Emperor, previous to retiring
to rest, and he expressed himself satisfied with the precautions which
had been taken. The Duke had been in bed some time, when he was awoke
by Constant, who came to him pale and trembling: “Monsieur le Duc,” he
exclaimed, “come immediately to the Emperor. His Majesty has been taken
very ill!” The Duke of Bassano immediately hurried to the bedside of
the Emperor, whom he found pale and cold as a marble statue. He had
taken poison!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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