Produced by StevenGibbs, Christine P. Travers and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON BEING THE NARRATIVE OF THE SURRENDER OF BUONAPARTE, AND OF HIS RESIDENCE ON BOARD H.M.S. BELLEROPHON, WITH A DETAIL OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN THAT SHIP BETWEEN THE 24th OF MAY AND THE 8th OF AUGUST 1815 BY REAR-ADMIRAL SIR FREDERICK LEWIS MAITLAND, K.C.B. _A NEW EDITION EDITED, WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, BY_ WILLIAM KIRK DICKSON WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MCMIV _All Rights reserved_ NOTE. After Sir Frederick Maitland's death in 1839 his papers passed into the hands of Lady Maitland, who liferented his property of Lindores in Fife until her death in 1865. They then passed with the property to Sir Frederick's nephew, Captain James Maitland, R.N., and on his death to his brother, Rear-Admiral Lewis Maitland, my father, from whom they came to me. The preparation of the present volume has been undertaken by Mr. Dickson at my request. FREDERICK LEWIS MAITLAND. LINDORES, _December 9, 1903_. PREFACE. "You are publishing a great and interesting national document.... The whole narrative is as fine, manly, and explicit an account as ever was given of so interesting a transaction." So wrote Sir Walter Scott to Captain Maitland after reading the manuscript of his _Narrative of the Surrender of Buonaparte_. It is undoubtedly a historical document of the first importance, not only as a record of "words by an eyewitness" of an ever-memorable event, but as a vindication of the good faith of the British Government in its conduct towards Napoleon. In his Preface to the original edition, published by Henry Colburn in 1826, Sir Frederick Maitland wrote:-- "Immediately after the extraordinary and interesting events took place which are here recorded, I was, by the earnest solicitations of my friends, induced to throw together the notes and memoranda in my possession, of the proceedings in which I bore so prominent a part. I was further led to undertake this task, so foreign to my usual occupations, in consequence of the many misrepresentations that appeared at that time, respecting the conduct of Buonaparte while on board the ship I commanded, as well as my treatment of him. "The following Narrative was then written solely for the private perusal of my friends, and not with a view to publication, many reasons combining, at that time, in my opinion, to render such a measure inexpedient.