Again Napoleon remarked a breach of his treaty. He was to have
sailed from St. Tropez in a corvette; here was only a brig.
Accordingly, as if to mark an intentional slight, in reality for his
safety and comfort, he asked and obtained permission to embark on
the English frigate, the _Undaunted_, as the guest of her captain.
The promised corvette was at St. Tropez awaiting its passenger, but
the hasty change of plan had made it impossible to bring her around
in time. Possibly for this reason, too, the baggage of Napoleon had
been much diminished in quantity; and of this he complained also, as
being a breach of his treaty. His farewell to the Russian and
Prussian commissioners was brief and dignified; the Austrian hussars
paid full military honors to the party; and as the Emperor,
accompanied by the English and Austrian commissioners, embarked, a
salvo of twenty-four guns rang out from the _Undaunted_. Already he
had begun to eulogize England and her civilization, and to behave as
if throwing himself on the good faith of an English gentleman,
exactly as a defeated knight would throw himself on the chivalric
courtesy of his conqueror. This appearance of distinguished
treatment heightened his self-satisfaction. His attendants said that
once again he was "all emperor."
It was a serious blow when, on passing aboard ship, he discovered that
the salutes had been in recognition of the commissioners, and that the
polite but decided Captain Ussher was determined to treat his
illustrious guest with the courtesy due to a private gentleman, and
with that alone. Although chafing at times during the voyage against
the restrictions of naval discipline, Napoleon submitted gracefully,
and wore a subdued air. This was his first contact with English
customs: sometimes they interested him; frequently, as in the matter
of after-dinner amusements and Sunday observance, they irritated him,
and then with a contemptuous petulance he withdrew to his cabin. In
conversation with Koller, the Austrian commissioner, he once referred
to his conduct in disguising himself on the road to Frejus as
pusillanimous, and admitted in vulgar language that he had made an
indecent display of himself. He was convinced that all the dreadful
scenes through which he had passed were the work of Bourbon
emissaries. In general his talk was a running commentary on the past,
a well-calculated prattle in which, with apparent spontaneity and
ingenuousness, interpretations were placed on his conduct which were
thoroughly novel. This was the beginning of a series of historical
commentaries lasting, with interruptions, to the end of his life.
There is throughout a unity of purpose in the explication and
embellishment of history which will be considered later. On May fourth
the _Undaunted_ cast anchor in the harbor of Porto Ferrajo.