the Government to receive me and

my suite, and conduct me to England, if agreeable to me. I presented myself with good faith to put myself under the protection of the English laws. As soon as I was on board the Bellerophon, I was under shelter of the British people.

"If the Government, in giving orders to the Captain of the Bellerophon to receive me as well as my suite, only intended to lay a snare for me, it has forfeited its honour and disgraced its flag.

"If this act be consummated, the English will in vain boast to Europe of their integrity, their laws, and their liberty. British good faith will be lost in the hospitality of the Bellerophon.

"I appeal to History; it will say that an enemy, who for twenty years waged war

against the English people, came voluntarily, in his misfortunes, to seek an asylum under their laws. What more brilliant proof could he give of his esteem and his confidence? But what return did England make for so much magnanimity?

They

feigned to stretch forth a friendly hand to that enemy; and when he delivered himself up in good faith, they sacrificed him.

Signed,

"On board the Bellerophon,

4th August, 1815."

NAPOLEON."

On the above I shall only observe, that no snare had been laid, either on the part of His Majesty's Government or mine. I was placed before Rochefort for the open purpose of preventing Buonaparte from making his escape from that port; and the exertions of myself and those under my command had been so completely successful, that the intention of forcing past the ships under my

N

orders, as well as every other plan proposed, of which there appear to have been several, were abandoned as utterly hopeless. And so far was I from seeking communication with Napoleon, that all the flags of truce proceeding from him, were strongly reprobated by me, as improper, except in extraordinary cases, and were only resorted to when, as appears from Lord Keith's letter of the 23d of July, orders had been sent from Paris for his arrest, and when (as has since been proved) one or more intimations had been given by the officer commanding in Isle d'Aix, that, if he did not depart, he would be under the necessity of detaining him. Besides, it is now perfectly ascertained, that the determination of repairing to England was adopted at a consultation held by Buonaparte on the night of the 13th of July, when his letter to the Prince Regent was written; and Messrs. Las Cases and Lallemand were sent on the morning of the 14th to discover

if I would receive him on board the Bellerophon, and convey him to that country.

1

On the morning of the 6th of August, when walking the deck with Monsieur Las Cases, he for the first time mentioned, that he understood me to have assured him that the Emperor would be well received in England, and allowed to reside there. I replied, "I cannot conceive how you could so far misunderstand me, as I constantly, in my communications with you, stated that I could make no promises whatever: that I thought my orders would bear me out in receiving him on board, and conveying him to England; but even in doing that, I acted very much upon my own responsibility. You questioned me frequently, as to my private opinion; and as I was quite ignorant upon the subject, I could only say I had no reason to believe he would be ill received." It did not, however,

require my assistance to raise the hopes of those about Buonaparte, respecting the manner in which he was to be received in England; as one of his followers, on the passage home, asked me if I thought the Prince Regent would confer the order of the Garter upon him. If there was any misunderstanding, (which I cannot allow to have been the case,) Monsieur Las Cases has himself to blame. When he came on board of the Bellerophon for the purpose of treating, he concealed his knowledge of the English language; which, as I had considerable difficulty in expressing myself in French, could only be intended for the purpose of throwing me off my guard, that he might take advantage of any expressions that fell from me, or the officers I had always present at our meetings. Even after he was on board with Buonaparte, though he acknowledged he could read English, and always translated the newspapers for his master, he affected