CHAPTER IV THE VOYAGE T 2 p.m. of the 7th August, 1815, the barge reached the Northumberland. Bertrand was the first to A go up the side; standing with his hat off, to the right of the gangway, he announced "L'Empereur!" Napoleon, followed by Lord Keith, stepped on the deck, took off his hat, went up to Cockburn and said: “Monsieur, je suis à vos ordres." Sir George Bingham, commander of the 53rd Regiment, who was present, says: "The guard turned out and presented arms, and all the officers stood on the quarter-deck to receive Lord Keith. Napoleon "chose to take the compliment to himself." It was natural that he should do so. Napoleon bowed to the assembled officers, who were all introduced. Then he was conducted to the cabin, where he received, standing, Cockburn, Bingham, Lord Lowther, and the Hon. W. H. Lyttelton. Bingham says: "Mr. Lyttelton, who spoke French fluently, answered his questions; after we were tired of standing we retired." They went on deck, where the conversation with Lyttelton and Lord Lowther continued. Those who had been with Napoleon on the Bellerophon but were going no further, came to bid farewell. There were two Generals, Lallemand and Savary, both of them proscribed by the French Government; their destination was Malta. There were two French Captains, Planat and Résigny; two Poles, Captains Schultz and Piontkowski; 1 "Cornhill Magazine," January, 1901. Keith. After the boat had shoved off, and got the distance of about thirty yards from the ship, he stood up, pulled his hat off, and bowed first to the officers, and then to the men ; and immediately sat down and entered into conversation with Lord Keith, with as much apparent composure as if he had been only going from one ship to the other to pay a visit." palace of Queen Hortense. The Bertrands were accustomed to luxury and even grandeur. When her husband was Governor of the Illyrian Provinces, Madame's carriage was drawn by six horses; and then came the splendours of their apartments, and service, at the Tuileries. But Madame had little more than four months in her proud position at Paris. She was installed on the 20th November, 1813, and left Paris with the Empress Marie Louise on the 30th March, 1814. The Bertrands had felt bound, by their official position, to follow Napoleon to Elba, but they did so unwillingly and took no pains to conceal their vexation. During the Hundred Days they were installed once more in the Tuileries. After Waterloo they had no alternative but to follow Napoleon, for Bertrand was in danger of proscription, and had to leave France. After his departure he was tried for high treason and condemned to death. Madame Bertrand had been sanguine as to the reception of the party in England, and was bitterly disappointed. She made her husband write to Lord Keith that he expected to be allowed to return to England after a year's exile. The children's education had to be considered. As yet they were in the nursery, the eldest, Napoleon, being no more than seven, Hortense five, and Henri three, but they could not be kept indefinitely in the isolation of St. Helena. Madame had also a social grievance, as she considered the Montholons inferior to her in position. Madame Bertrand was a tall woman, of a good presence and distinguished manners. She was always La Grande Maréchale. She could be very agreeable and was liked by the British officers: but occasionally she gave too free play to her emotions, and she was incorrigibly unpunctual. Bertrand was of medium height, slight in figure, and bald. His abilities were not above the average. He was devoted to his wife and children, a thoroughly happy man in his household, and a frank and agreeable host. NAPOLEON ON BOARD THE "NORTHUMBERLAND From the sketch by Denzil Ibbetson, given by him to Theodore Hook |