Recollections of Napoleon at St. Helena/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII.
THE SEVRES CHINA.—NAPOLEON DISPLAYING AND EXPLAINING ITS DEVICES.—HIS GOOD NATURE IN FORWARDING THE AMUSEMENTS OF CHILDREN.—THE MICE.—BLINDMAN'S BUFF.
THE emperor possessed a splendid set of china, of the Sevres manufacture, which had been executed at an enormous cost, and presented to him by the city of Paris. The service was now unpacking, and he sent for us to see them. They were painted by the first artists in Paris, and were most lovely. Each plate cost twenty-five Napoleons. The subjects all bore reference to his campaigns, or to some period of his early life. Many of them were battle pieces, in which the most striking incidents were portrayed with the utmost spirit and fidelity; others were landscapes, representing scenery connected with his victories and triumphs. One, I remember, made a great impression on me; it was a drawing of Napoleon on the bridge of Areola—a slim youth, standing almost alone, with none near but the dead and dying who had fallen around him, was cheering on his more distant comrades to the assault. The emperor seemed pleased at my admiring it, and putting his hand to his side, exclaimed, laughing, "I was rather more slender then than I am now." The battle of Leipsic was one of the subjects depicted on the china. Napoleon's figure was happily done, and an admirable likeness; but one feels rather surprised at the selection of such a subject for a complimentary present. I believe the battle of Leipsic is considered to have been one of the most disastrous defeats on record, but probably the good citizens of Paris were not so well aware of this at the time the china was presented to him as they now are. His campaign in Egypt furnished subjects for some of the illustrations. The ibis was introduced in several of these Egyptian scenes, and happening to have heard that that bird was worshipped by the Egyptians, I asked him if it were not so. He smiled, and entered into a long narration of some of his adventures with the army in Egypt, advising me never to go there, as I should catch the oplithalmia and spoil my eyes. I had also heard that he had professed Mahometanism when there, and I had been prompted by some one to catechise him on the subject. I at once came out with the question in my Anglo-French, "Pourquoi avez vous tourné Turque." He did not at first understand me, and I was obliged to explain that "tourné Turque" meant changing his religion. He laughed and said, "What is that to you? Fighting is a soldier's religion; I never changed that. The other is the affair of women and priests; quant à moi, I always adopt the religion of the country I am in." At a later period some Italian ecclesiastics arrived at St. Helena and were attached to Napoleon's suite.
Amongst the emperor's domestics at the Briars was a very droll character, his lamp-lighter, a sort of Leporello,—a little fellow, most ingenious in making toys and other amusing mechanical contrivances. Napo- would often send for the scaramouch to amuse my brothers, who were infinitely delighted with his tricks and buffooneries. Sometimes he constructed balloons, which were inflated and sent up amidst the acclamations of the whole party. One day he contrived to harness four mice to a small carriage, but the poor little animals were so terrified that he could not get them to move, and after many ineffectual attempts, my brothers entreated the emperor to interfere. Napoleon told them to pinch the tails of the two leaders, and when they started the others would follow. This he did, and immediately the whole four scampered off, to our great amusement, Napoleon enjoying the fun as much as any of us, and delighted with the extravagant glee of my two brothers. I had often entreated the emperor to give a ball (before he left the Briars for Longwood) in the large room occupied by him, and which had been built by my father for that purpose. He had promised me faithfully he would, but when I pressed him urgently for the fulfilment of his word, he only laughed at me, telling me he wondered I could be so silly as to think such a thing possible. But I never ceased reproaching him for his breach of faith, and teased him so that at last, to escape my importunities, he said that as the ball was out of the question, he would consent, by way of amende honorable, to any thing I chose to demand to console me for my disappointment.
"Dites moi—Que veux-tu que je fasse, Mademoiselle Betsee, pour te consoler?" I replied instantly, if you will play the game of blindman's buff, that you have so often promised me, I will forgive you the ball, and never ask for it again. Not knowing the French term (if there be any) for blind-man's buff, I had explained before to the emperor the nature of the operation to be gone through. He laughed at my choice, and tried to persuade me to choose something else, but I was inexorable; and seeing his fate inevitable, he resigned himself to it with a good grace, proposing we should begin at once. My sister and myself, and the son of General Bertrand, and some other of the emperor's suite formed the party. Napoleon said we should draw lots who should be blindfolded first, and he would distribute the tickets. Some slips of paper were prepared, on one of which was written the fatal word "la mort," and the rest were blanks. Whether accidentally, or by Napoleon's contrivance, I know not, but I was the first victim, and the emperor, taking a cambric handkerchief out of his pocket, tied it tightly over my eyes, asking me, if I could see. "I cannot see you," I replied; but a faint gleam of light did certainly escape through one corner, making my darkness a little less visible. Napoleon then taking his hat, waved it suddenly before my eyes, and the shadow and the wind it made, startling me, I drew back my head: "Ah, leetle monkee," he exclaimed in English, "you can see pretty well." He then proceeded to tie another handkerchief over the first. which completely excluded every ray of light. I was then placed in the middle of the room, and the game began. The emperor commenced by creeping stealthily up to me, and giving my nose a very sharp twinge; I knew it was he both from the act itself and from his footstep. I darted forward, and very nearly succeeded in catching him, but bounding actively away, he eluded my grasp. I then groped about, and, advancing again, he this time took hold of my ear and pulled it. I stretched out my hands instantly, and in the exultation of the moment screamed out, "I have got you—I have got you, now you shall be blindfolded!" but to my mortification it proved to be my sister, under cover of whom Napoleon had advanced, stretching his hand over her head. We then recommenced, the emperor saying that as I had named the wrong person, I must continue blindfolded. He teased and quizzed me about my mistake, and bantered me in every possible way, eluding at the same time, with the greatest dexterity, all my endeavours to catch him. At last when the fun was growing "fast and furious," and the uproar was at its height, it was announced that some one desired an audience of the emperor, and to my great annoyance, as I had set my heart on catching him and insisting on his being blindfolded, our game came to a conclusion.