r and brought to
England, was so much grieved at his defeat, that he studied
anatomy on purpose to destroy himself. For this purpose he
bought some anatomical plates of the heart, and compared them
with his own body, in order to ascertain the exact situation of
that organ. On his arrival in France I ordered that he should
remain at Rennes, and not proceed to Paris. Villeneuve, afraid
of being tried by a court-martial for disobedience of orders,
and consequently losing the fleet, for I had ordered him _not to
sail or to engage the English_, determined to destroy himself,
and accordingly took his plates of the heart, and compared them
with his breast. Exactly in the centre of the plate he made a
mark with a large pin, then fixed the pin as near as he could
judge in the same spot in his own breast, shoved it in to the
head, penetrated his heart and expired. When the room was opened
he was found dead; the pin in his breast, and a mark in the
plate corresponding with the wound in his breast. He need not
have done it," continued he, "as he was a brave man, though
possessed of no talent."[18]

I have given this communication in full as it appears in O'Meara's
book, because the scribes would have it that Villeneuve was destroyed
by the Emperor's orders. There was not at the time, nor has there ever
appeared since, anything to justify such a calumny on a man who
challenged the world to make the charge and prove that he had ever
committed a crime during the whole of his public career. No one has
taken up the challenge except in sweeping generalities of slander,
which are easily made but less easy to substantiate. If the Emperor
had really wished to take Villeneuve's life, it would have been more
satisfactory to have him condemned to death by a court-martial
composed of his countrymen than to have the already ruined man
secretly destroyed for mere private revenge. The common sense of the
affair compels one to repudiate the idea of the Emperor's complicity
in so stupid a crime. It is more likely that Napoleon wished to save
him from the consequences of a court-martial, so ordered him to remain
at Rennes. He rarely punished offenders according to their offences.
After the first flush of anger was over, they were generally let down
easily, and for the most part became traitors afterwards.

We need not waste time or space in dilating on what would have
happened