saved."--

"I hesitated no longer, but, leaping from my bed, mixed the poison
in a little water, and drank it, with a sort of happiness.

"But time had taken away its strength; fearful pains drew forth some
groans from me; they were heard, and medical assistance arrived. It
was not Heaven's will that I should die so soon--St Helena was in my
_Destiny_."

It may easily be supposed that projects were formed for carrying the
prisoner from St Helena. One of those is thus detailed. The captain of a
vessel returning from India, had arranged to bring a boat to a certain
point of the coast without running the risk of being stopped. This
person demanded a million of francs, not, as he said, for himself, but
for the individual whose concurrence was necessary. The million was not
to be payable until the vessel had reached America. This renders it
probable that the captain was a Yankee. At all events, it shows how
necessary was the vigilance of the governor, and how little connected
with tyranny were his precautions against evasion. Another project was
to be carried out, by submarine vessels, and on this experiment five or
six thousand Louis were expended in Europe. But Napoleon finished his
inquiry into these matters by refusing to have any thing to do with
them. It is probable that he expected his release on easier terms than
those of breaking his neck, as Montholon observes, "in descending the
precipices of St Helena," or being starved, shot, or drowned on his
passage across the Atlantic. But as his object was constantly to throw
obloquy on the Bourbons, he placed his fears to the account of their
treachery.

"I should not," said he, "be six months in America without being
assassinated by the Count d'Artois's creatures. Remember the isle of
Elba. Did he not send the _Chouan Brulard_ there to organise my
assassination? And besides, we should always obey our destiny. Every
thing is written in Heaven. It is my martyrdom which will restore the
crown of France to my dynasty. I see in America nothing but
assassination or oblivion. I prefer St Helena."

In the beginning of 1821, Napoleon began to grow lethargic. He had
generally spent the day in pacing up and down his apartment, and
dictating conversations and political recollections. But he now sat for
hours listlessly and perfectly silent on the sofa. It required the
strongest persuasion to induce him to take the air either on foot or _en
caleche_.

N