sent an invitation to
Bertrand for General Bonaparte to come to Plantation House to meet Lady
Moira. I told Bertrand to return no answer to it. If he really wanted
me to see her he would have put Plantation House within the limits, but
to send such an invitation, knowing I must go in charge of a guard if I
wished to avail myself of it, was an insult."

Soon after came the Declaration of the Allies and the Acts of Parliament
authorising the detention of Napoleon Bonaparte as a prisoner of war and
disturber of the peace of Europe. Against the Bill, when brought into
the House of Lords, there were two protests, those of Lord Holland and of
the Duke of Sussex. These official documents did not tend to soothe the
temper or raise the spirits of the French to endure their captivity.

In addition to the misery of his own captivity, Napoleon had to contend
with the unmanageable humours of his own followers. As often happens
with men in such circumstances, they sometimes disagreed among
themselves, and part of their petulance and ill-temper fell upon their
Chief. He took these little incidents deeply to heart. On one occasion
he said in bitterness, "I know that I am fallen; but to feel this among
you! I am aware that man is frequently unreasonable and susceptible of
offence. Thus, when I am mistrustful of myself I ask, should I have been
treated so at the Tuileries? This is my test."

A great deal of pains has been taken by Napoleon's adherents and others
to blacken the character of Sir Hudson Lowe, and to make it appear that
his sole object was to harass Napoleon and to make his life miserable.
Now, although it may be questioned whether Sir Hudson Lowe was the proper
person to be placed in the delicate situation of guard over the fallen
Emperor, there is no doubt that quarrels and complaints began long before
that officer reached the island; and the character of those complaints
will show that at best the prisoners were persons very difficult to
satisfy. Their detention at the Briars was one of the first causes of
complaint. It was stated that the Emperor was very ill there, that he
was confined "in a cage" with no attendance, that his suite was kept from
him, and that he was deprived of exercise. A few pages farther in the
journal of Las Cases we find the Emperor in good health, and as soon as
it was announced that Longwood was ready to receive him, then it was
urged that the gaolers wished to compel him to go against his wil