The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-03-17
SIR HUDSON LOVES SIDE.
His Thinks the Trouble
Was the Fault of Napoleon.
From London Christian Worldly

1t is highly prObable-lnded, II Is al
most certain lat the only living per-
son who was in st. Helena along with
Napoleon Bonaparte is Miss c. NJ. S.
Lowe, a daughter of Sir Hudson Lowe,
who was governor of st. Helena DUR
ing Napoleon's Incarceration on the
lonely rock" Miss Lowe was born at
St. Helena in 1918. and is consequently
in her eigh~ty-fourth year; but she is
still an amazingly active old lady. Her
eyesight is feeble, but her hearing is
unaffected by years. and her memory.
especially for events in her early years.
is little short of wonderful. Miss Lowe
lives in one of the southwestern SUBJ
urbs Of London, and through the good
Offices of J. Holland Rose (whose Life
of Napoleon T. has place him foremost
among modern historians of the Ma
poleonic era) l had the privilege one
night recently of spending an hour with
her discussing the historic drama at
St. Helena, and examining papers and
pictures Of peculiar interest to any stu>
dent of Napoleon. Sir Hudson
loves task would have been thankless
under the best Of circumstances; Ma
poleon's spite and venom made it a pros
longed agony. The hapless governor
may have made mistakes. He was not
always tactful, he was somewhat in
decisive, and his own overwhelming
sense of responsibility made him sus~
picious and exacting. Miss Lowe told
me hat her father kept a secretary
constantly engaged in receiving mem
oranda at dictation, and yet, when af-
ter Napoleon's death he was assailed
and illuminated and denounced on all
hands, he could never make up his MIND
to publish his defence. So he let the
lies get a long start, and when Forsyth
wrote his vindicatory biography from
loves papers the mischief to the gov
ernor' reputation was irremediable.
Miss Low was disposed to agre@ that
her father seems to AVE been desper-
ately apprehensive as to Napoleon's
chances Of escape, but she argued that
these fears were thrust upon Sir Hud~
son Lowe by the authorities in London,
who sent warnings of projected eXpedi-
tons being prepared to rescue Napo-
leon; and insisted on rigid adherence
to the letter of the restrictions placed
upon the captive. Moreover, Nine.
Bertrand, who was one of Napoleon's
suite at st. Helena. admitted after his
death that the Longwood people had
found no difficulty in maintaining a
clandestine correspondence throughout
with their agents in London. She ad-
ded tha two British officers Of the gar
rison had been the chief agents in this
contravention Of the regulations of
government. Sir Hudson Lowe realized
the magnetic fascination which Napo>
leon excited over men n m and
the realization heightened his natural
s~uspiciousness into a state of chronic
morbid frenzy.
Miss Loves recollections Of her faith
er certainly contradict the representa-,
lions Of him as a ghoulish tyrant. She
was able to point to a c~ommendatio
by G~ourgaud upon whose diary Lore
Rosebery bases his slashing indictmenr
of Sir Hudson Lowe of the governor
generals ~"amiability." He abolished
slavery IN St. Helena, and won the de,
voted affection of both the garrison
and the inhabitants of the island. Ma,
poleon, during the one of his five inter
views with the governor, flew into {
fury and heaped fierce insults upOI
Lowe. who. however, kept his Tempe
perfectly. His composure eXasperateC
Napoleon. Had I but provoked him t
bang the loo after him when he lef
the room. | would nave been satified.'
calculated Napoleon, when Lowe ha(
left LongWood. Miss Low declare
that her father never nursed any ma
lignant feeling toward Napoleon and hi
Longwood associates, and to the en-
r - o.. -.
ed from r~eproaching Napoleon. T,
MontholOn. Bertrand and Gourgaud h,
behaved with ~chivalrous generosity. I
is a we'll known fact that when Gour
gaud quarrelled with Napoleon it wa
Sir Hudson Lowe who lent him tn
money to return to Europe, and it wa
Sir Hudson Lowe who paid the debt
Of Bertrand and Montholon when the
left ST. Helena after the curtain fell OF
7 the last act of the great drama.
! Perhaps the most interesting featur.
Of my long and delightful talk with Mis-
Lowe was her presentation of som,
probable reasons for Napoleon's pre-
i judice against Sir Hudson- Lowe. Ma
poleon was a Corsican, and Sir Hud
son Lowe had raised a regiment 0
Corsican Rangers, which he command
ed during the Egyptian campaign. I
was, perhaps, natural that Napoleon
should have no initial liking for tn,
man who had led his fellow Corsican
against him. When Napoleon abdicat
ed in Paris (before his withdrawal t
Elba}, Hudson Lowe travelled from
Paris to London, accompanied only b.
d CosSack orderly, to OnVey the new
!, of Nap0leOn's downfall to the Englisi
government. At Dover the Englisl
people resisted MS landing-thes hat
visions that it was "Boney'' who was TT.
ing to effect a l~anding-but lowe press
ed ahead, and was knightly by Primo
Regent for his service. Again it wa
: scarcely likely that Napoleon woult
: have friendly feelings for a man who's
3 titular honor vas conferred upon hin
j for bearing tidings Of his (Napoleon's
r humiliation. One Of Napoleon's earlies
! and greatest military triumphs was a
Toulon. Here again Sir Hudson Lowe