New-York tribune., 1903-03-06
,SJR HUDSON LOWESSIDE
His Daughter Thinks the Trouble
Vas the Fault OF Napoleon.
I'M The London Christian World.

Prom The London CHRISTIAN nOI4o.
II is highly probabIe-indeed, it is almost Ger
tziD-that the only living person who was IN
ST. Helena along with Napoleon BonaPaTte Is
Miss c. Al s Lowe. a oaugnIer OF SE Gua?Un I;
Lowe who was Governor of St Helena during
Napoieon's Incarceration on the Ioneiy 6oCh-
Miss Lowe was born at St Helena IN 1870 aho
l. consequently in her eighty-fourth year; Out
she is still an amazingly active OLD iaoy. 1eL
eyesight is feeble, but her hearing is uhaIecUeo
by years and her memory, especlaIly 1or eFents lI
in her early years is little snort OF "ohueILuI-
Miss Lowe lives in one Of the southwestern
suburbs of London. and through the good ofnces
OF / Holland Rose (xhose Life Of Napoleon j
has placed MIN foremost among modern histo-
rians of the NapoIeonic era) had the privilege
one night recently of spending an hour WIN heT
discussing the historic drama at st. Helena ana
examining papers and pictures of peculiar IN
ferest TO any student OF Napoleon. SIT
Hudson loves task would have been thankless
under the best Of circumstances; Napoieons
spite and venom made ii a prolonged agony
The hapless Governor may have made mistakes.
He was not always tactful he was somewhat in
decisive and his own overwhelming sense of re-
sponsibfIity made him suspicious and exacting-
Miss Lowe told me that her father kept secre-
tary constantly engaged in receiving memoranda
al dictation, and yet, when after Napoleons
death he was assaied and illuminated and de-
uounced 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 Governors reputation was
irrerediable.
Miss Lowe was disposed to agree that her
father seems TO have been desperately appre-
hensivc as TO NapoIeon's chances of escape but
she argued that these fears were thrust upon sir
Hudson Lowe by the authorities in LONDON VINO
sent warnings Of projected expeditions being
prepared to rescue Napoleon: and insisted on
rigid adherence TO the letter of the restrictions
placed upon the captive Moreover NINE. 6eI
trand, who was one of Napoieon's suite at St
Helena, admitted after his death that the Long
wood people had found no difficulty in maintain
ing a cIandestine correspondence throughout
with their agents in London. She added that
two British officers OF the garrison had been the
chief agents in this contravention OF the Tegula,
Ly,T&S T-oC-
fhe magnetic fascination which Napoleon eE-
cited over men and women. and the realization
heightened his natural suspiciousness into
state Of chronic morbid frenzy
Miss loves recollections Of her father GER
tainly contradict the representations Of him as
ghoulish tyrant She was able TO point to
comnendatton by Gourgaud fupon whose diary
Lord Rosebery bases his slashing indictment Of
Cir Hudson Lowe) Of the Governor Generals
''srnIabfiity" He abolished slavery in st. He
lena, and won the devoted affection OF both the
garrison and the inhabitants Of the island. Ma
poleon during one Of his five interviews with
the Governor. few into a fury and heaped fierce
insults upon Lowe who. however kept his tenn
poleon. Had but provoked him to bang the
door after him when he left the room, would
have been satisfied" calculated Napoleon. when
Lowe had left Longwooo Miss Lowe declares
that her father never nursed any malignant feel
ing toward Napoleon and his Longwocd asso-
ciates. and &c the end OF his days Sir Hudson
Lowe refrained from reproaching Napoleon. To
MonthoIon. Bertrand and Gourgaud he behaved
with chivalrous generosity. 1t is a well known
roleou Il was Sir Hudson Lowe who lent him the
money to return to Europe. and Z was Sir Hud
son Lowe who paid the debts Of Bertrand and
MOnthoIon when they left st. Helena after the
curtain fell on the last act OF the great drama.
Perhaps the most interesting feature OF my
long and delightful talk with Miss Lowe was her
presentation Of some probable reasons for Ma
poieon's prejudice against Sir Hudson Lowe.
Napoleon was corsican. and Sir Hudson Lowe
had raised q regiment OF Corsican Rangers,
which he commanded during the Egyptian CAM
paign. Il was. perhaps. natural that Napoleon
should have no initial liking for the man who
had led his fellow Corsicans against him. When
Napoleon ab6icstea in Paris (before mis- with
6rawal 90 EIbaI. Hudson Lowe travelled from
Paris TO London, accompanied only by Co.'S
sack orderly to convey the news Of Nspoleon's
DOWNFALL to the English Government At Dover
the English people resisted his landing-they
had visions that II was ''Boney" who was trying
&c effect Ianding-3ut Lowe pressed ehead, and
wss knishted by the Prince Regent for ais ser
vice. Again, Il Was scarcely likely that Ma
poleon would have friendly feelings for q man
vhoes tstzIIaT honor was conferred upon him
for bearing fidings Of his Csapoleon'sl hunailts-
ffon One Of Napolecn'S earliest and greatest
military trfUnphs was a. Toulon. Here again
eEY Hudson Lowe, years later, crossed the En-
xercr's path for Lowe was "a command az The
garrison at Tcuion when summoned TO London