The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1912-01-11

projection, every aperture, and the
brow of every hill seemed to be
planted with cannon. The English
had made second Gibralter out of
it.
The island is almost bare of verdi
ure, and full of wild ravines which
wind along among overhanging cliffs.
Yet no spot has become more cele-
brated. more talked about and wrote
about, than this lonely barren rock.
Isolated and inaccessible as it was,
Napoleon was placed in its most
sombre and remote spot.
1t is almost impossible to verify
the historical writings on this great
man; for during his dazzling flight
like brilliant meteor across the
sky of events in Europe from 1897
to 1915; the historians were dazzled
as we'll as nations, and seem never
to have recovered an unprecedented
and judicial mind. Thousands of
books, pamphlets, and essays have
striven to add or detract (according
to their prejudice) from the glamour
of his rapid rise to power, and his
more rapid decline.
Each new generation takes up the
subject as though nothing had ever
been written. Hence it is hard to
get from biograpkers and historians,
his motives as a public man. All
are agreed as to what he did, but
as to why he did it, another
question.
And we now begin where he has
been stripped of his power, of his
former glory; he now appears before
us as a prisoner, an exile, bereft OF
everything that made life pleasure
to such a man as him, with the e1-
ception Of few faithful friends and
servants, on a bleak and lonely is
land isolated even from its few IN
habitants; six thousand miles from
wife, child, mother, brothers and
sisters, whom he was never to see
again. A condition so CALLING and
aggravated that most of us would
hardly wish to exchange places with
him. The Great Emperor; the King
of Kings! What a terrible down
fall it was. Let us study him here
for few minutes.
The Governor of the Island, Sil
Hudson Lowe, was tactless man
and had a propensity for bullying
those whom he ruled. He was eth.
er haunted by the idea that Napoleon
was trying to escape, or used it as 9
pretext to adopt a policy more like
a jailor than an officer. In his frs
interview with Napoleon he was sc
overbearing. that he so antagonizec
him, that Napoleon soon refused t.
see him.
Aggravated by Napoleon's refusa
to see him, Sir Hudson (says Id.
Tarbell) became more annoying il
his petty regulations. All free com
munication between Longwood (Na
! poleon's house, and the inhabitant
of the island was cut eff. Thenews
papers sent him were mutilated
certain books were refused; his let
ters were opened; He could onl!
take exercise on horseback in :
restricted space with an Englisl
guard at his heels. The governor
built Notifications. dug bitches
around the place of his dwelling
put up fences, and compelled him t.
show himself each day sick or vel
to guard. a bust of his sol
brought to the island by sailor wa
withheld for weeks. There wa
incessant wrangling over the ex
penses; his friends were subject t.
constant annoyance and insult an,
all news of his wife and son wa
cut off and kept from him. Thes
are only a few of the restriction
which were enforced in cruel an,
tactless manner. Sir Hudson ha,
caughta tartar and intended to max
the most of it.
The British Ministry were yer
] tenacious regarding all titles of pei
sons not of their family and this wa
one Of the chief causes of troubl
i between Sir Hudson and Napoleon
, The governor insisted that Napoleo
should be styled General Bona
) parte." and he would allow nothin
to be given 10 Napoleon that wa
j addressed to him as Emperor,
and Sir Hudson finally carried tn
SO far as to force Napoleon