LIFE ON ST. HELENA

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 261, 31 July 1937, Page 7 (Supplement)

LIFE ON ST. HELENA

A Record Of Napoleon’s Last Years “St. Helena,” by Octave Aubry ; authorised translation by Arthur Livingston (London: Gollancz). Along with women’s dress and views on diet, literature also seems to follow fashions of its own. Last year books on big-game hunting in Africa seemed to be the popular fancy, and numerous writings on the subject appeared. This year Napoleon seems to be the lion of the piece. This is the third work about his life to appear recently from the British press, and, in justice to the writers, whoever reads one of the pubblications should read all three. There need be no fear of sameness. Each writer has attacked hie subject from an entirely different angle and witll entirely different preoccupations on his own part. M. Octave Aubry concerns himself only with those years of Napoleon’s life after Waterloo. He marshals all the events leading to Napoleon’s selfdeliverance into the hands of the English, and then follows -him, night and day, on his voyage to St. Helena—afterward from the first night of St. Helena to the grave. The earlier chapters of the book in particular make very vital reading. The author uses so much dialogue obtained from old manuscripts (for Napoleon was surrounded by people eager to record his slightest saying) that reading is rather easy and informative. The characters of members of Napoleon’s entourage unfold themselves, and the motives for their self-imposed exile are made apparent. Even the vivid method of this narrative cannot relieve the tedium experienced even in reading of th.e life on St. Helena. The reader feels the lethargy of the place creeping upon him and understands the gradual breaking down of the morale of the ill-assorted French colony—the petty bickering of the two women and the jealous quarrels of the men. Each made self-inter-est the mainspring of existence, and sentiments of loyalty to the Emperor, although strongly intermixed with other reasons for sharing his exile, were not strong enough to outweigh the discomfort and the narrowness of life on the rocky island, so that soon the whole company was at odds with one another and unhappiness prevailed. Napoleon was a solitary figure, clinging pathetically to the untoward symbols of his one-time greatness. The author devotes much careful study to the records of Sir Hudsop Lowe, and finds him obsessed with a fear of Napoleon’s escape, ready to take absurdly severe against that well-nigh impossible happening. There is no doubt that his unsympathetic attitude and that of Lord Bathurst in England did much to add to the indignity and misery of Napoleon’s confinement. Napoleon was never able to forget the presence of his jailers. He hated Lowe, and, rather than feel himself everlastingly spied upon, he declined to take exercise, much to the detriment of his, health.

Whereas in the recently-published “Riddle of Napoleon” M. Raoul Brice is at great pains to prove that Napoleon did not die of cancer, but from an infection of the liver directly due to the climate of St. Helena, M. Aubry, while constantly referring to the liver complaint from which Napoleon undoubtedly suffered, is quite satisfied with the opinion of the doctors expressed after the autopsy that the direct cause of Napoleon’s death was the cancerous condition of the stomach, a disease inherited from his father. This is, of course, the opinion that the English have always liked to believe, but on the evidence it is hard to refute the arguments put forward by M. Brice on this subject. He certainly gave it more prominence than M. Aubry has done. This is a very full account of Napolean's life and death on St. Helena, and can be recommended both to the general reader, provided he has some interest in history, and also to the student. ANOTHER “DIGEST” “Digest of World Reading,” Vol. I, No. 1 (Melbourne: Digest Publications Pty., Ltd.). To the growing list of pocket-size “digest” magazines may now be added “Digest of World Reading,” an Australian production, the first issue of which bears a July date. Like the American, Canadian, and English digests, it has fairly faithfully imitated, this scarletcovered little book contains no advertisements, but offers 100 pages of topical articles and popular stories heavily pruned to provide speedy, interesting reading, and faithfully acknowledged to their original sources. The notable success of the first of these magazines —the American “Reader’s Digest”—is a result of the wealth of material at its disposal, plus the cleverness of the condensation. The Australian condensation is good, but the material has about it the uncertainty of a curate's egg. As a beginning, however, the “D.W.R.” is promising, and future issues should be worth watching for. MR. NICOLSON’S ESSAYS “Small Talk,” by Harold Nicolson (London: Constable). Mr. Nicolson’s latest collection of essays is marked by a freshness of approach and delicacy of presentation that make delightful reading. They cover a wide range of subjects with interest and a fluent satirical quality that is amusing as well as valuably critical. “On Being Efficient” is gently humorous in the style of Mr. Milne, the author making fun of himself for the reader's enjoyment; “Vision of America” were it not for its pleasant turn of phrase would be a little laboured; “American and English Humour” is a concise and disinterested judgment that should meet with general approval; “Percy Flound” is a delightfully light defence of Oxford against the aggressive questioning of a bronzed and earnest German youth; these are typical examples of Mr. Nicolson’s polished prose, prose that would redeem a dull treatment, but he is never dull.