The- Omaha Sunday ' Bee Magazine
N
ewLiAt on theMyteiy ofNapol
An Old French Print Illustrating the Funeral of Napoleon at St Helena, In 1821.
Just Discovered Diary Refutes
the Old Assertions That
Rats Devoured It The Emperor's
Coffin Was Made from a
Dining Room Table
T
HTBL bsfflinx and rrewsoms myiUrr
concerning the (rest Napoleon's
heart seems st last to hare been
authorltatlrelj settled.
For nearly a century reports bars been
preralent la Franc and England that
the heart was not burled with the body.
According to some teralons It was "ap
propriated by the Emperor's phyalclan.
Dr. Antommarcbl, or by some other
Frenchman. Other accounts say that It
was devoured by rats during the funeral
preparations and a sheep's heart sub
tltuted for It.
This controversy bad reached such a
point that shortly before the present war
Dr. Ri spall and Dr. Cabanes, both well
known French physicians and writers,
petitioned the French .Government to
have Napoleon's tomb In the Invalldes
opened to decide the question.
The discovery which appears to end the
dispute has been mad by Major F. M.
Foulda, the medical officer now In charge
of British troops at 8t Helena. He has
found the diary of Andrew Darling, an
upholsterer, who had charge of various
repairs and finally of the arrangements
for Napoleon's funeral at Ixngwood
House. 8L Helena, where the great Em
peror died on May 8, 1821.
Darling describes with great detail how
be helped to enclose the Emperor's heart
In a silver vase or tureen, which was
then placed In the coffin. Darling, al
though somewhat Illiterate, Is evidently
a very careful and conscientious man,
and there Is every reason to believe that
his statements are absolutely reliable.
The precise details he gives go to prove
this. (See extracts herewith. Editor.)
Then be wrote with no idea of the con.
troversv that would arise over Napoleon's
heart, and bis diary was mislaid shortly
after ha wrote It in 1821, and baa not
been brought to light again until to-day.
A curloua confirmation of the accu
racy of Darling's details has been fur
nUhed by Mrs. Owen, an aged lady of
ninety-five, who waa a baby In Pt. Helena
at the time of Napoleon's death and la
still living In London. She waa the
daughter of Captain Dennett, of the Brit
ish army and remembers bearing her
family tell that they bad eold a mahog
any dining table with a remarkably thick
top lo furulsh wood for Napoleon's coffin.
Darling. It will be noticed, speaks of the
difficulty In finding mahogany on the
Island to furnUh a coffin of that material.
It may still be argued that Darllng'a
diary does not prove that Napoleon's
heart was sot stolen or destroyed and a
From the Diary of Andrew Darling, Who Put
Napoleon in His Coffin ,
Saturday, May 6, 1821.
my way up I passed the Admiral
(Lambert), Marquis d Montchenu,
and Major Correquer, bavlng then
met them with the account of General
Bonaparte's death; this waa a abort dis
tance from Longwood Gate; I then went
on to the Old House, when I found that
a dragoon was Just starting with a not
for me to prepare articles for the funeral,
and likewise to bang tb room la which
be then lay with black cloth.
I then went to the workmen, and
some time afterward General Montholon
requested me to take hia sis for the cof
fin. Madam Bertrand and Counts
Montbolnn and Bertrand were then
speaking together (and. I believe. Mr.
Marchand); the description of the coffins
were to be: First, tin. lined with sstln.
which was to be stuffed Hh cotton; a
sheep's heart substituted for It. Darling,
of course, did not know that the heart
he helped to seal up was really that ot
Napoleon and not that of a sheep. Ha
did not think of such a natter.
Apparently the heart and stomach had
been lying In separata receptacles sine
the previous day, and something might
have happened to them. Nevertheless,
considered In connection with the in
herent improbabilities of the sheep's
heart story, Darling's diary does mak
very convincing evidence.
II knew that Dr. Antommarcbl wished
to secure Napoleon's heart and that aom
of the other Frenchmen wished It, and
that the English authorities, who were
in command, would not permit such a
thing. It is not easy to go out and
secure a sheep's heart and substitute it
for a dead " man's heart In charge of
soldiers ot a foreign nation.
The story of the substitution of the
sheep's heart is certainly curloua and
rests on several pieces ot evidence. It
Is most strongly stated in the "Memoirs"
of Dr. Charles Thomas Carswell. an Eng
lish physician, who took part in the .
autopsy. He writes:
"Dr. Antommarchl. assisted by Dr.
Charles Thomas Carswell, proceeded to
the autopsy of Napoleon. Night over
took them. When the doctors came In
the next morning they discovered that
the heart of the Emperor had been eaten
by rata. They replaced It by that of a
sheep, which they had killed Immedi
ately." Dr. Carswell further states: "Through
a board In the wail, as I entered, I could
epy a rat just devouring the right ven
tricle." Some plausibility Is given to the rat
atory by the fact that there waa un
doubtedly a plague of rats at St. Helena
at the time ot Napoleon's death. The
island was then an Important calling
point on the way to the Kast, the ships
carried the rats there and the animals
found condltlona very favorable.
When Napoleon's body waa taken to
Farla In 1840 It was exposed to publlo
view for a short time, but there Is no
mention ot the disposition ot the heart.
The original coffin In which the body
waa brought from St. Helena was pre
served, and around this waa placed a
coffin of Iron, one of steel, one of lead
and one ot ebony. Around this last Is
the great sarcophagua hewn out ot a
atngl block ot Siberian porphyry, which
now meeta the visitor's eye in the Chapel
ot the Invalldes.
smalt mattress and pillow of the sam
materlala on the bottom of ditto; and
then, aecond, a wood coffin; then, third,
a lead coffin, and then on of mahogany,
covered with crimson velvet. If It could
be procured; but I told them there was
not any on the tslsnd that 1 could get. as
I bad been In aearch of some a tew days
before. It waa then settled that outer
coffin should be the best mahogany that
waa on the island, which waa accordingly
done ao.
I then cam out and told the Governor;
he waa anxious to have the coffins mad
aa soon as possible. I went back a iittl
afterward, got a description ot the coffins
In writing from General Montholon, went
wkh htm into the room again to be mora
particular to bla exact alze; assisted by
General Montholon. The net alse was aa
follows: Length. 6 feet 7 Inches, only 14
inches barely across th shoulders snd
? . , , ' t
; 1 -v 1 . . t i4 . ,. X
V"'- '-'"'
Xv ..NW- i&v l i-r-- "
fit, 1 ' iX : ; )S,h$x,, U
ilrv vl; iVTr - ' v w-i l;
Wmm' : . .
I ''':',',"!!iC felswX-r . S?S
The Great ix.poleon. X- iSri
In the Uniform in t! .. .. .
Which He Was Buried. y
From the Painting by " 1 - - : .-i. ; ;; ; - 7 I
Paul Delaroche. . H " . - ' 1 , , - , L ,
scarcely 10 Inchea deep. The sis ot the
coffin I made as follows: Length, 6 feet
11 Inches; depth, 1) Inches; width, at the
bead 10 H inches, shoulders 21 Inches,
foot Inches. At that time I understood
that he was to lay In state, and to be
opened about two o'clock, but was not
awar that he waa to be put Into coffin
with his hat and clothes on. In th wsy
that he used to dress when In full
uniform.
Monday, May 7, 1821.
THE room In which be lay was by him
generally used as a bedroom (the
slxe small), by which means the
people were admitted.
The Iron bedstead on which he lay
waa about nve feet tea inchea by thsee
feat, about nine Inchea from th main
corner nearest the sitting room, and
about twenty Inches from th back wall,
leaving bar room for a passage Into th
sitting room. Th altar waa at bis head,
next to th wall ot th dining room.
Above the bedstead bung a chandelier
frame with twelv burners. In front of
th bedstead stood two stands with
marble tops, on each of which stood one
.four-branch chandelier of aolid silver. On
Ith altar atood two of tha urn, slrh
four large candlesticks and four pieces ot
Copyright. ISIS, by the Stir Company.
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t . - . ant - . -
Longwood Old House, St (Helena, Where Napoleon Lived During Hia
GYru Xlltaln RUhU Rasarvs
..--firs
A Curious Cartoon, Published During Napoleon's Exile, Evidencing. th
Prevalence of Rats at St. Helena.
wood, made white in each, at the top of
which was a candle to appear large.
The altar was about two feet four
Inches wide and four feet six Inches
long, covered with black cloth and the
letter "N" on the front, with a binding
of yellow (taking from the drawing room
window curtains round the front). On
the top stood a "Jassupe" adorned with
column, a dome and cupola, where the
figure of our Savior on the Cross used to
be deposited, but at that time was on
General Bonaparte's breast, with the
sword and scabbard on his right side, his
heart and stomach on the left
I having brought them in. Abraham
Mllllngton and Samuel Ley, the men who
Napoleon's Magnificent Tomb In the Invalldes,
Paris, in Which His Body Wag Placed in the
Coffin Brought From St. Helena.
Page
Heart
made the tin coffin, Dr. Ru tied go, oT thS
20th Regiment, being then in attendance
(he bavlng relieved Doctor Arnott), had
ordera not to let hia heart be taken out
of the room, I bavlng received the same
orders, the reason of this, as I was In
formed, was owing to Dr. Antromarchl
wishing to have his stomach in his own
possession to take to Europe with him,
but the other French people did not wish
that to be the case. I believe they wished
bis heart to be taken home with them,
but did not get permission; therefor
they wished to preserve it, which was ac
cordingly done in the following manner:
His heart and stomach, as I have al
ready mentioned, was in a silver vase or
tureen, having been part of his plate,
wim u. cover 10 u, on
which was his coat-of-arms
with an eagle on th
top, which unscrewed
with a nut; this having
been soldered on faBt, and
then the heart having
been put Into the tureen
by Dr. Rutledge in pres
ence of Count Montholon.
The top having been
soldered on and a holo
having been made in the
bottom of the vessel, th
spirits was (Sic) then
poured In by Dr. Rutledge,
and an old shilling
soldered on the hole; a
considerable delay having
taken place, owing to th
construction of the vessel.
It was past 8 o'clock be
fore the two men finished.
During the time the differ
ent things were preparing,
or, I may say, lay on th
table In the library room
ready, a silver spoon, fork
and knife, with silver
handles, one silver ewer or
cream Jug with rich work
manship on it, one of his
silver plates, one of th
same as now in my pos
session; a silver canister
or mug with a top to it.
In which was the stomach:
the silver dish with bis
heart, two double Napol
eons coined during th
Republic, two ditto during
Bonaparte's first Consul
ship, two ditto during hia
Emperorship, and two
ditto during his Imperial
reign, with four single and
three silver coins; I hav
ing had time to look a, all
the various articles whll
the men were soldering the
rim on the top of th dish
where the heart waa, and
likewise having put th
coins and plate into th
coffin myself.
Last Exile and Died-