Napoleon's Poisoned Chalice

by Dr Martin Howard

  Madame Bertrand, having been tormented and tormenting me with a thousand chimerical complaints arising from a tendency to hysteria and from the want of any force of character to support the monotony of her situation, has latterly taken it into her head that the womb must be affected with some organic disease, as she went ten months without conceiving. This had been the topic of conversation for the last 3 weeks between her husband, herself and me …

  Verling also cared for others in Napoleon’s retinue. The Emperor took a keen interest in the health of his companions and usually had an opinion regarding the optimal treatment. When he learned that the doctor was giving mercury to Marchand, who had an intestinal disorder, he said to Saint-Denis, ‘these devils of English doctors treat their patients as they treat horses. Well, if Verling cures him, that is all I ask.’ The valet was sick for twenty days but then recovered. The surgeon also tended to Madame Montholon, who had liver problems, and to her husband who had a similar affliction. It was Verling who recommended that Madame Montholon return to Europe as the St. Helena climate was impeding her recovery. His administrations were greatly appreciated. Count Montholon wrote to the Countess in June 1820, reassuring her of his good health which had been restored by Dr Verling’s ‘perfect treatment’.9

  If Verling had any concerns as to the health of his Longwood patients, he had the option of calling in his medical colleagues for a second opinion. During his stay on St. Helena, he had direct contact with a number of other Anglo-Irish doctors who were either serving in the Army, the Navy, or the local civilian services. He had relatively little contact with O’Meara as his arrival at Longwood coincided with his countryman’s departure. Furthermore, Verling held no illusions as to the dangers of fraternising with his disgraced predecessor. When O’Meara wrote him a harmless note regarding the ownership of some volumes of Byron’s works, Verling ‘conceiving it prudent that no communication, however trivial, with Dr O’Meara should be private’, immediately showed it to the Governor. This determination to appease Lowe soured his relationship with Stokoe who believed that Verling could have done more to help him in his one-sided fight with the Governor’s regime. In his memoirs, Stokoe refers to his colleague as ‘Lowe’s puppet’; Verling’s ungracious description of Stokoe’s performance at his court-martial confirms antagonism between the two men. Archibald Arnott, Surgeon to the 20th Foot, who was to play such a vital part in Napoleon’s final days, first visited Longwood in August 1819 when Verling acted as translator. There is no record of any disagreement between Verling and Arnott, although the Governor’s preference for the latter was a possible cause of friction.

  The fellow doctor with whom Verling had most dealings, Matthew Livingstone, acted as both Surgeon and Superintendent of the East India Company’s medical establishment. Unlike his military peers, he had a specialist medical interest, being an ‘accoucheur’, an obstetrician. As Madame Bertrand had suffered a miscarriage and a number of symptoms relating to her later pregnancy, it was natural that Verling should call for Livingstone’s help. The obstetrician was, however, a reluctant visitor to Longwood. Verling notes in his journal that he was ‘not desirous of being called in’ and Count Bertrand says that he was so frightened of paying visits that he neglected his wife. Livingstone’s dread of being involved in a French plot led to him falling out with Verling. For once, it was not Napoleon’s health that was in question. The circumstances are described in a letter written by Thomas Reade, who obtained the facts directly from Livingstone.

  Dr Verling stated to him [Livingstone] that Count Montholon was affected with a spitting of blood, a pain on the right side, supposed to be the liver complaint, and also an intermittent fever. That upon all the occasions of his, Dr Livingstone’s visits to Count Montholon, he never could perceive any of the slightest symptoms of the above complaints. That particularly on his last visit, where Dr Verling stated that the Count had a violent fever upon him, he was very much surprised to find a large fire in the Count’s room, hot enough to increase the heat to 90 degrees. He instantly mentioned this to Dr Verling, stating his surprise that he, as a pupil of Dr Gregory’s of Edinburgh, would have permitted such a thing, and at the same time told him that he believed it had been designedly done, and that he was convinced nothing was the matter with Count Montholon. That he was sure that there was something improper in all this.

  Verling wished Livingstone to write a certificate detailing Montholon’s illness but the latter refused. Such a document might have been used by the Count to justify his departure from St. Helena and his return to Europe to join his wife. This difference of opinion, and Livingstone’s suspicion that Verling was in some way playing a part for the French, led to a serious quarrel.10

  In his writing, Verling is often disarmingly frank respecting the difficulties he faced. He probably did not intend the contents of the diary to be disseminated. He wrote the following after an awkward confrontation with Lowe in May 1819 during which the Governor berated him for his role in ‘delicate communications’ at Longwood.

  Upon the tenor of this conversation, which I have not fully detailed, I have to remark that it has left upon my mind the impression that the situation of Physician to Bonaparte is one which cannot be held by a British officer without the certainty of sacrificing his peace of mind for the time he holds it and with more prospects of ultimate injury than benefit. All the pains I had taken to obtain the good will and good word of the people about Napoleon, the only mode I knew of obtaining his, and of which the Governor was aware, seem now to throw a shade of suspicion upon any conduct and the mere idea of an approach to Count Bertrand seems to have cancelled anything that might have appeared praiseworthy.

  Verling fully understood that it did not require a wrong action to incur the wrath of Lowe; only the slightest hint that a false step might be taken. The dilemma he faced was a ‘Catch 22’ scenario for all the British doctors connected with Napoleon. He had to reside at Longwood and had to make himself constantly available to the Emperor and his followers; were he to do otherwise, the Governor might be accused of depriving Napoleon of a doctor and Verling would certainly pay the price. On the other hand, by liaising so closely with the French he risked attracting the suspicion of Lowe who remained convinced that Longwood was a hotbed of intrigue. When Verling refuses the New Year present of Madame Bertrand, her husband comments in his journal that the surgeon apologised to her and said that he could not accept because the Governor was a man ‘so suspicious that he would believe him won over [to the French]; that there were not two men like the Governor; that being a humble officer, he dare not risk the Governor’s disapproval and the loss of his post’. In another conversation with Madame Bertrand, the doctor gloomily asserts that he will leave Longwood on bad terms with both the French and Lowe.11

  Verling consoled himself with the thought that his attachment was not indefinite. He was, he explained to Madame Bertrand, ‘a mere locum tenens, till the arrival of a French surgeon’. The appearance of the Corsican physician, Francesco Antommarchi, on St. Helena on 20th September 1819, must have seemed a prayer answered. Antommarchi, as will be explained in the next chapter, had been summoned to be Napoleon’s private doctor. In Lowe’s words to Baxter, ‘matters became changed’; there was ‘no longer any motive for keeping an English medical person in habitual unrestrained communication with General Bonaparte and his followers’. The Governor was also pleased at this development as he was tiring of the endless negotiations concerning Verling’s suitability as Napoleon’s surgeon. He wrote to Bathurst:

  The arrival of Professor Antommarchi put a stop however to all discussion on the matter. The experience I had had of the arts practised with every British medical person who had been admitted to Longwood, did not lead me to encourage their views on this point. I was decided in my opinion that a foreigner subject to the same regulations as themselves was the proper person.

  Verling, pleased at no longer having to endure these ‘arts’, arranged to give up his quarters in the house on the d
ay after Antommarchi’s arrival. He had just packed his belongings and sent off his baggage when he was called to a meeting with Montholon, Bertrand and the Corsican physician. Both the Grand Marshal and Count expressed their regret at his sudden departure and requested that he stay longer; they would write to the Governor on the subject. Bertrand pressed the point, observing that the surgeon, in Verling’s own words, was ‘wanted on the spot, etc, etc’. Antommarchi also exhorted the surgeon to stay on to share with him the details of Montholon’s ongoing treatment.

  Colonel Wynyard was informed of French dismay at Verling’s loss and he communicated this to Lowe, who wrote a short note to the doctor permitting him to remain until Antommarchi was established in his new situation. Verling, understanding that nothing on St. Helena was quite what it seemed, decided to visit Plantation House, ‘conceiving it better to learn the Governor’s sentiments from his own mouth, as his approval did not appear to me to be what was necessary and his positive wish was what I required’. In the resulting discussion, it became obvious that Lowe was still dubious of the motives of Bertrand and Montholon and that he would prefer Verling off the scene. The surgeon agreed to leave the following day and the Governor advised him to inform the French of his departure at the last moment.12

  Having finally escaped from his forced employment, Verling decided to cool his relations with the exiles. This cannot have been a surprise to the Governor as Verling had expressed his disquiet at his situation and Thomas Reade had also informed him of the surgeon’s anxiety to get away from Longwood. A month following his change of quarters, Verling wrote to Wynyard stating that he intended to confine himself to his military duties and that he would only visit the French if he was particularly directed to do so. He was apparently determined on this course of action as, a few weeks later, he penned a further letter in much the same vein; ‘The idea of attending at Longwood on any footing than by direct orders of my superiors never occurred to me, and even of this situation, I was not desirous.'13

  The logical culmination of Verling’s strategy of estrangement was his departure from St. Helena. This ambition was reinforced by an absence of five years from his family. On 27th September, only a week after his removal from Longwood, the surgeon first broached the issue with Lowe.

  In the morning, I had mentioned to the Governor that I had long been anxious to get home, that my family affairs required it, and I had spoken more than once on the subject to Sir T. Reade, and I believed had mentioned it to Major Gorrequer, that as I had now left Longwood, and from what had passed was not anxious to continue my intercourse with it, I should feel obliged to him to give me leave to go to England. He observed that no relief had come for me, but I told him that I certainly should have been relieved had I not been sent to Longwood; he said however that the number of medical men on the Island would not permit him to allow me to go. Before I left Plantation House, I took an opportunity to urge the point again and requested him to take it into consideration.

  So Verling was desperate to leave and Lowe was reluctant to let him go. Within days, the situation appeared entirely the reverse. Reade reassured the doctor that he thought that the Governor would relent and when Verling made a formal application for twelve months leave of absence to the Commandant of the Royal Artillery on St. Helena, Major James Power, this was quickly approved. The frigate Eurydice was on the point of departure for England and Lowe assumed that Verling would benefit from the ‘real favour’ he had gifted him by making his escape. Unexpectedly, the surgeon chose to defer his leave and to delay his departure, informing both Reade and Lowe of his decision. He does not elaborate the reasons for this in his journal and we have only the words of Power and the Governor to explain his volte-face. The senior artillery officer commented to Reade that the doctor wished to put off his passage until March or April of the following year because of the inclement season, his desire to spend the following winter in Edinburgh, and the expectation that his successor would soon arrive on the island. In a letter to Bathurst, Lowe says that Verling justified his prolonged stay by quoting ‘pecuniary matters and fear of giving offence to the Director General of the Ordnance Medical Department’.

  There is some sense in all these reasons but, in the hyper-charged atmosphere of St. Helena, Verling’s sudden change of heart was bound to create suspicion. Major Power informed Verling of a conversation he had had with Reade in which the Deputy Adjutant-General had asked him why the surgeon had not taken advantage of his leave. The Governor was much surprised and Reade enquired of Power if he did not think it strange that Verling should apply for leave and then decline to take it. There was only one certainty: Lowe and Reade were seeking a sinister motive.14

  Verling’s last days on St. Helena were to prove difficult. Under the circumstances, it would have been politic for him to avoid any contact with Longwood but, surprisingly in view of his avowed determination to shun Napoleon’s household, he continued to make visits to Madame Bertrand. Initially, he claimed that this was a matter of ‘professional duty’ but then he adds in his journal, ‘… as I had several times visited, politeness required that I should make another [visit], and acquaint Madame Bertrand, that she might act accordingly in case of future illness in her family’. Verling’s attentions to the Grand Marshal’s wife may not have been entirely altruistic. She was a hypochondriac but also a beautiful woman who could be charming and witty. The young surgeon may have been flattered by her dependency upon him. Whatever his motivation for continuing the liaison, he obtained permission from Lowe to see her whenever his ‘medical attendance’ was required and ‘occasionally to enquire after her health and that of the children’.

  Verling had been accommodated but he remained nervous that his reasons for maintaining his connections with Longwood might be misconstrued and he decided to obtain more explicit permission from the Governor. On 12th October he wrote to Gorrequer.

  As my stay may be protracted somewhat longer than was at first intended, I request you will make known to His Excellency my anxiety to have clear instructions for my guidance in any intercourse which may take place with Longwood should such be deemed necessary.

  This simple request triggered a prolonged and increasingly antagonistic dialogue between doctor and Governor in which the former sought clarification of his role and the latter steadfastly refused to spell out his requirements.

  Neither man emerges with credit. Verling is playing with fire whilst Lowe is at his most obdurate and opaque. The Governor replied to the surgeon (via Wynyard) pointing out that now that Antommarchi was at Longwood, Madame Bertrand had easy access to a doctor.

  He [Lowe] has not the slightest objection to the continuance of your visits – but he sees no motive for ordering them or conveying any more particular instruction to you on the occasion, than what he might incidentally think is necessary to give to any Professional Person, not belonging to the establishment at Longwood, who might occasionally be called in or who might have obtained his permission for paying visits there.

  Later, Lowe adds that had Verling become Napoleon’s physician, he would have given written instructions for his guidance but that as this had not happened, he felt that there was no need. He did, however, attempt to explain his views on the matter to the confused surgeon. Unfortunately, Lowe’s prose style is remarkably obtuse. A single example, again written through the channel of his Secretary, Wynyard, on 16th October 1819, will suffice.

  Your application for leave of absence rendered it unnecessary to enter into consideration of the more formal demand made for you being directed or ordered to attend her, and the Governor’s desires or suggestions (not his directions) for your continuing your attendance upon her so long as you remained here (the protraction of your stay on the island being wholly unforeseen when the Countess’s demand was made) he certainly did not conceive could have been regarded in any other light, than as a simple act of attention towards her, or at most, as an accommodation to the service, in the sphere of which you had been acting.


  Faced with such classical Lowe obfuscation, Verling was unsure which way to turn. He understood enough of the Governor’s correspondence to believe that he was now part of an unequal battle of wills. He was later to observe to Thomas Reade that it was unfair that he ‘should be obliged to enter into anything like a contest’ with Lowe and that, in effect, he was forced to regard any suggestion made by the Governor as a command. The surgeon admitted that he was bewildered.

  He [Lowe] has kept me totally in the dark as to his wishes; in a word, did he wish me to go to Longwood or did he wish me to stay away and why did he not send another?

  When, in late October, Madame Bertrand was again unwell and sent a groom and horse to fetch her favourite doctor, he decided to try and force Lowe’s hand. Instead of proceeding to Longwood, he approached Reade and said that he would not attend the Countess without definite orders from his superiors. Later the same day, he called at Plantation House and informed Lowe of this personally. The Governor expressed surprise at Verling’s unwillingness to attend his patient and declared that he was not interested in discussing the surgeon’s motives. Verling remarked that he still did not know Lowe’s own views on the matter, to which the Governor angrily replied that he had none. Lowe ended the exchange by suggesting that the surgeon should go to Longwood to explain to Madame Bertrand in person why he was reluctant to treat her. He believed this necessary to prevent the French making capital of the doctor’s non-attendance. This led to an awkward meeting between the surgeon and Countess. Madame Bertrand was distraught at his refusal to attend her unless ordered to do so and she asked that he at least remain her friend.