Appalled by the result of having enforced his order, Napoleon set an example by running to a small boat with the intention of attempting to rescue some of the men who were being tossed towards the shore by the huge breakers. Fearing he would be drowned, some of his officers dashed after him and endeavoured to hold him back. But yelling, 'Let me go! Let me go! They must be saved!' he broke away from them and jumped into the boat. A minute later a wave broke over it, filling it with foaming water. As it sank under him he was dragged back, soaked and blaspheming, to the shore. Nothing could be done. They could only stand there, drenched with spray, while the seamen and soldiers drowned before their eyes. Next morning over two hundred bodies were washed up.
Undeterred by this terrible event, Napoleon held the great review that had been planned. In the huge natural amphitheatre, not far from Caesar's Tower, the eighty thousand men who formed Soult's army were drawn up. Seated in an ancient iron chair that was said to have been the throne of King Dagobcrt, Napoleon received the acclamations of his troops, then administered to them en masse the same oath of allegiance as had been taken by the brilliant company at Les Invalides. There followed another distribution of crosses of the Legion. Finally, with a dramatic gesture, he pointed across the sea to the white cliffs of Dover and cried »o those about him, 'We need only to be masters of the Channel for six hours to be masters of the world.'
Roger cheered as loudly as the others; while thinking to himself how extraordinary it was that a man who could grasp the essentials of not only military problems, but also social, legal and administrative ones, with such swiftness, should continue to be so blind to those that concerned the sea.
Now I hat he was taking a special interest in all matters to do with the French Navy, he had recently gone to some pains to get a sight of a confidential report from the Admiralty. So as not to give umbrage to the Emperor one fact had been sugared over with 'ifs’ and 'buts'. Yet when denuded of those it was a statement that, owing to the vast number of invasion craft that had been built, it would take six days to get them out of their ports. And after the tragedy that had befallen the local flotilla Roger was of the opinion that, even if the British fleet was decoyed away from the Channel for a week, Napoleon would still not succeed in landing any considerable body of troops on the English beaches.
As it transpired Latouchc-Trevillc, who was due to sail from Toulon on the 13th of that month, in the attempt to fox Nelson and Cornwallis, never reached the Channel. On August 20th he died suddenly and this led to the operation being postponed.
Meanwhile the Imperial cortege moved up the coast for a further series of inspections, in due course arriving at Aix-la-Chapelle where Charlemagne's remains were entombed. A solemn Mass was held in the Cathedral and afterwards Josephine was offered the arm-bone of the mighty King. Proudly she declared that she would not deprive the city of this precious relic as she had the support of an arm as great as that of Charlemagne. But Napoleon made off with the insignia and sword of the Frankish Emperor so that he could use them at his own coming Coronation.
The sight of the white cliffs of Dover and the progress of the cortege up the Channel coast had caused Roger to think more frequently than ever of Georgina, until he became obsessed with the idea that he must find out for certain if she was alive or dead. By now it was certain that she would either have returned to England or her fate would be known; but the only way to find out was to go there.
Having made his plan he pretended loss of appetite and for ten days half-starved himself until he had lost a stone in weight, become pale and looked obviously ill. Josephine drew Napoleon's attention to his state, which gave him the opportunity he was seeking. With apparent reluctance he admitted that something was radically wrong with him and said that he feared he must ask for sick leave.
The Emperor granted it at once but, before dismissing him, said kindly, 'Get well quickly, mon brave Breuc. Unless your state does not permit it I insist that you rejoin me before the beginning of December. I wish all my old friends to be present at my Coronation. I have sent for the Pope to crown me and it will be a magnificent affair.'
In consequence, while Napoleon and his entourage made their way up the Rhine on a long tour of the defences there, Roger rode back to Paris then down to Bordeaux. After two days of discreet enquiries he found a Captain who was about to run a cargo of claret over to the Devon coast, and on September 10th he landed in a secluded cove near Sidmouth. Two days later he was in London.
As usual, he went straight to Amesbury House and, the moment he came face to face with Droopy Ned, enquired about Georgina. His old friend sadly shook his head and said:
'Alas, dear Roger, I fear we will see her no more. As you know, she sailed last autumn to the Indies, in part for the pleasure of getting away from our atrocious climate during the winter months, but also with a view to supervising per- sonally the disposal of John Beefy's plantations there. That, I am told, she carried out to good advantage, for she was far nimbler witted that most women, and 'twas in order to guard against being rooked by some unscrupulous land agent that she journeyed there herself. About mid-March she sailed for home in a well-found merchantman out of Bristol named "Enterprise." 'Tis known that the ship took the usual north-eastern course through the "Windward Passage" between Cuba and San Domingo, but after that she disappeared. No hurricane was reported at about that period but in those waters there are many uncharted rocks and shoals, so
the ship may have struck one in the night and gone down. On the other hand she may have been attacked'
'She was,' Roger cut him short, 'by a Sea Rover, a Frenchman or some other privateer. I know not which, but I am certain of it. On the evening of March 20lh, which fits well with what you say, I saw the ship burning and about to sink.' He then gave an account of the vision he had had.
Droopy did not question his having had this psychic experience, but said, Then we must account her dead. This happened nearly six months ago. Had she become the captive of some buccaneer he would have demanded a ransom for her, and by this time we'd know of it.'
Roger bowed his head, 'Somehow I cannot believe her dead. Yet the facts as known appear to prove it to be so. In time, perhaps, I'll get used to the thought. But she was the love of my life, and 'tis a blow from which I'll ne'er recover.'
That night, to take Roger's mind off his sorrow, Droopy brought him up-to-date with the political situation. Soon after he had last left England dissatisfaction with Addington's government had become almost universal. In February the King had been afflicted with another spell of madness and was extremely ill. Fox had seized the opportunity to initiate another intrigue with the object of getting his patron, the Prince of Wales, made Regent. The Tories had succeeded in thwarting it temporarily but when, in May, the King had recovered he could no longer ignore the popular outcry that Addington must go. So he had sent for Pitt.
During his long administration Pitt had fought the French with dogged determination; but he was a man of peace, detested war and had no gift for directing it. His real genius lay in the field of finance, and in his early years as Prime Minister he had performed a miracle by bringing Britain to a marvellous prosperity after the terrible depression into which the loss of her American colonics had dragged her. On becoming Prime Minister Addington had scrapped Pitt's taxation policy and introduced one that was proving disastrous to commerce. And it was in the hope of saving Britain from bankruptcy, more than on any other count, that Pitt had agreed to accept office again.