259 



ST. HELENA. 



'^T. Helena is the name of an island in the Atlantic ocean, 

 standing entirely detached from any group, and about 1200 

 miles from the nearest land, on the coast of Southern Africa. It 

 was discovered by the Portuguese in 1501. But it was after- 

 wards possessed by the Dutch, and finally came to our hands 

 about the year 1651, and remained under our dominion, with a 

 short interval, ever since. It presents to the sea, throughout its 

 whole circuit, nothing but an immense wall of perpendicular 

 rock, from |600 to 1200 feet high, like a castle in the midst of the 

 ocean. On entering, however, and ascending by one of the 

 few openings which nature has left, several verdant valleys are 

 found interspersed with the dreary rocks. There are only four 

 openings in the great wall of rock which surrounds St. Helena, 

 by which it can be approached with any facility, and these are 

 all strongly fortified. The ciimate of St. Helena is not liable to 

 the extremes of heat or cold ; but it is moist and liable to strong 

 gusts of wind. Tlie only place in the island which can be called 

 a town is situated in a narrow valley, between several lofty 

 mountains, and the principal plain in the island is called Long- 

 wood, which has become celebrated in the annals of European 

 history for having been the prison and grave of Napoleon 'Bo- 

 naparte. The illustrious captive arrrived at St. Helena in 

 November, 1815 ; and he ended his days there on the 'Sth of 

 May, 1821. His captivity and death offer useful lessons on the 

 mutability of human greatness and human power. The body of 

 the dead emperor is deposited in a mahogany coffin which is 

 placed in three other cases, on the external one is -the inscription 

 "General of the French," and by his side lies the sword which 

 he wore at Austcrlitz. Captain Mundy, in his *' Sketches," has 

 given a very interesting account of the present state of Long- 

 wood. 



"As we turned'through the lodges, the old house appeared at 

 the end of an avenue of scrubby and vvealher-^v*^orn trees. It 

 bears the exterior of a respectable farm-house, but is now fast 

 running to decay. On entering a dirty court-yard, and quitting 

 our horses, we were shown by soTie idlers into a square building, 

 which once contained the. bed- room, sitting-room, and bath of 

 the empereur des Frangois. The partitions and floorings are now 

 thrown down and torn up, and the apartments occupied for six 

 years by the hero before whom kings, emperors and poj)cs had 



