REMARKS ON THE SPOT OF SEPULTURE. 127 



naparte to Europe. Should such an event ever 

 occur, it must prove a source of deep regret to all 

 lovers of the poetry of history, if not a decided 

 act of injustice to the memory of the deceased 

 Emperor. Setting aside Napoleon's dying re- 

 quest that he should be entombed in this fa- 

 vourite and sequestered spot, as being secon- 

 dary to a wish to be interred on the banks of 

 the Seine, I cannot believe but that the situa- 

 tion his mortal remains now occupy, is pre- 

 cisely that which an ambitious man would 

 desire. An entire island is his monument, 

 rising from the bosom of the Atlantic, a solitary, 

 majestic, and imperishable mausoleum. Here 

 crowds of visitors from all nations, endure a 

 fatiguing pilgrimage to do homage to his re- 

 mains ; while the spot of his sepulture is dis- 

 tinguished by a simple and natural beauty, an 

 air of melancholy repose, but too well calculated 

 to extract the tear of sympathy, even from 

 those who have the least cause to regret his 

 fate. It is a spot indeed, so complete and cha- 

 racteristic in itself, that the addition of any 

 sculptured pile, or effigy, would appear but 

 intrusive. Nor do the masterly fortifications 

 by which this island is girt, and the military 

 precautions preserved on its shores, accord ill 

 with the resting-place of a warrior, so terrible 



