286 ST. HELENA. 



trees. When approaching' the anchorage there 

 was one striking view : an irregular castle perched 

 on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by a 

 few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected against 

 the sky. 



The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's 

 throw of Najjoleon's tomb :* it was a capital cen- 

 tral situation, whence I could make excursions in 

 every direction. During the four days I stayed 

 here, I wandered over the island from morning to 

 night, and examined its geological history. My 

 lodgings were situated at a height of about 2000 

 feet ; here the weather was cold and boisterous, 

 with constant showers of rain ; and every now and 

 then the whole scene was veiled in thick clouds. 



Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare : in 

 the central and higher parts, feldspathic rocks, by 

 their decomposition, have produced a clayey soil, 

 which, where not covered by vegetation, is stained 

 in broad bands of many bright colours. At this 

 season the land, moistened by constant showers, 

 produces a singulai'ly bright green pasture, which, 

 lower and lower down, gradually fades away and 

 at last disappears. In latitude 16°, and at the 

 trifling elevation of 1500 feet, it is surprising to 

 behold a vegetation possessing a character deci- 

 dedly British. The hills are crowned with in-egu- 

 lar plantations of Scotch firs, and the sloping banks 

 are thickly scattered over with thickets of gorse, 

 covered with its bright yellow flowers. Weeping 

 willows are common on the banks of the rivulets, 

 and the hedges are made of the blackberry, pro- 

 ducing its well-known fruit. When we consider 



* After the volumes of eloquence which have poured forth on 

 this subject, it is dangerous even to mention the tomb. A mod- 

 ern traveller, in twelve lines, burdens the poor little island with 

 the following titles— it is a grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sep- 

 ulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus, minaret, and mausoleum ! 



