Longwood. 



CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 



Napoleon. Sir George 

 Cockburn. 



357 



uninviting character have obtained the appropriate 

 name of the Devil's Gorge, &c. 



The day on which we paid this visit was called 

 by the inhabitants a fine one, but we thought the 

 air damp and chilly, and were glad to draw our 

 cloaks closely around us. We soon reached the 

 gate, and were stopped until we paid the usual fee 

 of two shillings sterling for each person. The 

 house is at present leased by the government to 

 a Captain Mason, a retired army officer, for one 

 hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and by his 

 order the entrance fee is demanded before the gate 

 is opened. Mr. Carrol pointed out to us the sites 

 of the camps of observation, and other spots in 

 the neighbourhood, interesting from associations 

 connected with the residence of Napoleon. As we 

 drove towards the house, every thing wore a neg- 

 lected look, to all appearance intentional. 



Longwood is now but little better than a barn ; 

 the glass of the windows is broken, and the out- 

 ward walls much disfigured. The door at which 

 visitors are admitted is covered with a small lat- 

 ticed veranda, and leads into what is called the 

 billiard-room, although it seems much too small 

 ever to have been used for that purpose ; its walls 

 are covered with scribbling, and its general ap- 

 pearance is dirty and neglected. The next apart- 

 ment is about fourteen by seventeen feet, said to 

 have been used as a dining-room, and in which 

 Napoleon died ; it is now occupied by a patent 

 thrashing and winnowing machine, and was strewed 

 with chaff and straw. The adjoining room had 

 been used as a library ; its present state was dis- 

 gusting, and it seemed as if appropriated to the 

 hatching of chickens. The bath, bed, and dressing- 

 rooms, which he occupied at the commencement of 

 his illness, are now in part used as a stable. The 

 place in which his body lay in state, contains eight 

 stalls, five of which were occupied by horses and 

 cattle. 



If the design had been to desecrate as much as 

 possible the habitation that had been occupied by 

 the fallen emperor, it could not have been more 

 effectually accomplished ; but whatever may be 

 the motive, whether intentional or otherwise, it cer- 

 tainly redounds little to the credit of the British 

 nation. The miserable condition of Longwood 

 when we visited it was a subject of general animad- 

 version. The money derived from the lease of the 

 property is paid into the queen's treasury, no part 

 of this small sum being retained to keep the build- 

 ing in repair ; nor are there any conditions in the 

 lease that compel the lessee to do it. It is with 

 regret I am compelled to state that the lessee is a 

 military man, and an officer in the British 

 army. 



Longwood is bleak and exposed ; the damp 

 trade-winds sweep past it continually, and but few 

 days in the year are without either mist or rain. 

 The valley of Jamestown is known to be dry and 

 healthy ; there are some other spots also on the 

 island that enjoy a climate as fine as any on the 

 globe. One of these might have been chosen as a 

 residence, which would have proved much more 

 congenial to the taste, and better suited to the 

 constitution of the emperor. Plantation House, 

 for instance, the country seat of the governor, 

 enjoys, by all accounts, a delightful climate. 



The grounds of Longwood cannot be called 

 pretty, but from the constant moisture the herb- 



age is greener than in other parts of the island. 

 There are no trees, but the shrubbery is dense 

 around the gardens. The new house at Long- 

 wood is built of yellow sandstone, one story 

 in height, and is situated some hundi'ed yards 

 on the western declivity, and is in some measure 

 sheltered from the easterly winds. It contains a 

 handsome suite of rooms, and, when compared with 

 the old house, seems quite a palace. At the time 

 of our visit it was occupied by Lieutenant Smith, 

 of the artillery, and his assistants, who have charge 

 of the magnetic observatory. The house has never 

 been finished: the death of the emperor of course 

 rendering its completion unnecessary. It is said 

 that during his life he never visited it, nor would 

 lie allow any one to consult him about its plan, 

 declaring that he would not remove to it. 



Napoleon seems to have engrafted himself on 

 the memory of the islanders; and all the events 

 and little incidents occurring to him during his re- 

 sidence, are remembered and cherished by them 

 with pleasure. His chief complaint regarded the 

 system of espionage under which he was placed, 

 from the hour in which he gave himself up to the 

 English to that of his death. It has been asserted, 

 and up to this time without contradiction, that Sir 

 George Cockburn, who commanded the Bellero- 

 phon, in which vessel Bonaparte was transported 

 to St. Helena, was ordered to make minutes of 

 every conversation that took place during the voy- 

 age. These memoranda have been already pub- 

 lished in Boston, and their authenticity, although 

 denied, seems to be unquestionable; for the publi- 

 cation emanated from the private secretary of Sir 

 George; who, while making out one fair copy of the 

 minutes, made another for himself. Although the 

 ministry may have thought themselves justified in 

 taking this course at the time, yet it seems, at this 

 time, scarcely reconcilable with a high sense of 

 honour; and notwithstanding Sir George may have 

 considered it necessary to obey implicitly his orders, 

 still the fact that he lent himself to such a service 

 must injure his reputation. 



In justice to Sir Hudson Lowe, it must be stated, 

 according to what I heard at the island, that his 

 treatment of his royal captive was in strict con- 

 formity to his instructions, and that, as far as his 

 orders were concerned, he was allowed no dis- 

 cretion. Many of the inhabitants know that he 

 tried in several ways to ameliorate the condition 

 of his prisoner, but he was not permitted to 

 do so. 



I trust that what I have said upon this subject 

 will not be construed as disrespectful to a high- 

 minded and friendly government, or be casting any 

 odium on the many honourable and courteous Bri- 

 tish officers it has been my good fortune to meet 

 in many parts of the globe, and who have extended 

 to me and my officers the most grateful civilities; 

 but I could not forbear the expression of my sen- 

 timents when I contemplate the prison-house of 

 Napoleon, and the ignoble condition and uses to 

 which it is put. 



The officer in charge of the magnetic observa- 

 tory complained that it was badly placed, and that 

 both his instruments and observations suffered 

 from the constant change of temperature, and the 

 dampness of the situation. He politely showed us 

 the instruments, which were in a detached build- 

 ing; after which we returned to Longwood, and 



