*702 Domestic Notices : — Etigland. 



that seven weeping willows hang over Napoleon's grave, which is covered 

 with a plain stone slab, surrounded by iron railings 5 ft. high, and inside of 

 which some small flowers (the forget-me-not) were planted by Madame 

 Bertrand ; but they never grew. An old soldier, he adds, resides near, and 

 has orders to prevent people from going inside, in consequence of some 

 French officers, who had lately been ashore, having taken off several branches 

 of the willows as mementos of their former sovereign. 



"Captain Mundy, in his Pen and Pencil Sketches of India (1832), says 

 Napoleon's 'tomb consists of a square stone, about 10 ft. by 7 ft., surrounded 

 with a plain iron railing. Four or five weeping willows, their stems leaning 

 towards the grave, hang their pensile branches over it. . . . The willows 

 are decaying fast; and one of them rests upon the sharp spears of the railing, 

 which are buried in its trunk, as though it were committing suicide for very 

 grief. The foliage of the rest is thinned and disfigured by the frequent and 

 almost excusable depredations of visitors. Fresh cuttings have, however, 

 been planted by the governor; who intends, moreover, to set cypresses round 

 the outer fence. Madame Bertrand's immortelles have proved, alas ! mortal.' 



" Webster, in his Narrative of the Voyage of the Chanticleer (1835), says, 

 ' The immediate spot where lie Napoleon's remains is at once conspicuous 



from a mimber of weeping willows His grave is in the centre 



of a grass-plot, 70 yards in circumference, enclosed by a neat circular 

 fence. The common slabs from the kitchen hearth at Longwood form his 

 grave-stone, and an iron palisade surrounds it. The weeping willows, 

 reclining on the palisades, drooj) gracefully over the little enclosure ; but the 

 forget-me-not planted by Madame Bertrand has completely withered and 

 disappeared — faithful emblem of all earthly things. . . . The willows 

 are objects of peculiar regard. Whether it may proceed from the character of 

 them, or the facility with which they can be obtained, I cannot say; but they 

 are taken away piecemeal by every visitor, and are treasured like the relics of 

 some holy shrine: and this eagerness to possess a slip of willow from the 

 grave of Napoleon would long ago have annihilated them, had not great pains 

 been taken to preserve them ; for few formerly left it without a sprig or 

 cutting.' The writer continues : ' Near the base of the hill forming the side 

 of the valley, is a little fount of water : it is moss-grown, and beset with brake 

 and fern. The valley is adorned with wild flowers, among which the roses 

 and geraniums bloom throughout the year, and mingle their delicious perfume. 

 This was Napoleon's favourite resort ; it was here he used to delight in con- 

 versing with Madame Bertrand, or in listening to the gay prattle of her 

 children, seated beneath the shade of these willows. The water of the brook 

 was his favourite beverage: he used it daily; and, when unwell, was particu- 

 larly solicitous to have it.' " — James H. Fennell. London, Oct. 1836. 



Scarlet Cockscombs. — I have grown some, this season, of very large size. 

 One comb measures 33^ in. in length from tip to tip, and 20 in. across. The 

 plant is 2 ft. 2 in. high. — James Alexander. Alaeslaiigh Castle Gardens, Oct. 

 183S. 



Ifomce^a riibro-cceridea has been in flower for two months past in the con- 

 servatory here ; and 1 can assure you that it is a most beautiful plant. When 

 it first opens, there is very little red ; but it dies off nearly all of that colour. 

 The flowers, which are of a most beautiful blue, come out nearly a dozen at 

 a time, and are from Sin. to 4in. over. The seed was sown in the stove, in 

 February, and the plants were removed into the conservatory in May. It still 

 continues to flower, and has done so since the end of June ; but I am afraid 

 the seed will not ripen. I have no doubt that it will root freely from cut- 

 tings. — J. Watts. East Hill, Colchester, Aug. 20. 1836. A plant, in the 

 open air, ripened seeds with us at Bayswater in 1833. (See p. 214.) 



The Seed-groiuers are now busy gathering in their harvest ; and I believe 



they call this a good year. The quantity of seeds sown around here is sur- 



■"p^rising; some of the growers having four or five acres of nothing but annuals, 



whihii, last months was a fine sight. I have seen several, which I never saw 



