ST. HELENA 215 



lance. During the day a pass from the Governor was 

 needed even for the inhabitants to walk or ride in certain 

 directions, and at night the sentinels on all parts made it 

 utterly impossible to move out of town or towards town 

 unless the countersign was known. In all directions were 

 sentries and patrols. When Napoleon wished to pass out 

 of the space allotted to him, which was always surrounded 

 by a cordon of military camps and defended by artillery, 

 he was compelled to accept the escort of a British officer, 

 the one appointed being Captain Poppleton, of the 53rd 

 Infantry Regiment, who had to live at Longwood, and 

 was held responsible for the security of his charge. His 

 apartment was close to that of Napoleon, and it was 

 his duty to see him every day. News of Napoleon was 

 conveyed by him to the Governor by a system of signals, 

 and directly he left the enclosure, Poppleton had to follow, 

 being ordered not to lose sight of him. Naturally he was, 

 though only doing his duty, held in detestation by all the 

 French. The signals used were very simple, and an old 

 sentinel of Napoleon's time, James Smith, of Basingstoke, 

 says : — 



If Napoleon went out, a soldier's hat was hoisted on a bayonet, 

 and this was continued from one sentinel picket to another. We 

 had strict orders never to speak to him or salute him in any 

 way. . . . 



He adds : — 



During the latter part of his life, he took very little exercise 

 and grew fat, becoming so stout at last, that it was painful to look 

 at him, for the mt hung over his ankles. 



Las Casas, as a rule, also accompanied Napoleon, and in 

 his almost daily rides, he got to know well the various 

 families resident on the island, greatly interesting himself 

 in their agricultural pursuits, and for some time he was 

 sociable even to the extent of giving dinner parties. He 

 much liked to converse with Governor Mark Wilkes, their 

 conversation being mainly about chemistry. He was very 

 irate, though, at having an escort, and did much to annoy 

 Poppleton. In a conversation with Admiral Malcolm, who 

 succeeded Sir George Cockburn, he complained of the 

 surveillance exercised. He said : " Are you frightened 



