ST. HELENA 223 



and capricious, continually changing his hours for food or 

 rest. Still, he looked well and grew stouter, having a vora- 

 cious appetite, which often led to fits of indisposition. 



In October 1820, however, he advised Sir William Dove- 

 ton of his wish to breakfast at his house if agreeable to 

 him ; and soon after servants were seen conveying in baskets 

 the breakfast, followed by Napoleon and Counts Bertrand 

 and Montholon. Breakfast was laid on the lawn in front 

 of the house, and Buonaparte did the honours, treating 

 Sir William and his family as honoured guests. It was 

 hoped from this that he would throw off his depression ; 

 possibly he was trying to do so, but his health was far from 

 good. Even on the way back from breakfast (he was 

 riding) he became so unwell that he had to seek shelter in 

 a cottage on the road side, remaining there while his carriage 

 was sent for. His pallor was great, and from that time 

 he seemed to lose strength. In 1819 the New House was 

 commenced (a large building which is well described by a 

 writer of the time) : — 



To meet the difficulty for procuring for Buonaparte a suitable 

 residence at St. Helena, the architect for the ordnance department 

 at Woolwich was engaged to complete a timber frame-work for a 

 building to be erected on the island, in the cottage style. The 

 front is in the pure simplicity of the Grecian style. It is about 

 120 feet in length, containing fourteen windows and a fine open 

 corridor. The depth of the building is about one hundred feet with 

 a back corridor, almost making the whole building square. It is 

 two stories high and will have an elegant appearance. The ground 

 floor of the right division of the house contains Buonaparte's apart- 

 ments. In the centre of this wing is his drawing-room which, 

 as well as the other apartments for his accommodation, is spacious, 

 being about 30 feet in length, by a breadth of 20. This propor- 

 tion runs through the whole. Next is his dining-room, with an 

 adjoining library, behind which is a capacious billiard-room. His 

 bed-room, dressing-room and bath, are of course conneoted. The 

 left division of the edifice contains spacious and well-suited aparte- 

 ments for the officers of his suite. The rear comprises the servants, 

 and store rooms. The kitchen is somewhat curiously constructed, 

 being detached from the regular building, and yet perfectly con- 

 venient to the dining-room, without communicating any offensive 

 fumes to the principal range of rooms. This is an improvement of 

 no small value in a sultry climate. The corridor will furnish a cool 

 and shaded promenade. 



The drawing-room is coloured with various shades of green. 

 The curtains are Pomona green, made of light silk tabaret, bordered 



