356 



ST. HELENA. 



delicious fruit, peach, almond and date trees, and patches of 

 flowers, among which the rose and pink were conspicuous. 

 We likewise observed on our right and left, but some miles in 

 the distance, a succession of hills in wood, looking verdant, 

 cool and beautiful. 



The next object which attracted our attention was the 

 " Briars," a little hamlet, composed of some half-dozen cot- 

 tages, one of which was the residence of the ex-Emperor, until 

 Longwood could be prepared for his reception. It is a small, 

 quaint building, with a high, steep roof, gable ends, and a 

 verandah. The grounds attached to it are also of limited ex- 

 tent, and surrounded by a common stone- wall. Indeed, there 

 is scarcely a New England farmer whose abode is not superior 

 to it in every respect. Yet I was informed by the inhabitants 

 that Napoleon preferred the place to better houses in the 

 town, where he would be annoyed by the curiosity of the 

 populace. 



The road beyond the " Briars " is winding, and presents a 

 great variety of landscape. In one place it sweeps by thick 

 hedges, inclosing fields in which 'sheep, cattle, and horses are 

 feeding ; in another, it passes through dark masses of fir and 

 pine ; in another, it runs down into a deep ravine ; and in 

 another again, it traverses a plain overshadowed with trees 

 and sprinkled with cottages, looking so neat and prim that one 

 cannot help envying their owners, and wish that he could 

 share with them the delights which such charming abodes must 

 afford. 



Not many yards distant from these sylvan residences, lies a 

 dell, shut in by hills, covered with grass and brambles. At 

 the foot of the most lofty hill stands a lonely cottage, sur- 

 rounded by trees — a little beyond the solitary dwelling, 

 among some weeping willows, and two or three melancholy 



