THE WILLOW. 



263 



very frequently, and have water brought to him 

 from the adjoining fountain. About the time of 

 Napoleon's death in 1821, a storm shattered the 

 Willow in pieces, and after the interment of the 

 emperor, Madame Bertrand planted several cut- 

 tings from it on the outside of the railing which 

 surrounded the grave. As none of these flou- 

 rished, they were renewed in 1828, and from 

 one of them, which outstripped the rest, were 

 brought most of the cuttings which have been 

 reared in various parts of the country. The 

 oldest now in existence in Europe derived from 

 this stock stands in the garden of the Roebuck 

 Tavern on Richmond Hill, having been planted in 

 1823. Previously to 1810, the Willow did not 

 grow in St. Helena ; but Darwyn states that weep- 

 ing Willows are now common on the banks of the 

 rivulets, associated with so many other plants of 

 British origin, that the imported species have ex- 

 cluded many of the native kinds, and given to 

 the scenery a character decidedly British ; it being 

 only on the highest and steepest ridges that the 

 indigenous Flora is now predominant. 



So popular has the weeping Willow become, 

 as an ornamental tree, that it is said to be com- 

 moner in almost every country than in its native 

 habitat, the banks of the Euphrates. 



