Longwood. 



CAVE HI- GOOD HOPE. 



Napoleon.— Sir George 

 Cock burn. 



3.'i7 



uninviting character have obtained the appropriate 

 name of the Devil's Gorge, &e. 



The day «n which we j> :i id this visit was called 

 by the inhabitants a tine one, but we thought the 

 air (lamp and chilly, and were glad to draw our 

 •■luaks closely around us. We soon reached the 

 i»ate, and were stopped until we ]>aid the usual fee 

 of two shil ling** sterling for each portion. The 

 bouse is at present leaned by the government to 

 a Captain Mason, a retired army olUcer, for one 

 hundred and fifty pounds per annum, and by bis 

 order the entrnuce fee is demanded before the gate 

 is opened. Mr. Carrol pointed out to us the sites 

 of the earn pa of observation , and other spots in 

 the neighbourhood, interesting from association** 

 connected with the residence of Napoleon. As we 

 drove towards the house, every thing wore a neg- 

 lected look, to all appearance intentional. 



Long wood is now but little bettor than a barn ; 

 the glass of the windows is broken, and the out- 

 ward walls much disfigured. The door at which 

 visiters arc admitted is covered with a small lat- 

 ticed veranda, and lends into what is called the 

 hilliard-room, although it seems much too small 

 ever to have heeu used for that purpose ; its walls 

 are covered with seri hiding, and its general ap- 

 pearance is dirty and neglected. The next apart- 

 ment is about fourteen by seventeen feet, said to 

 have been used as a dining-room, and in which 

 Napuleoii died ; it is imw occupied by a patent i 

 thrashing and winnowing machine, and was strewed 

 with chiuf and straw. The adjoining mum had 

 been used as a library ; its present state was dis- 

 gusting, and it seemed as if appropriated to the 

 hatching of chickens. The bath, bed, and dressing- 

 rooms. which he occupied at the commencement of 

 his illness, are now in part used as a stable. The 

 [dace io which his body lay in stale, contains eight 

 stalls, five of which were occupied by horses and 

 cattle. 



If the design had been to desecrate as much as 

 possible the habitation that had been occupied by 

 the fallen emperor, it conld not have been more 

 effectually accomplished ; but whatever may be 

 the motive, whether intentional or otherwise, it cer- 

 tainly redounds little to the credit of the British 

 nation. The miserable condition of Longwood 

 when we visited it was a subject of general animad- 

 version. The money derived from the lease of the 

 property is paid into the queen's treasury, no part 

 of this small sum being relumed to k> ep the build- 

 ing in repair ; nor are there any conditions in the 

 lease that compel the lessee to do it. It is with 

 regret I am compelled to state that the lessee is a 

 military man, and an officer in the British 

 army. 



Longwood is bleak and exposed ; the damp 

 trade-winds, sweep past it continually, and but few 

 days in l he year are without either mist or rain. 

 The valley of Jamestown is kuown to be dry and 

 healthy ; there ait; some other spots also on the 

 island that enjoy a climate as fine as any on the 

 globe. One of these might have been chosen as ti 

 residence, which would have proved much more 

 congenial to the taste, and belter suited to the 

 constitution of the emperor. Plantation House, 

 for instance, the Country seat of the governor, 

 onpn by all accounts, a delightful climate. 



The groonds of Lnngwond cannot be called 

 pretty, but from the constant moisture the herb- 



age is greener than in oilier parts of the island. 

 There are no trees, but the shrubbery is dense 

 around the gardens. The new house at Long- 

 wood is built of yellow sandstone, one story 

 in height, and is situated some hundred yards 

 on the western declivity, and is in some measure 

 sheltered from the easterly winds. It contains a 

 handsome suite of rooms, and, when compared with 

 the old hon«e, seems quite a palace. At the time 

 of our visit it was occupied by Lieutenant Smith, 

 of the artillery, and his assistants, who have charge 

 of the magnetic observatory. The house has never 

 been finished: the death of the entpemr of course 

 rendering its completion unnecessary. Il is said 

 that during his life he never visited it, nor would 

 he allow any one to consult him about its plan, 

 declaring that he would not remove to it. 



Napoleon seems to have engrafted himselT on 

 the memory of the blunders; nnd all the events 

 and little incidents occurring to him during his re- 

 sidence, are remembered and cherished by thorn 

 with pleasure. Hid chief complaint regarded the 

 system of espionngo under which he was placed, 

 from the hour in which he gave himself up to the 



English to that of his (h ath. It has 1 n asserted, 



and up to this time without contradiction, that Sir 

 George Coekburu, who commanded the IJeJfcro- 

 phan, in which vessel Bonaparte was transported 

 to St. Helena, was ordered to make minutes of 

 every conversation that to«ik place during the voy- 

 Sge, Tin-Bo memoranda have been already pub- 

 lished in Boston, and their authenticity, although 

 denied, seems to be unquestionable; for the publi- 

 cation emanated from tbo private secretary of Sir 

 George; who, while making out one fair copy of the 

 minutes, made another for himself. Alihough the 

 ministry may have llmn-lil ibeiiiM I ves justified io 

 taking this course at the lime, yet it seems, at this 

 time, scarcely reconcilable with a high sense of 

 honour; and notwithstanding Sir George may have 

 considered it io-ci siary to ..b y implicitly his orders, 

 still the fact that he lent himself tu audi a service 

 muHt injure his reputation, 



In justice loStr Hudson Lowe, it must be stated, 

 according to what 1 heard .it the island, thai his 

 treatment of his roynl captive was in strict con- 

 formity to his instructions, and that, as far as his 

 orders wen* concerned, he was allowed no dis- 

 cretion. .Many of the inhabitants know that he 

 tried in several ways to ainelii irate the condition 

 of his prisoner, but he was not permitted to 

 do so. 



I trust thnt what I have said upon this subject 

 will not be construed as disrespectful to a high- 

 minded ami friendly government, or be casting any 

 odium on the many honourable and courteous Bri- 

 tish officers it has been my good fortune to meet 

 in many parts of the glob-, and who have extended 

 to me and my officers the most grateful civilities; 

 but I conld not forbear the axpffMoa of my sen- 

 timenis when J contemplate the prison-house of 

 Napoleon, and tho ignoble condition and uses to 

 which il is put. 



The officer in charge of the magnetic observa- 

 tory complained that it was badly placed, aud that 

 both Jus instruments and observations suffer, d 

 from the constant change of temperature, and the 

 dampness of the situation. He politely showed us 

 the instruments, which were in a detached build- 

 ing; afier which we returned to Longwood, and 



