336 DESCRIPTION OF comes in sight, is singularly striking, from the bat teries planted high on its very face, and occupying every nook and crevice in which a gun can be secured-presenting in one spot a projecting rock, and in another a wide mouthed port, with a heavy piece of artillery pointed towards you, here a short stretch of artificial wall, and there a breast-work of the original cliff-without any plan or order, other than that of the natural formation. The mouths of cannon project at irregular intervals and distances, from the top to the bottom, among which, the heads of a half dozen guards were seen peering over the parapets upon us, like eagles from the midst of their aeries. This aspect is, in a greater or less degree, characteristic of the cliffs the remaining distance of a mile to James Town; in front of which, we were soon moored within a quarter of a mile of the shore. The glen, in the narrow mouth of which it stands, is wedged in between two almost perpendicular walls of brown lava near a thousand feet in height, approaching each other as they run inland, till at the distance of a couple of miles, they shut out all farther view. An esplanade in front, of a few hundred yards extent-formed by a massive wall ten or twelve feet high, running across the glen to guard the beach from the encroachment of a heavy surf-is planted with a battery, and ornamented with a double row of trees of the banian tribe, skirting the walls of the town. The first buildings above the tops of these, that catch the eye, are a neat church of light yellow, with a square tower on the right side of the gate in the centre of the wall, and the government-house, or castle, a large heavy looking mansion surrounded by trees and gardens, on the other. Between these, from the rapid ascent of the ground, a full view is presented of an open, unplanted square, surrounded by residences of good size and comfortable appearance, beyond which the roofs of numerous habitations interspersed with a few trees, a lofty building or two—a barrack and hospitals are seen-stretching up the narrow defile for a mile or more, till they terminate in a view of some neat cottages and gardens overlooking the whole, at the extreme point in sight. This morning at eleven o'clock, Captain Finch, accompanied by Dr. Malone and myself, went on shore to wait upon the governor, the Honorable Brigadier General Dallas-as many others of the officers as could be spared from the ship, having already started for Longwood. The only landing is close beneath a projection of the cliff, on the left of the anchorage, under the bastions of a fort planted on the face of the rock, some eighty or a hundred feet above the water. Though more sheltered from the swell of the sea than any other spot, still caution is requisite in getting from a boat on the abutment and steps of massive stone with which it is furnished; as the water is of great depth, and its rise and fall in the eddy and whirl of the surf at all times several feet, and often so great as altogether to interrupt the communication between the shipping and town. A causeway, hewn from the rock, leads along the base of the hill-from the perpendicular surface of which on the one hand, enormous masses projecting in frowning deformity, threaten momentarily to crush you beneath their tremendous weight, while on the other, are the roar, and lashing against the parapet, of a deadly surf. An irresistible query, as we trod this fearful way, was what must have been the thoughts and the feelings of the imperial captive, when, for the first and the last time, he paced this same ground, and gazed above and around him, on the horrid features of his appointed prison? For the moment, at least, I suspect the firmness of the philosopher must have been shaken, and the nerve of the hero unmanned. On passing the gate, an air of comfort, of quietness, and of leisure, is visible in every thing: there is nothing of the stir and bustle of business, but, on every side, evidence of indolence and inactivitysoldiers in handsome uniform lounging around— officers in rich undress-and clusters of gentlemen in citizen's garb, seated in the shade beside the houses, or in verandas in front. Mr. Solomon, a merchant of wealth, kindly threw open his house to the officers of the ship, immediately on our arrival; and we availed ourselves of his hospitality till the governor should arrive from Plantation House, the govermental country seat, three miles inland, where his family exclusively reside. He visits the castle in town, however, almost daily on business; and when informed of his presence there, under the guidance of Mr. Solomon, we paid our respects to him. Our reception by the General and his son, a Captain in the Hon. East India Company's service, and by Captain Knipe, civil aid, or secretary, was most GOVERNOR DALLAS. 339 cordial; and immediately followed by an invitation to dine with himself and family this evening at six o'clock; but being already engaged to Mr. Solomon, the invitation was renewed for to-morrow, after we should have accomplished a visit to Longwood. Knowing that the Council of the Island was convening, and the Governor consequently occupied, after a short and agreeable interview, we took leave for a more extensive survey of the town previous to the dinner hour of Mr. Solomon. LETTER IV. THE TOMB OF NAPOLEON, LONGWOOD, AND PLANTATION HOUSE. U.S. ship Vincennes, Bay of Jamestown, YESTERDAY morning Captain Finch, Dr. Malone, and myself took breakfast with Dr. Price, the health officer of the port, and soon afterwards became mounted for an excursion to Longwood, and the residence of General Dallas. After the ride of an hour, up the zig-zag roads cut in the surface of the hill-by which alone, on the one side of the glen or the other, the ascent to the mountainous country in the central parts of the island can be made-we found ourselves beyond the highest point of land between Jamestown and Longwood, on the edge of a tremendous gulf of an oval form, called the "Devil's Punch Bowl." The precipices surrounding it are deeply furrowed by the washing of heavy rains, and are every where tinged with hues of the most delicate shade-a light purple dashed with pink and pale yellow predominating—the whole caused by the colored earth, of which the soil is here constituted. At the head of this chasm, a narrow and secluded glen-contrasting strongly, in the verdure and freshness of its trees, shrubbery, and grassy sides with the coloring and nakedness of the wider and deeper parts below-lies cradled in green hills; and is the nook in which repose the bones of the greatest man of his age, and one of the master-spirits of his race "High is his couch: the ocean flood Far-far below, by storms is curl'd; As round him heav'd, while high he stood, Alone he sleeps! the mountain cloud That night hangs round him, and the breath Of morning scatters, is the shroud That wraps the Conqueror's clay in death. And from Siberian wastes of snow, And Europe's hills, a voice that bids The world he aw'd, to mourn him?—No! His only-his perpetual dirge Is the wild sea bird's piercing cry The mournful murmur of the surge The cloud's deep voice-the wind's loud sigh!" The tufted tops of the willows that droop around his grave, and the cottage and garden of the keeper are seen in the depths of the glen, while, on the height of the banks above, appears the white front of Huts' gate, |