MAY 9, 1836.
(PLATE 102. ST. HELENA.)
We sailed from Port Louis, and, calling at the Cape of Good Hope,
on the 8th of July we arrived off St. Helena. This island, the
forbidding aspect of which has been so often described, rises
abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean. Near the town, as
if to complete nature's defence, small forts and guns fill up every
gap in the rugged rocks. The town runs up a flat and narrow valley;
the houses look respectable, and are interspersed with a very few
green trees. When approaching the anchorage there was one striking
view: an irregular castle perched on the summit of a lofty hill,
and surrounded by a few scattered fir-trees, boldly projected
against the sky.
The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw of
Napoleon's tomb; it was a capital central situation, whence I could
make excursions in every direction. (21/1. After the volumes of
eloquence which have poured forth on this subject, it is dangerous
even to mention the tomb. A modern traveller, in twelve lines,
burdens the poor little island with the following titles,--it is a
grave, tomb, pyramid, cemetery, sepulchre, catacomb, sarcophagus,
minaret, and mausoleum!) During the four days I stayed here I
wandered over the island from morning to night and examined its
geological history.
Pages:
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934