11th—14th. We now found unfolded to us a new portion of our existence
on the wretched rock of St. Helena. We were settled in our new abode,
and the limits of our prison were marked out.
Longwood, which was originally merely a farm-house belonging to the
East India Company, and which was afterwards given as a country
residence to the Deputy Governor, is situated on one of the highest
parts of the Island. The difference of the temperature between this
place and the valley where we landed is marked by a variation of at
least ten degrees of the English thermometer. Longwood stands on a
level height, which is tolerably extensive on the eastern side, and
pretty near the coast. Continual and frequently violent gales, always
blowing in the same quarter, sweep the surface of the ground. The sun,
though it rarely appears, nevertheless exercises its influence on the
atmosphere, which is apt to produce disorders of the liver, if due
precaution be not observed. Heavy and sudden falls of rain complete
the impossibility of distinguishing any regular season. But there is
no regular course of seasons at Longwood. The whole year presents a
continuance of wind, clouds, and rain; and the temperature is of that
mild and monotonous kind which, perhaps, after all, is rather
conducive to _ennui_ than disease. Notwithstanding the abundant rains,
the grass rapidly disappears, being either nipped by the wind or
withered by the heat. The water, which is conveyed hither by a
conduit, is so unwholesome that the Deputy Governor, when he lived at
Longwood, never suffered it to be used in his family until it had been
boiled; and we are obliged to do the same. The trees, which, at a
distance, impart a smiling aspect to the scene, are merely gum trees—a
wretched kind of shrub, affording no shade. On one side the horizon is
bounded by the vast ocean; but the rest of the scene presents only a
mass of huge barren rocks, deep gulfs, and desolate valleys; and, in
the distance, appears the green and misty chain of mountains, above
which towers Diana’s Peak. In short, Longwood can be pleasing only
after the fatigues of a long voyage, when the sight of any land is a
cheering prospect. Arriving at St. Helena on a fine day, the traveller
may, perhaps, be struck with the singularity of the objects which
suddenly present themselves, and exclaim “How beautiful!” but his
visit is momentary; and what pain does not his hasty admiration cause
to the unhappy captives who are doomed to pass their lives at St.
Helena!
Workmen had been constantly employed for two months in preparing
Longwood for our reception; the result of their labours, however,
amounted to little. The entrance to the house was by a room which had
just been built, and which was intended to answer the double purpose
of an ante-chamber and a dining room. This apartment led to another,
which was made the drawing room; beyond this was a third room running
in a cross direction and very dark. This was intended to be the
depository of the Emperor’s maps and books; but it was afterwards
converted into the dining room. The Emperor’s chamber opened into this
apartment on the right-hand side. This chamber was divided into two
equal parts, forming the Emperor’s cabinet and sleeping room: a little
external gallery served for a bathing-room. Opposite to the Emperor’s
chamber, at the other extremity of the building, were the apartments
of Madame de Montholon, her husband, and her son, which have since
been used as the Emperor’s library. Detached from this part of the
house was a little square room on the ground floor contiguous to the
kitchen, which was assigned to me. My son was obliged to enter his
room through a trap-door and by the help of a ladder; it was nothing
but a loft, and scarcely afforded room for his bed. Our windows and
beds were without curtains. The few articles of furniture which were
in our apartments had evidently been obtained from the inhabitants of
the island, who doubtless readily seized the opportunity of disposing
of them to advantage for the sake of supplying themselves with better.
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