LOVE STRONG IN DEATH. BY EBENEZER ELLIOTT. From Tait's Magazine. [This poem is founded on a fact, witnessed by a friend of the A strange fear had come o'er him, Burn'd darkly on his cheek; He spoke, or tried to speak. Frenchmen, is very bitter against the king; and the episode we have selected from his work must be read cum grano, as it is obviously dwelt upon for the purpose of inspiring his readers with his own animosity. True, the spirit of the whole work is bio-author. A boy, when at the point of death, requested of his graphical, anecdotical, personal; nevertheless we remark that M. Blanc selects with pleasure all the facts or anecdotes which tell against the king. He dwells with evident satisfaction on the vivid picture which he draws of the irresolution, the want of audacity, which Louis Philippe displayed when the throne was first offered to him; and very strongly depicts the utter want of participation which the Duc d'Orleans had in the Revolution. He neither conspired nor combated. His name was never mentioned, his person never thought of, till the Revolution was finished; and then, wanting a ruler, they elected him. It is with quiet sarcasm that M. Blanc points to the fact that Louis Philippe, the day after every émeute, always appearing in public with his family, especially on the theatre of the transaction, as if to associate in the people's minds the ideas of order and peace with the Orleans family. But we must here quit for the present the work of M. Louis Blanc; anxiously awaiting the appearance of the concluding volumes, and conscientiously recommending it to our readers as one of the most vivid, interesting, and important works that have recently issued from the French press. DR. WOLFF.-A public meeting was convened at the Hanovor Square Rooms on Wednesday, to take leave of Dr. Wolff previous to his departure for Bokhara, to ascertain the fate of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly The proceedings appeared to excite much interest; and the confident hopes held out, in their addresses to the meeting, by Captain Grover and the worthy doctor, that the gallant officers were still living, notwithstanding the accounts of their supposed execution, which had reached this country from various sources, were supported by several very remarkable facts. One of the most striking of these, mentioned by Captain Grover, is to be found in a letter from Colonel Stoddart, written shortly after his imprisonment by the Ameer at Bokhara in 1838, in which he says, you will frequently hear of my captivity, but I caution you never to believe any accounts of my death." Dr. Wolff stated his intention to set out on his proposed mission this day (Saturday), to proceed first to Malta, then to Constantinople, and then onwards for Bokhara, having been provided by the Foreign Office with despatches for the Ambassadors and Captain Shiel. Court Journal. He said, "The quiet moonlight, While all the woods were still : I never could awake: "A cold, dead weight is on me, A heavy weight, like lead; With weariness I ache: Which I may kiss in sleep, But, then, their heads they shake: "Why can't I see the poplars? Oh, haste and give me something The little bosom heaves not; The fire hath left his cheek; Hath wing'd its flight away: DUTROCHET ON FRUITS.-This gentleman confirms, by his own experiments, the modern opinion that the removal of the leaves of fruit-trees, in order to expose the fruit to the direct influence of the air and light, is exceedingly destructive; but he considers it highly essential that the tree itself should be well exposed to both. This is particularly requisite with the dwarf vine, which, if shaded, or placed in a position which prevents its receiving an abundant supply of air, becomes almost unproductive--Athenæum. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. BY MRS. ABELL (LATE MISS ELIZA BALCOMBE) AFTER HE LEFT HER FATHER'S RESIDENCE, "THE BRIARS," FOR LONGWOOD. From the New Monthly Magazine. WITH the assistance of my daughter's pencil, and some rough sketches I had by me, I have been enabled to give a view of the Briars, and the cottage occupied by Napoleon whilst he stayed with us. He certainly appeared very contented during that time, and frequently expressed a strong desire that the government would permit him to remain there, by purchasing the estate; and on their refusing to do so, he sent General Montholon to negotiate with my father, that he himself might become the purchaser of the Briars; but circumstances (probably political) prevented the negotiation from taking effect. Napoleon used to watch with great interest the fatigue parties of the 53d regiment, as they wound round the mountains above us, carrying on their shoulders the materials wherewith to render Longwood fit to receive him; and as the time of its completion drew near, he manifested his discontent, by grumbling at the sounds of the fifes and drums, to which the soldiers of the 53d used to toil up those steep acclivities, as serving to warn him of the speedy termination of his sojourn at our cottage. Shortly after the ex-emperor left the Briars, we proposed riding to Longwood to see him, feeling much interested to know how he was accommodated, and rather, it may be, hoping to hear him make a comparison in favor of the sweet place he had left for the steril-looking domain in which his house was placed; and I remember being in a state of ecstasy at the prospect of again beholding my old playmate, the loss of whose society I had so deeply regretted. We found him seated on the steps of his billiard-room, chatting to little Tristram Montholon. The moment he perceived us, he started up and hastened towards us. Running to my mother, he embraced her on each cheek; after which fashion he welcomed my sister; but as usual with me, he seized me by the ear, and pinching it, exclaimed, "Ah, Mademoiselle Betsee, êtes vous sage, eh, eh?" He then asked us what we thought of his palace, and bidding us follow him, said he would show us over his ménage. We were first conducted to his bedroom, which was small and cheerless. Instead of fluted nankeen; and the only decorations paper-hangings, its walls were covered with I observed, were the different portraits of his family, which, on a former occasion, he had shown to us. His bed was the little iron camp-bedstead, with green silk hangings, on which he said he had slept when on the battle-fields of Marengo and Austerlitz. The only thing approaching to magnificence in the furniture of this chamber, was a splendid silver washhand-stand bason and ewer. The first object on which his eyes would rest on awaking was a small marble bust of his son, which stood on the mantelpiece facing his bed, and above which hung a portrait of Marie Louise. We then passed on through an ante-room to a small chamber, in which a bath had been put up for his use, and where he passed many hours of the day. The apartments appropriated to him were the two I have just mentioned, with a dressing-room, dining-room, drawing-room, and billiard-room. The latter was built by Sir George Cockburn, and was the only well-proportioned room of which Longwood could boast. After all these chambers were exhibited, and commented on by Napoleon, he proceeded with us to the kitchen, where he desired Pieron, the confectioner, to send in some creams and bon-bons for Miss Betsee. From thence we went to the larder, where he directed our attention to a sheep that was hanging up, and said, laughingly, "Regardez-voilà un monton, pour mon diner-ou en a fait lanterne." And true enough it was so, the French servants having placed a candle in its lean carcass, through which the light shone. After we had gone all over his rooms, he conducted us to those of Madame Montholon, and introduced me to a little stranger, the Countess's baby, only then six weeks old, and which he began dandling so awkwardly, that we were in a state of terror lest he should let it fall. He occasionally diverted himself by pinching the little creature's nose and chin until it cried. When we quizzed him for his gaucherie in handling the child, he assured us he had often nursed the little king of Rome when he was much younger than the little Lili. Before terminating our visit, Napoleon took us over the garden and grounds which surrounded his house. Nothing could exceed the dreariness of the view which presented itself from thence: and a spectator, unaccustomed to the savage and gi gantic scenery of St. Helena, could not fail | scene, &c., ending his communication by of being impressed with its singularity. observing, that Miss Betsee was the wildOn the opposite side the eye rested on a dis- est little girl he had ever met, and expressmal and rugged looking mountain, whose ing his belief that the young lady was stupendous side was here and the rediversi- folle. fied by patches of wild samphire, prickly This letter had been translated into the pears, and aloes, which served but slightly German and English journals. My father to break the uniform sterility of the iron- was much enraged at my name thus apcolored rocks, the whole range of which pearing, and wished to call the marquis to exhibited little more than huge apertures an account for his ill-nature; but my of caverns and overhanging cliffs, which, in mother's intercessions prevailed, and she the early years of the colonization of the obtained an ample apology from the marisland, afforded shelter to herds of wild quis. goats. I remember hearing Madame Ber- On hearing of the affront that "Miss trand tell my mother, that one of Napoleon's Betsee" had received from the vieux imbefavorite pastimes was, to watch the clouds cile, as Napoleon generally denominated as they rolled over the highest point of him, he requested Dr. O'Meara would call that gigantic mountain, and as the mists at the Briars on his way to St. James's Valwreathed themselves into fantastic draper- ley, with a message to me, which was to ies around its summit, sometimes obscur- let me know how I might revenge myself. ing the valleys from sight, and occasional- It so happened that the marquis prided ly stretching themselves out far to sea, his imagination would take wing, and indulge itself in shaping out the future from those vapory nothings. himself on the peculiar fashion of his wig, to which was attached a long cue. This embellishment to his head, Napoleon desired me to burn off with caustic. I was always ready for mischief, and in this instance had a double inducement, as the emperor promised to reward me, on receipt of the pigtail, with the prettiest fan Mr. Solomon's shop contained. Fortunately I was prevented indulging in this most hoydenish trick by the remonstrances of my mother. The next time I saw the emperor, his first exclamation was, "Eh, bien, Mademoiselle Betsee, a tu obei mes ordres et gagné l'éventail ?" As a diversion to close the day, the emperor proposed to ride in his Irish jauntingcar. Our horses were accordingly sent on to Hutsgate, the residence of Madame Bertrand, and accompanied by Napoleon, we set off at a hard gallop. I always was, and still am, the greatest coward in a carriage; and of all vehicles, that jaunting-car seemed to me to be the one to inspire terror. It was driven by the fearless Archambaud, with unbroke Cape horses, three abreast, round that most dangerous of roads called | the Devil's Punchbowl. The party occu- In reply, I made a great merit of being pying the side nearest the declivity, seem too dutiful a daughter to disobey my moed almost hanging over the precipice; while ther, however much my inclination promptthe others were apparently crushed against ed me to revenge the insult. the gigantic walls of the perpendicular rock. These were drives which seemed to inspire Bonaparte with mischievous pleasure. He added to my fright by repeatedly assuring me the horses were running away, and that we should be all dashed to pieces. I shall never forget the joy I experienced on arriving in safety at Madame Bertrand's, and finding myself once more mounted on my quiet little pony, Tom. After Napoleon had been on the island a few months, some newspapers arrived, containing anecdotes of him, and all that occurred during his stay at the Briars. Amongst other sottises, was a letter written by the Marquis de M, in which he described all the romping games that had taken place between Napoleon and our family, such as blind-man's buff, the sword He then pinched my ear in token of approval, and said, “Ah, Miss Betsee, tu commence à étre sage." He then called Dr. O'Meara, and asked him if he had procured the fan. The doctor replied that there were none pretty enough. I believe I looked disappointed, on perceiving which, Napoleon, with his usual good nature, consoled me with the promise of something prettier; and he kept his word; in a few days I received a ring composed of brilliants, forming the letter N, surmouuted by a small eagle. The only revenge I took on the marquis was, by relating an anecdote of his greedy propensity, which diverted Napoleon very much. He was very fond of cauliflowers, which vegetable was rare in the island, and when dining with us one day at the Briars, his aide-de-camp, Captain Gor, had omitted |tivity of one of the besieging party, who to point out the fact of there being some at managed to climb the rock, reach the optable, and it was only when about being posite side of the mountain, and clamberremoved that the marquis espied the re- ing up, gain a situation above the cave, the treating dish. His rage was most amus-mouth of which became thus exposed to ing, and with much gesticulation he ex- the same mode of attack which had effectclaimed, "Bête! pourquoi ne m'a tu pas dis qu'ils y avaient des choux-fleurs ?" During one of our riding excursions, we encountered Napoleon, who was returning from Sandy Bay, where he had been to visit Mr. Dwho resided there. He expressed himself delighted with the place, and spoke in high terms of the urbanity of the venerable host of "Fairy Land." This gentleman had passed all his life at St. Helena, and at this time had arrived at the advanced age of seventy, without ever having left the island. His appearance was most prepossessing, and to those who loved to revel in the ideal and imaginative, he might have been likened to a good genius presiding over the fairy valley in which he dwelt.* I asked Napoleon if he had remarked, when at Sandy Bay, three singularly formed rocks, shaped like sugar-loaves, and called Lot's wife and daughter? He replied that he had. I then related to him an anecdote connected with the largest of the three. ed its defence: so that when one of the unfortunate freebooters approached the edge of the precipice to roll down stones, he was crushed to death, and his companion, who was following him, severely wounded. Many of the islanders believe to this day that the ghost of the murdered slave is seen to make the circuit of the wild spot wherein he carried on his nightly orgies: a superstition easily accounted for from the circumstance of the summits of the mountains being generally encircled by light mists, which wreath themselves into all kinds of fantastical shapes; thus to the eye of superstition giving to "an airy nothing a local habitation and a name." In St. Helena, every cavern has its spirit, and every rock its legend. Napoleon having listened to my legend of the Sugar-loaf Mountain, said he should regard it with greater interest the next time he rode in that direction. One of the many instances of Napoleon's great good-nature, and his kindness in promoting my amusement, was on the occasion More than half a century had elapsed of the annual races at Deadwood, which at since two slaves, who preferred a freeboot- that time were anticipated by the inhabiting life to that of labor and subjection, se- ants of the island as a kind of jubilee. From creted themselves in a cave half way up having been, as was often the case, in arrears the acclivity which terminates the spiral with my lessons, my father, by way of punrock, called "Lot's wife." From this ishing me, declared that I should not go to stronghold, their nocturnal sallies and de- the races; and fearing that he might be inpredations were carried on with great suc-duced to break his determination, he lent cess, and their retreat remaining undiscov.my pony to a friend for that day. My ered for a long time, they became the ter vexation was very great at not knowing ror of the island. They were at length, where to get a horse, and I happened to'menhowever, tracked to their rocky hold, where tion my difficulty to Dr. O'Meara, who they stood a long siege, repelling all at- told Napoleon, and my delight may be tacks, by rolling stones on their assailants. conceived when a short time after all our It was at last deemed necessary to send a party had left the Briars for Deadwood, I party of soldiers to fire on them, if they re-perceived the doctor winding down the fused to surrender; but this measure was mountain-path which led to our house, rendered unnecessary by the superior ac-followed by a slave leading a superb gray horse, called Mameluke, with a lady's sidesaddle and housings of crimson velvet embroidered with gold. A few years after the emperor's visit, Mr. Dwas induced to come to England: and thinking that he might never return to his lovely and beloved valley, he had a tree felled from his own "fairy land," from under the shade of which he had often viewed the enchanting scene around, rival in England, and his interesting character, being made known to the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., his R. H desired that Mr. D. and had his coffin made from the wood. His ar might be presented to him; and his Royal Highness was so gratified with the interview, that he afterwards knighted Mr. D, who subsequently returned to his loved Island. Dr. O'Meara said that on telling the empe ror of my distress, he desired that the quietest horse in his stable be immediately prepared for my use. This simply good-natured act of the emperor occasioned no small disturbance on the island, and sufficiently punished me for acting contrary to my father's wishes, by the pain it gave me at hearing that he was dicipline in permitting one of his family to ride a horse belonging to the Longwood establishment, and for which he was reprimanded by the governor. considered to have committed a breach of with the fallen chief and his adherents, had the cake ornamented with a large eagle, and which, unluckily for us, was the subject of much animadversion. This I named to Napoleon as an inducement for him to eat of the cake, saying, "It is the least you can do for getting us into such disgrace." Having thus induced him to eat a thick slice, he pinched my ear, calling me "saucy little simpleton," and galloped off humming, or rather attempting to sing with his most unmusical voice, "Vive Henri Quatre." We were told by Napoleon the next day, that he had witnessed the races from the upper windows of General Bertrand's cottage, and expressed himself much amused by them. He said he supposed I was too much diverted by the gay scene to feel my usual timidity. or Bonaparte frequently urged my father to correct me whilst young, and said I ought never to be encouraged in my foolish fears, ever permitted to indulge therein. He said the empress Josephine suffered the greatest terror in a carriage, and he mentioned several instances of her extreme fright, when he was obliged to reprimand her severely. If I remember rightly, the Duchess D'Abrantes mentions in her memoirs of the emperor, one of the anecdotes on this subject which he recounted to us. There was so little to vary the monotony of Napoleon's life, that he took an interest in the most trifling attempts at gayety in the island, and he generally consented to our entreaties to be present at some of the many entertainments my father delighted in promoting. On one occasion my father gave a fête to celebrate the anniversary of my birthday, at a pretty little place he possessed within the boundary of the emperor's rides, called Ross Cottage: so named as being the abode for a short time of a much esteemed friend, the flag-captain of the Northumberland, whom Bonaparte always designated as "un bravissimo uomo." When the festivities were at their height we descried the emperor riding along the hill-side towards the house; but on seeing such an assembly he sent to say that he would content himself with looking at us from the heights above. I did not consider this was fulfilling his promise of coming to the party, and not liking to be so disappointed, I scampered off to where he had taken up his position, and begged he would be present at our festivity-telling him he must not refuse, itbeing my birthday. But all my entreaties were unavailing ;-he said he could not make up his mind to descend the hill, to be exposed to the gaze of the multitude, who wished to gratify their curiosity with the sight of him. I insisted, however, on his tasting a piece of birthday cake, which had been sent for that occasion by a friend in England, and who, little knowing the strict surveillance exercised over all those in any way connected One morning we went to call on Madame Bertrand, and found Napoleon seated by her bedside. We were about retreating, thinking we had been shown into the wrong room, when he called out, in his imperfect English, desiring us to enter, and asked what we were afraid of, saying, "I am visiting my dear loaf, my mistress." My mother observed that the latter term had a strange signification, and that it was never used in our language to express friendship. He laughed heartily at the awkward error he had made, and promised not to forget the interpretation of the word for the future, repeating that he only meant to express that Madame Bertrand was his dear friend. It was by Napoleon's especial desire that we ventured now and then to correct his English; and being very anxious to improve himself, he never let an opportunity pass when in our society, without trying to converse in English, though, from his exceedingly bad pronunciation, and literal translations, it required the most exclusive attention to understand him. For my part I seldom had patience to render him much assistance, my sister being generally obliged to finish what I had begun; for in the middle of his lesson I would rush away, attracted by some more frivolous amusement. On returning I was always saluted with a tap on the cheek, or a pinch of the ear, with the exclamation of, "Ah, Mademoiselle Betsee, petite étourdie que vous êtes, vous nedeviendriez jamais sage." Bonaparte, on one occasion, asked us if we had seen little Arthur, who was about a month old; and he repeated Madame Bertrand's speech on introducing the child to him. |