210
NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA.
Sep. 1st 1876
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir, - There is living in this village an old soldierm for-
merly of the 20th Regiment, and who served as one of the
guard over Napoleon at St. Helena. His recollections of
his youth are so vivid, and apparently so accurate, that I
was induced to take down form his lips, a short time ago,
the following narrative. The name of mhy parishoner is
William Clark. He enlisted, it will be seen, in 1815, and
consequently just fails to be entitiles to the addtional pen-
sion offered previously to the year 1814. If you should
jusge his story to have sufficient interest for your readers,
and if any of them should be disposed to add by small
donations to the comfort of the last days of an interesting
old veteran, I should be happy to treceive such donations
for him.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
HENRY DOWNTON .
Hopton Rectory, Thetford, Suffolk, Aug. 24.
"I was born on the 28th of - December, 1793, at Hopton,
near Thetford, in Suffolk. I enlisted on the 8th of May,
1815, in Her Majesty's 20th Regiment, then lying at Water-
ford. I joined the depot at Newport, Isle of Wight.
Seven thousand men were then lying there. After seven
months at Waterford, we went from station to station in
Irelan, and on the 14th of February, 1818, we were sent to
his exile in St. Helena. We arrived in St. Helena about
the 10th of May, 1818, and remained there till six months
after the death of Napoleon, who died on the 5th of May,
1821. We3 had to lie on the floor, one blanket to each man,
which we placed half unjder and half ove rus. Sir Hudson
Lowe refused the petition of Colonel South to allow bedding
- 'this would make them sleep too soundly.' At gunfire
(6 o'clock p.m.) the guard formed closer in, and all out-
pickets were joined to Boney's guard. Guards, pickets,
and all amounted at night to 63 or 64. About a mile from
our regular quarters were three guns, at a point we called
Break-neck Valley.
EN