p. 218

210

NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA.

Sep. 1st 1876

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir, - There is living in this village an old soldier 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 from 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 entitiled to the addtional pen-
sion offered previously to the year 1814. If you should
judge 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 receive 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
Ireland, 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. We had to lie on the floor, one blanket to each man,
which we placed half under and half over us. 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.

"Sir Hudson Lowe was a very good General in regard to
his behaviour to the men. He wasn't a bad gentleman ; a
very kind, nice man. I've seen him many a time with his
lady and two daughters - nice young ladies they were.
They used to keep a carriage drawn by two bullocks. I've
seen 'em come to the church, which was near Boney's
quarters. He woudl lean on his pew-door, and he would
never sit down till he had every one - slaves and all - accom-
modated with seats. If he saw a barefooted man - a slave -
without a seat, he would beckon to him and see him seated.
Captain O. (commanding 7th Company), a good a reli-
giuos man, bought a young woman, with a child, for $80,
having, before he bid for her, had a paper made out, which,
when he had purchased her, he presented to her, giving her
her freedom. When we were afterwards in India, Captain
O. Assembled some more of his men to read with them.

"Sir Hudson Lowe had several times to sign the death-
warrant of men charged with crime. On one occasion he
went to a man named Kirk, about to be hanged, and asked
him if he had anything to say. 'Nothing,' answered the
man, 'except that I am innocent, and that the man who
committed the crime is now standing in the ranks to see
me executed.' This was afterwards proved to be the case.
The crime was the robbing a Chinaman's hut. Kirk
was absent at the moment of the numbering of the guard,
whils the actual criminal had returned and answered to his
number. The Chinaman swore to the wrong man. The
real criminal, when afterwards condemned for another
crime, confessed to the robbery!

"Sir Hudson Lowe's quarters were at a mile and
a half's distance from Napoleon's. A captain either
of the 66th or the 20th Regiment was always stationed
inside Boney's compound ; and it was his duty to
see him once every day. Boney knew this was the
case, and while he would not report himself he would
give him opportunities of seeing him, unless he were sulky.
He was very sulky sometimes, perhaps would not show
himself for several days. The captain on his watch woould
signal accordingly ; and after two or three days Sir Hudson
would come riding up with his Staff, ring the bell, and ask,
'Where is Napoleon?' 'In his study.' 'Tell him I want
him.' Perhaps after a time he would show himself, with-
out coming to the Governor.

"At the beginning of the year 1821 Sir Hudson sent
Napoleon orders to occupy four rooms which were com-
pleted in the new State Prison. Napoleon, with his Gene-
rals, came and looked at this apartment, and said (as was
reported), 'I am ordered by Hudson to occupy this place,
but I will never live a day in it.' He returned to his old
quarters, and the next day reported himself sick to Dr.
Arnott, the physician of our (20th) Regiment. He was
never seen afterwards by any guard or sentry ; never, in
fact, came out from his house again, till he was brought out
to his grave, about seven weeks afterwards. I was one of
12 who carried him to his grave, a mile and a half distant,
perhaps rather more, from his house. A lieutenant of our
regiment (Lieutenant Connor), and a sergeant under him,
commanded the funeral party. The body was laid in a
shell of tin, this placed in a leaden coffin, and this is a
mahogany coffin, covered with superfine black cloth. Mr.
Darlan (storekeeper) told me that 1,000 yards of black
cloth, valued at a guinea a yard, were employed to drape
the three weeping willows which were at the spot at which
he had requested to be buried. The small spring at which
he procured his drinking water was at the same spot. A
Chinaman had been employed, at a dollar a day, to fetch
each morning two silver goblets of this water, holding a
pint and a half each. The whole garrison was in attendance
at the funeral. All had passed through his chamber pre-
viously as he lay in State.

"Boney was the fattest man I ever saw ; the calves of
his legs, and his cheeks too, you might see them shake as he
was walking, and yet he had not the ruddy, healthy look
our people had. He would carry a stick, about as thick as
my walking-stick, with an iron spud at the end, and if he
saw a weed he would always spud it up, anywhere where
he went. Four nights out of seven I was on sentry, and
would fall asleep while walking, and stray off the path ; and
then my hair would stand on end with fright and raise my
cap, for I knew if I were caught napping I was safe for 300
lashes. I have heard men say that their sufferings from
want of rest in St. Helena were more trying to them than
the hardships of a campaign.

"Napoleon died on the 5th of May, 1821. Two priests
were in attendance. We who had to lift the body were
not allowed to touch the coffin until a priest had sprinkled
us with holy water. We started at 3 o'clock. The coffin
was very heavy. We carried it six at a time, and the men
that were lowest down in carrying him suffered all the pun-
ishment. I was one of these. All the garrison was as-
sembled about the Emperor's quarters and followed him to
the grave, the bands playing a dead march. It was reported
that Napoleon had requested to be buried with the honours
of Royalty, 21 guns ; but the governor ordered 19 guns to
be fired, the number assigned to a general. We carried
the body where a cart with oxen could not go ; but it
certain parts of the distance the men were relieved, and
the body drawn upon a cart. The Roman Catholic priests
who had been in attendance on him conducted the funeral
service. The actual funeral took place at about 6 o'clock
p.m.

"Nine or ten of us had been employed for three days
in excavating in the rock a cavity 7 ft. deep and 8 ft. square.
The rock was blasted, and where the powder had made the
sides uneven it was filled in, and the cavity smoothed all
round. In the cavity thus made by sappers and miners,
assisted by my own labour and that of others, flagstones
were inserted in the rock and formed into a case or box,
which received the coffin. The coffin was covered over
with a large flagstone, and the four corners were bored and
filled in with melted lead, which fastened them firmly
together. The remainder of the excavation was filled in
with the rubble and levelled, and a mound resembling a
common grave raised above it. An iron palisading was
placed round, and sentry lept over it night and day until
all the troops were withdrawn. They were gradually
withdrawn, and our regiment left six months after the
funeral.

"Every man of full age on the island, whatever his
ordinary occupation, was required to have arms, and to
carry them on occasion ; and Sir Hudson Lowe from time
to time, at intervals of a month or six weeks, would
require them to muster in a body. The Duke of Reichstadt
was at this time in America, and the idea was that possibly
a rescue might be attempted from that quarter. The
Conqueror, of 74 guns, was in the harbour, and kept guard
there. Two sloops of war were always cruising round.

"A circuit of, perhaps, three-quarters of a mile was
assigned to Napoleon, and he would occasionally, though
rarely, make the excursion. There was a sentry at every
20 paces all round the house when, after gunfire, they
were brought nearer.

"Sometimes Napoleon's horses would be brought to his
door fully caparisoned, but he very seldom mounted them.
His long Hessian boots were stuck in the stirrups. The
Generals, his friends, if they wished to pass this boundary
and to enter the town (about three and a half miles from
Boney's quarters), were accompanied by a sentry of the
21st Light Dragoons, or, if on foot, by any soldier appointed
to the duty.

"Sir Hudson Lowe was a man of very kind and benevo-
lent character, only strict in duty. He never took the
troops out for extra drill without giving them a pint of
wine extra and 1s., and the same if we were called to
'King's work,' road-making, or what not.

"I believe, if ever any man died brokenhearted, it was
Boney. He had been low-spirited, and had not taken his
usual exercise for some time before he was ordered to take
up his quarters, in the new State prison. To be sure, it
had the name of a prison ; but I saw into the drawing-
room and dining-room. and they were beautiful. It was
built by the sappers and miners and by 400 Chinamen, and
they were all of different trades.

"Mr. Darlan told me that Napoleon left the funeral
party 1,000f. ; but Sur Hudson Lowe said it was more than
he dared do to grant it. Napoleon also would have given
to each man of our regiment a gold chain to hold his
picker and brush, but we were not permitted to accept it.