After spending some time in contemplating this remarkable memorial of the vicissitudes of fortune, we inscribed our names in a book kept for the purpose, and again mounting our horses, rode to what had formerly been the abode of the deceased; where, deprived of all power, the deposed Emperor to the last permitted the voluntary companions of his exile to address him by the titles of "Sire," and "Your Majesty." On quitting the garden scenery of the pretty little valley, the country resumed its dreary and sterile character. A ride of about a German mile through this inhospitable region, uncheered either by the fragrance of flowers or the melody of birds, brought us within sight of an inconsiderable level, or table land, perfectly barren, crowning the summit of one of the highest hillocks into which this huge rock is divided. In the centre of the plain, and enveloped in so thick a fog that it was scarcely perceptible, stood a small unpretending mansion. "That," said our guide, "is Longwood, late the residence of Napoleon." We soon reached the house, expecting to find it as left at the death of its illustrious occupant; with how much interest should we not have visited it, if nothing had been changed or removed! But the English authorities had not taken our gratification into their consideration. The house is divided into two distinct portions; the smaller half, or Napoleon's sleeping apartment, has been converted into a stable, and the larger into a warehouse for sheep-skins, fat, and other produce of the island. We had been informed that Napoleon had laid out a little garden near his dwelling, in which he often worked, assisted by Madame Bertrand; and, after many fruitless attempts, had been at length rewarded by the blossoming of a few hardy flowers, and the successful plantation of some young oaks; that one of the latter was set by the hand of Napoleon himself, another by that of Madame Bertrand. As we could see nothing resembling a garden, I enquired of our guide where it lay; he pointed, with a sarcastic smile, to a spot which had been routed up by hogs, saying, "Here Napoleon was as successful in rearing flowers as he had once been in founding empires, and both have equally vanished." Some oaks are still standing beside a broken hedge, but whether planted by Napoleon or not, no one can tell. We were also shown a pretty house, which had been built for Napoleon by the King's command, but which was not complete till a very short time before his death. Though much better and more convenient than the one he inhabited, he never could be induced to remove to it; perhaps already conscious of the approach of death, he felt no farther concern for the accommodations of life.