CHAPTER VII

LONGWOOD

(1) The House and Grounds

BOUT a mile and a quarter from Hutt's Gate, on the way to Deadwood, there is a gate between two

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lodges which were the Longwood Guard Houses. A new road has hence been made in a direct line to Longwood House, the road in Napoleon's day having been of a wandering nature, to the right. About six hundred yards from the Guard is the gate into Longwood grounds.

Longwood when first erected, in the middle of the eighteenth century, consisted of a stone cowhouse and a barn. In 1787 Lieut.-Governor Robson made four rooms out of the cowsheds, and added a fifth to the north, in the centre, at right angles to the rest of the building. At the back there were five smaller rooms, a courtyard and a kitchen, and servants' quarters, with a detached stable beyond. There were no cellars nor air spaces under the floors, nor any damp

course.

Sir George Cockburn soon made a great change in the place, employing all the skilled workmen of his squadron and all others that were to be found on the island; the materials were carried up the five miles from Jamestown on the shoulders of some two hundred seamen. Considerable further additions were made, in the quarters at the back, after Napoleon had come into residence.

The entrance on the north (the warm quarter of St. Helena, south of the equator) is by four stone steps, to a small verandah bounded by a wooden trellis, on which at

the present time a climbing nasturtium is growing freely. This and the entrance-room, usually called the billiard-room, were constructed by Sir George Cockburn. On each side of the front door there is a window 2 feet wide.

The billiard-room is the largest in the house; it is 26 ft. 6 in. long, 17 ft. 6 in. broad, and 12 ft. 4 in. high, with three sash windows, which the French called guillotine, on the west, and two, with a fire-place between them, on the east. The five large and two small windows give an abundance of light to the room. In the fire-place there exists still the original grate, with five bars. This room is made of wood, and stands on a stone platform well above the ground. It is dry and pleasant at all times, except on the rare days when the sun is too powerful. The interior wood planks were painted green. The lower planks are new, replacing the originals, which had become covered, up to six feet high, with the names of vulgar visitors. There were white muslin curtains and green persians. In these latter, holes had been cut to enable Napoleon to peep out unobserved.

The room was at first used as the dining-room. A billiardtable was placed in it by Sir Hudson Lowe on the 18th July, 1816. This table, which is now at Plantation House, is 11 ft. 4 in. by 6 ft. 1 in. It has six legs, instead of the usual eight, and six pockets; the bed is of wood. Napoleon sometimes with his hands knocked the balls about, driving them against each other or into the pockets. He was much in this room, where he had space for walking up and down while dictating his memoirs: he would sometimes take surreptitious exercise here for several hours in a day, the persians being closed that his occupation might not be observed. His papers and plans were spread on the billiardtable, and the room was ultimately called the topographical cabinet. Napoleon would have worked here more if the windows had been higher. The sills were only 3 ft. 6 in. from the floor; he could be seen from outside even when he was seated in a chair. The persians were in conse

quence generally closed, which made the room too dark for work.

The next room is the salon or reception-room. It is of stone and belonged to Lieut.-Governor Robson's construction. It is 24 ft. 3 in. by 15 ft. 1 in. and 12 ft. high. There are two windows on the west and a fire-place on the east. The paper is yellow, with blue stars. On each side of the entrance door, which is 3 ft. 6 in. broad, there are wood-panelled niches 2 ft. 6 in. broad, enclosed by square wood columns, the whole breadth of ornamentation and door being 8 ft. 6 in.

Napoleon died in this room. His bed was placed against the wall between the two windows, facing the door, upon which his eyes must have frequently rested during the last days. The bust of his son was brought into this room; it may have been placed in the right-hand niche of the doorway. The place where his bed stood is now enclosed with black wooden railings, and in the centre, upon a black wooden pedestal, there is a bust of the Emperor in white Carrara marble, by Chauvet.

Napoleon received in the salon the officers of the garrison, the Governor, and other important visitors. In the southwest corner stood the table on which his games of chess or piquet before dinner were played, his chair facing the entrance. Here, after dinner, coffee was served, and he would spend the evening in conversation or would read aloud to his suite. The room contained two sofas, two Pembroke tables, two arm-chairs, and eight other chairs with black horse-hair seats.

The next room is the dining-room, 22 ft. 7 in. by 15 ft. 1 in., and, like all the remaining rooms of the original building, 10 ft. high. There is a fire-place in the south wall, with a chimney breast 6 ft. 7 in. in length. Being an interior room there are no windows, and the only light comes from a glass door leading into the garden, but on ordinary days the room is not at all dark.1 The paper left by the Skeltons 1 The author tested this on the occasion of his visit in February, 1914.