162
NOTES AND QUERIES. no s. x. AUG. 29, im
the spectres began to tremble violently, and Christ
continued thus : " I have travelled over worlds, I
have gone beyond the Sun, and there is no God
even there; I descended to the last limits of
creation: I looked into the abyss, and cried
out FATHER! WHERE ART THOU? but
I only heard the rain which fell by drops
into its dark bosom ; the eternal tempest of
chaos alone answered me. Then raising my
eyes towards the vault of Heaven, I found
only a trackless void, dark and unfathomable.
Eternity reposed on Chaos, gnawed it, and even
devoured itself slowly. Redouble your bitter cries :
let the piercing shrieks make the shadows disperse
and vanish : IT is DONE."
The spectres vanished as the white vapour con- densed by the cold, the church was deserted ; when suddenly I beheld the most fearful spectacle.
The dead infants, which were awakened in their turn, came and prostrated themselves before the majestic figure upon the altar, and said, "Jesus, have we not a Father?" and he answered them, with a torrent of tears, "We are Orphans, we are orphans we have no father ! " At these awful words, the temple and the children were swallowed up in the abyss, and the whole edifice of the world shook in its immensity before me. S. Y.
In a foot-note S. Y. says :
" J. P. Richter is a great favourite with the German public. He possesses an astonishing erudition ; is endowed with a very lively imagina- tion, and in his writings displays great purity of imagination ; but he is destitute of taste. His style is rather unnatural, frequently obscure, and in general very heavy. His writings, however, contain passages worthy of the most eminent author passages in the spirit of the great Shakespear, and others in the manner of the sentimental Sterne."
This article in The Salopian Magazine precedes both Carlyle and De Quincey, but there may be still earlier samples of Jean Paul in English. WILLIAM E. A. AXON.
Manchester.
NAPOLEON'S ARRIVAL AT
ST. HELENA.
I CONTINUE the story of Napoleon as given by Mr. Warden (see ante, pp. 1, 64).
A few days after Napoleon had settled at The Briars Mr. Warden paid him a com- plimentary visit, and found him reclining on a sofa, apparently incommoded by the heat ; he had been, he said, amusing himself with a walk in the garden, but he found it necessary to shelter- himself from the sun. He appeared to be in very good spirits. After some general questions respecting the restrictions on visiting him, he said :
" ' I find there is a considerable force on the island : full as many as the produce of the place is capable of maintaining. What could induce your Govern- ment to send out the 53rd Regiment ? There was surely a sufficient force before for my security ; but this is the way that you English people get rid of
your money.' To this I did not hesitate to reply :
When a measure is once resolved on, you, General,
will acknowledge it to be the best P9licy to employ
all the means that may secure its being carried into-
effect.' You may think that I hazarded his dis-
pleasure by my answer, but the manner in which
ne received it convinced me that he was better
pleased with my frankness than if I had hammered
out a compliment I now took my leave and
strolled down with Count Bertrand to dinner."
It was some time afterwards that the surgeon paid a second visit to The Briars to dine with Mr. Balcombe. He accidentally took a path which led to the gardens, and at the angle formed by two paths he met Napoleon clattering down among the rocks in his heavy military boots.
" He accosted me with an apparent mixture of satisfaction and surprise, and reproached me in terms of great civility for my long absence. There was a rough deal board placed as a seat between two stones, on which, after having brushed away the dust with his hands, he sat himself down, and desired me to take my place beside him. Las Cases soon joined us. While I was gazing with some astonishment on the barren wonders of the scene around me, 'Well,' said Napoleon with a smile, 'what say you to it? and can you think that your countrymen have treated me kindly ? ' I had but one answer to such a question, and that was by
giving no answer at all His conversation was on
this occasion, as on all others when I have been with him, easy, good-humoured, and familiar,
without the least taint of his former greatness
On my mentioning the activity of the Admiral in superintending the repairs at Lo'ngwood, he replied, ' Your Admiral knows, I doubt riot, in what time a ship may be got ready, but as an architect I think his calculations will fail.' I maintained, however, that whether it was upon land or sea Sir George Cockburn was of a character that would ensure success in whatever he may be called upon to undertake. He then inquired after those gentlemen whose names he endeavoured to recollect, and expressed a wish to see them as they passed ; ' if,' said he, ' they will be contented to visit me as you do now, in the fields, as my present residence is not calculated to receive company.' Napoleon fre- quently makes one of Mr. Balcombe's family parties, where he is neither troublesome nor intrusive, but conducts himself with the manners of a gentleman, and a lively demeanour that promotes the general vivacity of the domestic circle.
On Napoleon's removal to Longwood, as he had complained of the intrusion of visitors at The Briars, it was ordered that no one should be permitted to visit the former without a passport from the Admiral or the Governor. The illness of General Gourgon caused the surgeon to pass much of his time at Longwood, as the Emperor's surgeon, O'Meara, was desirous that they should be together during the treatment. On one of these occasions he received from Napoleon an invitation to dinner. He was- obliged to present himself in his riding equipments, and in these he made his entry.
