some leaves of these trees which were henceforth to shadow the tomb of
this great man, and to preserve them as a precious relic of so memorable
a scene. The Governor and Admiral endeavoured to prevent this outrage,
but in vain. The Governor, however, surrounded the spot afterwards with
a barricade, where he placed a guard to keep off all intruders. The tomb
of the Emperor was about a league from Longwood. It was of a
quadrangular shape, wider at top than at bottom; the depth about twelve
feet. The coffin was placed on two strong pieces of wood, and was
detached in its whole circumference.

The companions of Napoleon returned to France, and the island gradually
resumed its former quiet state, while the willows weeping over the grave
guarded the ashes of the man for whom Europe had been all too small.