Rugged rocks and lofty mountains,
Interspers'd with crystal fountains,
Here and there a grove of trees,
Are all the wandering stranger sees;
The tradesmen, imitating fops,
With heads as empty as their shops;
The girls, drest out from top to toe,
Like painted dolls in puppet-show;
Unsocial wretches here reside,
Alike their poverty and pride,
Throughout this Isle, there's scarce a creature
With either breeding, or good nature:
For rugged rocks, and barren fields,
Are all that St. Helena yields*.
*Except an abundance of water-cresses and plenty of fish.
I think that neither Mme Bertrand nor Napoleon would have found much to disagree with here!
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From The News , August 13th 1815.
The Image, of Friars Rock, is from G.H. Bellasis, Views of St Helena 1815.
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