The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-07-19 00:00:00

he ride, and in many Poen the ascent so steep.
that we were obliged to dismount, and drive our
horses up before us. After much exertion we at
length reached our place of destination, and were
soon admitted into the citadel, which for many
years 1 had earnestly wished to behold, but which I
had despaired of ever being able to visit, as the
Commandant of Sans &mei has strict orders from
the President to prohibit the entrance of all fo-
reigners; nor should I now have gained admission,
but for the interest of my friend 0., whote info-
lace procured me liberty to enter the city.
" A deep silence now reigned in the citadel;
which had loug echoed to the din of arms, and the
tools of the wretched mechanics, who were doomed
by the cruelty of Christophe to drag out a miser-
able existence in slavery ; obliged to spend their
days in• labour, and their nights chained in horrid
dungeons, without being able to obtain a sight
of their Cantina or friends for whole successive
years.
" It is impossible for description to give an ride-
guide idea of thts stupendous structure, which
looks like the work of centuries; and its whole op-
pearauce has a character of 'sublimity and power
which cannot fail to till the mind of t'he beholder
with wonder, admiration, and awe. Its walls in
some places are thirty feet thick, and the northest
end is 250 high. The numerous pieces of artillery
with which this fortress is furnished,. are so.heavy.
that it could hardly be deemed practicable to con-
vey them by the steep and uneven road, which is
the only passage to time summit of the mountain.
" The lower battery is mounted with severity
heavy 3-2-pound pieces of bronze, each piece tra-
versing with great facility to ins given anrade; on is
second breast-work are 'wooed about forty pieces
of 24-pounds each, which are also of bronze, and
arranged on the same principle as those below, with
all their apparatus ready for use; to the third
breast-work, which remains unfinished, are embra-
sures, and arrungemeuts for pieces much lighter
than the others; and above that, at about 200
paces from the ground, barracks are constructed
for the garrison. Iu short, the, whole plan is so
well laid arid executed, as to retid.er it, as a mili-
tary position,. impregnable lo the forces of
Europe : and for imprisonment and servitude, well
worthy of the appellation of Ow Beside of
" Under the cover of its guos vegetables may be
cultivated to supply its garrison ; sod the large
reservoirs that are constructed in many places in
the exterior of the walls, are always kept filled.
Many thousand barrels of flour are constantly kept
in the vaults, in large French jars, air-tight, which,
edited to the pulse, rice, and salted provisions,
would hove been sufficient to maintuin the garrison
for twenty-five years.
" We visited the vaults, in which salt, wine,
spirits, musket-balls, ice. were stored ; and also
those of the Treasury, in which are still remaining
the coffers which but a year before were cowded
with gold sod silver, to the amount (as reported) of
fifty !tuitions of dollars.
"In the area of the walls are the ruins of the
Palace of the citadel, a spacious building, which,
in 1818, was destroyed with the commander and
eight hundred of the garrison, by an explosion, oc-
casioned by the electric fluid continnitieating with
loose cartridges.—[The conflagration, I was told,
was arrested by 8 part of the palace falling over au
adjacent motristain.J—From the part of the build-

ing that remains, are suspended huge fragments of
mason-work, which threaten destruction to all who
papa under them.

" It is the prevailing opinion, that from fifteen to
twenty thousand people have perished iei the build-
ing of this place; many of whom were blown away
by the strong winds that assail the top of the moon-
tartar in the afternoon, while laying the sheets of
copper and zinc with which the roof is covered.
" Had Christophe lived, his inventive and active
genius would, no doubt, have been employed in
making ronslaut additions to this strung hold ; but
all his fortifications could not ptetect him from the
violence of his own hand, nor could all his wealth
afford him a coffin, or all his vaults a tomb. In
the southern wing of the citadel his body lire,
where it was hastily thrown by without the rites of
sepulture, and carelessly strewed with a little lime.
" We descended from the mountain highly gra-
tified with what we had seen, and in the evemtig
returned to the Cape."