The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-11 00:00:00

EXHUMATION OF NAPOLEON.

By the kindness of a friend who was at St. Helena
during the period of Napoleon's detention, and for
some years after his death, we have been favoured with
the sight of a communication recently received from
that island, and upon the veracity of which we can place
the fullest confidence. It would be too long to print
verbatim, being ten closely-written pages, and it will
suffice to mention those facts alone which have not
hitherto obtained notice in the public prints.

The arrival of the Belle Poule and Favorite was pre-
ceded by that of the Oreste, a 20-gun brig, which sailed
twenty-four days after the Prince de Joinville. The
officers commanding the French ships were received
with great cordiality, all houses were open to them,
and they kindly returned our hospitality by the use of
their band, consisting of about thirty musicians.
This, by the kindness of the Prince de Joinville, was
allowed to play in the court yard of the castle, in the
Government-garden, and upon the Terrace, when
there was a large assemblage of persons to enjoy a
treat which the inhabitants of St. Helena had not had
for some time. His Royal Highness entered into con-
versation very freely in English, making himself parti-
cularly agreeable.

On Sunday, October 11, three days after the Prince
arrived, upwards of 400 seamen from the Belle Poule
landed under the command of the officers, and marched
to the tomb and Longwood ; in the afternoon almost
every individual returned with a branch of a tree, or
some other relic ; many with bottles of the water from
the spring at the tomb, to take to France, anticipating
the gratification of having their children baptized
with it.

On the next day, Monday 12, at 11 p.m. the grave of
M. D'Arcourt, a midshipman in the French navy, was
opened, and the corpse removed in the presence of Mr.
Solomon (the French Consul, and who has been Sheriff
for many years), the Town Major (Capt. Barnes), Abbe
Coquereau, and M. Guillard, Surgeon of the Belle
Poule, and others who had attended the ceremony from
curiosity. The body was raised about 1 a.m., and upon
opening the coffin, the corpse, although buried on the
Ist May, was nothing but a mass of bones. These
remains were enclosed in a leaden sarcophagus, and
taken on board the Belle Poule to be conveyed to
France.

The account of the exhumation does not materially
vary from those previously given, except that the maho-
gany coffin had lost much of its colour from exclusion
from the air for so many years. Oa opening the inner
coffin, the right hand of the Emperor was a little raised
across the body, but perfectly sound. Tue party from
whom we receive this account states positively that the
hands were, as usual, carefully placed at the sides ; he
speaks upon the testimony of his own eyes. " The
nails of the fingers as in life ;" other accounts state that
the beard and nails had grown a little. The jack-boots
and clothes were mildewed, but upon its being rubbed
off, the black of the boots was in as good a state of pre-
servation as the day they were placed in the coffin.
The salute fired by the French ships as the body left
the shore was of a novel character ; the yards were
manned, and the whole of their guns fired as fast as
they could. This was done three times. At this mo-
ment the sun was just touching the horizon. The re-
port of the guns fired in this manner made the hills
tremble, and the distant echo was like successive peals
of thunder.

At eight a. m: on the 20th, Sunday, the French squa-
dron put to sea, and was in a few hours out of sight.
They carried with them not only the remains of the late
Emperor, but a greater portion of the materials which
covered them during the last twenty years. They took
the two mahogany coffins, the outer slabs of the tomb,
and the slab which covered the stone coffin, leaving in
a dilapidated state that picturesque and consecrated
spot which has for so many years been the attraction
of pilgrims from all quarters of the world.
The generosity of the French Government and their
representative, the Prince de Joinville, deserves ho-
nourable and grateful recollection. To Captain Alex-
ander, the commanding engineer, his Royal Highness
',resented a magnificent gold snuff-box, richly em-
bossed, upon the lid of which was a likeness of Louis
Philippe, encircled with 22 large diamonds. This was
given 'by his Royal Highness to testify his sense of
Captain Alexander's management, and his excellent
arrangements in the removal of the body. To Colonel
Trclawney, who acted as the Governor's deputy, was
presented by his Royal Highness a magnificent and
superbly finished double-barrelled fowling-piece, the
mountings of which were of solid gold, and the handles
of the various articles in the case were of agate. The
case itself was of rose-wood elegantly inlaid. To Mr.
McKenna, Clerk of the Works, who carried on the ex-
humation under the orders of Capt. Alexander, Count
de Chabot presented as a mark of approbation a
large silver medal, on the one side bearing the head of
Louis Philippe, and on the reverse—" Presented by the
King of the French? This medal was accompanied
by a highly satisfactory and well-deserved letter, ex-
pressing the approbation of the French authorities of
Mr. M'K's exertions. To Miss Gideon, who made,
with the help of other young ladies of the island, the
silk flags which were hoisted in his Royal Highness's
barge when the body was removed, was presented
an elegant gold bracelet, sot with emeralds and
pearls. This was delivered by Captain Touchard,
Aid-de-camp to his Royal Highness. To Sergeant
J. Young, East India Company's Invalids, in charge
of the tomb, his Royal Highness presented, upon
his first visit, Oat. 9, thirty 20-franc pieces ; and
on his second, seven 20 franc pieces : he &so received
ten sovereigns from General Bertrand. To Mr. Clarke,
foremen of the works, was presented the sum of 50/ ;
this and many other presents of from 51 to 201. each to
the different mechanics and others employed in the ex-
humation, &c., were paid from the funds deposited in
the hands of C Iptain Alexander, by the French autho-
rities. Tne French Consul, Mr. Solomon, was pre-
sented with a silver medal, and other marks of private
esteem, by his Royal Highness, Lastly, though not
least in importance, the sum of 300/. was left to be dis-
tributed among the poor of the island by the Committee
of the Benevolent Society.
There were twenty-fire small silver medals, and se-
venty-five of bronze, left with Captain Alexander for
distribution, bearing on one side the head of the Ki❑g
encircled by the words, " Louis Philippe, Roi des
Francais," and on the reverse, the title of the " Loi du
10 Juin, 1840, ordonnant la translation, &c." These
medals were distributed on Monday, 19th October, to
the different public functiretaries and others employed
in the work of exhumation, and connected with the ce-
remony.

THE LATE DR. OLIN THUS

GREGORY.

Dr. Olinthus Gree,ory, well known in the mathematic.l
world, died last week, at his residence on Wool-
wich` Common. Dr. Gregory was born at Yaxley,
in auntingdonshire, Janua, y 29, 1774, of respectable
parent s. At the ego. of nineteen, shortly after he left
school, Mr. Gregory made his first attempt rs an author,
and his " Lessons, Astronomical and Philosophical, for the
Amusement and Instruction of British Youth," were sub-
mitted to the public, af;er having received many hints for
their improvement by the Earl of Carysfort, who afterwards
proved a valuable and steady friend to the young student.
At the age of twenty Mr. Gregory prepared a treatise on
the sliding rule and its most useful applications. The
manuscript was effn-ed to a London bookseller, who sub-
mitted it to Dr. Hutton, and although it was not published,
it was the means of opening a correspondence and
laying the foundation of a friendship between them,
which was only terminated by the hand of death.
About the year 1704 Mr. Gregory became ecquainted
with several diatiuguished students at Cambridge, one of
whom is the present Lord Lyndhurst. With these he
corresponded, and they explained to him the substance and
extent of the whole course of study which was then pur-
sued-by an undergraduate of Trinity or St. John's College,
one of u hich they urged him to enter ; but certain scruples
which he entertained at that period induced him to aban-
don all idea cf Leceming a minister of the Established
Church. In 1798 Mr. Gregory proceeded to Cambridge,
to assist the editor of a provincial paper ; but this employ-
ment not being very congenial to his taste, he relinquished
the situation after a few months' trial. He then opened
a bookseller's shop, and announced his intention of teach-
ing mathematics, with the resolution to follow that depart-
ment alone which should prove most successful. The en-
couragement he met with induced him to dispose of his
books at the end of about one year, and devote his
whole time and talents to his duties as a preceptor.
In the spring of 1801 he wrote a treatise on astronomy,
nd dedicated it to his friend Dr. Hutton. This work,
in one volume octavo, was favourably received by the
public, and its merits brought the author into notice among
the London booksellers, who made many literary proposals
to him. In the'year 1802 the Stationers' Company con-
signed to Mr. Gregory the editorship of " The Gentle.
man's Diary," and another of their almanacks. About
the same time he undertook the general editorship of " The
Pantologia," a comprehensive dictionary of arts and
sciences. In December of the same year, on the enlarge-
ment of the Royal Military Academy for the instruction of
rtt thoani
gentlemen cadets at Woolwich, Mr. Gregory was ap-
pointed mathematical master through the influence of Dr.
College,S hortl afteryAue rd Aberdeen,
periodthe
degree il received
Ae v. eAd.
,fraosm a Ala
of: eiraw, rhdes,
roencepivreedsenthtien
presenting
further rneltneeg
tri-
bute, of respect to his merit : and about three or four years
rCeeolloefeeLiviii.tph
.a copy
of his " Mechanics" and the first volume College
his " Panto-
logia,"
r.
Gregory gave such satisfaction at the Royal Military Aca-
demy that he was gradually promoted through the
inter-
mediate stages to the Professor's chair, which he filled
with the highest reputation until obliged through
ill-
health, brought on by intense study, to resign it in June,
1838, Since that period he has seldom undertaken any
public duty, the last time he appeared in that
capacityl
being in the latter end of 1839, to deliver a lecture or the
benefit of the Woolwich Institution, a society of which ho
was elected President on its formation. Dr. Gregory's
constitution, although naturally strong, gave way under the
heavy task imposed upon it, and for the last month every
day was looked upon as his last. The kindness and fos.
tering care extended to young men by this eminent ma-
thematician will
' long be remembered by many who have,
like him, raised themselves by their own exertions. Dr.
Gregory was the author and editor of a groat number of
works and papers on the
arts and sciences. From the
year 1817 he had the whole of the general
lsuperintendenceCompany,
of the almanacks published by the Stationers
which had been for a long period conducted by Dr, Rm..,