I proceed to the fulfilment of my promise, to give you from time to time
the details of my tour, and my reflections on the circumstances that occur
at this momentous crisis.
To me, who have spent the greatest part of my life out of Europe, the whole
scene is so new that I am quite bewildered with it; and you will, I am
afraid, as I write on the impulse of the moment, find my ideas at times
rather incoherently put together. What changes have taken place in Europe
within the last two years! and how great were those which occurred during
the interval of my passage from Ceylon last year, which island I quitted
about the time that we received in that part of the world intelligence of
the battle of Leipsic! Having had a long passage from distant Taprobane, it
was only on my arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, that I learned, to my
utter astonishment, the news of the capitulation of Paris to the allied
powers, and of the overthrow of the power and dynasty of Napoleon. I
recollect that at the Cape there was great rejoicing and jubilee on this
occasion; but I confess, as to myself, I did not see any reason for giving
vent to this extravagant joy; and I must have had even at that time somehow
or other a presentiment of what would soon happen, as in communicating this
intelligence to a friend in India I made use of these words:
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