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one for De la Rive at Geneva, and one for Mad. de Stael, which I was very glad to receive from him,—for there is nobody in England whom Mad. de Stael more valued,—though I have already two other introductions to her. I parted from Sir Humphry with real regret.
He goes out of town to-morrow.
We dined to-day with Mr. Manning,—brother of Mrs. Benjamin Vaughan,—a very intelligent gentleman.
He told us a story of Bonaparte, which, from the source from which he had it, is likely to be true.
Lord Ebrington, son of Lord Fortescue, was in Elba, and Bonaparte, finding he was the nephew of Lord Grenville, asked him to dinner.
Nobody was present but Drouot, who soon retired, and left the host and the English guest tete-à--tete. The nobleman is a modest, indeed bashful man, and was so disconcerted by the awkwardness of the situation, that conversation began to fail,—when Bonaparte said to him, ‘My lord, at this rate we shall soon be dumb; and so I propose to you that you shall answer all the questions I put to you, and then I will answer all that you put to me.’
The convention was accepted, and the first inquiry made by Bonaparte was, whether the people of England hated him as much as they were reported to hate him. To this, and to a series of similar questions, the Englishman answered very honestly, as he says, and in return asked several no less personal; for his courage, like that of most bashful men, on being roused, went to the opposite extreme.
Among other things, he inquired about the murder at Jaffa, and Bonaparte admitted it, with all its aggravations, but defended himself with ‘the tyrant's plea,—necessity.’
Soon after this they separated.
There was a Captain Fuller present, who was in one of the frigates stationed off Elba to keep in Bonaparte and to keep out the Algerines.
He told us several anecdotes of the rude treatment of Bonaparte by the English sailors, which were very amusing.
Among them he said that Captain Towers, or ‘Jack Towers,’ as he called him, gave a ball, at which many of the inhabitants of Elba were present, and Bonaparte was invited.
When he came alongside, and was announced, the dancing stopped, out of compliment to him, as Emperor; but ‘Jack Towers’ cried out, ‘No, no, my boys, none of that.
You're aboard the King's ship, and Bony's no more here than any other man. So, strike up again.’
The band was English, and obeyed.
When they first received an intimation of the unfriendly dispositions of the Algerine government, and before their determinations
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