His  first  question  was,  "  Wljat  is  your  name  ?"


INTERVIEW  WITH  BUONArARTE.       311

and,  upon  my  answering,  he  said,  "  Ah, — Hall—
I  knew  your  father  when  I  was  at  the  Military
College  of  Brienne — I  remember  him  perfectly —
he  was  fond  of  mathematics — he  did  not  associate
much  with  the  younger  part  of  the  scholars,  but
rather  with  the  priests  and  professors,  in  another
part  of  the  town  from  that  in  which  we  lived."
He  then  paused  for  an  instant,  and  as  he  seemed
to  expect  me  to  speak,  I  remarked,  that  I  had  often
heard  my  father  mention  the  circumstance  of  his
having  been  at  Brienne  during  the  period  refeiTed
to  ;  but  had  never  supposed  it  possible  that  a  private
individual  could  be  remembered  at  such  a  distance
of  time,  the  interval  of  which  had  been  filled  with
so  many  important  events.  "  Oh  no,"  exclaimed
he,  "  it  is  not  in  the  least  surprising ;  your  fa-
ther was  the  first  Englishman  I  ever  saw,  and  I
have  recollected  him  all  my  life  on  that  account."

It  may  be  right  to  mention  here,  that  although
the  conversation  was  carried  on  entirely  in  French,
I  prefer  reporting  it  in  English,  as  I  can  be  cer-
tain of  conveying  the  correct  meaning  in  a  transla-
tion, while  I  could  hai-dly  pretend  to  give  the  pre-
cise words  in  the  original  language  ;  certainly  not
the  exact  turn  of  expression ;  and  a  false  conception
might  therefore  be  formed  of  what  passed.  The
notes  from  which  this  account  is  drawn  up,  were
made  within  a  few  hours  after  leaving  Longwood,
before  I  slept,  or  was  engaged  in  any  other  occu-
pation. But  in  fact,  the  impression  left  upon  my
mind  by  the  whole  scene  dwelt  ou  my  thoughts,
to  the  exclusion  of  almost  everything  else,  for  many
days  afterwards.
