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114
Recollections of
[Ch. XI.

severely. If I remember rightly, the Duchess D'Abrantes mentions in her memoirs of the emperor, one of the anecdotes on this subject, which he recounted to us.

There was so very little to vary the monotony of Napoleon's life, that he took an interest in the most trifling attempts at gaiety in the island, and he generally consented to our entreaties to be present at some of the many entertainments which my father delighted in promoting. On one occasion, my father gave a fête to celebrate the anniversary of my birthday, at a pretty little place he possessed within the boundary of the emperor's rides, called "Ross Cottage," so named as being the abode, for a short time, of a highly esteemed friend, the flag captain of the Northumberland, whom Napoleon always designated as "un bravissimo uomo." When the festivities wore at their height, we descried the emperor riding along the hill's side towards the house, but on seeing such

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