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24
Recollections of
[Ch. III.

sions, as to whether the French or Russians were the authors of that dreadful conflagration, I therefore feared to offend him by alluding to it. He repeated the question, and I stammered, "I do not know, sir." "Oui, oui," he replied, laughing violently: "Vous savez très bien, c'est moi qui l'a brulé." On seeing him laugh, I gained a little courage, and said, "I believe, sir, the Russians burnt it to get rid of the French." He again laughed and seemed pleased to find that I knew any thing about the matter.

The arrangements made for him were necessarily most hurried; and while we were endeavouring to complete them in the way we thought most likely to contribute to his comfort, he amused himself by walking about the grounds and garden.

In the evening he came into the house; and as my father and mother spoke French with difficulty, that language being then much less studied in England than it is at

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