the "Prince
Regent," Captain Harris, which touched at St. Helena on its passage from
Calcutta to England. In company with the other officers on board the
ship, I paid my respects to the illustrious exile of Longwood, who
received us in his garden, where he was walking about, in a nankeen
dress and a large broad-brimmed straw-hat, with General Montholon, Count
Las Casas, and his son Emanuel, then a little boy; who I dare say does
not recollect me, but who nevertheless played with my sword-knot and the
tassels of my Hessian boots during the whole of our interview with his
Imperial Majesty.

Our names were read out (in a pretty accent, by the way!) by General
Montholon, and the Emperor, as each was pronounced, made a bow to the
owner of it, but did not vouchsafe a word. At last Montholon came to
mine. The Emperor looked me at once in the face, took his hands out
of his pockets, put them behind his back, and coming up to me smiling,
pronounced the following words:--

"Assaye, Delhi, Deeg, Futtyghur?"

I blushed, and taking off my hat with a bow, said--"Sire, c'est moi."

"Parbleu! je le savais bien," said the Emperor, holding out his
snuff-box. "En usez-vous, Major?" I took a large pinch (which, with the
honor of speaking to so great a man, brought the tears into my eyes),
and he continued as nearly as possible in the following words:--

"Sir, you are known; you come of an heroic nation. Your third brother,
the Chef de Bataillon, Count Godfrey Gahagan, was in my Irish brigade."

Gahagan.--"Sire, it is true. He and my countrymen in your Majesty's
service stood under the green flag in the breach of Burgos, and beat
Wellington back. It was the only time, as your Majesty knows, that
Irishmen and Englishmen were beaten in that war."

Napoleon (looking as if he would say, "D--- your candor, Major
Gahagan").--"Well, well; it was so. Your brother was a Count, and died a
General in my service."

Gahagan.--"He was found lying upon the bodies of nine-and-twenty
Cossacks at Borodino. They were all dead, and bore the Gahagan mark."

Napoleon (to Montholon).--"C'est vrai, Montholon: je vous donne ma
parole d'honneur la plus sacree, que c'est vrai. Ils ne sont pas
d'autres, ces terribles Ga'gans. You must know that Monsieur gained
the battle of Delhi as certainly as I did that of Austerlitz. In this
way:--Ce belitre de Lor Lake, after calling up his cavalry, and placing
them in front of Holkar's batteries, qui balayaient la plai