STRANGE MATERIALS FOR HISTORY.
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aid-de-camp to tlio king', and afterwards minister of war, confirms myI statement in his work published in 1822; and lastly, General Fran-ceschetti, who was also aid-de-camp to Murat, and was with him inCorsica at the same time as myself, has just .published a work, entitled■ ‘ Memoire sur la Mart de Joachim /., Roi de Naples wherein he alsoconfirms all that I have written on the subject, and remarks upon theeffrontery of the ‘French Serjeant’s ’ assertion ; and having been con-stantly near the person of the king on the passage from Ajaccio toCalabria , he also shews the impudent absurdity of the ‘Serjeant’sj story about the king having confided to his care a parcel of important| papers.’ Another part of his relation is decidedly false. He says, thatj upon hearing the firing on the shore, Captain Barbara, on board whosej vessel he pretends the king ordered him to remain,' approached the; shore, and remained beating about there for three or four days, untilj informed of the murder of the king; instead of which, the fact is, thati the traitorous villain Barbara sailed off altogether on the commence-ment of the firing! Had he not done so, but sent a boat on shore, ashe was ordered, the king would undoubtedly have been saved. At page259, ‘The French Serjeant ’ notices my arrival in Corsica. I wonderhe did not reflect, while putting so many lies to paper, on the possibilityof exposure. But I am inclined to think that no such person exists,and that ‘The French Serjeant’ is merely ‘ un liomme depaille,’ in thehands of the ingenious compiler and inventor of the story.
“ Begging to apologise for having detained you so long on a subjectwhich many will think perfectly trivial, I am, with the highest esteem,Sir, your obedient humble servant,
“Late Aid-de-Camp to the King of Naples-
“ Cambridge, 12th August, 1826.
“P. S. I herewith send you the works of Generals Coletta andFranceschetti above alluded to.”
Shortly afterwards I thought myself called upon to offersome remarks on another apocryphal work, so on the19th of November, 1826, the following letter appeared inthe Morning Chronicle.