Captain Brenton, as to the particular cause of his own unexpected release from captivity, gives in his private memoranda the following account. “A nephew of Marshal Massena, Captain L’Infernet, had been taken in the battle of Trafalgar, in the command of the French ship of the line, L’Intrepide. Massena had been making great efforts to procure his exchange; but the Admiralty, whilst they expressed their readiness to accede to this exchange, stated their determination to accept of no other officer but myself, whom they considered from the priority of my capture, to be unjustifiably detained in France, whilst other officers had been liberated, and that without any reason having been assigned for it. Buonaparte having no reason to believe that our government would relax from this determination, ordered my passport to be sent to me. It soon appeared by letters from France, that I had had a very narrow escape of being detained even at Morlaix. A small package containing copies of official correspondence, which I had with me in the carriage, and which was kept uppermost in order to prevent any suspicion, that they were intended to be concealed; was by accident either dropped from the carriage, or left at some inn on the road. It was found and forwarded to the Capital of the Department; where the principal authority, as a provisional measure, sent off an express to Morlaix to detain me; whilst the papers were forwarded to the Bureau de la guerre at Paris, where the order for detention was confirmed. We had however got beyond the Castle of Morlaix before the order arrived, and had no sooner passed it, than we felt ourselves safe within the limits of the British Empire.”