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From John Wilson Croker's Note Books, 24 October 1825: 'The first time I ever saw [Germaine de Stael] was at dinner at Lord Liverpool's in Combe Wood [...] During dinner she talked incessantly but admirably, but several of her apparently spontaneous mots were borrowed or prepared. For instance, speaking of the relative states of England and the Continent at that period, the high notion we had formed of the danger to the world from Buonaparte's despotism, and the high opinion the Continent had formed of the riches, strength and spirit of England; she insisted that these opinions were both just, and added with an elegant elan, "Les etrangers sont la posterite contemporaine." This expression I have since found in the journal of Camille Desmoulins.'