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lost months, but 1 musi have deen then, probably in Moscow, 1] he was ‘debriefed —a no do . meticulous, laborious and wide- ranging interrogation. On arriving in Moscow he had been put in a smail flat overlook- ing the river, in the care of a fat old housekeeper whose main object, he told me, was to see how much food she could make bim ft. She was constantly scoldii® him and cooking enough food for four people. He spent a good deal of time in confer- ences with Russian Intelligzoce officers, but when he was free he roamed the city on foot, getting to know it. exploring the layout of its pattern of streets in the way be loved to do wilh a new city. “He was. [ used to reflect, like a fictional secret agent, walk- ing everywhere and remember- ing everything he saw, He bad a phenomenal memory and a remarkable sense of direction. For reasons of their own, which I could not quite under- stand, the Russians kept us under very strict control, Guy Burgess, the man who had from early manhood shared most closely Kim's great clandestine | love- affair with Russia, had died in a Moscow hospital thac August —some six weeks before I arrived. Donald Maclean at- tended the funeral and delivered a brief oration, A drass band played the /nternationale. Kim Stold me that he was not per- [mitted to go, but I later found tout that he saw Burgess very ‘briefly. as he lay dying in ' hospital. : ‘Kim never complained of this (rigid discipline, but I suspect there were few things in life he would have liked more than a longs, intimate, allusive dialogue with | Burgess—fike old times. ft might beven have kept Burgess alive a littl: longer. | Burgess legacy Burgess left his books am clothes to Kim but the rest of his possessions were to be divided be- tween ourselves and the Macleans. Kim had already taken a charming litle dressing-table that had be- longed to Burgess’s mother, and a portative organ, a medieval instru- ment with a narrow, limited key- board. used in processions, on which Guy used to bang out his favourite Cambridge rowing songs. Tt now stood in a corner of our Moscow flat, but I could barely gt a moan out of it. It was droken-and I coutd never find anyone to axend jt ——__ on all the events that had happened during those eight long months apart. He wanted to know in great detail abour al} his children and the difficulties ¥ bad encountered. But he said very littie about nim- self, except for his first impressions of Moscow, his difficvities and 2x- periences in finding and furnishing one flat, which he described in his usual, very amusing way. Looking back on those early days I now realise that he told me very little of bis own far more dramatic experiences since leaving Beirut. Meeting him then in Moscow, after so many months of separa-| n, I found to my great relief that! it was not so Very different from meeting him in Beirut after one of our long separations. He was the same lovable, completely charm- ing. sentimental man I adored. There was no question of doubdi at all that this feeling was completely mutual. However, a tiny strip of Ino - man's- land had already ppeared between us which had aot en there before, Almost the first serious thing ws did in my early days in Moscow was to sit down together and put on paper a detailed account of my experiences with the British and American security authorities in the months that I was alone. I guessed this was information Kim's Russian friends wanted. I went over every detail I could think of in several long sessions. Biggest mistake These interrogations began to take the form of a grilling, with Kim getting me to repeat tl went on for several days, and I was becoming extremely bored with the whole thing. Kim was patient, but unusually stubborm and insis- tent, It was only then that I con- fessed that I had had to take the British fully into my confidence and how, from photographs provided by Y's chief, [ bad identified his mysterious Russian friend who bad called on me that early May morn- ing in Beirut. ‘That was perhaps the biggest mistake I made. But, as far as I was concerned, I had never kept anything from Kim, and therefore saw no reason to do so aow. My error was human, but I felt that Kim was angry. Thanks to me, his wife, the Russians had lost a val able agent. *Whata pity!’ be said. “He was ons of my greatest friends and our best man in the area. His ‘areer is finished.’ The barrier be- sted to him what the nce chief had said to me in London at our meeting in Y's apartment—that he had definitely known for seven years Uaat Kim was working without pay for the Russians. This seemed to interest Fs ly, He mads me