diff --git a/httplib/retriever.py b/httplib/retriever.py
index f6fd8a7..4e8fb31 100644
--- a/httplib/retriever.py
+++ b/httplib/retriever.py
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ class PreambleRetriever(Retriever):
         @return: A list of the buffered lines.
         """
         tmp_buffer = self._buffer
-        self._buffer.clear()
+        self._buffer = []
 
         return tmp_buffer