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upon us, and gave Conn and myself £25 apiece, and took our receipt to reimburse when we could. The act was noble and generous, as indeed had

been all his conduct towards us since our capture. Whitehurst had also found equal comfort with the Captain of the Clorinde.

Before we left the hospital at Brest, a Dane, the Captain of a neutral vessel which was permitted to carry merchandise of a certain kind certain kind between England and France by an international understanding, came to see me on the eve of his starting for Granville, and asked me if I had not some notion of making an escape, and promised that if I could get to Granville he would do his best to carry me over to England. I mentioned Whitehurst, and he exclaimed vehemently that he wouldn't have anything to do with him, and said that I was the only one that had treated him with any civility during our association in hospital. Whitehurst's behaviour had been quite the reverse, he said, and he'd have none of him.

As it happened, Whitehurst and I had already put our heads together and formed a plan for our escape. The Captain of the Clorinde had given him a map of the country and a box of opium pills; and chance had chalked out our first route to Granville, the very place where the Danish Captain had advised me to go.

Our short sojourn at the hospital was, considering all

X.

things, a pleasant one. Between the nine of us we managed to devise plenty of means for our amusement, and sailors are proverbially fertile in resources.

All sorts of games

were the order of the day, and the surveillance of our guards, though complete, was not embarrassing. At meal times we were always favoured with the society of the softer sex, who in the profession of Mary stood behind our chairs to watch our welfare, ordered all things to our comfort, and finally won our hearts to a man.

Whitehurst was a fine-looking fellow, standing quite 6 ft. 2 in., and apparently (I mean no scandal) an especial favourite with

our fair protectresses. Thomas, the Midshipman, was a lad exactly suited to carry the citadel of a lady's heart by storm-a particularly wellfavoured specimen of a handsome youth. Conn and myself, disdaining the evanescent qualities of mere superficial beauty, held our proper position in the estimation of all by the force of superior rank. On leaving their charge we severally and collectively received their blessing, and, with the benediction ringing in our ears, marched forth under a convoy of as

Whitehurst and I had sufficient penetration to observe the character of our military escort. They warmed up without reserve to those who were cheerful and unconstrained, so we kept up a continual flow of mirth along the journey, and let nothing interrupt us. At the first halt, after supper we proposed some mulled wine mulled wine which was produced accordingly, and shared equally with the parties without distinction. And we passed to our beds after a cheerful and perhaps rather noisy entertainment.

many French soldiers as were and drank away unsuspectingly. men in our little band. Soon afterwards we prepared for rest. Half of the party repaired to a different room, and left two merchant captains, Whitehurst and myself, together with our sleepy guards, to our glory. Whitehurst, unobserved, slipped into bed with his clothes on. I leisurely commenced to divest myself of mine; and the soldiers, but more actively, for they were drowsy, followed my example. They closed the shutters of the windows and barred them, and hung their knapsacks thereon, leaving their guns against the wall close by. It was not very long before they were completely overcome by their last draught, and as heavy as logs. I had not been idle in the interval, but had now, thanks to sundry complicated movements under the sheet, become fully dressed again and ready for work. Whitehurst was naturally inclined to be awkward, and moved about more like an elephant than a human being. Emerging from my side of the bed noiselessly, I removed the soldiers' knapsacks, unbarred the shutters, and got the window open, completing the whole of my task fortunately without a blunder. There was nothing now but to get to the ground outside, for we were in an upper room about 12 feet from the level. I went first, and Whitehurst followed, coming, of course, upon his feet like the animal above mentioned, so that I was horribly frightened lest any of

On the second night we halted at another inn, and were all allotted rooms. We all met together as before, and the cup went round merrily, we enjoying ourselves as much as the soldiers. Whitehurst and I were to sleep together this night, so, quite casually as it were, we selected a bed nearest the window at the end of the room. We had no opportunity of conferring with the others, so counselled as well as we could between ourselves. Towards the time for turning in, Whitehurst, as if on the spur of the moment, suggested one more glass. This I resisted warmly, declaring that we had had quite enough, and that it was unreasonable. He insisted, and called for the wine and set to work mixing it, taking an opportunity during the brewing of dropping some of the pills into all the glasses but our own. The soldiers were delighted,

the soldiers should be awakened by the disturbance of his exit; but their slumber was unbroken, I am delighted to say, and away we started as fast as our legs would carry us. In after days I encountered one of the merchant Captains who had been in the same room with us at the time of our escape. He told me that he had seen us leave, and that one of the guards got up shortly afterwards, walked over to the window, closed it, and then lay down and went to sleep again. The opium had stupefied him. The merchant Captain's bed-fellow had been awake also, and, perceiving our escape, wanted to follow, but was prevented by his companion, who knew that detection must inevitably ensue if they attempted to do likewise at that juncture.

We kept to the road until morning dawned, when we came upon what looked like a large common, or piece of waste land, on one side of which ran a ditch of sufficient depth to serve our purpose of concealment; so into it we went, and, ignoring the discomfort of such an uncongenial and damp lodging, we remained therein, not venturing to raise our heads above the banks again until nightfall, when we once more took to the high road. After a few hours' journey, guided by the map that Whitehurst had preserved, we approached a village, and, hunger beginning to assert its supremacy, we debated what

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who spoke French as well, if not better, than his native tongue, settled to go into the town and get some food. He returned with a loaf of brown bread, which was was gratefully and greedily devoured; and we pushed on, nor halted again until the night had disappeared, when we made for some fields and looked up another friendly ditch, where we stretched ourselves for the day.

We had taken up our quarters not far from a gate, and to our discomfiture a man began to repair it during the morning. We kept close to the bottom of the ditch, not stirring a muscle all the time he was so unpleasantly near, and we could plainly hear him talking occasionally to himself. But this danger passed away, and right glad we were when the moment for venturing forth on our journey again arrived. Whitehurst repeated the commissariat duty at the next place through which we passed, and then we resolved to get more agreeable shelter if possible for the ensuing day.

On our road we met a man, and asked him to direct us. He informed us that we were in the right course, and then asked us if we were deserters. We replied in the affirmative, and he promised to assist us, saying that he thought he could procure us horses, which he did, and we rode off, followed by a boy who beat the horses over about the worst road I ever travelled on. The mud

was over the boy's ankles; he was barefooted, and ran the whole distance behind us.

Arrived at another village, we entered an inn, and asked for beds. They could give us none, but had no objection to our sitting round the fire for the rest of the night. We were too glad of such a chance to hesitate a minute, and so took our places with alacrity. Two maids were already nodding over the embers with their arms under their aprons; and as we had our pockets to take advantage of, we thrust our hands therein, to be as much in the fashion as practicable, and were soon in dreamland.

Towards daylight some of the customers left, and we were awakened and accommodated with their room. Our experience in the ditches had given us a fresh relish for a genuine bed, and the exertions we had made on the road prepared us for any amount of rest; therefore we gave ourselves up to a luxurious oblivion with a right goodwill, and slept so late into the hours of the ensuing day that our landlady came up to know if we were alive, or what had come to us. We ordered breakfast, and dispatched it in our room, after which Whitehurst sallied out for a look round.

During his absence the landlady reappeared, and began to ask me some questions with great volubility. My knowledge of French was extremely limited, and I could trust myself with no confidence to any

expressions in that language but the word "Oui," and that I kept on using at all hazards whenever she looked inquiringly after a speech. I must have put it in a wrong place more than once, as she testified by her manner, and what might have happened I can't say if Whitehurst had not made his appearance on the scene. She turned to him, and, as he told me, pronounced me to be English. He vociferated to the contrary, and maintained that I was purely German; but it would not do-the good woman was not born yesterday, and knew an Englishman when she saw one. At last she declared she had no desire to betray us, and if we trusted her we should be kindly treated. So Whitehurst, with my consent, made a clean breast of it. this she recommended us to sign her visitors' book, putting any fictitious names we liked, and then she advised our going to St Malo to a house where the owners, whom she knew, would do the best in their power for us.

Upon

In the evening, therefore, we resumed our flight, and were supplied by our good landlady with horses, which carried us to the place in question. Here we were conducted to a spacious room and locked in. Our meals were brought to us by a servant in regular succession next day, and at night we left again on horseback. We were told by our kind friends that we should not meet with similar attentions after we had got

beyond Brittany. This intelligence was proved true at our next attempt to find a restingplace, for we were refused admission by the landlord, who how ever declared he would not betray us. This was at Avranches. Our guide then took us to the house of two poor women, sisters, who gained their livelihood by keeping an infants' school. They found a man who engaged to take us to Granville, whither we accordingly proceeded. There I lost no time in looking up the Danish Captain, whom I found in bed suffering from dropsy. He was glad to see me, and renewed his former offer of assistance. I mentioned Whitehurst, and he declined to have anything to do with him. I left him, and returned next evening with Whitehurst, hoping that he might mollify the Dane and induce him to alter his determination, assuring him that no offence had ever been intentionally offered-which I quite believe to be correct, but no, the Dane remained obdurate, and under no condition whatever would listen to any proposal on on Whitehurst's behalf.

A ludicrous mischance happened on this occasion. A vessel full of slops was standing on a chair near the bed, and the Dane asked me if I would oblige him by emptying it out of the window. fortune never comes singly, they say, and an illustration of this adage was at hand. Whitehurst, in order to ingratiate

Mis

himself with the Captain, seized the vessel, rushed to the window, and, without looking before him, flung the contents into the street below. "Que le diable vous emporte!" shrieked a loud voice at the moment the act was committed, and a figure rushed into the house fresh from the untoward splashing. The mistress of the establishment, who was, it may be recorded, a very pretty woman, ran out to learn the cause of the uproar, and met the furious intruder on the landing, who saluted her with the angry question, "Is it you that threw that infernal stuff out of the window just now?" With all the natural readiness of a Frenchwoman's wit, she perceived her ground at once, and, assuming a most penitent mien, hoped that monsieur was not injured. He was not proof (what Frenchman is ?), even under the aggravations of such an indignity, against the seductions of a pretty face; and, bowing with a smile, he answered, "No hurt, madam, could proceed from so fair a hand." We learnt when he had gone that the sufferer was no less a personage than the Governor of the town. Poor Whitehurst's attempt to propitiate the invalid had only augmented his aversion. The Dane anathematised his clumsiness, and declaring that such a man could only bring his friends into trouble, he subsided into a stronger fit of contumacy than before. He still declared his wish to serve me,

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