The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-18 00:00:00

How Stephens Escaped.

In one of his late speeches in the United States,
Stephens, in answer to the charge of being a British
spy, gave the following account of his escape from
the Dublin gaol. He said that while in Richmond
Prison he had time to reflect, and it struck him that
he hadbetter escape. After turning the matter over
in his mind, he concluded that he should gain more
pristige by escaping than by remaining in quod. So
he commenced laying his plans.
On the following day one of the very men he bad'
intended to make an agent in effecting his escape
came to him and said his escape had been planned
by parties outside. On hearing the names of the
men who had the matter in hand, he determined on
letting them carry it out. Some days passed, when
he finally heard that he was to leave the prison on
the morning of the 24th of November. His
friends outside had keys made to open the six
or seven doors between his cell and the
prison wall, which was twenty-feet high. On
the evening of the 23d he went to bed at
the usual hour—eight o'clock. He was very drowsy,
and it required all his efforts to keep awake.
About midnight he arose and dressed himself very
quietly. He then turned up the bedclothes and lay
down on the outside of the bed in his clothes to
await the arrival of his friend.. Shortly after the
clock struck two he heard a slight noise at a con-
siderable distance, which he at once knew to be the
sound produced by opening the first gate. Soon
afterwards he heard a similar noise, and so until the
key turned in his cell door. This grated so noisily
that it had to be drawn open with the utmost
caution. The night was similar to the one on which
Oliver Cromwell died, -when the dreadful and de-
structive storm which swept over England caused
the Cavaliers to say that all the devils in hell had
broken loose to carry his soul to his last home. The
high wind, heavy rain, and intense darkness of the
night were all favourable for his escape. His friend
pressed himself against the door to prevent its
creaking, and a revolver was instantly placed in his
hand. They then passed in the same manner
through all the doors of the prison until they reached
the open air, when the outer wall obstructed their
further progress. It must remain a mystery how
he ascended that wall, but the manner in which he
descended it was as follows :—He had been given
to understand that he must leap from the top of
the wall into a garden at the other side. Be-
fore doing so, however, he felt along the top
of the wall, and his hand came in contact
with a metal funnel or stove pipe, at which he
pulled to see if it were firm enough to descend by.
Finding it quite firm, he let himself down by it for
some eight or ten feet,when he found himself on the
roof of a shed,. down which he slid to a path which
rau by its site. In that way no trace of his descent
was left, and hence the mystification of the detec-
tives. Following the route laid down for him, he
went along the walk to the end of the garden ; then_
turning at right angles he passed along to a point
previously indicated, where he was to have thrown
a stone over the outer wall as a signal for his friends
to throw a rope over to him. The night was in-
tensely dark, and he was unable to find a stone,
and therefore picked up a handful of gravel from
the path, which he flung over the wall, and a rope
was immediately thrown to him. He seized therope
with some anxiety, asking himself, " Have they
thought of putting knots on it ?" lie found they
had done so, and he began to draw himself up by
it. The first help ho received was by catching his
feet against a protuberance, and at the second lift
his feet lodged in a hole in the wall. The third
brought him to the top. On looking down he saw
his friends in a group below. They placed them-
selves against the wall, with bended backs, and he
dropped from the top of the wall, while one stal-
wart man held up his arms to break the fall. No
sooner was he down than he told his friends to dis-
perse immediately and go home. Two only remained
with him. They proceeded about 300 yards, when
one of the two remaining friends also left, and he
then proceeded to the house at which he had deter-
mined to take refuge. Six different houses were
ready to receive him that night, and every one of
the six owners remained up all night anticipating
his arrival. No one saw him enter the house in
which he took refuge, and from his windows could
be seen the prison in which he had been confined.

FENIAN PRISONERS IN IRELAND.—A return dated
in April states that since September last 583 persons have
been arrested in Ireland upon ordinary informations on
charges of Fenianisni, and 631 persons been arrested or
detained by virtue of warrants of the Lord-Lieutenant
issued under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.
In many instances the same persons are included in both
numbers.