The Sun.
London, England, 1816-04-22 00:00:00

AltitET MIA:\ lIIER ACCLISATIO.

On the 20111' of December, 1815, about two
o'clock in the 'afternoon, Emilie Louise de Beau-
hurnois fentiNe.L3valette, availing herself of the
permission that bad- been given her to comsemoi-
. cate with Marie Chamans Lavatette her hus-
band, condemned to death for, the crime of high
treason, repaired its d sedan-chair to the Concier-
genie at the paste' e ofinstiee. The chairmen. were
Joseph Guerin, alias Marengo, and one Brigfiult.
Having arrived near the grate of the Conciergerie,
7Lavalette, the wife, alighted from the chair, and
was introduced into, the prison. Benoit Bonne-
ville; her domestic; .viso had accompanied her, re-
.mained it, the first chamber, called the avant-
-wore, Doling the course' of tisk visit, Lavalettc
sent for his danghter, aged 13, who came, uccom-
' palsied by Art: Marguerite Dutoit, a female it.
tacnud to bey service, and aged 60.. Jean Baptiste
Roquette. the Kergnidee, sets. head gaoler Of the
house of justice, permitted her to 'enter, although
she- witb not furnished with permission to that
effect.

About five o'clock in the cveninyg Lavidytte sat
down to dine with hit wile, his-oanghicr, and the
"Ividow llutuit. They were waited upon by Jacques
Merle, a turnkey of the prison, particularly charg-
ed with the guard ofi Layalette, who nevertheless
paid him a recouipenee because he employed him
as a domestic.

After dinner 'Merle. went, for Itre coffee, which
he brought, and he was requested not to conic in
again until he was rung for. About 7 o'clock. like
bell 'was accordingly rung, to.desir e Merle to 1011 he
chairman lobe in immediate readiness, because La-
vrtlette the wile was about to depart; but 45 it iip•
pears, had turned to acceount the time during which
he bad been without -a keeper ; hail put on sonic of
his wiles chttliing,, and covered his head with her
bonnet and feathers, having put on a tucker aid
gloves : he soon atter came out of the prison,with
the aid of this digitise, holding his daughter by
the hand, and leaning on the widow 15tv.oir ; and
it is difficult to supp Use that Merle did nut per-
ceive the disguise. In order the better to deceive
the vigilairee,of the gimlet. and the other liege's,
Lavalette concealed his lace with a handkerchief,
as if stifling the sokt, and drying up the tears.—
During this lithe BoldicvOre 11.0 Made himself
seenre of Guerin, alias Marengo, uuf had pro-.
cured another asint:am to replace Brigault, who
had rejected the offer made to him. The iNilan
'chair was then teady, Lavalette catered it, the
chairmen set id., Bonneville, the widow Dittoii,
and I.Avdette, tile ciati:oit el', follow e ing it to th.
end of the rue tie la Liarilhere, where 144‘aletto
laving arrived, left the.chair, and to.tit to' tligttt,
his daughter tithing his place in it.

in the ine4n time the. escape WWI nnt yet known
in the prison, when the gaoler Moquette., scat, en-
tered' Lavaletres chamber ; ise saw no one there,
but be beard something stirring behind, a folding
screen ; went out, ,till returned shortly alter.
Having their called without receiving an answer,
and feeling alarmed, he advanced towards she
sereea, and recognised Layalette's wife ; he imme-
diately exclaimed, dh, madame, ph have deceived
the; anti wished to go out to give the alarm ; . but
it would appear that the woman Lrvalette made
some efforts 10 detail) hint. At last be got out of
the chamber,. and immediately set nfi in pur•
suit of the .sedau-chair, which was come 'up with
at a short distance, but no otte o as found in it but
Lavalette, the' daughter. Merle, Who bud received
orders front Roquette, jun. to run up the rue de
let Barilliere, in order to-overtake, it possible, the
escakd prisoner, had, on the contrary,. ret turned
to the Conciergerie, tinder the pretence. of sat is-
tying himself as to the reality of Layalette's es.
cape, and of visiting. the chamber. Metle had
also, at the 'moment. of Lavalette's escape, taken
to the tavern one Bodiseau, whose superinspection
might have proved fatal to the success of the plan.
All these facti gave occasion to a criminal in•
quiry against the authors or presumed accom-
plices of the escape, Lavalette, the wife, !rein.?
interrogated at the very moment of the event andc'
since,- has indeed persisted in declaring that she
alone had conceivecl and executed the project; butt
the inquiry did not in this respect produce any di-
rect and positive charge that could enable its, to
place any confidence in her declarations.
It appeared, on the contrary, to result, that La-
valette the vt lie would Het, as well its hay )laughter
and the widow Dittoit, have taken, any active
part in this project, but that Lavale•te would
have conceived and executed, without being aided
by them, his plan of escape ; and that lie would
not have obtained from these three females any
thing but a passive obedience, which their nintnal
relations render probable. As to Benoit Bonne- '
vine, he appears to have knowingly favintred the
escape of his master, and to have even actively
co-operated in procuring for him two'ehaiiinen.
who could be depended ripon, and by attempting
to seduce the man Brigault by the offer of 25
Louis. Joseph Guerin , alias Marengo, does not tip.
Tear etcmpt from active participation lii the escape:
be had joined his_entreaties to those of Bonne-
ville, in order to persuade Brigault to accept the
offers which were made to the latter. As, to the
second Chairinan, named Choisy, no trace has ap-
peared against Imp of his having knowingly par-.
ticip;i!e:l ill the escape, and We leas been placed
out of prosecution since the corumencement, of
the process. The turnkey, Merle, has not jovali-
dated by his answers the charges , which arose
against hint -of having lammed, by connivance,
the escape, and which tesult trout the facts above ,
stated. In fine, Roquette, sett. tile gaoler, has
not exculpated himself from the off :lice invited.
to him, of having, by negligence, facilitated the
escape of the convict entrusted to his keeping. .
The et iminal inquiry relative to the above-
named :poisons implicated had terminated, and

aP:l:6e:lent!lx;ll.l)!scielit.l6ceviletit6;‘,lt
conSequettee of Lavalette's escape, and had the
eloi:est Connection with the first fact, reached the
ears of justiceoind necessitated new inquiries.
valette, escaped from the C:,n
. still not s!ielr6i•ed front danger ; he was still nut
enabled to leave Paris ; and the very Activo,
searches which were made there could not have
failed spFedily to discover him. in order to escape
from his ,entence, he had no other means but
that of getting Out of France at all hatards ; but
this was perilous; because it description of haul
been scut to till the authorities, and to the gen-
ddrinerie ; nevertheless, it was 'soon lerted that
this.couviet had succeeded in gettingfrom Paris,
and et-en in passing the troutierk of France ; and
those Tessin's %vim had provided hint with the
meitDs did not remain long unknown., A letter
Written by Sir Robert Wilson, an Englishman, a
major-general not in active service, under date of
the llth of January 1816, containing the most
circumstantial details of Lavalette's -escape front
'France, confirmed the suspicions which were ex-
cited in this respeCt against the said IVilson, and
also against John Ely Ilittehinson and Micluscl
Bruce. It made known the part which each ot
them had taken in the concealment of Ltvalette,
and in tacilating his escape out of France.
in consequence, a criminal inquiry was directed
against them. On this inquiry it appeared that,
front the Ist day of a/Mill:11y, %I/ikon and Bruce,
being acquainted with the fact that Lae:dote was
htill, at. Paris, had fornied the project ot rescuing
him from justire ; that they •had 'contionnieated
this project to flute;inson, who had joined in it,
that, in fact, on the 7th of Jant.iry they met at
the. house of the latter, and concerted and ttgm eet;
With Lavalette upon the menus which it woall he
necessary lo employ to secnre the escape Of this
convict, that Bruce and Hutchinson employed
themselves in directing the prepuration of the
dress necessary to facilitate the flight of Lava-
lette.; that Hutchinson concealed him at his
Joil4ings on the night front the 7th to the
; Old the' following day lie accompanied
on horseback the cabriolet in which Wilson and
T.:trident rode ; that at last the said Wilson-did
not quit Lavallette till after hay iog conducted him
beyond Frattre, and having facilitated to him the
means of suit motintiog all the obstacles which
might stop hi(tr by the way. In a part of Wil-
son's Cortespondence ',which has reached the,
knowledge of justice, passages hive been rematk-
cd, in which the accused, and those with whom he

torrespoinlain England,in ptufeSsing principles the
most dangerous and twist opposite to every kind of
social order, manifestcd great' hatred against the
government actually existing in France,-and ap-
peared to invoke by their prayers events that might
disturb its existing order, and weaken its force or
stability, Expressions might he inserted, contained
in these let t to show that the inn t zau of these
frightful doctm ines, the swiormenemics of all Wise
and regular (.I(mvernments, ‘vere• not far from pl,,t-
titig it a roin : in consequence of this, in the in•
quit); which has taken place regarding Wilsiin and
his accomplices, it has been attempted to be aseet.
Hinted if the fact which has been imputed talmitn.,
rektive to the concealmewt and the escape of La-
valette, be conueeted.with a plot formed by them
ogominst the internal security of the kingdom, and
if they had not 'for their object to produce it
conintotion ' that mi;ht shake or even
overturn the Covert:nem ; but the cliarg'es which
have resulted from the dor'nments and time
in-
yuiry, however Serious the character they assume,
do not appear sufficient to warrant, in the terms
of the law against tOe"itecused, an indictment for
an attempt or a plfh:. to overthrow the 'Govern-
meat. The •correspondence of Wilson did not
present 'on his side a concerted and fixed resolu-
tion of acting in conformity with the ft ightful
principles which he prolesSes ; and Bruce and
ilutchinson were besides Clanger.; to that cor-
respondence. NeverthelesQ, the intptn y being
terminated, and the proceedings being annexed to
it id due order, the tribunal of first instance in
Paris, by an ordinance that issued front h 5.9 time
tld of the present m‘pnth, decided on tb4 whole of
the procedure.

It charged Wilson, tot,with a plot directed qenerally mrrin,t
no political system of Europe, :mil hating for its paiticular
object to destroy or change the French Government, to excite
the inhabitants to take up arms monist: the King's aiithurity.
2d, With havmg'entleaviiitred to attain the'execation of this
plot by seckin., to snatch from the pursuit of justice, br
adircss or by violence,. Unlividuals comprelitisiled in
the 'lit Article of the Ordinance of the 24th of July, 1813,
and principally, by cone rting, sett hug and consummating
the escape and concealment of Lavalette, cOodenmed for
`crime of bigh Hutchinson and Bruce stere charged
with being accoMplices of Wilson, by knowingly a'd'oz aunt
assisting the tat terin the acts which !itepared, facilitated, and
consiituniated the same plot, and w tb having en-operated in
its execution—videlico, Bruce by cv.l,-..erting with Wils,in the
of Lavalette, and furnishing him %vitt% the means; and
Iluteliiusoo by ,concealing Lavalette,
,and :tcc log Lim
us
.far as Compiegne. •

Vcith rs.,garti tu-the individuals charged with liasitnt facili-
tated the escape of LaraletteTroni the prison of the
genie, the fame ot charge.i Aerie ivith ,n-
-nivance with IrLavalette, of whom he was the keeper, ,
ed the escape of tint convict; Roquette de Keri,t-a-•
keeper, the widow I)utuit, Bonneville, and Guerin,
ing facilitated the escape of Luralette, the tirlt h I,Ls
getter' and the others by their voluntary.eu.overatiol.
With regard to Laralettc the wife, mishit..4.; that there
did not emit against her sufficient proofs of a cr':iiiTtiat c
operation iLi the escape of her husbaod, it was dedared ttat
there Was no g.round fur prosecution against her at present.
'flue Cottrt, after haring deliberated as to what respects
son, Hntchinsuti, and Bruce, considering twit there do not
result fr(.111 the documents and' preliminary ifirt-AigAtion suf-
ficient charges against tlietn of towing, towards the close of
IRIS, find in iatithsty 181430 formed or executed a plot having
for its object to destroy,or alter. the French Cloves nment, or,
to excite the citizens to tale up arms again,3l the royal an.
thority, nor of having been accomplices ail ,the Said crimes,
declares that there is no ground fur accusation against the
said Wilson, flOtchinson, and BIIICC, in respect or the sand
facts of attempt and plot. _ _

Al far as respects Jecipies Merle, considering that, from the
preliminary investigation, the, charge results ai;aiiist hitu of
li.tving, on the'2olll pccemberr Ifils, in euiiiiivaitce, with La-
valette, cuittlennied to capital punishment, nod to lite keepoig
of wheat he vas specially appointed, tiellitafed the escape
front 'prison of the said Lai•alette.
As far as respects Jean Baptiste Itognette de Kerguidcc the
elder, considering that there results fruit the inquify a suffi-
cient charge against hint of haring,. vii the eoth of December.
1814, through negligence, facilitated the escape of Laealette,
condemned to a capital punishment, and who was :lbsukuitteti
to 1119 Care ill ipiality of chief gaolerof the prisal.
As far as respects Benoit Bonneville, um! Joseph Guerin.,
alias Marengo, considering tltsit there results from the ti,,eu-
menu a taillient charge against them, of hasniz, on the
9.oth _of I),:crinber, If;15, facilitated •the escape of t.,4l%.ieite,
cot-idealised to rt Cl: pit al punishininit,-biprocurinic for the con.
iletittieti the inetitts of effecting his cseepe; and al id itS far as
respects %%Filson, Mitchinson, end Bruce, considering that
there rrsolts from the documents a sollieient titarge against
them ut this iiiimth OfJa ouary liflts accesviry to the
concealment of 1./milt:tie, kut4ttigThat he vi4i cusidt:latiid to