Winchester gazette. [volume] (Winchester, Va.) 18??-1826, 1821-09-08

in her esteem. Having heard that she
was unhappy from the apprehension
OF poison, La Tude waited 90 Pompa.
d"ur, at Versailles, to acquaint her
that be had seen parsel put into the
Post Office addressed for her aud at
the same time expressed his suspicious
relative to the contents Of it, and eau
TONED the Marchioness to beware -
The parcel arrived of course, La rude
having himself put i, into the Post.Of-
tice; but the powder proved on cheni-
cal experiment perfectly innocent
The result gave the marchioness an iu-
sight into La Tude's design ) aud uf-
Tended at his presumption, she had
him sent to the Bastile as an imposter.
La Tude with great ingenuity effect
ed his escape from prison and feeling
unconscious Of any crime demanding
severity Of punishment, he went and
voluntarily surrendered himself to the
king. Unhappy man. Victim of the
caprice aad cruelty of woman . The
unfeeiins mar ehioaess, piqued at his
placing more confidence ia the king
than herself, made such representa-
tons to his majesty that he ordered La
Tude back to the same prison, aud to
be immured in one Of its most dreary
chambers--a dungeon where another
prisoner Of the name of Delegre, was
also coatiued by order Of the marchio.
ness. Yet, even frorn this impregua.
bic fortress Of barbarity, where no
WEALTH could bribe-waere no instru
ment of any kind was allowed, did La
Tuds & his companion, without money
and unaided, effect their escape.
They had neither scissors, knives.
nor any edged instrument and for an
hundred guiueas the turnkey would
not supply them with an ounce of
thread. Upon making the calculation
OF the difficulties 10 be encountered,
they found that they required fourteen
hundred feet of cordage two ladders
of wood and rope, from twenty TO TWEEN
ty five feet long, aud another of an
hundred aud eight feet in length. 1t
was necessary TO dispiace severai
CRATES from the chimney and in one
night to make hole in the wall seve-
raj feet thick at the distance of only 10
feet from sentinel. The wooden lad
der and that of rope, when made, must
be concealed as the officers, accom-
panied by the turkeys came to visit
and search them severa. times a week
They had to make aud do all these
things to accomplish their design aud
ihey had nothing but their hands 10
effect it with.
The hand, TO those who know its
use, IS the instrument of all ins,ru-
nents. The iron hinge of the table
WAS, by "'hettinS it on a tiled floor,
converted into knife. With tins bars
were removed, aud saw constructed
wood was concealed from the daily fuel
t. construct tae ladders La Tude's
por manteau continued twelve dozen OF
shirts, and other articles Of apparel.
out ut which they made the 400 feel
OF rope The bars in the chimney took
8 mouths 10 displace; and The whole OF
'hese preparations cost IS months
work, day and night.
The moment OF attempting their dan
serous enterprise now arrived one
night after supper, La Tude FIRST as
cended the chimney, aud drew the
ropes, iron bars, &c. up after him,
leaving sufficient quantity CT the lad.
der in the chimney to enable his COM
Panion to ascend with less difficulty
Being now on the top, they drew up The
rest of the ladder and then DESCENDED
at once on the platform serving as a
counterpois to eech other. They next
fixed their ladder to a piece of cannon,
and let II gently into The fosse by
which means they descended with their
iron bars, wooden ladder and all their
equipage. During all this time the
sentinel was not more than ten fattoms
from theni, waking upon the corridor.
This prevented them from getting up
to IT. TO 60 into the garden, as they
first intended ; they therefore were un
der The necessity of making use If their
iron bars. They proceeded straight to
The wal! which separates the fosse o.
The BasIile from hat Of The gasd ST.
Antoine, between the garden aud The
governors house 10 this place there
formerly had been little fosse. a ia
th"m wide, Que or two feet deep, bui
now the water was up TO their arm
pits.
The moment La Tude began 10 make
a hole bctw cen two stones to introduce
their iron bars as levers, the round
major passed by with his great lam
thern, at The distance of ten or twelve
feet over their heads. 7 prevent their
being discovered, they sunk up to their
rhius In water his oere,,ar,, H..