The weekly Anglo-African., 1859-09-17
A THRILLING SKETCH.

llolduC6 IOHl Ills OWu cAptIlcHCc III t1O
highest order of the French school of in
tensity, whose writers our American diable-
ried Ledger writes into commonplace
We left the room with turnkey behind
us, and walked on till we found ourselves
opposite the prison. The goaler opened it,
went in, and lighted lantern We fol
lowed. We went down ten steps, passed
row of dungeons, then down ten more,
but did not stop. We went down five more,
and then stopped at the one marked No.
II. He gave silent signal; it seemed in
this abode of the dead as if he had lost the
power of speech. There was at this time
frost Of at least twenty degrees outside
AT the depth where we found ourselves it
was mingled with damp which penetrat-
ed to the bone; my marrow was frozen, and
yet | wiped the perspiration from my brow
The door opened; we went down six damp
and slippery steps, and found ourselves In
a dungeon of six square feet. lfancied by
the light of the lantern that saw human
being moving in it. The governor remained
on the last step, and said tothe prisoner:
" Rise and dress yourself"
/ had a curiosity to know to whom this
order was addressed.
"Turn on the light" said to the gaol-
"I then saw thin and pallid old man
rise up. He had evidently been immured
in this dungeon in the same clothes he had
on when arrested; but they had fallen of
him piecemeal, and he was only dressed in
ragged pelisse Through the rags his
naked, bony, shivering body could be seen.
Perhaps this body had been covered with
splendid garments; perhaps the ribbons of
most noble orders had once crossed his
painting chest At present he was only a
living skeleton that had lost rank, dignity,
name, and was called No. IL. He rose,
and wrapped himself in the fragments of
his ragged pelisse, without uttering COM
plaint His body was bowed down, con-
quered by prison damp, time, it might be
hunger His eye was haughty-almost
"It is good" said the governor.
Come"
He was the first one to 60 out.
The prisoner threw parting glance on
his cell, his stone bench, his water jug and
rotten straw. He uttered sigh, yet it was
impossible that he could regret anything
of this. He followed the governor, and
passed before me.
| shall never forget the glance he turned
upon me in passing, and the reproach that
was concentrated in it.
So'young," it seemed to say, and al
ready obeying tyranny"
I turned away; that glance had pierced
my heart like dagger.
He passed the door ofthe dungeon. How
long was it since he entered itl Perhaps
he did not know himself He must have
ceased for long time counting days and
nights.
On reaching the governors door, we
found two sledges waiting. The prisoner
was ordered into the one that had brought
us, and we followed him, the governor by
his side, in front. The other sledge was
occupied by four soldiers.
Where were we going2 | knew not.
What were we going to do? / was equal
ly ignorant / had only to see-the ac-
ton itself did not concern me.
We started.
Through my position, the old mans
knees were between mine. l felt them
tremble. The governor was wrapped in
his furs / was buttoned up in my militia
ry frock, and yet the cold reached us. The
prisoner was almost naked, but the gov
ernor had offered him no covering. For a
moment / thought of taking off my coat
and offering it to him. The governor
guessed my intention
1t is not worth while," said he.
Soon we reached the Nava again, and
our sledge took the direction of Cronstadt.
The wind came off the Baltic, and blew fu-
riously; the sleet cut our faces. Though
our eyes had become accustomed to the
darkness, we could not see ten yards be-
fore us
At last we stopped in the midst OF fu-
rious storm. We must have been about
league and half from st. Petersburg.
The governor got off the sledge, and went
up to the other. The soldiers had already
got off, holding the tool they had been Or
dered to bring.
"Cut hole in the ice," said the govern
or to them.
could not refrain a cry of terror. be-
gan to apprehend.
"Ah p the old man muttered, with an
accent resembling the laugh of skele-
ton, "then the Empress does.still remember
me-"
OF what Empress was he talking2 Three
had passed away in succession Annie,
Elizabeth, and Catherine. 1t was evident
he still believed he was living under one of
them, and he did not know even the name
of the man who ordered his death.
What was the obscurity of the night
compared with that of the tomb
The four soldiers then set to work. They
broke the ice with their hammers, cut it
with their axes, and raised the blocks with
the lever. All at once they started back;
the ice was broken, and the water was ris-
ing.
Come down." the governor said to the
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