Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-10-15
SOMEBODY'S ESCAPE.

houses. built when it was thought the town
would stretch out by Lord Clare's, instead OF
going as it did. There is Back Glare street,
built of handsome private houses, which were
afterwards let and sub-let cheap to dodgers
many of the lower class of trades people. 1t
was in one of these houses that reduced
eentlewoman-MissS Sally Carmody-liyed, in
or about the year l76l. There was deal OF
French money sent over in those times, and
some, it was thought, appropriated it to their
own purposes. Frank Arthur even, when he
was building Arthur's Quay, was accused OF
having got some. / am quite sure this was
untrue, but the story was believed, because,
Won see, in those days il was thought such an
impudent thing for a Catholic to build whole
QUAY. Three times, they say, he was on the
point of being hanged, but the Earl of LINER
lex saved him. However this might be,
Frank Arthur, being considered mighty Sup
pish" (that was the word) for Catholic, was
suspected, and not himself alone, but all who
were known to be connected with him. Ar
thurs wife was better born than himself, and
poor Miss Sally CarmOdy was a cousin of hers,
and well known as such. So she, good old
lady, was under suspicion also.
Miss Sally being, as | said, reduced, was
Obliged to take in needle work to support her
self. She was very skilful at her needle, and
numbers of fine ladies used to mount the
stairs of her lodgings, to entrust her with
work they were particular about. One would
think there could be nothing very dangerous
in this poor gentlewOman. Still, being rela-
ted to Arthur's wife, she was watched and
she knew il. Above all, she lived in con-
slant dread of fellow lOdger who occupied
the rooms on the ground floor, Immediately
below her. This woman, who followed the
calling of clear starcher, was an aerid, close,
uncommunicative little bOdy-very industri-
Gus, but very odd in her ways. She was what
the neighbors called g bitter Protestant :"
consequently she was employed by all the
Protestant ladies of Limerick, and was more
over weekly pensiOner of some religious
society. By Miss Sally the little Protestant
clear starcher was looked upon as spy, and
dreaded and avoided accordingly. One day
a handsome carriage stopped at the door,
and lady of mOdish appearance having in
ouired for Miss Sally, alighted and assembled
the stairs to her room. She had some very
fine work with her, and concerning this she
had a hundred instructions to give. Miss
Sally remembered afterwards that while she
was talking about the work the lady's eyes
kept CHANGING here and there rather curious
w. But as this was by no means unusual in
her fine lady visitors, 1t caused her no unea-
siness at the the time. Her customer at last
patton, suspended during the rather tedious
directions to which she had to hearken.
The visitors sharp eyes, however, had not
gone a-prying in vain. Inside the front room
there was, as have often seen in those old
houses, a little room or closet, without any
window, only lighted by means of a glass
door connecting it with the apartment with
out 1t came out subsequently that the fine
lady spy had seen the shadow of a man inside
In less than half an hour the whole street was
filed with soldiers up to Miss Sally's room.
They came to secure their prisoner. They
knew he had not had time to escape-they
also knew that from the closet there was no
second outlet; so, when they were in the
room without, they were sure he was trapped.
Into the closet, then, they thrOnged, Gene
raj Duff himself at their head. But the
room was apparently empty. 1t was without
furniture, save a mattress, a chair and table
on which was little heap of frewood but
not large enough to conceal a man. For a
moment the soldiers we're taken aback-next
moment they we're treasured.
There was a bricked-up fireplace in the
room, and round it they gathered. At that
time there was a tax called hearth-mOney,
and people used to build a sort of wall of
brieks-rOund fireplace, that the inspector
might see when he came that they made no
use of il. Ay, and may be when he'd turn
his back, the bricks would be taken down
until the time came for the next visit How
ever, as luck would have it, Miss Sally had
really no use for this fireplace l suppose it
was as much as she could do, poor lady, to
keep up the fire in the front room. And so
il happened that the bricks were well and
firmly built, and even plastered over, and
they reached to within a couple of feet of
the ceiling. There was Just room for a man
inside and down there, and, as the soldiers
guessed, the poor fugitive had dropped. He
had only few minutes notice of their coming
and, catching up Ratchet that was in the
corner with the frewood ne had Just had
time TO Chamber up and gain his temporary
place of refuge when they broke in.
With throbbing heart he listened to their
threats, their cries of anger, their oaths He
heard them asking if it would not be best to
shoot down upon him, and kill him in his lair.
But Gen. Duff bawled out: "No, no mot
for a hundred thousand pounds! He must be
taken alive He cannot escape Us pull down
the brickwork, and he is Ours!" They then
set to, and worked hotly and what with the
knocking and hammering, and cursing and
shouting, there was such an uproar as was
never heard before in poor Kiss Sally Car
mody's lodgings. The bricks being solidly
built and plastered, it was not so easy as they
anticipated to tear them away. And when at
last they did effect that purpose, their sup
posed prisoner had again banked them-how
was plsinly to be seen. While they were up-
roofing the bricks that screened him from
them, he, seeing, or rather feeling, that there
was no hearthst0ne under his feet, had con.
ceived the hope that by cutting away the
floor he might drop into the room below, and
so have another chance of getting off. With
the Ratchet he had caught up, he fell to work,
the noise he made completely drowned by
the uproar without; and some minutes before
their object was effected he landed in the
room below.
Instantly the alarm was given by the SOL
diers nearest the hearth-place. Some of
their number remained above, while the rest
hurried down to get into the room below.
But here was another delay, for the woman
who occupied it-a good Protestant. as sew.
eral Of them knew, and therefore not TO be
suspected of voluntarily harboring a French
spy flor such they declared the fugitive to
bel-Was absent, and the door was locked
Some, who had hurried round to the back of
the house, found the window of this room fast
bolted on the inside, and there was no other