The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1881-01-06

t"''D ~eSct Ou tuo tuiTu
day he saw fox creeping along il
the gloom toward heap of corpses
The fact that the animal got into tb,
cave was proof positive that ther,
was some way ont.
Lying motionless till the fox cam,
sniffling around him, Aristomene,
then grabbed him by the leg, and
as hc turned to snap him, thrust The
hem Of his mantel in his mouth.
Reynard held on viciously, aud the
ingenious captive was led, as he d o
sired to be, through q labyrinthine
passage to an opening just largo
enough for the fox to crawl through,
land which he managed to enlarge
sufficiently to escape by himself.
Those old-timers were tough lot
IL historians dom lie. Herodotus
tells Of another, Hegistratus, who
WAS an augur or fortune-teller to
one Mordonius. Tho Spartans got
hold Of him, too, aud put him in Jail
with a log fettered TO his leg
Failing to release himself ia any
other way. he contrived TO scrape q
passage out Of his dangeon With an
old knife-blade be found in corner,
aud then cnt enough Of bis foot of
to slip tho stump out of tho fetter,
and so crawlod away to freedom.
Iucreditsble as the story scoms s,such
cases OF self-inulilation are not un-
common among our Indians, and
animals caught by the foJt in trap
almost invariable gnaw the captive
members off and survive the loss.
Ce'ius Sec1nius Curion was q
Jealous Lutheran of the sixteenth
century in Turin. Taking exception
to passage 10 the sermon q Jesuit
was preaching in tho Cathedral, he
called him liar. He was seized
and thrown into Tho prison of the
inquisitiou, where his feet were
shackled to ponjerous blocks of
wood TO prevent bis moving, Ac-
cording to his own account, after
having spent II week in these orna
menis, he induced his jailor, on the
plea that he was perishiug OF pain in
his constrained position,to unshackle
one Lex for him. Then hs tore his
shirt into shre1s, add taking of his
stocking and slipper. stufei them
with these rags uotil he hal male u
very fair model OF a leg aud foot.
A broken broomstick supplied him
with bone, aud, as he tells it. "hid-
ing my real limb uuler my cloak, !
sat calmly awaiting the SUCCESSES Of
my ruse. After time tho young
man came in TO pay me his usual
visit aud ask me how idid. II
shonld feel better" l said, pointing
to my duinmy," ''if you would kini .
ly fasteu this leg to tho fetter aud
lot me gi1o the other rest" lie
consented, anu cnaincd up my false
limb with oil imaginable care" &t
night, when Curion heard bis attend
ants snoring he parted conpany y
with his fettered leg. undressod it,
clothed himself again anl stole out
of bis cell. which no one had taken
the trouble to fasten on the outside.
lie found means to scale the outer
walls of his prison and regain his
liberty. Ills escape, which he de-
scribes in this matter OF fact way.
figures in the pious history as the
work of witchcrsft, on tho ground
that the Devil is ever ready to assist
his own.
The escape OF Croft us, the histori-
ian, from the Castle OF Louvenstein
was an original one. Involved in
the ruin of his friend, John of Barns
evelt, Grotius, in 1919, when only
thirty six years old, was condemned
to perpetual imprisonment. He was
allowed to borrow books from his
friends, and when they were feturn.
cd they we're sent away in chest
along with his linen for the wash.
Toward the end OF the seco ond year
when the guard had ceased to bother
examining the box as it came and
went. Madame Grotius contrived to
have her husband conceal himself in
this convenient casket. and he was
carried to freedom by some Of the
very soldiers set to guard him so
zealously.
Such methods Of ooncealment were
by no means uncommon in those old
days when men we're imprisoned for
years at time, living under guard