Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-09-13
Reach the NIoat

De Pompadour, he was arrested and
cast into the Bastille Later he was
transferred to the castle of Vincennes,
from which he cleverly escaped. II
kept up my courage" he says, with
the hope Of being one day able to obtain
my liberty and was constantly forming
plans with that in view. Among my
fellow prisoners l had noticed an aged
ecclesiastic who had been deprived Of
his liberty on account of his connection
with the Jansenists. He was allowed
considerable freedom, and usually ap-
peared i'll garden adjoining the one
where | was permitted to take some
daily exercise at about the same time.
Two turkeys accompanied me, one
waiting for me i'll the garden, the other
came up alone to let me out. This latter
l gradually accustomed to see me con-
siderably i'll advance of him; so one day
l ran down the stairs with inconceivable
swiftness, and, hastily boiling the door
before he could reach it, left him a pris
oner within and me four sentinels to
contend with. The first was on the other
side Of door which Scd from the dun
geon and w"s kept clCSed Knocking,
asked: Whore is the able Of st. Sau-
veur? Our priest has been waiting for
him over two hours, and l have been
looking everywhere for him. This able
was frequent visitor at the prison.
Running forward l put the same ques-
ton to the second sentinel, and again
was allowed to pass The third, posted
on the drawbridge, did the same, while
the fourth, never suspecting that pris-
oner could get by three sentinels, made
no effort to detain me. | crossed the
threshold Of the outermost gate, ran for
ward, and, 10, l was free -
Latitude made his way to Paris, took
furnished lodgings, then with bold
ness almost incredible wrote personal
letter to tho king urging that by his i'm
prisOnment he had expiated his fault
He was rearrested as a matter of course,
conveyed back TO the Bastille and con-
fined in strong cell, where he remain
ed Is months under strict surveillance,
when by the orders Of NJ. Berger, the
lieutenant Of police, he was removed to
a more comfortable room, which he &C.
cupied conformity with a young man of
his own age named Allegro, charged
with the same crime as was Lathe, that
of having given offense to Nine. de
Pompadour.
Under such circumstances but one
idea could actuate both-to obtain their
liberty. But how? To escape or perish
in the attempt. The gates of the Bastille
after his former escapade were out of
the question, and since the ground was
denied them they looked upward and
determined to mount into the air. In
their room was u chimney running to
the top of the tower, but so fortified
with bars Of iron as scarcely to leave a
free passage for smoke, and any one
making his way to the top would find
himself cut off from all surrounding
buildings with a ditch commanded by
high wall 200 feet beneath him. For a
time Latude thought and worked alone,
his companion having no faith in their
final success.
"There were many things, he writes,
"to provide for and to do-to climb to
the top of the chimney in spite of the
bars, to make a ladder long enough to
reach to the foot of the tower, and an
other which must be of wood for mount
ing the ditch on the other side. Tools
and materials must be procured; they
must be used i'll secrecy, and yet as it
were under the jailer's eyes. "
First, then, to find place where ev-
erything could be concealed. His ia
miliarity with the Bastille enabled La
tude to judge whether the chambers
above or below were occupied, and he
soon discovered that while no sounds
came to them from above, there was
evidence that some one was i'll the one
below them. This perfect silence over
head led him to think that there was
considerable space between the flooring
of that cell and the ceiling of his own.
Obtaining leave to visit the chapel Of
the prison with Allegro and the prisoner
below them, Latitude managed with AL
legre's help to get into the room. The
ceiling was low one, and measuring
the height of the entire story, he judged
that a space of about five feet lay be-
tween the upper and lower rooms.
1--WE are saved" he exclaimed, when
the two were once more at liberty to
speak. "We have hiding place enough
for whole workshop of things" but
how are we to get them?" asked the
other impatiently. "Why," answered
Latude, "this trunk Of mine will sup
ply us with all the rope we shall need. "
Trunk Ropel Why there is nothing
of the kind in it. 4" "What, have not
several dozens Of shirts, napkins, stock
ings, etc? We have only to tear them
up to get ladder of any length.
From folding table in the cell they
cut away the ironwork with their
pocket knives, and thus obtained kind
of rough chisel for loosening the bars in
the chimney and prying up piece OF
the flooring. They succeeded in picking
a hole in the brickwork underneath their
floor, where they found a clear space Of
some four feet in which to hide their
implements.
Our next operation, he continues,