Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-26

ferred to the castle of Vinccnnes, from which he cleverly escaped. "I kept up my courage" " he says, with tho hope of be- ing one day able to obtain my liberty, and was constantly forming plans with that in view Among my fellow prisoners I had noticed an aged ecclesiastic who had been deprived of his liberty on account of his connection with tho Janscnists. He was allowed considerable freedom and usually appeared in garden adjoining the one where I was permitted to take some daily exercise at about the same time. Two turnkeys accompanied mo, one waiting for me in tho garden, the other came up alone to let mo out. This latter gradually ac- customcd to sec mo considerably in ad- vance of him, one day ran down the stairs with incOnceivable swiftncss, and, hastily bolting the door before he could reach it, left him a prisoner within and me four sentinels to contoud with. The first was on tho other side of a door which led from tho dungeon and was kept closed. Knocking, l asked, Where is tho abbe of St. Sauveur? Our priest has been waiting for him over two hours, and l have been looking everywhere for him?' This abbe was a frequent visitor at the prison. Run ming forward. put the same question to the second sentinel and again I was al lowed to pass. The third, posted on tho drawbridgc, did the same, while the fourth, never suspccting that a prisoner could get by three sentincls, made no effort to detain me. 1 crossed the threshold of the outer most gate, ran forward, and, To, I was freo!'
 Latude made his way to Paris, took fur nshed lodgings, then with q boldness al- most incredible wrote a personal letter to tho king urging that by his imprisonment he had cxpated his fault.
 He was rcarrcStcd as D matter of course,
 
 in strong cell, where ho remained IS months under strict surveillance, when by the orders of M. Berryer, tho lieutenant of police, he was removed to a more Com- fOrtable room, which he occupied con njOint- ly with Il young man of his own age named Allegro, charged with the same crime as was Latudo, that of having given offense to Mmc. do PompadOur.
 Under such circumstances but one idea could actuatc both-tO obtain their liberty. But how? To escape or perish in the attempt. The gates of the Bastille after his former escapado were out of the ques- tion, and sincc the ground was denied them, they looked upward and determined to mount into tho air. In their room was a chimney running to the top of the tower, but so fortified with bars of iron as scarce ly 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 q high wall 200 feet beneath him. For q time I4atudc thought and worked alone his companion having no faith in their final succr5,.
 "Thrrr were many things" ho writes, ito provide for and to do--to climb to the top uf the chimney in spite of the hars to make d ladder long enough to reach to the foot of the tower, and another which must be of wood for mounting the ditch on the other side. Tools and materials must be procured; they must Do used in secrecy, and yet as it were under the jail CTS eyes.
 First, then, to find d place where every thing could be concealed His familiarity with the Bastillc enabled Latudo to judge whether tho chambers above or below were occupied, and he soon discovered that while no sounds Camc to them from above, there was evidence that some one was in the one below them. This perfect silence overhead led him to think that there was cOnsidera blc space between the flooring of that cell and the ceiling of his own. Obtaining leave to visit Inc chapel of the prison with Allegro and tho prisoner below them, La tudo managed with Allegrc's help to get .nto the room. The ceiling was low one, and measuring tho height of the entire story he judged that D space of about five feet lay between he upper and lower rooms.
 'Wc arc savcd,' he exclaimed, when | the two wcrc once more at liberty to speak. t'Wc have hiding place enough for whole l workshop of things' But how are we to get thcm:' asked tho other impatiently. Why" answered I.atude, ''this trunk of l mine will supply us with all the rope we shall need" Trunk! Rope! Why there | is nothing of the kind in it. 'What, have I not several dozens of shirts, napkins, | stockings, etc? We havo only to tear them up to get q ladder of any length"
 From a folding table in the cell they | cut away the iron work with their pocket