The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-11-26
INGENIOUS ESCAPES
QUICK WIT THAT CHEATED DEATH
on PRISON BARS.

4 Number Of Interesting InstaAces
In which Happy ThouEAts OF Clev-
or nuses Brought Liberty to Tn
happy Prisoners.
A collection Of happy thoughts would
make interesting reading and after a
perusal Of 1t one might well feel inclined
to question the accuracy Of Carlyle's oft
quoted axiom as to the preponderanoe Of
fools and admit that there 10 good deal
Of ingenuity In the world after all. Take,
for example, the case Of Thrasyllus, the
soothsayer, whom Tiberius was about to
condemn to death. Previously to ordering
him to be thrown into the sea the emperor
inquired Of the sage II he could foretell
the date Of his own death.
"Three days exactly before C@sar's,"
was the reply, and for tho rest Of his life
Thrasyllus was the special object of the
emperor's anxious care.dA Louis XII OF
France received Similar reply, which
Scott hasmade effective use Of In 'Quen.
tin Durwsrd."
Richard of Normandy, when boy, was
rescued out Of the clutches Of his overload
of France by his attendants enveloping
him in straw and carrying him out a. ,
bundle Of horse forage, while the escape Of
the Empress Matilda from Ludgersall was
effected by means of much grimmer ex-
pedient.
into coffin, which Was borne out Of the
fortress on the shoulders Of four Of her
servants. The hairbreadth escapes Of
Charles II and the disguises and shifts to
which he was forced are familiar to most,
while no reference to royal escapes can be
made without mention Of the Adroit ruse
Of Edward, afterward Edward II, when,
on the prstext Of trying the amounts" Of
his attendants, he 90 thoroughly exhausted
them that they were In no condition to fol
low his own fresh steed when he rode Of
In good earnest.
Undeniably clever, too, was the ruse by
which Archibald Douglas obtained his
freedom after Poietiers. Among his fell
low captives was Sir William Ramsay,
who saw with dismay the peril in which
life Of 90 great Importance to Scotland
was placed, and brilliant idea occurred
to him. Striding mp to Douglas with ev-
cry appearance Of Indignant anger, he be-
gan to cuff him soundly. How comes IL,
varlet, that you ara wearing your masters
armorf Perchanoe you have murdered
him and left his body on the field"
Asked what he meant by behaving In
this way to nobleman Of rank, Ramsay
burst into scornful laughter. "Nobleman
indeed A scoundrelly lackey who some
how has got bis masters armor. know
the rascal. Forty shillings Is enough ran
som for him. of you go, sirrah, and
search for your masters body" And
Douglas, with all the orestfallen air Of
detected impostor, skunk off-to freedom.
Tho affairs of the rs and '46'' were
productive Of several ingenious escapes.
Maxwell, earl of Nithsdale, owed his to
the heroism Of his countess, Winifred,
who, having obtained permission to visit
him, made him dress In her clothes and
thus pass unsuspected out of the prison.
Hepburn Of Keith had managed to make
his escape from Newgate; but, ignorant
of London, would inevitably have been re-
captured but for the happy thought of his
wife, who, knowing Of his escape, had
placed in the window Of hor lodgings the
Hepburn cup, the old heirloom Of the fam
lily, trusting, as fell out, that he would
recognize 1t.
Mr.. Radcliffe more fortunate than his
i'll fated brother, Lord Derwentwater,
escaped with an case which spoke little for
the vigilance of his guards, or perhaps a
good deal for the Jacobite sympathies Of
the governor. Chapmen were allowed to
ply their trade within the precincts of
Newgats, and Radcliffe one day stopped to
bargain with a vender Of walking sticks,
presumably a we'll wisher to the cause.
Continuing bis discussion, he simply
walked out Of the gates, the obliging chap
man answering the challenge Of the ward
crs that The wasn't prisoner" Still
more remarkable and suggesting remi-
niscenoes of the Three Musketeers was the
''evasion" Of General Forster after Pres
ton Pans.
He was lodged in the keepers house
and enjoyed the indulgences usual to pris-
oners of position. One day he was drink
ing wine with the governor and requested
permission to send for bottle Of his own,
on which he wanted the governors opin-
Ion, and, this being granted, he sent his
own servant 20 fetch it. The latter, by an
ingenious perversion Of his instructions,
induced the governors butler to go to the
cellar for it, and promptly locked him in.
Forster, in the meantime pretending to DO
angry at his mans slowness, declared he
would fetch the bottle himself, and left
the room for the purpose. The trusty serv-
ant was outside with a key prepared for
tho occasion. The door was shut and lock-
ed on the unsuspecting governor, and the
famous Jacobive quietly took his depar-
ture.
Similar to the case of Lord Nithsdale,
inasmuoh as their escapes, like his, were
due to the devotion of their wives, are
those Of Lavalette and LIE Fort. The for
mer, Bonapartist, was condemned to
death, and the eve Of his execution ar
rived. His wife obtained leave for herself
and daughter with an attendant to visit
him and partake Of tho last sad meal to-
gether, and arrived in sedan chair,
muffled up as became an invalid. In due
time tho jailors saw the three women de- |
part, weeping bitterly, Nine. Lavalette
In particular being overcome with grief |
and her face hidden in the handkerchief |
which received her tears.
But when later on the warder visited |
the cell and called the prisoner it was a
voice that answered him and
woman who tried with her puny strength
to delay his giving tho alarm. Lavalette
made good his escape much to the annoy
Rnce of the king, who remarked that no
one seemed to have done his duty except
Nine. Lavalette.
lie Forts wife put on two suits Of
clothes when she visited him, and dressed
him in one. Not till the following day
was the escape discovered, and the aIpall
ID jailer exclaimed to the triumphant
wife: Unhappy wretch! What have you
ionef" "My duty" was the fearless re-
ply. "Do yours. London Globe.
The Sea as a Tanner.
All animals when taken for sea voyage
,ecome tanner. Monkeys suffer greatly