The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-04-02

the escape of Louis XVI. and his
family from their captivity in the
Tuileres. says the Philadelphia Rec
I ord. But the details of these plans are
buried with their originators. The
secrecy which necessitated assumed
names and cipher correspondence nat
urally suggested the advisab ility of de-
stroying all letters and records of ar
duplicating character. Therefore, there
| is little left for the guidance of those
| interested in piecing out the plans OF
| the adherents to royalty who strug-
gled till the end on behalf of THEN
| throneless sovereigns
| In the journal and correspondence of
| Gouverneur Morris. American Minister
| to France, however, there are yelled
\ illusions, and in some instances out
| spoken admissions. which, added to the
| comments of his biographer, point to
| a scheme. infinitely and cautiously con-
cocted by number of F'renchmen and
Americans, whereby the King and
Marie Antoinette were to make their
escape to America. That the scheme
never matured was due to the King s
fatal habit of temporizing and the
Queens distrust of all her friends.
But in the fragmentary records which
are left we can trace the formation of
plan which. was to have been carried
out on July ID, 1892, for the transporta-
ton of the King and Queen to America.
The promoters of this plan saw to it
that some safe and fitting refuge was
prepared for their sovereigns in the
New World. 1t is in this connection
that the little settlement of Asylum"
in Pennsylvania was started. The
French refugees who built the Penn
sylvania town intended it to shelter
their Queen. AS part of this plan
house was built in the woods known as
1.-The Queens Retreat
The active originator of the Ameri-
can end of the project was the Vicomte
de Noailles. who arrived as a refugee
at Philadelphia early in the summer
of 1892, and became associated with
William Bingham. through whom he
met Robert Morris, Stephen Girard,
Nicholson and other influential men.
With their financial assistance he ma
terialized his plan of, a French colony.
Robert Morris was intrusted with Sc
curing a site for the settlement and
De Noailles secured settlers among the
gatherings of exoatriated F'renchmen
who had fled from the Revolution and
settled in Philadelphia, and native
Santo Domingo exiles, whom an upris-
ing had banished from that island.
Morris had his eye on a tract of wild
land in the northern part of Pennsyl-
vania, and he appointed Matthias Hol-
lenbeck, whom one historian calls the
"agent of Louis XVII to secure the
title to this land.
This was a difficult task. as the land
lay within the disputed district claim
ed by Connecticut as we'll as Pennsyl-
vania settlers. 1t was situated in what
is now Bradford county, on the right
bank of the north branch of the Sus-
quehanna, above Wiikesbarre, in a fer
tile valley hemned in by hills and
river and bounded on the northwest
corner by a projection known as Stand
ing Stone. 1t was far from the line of
travel, shut off from seaeoast and city.
It's obscurity and inaccessibility would
have recommended it to a band of an
chOrites, but never to gathering of
comfort loving sociable French people,
unless they had a secret motive in their
undertaking. The purchased tract ex-
tended over 2,400 acres, divided into
lots of 800 acres, owned by different
families of Connecticut and Pennsyl-
vania settlers. Owing to the reluctance
of these people to part with their
claims. the deed of the entire tract was
not legally executed until 1874. The
name Asylum was then formally
adopted.
Meantime a land company had been
formed in Philadelphia and the inter-
est of the refugees had been aroused.
The work of enIisting settlers went
hand ia hand with the work of prepar-
ing the settlement for them, which lat
ter work was being carried on by
Charles Bue Boulogne, the first inhabi-
tent of Asylum. assisted by artisans
and worhmen from far and near De
Ncailles's idea was to have the place
Eabftahie before the winter of 1898.
TIE cold came. however, and found the
early settlers i'll prepared for its sever
itv. The ousted Yankees. who hung
;, bout. refusing to leave the strangers
in unmolested possession. added to the
discomfort of the situation by their I'M
friendly and sarcastic attitude toward
the tenderfoot settlers. But the French
were, as intolerant of the former set
Every necessity was scarce at Asy-
Ium the first winter. All supplies had
to be brought by boat from Wilkes
barre. many coming first by wagon
from Philadelphia. The impossible
roads were the cause of many delays
in delivering goods, and negligence on
the part of agents engaged to supply
the coIony's needs led to much suffer-
ing.
But the winter. was tided over in
spite of difficulties never before dream
ed of by the effete and superciviliZed
eofonists The following spring fresh
attachments of exiles arrived in en-
couraging numbers and began joyously
to take up the burdens OF their new,
strange life. and the little town at the
foot of the hills by the side of lovely
river began to grow cheerful and ex-
pand.
The settlers were not all Of the aris-