them was so clever that after being in prison some
years he earned 300/., and, being fond of drawing, he
readily undertook, under promise of secrecy, to map
out the country between Norman's Cross and the sea,
marking down all the roads and villages it would be
necessary to pass. But it was in vain for the young
Frenchman to try to learn the names of any of these ;
he could not even pronounce them. So he determined
that if ever he was to get to the coast in safety he must
never speak at all.

One difficulty he was spared, which in his own
country would have stopped him at the outset, and
that was the necessity of providing himself with a
passport, giving an exact description of his appearance,
of his age, his business, and all kinds of other details,
that would have constantly to be shown to anyone
who asked for it.

Little by little he changed some of his French
money for the English gold with which the prisoners



THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER 147

were paid for their toys and baskets. At last he had
about five sovereigns, with some silver and a few
pennies ; and these, with the French money he had
left, he hid in the pockets of his blue sailor suit. A rope
he had contrived to make out of wool, and a hook was
fastened to the end of it, to catch on to the top of the
wall. It is hardly possible that he could have done
all this without his fellow-prisoners guessing his inten-
tions, but they were good-natured creatures, and quite
understood that ' there are none so blind as those who
won't see.'

At last he was ready, and one dark night in February,
when the wind was blowing a gale and driving torrents
of icy rain in the face of any man who put his nose
outside, the prisoner felt that he would never have a
better chance of passing the sentinels. Into his jacket
he thrust a strong knife, and hid a tinder-box in the
lining of his cap. He also rolled a flannel shirt up very
tight, and got it with some difficulty into his trouser
pocket, while a pair of dry socks were stuffed in some-
where else. As for food, he had no room for anything
except a couple of biscuits.

As soon as it was dark he signalled to his friend
who was in the secret, and sitting behind him on the
floor pretended to be mending something by the fitful
light of the fire. What he really was doing was cutting
a piece out of one of the boards which would give him
room enough to pass into a cellar below, with a door
leading into the yard. This he managed to accomplish
more quickly than he expected. The board was replaced
by his friend, and the fugitive slipped unnoticed behind
a pile of faggots that were stacked in the yard.

As the night wore on the wind grew louder and
louder, and the rain heavier and heavier. The poor
man was nearly frozen, but he dared not move till
he heard the prison clock strike eleven. That was the

L 2



148 THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER

time that he had fixed on as giving him the best chance,
for he would have an hour in which to work before the
sentinels were changed at midnight.

The wooden paling was soon cut through, and then
came a breathless moment when he listened with
straining ears to know if the sentinels had heard him.
No ; there was nothing ; and as if to help him to escape,
there came such a furious blast of w T ind and rain that
nothing would stand against it. Seizing his oppor-
tunity, he threw up the rope, which luckily caught the
first time, and, after pulling it as hard as he could, to
make sure it would bear his weight, he climbed up it,
hand over hand. At the top he listened again, when
suddenly a door opened just under the wall. He
stretched himself out quite flat, and after a minute or
two of agonised waiting the sentry went back into
his box, and shut out the rain and the wind. Then the
Frenchman pulled up his rope and slid down the wall,
towards some lamps which must be passed. Here he
thought that all was over for him, as just as he was
about to step out of the darkness a picket of five or
six men crossed in front. But their heads were bent low
against the wind and the rain, and again he was saved.

The boundary ditch once left behind he was a free
man, and for several hours he walked on, keeping clear
of the high road, where coaches and carriages might
be met with at any time of night. The villages
all seemed asleep, and even in the town of Oundle
not a soul was stirring, though by this time the rain
had ceased, and the moon was peeping out, showing
him a small shed standing in a field near by, where
he determined to rest. Worn out by excitement
and fatigue he threw himself on the straw, and slept
soundly for a couple of hours.

With the earliest streaks of dawn he rose and looked
about him. It seemed he was in a manger, which he



THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER 149

had shared with a cow and a calf. 'Ah,' thought he.
4 1 must get out of this at once, for the cowherd will
be coming ; but first I will have some breakfast,' and
taking his cap for a basin, he milked the cow into it,
for he had been brought up on a farm, and was well
used to such things. Then, feeling a new man, he
continued his journey.

His next resting-place was in a haystack which
had been partly cut, and here he took out his map and
examined the roads he had come, and those he had
still to pass. The sun shone bright and strong and dried
and warmed him, but he was rather 'dismayed to find
that he had taken a wrong turning in the dark and
gone in exactly the opposite direction to what he had
intended. However, he came to the conclusion that
he could soon mend that by striking straight east,
towards the sea. What troubled him much more than
having missed his way was the fact that he was very
hungry, and he had only one biscuit left in his pocket.

For two or three hours he walked on, keeping
behind hedges and waiting till the few passengers on the
roads had passed by. His spirits rose with the feeling
that a few hours more would find him on the coast,
when his heart stood still with horror. There on a hill,
only a few 7 fields in front of him, stood the prison,
which he thought he had left behind for ever.

Fortunately for him, it was by this time nearly
dark, or some one would surely have noticed the strange
creature flying along as if he had wings, till he reached
the cowshed beyond the bridge of Oundle. This last
shock had exhausted him more than the whole of the
previous day, and he had no chance of breakfast any
more than supper, for the cow and the calf were no
longer there. However, he could still sleep, and sleep
he did till morning, when he found that the rain had
begun again as hard as ever.

It soon occurred to him that as the hut must belong



150 THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER

to somebody, it was dangerous to lie there unconcealed,
so he looked about to see if he could make himself a
hiding-place. Yes, he was sure he could manage one,
for some hurdles and an old gate were already laid out
of the way across the beams in the roof, and he carried
up some straw to heap over them. When he had
arranged it, he carefully examined it from below, and
found to his joy that it really looked as if it had been
stacked on purpose. So he swung himself up, and
curled himself up out of sight close to a hole in the roof,
through which he could perceive the high road and the
fields adjoining.

He had been up in his perch for a couple of hours,
when he saw three soldiers with fixed bayonets crossing
the bridge. They came straight towards the shed, and
two of them entered and glanced round, but not imagin-
ing that anyone could be hidden in a place which had
the door open for all passers-by to look into, they took
their departure, but not before they had thrust their
bayonets up through the hurdles and straw \vhere the
fugitive was lying. As it happened the points never
touched him, and that danger was over.

After this it seemed best to travel by night and along
the banks of a river if he could find one. So at eleven
he set out and reached Peterborough about three.
Hungry though he was, he did not dare to stop at any
of the inns which he passed on the way, and thankful
indeed was the poor wanderer to see the river Nene
in front of him, and to sit on a stile to rest. Always
proceeding with the greatest caution, that night he
arrived fainting with hunger at the town of Wisbeach,
which proved much larger than he expected, and in
spite of the vessels that gladdened his eyes, the sight of
some soldiers warned him to continue his journey as
quickly as possible. At length he reached a large village,
with canals and fens all round it, and at the end of the



ierS -SearOx 'ttxe ^> hecL




THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER 153

street, standing apart from the other houses, was a shop.
And what was more, a shop with bread and cheese in il .

At that moment the Frenchman would thankfully
have given a gold piece for a single slice of the loaf,
but though he had plenty of money, he knew r quite well
that if he were to speak his accent would betray him.
He stood hesitating and staring through the window,
when there entered a waterman, who sat down in a
chair and silently passed his hand over his chin. The
shopkeeper seemed to understand, for without asking
any questions, he put a cloth over his customer's
shoulders, and began to shave him. As soon as he had
finished, the waterman put two pence on the counter, and
took from the window some herrings and a loaf of bread,
which he tied up in his handkerchief. Then holding out
four pence in payment, he left the shop.

Delighted at receiving such a good lesson of how to
satisfy his pangs, the Frenchman walked boldly in and
imitated the waterman in every particular, except that
ne bought more food and some tobacco and a pipe.

The very fact of having provisions with him seemed
to make him feel less hungry, and he soon found a
tumbledown shed on the banks of a stream in which he
could eat in peace.

The next day, Sunday, he washed his shirt and socks,
and rested in the hovel, and, a different man from the
worn-out creature of twenty-four hours previous, he
set off at nine o'clock for Downham.

Up to this point all had gone well, but on leaving
Downham he took a wrong turn, and found himself at
the very place he had been warned not to go near-
Lynn, in Norfolk.

Now the young Frenchman had been so very lucky
in his wanderings ever since he had escaped from
prison that he had grown careless, and besides the sight
of the sea and the ships had made his longing for France



154 THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER

and freedom almost unbearable. Therefore, instead
of going to one of the smaller ports along the coast,
he determined to try for a passage from Lynn itself,
although he had sense enough still to hide himself in
some fields by day, and wait till midnight before he
ventured out.

The old fishing town seemed fast asleep, and he
walked from end to end without meeting anyone except
an old watchman or two.

' I need not have been so cautious,' he said to him-
self ; ' to-morrow I will come earlier,' and so he did, and
entered the gates about ten o'clock while some of the
shops were still open, and sat down on a bench close
to the harbour. Here he remained for about an hour,
looking at the different boats and wondering which one
would suit his purpose. So absorbed was he that he
never noticed that the other people had disappeared and
he was alone. He was, however, recalled to himself
at seeing a band of six or seven sailors armed with
sticks, and accompanied by an officer with a sword, pass
close to him. They gazed hard at him but did not stop,
and the young man dared not stir, lest he should cause
them to suspect him. In another minute the men
were back again, and the officer, tapping him on the
shoulder, signed to him to follow.

The fugitive was so overcome at the downfall of his
hopes that his legs seemed incapable of moving. Upon
this, the roughest of all the band seized him by the collar
and shook him, which so irritated the young man that
he struck out with his own stick, and knocked over two
of the sailors. But they were seven to one, and he was
very soon overpowered by a sharp knock on the back of
his head, the officer hi command looking on and saying
nothing.

In this way they went along two or three streets till
they entered, not a gaol as the prisoner expected, but a
jsmall inn, where the officer gave one of the men some



THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER 155

orders in a low voice and then left, taking the rest of Un-
hand with him. The man in charge took his prisoner
into a small room, where for some time they sat silently
on each side of the fire.

So they remained for about an hour, when suddenly
a loud noise was heard downstairs and the sailor was
frequently called by name to help. He rushed out of




the door, locking it quickly after him, and apparently
forgetting all about the window, which, though a good
height from the ground, was a possible means of escape
to anyone used to climbing. The instant the key turned
in the lock the prisoner rushed to the window and flung
it open, but before he could get out of it he heard his
gaoler's footsteps coming up the stairs. Without know-
ing why, the captive crept under a big oak table with two



156 THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER

t

large flaps which stood on one side of the room, where
he was quite hidden. The key grated in the lock and
the sailor came in, but at the sight of the open window he
gave a cry of rage, and springing towards it swung him-
self down below. Then the Frenchman stole swiftly
from his hiding-place, and catching sight of the sailor
disappearing in the direction of the harbour, jumped
down in his turn, and took an opposite road, which he
hoped might lead him into the country. What was his
dismay when, on rounding the corner, he came on the
rest of the band of sailors, who with a shout gave
chase .

Tired as he was for the blow on his head had been
a very hard one he seemed to hear the gates of the
prison closing behind him, when he noticed a door
close to him standing a little open. It was in a dark
part of the street, next to a narrow lane, and he had
the good fortune to slip in without their perceiving
him, and he held his breath while they dashed madly
up the lane. As soon as he felt quite sure that the
danger was over for the moment, he sank down on the
floor, in front of an old woman who had been sitting
by the fire stroking her cat when he had so unexpectedly
entered.

She understood in a moment that the young man
before her was a stranger imploring her help, and
seeing that he was almost fainting from exhaustion
and pain, poured some brandy down his throat and
placed a pillow under his head.

During the whole of the next day the helpless man
lay ill in her house, and as he understood a little English,
though he could not speak it, he learned that she also had
a son who was a prisoner of war in France, and for his
sake would shelter all who sought her protection. As
to accepting any of the money lie held out, she pushed
it indignantly away.

Of course it was quite clear he could not remain



THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER If, 7

in the little kitchen close to the street, but there was
an empty room at the back which no one could see
into, and into this the fugitive was moved. In the
evenings when all was quiet she would lock her front
door, and come and talk to her guest. She was, he
found, the widow of a sea captain who had left her
with enough to live on comfortably. Her children
and grandchildren were all dead except the sailor who
was now a prisoner in the town of Verdun. For two
years she had had no new r s of him but here, with
tears in his eyes, the young Frenchman interrupted her,
and exclaimed that if ever he got back to France he
would never rest till he had obtained her son's freedom.

As soon as the fugitive w r as able to leave his bed,
she gave him some clothes belonging to one of her
grandsons, as his own had been torn and spoilt in all
his adventures since he had left the prison, and besides,
these things were of English make, and would partly
serve as a disguise.

At the end of a week he declared he was perfectly
well again, and meant to continue his journey. She
begged him to run no risks and wait a little longer,
but he would listen to nothing, and at last she had to
content herself with giving him the best advice she
could how to escape detection.

' To-morrow is market day,' she said, ' and if you
walk boldly along nobody will heed you, for they will
be far too busy with their ow r n concerns. Go straight
eastwards, and you will find yourself on the coast
road. The place where I think you are sure to get a
ship is many miles off, and you will have to spend at
least one night on the way. But I will give you food
enough to last your whole journey, so that you need
never enter a shop.'

' Ah, madame ! how good you are ! ' cried the young
man, seizing her hands. ' How can I ever thank you ? '

' Send me back my son,' said she, and was silent



158 THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER

for a little. Then she continued : ' At Langham you
will catch sight of the sea, and leaving the village
behind you keep along the edge of the cliffs for half
a mile till you see below you on the beach a handful
of cottages, one of which stands by itself and
has a boat moored in front of it. Hidden among
some bushes is a path that leads downwards, but
be careful, for it is very steep, and the sand is loose
and slips easily. You can conceal yourself in the bushes
till it is dark, and when you notice a candle put in the
window of the house that stands alone, and has three
oyster-shells over the door, come out and knock.
You can trust yourself safely to the man who is
within.'

With a sad and grateful heart he bade farewell to
the kindest of friends, whom he never saw again, and
at eight o'clock in the morning the escaped prisoner
was already on his way. He followed carefully the
directions which had been given him, and at dusk on
the second evening entered the house with the three
oyster-shells a sign, he had been told, that the master
was at home.

Inside a man dressed like a sailor and wearing a cap
made of hair was sitting at a small table smoking a
pipe and drinking a glass of grog. A scar ran across
his forehead, and he wore a silver ring on his thumb ;
but at the entrance of his visitor he took the pipe
from his mouth and stared hard at the intruder.

The Frenchman, who had been warned by the old
woman what to do, made a sign over his head with two
fingers of his left hand, which was at once replied to by
the other, who told the young man in French to come
in and have some supper, and that he would see to the
rest.

The fugitive did not need to be informed that his
host was a smuggler, and that the good brandy he so



THE ADVENTURES OF A PRISONER ir>!)

badly needed in his exhausted state had never paid
duty to King George.

That night with several others after was spent
by the Frenchman in a strange hiding-place with a tiny
hole in the wall, through which he could see everyone
that approached the house. Inside his door was a
strong iron bar, which the smuggler desired him never
to move unless a certain password was given, and he
was further warned not to leave the house on any
pretext whatever.

The days that followed were very dreary to the
captive. He \vas always in the dark, so could neither
read nor do any work with his hands, which had whiled
away some of the long hours in prison. His host was
busy with his own affairs, and it was only when the
rest of the village was asleep that he invited the
captive into another room, when the smuggler sought
to cheer him up with stories of hairbreadth escapes
from the Revenue men.

At last, when the Frenchman had almost given up
hope, he saw from his peephole a boat with two men
and a boy approaching the shore, and knew the boy
to be the son of the smuggler. As he was gazing the
smuggler himself tapped him on the shoulder. ' Come,
quick,' he said, and without a word more the French-
man was hurried into the boat, and the two men pulled
with all their might till, after two hours, they reached
a small Dutch vessel which was waiting for them.
' Quick,' said the smuggler again, and hoisted his
passenger up on deck ; then, waving their caps, he and
his son picked up their oars and pushed off.

In two days the French prisoner was on the soil of
France, free !



WHAT BECAME OF OLD MR. HARRISON?

IN the northern part of the county of Gloucester there
is a range of hills called the Cotswolds, and scattered
about them are beautiful ancient towns and manor
houses, often 300 or 400 years old, built of a kind of
soft yellow stone easily carved into curious shapes.
In Chipping Campden, one of the smallest of these
towns so small, indeed, that it only had a single
street very strange things happened in the years of
Cromwell's death and Charles II. 's restoration, and to
this day no one has ever been able to find out the exact
truth about them. The great family of the neighbour-
hood was the Campdens, and when news reached the
Cotswolds that Cromwell's soldiers were marching
that way, Lord Campden set fire to his ow r n house lest
it should afford shelter to the rebels. In 1659, when
this story opens, the Cotswolds were quiet again, but
Lady Campden did not attempt to rebuild the old
manor, and lived in another house in the village, leaving
her agent Harrison and his family to make themselves
as comfortable as they could in a few rooms of the old
house which the fire had spared.

The Campdens were Royalists, but the Harrisons,
faithful servants though they were, were Puritans by
religion, and attended regularly the services or ' lec-
tures ' conducted by the Puritan ministers in the
parish church. On their return from one of these lec-
tures at noon on a market day in 1659, they noticed



WHAT BECAME OF OLD MR. HARRISON ? 161

with surprise that some iron bars of a window on the
second floor were missing, and the stone in which they
were fixed was broken. As the windows were high
above the ground, it was plain that the person who
had done this must have entered by the help of a ladder,
and old Harrison's heart sank at the sight, for this was
the room in which he put away Lady Campden's rents
as soon as he had collected them. He hastily unlocked
the front door, and ran upstairs. Yes, what he feared
had come to pass, and 140 belonging to Lady Campden
had been stolen, and in those days this was a much
larger sum of money than it is now. He made, of course,
a great hue and cry, but though in general the villagers
were quick to note and to suspect any stranger who
appeared among them, nobody had seen or heard any-
thing out of the common, and Harrison was forced to
let the matter rest and make his peace with Lady
Campden as best he could.

So the weeks passed on, and the robbery was almost
forgotten, when one day a man called John Perry, who
did odd jobs for the Harrisons, was heard shrieking for
help in the garden. Everyone came running to his
aid, and when he could speak, it was an odd story that
he told. He had been attacked, he declared, by two
men dressed in white with naked swords in their hands,
but had managed to beat them off, though he had only
a spud to defend himself with ; and he held up the
handle, all dented and scarred, to show how fierce had
been the fight.

The Harrisons heard this with astonishment, as well
they might. Again inquiries were made, but though
one would have thought that men in white were an
uncommon sight, and that someone must have remarked
them, they had vanished as utterly as if they had sprung
from the earth to attack John Perry, and then sunk
into it. .

A.S. M



162 WHAT BECAME OF OLD ME. HARRISON ?

More than half of the year 1660 had passed away,
and no men. white or black, had assaulted any more of
the inhabitants of Chipping Gampden. On August 16
Mr. Harrison told his wife that he must go to the village
of Charringworth and collect some rents that were then
due, though the date was not a usual date for gather-
ing rents. The day wore away, and as evening drew
near old Mrs. Harrison grew very anxious. Charring-
worth was only two miles from Campden, and her
husband ought to have been back hours ago. When
eight o'clock came, and there was still no sign of him,
she could bear it no longer, and bade John Perry go to
Charring worth, and see what had happened. He could
take his lantern ; that would give him light enough to
make out the road.

All night long the poor lady sat up, having placed
candles in Harrison's window to cheer him as he walked