two horsemen coming up full gallop, he hastened to join the cabriolet, pulling Fayette with him; finding resistance, he endeavoured to get possession of his sword, and a struggle ensued. Huger arrived at this moment; "You are free, said he; seize this horse, and fortune be our guide." He had scarce spoken when the gleam of the sun upon the blade of the sword startled the horse, he broke his bridle, and filed precipitately over the plain. Balman rode after to endeavour to take him. Meantime Huger, with a gallantry and generosity seldom equalled, but never excelled, insisted on Fayette's mounting his horse, and making all speed to the place of rendezvous: "Lose no time, the alarm is given, the peasants are assembling, save yourself." Fayette mounted his horse, left Huger on foot, and was soon out of sight. Balman had in vain pursued the frightened horse, and perceiving he had taken the road to the town, gave up the chase, and returned to Huger, who got up behind him, and they gallopped away together. They had not gone far when the horse, unequal to such a burthen, stumbled and fell, and Balman was so bruised with the fall, that with difficulty he could rise from the ground. The gallant Huger assisted his friend upon the horse, and again forgetting all selfish considerations, desired him to follow and assist Fayette, and leave him to make his escape on foot, which he said he could easily do, as he was a good runner, and the woody country was close at hand. Balman with reluctance consented. Upon the approach of the horsemen, the soldier who had remained with the cabriolet, instead of coming to the assistance of the officer, ran back to the town; but long before he arrived the alarm was gi ven; for the whole of the transaction had been observed from the walls,the cannon fired, and the country was raised. Balman easily evaded his pursuers, by telling them he was himself in pursuit. Huger was not so fortunate; he had been marked by a party, who never lost sight of him; yet his hunters being on foot like himself, he might have reached his covert, had they not been joined by others who were fresh in the chase: they gained ground upon him, and at the moment he had reached a place where he hoped he might rest awhile, quite exhausted with fatigue and breathless he sunk to the earth, and a peasant came up-he offered him his purse to assist his escape; the Austrian snatched the money with one hand, and seized him with the other, calling to his companions to come to his help. Resistance was vain, and the intrepid Huger was conveyed back to Olmutz'in triumph, inwardly consoling himself with the glorious idea, that he had been the cause of rescuing from tyranny and misery a man he esteemed one of the first characters upon earth.He was shut up in a dungeon of the castle as a state prisoner. Meanwhile Fayette took the road he was directed, and arrived without any obstacle at a small town about 10 miles from Olmutz: here the road divided; that leading to Trappaw lay to the right, unfortunately he took the left. He had scarce left the town, when perceiving the road turning too much to the left, he suspected he had mistaken his way, and inquired of a person he met the way to Bautropp. The man, eyeing him with a look of curiosity, at length told him he had missed his way, but directed him to take another, which he said would soon lead him right. This man, from Fayette's appearance, his horse in a foam, his foreign accent, and the in quiries he made, suspected him to be a prisoner making his escape; he therefore directed him a road which by a circuit led him back to the town, ran himself to the magistrate, and told him his suspicions; so that when Fayette thought himself upon the point of regaining the road which would soon secure his retreat, he found himself surrounded by a guard of armed men, who, regardless of his protestations, conveyed him to the magistrate. He was however so collected, that he gave the most plausible answers to the interrogations that were put to him; he said he was an officer of excise belonging to Trappaw, and that having friends at Olmutz, he had been there upon a visit; had been detained there by indisposition longer than he intended, and, as his time of leave of absence was expired, he was hastening back, and begged he might not be detained, for if he did not reach Trappaw that day, he was afraid his absence might be noticed, and he should lose his office. The magistrate was so much prepossessed in his favour by this account, and by the readiness of his answers to every question, that he expressed himself perfectly satisfied, and was going to dismiss him, when the door of an inner room opened, and a young man entered with papers for the magistrate to sign. While this was doing the young man fixed his eyes upon Fayette, and immediately whispered the magistrate: "Who do you say he is?"The General la Fayette. "How do you know him?" "I was present when the General was delivered up by the Prussians to the Austrians at ; this is the man, I cannot be mistaken." Fayette entreated to be heard. The magistrate told him it was useless for him to speak; he must consent immediately to be conveyed to Olmutz, and his identity would then be ascertained. Dismayed and confounded, he submitted to his hard fate, was carried back to Olmutz, and the same day which rose to him with the fairest prospects of happiness and liberty, beheld him at the close of it plunged in still deeper misery and imprisonment. Balman, having eluded the search of his pursuers, arrived at the place where the chaise had been ordered to wait their coming. Finding it still there, and yet no appearance of Fayette, he foreboded mischief. With as much patience as he could command, he remained till evening, not yet giving up all hopes of a fortunate issue to their adventure. He dismissed the chaise, however, and made a circuitous journey, in hopes his friends might have escaped by a different route; but could gain no information whatever, till, on the third day, a rumour of Fayette having been retaken in attempting his escape, dissipated his hopes; and, anxious to learn the truth, he took the road to Olmutz. He soon was told the melancholy tale, with the addition, that his friend Huger had shared a similar fate. In despair at having been the primary cause of his misfor tune, and determining to share it with him, he voluntarily surrendered himself, and was committed a prisoner to the castle. Thus, by a train of most untoward accidents, which no prudence could foresee or guard against, failed a plan so long meditated, and so skilfully projected. The reader's attention must now be confined chiefly to Huger, the detail of whose sufferings the writer is better acquainted with than those of Balman, having been inform ed of them by himself. The day after his entrance into the castle, Huger received notice from the jailor to prepare for an examination before the chief magistrate of the city. As he was not conscious of having commit. ted any very heinous crime, he was under no apprehensions for his life; but expected that, after he had told his story, and declared the motive of his actions, his judge might subject him to some slight punishment, perhaps a short imprisonment; what then was his amazement, when he heard himself accused of having entered into a conspiracy against the Austrian govern ment. The examination was carried on by means of an interpreter, a young man of a benign aspect, who seemed to compassionate his situation, and who, when he gave such answers as he thought might tend to hurt his cause, made him repeat his answers, softening their import, assuring him that he knew he did not exactly express himself in proper terms, and desiring him to recollect whether he did not mean to answer in such and such a manner. Huger saw his good intentions, and determined to rely on his judgment, especially after he had heard him say, in a low voice, "I am your friend." After this, and many subsequent examinations, the magistrates informed him he must not expect pardon, but advised him to prepare for the worst. This exhortation, so often repeated, began to have some effect upon him, and, considering he was in the power of an absolute monarch, whose will was superior to law, he could not shake off some melancholy presages. His place of confinement was a loathsome dungeon, without light; he was fed with the coarsest food, chained to the floor during the night; his own clothes taken from him, and * The initials only of this excellent man's name are given, for necessary and ob vious reasons. as his presence broke the dreary solitude, he felt happy whenever he made his appearance. Many were the experiments he tried to hold a communication with Balman, and at length he succeeded. He discovered that the window which threw a borrowed light into his cell served likewise to throw light into that of Balman. He picked a piece of lime from the wall, and with it scratched a few words upon a black silk handkerchief he wore about his neck ;* then fixing it upon a stick, he climbed up the side of the room, and raised the stick as near the common window as he could, till it had attracted the attention of Balman, who, after many efforts, made himself master of it, and returned an answer by the same method. Delighted with having overcome this difficulty, they never suffered a day to pass without some communication. To W they were indebted for the means of rendering their situation still more comfortable, by engaging the jailor's wife in their interest; a few presents, and now and then a small piece of money, induced her secretly to bring them books, food, wine, and warmer clothes; and at length to procure a meeting between the two friends, at first short, but by degrees become more hardy, they were permitted to pass some part of every day together. The following is an extract of a letter written by Huger to a near friend and relation, which, as it describes his situation and feelings in a forcible manner, ought not to be omitted: "I am equally ignorant how this affair may have been represented, or what may be thought in these times of an attempt to deliver M. de la Fayette. The motives which, however, induced me to engage in it cannot be judged by those who examine all similar enterprises according to their success or failure; believe me, it was neither unreasonably undertaken, nor rashly executed, but failed from accidents which prudence could not foresee. To the mortification of a failure were added the miseries of a prison, which, in Austria, exceed any thing known in England. In a small room, just long enough for my bed of straw, with eight-pence a day for my support; at night chained to the ground, and without books or light, I passed the first three months of my captivity. After this time my situation became gradually better; but I was not allowed to write to my friends, to be delivered from my chains, or permitted the smallest intercourse with the world, till a fortnight before my release. "In such a situation, the consciousness alone of having done nothing dishonest or dishonourable could af ford that internal satisfaction, and inspire that stern patience, necessary to support calmly so sudden and severe a reverse of fortune; but it has convinced me that a mind at peace with itself can in no situation be unhappy. Daily habit also soon removed the unpleasant sensations excited by disagreeable and unaccustomed objects, and the mind, which no power can restrain, will always derive consolation from hope, and rarely want some subject to be actively employed upon. My friend and companion, Mr Balman, was in the same house, and our efforts to establish some communication, or to procure a momentary *There is a difficulty attending the mode of communication here described, for which we do not pretend to account. The writer of the article seems in this instance to have taken down Mr Huger's relation inaccurately.-EDITOR. interview, afforded exercise for invention; and, in proportion to the difficulty of effecting our wishes, the smallest success rewarded days of projects and expectation. I once also found means to disengage myself from my chains, and felt an emotion beyond the power of words to describe. The slave, liberated by the bounty of his master, experiences nothing similar to it; he feels obligation for a favour conferred; but a person formerly free, breaking the chain of tyranny and oppression, has the double enjoyment of overcoming his ene. my, and regaining his liberty by his own exertions. Mine was but ideal, for I was still surrounded with walls and sentinels; it was an event which might be of such consequence that I did not permit the reality to interrupt the happiness it afforded me: and I probably felt more enjoyment at that moment, than in general one half of the world ever experienced in their lives, even those possessing freedom, wealth, and friends. My long captivity has not then been wholly miserable, nor without some pleasure." At length, at the end of seven months, they were informed that the crown lawyers were arrived. The government by this time was satisfied that the attempt to liberate Fayette was planned independently by two adventurers, and that it was not a plot laid by the secret agents of France, in which the garrison of Olmutz at least was concerned, if it were not more widely extended; and upon their trial, the sole fact of having attempted to rescue a state prisoner was alleged against them. This fact being proved, they were remanded to their prison, to await the sentence which was to be pronounced against them by the supreme magistrate, They were now, however, permitted every indulgence but liberty. It was some days before they heard from W, and when he came, they were astonished and confounded to hear from him that their punishment was intended to be imprisonment for life. He however consoled them by hinting, that if they could by any means procure money, this sentence might be changed to one much less severe, as it remained with the magistrate to pass what sentence he thought proper, or even to release them entirely. Balman had no fortune, and as Huger had no credit in Austria, it would be a long time before he could receive a remittance from London. W, their guardian angel, promised to do all he could for them. In the vicinity of Olmutz resided a Russian nobleman, of most polished manners, joined to the greatest benevolence of heart. With him Wenjoyed a perfect intimacy and friendship; they were congenial souls. W had made him acquainted with the whole of their story; through him he had been able to administer so frequently to their comfort; and he now nobly offered to advance them whatever money they might want to accomplish their release, and to defray their expences to Hamburgh. Having thus removed the greatest difficulty, his next care was to sound the sentiments of the magistrate. This he could easily effect, as, in the capacity of interpreter, he had constant communication with him. He soon discerned that the magistrate was not averse to his speaking in their favour; and when he artfully insinuated that a large reward would certainly attend his declaring himself inclined to pardon, he found he was listened to with more attention. Having gained this |