cell the empty irons of their late captive lay sawed in pieces.

The alarm had not been given by daylight of Lerwick's escape, when it was also announced that baillie Ilan Dou's barge was missing from her moorings in the harbour. No doubts were entertained now but that Lerwick had friends on the island who assisted him with a saw; and it was strongly suspected that whilst himself sawed off his irons, some one else with another saw cut away the staunchions from the window; and the barge's disappearance left no doubt that, favoured with a fair wind for the main land, Lerwick was now a day's journey ahead of nimble-footed justice.

Nothing could exceed the consternation of the simple islanders to sup. pose there was among them a wretch who could be privy to Lerwick's escape. The thoughts of their own in

security against the diabolical machinations of such a miscreant, the rumours that he who aided Lerwick might in one night blow up baillie Ilan Dou's house, or poison their water, or assassinate the good minister, were current in every artless mind.

But the minister and the baillie were soon listened to; and the poor people abandoned their fears, and exerted their curiosity in inquisitively asking each other how the staunchions of the window could be sawed; for many of them "would hardly believe that iron was capable of being sawed like a piece of oak, and therefore only he who cleft Eildon hills in three, and bridled the Tweed with a curb of stone, and twined ropes out of the sand of the sea, could have assisted out of his fetters and from a jail so well locked and barricadoed, the murderer, the two-fold murderer, Lerwick."

The smugglers sent again to Levingstone, and volunteered to search again their retreats as before, and they were searched accordingly, but all their search was useless; Lerwick was not there. Whiggans did this to satisfy Levingstone of his willingness to do every thing to bring to justice this fellow Lerwick; and if he could be found on the island, the exertions of the smugglers were not inferior to those who made greater professions of friendship, and who could publicly testify that friendship by noon-day deeds and clamorous words.

Monsieur Villejuive too, on this occasion, came forth with the other people of quality; for every man who was not employed in hard labour and merchandise; and even some of these by descent from ancient families before the union, though they could produce no magna tabulæ domuum, still bore

his patronimic, and affected not to be otherwise known when in the presence of a stranger, or at the head of his own table.

Monsieur Villejuive, we say, joined the people of quality in expressing his consternation at the daring escape of Lerwick, and was very willing to render every assistance to retake him; but he was very busily repairing some philosophical apparatus; and though he could not give his time, he would not be deficient in defraying the expenses of those who might go in quest of Lerwick.

The cell was minutely searched, and in a hole in the wall was found the following letter:

"KEEP your counsel, keep your heart up. The nights are long; your work is half done. I have at last found the saws, and to-morrow night we shall begin; and you shall have forty gui

neas from me to pay your passage to America. You will be safe at the Light-house till a vessel is going out."

This letter had neither date nor signature; but it was not possible to tell whose hand-writing it was in, for it did not resemble in its graphical execution the threatening document found in the Laird St. Clyde's scrutoir, nor was there any semblance in its diction to the dialect of a common man. The saws and the guineas rendered the whole business dark as mystery could shroud a villanous transaction; but the intimation given of a safe retreat in the light-house gave a clue of hope to every mind. But the baillie and the minister and Monsieur Villejuive were equally puzzled to conjecture what light-house was meant; however, there was one fixed upon.

This house stood upon a projecting