but ready to speak to her, to assure her of my presence, to call her. I suddenly discovered, notwithstanding the darkness of the night, that the windows of her room were still shut. On this I stood motionless, but continued to fix my eyes on them, when I was struck with terror at perceiving the window of the room occupied by the gen-d'armes wide open. I heard the voice of one of them, and was afraid they watched us. I shuddered at the idea that all was divulged; that they knew of the ladder which I had tied to the string, and were only waiting for the critical moment, to exert their fury upon us. I suspected that they might have seen the clothes for their captive's disguise. I feared that the chambermaid might have betrayed us; or that some person had followed me the day before, as a spy on my actions: in short, I firmly believed that they stood ready to assuage their thirst of blood on me for daring to deceive them.

This cruel state of doubt, sus pense, and terror, gave way how ever to my anxiety for Mrs. Smith's situation. I could never once suppose her capable of having relinquished the attempt, for I was con-, vinced of her fortitude; nor think her so thoughtless as to have allowed any thing to transpire or appear, capable of exciting the suspicion of the guards. I could not guess therefore what prevented her from shewing herself at the window at the appointed time.

"I summoned up my spirits, though the windows of the soldiers' room, continued open; and though conscious of the effects of their revee it I was once discovered, I sood collected in the face of dan ger, and grasped my pistols. Vain

resource! What defence could these arms make while such implements of death as French bayonets threatened me? Culpable in the eyes of government, opposition would only have accelerated my fall. I was the projector of a flight which, if successful, would not only have involved the guards to whom the custody of the prisoner was entrusted, but also the government itself for neglecting the adequate means of securing her: I could therefore expect no trial by law, as the remissness of the guards would appear; and must evidently have been sacrificed that instant to preclude an exposure of circumstances.

"As I retired a few paces from the spot after waiting so long, I perceived a man approaching the fountain that was close at band: he stood near a door, which I saw him enter slowly; but at that instant my eyes caught the opening window of Mrs. Smith's chamber, at which a figure presented itself: I could have no doubt of its being her; and after looking round to see if all was safe, I drew near: but she being ignorant of the disguise which I wore, asked in a low voice if it was I. I replied, "I am that friend, and wait for you," I now resumed my hopes that every thing was unknown to the guards, and that no fatal occurrence would ensue during the critical mo ment. She continued however in the room; and I stood unable to breathe, for fear of some hidden witness of the scene, ready, perhaps to sound the alarm, and call the patrole of the city. I earnestly wished to remind her of the pressing danger incident to every moment's delay; but I heard a noise proceed from the window, which was occasioned by her tying the end of the ladder to the iron my terror increased at

thes

this unwelcome sound; I thought it, above all others, the most likely to rouse the soldiers, and occasion the worst of disasters. Scarcely did the ladder appear to be fastened, when I saw Mrs. Smith take hold of the window and cling to the wall, pressing with uncertain foot the first step. I perceived she was reluctant in trusting herself upon it: the unhappy lady stood tottering upon the step; and seemed to tremble so much, that I was under the necessity of attending particularly to her, fearing that she might fall. But I was agreeably deceived, when I beheld her grasping the knots of the ladder, and boldly determined to descend. What an interesting spectacle! a forlorn woman, anxious to escape from captivity, committing herself from a height to ropes which, even while they tore her delicate fingers, she kissed in extasy, because they were instrumental to her release: and at the same moment armed sentinels in the adjoining apartment, who were ready to dart upon her if their sleep were interrupted by the least noise. Had they now come to their own window, she would have been discovered on the ladder, myself below waiting to lead her off, and the maid above accessary to the bold attempt of her mistress. field for their vengeance! What victims for their fury! Happily, however, the silence of the night and its intense gloom, remained undisturbed: she reached the ground without receiving any essential injury; and the maid, to whom the secret had been imparted, threw a bundle from the window, containing whatever could be saved.

What a

"We instantly began our flight; running along unknown streets, without meeting any person. Our trepidation-the haste with which

we went, and our mean dress, would have been strong unfavourable indications if we had been observed. From solitary street to street we precipitated our steps till we reached the summit of the fortress of Brescia. Here the violence of my companion's desire to save herself was such, that she actually offered to aɩtempt scaling the walls; but on my acquainting her, that the chaise was ready for us at the tavern near the gates, she followed me with less agitation.

"The ostler, seeing me return in company with a youth (whom, by the bye, it was not difficult to mistake for a woman), gazed at us with surprise; and appeared to suspect something uncommon and mysterious. We had still to wait another hour before we could set off, as the gates were never opened before four o'clock. This protraction of our anxiety was almost enough to extinguish every ray of hope: we continually expected the arrival of the gen-d'armes and could hardly help imagining that the stable had been discovered to be the place where we had taken refuge; and that the alarm of our escape must by this time have spread to every part of the city, and our retreat be consequently cut off. The ostler, perceiving our perturbation and impatience, went to see whether the passage was free; he soon returned with the happy intelligence that the guards had come to the gates, and we might depart. Still, however, for our further alarma, we found them shut; but on our entreaties, the guard opened them; and we passed through on the 3d day of May, at four o'clock in the morning.

"The beauteous sky seemed to welcome our escape with its smiles: the mighty orb of light shot forth its

beams from below the horizon with uncommon splendour-and appeared to transfuse universal joy. With what happiness did I view the places which a few hours before had filled me with terror! Our pleasure was extreme in passing the hills free from the galling imcumbrance of gend'armes. What were our transports in scouring the path by ourselves, unobserved by the eyes of treachery, and breathing the balmy air of liberty! To have overcome the principal dangers, and to have broken from the walls which the grim satellites of government stood guarding, to have succeeded thus far, caused our apprehensions to subside. We looked back on the odious city, while we continued to hurry on toward the land of freedom. "We reached Salò at half an hour after six, the same morning; yet here, though all was ready, we had to wait at the house of the worthy Silvestro till the boatman should call us to pass the lake. Every moment of this delay was almost insupport able but it was out of our power to advance with more celerity; and we were obliged to submit, though we were but too sensible that time was flying fast. At eight o'clock we unfurled our sails, agreeably cer tain that none of the idlers who stood gazing at us knew any thing of our escape. With what satisfaction did we abandon that place, to us the last under French domination! Silves tro and his family, from the beach, wished us a happy journey; and we returned the salute by signs expressing our hearty desires never to re

turn.

:

"The wind was against us, and the gondoliers found much difficulty in proceeding. The prospect of the surrounding country drew our at tention; and the singular positions

of several of the villages, as Tremo gine and Melesina, were very interesting. The variegated appearance of the numberless orchards and cottages along the shore of Carignano, charmed us as much as our situation could permit. During our passage I told Mrs. Smith all that I had seen and performed since I had left her; and she informed me of the means which she had used to gain her chamber-maid-and of her astonishment at finding the ladder prepared. I asked why she staid there till three o'clock before she descended : to which she replied that one of the gen-d'armes was awake; and that she was writing a letter to the colonel of the gen-d'armerie, begging pardon for her conduct, and exculpating the guards as well as count Attems from any share in what she had done; and another to the count, explaining her reasons for not having imparted the secret to him.

We calculated that the guards would have discovered our escape by eight o'clock, the hour at which we had left Salò. We were anxious, of course, to reach Riva, and proceed thence instantly; as any delay would have been still very danger ous, considering (as we did) the wide-extended influence of the French. At length we arrived at the Tyrolese frontier, after a passage of eight hours. I ran to present my bill of health, which was signed without hesitation for Trent: but the boat that carried our chaise and horses had not yet come over; so we were obliged to wait at the only tavern there, which stood near the lake. I could not suppress my imprecations at this delay, while every moment was so precious.

"At five o'clock we perceived no less than three boats coming toward us. It was natural for us to sup

pose

pose that the gen-d'armes were on board some of them in pursuit of us, and that the police might have discovered the road which we had taken; but where could we now hide ourselves, or whither direct our flight? At Riva there were neither carriages, horses, nor post; and we should have certainly been traced within an hour, for the inhabitants would have pointed out the way to our pursuers. I wished to conceal my suspicions from Mrs. Smith, yet I reflected that it was best to prepare ber for the evils that might ensue.

Her courage never forsook her a single instant: she proposed we should hide ourselves in the cavity of a mountain at hand, and not continue our journey on foot; but the boat with our chaise and horses reached the shore some time before the others. Without losing a moment, we set off for Trent with all the speed that spur and lash could produce; nor could we learn who were in the other boats: the people, however, who seemed to feel for our agitation, assured us that they did not come from Salò."

MANNERS

"Purnea is a brahman of the Mudual sect, and descended from a family of the Coimbetore country. His native language is, of course, Tamul; but he speaks the Karnataca, Mussulman, Marattah, and I believe the Persian. He is said, by good judges, to be a person extremely well versed in the affairs of the country, and is much more active than brahmans in general are. By the inhabitants he is now called Sri Mantra, the same title that is given to the Peshwa at Poonah. It is said to signify a person who has been fortunate from the time of his

having been in the womb. Next to Meer Saduc, he seems to have enjoyed a greater power, under the late Sultan, than any other person; but his authority was greatly inferior to that of the above-mentioned favourite; and he is said to have been in no small danger from the bigotry of his master. The sultan is reported to have once proposed to Purnea to become a convert to the faith of Mahomet: as all proposals from a sultan are tantamount to orders that must be obeyed, the brahman replied, I am your slave,' and immediately retired. Those who knew the man, and especially the sultan's mother, a very respectable lady, represented to that prince, how dangerous such a proceeding was, and that, if persisted in, it would throw every thing into confusion; for the apparent acquiescence of Purnea was merely words of course, and his influence among the people was considerable, Tippoo very properly allowed the affair to rest, and nothing more was said on the subject.

"From the 20th of May to the 5th of June, I was employed in visiting every thing remarkable in Seringapatam